Belle shivered as she walked past the decimated iron gate in front of the old castle. She wrapped her cloak tighter around her shoulders and thought back to how she wound up making this trek. The village she'd lived in her whole life had traded her as a sacrifice to the creature that had haunted their hills since she was younger. The Beast and his story had been scaring her to sleep for years as a child. Now as a woman of 18 years, she had lost (or won if you thought about how it was stacked) the lottery the town held to send someone up to deliver the tithe that paid back the Beast for another year of being established on his land. She had never known if the tale was true, how the Beast had been a spoiled prince who was exiled to these hills with his own castle to keep from ruining the king's reputation further. How he'd insulted an old gypsy woman who graced his door trying to find shelter and how she'd cursed him to spend his days as deformed and beastly as she'd seen in his soul. She'd been told the Beast was massive in size and eat raw meat from fresh kills on the grounds. That he'd once eaten a previous messanger for gasping at his appearance (that was never confirmed, just told to everyone who was entered into the drawing).
The doors of the castle were large and metal. Rust had built up in the corners and the latch to get in took all of Belle's strength to open. She'd always hate how weak she'd felt. All the men in town called her scrawny and puny. The other girls were all taller and had large breasts and behinds. they'd fill out their bustiers and dresses while she wore sundresses that she felt like she was swimming in. It was like she never hit womanhood. There she was, living alone in that old house of her mothers with no suitors and just old romance literature to keep her company. She was ever so lonely.
Once she entered the castle, she shivered again. How could it possibly be colder than the outside? She called out for anyone who might be around and then immediately scolded herself. Why would she want to alert the Beast she was here? The floorboards gave underneath her feet and creaked. Rats scuttled in the shadows and she swore there were bats in the rafters.
The rules of the transaction were to bring the tithe into the library and leave it on the table in the center of the room. There, under moonlight, the Beast would find it and be satisfied and the village would spend another year in peace and prosperity. Belle found the library right where she was told it would be and entered. The walls were lined with books, up to the ceiling. there were couches strewn about, some on their sides, some ripped open, some still situated properly. She spotted the table and walked towards it. From inside her cloak she withdrew the tithe and placed it on the table. as she let go of the parcel, she heard the door close shut. she turned around, startled to see a dark shape in front of the door. It was the Beast.