La Bete (Beauty and the Beast)

[snotful]

me: begrudgingly tags this under "anthro / furry" 

anyway this was a fun story requested by my partner so i thought id post it here too!! im sorry if its jumpy, i havent written in several months. its not finished but maybe ill be encouraged to add onto it!! right now it averages 12 paragraphs. i write in paragraph style but if you have difficulty reading walls of text i can always break it up. i hope you like it!! 

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    Moonlight soaked the interior of the West wing of the castle, giving the inner bailey- if you should so choose to look at it -a rather eerie feel. Dew from a receding rainfall clung to the velvet tips of the rose garden, making a ghostly and dark atmosphere change to a scenic wonder. With each call of a solemn shrike, Belle found herself spending more and more time gazing at the stars out on the veranda, putting together Orion and his sword, to fend himself off from Ursa Major and Minor just around the bend. In the midst of an imaginary turmoil between man and bear, she had nearly forgotten the beast she was catering to. Turning away from the open sky and the freedom it brought her, she pulled her shawl over her shoulders, giving a form of comfort as she entered the castle once more.

    "Mademoiselle? N'aimerais-tu pas aider à préparer son repas?" called Lumière, trailing behind her like a lost dog. He had urged her to take the help of the dishes, as they'd become restless in the time she'd lived there. She refused their help- telling them that they deserved a break, and that she was more than capable of cooking. Lumière took note that, while well-read, the young woman was lost to the fact that the servants there enjoyed catering to her every whim. Or, perhaps, she simply wanted to prove herself capable. The little candelabra had more often than not overheard Cogsworth and the like discussing her odd behavior. She liked to tinker of all things, something none of the women of the manor had ever thought they'd take up. It was a man's job, after all, to invent and create for the well being of others. 

    Whenever they discussed Belle within earshot of La Bête, they would be snarled at with a furious, "elle est belle et unique, et elle est à moi!" to which they sighed and went back about their business. "I do not need help, Lumière, but thank you. Let the dishes know they don't have to work tonight. I'll be tending to La Bête on my own." She curtsied to him politely, then proceeded to walk down the delapidated staircase of the donjon which led to the kitchen. Normally, Lumière would be of help for Belle to see her way through the dark, but she had refused that as well. She felt the cracked ashlar beside her to guide her to the belly of the palace, where the kitchen was set up rather conveniently for her.
    As she entered, she was greeted by the dishes, and Mrs. Potts, who made her place at the dining table with her son in the time they weren't being of help. "J'aimerais que je fais du thé?" Potts would ask, to which Belle would always reply with a polite "Oui, oui." This would start up the normal quiet symphony of boiling water and china clinking against china, herbs being pulled from shelves by silent servers to create lemongrass or white tea. "Let's see," Belle said, talking to no one in particular, placing a hand to her side and a finger to her lips while making a thoughtful "tch tch" noise as she brewed up a meal plan. 

    She turned suddenly, taking Potts by surprise, making her nearly spill her steeping tea. "Soupe aux épinards à l'ail- how does that sound? Wonderful for an illness, very relieving. I've read many books on pain and soreness. What La Bête has is nothing more than typhoïde. Just a rash and a sliver of a fever, and some aching." The young lass sounded so sure of herself, the tea pot wasn't sure what the outcome would be if she disagreed. "Si vous avez besoin d'aide, nous sommes toujours là!" 

 

 

    Deep within the East wing of the castle, Belle stood close to the partitioned wall, Sultan at her feet, listening to the sullen groans of her beastly counterpart. La Bête, with his massive head pointed downward at his chest and his mane fluffed out in a demeaning manor, played with the tassles at the end of a silk pillow, making use of his time by being idle. His eyes were watery and red from fits of sneezing- not from his illness, albeit it made it worse, but from Fifi's agitated dusting. It wasn't her fault- dusting was her job, and he wasn't about to tell her to quit doing the only thing that kept her sane under the curse. But, it did tamper with him in more ways than one. His face thick with fine, coarse hairs made tear stains rather obvious, and snot or saliva would find its way into his beard and whiskers, making him look particularly uncultured. 

    He grumbled to himself, quickly turning his head away from his activity, and as Belle peeked into the room she could see his shoulders rising under the light of the candles on his bedside table, his fur bristling and his claws making a peculiar kneading motion. He shook his head back and forth, quickly at first, as if to ward off some kind of demon, to which he relaxed into before jolting suddenly and letting out a fit of exasperated sneezes. "Haah-hhh.. Haah-choo! Bénissez-moi.. Huhchoo!" He hesitated, putting a finger to his nose, looking around as if a handkerchief would manifest on its own. His attention was drawn to the doorway Belle stood at as Sultan flew into the room, yapping excitedly. 

    The young woman, with a tray of fare pressed to her hip, gave him a look that made him turn his head away from them. She leaned in slightly, rummaging through one of the pockets on her pinafore, pulling out a handkerchief that she kept on her normally for wiping away grease or grime when working with her father. Although stained, it was clean, freshly pressed- without her consent -by the servants in the night. Waving it slightly, she made an endearing click, dragging his attention toward her once more. "Do you need this? Un foulard?" she asked, in a sweet voice that made La Bête fluff up like an agitated bird. "Yes," he spoke, his voice grizzly from a sore throat that had been bothering him for several days now, making him sound more gruff and harsh than usual. He wasn't trying to sound ghastly- he even went so far as speaking in an airy tone to make him seem more domesticated. 

    Lying the silver platter down onto his bed, the silk sheets pluming around its edges, Belle leaned in to hand the handkerchief to him, the cloth becoming dwarfed by his large hands. She watched as he took careful dabs at his nose and beard, wiping away any clinging refuse from his whiskers. He was even polite enough not to hand it back to her- he found it rude to in the condition it was in now. "I'll have one of the maidservants press it before the morning," he muttered, with an air of disdain that Belle caught onto. "How are you feeling? Are you any better than you were yesterday?" she pried. She began to prepare his meal for him, sprinkling chopped celery into his soup and a pinch of sugar into his tea, which drew in his attention, causing him to lean forward a little. 

    She pressed a finger to his chest, pushing him back slightly, wagging her finger at him. "Not until your wounds are pressed again. Wolf bites are the source of your ailing- we can't let them be untreated. Let me see," she reached her hand out toward his side, where she had packed fresh grass into the wounds left by the mongrels that attacked him. He pressed his thick palm to her fingers and pushed them into a fist, shaking his head quickly, ducking his face into the crook of his elbow. "Huh-choo! Hahh-choo! Hhf..Béni-" He was quickly interrupted, Belle taking a napkin from the silver tray and sitting up on her knees, pressing a hand to one side of his face and wiping his nose for him. She looked at him closely, studying his eyes, animalistic and yellow. "Soyez bénis," she finsihed for him. 

    Settling back down on the bed, with La Bête in a stupor, the lass prepared a wrapping pressed with fresh grass. She unwrapped the bandage around the creature's side, staring at his wounds, fresh still but scabbing over slowly. She folded the old bandages, laying them on the floor, then turned back to him and putting pressure to the cuts as she applied the new bandage. La Bête winced, his head jolting to the side just slightly, unnoticed by Belle. After it had been packed, he laid himself back against the headboard once more, trying his best to sit up straight. "Comment c'est? Your fever?" she questioned, focused now on pouring soup from a kettle to a bowl. "Better," he grumbled, putting the back of his hand to his forehead. 
    "Good," she whispered to him, laying the tray on his lap. "Garlic and spinach.. I hope that it's good. I made it myself." she said. La Bête looked up from his bowl, traces of soup in his beard. "It is very good," he said, "Merveilleux, en fait." Belle swatted him on the arm. "You flatter me," she laughed. 

[snotful]

French Translation Guide

 

8 minutes ago, snotful said:

"Mademoiselle? N'aimerais-tu pas aider à préparer son repas?" called Lumière

"Would you not like help to prepare your meal?"

 

9 minutes ago, snotful said:

"elle est belle et unique, et elle est à moi!"

"She is beautiful and unique, and she is mine!"

 

9 minutes ago, snotful said:

"J'aimerais que je fais du thé?" Potts would ask

"Do you wish for some tea?"

 

10 minutes ago, snotful said:

Soupe aux épinards à l'ail- how does that sound?

"Garlic and spinach soup"

 

11 minutes ago, snotful said:

"Si vous avez besoin d'aide, nous sommes toujours là!"

"If you need help, we are always here!"

 

11 minutes ago, snotful said:

Bénissez-moi

"Bless me"

 

12 minutes ago, snotful said:

Un foulard

"A kerchief"

 

12 minutes ago, snotful said:

Comment c'est?

"How is it?"

 

12 minutes ago, snotful said:

"Merveilleux, en fait."

"Wonderful, in fact."

[Care]

Your fic is looking quite nice and promising. But if you don,t mind me saying, your French could use a bit of help. It's not bad, but the grammar isn't quite right in some of them. If you doN,t have any beta reader for it, I,m French-born, and I wouldN,t mind giving you a hand.

[snotful]

27 minutes ago, Care said:

Your fic is looking quite nice and promising. But if you don,t mind me saying, your French could use a bit of help. It's not bad, but the grammar isn't quite right in some of them. If you doN,t have any beta reader for it, I,m French-born, and I wouldN,t mind giving you a hand.

That would be great! Obviously I'm not very skilled, I'm in the process of learning  I'd love some help, thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Care]

Great ! I would be happy to help you with the fic, and your learning of french ^^ 

 

I am unsure on how we could get in touch without me posting my personal information in public though...

[starpollen]

Cute. 

[JolliLolli]

*Claps and throws roses at your feet* ^^

[Zuki]

Aww this is nice, will you continue it or just a one shot?