𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐃 | 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬

𝐗𝐗. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞

𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 into weeks which led into months: three months to be exact and the cold of January had bled into the following month. Despite the time spent beside one another, Celine and the beast had yet to find any answers; in fact, their questions had only grown. They currently sat, side-by-side, within the confines of his vast library where they'd spent most of their time since beginning their quest. They'd found very little that provided helpful information and as a means of pushing past their mental block, Celine lifted a book from the stack and began to read for pleasure aloud.

"Love can transpose to form and dignity. Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind and therefore—"

"—And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind."

Celine looked up from the written words with a surprised look on her face as the beast had interrupted her and perfectly recited the next line. "You know Shakespeare?"

He grunted and shrugged as if it wasn't anything impressive. "I had an expensive education."

"Actually, Much Ado About Nothing is probably one of my favorite works by Shakespeare," Celine admitted to continue the conversation.

The beast groaned and rolled his eyes. "Why is that not a surprise?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Well, all that heartache and pining and—" He stopped and gagged reactively.

"And how do you know it's the romance of Hero and Claudio that I cherish?" Celine challenged, placing her hands on her hips. "In fact, it's the headstrong nature of Beatrice that I find appealing."

"Well, even she ends up smitten with a man by the end," the beast retorted.

"Her only fault," Celine agreed with a short nod of her head.

"Besides," the beast added, "there's just so many better things to read, not to mention more useful to our search."

"Like what?" Celine slowly crossed her arms, looking toward him expectantly.

"Well..." He paused, suddenly deep in thought before storming across the room. Of course he wasn't angry, but his large stride and heavy footsteps always left the impression that he was. In fact, it was quite the opposite as he flashed her a mischievous smile while tugging on a single book in the middle of the shelf. "There are a couple of things in here you could start with."

She raised an eyebrow, unimpressed before he lifted his hand and the book remained frozen in place. The clack of her heels exposed her curiosity as she moved to his side as if the idea of his absence left a sudden chill. A soft click echoed and the bookshelf swung open to reveal a secret corridor filled to the brim with even more books. She gasped in awe.

"What?" He released an amused chuckle. "Are you all right?"

"You've got to be kidding!" Celine laughed incredulously as her eyes lit up with delight. "Where did this come from?"