Belle fingered through the growing number of beautiful dresses in her wardrobe. Although she did her best to not think about how each of them ended up there, she was becoming more comfortable with the thought. The castle was enchanted. There were unseen servants that prepared their food and they were probably a handful of spirits that made her clothes.
Ending her selection when she found a beautiful yellow dress, she pulled it out and looked at it. Stepping in front of a mirror, she pressed it against herself. Like the others, it looked like it was a perfect fit. Slipping it on, she found that she was right. This had to be the most beautiful dress that Belle had ever seen. She would wear it today as she presented the Beast with her gift.
Belle, heading to dinner, wondered if the Beast would think that she was overdressed. He didn’t know that tonight would be special. But to Belle’s surprise, when she entered the dining hall, the Beast stood wearing full dress. He looked like an elegantly dressed French nobleman.
Belle didn’t know why he had dressed so nicely tonight, but the coincidence made her heart flutter. Maybe tonight was written in the stars. Maybe this was always meant to be the moment when she presented her gift to the Beast and the Beast told her that he loved her too.
Wait, was that what she wanted? She asked herself. Was that what was going on? By giving him this gift, was she expressing her love for the Beast? Was this her way of finding out if the Beast loved her as well?
“Is there something wrong, Belle?” the Beast asked her as he pushed in her seat. “Your chest and neck are all red,” he pointed out.
Belle blushed even further. “Maybe I’m just a little hot,” she said doing her best to mask her feelings. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
The Beast left her and took his seat at the head of the table. They were seated next to each other. Belle had been the one to initiate the place setting change a few days earlier. The Beast had liked it.
As they sat, dishes of food flew in from the kitchen. This was also something that had changed. Instead of being scared, Belle now found the flying plates magical. She often watched in wonder at how in sync it all was. Seeing them tonight, with the Beast dressed as he was, stole Belle’s heart. She could barely eat enraptured by the exhilaration of what the night could hold.
Finishing dessert, Belle turned to the Beast and rested her hand on his. “I have something for you,” Belle said with her heart racing.
“You have something for me?”
“Yes. It’s a gift.”
The Beast smiled. “No one has ever given me a gift before.”
Belle smiled back. With her eyes she declared her love for him. She wondered if he saw.
Taking his hand, Belle stood and led him out. Crossing through the rooms, they stopped when they entered an elegant music hall. Subtly shaking, Belle let go the Beast’s hand and turned to him.
“Now, I want you to close your eyes,” she said as nervous as she was excited.
“Must I?” the Beast asked with a hint of a smile.
“You must,” Belle said with a blush.
The Beast closed his eyes and Belle backed away from him slowly. Crossing to the side of the room, she removed the cloth from over her gift. It was a music box. Bigger than any music box that Belle had ever seen, on top of it was a tube as wide as her waist. She had tested it many times but about to flip the switch when it actually mattered, Belle was beside herself with dread.
Nervously putting her finger on the switch, she flicked it. The music began to play. Having composed it from the birds’ beautiful songs and the nursery rhymes that she had heard as a kid, it was beautiful. Belle was immensely proud of it.
Looking back towards the Beast, she saw his mouth drop open. He seemed to become lost in the music.
“You can open your eyes now,” Belle said shyly.
The Beast looked at Belle and the music box astonished. “Did you make that?”
“I did. It’s my gift to you.”