Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast

By the time autumn arrives, Beauty has been at the castle for over six months. She hasn’t yet figured out the mystery she overheard Lydia and Bessie talking about, and she’s learned nothing knew from listening in on their conversations while continuing to pretend she can’t hear them. Ever since Beast said he couldn’t let her leave, Beauty no longer lets herself think about the future. She realizes—if only subconsciously—that she no longer wants to leave if it means not being able to return to the castle; to Beast. One night she has a dream about her family, one so vivid it’s as if she’s actually seeing them rather than dreaming about them. In it, she sees her family having breakfast together. They talk about the roses Beauty planted, which never need pruning and last exactly one month from the time they’re cut. Her father says he dreams of Beauty often. In his dreams he sees Beauty changing, but agrees when Hope says the dreams, like the roses, offer comfort. Then Hope’s daughter, Mercy, asks when Beauty is coming home, and Beauty wakes.

When she tells Beast about it the next morning, he says he sends Roderick these dreams of Beauty.