[AU] Beau-ty and Liz-Beast

[Elizabeth Edison]

The staff didn't go away, despite having their mistress givng them an indirect order. When Beau insisted, one of the staff rubbed her board to write a new message, showing it to Beau.

"She's an amazing dancer. She used to do it as a performance for the foreign delegates. Stunning."

The beast glared at the staff who then scurried off with her partner, leaving the beast sulking. "They don't know what they're talking about." She shook her head.

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau looked at the staff, wondering why they were sticking around. Usually they practically leaped at the chance to follow each and every one of Liz's commands. Maybe they'd gotten some sort of nu backbone in there somewhere?

Beau did note that they'd started writing, and he patiently sat there, reading through the sign. He looked over at the beast who'd started glaring, forcing someone to go off running. Beau, of course, looked at said scurrying staff then back at Liz, then at the scurrying staff again.

"So you danced for performin' too, eh?" he said, raising his brow. "So you some kinda Renaissance woman or somethin'? Gotta say I'm impressed. 'course," he leaned back, his arms folded. "That's assumin' they're right an' all. Figure they could jus' be tryin' to put you on the spot or somethin'. Reckon that does sound like somethin' they'd be doin'."

Beau nodded a few more times, looking as though he were most confident that he'd just nailed it in one go.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Drumming her fingers against the table when minstrel boy issued a veiled challenge, the beast sighed and stared at the boy. "I don't know what Renaissance is but if I find out it's an insult..." she narrowed her eyes before sliding out of her chair, she tugged at his hand and pulled him over to edge of the room where there was miraculously enough space for them to move.

Looking up at him under these lights, Beau was surprised to find just how warm she was. She was practically sweating. She pulled his hand up to the small of her back while her hand went to his shoulder, the other hand pulling his out a little.

Taking a cue from the music, she started to glide across the space, leading the boy but giving him many opportunities to take the lead if he chose to. "This does not leave this room." She said sternly.

[Beau LaRoux]

"It ain't," promised Beau, going along with the tugs and heading toward the edge of the room. It didn't surprise him to find that they suddenly had enough room to move around: it just seemed to make sense. Everything else was adjusting around them, so why wouldn't this? Almost like they were the stars of this little story or something.

soon though, Beau was sliding his arms around Liz and not really thinking metaphysical, fourth-wall breaking thoughts. Instead, he noted how warm and, well, almost nervous the girl felt. She took charge, but there seemed to be a moment of panic in it, as if she expected him to start balking and running the moment his hands actually touched or something. Beau felt like he probably should; she was a beast after all, or, well, she had been. Yet instead, he found that the thought was the farthest from his mind.

Instead, he started gliding along, taking the lead when Liz graciously offered. "Well, be kinda odd if we danced in the kitchen," Beau replied airily, smiling at the pretty girl. As soon as he did, he gave her a light dip, easily pulling her down and then right back up, even adding a bit of a spin. Another wink, and then Beau started moving all over again.

[Elizabeth Edison]

The beast nodded curtly when the minstrel assured her that it hadn't been an insult. She would have to look up what Renaissance meant.

It felt weird to have someone touching her like this again. Well, it was weird having someone touch her at all, but she didn't pull away because as weird as it was, it felt nice.

Her hand gripped his when he went for the dip, afraid he was going to drop her, but as soon as she went down, she was pulled back up. The rush in her head made her close her eyes for a bit before she was spun around.

She was still gripping him pretty tightly as they moved around. Once she dared to look up, she realised that he was actually a pretty good dancer as well. Without being aware of it, the beast was soon kind of lost in staring at Beau.

[Beau LaRoux]

Didn't feel wrong to Beau at all. If anything it felt... right. Right moving around the floor with a pretty girl... this pretty girl. His feet moved without his having to really think, letting the soft music that had started trickling in guide him.

Beau did notice that Liz seemed a little... out of it. He could've sworn she was staring, but that was probably just because she couldn't believe that he could actually dance. Nothing quite as much fun as seeing a girl get surprised by one of his many talents. not that it slowed Beau's movements at all, or even made them slightly rougher. "Got somethin' on my face?" he teasingly asked, before licking around with his tongue for a few moments.

Then, laughing, he started moving into smooth circles, spinning the two of them around on the floor, moving in perfect time with the music. Musicians did have to have a good sense of rhythm, after all, though Beau had done his share of actual dancing as well. Step, step, let the dress swish about, move just in time, pulling her along and helping her follow through the motions, losing themselves in the whirl of the dance.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Chuckling softly when Beau started to lick everywhere around his mouth, the beast shook her head. "No." She replied simply. And that was it. No snarky remark, no nothing. She didn't know what had gotten into her.

And as they spun around the room, she found herself moving closer and closer to the minstrel. Again, she was staring at him as they danced. There was just something about him that she couldn't keep her eyes off. It all just felt so weird and new to her.

[Beau LaRoux]

They continued flowing around the dance floor, practically gliding over the surface. At times, Beau almost felt like his feet weren't touching the ground, simply skimming over the surface as they moved along. He got so wrapped up in things that he almost didn't hear her when she spoke. It didn't help that she'd only said one word, one little bit of denial, instead of trading a few more barbs with him.

That same enchantment lasted for several more short minutes, until the music softened, letting the two slide to a stop. Beau didn't move away or let go immediately, instead remaining standing there, looking at Liz.

"Sounds like the music's done," he replied, his eyes flicking from hers only for a moment, looking to see if there happened to be an orchestra hiding somewhere. Then he looked back at her, half-smiling. "Unless you were wantin' to show off your stuff with another dance an' all." he offered, the tease coming back into his voice, though softer, without the edge that it had carried until so recently.

[Elizabeth Edison]

She had to admit, she also felt like she was on air and she had to hold on to the minstrel tight. Well, at least that was the excuse she used. She was just getting a lot more comfortable clinging on to the boy than she was five minutes ago.

And then he was just looking at her, making her feel that self-consciousness building in her. "Sounds like it." She responded before chuckling, shaking her head. "I'm good." She shrugged before sighing and moving away from Beau.

"You know...if you wanted...I could let the staff find you a way out." She said suddenly.

[Beau LaRoux]

The dancing proved to be the sort of thing that shouldn't have ended, really, though Beau couldn't quite say why. He just looked at the girl as they came to a stop, wondering how long they'd even been together. Felt like years, months, at least since around the middle of August or so. There she was, chuckling and moving away.

Beau let her go, though he kept his attention on her while she did. Though when she made her offer, Beau's brows raised and he actually extended his head, letting it drop a little. "Excuse me?" he repeated, taking a step closer. "Did you say that you would let the staff...?" Beau found he didn't even quite want to finish. Part of him was wondering why he'd want to leave, and he really wanted to know why she'd brought this up now. Why try to get rid of him? Why not earlier, when they'd been at the "grr, I hate you" point of the relationship?

[Elizabeth Edison]

She could hear the minstrel come close so she moved a little bit forward. "Um...well...you must miss your family." She said, also wondering why she was letting him go now. Could it be that he was growing on him and she didn't like that?

"I'll pay you for your services, if that's what you're worried about."

[Beau LaRoux]

"I probly should check on 'em, I guess," admitted Beau, shuffling his feet. "Though we could jus' send a message out or--"

But Liz had continued, talking about paying him. Beau stared at her, blinked, not quite believing it. "Is that why you think I'm stickin' around?" he asked, his voice still teasing, but a thread of doubt weaving into the mixture. "You think I'm jus' hangin' 'round to get a hand out?"

He couldn't help but be a little insulted. He'd made it clear he just wanted room and board, after all, and, well, he'd sort of thought that maybe something... something else had developed there. What with the moment by the stairs and in the music room and... wow, did they have a lot of moments. Someone must really want them to kiss or something.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Turning to face Beau, a small frown appeared on the girl's face. "It's not exactly a hand out if you earned it. You played for me. That's your job, now I'm paying you for a job done." She lifted her shoulders in a shrug.

Oh, she felt a tinge of pain when she said it, yes she did. But she honestly doubted that Beau wanted to stay any longer. He had ties in the village, a family waiting for him. And hadn't he said when he first came that he wanted to leave?

"I would have thought you would be thrilled. You weren't exactly chomping at the bits to stay when you found out the castle doors couldn't be opened once they're shut. I'm giving you a way out!"

[Beau LaRoux]

"The agreement was about room an' board,' replied Beau, nearly gritting his teeth. He couldn't quite figure out where this was coming from. Hadn't they just been dancing? Getting close and everything? Beau wanted to point that out; in fact, he very nearly wanted to yell it.

"Well, of course I was!" he nearly snapped, waving a hand. "I thought I was gonna be stuck up in here with a beast for the rest o' my life! An' sides, that was afore..." he paused, frowning. Couldn't she see that things were different now?

Or... or was that just for him? Was he the only one who saw it that way...?

[Elizabeth Edison]

The beast saw a flash of anger in the minstrel, something she hadn't seen ever since he came here and it confused her. Why was he so adamant in staying now?

"Oh and that was something horrible until I cleaned myself up? I've never been a beast, Beau. People just made up some stupid rumour about me having fangs and a hairy body because I became a recluse after a fire burned down half this castle because some family got jealous that we had awesome musical parties.

"And I realise that is the stupidest reason for someone to burn a castle down but them's the breaks." The beast released a frustrated sigh.