"Papa?" A young brunette woman called, pushing against the tall wooden doors to the castle. She held his hat in her hand, the other fisted over her cloak clasp. This whole day hadn't gone as planned...
"Goodbye, Papa! Good luck!" "Goodbye! And take care while I'm gone," she'd watched as he drove down the road and out of sight, then retreated indoors. An hour's worth of dusting, twenty minutes to cut up vegetables, and five minutes to mix it into a stew; and then she could settle in with her newest book, the one the book seller had given her yesterday. Not an hour later, there had been a knock on the door, and then he'd shown up - wanting to engage her in talk of marriage and a family, dogs and a hearthfire. No, thank you. She deserved better than him... he didn't deserve her. That wasn't what she'd told him though, oh no. And after she'd tossed his boots out after him, she leaned against the door, her hand over her eyes. How could she get rid of him?
The minutes ticked by, and finally she felt it would be safe to go outdoors, feed the animals. "Is he gone?" She asked the chickens, who merely looked at her inquisitively. "The nerve of him! He asked me to marry him!" And she ranted to the goats, the pig, the chickens, knowing they wouldn't pass judgment. Chores done, she wandered out to their back field to watch the sun set. That was when she heard the frantic whinny. "Phillippe! What... where's Papa? Oh, we have to find him. You've got to take me to him." And hurriedly, she unhitched him from the cart, and climbed up onto her horse's back. That was how she found herself at this spooky old castle in the woods, complete with creaky gate and gargoyles.
"Papa? Where are you? Hello?" Slowly, she paced through the halls. "Is someone here?"<|im_end|>
The beast sat in his parlor, staring into the fire, an open book on his lap. The sound of her voice brought him out of his trance and he stood up quickly, turning, his cape swishing behind him. Carefully, he went to the door and peered out into the hallway as she passed by.<|im_end|>