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The sun was out and finally - after days of rain - the air was soft and almost warm. The trees were beginning to drop their leaves, the different shades of yellow and red dangling from the branches in the breeze. The garden had turned a golden shade with the fallen leaves. The turn to another winter was obvious, yet the mood was not one of cold, but of warm excitement.
"Come on, Beast. Let's go outside!" Belle cheered over their breakfast.
"Hm, it's all so wet." He grumbled as he lifted his bowl of porridge to his snout.
"But the sun is out, and everything is shimmering in a golden light. I love it so much."
She loved that. If Belle loved it, he would too. Probably. Her eyes danced with excitement. It was infectious. Why was that?
"All right. We go outside." Beast grinned now, imagining Belle strolling on his arm in the golden autumn sun.
And they spent the morning strolling up the path to the forest, kicking stones and leaves that rustled under their feet. Far below, in the castle gardens, they could see the rake and the shovel gathering the leaves and piling them in a heap in the middle of the garden.
"This will make a fine fire, my dear Belle."
"Oh, we used to burn the leaves and dance around the fire." Belle smiled.
"That's dangerous." He huffed.
"We can sit and watch. It's nice and cosy." Belle snuggled up against his side and Beast felt his tail twitch at their contact. Why was that? Surely, she was just seeking shelter from the wind. He had to move, or his paw would start twitching around her waist too. Ridiculous!
"Let's go back. Fancy a hot cup of tea? I'm sure Mrs Potts will be waiting for us." Beast offered Belle his arm and she took it with a sweet smile and nodded in agreement.
When they returned, the pile of leaves had grown immensely, almost dwarfing the tall Beast. He could not tell why, but something stirred inside him. An urge. An insatiable desire. An inexplicable excitement. A seeping instinct.
Best shuffled his feet, his ears pricked forward, and he dropped to all fours, leaving Belle gasping as he wagged his tail and leapt.
Belle stood stunned, but her heart leapt as the beast flew towards the pile, and as he disappeared in the tuft of leaves, she burst into a fit of laughter. She held her stomach as his head emerged, covered in leaves. She pointed a finger at him and giggled heartily.
"You... You... you look so funny!"
Beast grinned, feeling like a child at Christmas, diving into a pile of presents. But this was even more fun because Belle looked so radiant, a golden ray of light!
His eyes widened as she glared at him, a mischievous grin on her face.
"Belle, what?"
But she was already at him, taking off and leaping into his arms, throwing them both back into the heap. She landed right on top of him, rolled off with a giggle and started to do a leaf angel.
"Come on Beast, let's see who does the funniest leaf angel." She squealed.
"As if that was ever a question." He roared with laughter as he moved his arms and legs just like her.
It was late in the evening when Belle was still moving around Beast in front of the fireplace, picking leaves from his fur.
They both smiled like fools, joking that poor rake and shovel would have to clean up the mess they had made in the garden.
"They'll be glad when the snow comes." Belle mused.
"Why is that?"
"Because then we won't have to destroy their work every day." She stifled another giggle.
"But we can make snow angels." Beast held up an explanatory finger.
"True!" Belle laughed and hugged him from behind. "I'd love to."
Beast felt his heart leap and his paw get damp. Why was that?