Beauty X Beast ~ Twenty-Five!

Danielle found herself walking down the stairs to the enormous underground workshop once more, though her heart was heavy with extreme trepidation. It had taken the Comte offering her extreme reassurances to convince her not to immediately leave the estate and chase after the baron, surrendering herself to him for the sake of her father. The Artificer had then gone ahead to prepare, leaving her wondering exactly what new revelation was going to be dropped on her this time. 

With nothing else to focus on as she descended the stairs, she couldn't help but notice how Resplendent Reflected Self’s subtle transformation of her body seemed to have settled. The stairs were easier for her to navigate, but she wasn't much stronger—she was slightly taller than before. As she nervously fiddled with her hands, she realized how they moved with increased nimbleness and dexterity, having only been merely competent before.

Arriving at the base of the stairs, she glanced through the window into the open space, noticing her reflection in the glass and seeing how her cheekbones were better defined, and her eyes seemed sharper—seeming to focus with near-predatory precision. Scoffing slightly at the tangent her mind had gone off on, Danielle pushed through the door and entered the workshop.

As per usual, it was brightly lit, thanks to the glow of ensconced crystals. Yet today, the space seemed stark and deadly, thanks to the open presentation of so many war machines. Danielle's heightened senses allowed her to take in every detail, from the sharp lines and rusted edges of the imposing humanoid figures, to how the Beast was standing next to the extended crystalline spire with signs of despair showing on his almost-blank mechanical face. 

The Enchantress furrowed her brow as she marched forward, softly murmuring to herself. “How am I able to read him like this? Logically, I know there's no way to tell what he's feeling…” 

The memory of the Comte was standing in the center of the podium, mouth opened and poised to speak, but seemingly frozen in time. A half-dozen blue eyes turned to Danielle as the Beast spoke with great reluctance. “I've been instructed to show you the outcome of my master's defiance.”

Without further warning, the image on the podium sprang to life, replaying what the Comte had been saying before the Beast cut off the words during Danielle’s last visit. The Artificer’s words echoing through the subterranean space. 

“When they went into town, they were harassed by the locals—or at least those masquerading as locals. Even with all of this, I would’ve been fine, happy even, if it hadn’t been for the Enchantress. Once I’d pulled back all of my creations and sued for peace with the kingdom of Verdelune, I was expecting to retire to a quiet, peaceful life.”

He paused for a split second, then spoke despairingly.

“I thought she had grown to love me.” 

Unshed tears showed clearly in the memory, but the Comte pressed forward without allowing them to fall. “We had spoken about having a life together, since I had understood what I had done and took the steps needed to stop it. But… she turned out to be a foreign agent. When I had distanced myself from all others, cutting off all my support networks, replaced all of the people around me with my loyal machines… she injected me with a heart-destroying poison. To her credit, as I fell to the ground, she took the time to tell me why I was being murdered.”

The Comte scoffed even as he spoke, seeming as though he almost didn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. “Apparently, simply stopping the atrocities from continuing was not enough. She needed to make sure they could never happen again, and that I paid for the crimes I didn't even know were being committed in my name. Before the poison could fully run its course, my newest creation, the BST model three, rushed to my aid. The Enchantress, with no defenses of her own, was cut down in a single blow.”

“When she died, so did every plant on the lawn. Everything green, everything beautiful, killed in the same instant. It seemed… poetic, almost. Since then-” At the same time as he continued his tale, the lights in the area turned off, all but a pair of powerful spotlights pointed at the very back of the room. There, a large metal capsule rested, fully surrounded on all sides by the metal knights. 

“Since then, I'm only kept alive by remaining within the stasis chamber granted to me by the kingdom to ensure I would remain as I was, able to work endlessly on behalf of the kingdom. Physically, I have not aged a day since my twenty-fifth birthday, and I can only hope the maintenance I am able to provide through my ‘Remote Usage’ skill will keep the stasis going until I can find a solution.”

No for the words followed, and it took nearly half a minute for Danielle to realize no more were forthcoming. “That's it? He's just stuck in that device over there, waiting to die?”

“Waiting to live is the hope,” the Beast stated with a chiding tone. “He is permanently trapped in a dream-like state, able to learn and work, but… each day, he can only remotely access his creations for a short period of time. The longer he waits between activations, the longer he can stay active before falling back into his cursed slumber.”

“So that's what he meant when he said he didn't know how old he was?” Danielle shook her head at the thought, unsure of how to process this strange turn of events. “How long has he been stuck in there? Actually, do you know how old he is?”

“Let me answer your question with a thought experiment.” The Beast spoke around a slow leak of steam, as though he were letting out a deep sigh. “Imagine two men are born on the same day of the same year, and both live their lives until they turn eighteen. One of them goes on to live an intense life, working more than twelve hours a day and still finding time to experience life with his family. Let's say he is awake eighteen hours a day, barely getting the sleep his body needs. Now, the other person lives a life of absolute leisure, sleeping eighteen hours a day and only being awake for six.”

The Beast gestured at the capsule in the distance. “In ten years, one of those two men will have three times the life experience of the other. At twenty-eight years old, which of them is twenty-eight years old?”

“Both of them.” The Beast shot her a look, so Danielle rolled her eyes and played along, “Technically, they’re the same age. But, in terms of life experience, I'd say the man living a life of leisure could be compared to only a twenty-one-year-old when directly compared to the other who’d been awake and active that whole time.” 

“The system seems to agree with you.” Once more, the Beast looked at the capsule in the distance longingly. “During his last physical, when looking at his personal information, I found that the system had split his age-related information. It now is listing his age as two separate categories: mental and physical. Physically, he is still exactly twenty-five years old. His mental age is shown only as twenty-nine. Yet… he was born nearly fifty years ago. He is given at most thirty minutes of time each day he can be awake but often forgoes even that much in hopes of having access to the time when it truly matters. So. You tell me, how old is he?”

Danielle thought about that for a long few minutes, arguing back and forth with what was the exact correct answer. Finally, she could only shrug her shoulders and decide, “He's all of those. Everyone sleeps nearly a third of the day every day, and we don’t consider their age to be only two-thirds of how many years they’ve been alive. His body hasn't aged in a long period of time, so if he were healthy, he could leave that chamber and live the rest of his natural life from that point. But…”

Here, her eyes blazed with conviction, “But we are the sum of our experiences. I've met people twice my age who were barely as mature as I, half as skilled, and only a fraction as ready to live life to the fullest. Frankly, I am surprised the system doesn’t offer everyone in the world an accounting of their mental age. It would actually answer many questions I have about some people.” 

“Well… now you know the truth of why you have never met Comte LeKrout face-to-face.” The Beast was studying her carefully as he spoke. “He is fragile beyond belief, and there is no one else alive who has access to this information. If you wanted to do so, you could hand this information over. It would be a simple thing at that point for the kingdom to starve us of resources and force him to create weapons once more.”

The implication hung in the air for a brief moment, until Danielle realized that what he was truly doing was asking her if she would take this information and use it for herself. “Beast! Since I came here, I’ve been given nothing but kindness and respect. At least, after I earned some trust. I've been living a life I couldn't have… anywhere else, to my knowledge. I’d never betray any of you like that. An Enchantress might have taken you out of the war and hurt the Comte terribly, but that doesn't mean a different one will be the reason he is thrust back into it.” 

The Beast heaved a sigh of relief, or at least that is how Danielle decided to understand the cloud of steam that poured out of him. “I greatly appreciate your candor. With all of this new information, has anything changed for you?”

“I don't… I can't think of anything?” Danielle tried to determine if there was a hidden meaning to the question, but it seemed quite straightforward. “I still don't want to marry that terrible man, yet I need to find a solution which keeps me from his clutches while saving my father. I suppose the only thing that’s changed is my desire to make the Comte accept this responsibility in my stead.”

“Then, perhaps you will not be terribly pleased to learn that he has sent a half dozen of the newest, most-human versions of his soldiers to rescue Henri?” The Beast’s words almost caused Danielle to turn on her heel and start running. “Do not bother, Danielle. They were dispatched a day ago and can move nearly as far each day as a man riding on horseback. They will be making their move as soon as your father is brought outside, and at this point, there is no way for them to be recalled. Without a horse, you’d never get there before they are already returning.”

“Why? Why would he do that? Do you realize what this means? He's painted a target on his back, and Gasteel will be able to order him into the war if he finds out!” Danielle cut off her barrage of questions and accusations, biting her lip to keep from dipping her toes into insulting the Beast. 

Surprisingly, it wasn’t the Beast who answered her, but the memory that had been frozen on the platform until this point. Its image shifted to a weary man, wearing simple, comfortable clothes. “For years, I've been striving for Perfection, trying to find a way to fix my heart so I could truly live once more. Now, I have reached Perfection with my skill and have the added bonus of my Breakthrough skill to help me along. My hope is that, with the assistance of Danielle, who has proven herself not to be my prisoner nor my guest, but a true peer… I will instead be able to create an entirely new, working organ for myself.”

“For her assistance so far, as well as in hopes she will stand by me and offer her support in this very dangerous juncture, I am attempting to pay her in advance.” The image shifted to a landscape, somewhere far distant that she recognized immediately: it was a picturesque view of Frontière as viewed from a distance. “First, to ensure she does not feel conflicted in her choice, her father will be rescued and brought to her side. Secondly, several of my automatons have been loaded down with supplies and riches, dispatched to our neighboring kingdom to purchase a large estate on her behalf.”

The memory of the man shifted in place, looking at the ground then back up without truly being able to meet her eyes. 

“I can only hope this will be enough to convince you to stand by my side for at least a little bit longer.”