Beauty X Beast ~ Fourteen!

The Beast led Danielle to a large, heavy metal entryway in the grand hallway the next morning. After slowly pulling it open—unintentionally demonstrating exactly how heavy the armored door truly was—he began walking down a set of winding stairs. Danielle followed after him, and as they spiraled seemingly endlessly deep into the bedrock, she tried to remain cautiously optimistic about their destination.

When they finally reached the bottom, Danielle let out a soft gasp as they stepped into an expansive, high-ceiling workshop practically vibrating with the hum of so many machines working at once. The air was thick with the scent of oil, heated metal, and a faint crackle in the air she recognized as residual magic, thanks to her constantly active aura. Her gaze swept around the room, taking in the intricate machines lining the room, many of them in various stages of completion. 

Some were chugging along, gears turning with precise elegance, while others stood cold and silent. A few were only pieces, with chalk outlines sketched out on the floor as an estimation of their space requirements upon being assembled. Even with the scores of machines showcasing a vast amount of wealth and resources, what drew Danielle's attention was a simple, enormous curtain made of rich velvet.

The cloth was inexpertly bolted to the ceiling, in some places held up by gleaming chains. The fabric stretched across the entire open space, from wall to wall, obscuring… something. Its edges fluttered slightly in an artificial wind, and Danielle found herself stepping forward and crouching to try and peer beneath the edge dancing ever-so-slightly off the stone floor.

“None of that!” The Beast’s imperious voice shook Danielle out of her almost-trance, and she stood straight, turning her eyes back to him.

“I have to ask… is this why you waited to bring me down here until this morning? Did you set the cloth up overnight? Seems like a waste of fine material.” 

“This is where we will conduct the motion capture.” The Beast ignored her question and spoke loudly, his voice echoing off the hard surfaces of the room and coming back only slightly muffled where the room-spanning curtain was hung. “You are to pay no attention to what is on the other side of the curtain. The contents of the room are on a need-to-know basis, and you do not need to know. Crossing that boundary will result in immediate expulsion from the estate… at best. Do not test me.” 

Danielle nodded eagerly, hopping onto the platform he was indicating and waiting for further instructions.

“Why are you already on the platform? You are not dressed for it,” the Beast grumbled as he waved her toward a suit of a thin, flexible material inscribed with glowing symbols. It was laid out over a chair, as though someone had taken it off and draped it there, so it would be ready when they returned. “Put this on, and make no notes or copies of its design. This was created entirely by the Comte, without outside influence. Anyone else who has seen it has been sworn to secrecy on pain of death.”

“You had people cross their heart just because they've seen this?” Danielle hopped off the platform, gracefully arresting her momentum and gliding forward to lift the outfit. “I won't say a word, promise.”

“While that may be good enough for him, I am not as happy with the situation,” the Beast muttered darkly, gesturing for her to step into a small booth and get dressed. She did so, feeling the strangest of sensations as the suit clung to her, squeezing tightly for a moment before subtly adjusting itself to more perfectly fit her form. A tingle of magic danced over her skin, similar enough to how her skills felt that she immediately understood that the suit was activating.

It was surprisingly comfortable, and as she stepped out of the changing booth, Danielle swung side to side, testing the full range of motion and not feeling the cloth pull at all. “I'm just saying, if he ever gets sick of making machines, tell him to add a few pockets to this, and it would be all the rage throughout the kingdom. He’d start a fashion revolution.”

“There it is. Finally, someone has determined the best use of his talents. It wasn’t making my kind, nor was it incredible feats of magical technologies. It was fashion all along,” the Beast grumbled at her like the curmudgeon he must have been modeled after. “Begin with basic movements. Walk, run, jog.”

“How about walk, jog, run?” Danielle teased the nightmare-inducing machine, getting only silence in return. “I think we should spend more time together. Even Doc has fewer sharp edges than you do, and he's a literal razorblade.”

“I am not here to be anything other than the protector and manager of the estate in the absence of the Comte’s personal presence. Frankly, the only reason I am agreeing to do this is because I was ordered to do so. That, and I am greatly pleased the Comte is finally having you begin to pay him back for his generosity.” The Beast harrumphed at her as Danielle hopped up onto the platform. “Stop. Go back down. Jump up again. I want a few iterations of that motion.” 

“So… if I understood you correctly, that means you're the butler?” Danielle chuckled softly at the mental image of this monstrosity in a pressed suit, and it seemed the Beast took umbrage with her prodding. For the next ten minutes, he had her continuously jump onto the slightly above waist height platform, then off, and back on, until she was nearly shaking with exhaustion from the unfamiliar motions. “Why… so many jumps?”

For a long moment, she was uncertain if the Beast would answer, but he finally reluctantly explained, “Motions follow a type of logic called if-else. In this instance, if an automaton is moving at peak efficiency and is designed to be able to do so, it should be able to utilize your first, most efficient leap up onto the platform. But if they are damaged, or simply not rated for such movements, they will use an else. As in, they will use this jump, else they will use a less efficient version based on their model.”

“You mean you’re intentionally tiring me out so I have worse motions for them to use?” Danielle swept her hand across her forehead, brushing her hair over her ear. “You could’ve just told me that-”

“We all enjoy life in our own way,” the Beast interrupted with its standard mechanical grumble. “As a reward-slash-break, hop back up onto the platform, then simply begin walking in a straight line. Cool down. Recover energy.”

Danielle attempted to jump back up, but at the last moment, her muscles locked up, and she needed to crawl up onto the platform. 

“Ahhh… perfect.” The Beast gave a single nod. “The final else.”

“If you can jump, do so. Else, crawl like a fatigued Enchantress,” Danielle grumbled as she got to her feet. 

“That statement is correct.”

Mumbling under her breath about machines being mean for no reason, Danielle began walking, sending annoyed glances at the enormous automaton that was currently glowing brightly from each of its ‘eyes’. As she cooled down, each step landed more smoothly, more precisely, her skills guiding her to remain fluid and controlled. Only then did she realize she had been walking for several minutes and hadn't yet left the platform. “Why am I not getting any closer to the outer edge?”

“You recall the conveyor in the kitchen which moves food from one station to another? It is the same principle. The ground beneath you is moving at the same rate as your footfalls, which should keep you in the same position. As a fun fact, the Queen of Verdelune copied this design as a way to torment prisoners of war. All they needed to do in order to eat and drink was make it to the edge.” The casual way in which the Beast spoke of such an odd punishment made Danielle shiver. “Feel free to jog or run, as you gain the energy to do so.”

Around the oversized dais, crystals pressed up through the stone, shining with an inner light that washed over her from all sides. Suddenly feeling very watched, Danielle decided to turn her nervous energy into action. She slowly transitioned into a run, legs moving effortlessly, her form perfect. As she had discovered on her travel to this estate, the sensation of being able to run near-endlessly was exhilarating. 

As the minutes passed, Danielle pushed herself harder, trying to sprint across the platform through sheer effort. Yet, no matter how hard she pushed, the edge was no closer than it had started. With a burst of inspiration, she spun around and sprinted the other direction… to absolutely no effect.

“A valiant effort, but ultimately futile,” the Beast chortled at her in its mechanical way. “If you had tried that before the recording crystals came up, it may have even worked. In full-motion-capture mode, the ground below you will move perfectly to match you. ” 

Taking a deep breath, Danielle launched herself into the air, trying everything she could to get off the platform without having to ask to end the session. She attempted cartwheels and flips, each higher and more intricate than the last. As she built up momentum, the Enchantress started to gain ground, moving closer and closer to the edge. Then, as she passed the halfway mark, the floor beneath her feet suddenly sped up, and she barely managed to catch herself from falling on her face as she was returned to the center of the platform once more.

“Excellent complex actions. Not what I asked for, but a decent baseline measurement of your flexibility and stamina.” The Beast’s words were delivered casually, with absolutely no hint of aggravation or laughter at Danielle, who was currently heaving for air, bent over with her hands on her knees. “However, what you are doing currently is fully unnecessary. Automatons do not need to breathe. These motions will need to be discarded unless… no? I’m told to have you continue. There may be some use if we are attempting to create a difficult-to-detect simulacrum. When you are able, please return to walking.”

Even with only performing ‘basic’ actions from then on, the physical exertion was intense. After only a little more than an hour, Danielle was absolutely drenched in sweat and swaying on her feet. The Beast, recognizing that she would push herself until she collapsed, deactivated the platform and motioned for her to get dressed in her regular clothes. “That will be enough for now. Over the next few days, we will practice complex actions, such as dodging while running, leaping, as well as fighting with various weaponry.”

“I don't have any training with weapons,” Danielle managed to mumble around a large glass of water which had mysteriously arrived next to the changing booth. 

The Beast’s voice easily drifted through the cloth of the changing room. “That will not be an issue. You do not have to swing the armaments quickly; you simply need to make the motion. If it’s done correctly, we will be able to recreate it at any speed as necessary. Your skills will make up for your lack of training, in this instance.”

As she emerged from the small, private changing space, Danielle looked around for where she might be able to refill her glass. Her thoughts were interrupted as the Beast went still then spoke in a begrudging manner.

“The Comte is greatly impressed with your physical gifts. I agree with him that your movements are unlike anything I've ever seen. Most people with movement-related skills have a very niche, narrow field in which they are superb. Yet, m’lord believes that, with training, you could master nearly any physical skill without too much hardship. This leads me to a rather obvious question: why do you focus on research and a scholarly life, when you could pursue nearly any other body-focused craft and master it even without the related skills?”

As she gave the question some thought, Danielle fiddled with the glass in her hand, spinning it on her palm to keep from fidgeting further. “It's all the system, though, isn't it? Is it truly my effort? Or, more likely, am I a rank Beginner at everything I do, with my efforts simply magnified by a set of skills I actively tried to subvert? When I’m learning something, applying it, finding new ways to make things work, it might be enhanced by the system—what isn't in this world? Even so, it’s my efforts that lead to the success.”

“You still clearly enjoy being able to move so well. It was apparent on your face. You were smiling very intently, even if those motions were unable to be captured. Please note, that will be rectified tomorrow—a form-fitting hood and face mask will be completed overnight.”

“Please don't forget I'm just a fleshy human that needs to breathe.” Danielle meant her comment as a joke, but the Beast pulled back slightly and muttered something unintelligible before nodding once more.

“Air holes will be added to the design.” The Beast paused as Sneezy walked over, carrying a large jug of water in his elongated hands. “Is that really all there is to your obstinance? You began to love to learn out of spite for what you have freely available?”

“No, that’s—hold on. Ahh.” Danielle shook her head, unable to speak for a moment as she finished drinking her freshly refilled glass of water. “No. I've always wanted to know what was going on. But, no matter where I turned, everyone except my father told me ‘stop asking questions’. That I would lose opportunities if I learned too much. They had a picture of me in their minds, an image that wasn't reality, but they still wanted me to live up to it. But… it's my life. I want to live it the way I want to live it. My father…” 

She took a deep breath, doing her best not to worry so much about how he was being treated at the moment. Danielle reminded herself that she could only hope that Gasteel was following through on his promise of taking care of his ‘future father-in-law’ so she wouldn't be as resistant to marrying him. 

“His name is Henri, by the way. He taught me so much. Beyond simply rote learning, he showed me how to think, how to do more than copy what other people did. I designed a singing mechanical bird toy, and I don't think I've ever loved something I've made as much as my first real design. But now I know how to make it again, as many times as I want.”

Lapsing into silence, Danielle fell into internal contemplation, her exhaustion fueling her rumination. After a few dozen seconds, the Beast began moving, lifting off the floor and slowly floating away.

“Thank you for your insights. My master and I will be examining the data we have collected so far, but I can already see multiple areas it will benefit our future work. Until tomorrow, Enchantress. Get plenty of rest, and make sure the kitchen feeds you a larger than normal meal to help you recover your energy.”

“See you tomorrow, Beast.”