ummary: Beauty & the Beast theme. DenNor pairing. NOT a carbon copy of the movie, so if that's what you want be prepared to deal with disappointment. I'm going to try to incorporate elements from the original fairy tale as well. I realise, also, that a lot of this, especially in the beginning, will be very similar to the movie and that is because I'm using the movie's storyline as a sort of backbone to my fic and I love the characterisations in the movie. But again this WILL NOT be a carbon copy of the movie; I am going to try to make it as original as I possibly can. If you think I am straying too close to the movie's script, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me. I do not want that to happen.

Notes: I use human names for Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. They are: Søren, Aksel, and Nils. If you've read any of my other Nordic stories, you probably know that I typically use the name Haldor for Norway, but I decided to try a new one this time. Haldor never quite fit the best, but I did have a reason for wanting to use it. I liked Aksel and it is a Scandinavian name, so I figured why not? Also, I love the name Björk and the name Søren.

Word count: 2022

Björk was eager and ready to leave when Aksel slid out the back door of the cottage. He mounted the pony and they took off at full speed. The intelligent pony took them all the way to the fork in the road before he slowed and continued cautiously forward, once again taking the darker, ominous path.

"Are you sure this is the right way, Björk?" The youth questioned. The pony snorted as if to say "Do you doubt me?" and Aksel laughed lightly and petted the animal's neck in reassurance. "Alright, lead on."

They continued down the path until they came to the clearing and the castle. Björk, still sensing the danger ahead, refused to go any further than the tree-line. Aksel dismounted, petting the pony again, and approached the gate. He gazed at it intently; it looked like a normal black iron, gate, but he could sense a kind of vibration that seemed to emanate from it. The castle towered over-head and he wondered if Nils was, in fact, inside.

He went back and coaxed Björk to walk with him slowly through the gate and up to the humongous front doors. Taking the door knocker with one hand, he gave it two firm pounds against the heavy door, which shortly thereafter creaked open. Aksel stood back, examining the door for a moment while gathering the resolve to go inside. He first tied Björk's reigns to the rose vines that crawled up the castle walls. It wasn't the strongest tethering but it would do. Björk was a loyal pony and had made it thus far without running. Aksel did not know if it was his own presence that had calmed the pony from a state of panic to leisure but it was clear that the animal was going nowhere.

Aksel stepped inside and was immediately greeted with the unnerving echo of his own footsteps. The feeling that he had gotten outside near the gate had increased ten-fold and he idly mused if there was some sort of fairy living here. The air in the foyer was stifling and he felt like he had to keep moving in order to rid his head of the uncomfortable buzzing feeling. He treaded lightly on his way up the stairs. Whispers seemed to follow him more and more, the higher he ascended.

A soft knock at his bedroom chamber doors brought the Beast to attention from his thoughts. He had been staring at the Rose once again. It haunted him during the day and occasionally brought him nightmares.

"What is it?" He barked in reply. A servant boy, not much younger than the Beast himself, entered the room and closed the door quietly.

"Pardon me, my lord, but… I was wondering… Forgive me if it too brash to say, but the boy… in the dungeon…." The servant stuttered over his words at the menacing glare he received. But he was not interrupted, so he pressed on. "Well… I could not help but noticed that, uh… not many fair, young maidens pass through this part of the country often. Perhaps it is the remoteness of the location of our, uh… fair castle, or perhaps a side-effect of the curse that was set upon us all those years ago but…"

"Get to the point!" The Beast snapped, quickly losing his patience with the boy's ramblings.

"W-well… I was wondering if… perhaps you had considered the boy in the dungeon."

"What?"

The poor servant was almost scared out of his wits at the sudden roar. "Please forgive me! I-I just thought that maybe… there was… another way to break the spell. I-I mean, what if you could learn to love the boy in a—" He floundered, trying to find the right words. "—in a platonic sense? And if he came to accept you as a… protector? What if that would be enough to break the spell? It's worth a try… is it not?" The servant boy finished speaking and nervously cast his eyes on the Beast, who was glaring at the hard floor in thought. His massive eyebrows were furrowed and his expression was screwed into one of apprehension, regret, and obvious inner turmoil.

The boy slid back towards the door just and the Beast lifted his head again to see him leave. He was once again left alone with his thoughts and considered that this new idea mightn't be terrible, if it got him to his ends. With a new resolve he set out to the tower that held his prisoner.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Aksel stopped and listened. He was certain he was being followed but every time he stopped the second set of footsteps that he thought he'd heard stopped and did not continue until after he did. His tracker was always thinking ahead or perhaps could read his thoughts. The occasional rustle would make him curious and he would creep quietly toward where he thought the noise was coming from. Unfortunately, he never saw anyone or anything other than ordinary, motionless furniture. Eventually, he realized that he had been ascending a tall tower, and his intuition was telling him to quickly get to the top.

Seconds melted into minutes, and minutes seemed to stretch on forever. Aksel was almost at the top of the tower, he could see a dark, wooden door ahead of him and a hazy figure passing through it.

A ghost, perhaps. Aksel though. That would certainly explain the strange feeling and the sounds of footsteps. He hurried even faster and got to the door, flinging it open. He stepped into the large chamber, which appeared to be a dungeon. It was cold, colder than even outside the castle. There were a number of barred cells on opposing walls of the dungeon; torches were mounted beside each cell and on two stone columns which were placed in thirds in the center aisle. Compared to what Aksel had seen of the rest of the fortress, this chamber was relatively small.

A raspy cough got his attention and he walked steadily towards the compartment it had come from. Snowy white hair, listless eyes, and a pallid complexion—Nils was impossible not to recognize. He was somewhat thinner than he had been when last Aksel saw his brother days ago. His blue-violet gaze turned from the barred window he had been staring out of to the gate of the cell that enclosed him, and, surprisingly, his expression changed—to one of surprise, as though he had been expecting someone else entirely.

"Aksel," he said in a low voice, approaching the barred door. Aksel's hand flew to his forehead.

"Brother, you're sick. Who is keeping you here? What happened?"

The teen didn't answer, as he stared beyond his brother to the looming figure behind him. A growl and a snort made Aksel turn and back up to the door of his brother's cell as he laid eyes on the same Herculean being.

"Who are you?" It said, addressing the newcomer.

The blond youth didn't answer. He stood protectively in front of his younger brother and stared hard at the creature in the shadows. This seemed to anger it and it growled again, louder. "Answer me when I address you, stranger! Who are you?"

"He is my brother," Nils croaked out to his captor.

"Stay quiet, boy! Learn your place!" The Beast snapped. He appeared next to Aksel, who stumbled away from him, falling to the cold, stone floor and scraping his hand in the process of breaking his fall. The creature ripped open the door of Nils's dungeon cell and grabbed the boy by his arm, forcing him out. Nils glared, his blood starting to boil, but kept quiet, for fear of having his arm ripped off or worse.

"So you are the noble brother, come to save his kin, are you?" The Beast sneered, taking another good look at Aksel again. "Skinny, aren't you? And quite feminine."

"Swine." Aksel spat.

The creature let out a derisive growl and threw Nils to the floor apathetically, but the powerful shove was enough to knock the boy's head hard on the stone.

"Nils!" Aksel called, attempting to hide the distress in his voice. Inwardly, the Beast smirked at this. The brother is fierier than the younger one. He'd be more fun to have around. And he does not yet know of the previous deal I made. 'I will simply let you go'. Hah! Maybe I'll let the little one go. I'd be keeping my word.

"Why are you doing this?"

"That boy crossed me and now he is my prisoner."

The blond youth scowled, glancing at Nils and back at the Beast, who was now standing in a moonbeam that gleamed through an open window. It was tall—quite a bit taller than Aksel himself and it made him wondering how old it was. Its fur was a golden brown, darker around the eyebrows and its maws, in addition to its darker blond mane—for it could not be described as anything but a mane. It had protruding lower incisors and wolf-like ears; and though it stood on its hind legs, it seemed as though it might be more comfortable on all fours. The most interesting feature of the Beast, however, was not its fur, fangs, or even the tail swishing idly back and forth behind it—it was its eyes. They were the brightest blue that Aksel had ever seen—an entrancing color, intense, like a rushing river in the height of summer. Free and wild; indicative of the spirit that lie behind the surface. They were deep and drew him in—and he thought to himself that they could not belong to anything that was not part Fae.

The massive creature had slowly approached him during the time that Aksel had taken to scrutinize it. Aksel was against a wall now, cornered but stood his ground.

"What do you want from me?" He asked, coolly.

"Do you want to save your pathetic brother?" The Beast shot back, motioning toward the inert boy still unconscious on the floor. "I could easily leave him here to die. It is in your power to save him."

The young man scowled again—torn between risking everything and just making an attempt to escape with Nils before he wakes up or bargaining with the barbarian that had kept his brother captive. Moments passed, silent except for the Beast's snuffled breathing. He watched as the slight blond struggled with himself. Finally, however, it seemed Aksel had come to a conclusion.

"What must I do?"

The Beast almost roared with laughter. They were playing right into his hands (or, paws). This one will be fun to have around. I may even come to like him.

"I give you my word—that I will replace your brother to the village you came from"

"You will bring Nils back home? Safely?"

"Yes, he will be returned directly to your own home."

"And I…"

"In return, you must take his place here at the castle. You will stay here, with me, forever."

Aksel's eyes widened slightly. "Forever…" he mumbled, thinking to himself. I would… never see Nils again… Although, I suppose, we could find a way. He could come back here. No, it's too dangerous. Unless he's armed… Perhaps then… I would never have to deal with that conceited annoyance, Beilschmidt. Which is worse: the Beast or him?

"How will I know that Nils is safe at home?" He questioned, finally.

"You can't know."

"And why not?" Aksel snarled

"Because he will never be completely free from danger," he answered sagely. It did not quite follow the village youth's original intent but it was such a surprisingly-wise comment that it took him aback. It gave him a glimpse of the human within the Beast.

Relaxing his body, to show no intent to struggle or escape, the blond freed himself from the Beast's conversation and gathered up his brother from the floor. The boy had earned a large bruise on his temple, but otherwise seemed fine. Kin in arms, Aksel turned and stared into those captivating eyes and said, "I promise to do as you have said."