For a few weeks, Belle had forced herself to a schedule that resembled her prior life.

But the Dark Castle conspired against her, lighting fires and candles through the night or offering quiet darkness whenever she slept. Her master's erratic habits provided no guidance, either.

Soon she learned to leave the hardest chores for the evening cool, and to sleep through the warmth of the late morning. Discovering that she could stay up with a thrilling novel, with nobody to chide her, convinced her to discard the notion of schedules.

It shouldn't have felt like freedom; but, oddly, it did.