Beast broke eye contact with Belle as soon as they'd made it. His sigh rumbled deep in his chest, and his brow furrowed while he closed his eyes. It was so hard to hear her say that, but so many of those he'd met here had made barely any mention of his appearance at all. It was almost like the spell had no effect here.

"I...I'm sorry, Belle." It took him a few moments to get the words out. He didn't apologize often, and he lacked confidence as he spoke. "It's...It's just that...I..." He paused for a moment longer. "It's so weird here."