[M4F] Beauty and the Beast

Your brow furrows forward in a tight squint as you exhale against a warm, soft pillow. You inhale through your nostrils, smelling the dust in the stale, dry air of your unknown whereabouts. Slowly, consciousness begins to refill your mind and you pull your heavy limbs into yourself and push yourself up onto your elbows. You rest your forehand in your hands for a moment. A dull thumping headache seems to be waning inside your skull.

You open your eyes to find yourself in a dim, candlelit room with heavy stone walls. The flickering flames of the candelabrum on a nearby table send tiny shadows dancing over your perch- a creaky old, but comfortable bed. You're enveloped in a warm downy blanket that makes the contrast of the cold night air and against your cheeks and your warm body all the more apparent.

Where are you exactly? How did you get here? Your thoughts begin to tick one after another like the second hand of a clock. You realize you have no memory of coming to a place like this. The last thing you remember was setting up... a tent? The foggy memory fades in and out but is just barely clear enough for you to grasp. You were setting up a tent in the Black Forest. You were camping. You were alone. It was dusk.

You're pulled from your thoughts suddenly when you hear a loud bang beyond the dark wooden door to your room. It's followed by the sound of shuffling scrapes. Confusion and fear begin to set in. The icy fingers of panic being to slip around your heart. A dim yellow glow appears beneath the door and tiny rays of light skitter like spiders across the smooth but uneven stone floor.

Shrriiittt A piece of yellowed paper slides through the gap and into your room and the yellow light quickly fades away. You sit motionless, staring at the paper as the sound of movement outside your room slowly disappears and suddenly stops with a second bang. You swallow hard and decide what to do next.

(Hi! I wanted to try something new and hopefully interesting. I wrote the above prompt as an idea to get the creative juices flowing. It's based (obviously so) on the story of Beauty and the Beast. I'd love to write a story with a partner who is interested in fleshing it out in some detail and developing it with me.

Things to consider: Does the story take place in the past? Is it a modern tale? Is the "Beast" actually a Beast or just a "beastly" man? Did he kidnap you and lock you in this room or did he rescue you and bring you here to recover from some yet unknown accident or injury? Does a romance spark between the unlikely couple? Perhaps you prefer a darker story, one with a real beast, who takes what he wants.

I'm an easy going, no pressure writer who is very open to ideas and here for fun. Let me know what you think and your ideas and let's see what we can create!)