Bo spent her birthday morning sprawled on her bed taking naps and reading more of the Knight's Conquests series. She knew she should really be holding back so that the Beast could catch up with her in the books, but she couldn't resist reading the next book where Lady Wastrel rode her skeletal horse into battle on the opposing side to Sir Sterling. The books had long ago stopped being romance, and had instead turned into sprawling epics. Bo couldn't wait for anyone when a war against the undead and mortal men was sitting right there on her bedside table.

Fil and Chan appeared at midday with a meal, specially prepared and delicious. It never ceased to amaze her how they could transform vegetables into such scrumptious dishes. She downed it all and chatted with Fil for a few minutes before he had to zoom off to finish chores. Bo then filled the rest of the afternoon with a nap and some exercises in her bedroom. Finally, the sun began its slow descent and it was nearing the time the Beast had asked that she spend with him.

Madame appeared only a few minutes after the sky dimmed to a musky red. She came into Bo's room with the air of someone on a mission.

"Bo, we are going to meet the Master in around an hour. Would you be willing to let me dress you for the occasion?" She asked it with such professionalism, even if it was the strangest question to be asked. But at least the Service-Matons were finally learning to ask her permission instead of forcing her to do something.

"I have to be dressed specially for whatever this is?" Bo asked, glancing down at her black pants and crimson jacket. They were clean and she'd thought she'd looked capable and neat in them.

"It is not required, but since it is your birthday, we thought perhaps you might like to make it special."

Bo bit her lip and glanced at the closet. There were a lot of clothes in there that she never would have dreamed of at home. Very pretty clothes. And if it was supposed to be her birthday, why shouldn't she be wearing them? It wasn't as if the Beast was trying to make her wear them as a show of his dominance, or anything. She didn't even have to change if she didn't want to.

"I suppose it would be okay," she said, turning to Madame with a smile. "What did you have in mind?"

"Whatever you wish to wear," Madame replied, moving over to the closet and opening the door with her clamps. Bo followed her in, and looked around. The dresses and blouses looked so different now that she was thinking of wearing them. They were like bouquets of flowers, and she was allowed to choose whatever ones he wanted.

She spent a few minutes holding up various different dresses to check them against her silhouette. There were short, long, pale, and bold ones amongst them. None looked quite right, and Bo began to despair that she would never find the right one. Until her hand trailed across watery silk and she realized she held the folds of a familiar yellow gown.

The last time she'd worn it, it had been something she was forced to do. She'd shivered as the Beast stared at her, and been forced to act against her will. But now it offered itself to be redeemed. She could reclaim this dress as something positive.

"This one," she told Madame, pulling it down from the hanger and handing it over. The Service-Maton didn't remark on the selection, and merely helped Bo fold her clothes and slide the dress on. As Madame zipped her up, she realized that it was actually a beautiful dress. She hadn't noticed it before but beading as delicate as spiderwebs traced the bottom of the dress, and the bodice shimmered like dew. Madame even brought over a pair of delicate slippers in the same silky material but of the color of a midnight sky.

"Let's get your hair ready," Madame said, guiding Bo out into the bedroom. She brushed through Bo's black locks and then coiled an upper section into a small bun. She wrapped a yellow ribbon around it, and then produced some strange device that she used to create curls in the loose bottom section of Bo's hair. When she was finished, she showed Bo in a mirror the result.

"Wow, good work, Madame!" Bo said, grinning as she saw the soft curls and perfect yellow dress. It was as if she was Lady Wastrel, ready for a castle ball.

"It is nothing," Madame said, with just a hint of pride in her voice. "But enough praising me! We need to be heading down to meet the Master in the garden?"

Bo glanced at the window and saw that it had gotten considerably darker since she'd last looked. She hadn't realized they'd spent so long civilizing her hair. "This surprise is in the garden?"

Madame made a grunting noise of confirmation. "But you need to stop asking questions, otherwise you'll ruin it."

Bo mimed zipping her mouth shut, and Madame led the way out of the bedroom door and down to the foyer. They walked out into the cool night air, and Bo immediately saw that the Service-Matons were all missing. Usually one or two were out "gardening" (also known as spying on her to make sure she didn't bolt), but the front lawn was mostly dark and showed no signs of their flashing lights.

"Where is everyone?" Bo asked, making Madame sigh with her tinny voice.

"What did I say about questions?"

"Sorry!" Bo zipped her lips again, and Madame continued to float across the grass and into the back garden.

The path leading to the back of the garden was now lined with small lights on wires. They twinkled amongst the grass like stars fallen to earth, and lit the way to where an ornate table from the Beast's room of items was now standing under one of the trees. An embroidered easy chair sat waiting for her, and when Bo sat down, she was showered in the light of a hundred more of the tiny lights wrapped around the branches of the tree. Before her was the dinner she had expected, in all its glory. Dent served her a steaming soup and Chan poured her a glass of a sweet fruit juice. Madame beeped happily and wished Bo a happy birthday while placing a lace handkerchief over the yellow gown's silk on Bo's lap.

"Where is the Beast?" Bo asked, already tucking into the soup and glancing around her. In front of the table was what could only be described as a stage. It was raised above the grass and painted white. A white sheet hung over a pole behind the stage, making a backdrop, and it was painted to resemble a country green and rolling with hills. A castle was painted in the distance.

"He will be coming out in a few moments," Madame said. "Please enjoy the show, and ask for any more food that you desire."

With that, Madame backed away and the lights above Bo in the tree dimmed to a dull sparkle. The Service-Matons all went quiet, and somewhere music started to pipe through someone's speakers. Bo's eyebrows raised as one of the Service-Matons pointed a light at the stage, lighting it up and drawing her attention there.

"This is the story of the dashing Sir Sterling and his maiden love, Lady Wastrel," Dent announced, his tinny voice deep and dramatic. "In a country far away, in a time almost forgotten, a knight met a lady and dared to dream he might one day become worthy of her."

The Beast appeared from the shadows and stepped onto the stage. He was dressed in old-fashioned finery. His velvet coat was deep blue and looked like it came out of an ancient portrait. A lace trimmed handkerchief tied around his neck, and he wore shining shoes. It was really as if he stepped out of one of the books Bo read, and she laughed before she could help herself.

The Beast flashed a grin at her burst of laughter, but quickly controlled himself back into a serious expression. He faced the backdrop and extended his hand toward it.

"I thought the scenery of sweet England was the most heavenly thing I would see in my lifetime, yet here I stand a man who was utterly wrong. For I see upon the horizon a maiden more beautiful than the stars and clouds and angels. None have been as beautiful as her, and none shall ever match her even into the farthest future. She is perfection. My own Wastrel."

It was a direct quote from the book. He must have been practicing reading it so that he would remember it perfectly for this. She grinned, thinking of all the time he must have spent. All for her.

From the other end of the stage, Fil appeared and Bo collapsed into laughter as soon as she saw him. A dress hung over his small metallic body, and it floated in the air to disguise that he didn't have legs. Someone had drawn eyelashes around his single circular lens and painted lips for him. A bundle of yellow string served as Wastrel's flaxen hair. It was enough to make Bo nearly spill her soup as she gasped for air and blinked away her tears.

"Sir Sterling!" Fil exclaimed, his young voice even higher than normal. "My father would kill you if he knew you lured me here under false pretenses!"

"Fear not, Lady Wastrel! I will not harm a hair on your head!" The Beast swept forward with overexaggerated movements, and scooped Fil into his arms. From there, they reenacted the whole second act of the book where Wastrel and Sterling fell in love, and they even had a kiss scene that had Bo nearly on the ground with laughter. When the show finally wrapped up and the music tinkled prettily while the Beast bowed and the Service-Matons that had served various roles as side-characters beeped happily, Bo clapped as hard as she could. She and the Beast hadn't even gotten to act two yet, which meant that he had done his best to read it on his own.

"That was amazing!" Bo shouted, surging to her feet and grinning as she ran forward to meet the Beast as he stepped down from the stage. He grinned bigger than she'd ever seen him grin before, and his face glowed with the pulsing blue light he got in the darkness.

"We wanted to bring it to life for you," he said, breathless and still smiling. "Did it make your birthday happier?"

"Of course!" Bo said, patting Fil on the head and waving at the other Service-Matons that had made their acting debut. "I can't believe you planned all this in a short amount of time."

The Beast shrugged. "It wasn't exactly short notice. We've been planning it for a while. I just thought it would be perfect to perform on your birthday."

"I loved it," Bo said. "Truly."

The Beast glanced around, but the Service-Matons were already moving off to return to their normal duties. "Well, that's not all. I wanted to give you something as well."

Bo nodded her head. "Let's take a walk while you do. I've been cooped up in my room all day."

The Beast gave her a look. "As I remember, someone demanded she be allowed to do just that."

"Well, we don't always know what's good for us," Bo replied.

TheBeast extended his arm in the direction of the rest of the garden, and Bowalked ahead into the dimness.