Briella

Adventure comes to everyone I guess. Whether it be shooting your first kill, marrying the man of your dreams, or... well in my case I'll just tell you what happened.

It started when I was at the tender age of 14, when my parents died in a terrible fire. The cottage burned to the ground killing everyone inside, except me. I had run out into the night screaming and crying as smoke filled the clearing in the forest. As an orphan I spent months being passed from one relative to another before my Great Aunt in Paris, France decided it was time for me to learn how to work. She dumped me at a castle in the town of Molyneaux which was ruled by a young orphan Prince by the name of Adam. I was to take on the role of Junior Cook in his beautiful castle. Ecstatic to be moving to a new life, I arrived at the glorious castle full of high expectations for my new life.

It was December 24th on my first evening there, as a tour around the castle by two strange men dampened my spirits. Lumiere a tall and energetic soul with a large nose told me all about life in the castle, while Cogsworth a pudgy frantic man explained to me the order of things around here. Towards the end of the tour they took me to meet the Master in his chambers. I was very excited and also a little nervous hoping that he would be gentle, and that he would help me feel at home here in the castle. Upon entering the West Wing which was where his rooms were I practiced what I would say in my head and imagined a nice curtsy. Everything flew out of my head though when I saw my new master. He looked to be about 10 or 11, was wearing a wonderful silken pair of clothes, had a glistening crown, and wore a horrible ugly scowl upon his face.

"Who is this?" he shouted looking me up and down.

"I'm Briella Your Majesty" I said dropping into a deep curtsy. He barely took notice. Instead he looked me up-and down-and-up- and down again as if he was studying a specimen or a passing clothing style. I automatically flinched away from his gaze ducking my head moronically and stumbling over my own feet. Leering he turned to me with a slight frown and motioned for us to leave which I was all too happy to do. Tears glistening against my eyes I wiped furiously with the back of my hands wishing I could stop embarrassing myself. With the shouts of Lumiere and Cogsworth getting farther and farther behind me I stumbled down into the room designated for me. In it I found my suitcase being ruffled through by two small children. One was a little boy with a big gap between his teeth and the other was a girl a bit bigger with long auburn hair down to her waist. As I stumbled into the room they both looked up guiltily. I knew I should be a little mad but the boy's cute smile with a tooth missing made my heart melt.

"Sorry 'bout that", the girl said as she helped me pick up my belongings. "Chip got curious." She grinned in a good-natured sort of way. "I'm Maria by the way."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Briella the new Junior Cook," I said finally closing my suitcase. Before I had time to further introduce myself Lumiere and Cogsworth bustled into the room with an elderly woman at their heels.

"Mama!",Chip called running up to her and burying his head in her skirts. She grinned at Maria and I shaking her head slowly. Disentangling herself from her son she walked over to me and introduced herself as Mrs. Potts. I recognized the name from the meager amount of information my Aunt had told me about this new job, and realized that this woman was the one who I would be working under. I took a good look at her and noticed the faint grin on her face and the smile lines around her eyes. I didn't think it would be bad to work with her. She seemed much nicer then the Prince - my new Master. I shuddered involuntarily imagining our introduction, and my flee from the West Wing. Grinning sheepishly I remembered Lumiere and Cogsworth shouting for me.

"Sorry about running away from you guys", I said sheepishly to Lumiere and Cogsworth trying to ignore the glare a very frazzled Cogsworth sent my way.

"You should be...", he muttered under his breath still trying to fix his flapping wig. Lumiere nudged him sharply in the side and turned to me with a small smile.

"All is forgiven Mademoiselle" he said kindly. "But you should probably be downstairs right now with the rest of us. You don't want to start off your job here with a bad impression!" I agreed whole heartedly and followed everyone else down to the Great Hall. Walking through the spacious castle I couldn't help admire the beauty of it all. Angels and white tapestries covered every possible foot of the castle. On our way downstairs we passed a portrait of a beautiful royal couple holding a smiling baby. Seeing me staring Maria took a break from listening to Lumiere and Cogsworth argue and explained to me that the couple was the Master's parents who had died years before. I was captivated by the Young Prince's smile. I couldn't imagine seeing it on the current Master's face. After a long walk we entered the Great Hall where a huge congregation was gathered around an ornate throne. The Master was slouching across it and glaring at the huge snowstorm rattling the window's outside. I noticed that Chip, Maria, and I seemed to be the only children as we were surrounded by a strange assortment of adults. Numerous maids rushed around frantically gossiping except a pretty one hanging onto Lumiere's arm with her face on his chest. An opera singer stood off in a corner entertaining a large crowd of men carrying various tools which lead me to assume they were fellow servants. It was getting colder and colder in the Castle and I wished I could be upstairs laying under my blanket. At a sudden clap from The Master we all turned towards him, as he stood on his throne. He still wore a deep scowl and he just seemed to grow angrier as his eyes swept over us. After what seemed like hours he started whining about how bad our service was. He complained about how we didn't care about him and were just there for the pay.

"That's a little harsh" I said under my breath to Maria who nodded back quickly. The Master continued to rant and began to dole out punishments to those in front. Suddenly banging was heard on the door. We all turned towards it, but The Master motioned for us to ignore it, and he continued talking. The banging just got louder and louder and soon drowned him out.

"What IS that!", he screamed scaring poor Chip who hid by his Mother. "You are dismissed", he muttered and people rushed upstairs. I couldn't remember how to get back to my room so I turned to Mrs. Potts to ask for help. Before a word could leave my mouth she gave me a wailing Chip's hand and hurried off into the foyer where the Master was opening the Castle doors. Maria started to calm Chip down but he kept trying to run for his mother.

"Chip!", I whispered. "Come with me, over here." I led us over to the wall separating the Foyer and Great hall, where we could see the unfolding action. The Master angrily whipped open the doors, as Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and the maid clinging to Lumiere earlier, who's name I would later learn to be Babette tried to reason with him. He ignored them and glared down at the haggard woman standing outside.

"Please Sire, I am in desperate need of shelter for the night...I can only give you this..", she whispered holding up a beautiful budding rose. It's petals glistened with an almost otherworldly light as it shimmered in her hand. The Master had eyes for nothing but the woman's ugly face.

"Get, out you wretched hag! I have no room for the likes of YOU in my castle!", He shouted with a sneer toward her disfigured face.

"True beauty is found within" she warned him cautiously, but he ignored her and made to shut the door in her face. A glowing light suddenly filled the room and spots danced viciously in front of my eyes. When I regained my vision, I gasped in shock at what now floated in the foyer. An ethereal being with glowing emerald robes floated in front of the cowering Master and my fellow servants. I looked towards Maria who was shaking her head in surprise, and Chip who was still crying but was now gazing at the Enchantress in awe. I could see his expression reflected in the other's eyes, and knew I probably looked the same. He hiccuped loudly and the Witch took her gaze away from the frightened Master and looked straight at the three of us children. Her gaze seemed almost hypnotic, and even though she didn't look evil I saw a deep sadness in her eyes as she stared at us. Frightened I pulled the others closer to me and looked back down at the Master. He reached up and grabbed hold of the Being's dress and begged to be forgiven. She shook her head sadly, telling him that there was no love in his heart, and tapped him lightly on the head with her wand. Immediately another huge flash of light filled the castle and Adam screamed, and then began to roar in a terrible rumbling voice. Chip cried out in fear and I shut my eyes tightly until a more desperate roaring filled my ears. I looked back into the Foyer and recoiled in shock at the Monster standing there. He wore the Master's clothes but that is as far as the similarities went. He was covered in dark brown fur, had huge fangs and teeth, and was the size of a gorilla. he curled up into a ball reminding me that he was only an eleven year old boy. The Witch smiled sadly handing him the beautiful rose and a crystalline mirror while explaining that he had until the last petal fell off the rose to have someone love him or he would remain like this forever. The Enchantress turned to address the rest of us servants, some of who were trying to edge away.

"Now I can't have that!", she muttered under her breath. Another flash of white light filled the castle and I screamed dropping to the ground in a dead faint