Belle laughed as Chip made a face when the water hit his head, giving her the tongue. A little pinch on his cheek was enough to make him give up and join her, though he did throw a bit of water at Belle jokingly.
"It got in my eyes!"
She raised her eyebrows at him. "Really? Come here then," Belle cooed as she got the soap away from his face. "There, now you can see again."
Chip smiled, holding his teacup toy closer to his chest—ever since the curse was broken he never let it get away from his view, the toy Maurice craftily made as a gift for the first person he met in the Castle—and going back at staying quiet while she bathed him.
"You're very comported for your age, you know. Your mom will be proud when I tell her that you stayed still." And that was true. While Mrs. Potts had argued a bit about letting the Prince's wife do something as mundane and unheard of as washing a servant's child, she was still very touched that Belle would offer help him in such a busy day. "I forget you're such a big boy already. I used to make a big fuss about it, drived papa crazy."
The boy glowed at the compliment, proud.
They managed a few minutes of silence when Chip finally spoke again. "Belle?"
"Yes, Chip?"
"Why did Papa try to kill us and the Prince?" His eyes didn't find hers. "Maman says he didn't remember us and Papa gets sad when I ask, but I don't understand. Family is important, why would he forget us if he loves us so much?"
Belle froze at the question, thinking of what to say. Chip was a smart boy, yes, but he was still a child. To think that a child had to go through that; not only be forgotten by one of his parents but see his own father attack the Castle in which he lives… She once again cursed Gaston for his ignorance, even if the man wasn't truly aware of what he was doing. Chip was a child. A child that was so loved and yet because of the curse had to go through such trauma that made him doubt that.
"Why would he attack the Castle?"
"He does love you, a lot. We all do. The curse… the curse made the people outside the Castle forget everyone here. We didn't even know there was one. He didn't want to forget you, Chip, nor your maman. I'm sure that was the last thing he wanted. I remember when he got you two back... he cried, didn't he? Hugged you the whole day. He missed you. In the village everyday he would complain to me that he had forgotten something. Monsieur Jean wanted to remember you, he did, but the curse wouldn't allow it. He tried anyway, knew it was important."
Belle looked at the boy, moving his hair away from his eyes so she could show him how much she meant it. He wasn't crying, but he wasn't smiling either and that itself felt like a crime. Chip deserved all the happiness in the world.
He was paying such attention to her words, his little eyes shining with hope, that it broke her heart even more. "The mob attacked the Castle because they thought the Beast was evil; they didn't know anything about him and that scared them. They were trying to protect themselves. It wasn't right, but they didn't know better."
"Fear makes people do weird things," Chip said quietly, "that's what papa said to me."
"That's true, fear does that to people. They don't like what's different." She would know that, wouldn't she? After being an outcast for so long. "A wise man, your father."
That made the boy giggles. "Maman likes to say he's an airhead!"
Belle kisses Chip's head laughing with him, so glad to hear such sounds coming from the bright child, when she spots something near the bathtub from the corner of her eyes.
Surely Adam wouldn't mind, he did adore Chip like a little brother.
"Hey, what do you say we turn this into a bubble bath and make it even more fun for us?"