Les Loups Arrivent

Once upon a time, about the time I was in my tenth or eleventh year, I made the worst mistake of my life. Until then, life had been wonderful. I was the future king, and I lived in a fine castle in the middle of a beautiful forest. Even though my parents were too busy ruling the kingdom to raise me themselves, servants brought me everything I desired. Who could ask for a better life?

Then I had to ruin everything. What does it take to ruin one's entire life? Just one thoughtless decision!

No, I suppose that is not entirely true. I'd made a lot of other bad decisions. Turning away the enchantress was just the final straw. I suppose I deserved everything I got. Maybe if I'd made smarter decisions, I wouldn't have had the past come back and bite me on the arm, so to speak.

For example, I wasn't being too intelligent the day I hired my first forest worker. The town beggars' son was in my woodland, and I ordered his execution, even though I was still a child, and he was not much older than I was. His sister appeared from out of nowhere and convinced me to spare her brother's life if he would become one of my servants. Since he had invaded my forest, his job would be to take care of it.

"Tell me your name, servant!" I ordered after I had taken him to my castle.

He bowed. "Je m'appelle Loup."

I frowned. "'Loup'?! What kind of a name is that?!"

"It was supposed to be 'Louis,'" he explained, "but my twin sister was to be named 'Louvre,' and there was a mistake when we were christened. She was named 'Louve,' so everyone assumed my name was…"

"I don't care!" I interrupted. "It's a fitting name for one who works in the forest!" Flinging open a closet, I found a wolf skin and tossed it at him. "See if you can make yourself a coat or something from this! I'm not going to provide a wardrobe for you! It's bad enough that you'll be wanting some sort of wages!" I stared at his bare feet. "I'm not getting shoes for you either! You'll have to find a way to get them yourself!"

He humbly thanked me for the pelt.

"I don't care what you do in the forest now," I continued. "Chop down trees, pick berries, go fishing, chase rabbits like the loup you are, build a hovel in the clearing, or whatever! As long as no one comes through the forest to attack me and no wild animals bite me, I'll know you're doing your job. Just don't let anyone enter my forest! If you see any invaders, you are to kill them, no exceptions!"

Loup blinked in disbelief. "Kill them, master?"

"That's what I said!" I retorted. "Do not question me! If anyone is in my forest without my permission, that person must die! I don't care if it's an old man! I don't care if it's a peasant woman! All must perish! Throw them to the wolves! Understand?!"

"Here's hoping the wolves have better luck than I do," he muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?!" I demanded.

"I said I will do as you command, master." He bowed again.

I ordered Cogsworth to take Loup to meet the rest of the servants. At the time, I believed that was the end of the conversation. If I had known that in the future, I would meet with Loup in the forest one night while he was attempting to execute my command, I would never have…

Anyway, Loup eventually hired more people to help him take care of the forest, and he invited his sister, Louve, to join them. She was his equal both in authority and responsibility, a bit unusual for a woman. I was surprised the first time I saw her, for she wore men's clothing, saying it was more practical for forest work and she could do her job better if she didn't have to worry about tripping over the hem of a dress. She also claimed that in the future, more women would wear shirts and trousers instead of dresses.

I usually had no time for my forest workers. I was too occupied making sure the servants who worked indoors were doing their jobs.

Cogsworth was pompous and arrogant. He liked strolling around the castle and acting important, almost as if he were the prince, but I didn't mind. When one of the servants had a problem, they complained to Cogsworth or Mrs. Potts, and I didn't have to be bothered.

Lumière was more interested in beautiful ladies than he was in doing his work. If he ever stopped flirting with them, it was only long enough to get into an argument with Cogsworth.

Everyone liked Mrs. Potts. She was a clever a woman, always knowing when to speak a word of encouragement and when to use sharper tones to show that she meant business. Her son, Chip, was a curious child, but he generally stayed out of trouble.