The carriage jolted her forward awakening spurring memories and sudden thoughts. It was then that three things came to her mind. First, why was it always harder to travel back to the place where you spent your childhood then actually leaving to begin with?

Second, those white birch trees still stood as perfectly strait as they had the day she left, had everything else stayed the same? Every slow mile of rolling hills reminded her of the life she had left behind, her adolescent antics lost among the fallen leaves, those were the type of memories that a put a smile on her face. Alas, what she would think of next only brought a bad taste to her mouth.

Thirdly, it was the thought of him.

She looked out the small window and saw the trees slowly passing by as they began to blur together like the recollections that clouded her thoughts. She heard her mother's voice singing to her, it was her favorite lullaby about the rose and it's longing beauty. She heard the foolish screams of a much younger her running through the woods being chased by a boy unlucky enough to be required to watch her. The orchestra played the sweet ballad of Christmas, the forgotten revelry of the castle's welcomed guests. Her own whispered dreams of escaping to the city finally getting away from the same old routine of the castle… and him where what made up her memories from when she lived in the castle of the small French village six years ago. She sat back in the cushion of the carriage and exhaled loudly remembering the awful day that she left…

"You'll have a good life in Paris, your Papa will be very kind to you," her mother had told her kindly as she buttoned her winter coat, her voice warming her like the sun could in the summer.

"I'm going to miss you Maman, but I don't want to come back to hear in six years, I don't want to be a maid! Can't you come with me?" remembering it now brought a knot to her stomach and left her feeling guilty. He mother felt heartbroken, she had never told her mother the truth until that day. She never confessed to her that she didn't want to be a maid stuck in the same miserable place with the same dull people the rest of her life.

"No, I can't go with you, you know that," her mother had said more coldly now, "I will see you when you return in six years though… or whenever you realize that Pairs is not all that it seems, when you come to you sense and understand here is where you belong, you will return. At least do me the decency of knowing I raised a considerate and thankful girl, Babette," she then kissed her on the cheek and held her in her arms for a minute before carrying her into the carriage.

Her words still seemed to be crisp in the air even after six years and her death just last week. Her mother was right, this dismal village did drag her back like a cat pulling in it's prey, but she was also very wrong, Paris was like nothing she ever saw before or will ever see again. It was bold and it was new, there was never a dull moment living with her dear father in the heart of Paris. Her father was a very intelligent man who had sent Babette and her mother out to the countryside to live as housekeepers when she was two, he had always been too poor working as a painter and writer to move himself. He was tall and dark like she was, he also always seemed to have a smile on his face even if the world around him was falling apart, and it was. Especially the other day when they got word that his one and only love had fallen ill. Her mother was very strong willed and opinionated, the choice to ignore her declining condition was what would prove her downfall. She would die the very next week. Babette kicked herself numerous times for not being more eager to return to her home lands, maybe then she would have at least gotten to say goodbye.

She had just turned sixteen the other day and was now exactly where she should be, where she was supposed be. On her way back to the castle that leaned over the village on French countryside like a cloud looming over the sun, it was the day that dreaming ended for the Parisian city girl. It was the day that she promised her mother and her grandmother that she would start work. She thought she could get out of it, slide in her mischievous sly way out of it. She willed it not to come but it came anyway. You may ask why she fretted it so, you may not understand much about this young woman and if you want an answer here to all of her odd ways, then I'm sorry to disappoint. She had her reasons and they began and ended with him. Everyone has a past, and Babette's was one to be questioned. There was another bump in the road that made her lurch forward again. She didn't take her gaze from the woods and now as she looked she could almost see herself at the age of seven running through them, almost.

"When I catch you young mademoiselle, I'm going to tie you down to the gate like a dog!" yelled the voice of a boy a distance behind a much younger Babette as she made a mad dash through the woods. She laughed at the remark, she saw it all as a rather enjoyable game. When her mother was too busy to watch her play out in the garden, there was often someone free of work that could. And that person of consequence about half the time was the soon to be maitre d of the castle, Lumiere. He was charming for his age, tall with light hair and dark eyes. The girls all adored his boyish charm and teasing ways, the men all saw him as a true friend who was always their for a laugh. He seemed to get along with everyone, well except of course the little brat he was chasing at the time.

Even though Lumiere was young he was still much older then her, around the age of thirteen, he was already twice her height as well. Needless to say after chasing her through out the woods, scared to death that she'd hurt herself or get lost, ruining his good work clothes and shoes along the way, he hated her. She had the sneakiest ways of getting free from his sight just long enough to get a head start on her run so she could be an inch out of reach. She loved to put him through this turmoil but she hated it when he told her mother on her. Babette would not surprisingly tell her that he was lying that he wasn't even watching her that closely, but her mother never believed her. She would tell her daughter that Lumiere was kind hearted and someday he would make a fine gentleman. Babette didn't see what the others saw, she heard the same things said about him from everyone. All their kind words just made her despise him more.

Now as she saw herself in those woods, Lumiere yelling all the way behind her, then as he finally caught her she was reminded of how she felt. She was never able to get that far, he was always too fast for her and once he got a hold of her dainty wrist with his strong grip, there was no hope for a second escape.

As he griped at he wrist that day she was more disappointed about getting caught then usual. She'd seen it! She'd seen what she'd been running after all these years, actually it was more like running away from, but it didn't matter she'd seen it and she'd been close enough to touch it, but then he had to pull her back.

"Why do you always do this you little demon?! It's not funny anymore!" Lumiere yelled struggling to get a hold of her arm directing her back in the opposite direction.

"No!" she'd cry, "No, please let me go, I want to run away!" she didn't know what she was talking about at the time, she loved her life but she had always wanted something more. She had seen her dream that day in the woods, a new life far away in a fairy tale. She never got far enough away to see it again after that day, Lumiere was always there to bring her back home.

During the next year she changed. No doubt she was still a brat, a spoiled little child, but she had changed. She stopped running away the day she was old enough to play out in the garden alone. This also meant she no longer had a way to annoy that strange boy with the golden hair. He had changed a great deal as well; he had matured and became even taller as well as thinner. He had grown into his handsome face and was no longer the boy that she could easily take advantage of. Oh no, it would take her tiny ill-behaved mind a bit more work and planning now. Naturally she accepted the challenge just as that, a challenge.

She recalled back to one of the worst things she had done to him, she was about eight and he around fourteen. He had been working around the castle hard that day, he'd fed the horses, cleaned the fireplace, even mopped the floor and now was making his way around the corner carrying a tray of clean wine glasses. That was when she thought up the wicked idea. As he walked closer she pretended not to notice him and faked to be more interested in her doll that she played with as she sat on the floor. Then as he walked by her she stuck her leg out causing him to fall face forward sending the glass to fall out of his hands and shatter around the room. She had not expected her evil plan to go over so well, she couldn't even come up with something witty to say. All she could do was stare as he slowly looked up to her smiling face. He was infuriated to say the least. She never forgot that look he gave her, it scared her so much at the time she immediately dropped her doll, along with her grin, and ran to find her mother.

She'd been punished awfully that time, no desert for a whole month and no playtime. Perhaps it was her first taste of adulthood. Anyway, it was absolutely clear that he hated her then more then ever, and slowly over the next couple of months as she entered the age of nine and he fifteen, she saw him less and less. She began to feel alone and bored, she had occupied all of her time playing little tricks on him. There was nothing for her to do anymore since he wasn't the only one she was unpleasant to. She didn't have a single friend at the castle, all the others who looked after her despised her and they all had reason to. She would throw tantrums like one had never seen, she would throw her hands up in the air, kick her toys (or even the nearest person), and scream bloody murder when she wouldn't get her way. They all would say she was only young and that she'd grow out of it, but here she was almost a young woman when she acted more like a little boy and behaved like a monster. Another few months passed with out her speaking to Lumiere, she would cross paths with him once in a while, he would look at her a moment before turning in the other direction. She also would watch him in secret sometimes. He would lean close to a random girl that he'd passed in the hallway making her laugh and she'd slap him away playfully. It was strange the emotion that Babette would feel next as she watched him like this sometimes, jealousy. He had once hated her and now it was as if they'd never met!

She watched him fall in love that summer, the summer she turned ten, he sixteen. It was the hardest thing she had faced. He didn't even turn the other direction when they passed each other that once in a while. She felt invisible.

It wasn't until the day before she left for Paris that he visited her as she packed her clothes away in her room that he would talk to her again. He, of course, wasn't the reason she'd decided to leave for Paris, he was a small part of it but not the whole reason. She just needed something new, at a young age she became very independent caused by all of her time spent alone most likely. And now She couldn't believe it when she'd seen him of all people standing in her doorway, she just blankly stared into his deep brown eyes hoping he would start the conversation. And he would, he told her goodbye and good luck in Paris with her Papa. She still only stared at him, he laughed.

"You've changed a lot haven't you mademoiselle?" he asked kindly.

"I'm still me," she said more quietly then she intended. He laughed once again and her face burned, she hated it when people laughed at her like that.

"I bet you are, cheri. Someone who was a big a brat as you I don't think could ever change even if they wanted to, and you don't want to do you?" he asked raising an eyebrow, his smile making her nervous, but then she decided to smile as well.

"No, no I won't monsieur, I'll never change and one day I'll arrive back to this dreadful castle the same exact girl, so you need not to worry, I'll always be around," she said sticking her nose up In the air.

"That's what I'm scared of, cheri. Part of me will miss chasing you through the woods during the hottest days of summer," he said reminiscing himself.

"Honestly?" she asked surprised, maybe she wasn't as bad to him that she'd previously thought.

"Yes, a little, I'll miss that little girl who would follow me around spying on my every move, tripping me in the kitchen, there when I needed her least," she had began to blush, red rose bushes appearing on her face. She didn't think he knew that she spied on him and now that he did she thought that he would see her differently.

"I would NOT spy on you, why would I ever waste my time? I'm far too busy to sit around and watch someone as dull as you," she had turned her back to him by the end of her protest hoping that he would believe it. He, still smiling, looked to her as he leaned casually next to her bedroom door.

"That's too bad that you won't change mademoiselle, don't you want to be a grown woman someday?" he asked now getting on her nerves.

"I am grown up! I'm almost thirteen years of age, that's almost a woman!" she objected once more, her nose even higher up in the air and a hand firmly placed on her hip, her eyes seeming to look down to him even though he towered over her. He would just chuckle.

"I never seen a grown woman of your height my little cher, but perhaps your just miniature, maybe that's the tallest you'll ever be!" He teased placing a hand just above her head illustrating her small stature. She turned back around to him and stuck a finger in his face.

"Well maybe you're just too tall, maybe I'm the perfect height and your just a giant, I wouldn't want to be that tall anyway."

"Ah, perhaps you are right after all, perhaps I am too tall but at least I'm not too short, you'll never even be tall enough to reach the counter or your shelf of dolls!" now she was mad and a bit nervous as well, was all he saying true? Would she never be tall enough to do anything on her own?

"You're mean Lumiere! I'm going to tell my Papa on you once I get to Paris, he'll be so angry he'll come back here and… and, well he'll show you how to respect a lady like me! Oh, and he's twice your height AND stronger then you!"

"Stronger and taller you say? It sounds of an unfair match to me cher, but it matters not, Paris is a much different land, who's to say you'll even make it to your Papa?" he said changing his tone to a more sinister one.

"What, what do you mean?" she stammered.

"What I mean is Paris is different then here, there you'll find the most frightening of beasts, ravenous monsters of all sizes waiting for fresh meat of girls from the country side like yourself." her jaw dropped and her eyes widened, you may think it a cruel joke to play on a child who doesn't know any better, but it was just a bit of pay back and he liked teasing her. "I hope you just come back in one piece when your sixteen, it would be a shame if I never get to meet an older you," he said with a wink, she didn't understand what he was trying to get at, she was still thinking of the monsters she'd encounter in Paris. She took her suitcase from off of her bed and walked by Lumiere.

"I must be off now monsieur, my carriage will be here any minute to take me away, away from you away from this boring life," as she walked by him he put a hand on her shoulder causing her to freeze.

"I almost forgot mon cher," he pulled out a long red rose from the inside of his coat and offered it to her. "A goodbye present, it's from the garden and it's to remind you of those days spent with me running through the woods… though I would like to forget, it's apart of both of our lives now," she took it from him and noticed that he cut off all the thorns for her. She was overtaken by his kindness, he should hate her, and he should treat her awful like she had treated him. It didn't make sense for him to now acknowledge her, but she took it none the less. She took his goodbyes and she took the rose. She even took the small peck he placed warmly on her hand.

"I won't keep you any longer, good luck in Paris I hope you find everything your looking for," he said before she laughed and backed away, she didn't have anything to say again! That tongue of his could prove to craft the most deceiving of magic, and had made her smart moth fumbling for anything to say. She walked away and it wasn't until the bottom of the staircase that she called back up to him with a quick thank you and goodbye.

It had been six years since that day, Babette couldn't believe it though, it still seemed like just yesterday and at the same time so long ago. She watched from out of her window as the gleaming castle came into view, it looked smaller then she remembered due to the fact that she had grown a few inches despite what Lumiere told her. She still had her long, dark, cascading hair that ended in ringlets at the middle of her back. She was petit and just over five feet in height, her skin was pale and her lips red. She would usually dress in dark colors, sometimes red, or her favorite color, emerald green the same as her eyes. Today though she was wearing a simple white dress with a red ribbon around the waist. The dress dropped to her ankles, a bit risqué for the small village she was traveling back to but normal for Paris style. The carriage came to one last jerk forward as it stopped and her door opened. She stepped out with the help of the driver and starred to the castle in awe. She honestly thought she never would return and the moment proved too realistic for her as her eyes filled with tears.

"Is this all, just one suitcase?" asked the driver taking out her suitcase out of the carriage. Babette just nodded as he placed the luggage next to her then made his way back to the carriage to drive off again. "You're welcome," he said to himself in a rude tone. Babette looked back to him as the horses began to trot away.

"Oh, thank you!" she called out to him, the truth was she'd been trying hard to change over a new leaf but some things she would sometimes forget. She turned back to the castle as the heavy fog that plagued the day began to fall as rain. She had no choice now. Leaving was hard, but coming back would always prove tougher no matter what circumstances or wherever you may be from. She picked up her luggage and walked to the front door then forced herself to raise a hand and knock.

Thanks for reading! Tell me what you think, please :)

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-Rose