Summary: The spell is broken, and the castle inhabitants are transformed back into their usual selves, Maestro Forte included. Can he learn to accept and love being human again and earn everyone's forgiveness, or will he be shunned to the side and forgotten about, just as he feared?

'Lumière! Cogsworth! Mrs Potts! Look at us!'

Belle looked on in amazement. Just moments ago, she had been cradling the Beast's lifeless body on the gloomy castle tower. Gaston had plummeted to his death meters below, at the foot of the castle, and the servants had watched in sadness as the last petal of the rose withered and fell to the bottom of the bell jar. Little did Belle know that as soon as she had declared her love for the Beast, she had broken an enchantment placed on the castle ten years ago. Now, instead of the huge, fearsome-looking Beast, there stood the handsome, muscular Prince Adam, with blonde hair, cream-coloured skin, and eyes like sapphires, the only feature that had remained from before. They shared a kiss, then Belle stood back as she watched the servants transform one by one into their usual selves. The dark, dreary castle turned into a beautiful, brightly coloured palace. The ugly stone gargoyles turned into magnificent marble angels. The spell had been lifted!

Belle knew she had a lot to learn about the last decade. She had read about fairytales in her books, but she had never imagined that she would be living one.

'Master! Belle!' cried Cogsworth, practically jumping up and down in a mixture of what seemed like excitement and panic, 'We have no time to waste! There must be a wedding, a celebration, a ball! We must get things in order, and inform France that the prince has –'

'Cogsworth, calm down! We have plenty of time!' laughed Adam, 'what we need right now is a large dinner and to explain to Belle what just happened.'

'Right away, sir,' bowed Cogsworth. He rushed indoors and immediately started ordering the other servants about, quickly followed by Lumière and Mrs Potts. Adam turned to Belle, giving her his arm. She took it and they walked through the doors to the palace, after the other servants who had just gone in before them.

That evening, Belle, Adam and the servants celebrated with a feast in the dining hall. The room had been decorated and Mrs Potts had done a grand job of cooking every type of food one could think of: chicken, turkey, venison, beef, pork, potatoes, different vegetables and salads, fruits, bread, wine, cheeses, and much more. Over the table, Adam explained to Belle about the spell that the enchantress had put on the castle that fateful Christmas morning. Lumière told her about the history of the castle, and Cogsworth told her about all the previous monarchs that had ruled over France for hundreds of years. Belle listened intently, captivated. She reached across for a chicken leg, paying attention to every word that came from their mouths.

All of a sudden, they heard faint music coming from above them. It sounded like an organ. Everyone at the table stopped, and silence quickly fell among them all. Belle was holding the chicken leg a few inches from her open mouth, Lumière froze whilst pouring more wine for Babette, overflowing the glass, Mrs Potts stopped mid-sentence, and Cogsworth had paused whilst leaning across the table for a napkin. Unable to hold his balance, he nearly fell headfirst into the bowl of potato salad in front of him. They all looked in the direction of the ceiling. It was not the sound of the organ playing that startled them; it was the question of who could be playing it? There was no doubt that the music room had been restored during the palace's transformation, so of course the organ had probably materialised, too, but surely there was nobody up there playing it? All the palace servants, including Fife and the musicians, were down at the table.

Everyone was thinking the same thing, but it was Adam who spoke it.

'I only know one man who could be playing like that,' he whispered with a frown.

'But he's – he's dead!' said Fife nervously. 'We watched him die before our eyes, remember?'

'Perhaps he didn't die…' breathed Belle. 'He could have just been unconscious. It's been nearly six months since he tried to… kill us all, and we haven't set foot in that room since. Perhaps he's alive and was also included in the spell!'

'But 'ow could he still be alive, ma chère?' asked Lumière, 'after we servants came in to see what 'ad 'appened, he was barely recognisable! 'Ow could he have survived zat?'

Nobody answered. Finally, Adam stood up and strode towards the door.

'Where are you going?' asked Belle.

'The music room… I want to know if it really is him,' replied Adam.

'I'm coming with you!' said Belle, and went to join him.

They walked briskly out of the door and into the long hallway, leaving the servants at the table. They hurried past a number of doors until they reached a long, winding staircase that lead to the second floor. They climbed it and arrived at the end of another corridor, this one overlooking the main hallway. The music was becoming considerable louder and more recognisable as they were nearing the entrance to the music room. Beethoven's 5th. The piece of music that had almost destroyed the palace and killed all of its inhabitants.

Adam and Belle had now reached the entrance to the music room. They looked at each other, hesitating, then Adam reached for the handle and threw open the door.

They saw a tall, thin man playing the huge, gold organ that covered most of the back wall. He had his back to them, and did not seem to notice the door opening as he glided gracefully across the keys of the organ. He wore a grey wig on his head, a black tailcoat, a white shirt, navy breeches, grey-white tights and black buckled shoes.

'It's him…' gasped Belle, half to herself than to Adam. This… man, or pipe organ, was supposed to be dead! Adam, Belle and Fife had watched him perish right before their very eyes, six months ago! Yet here he was, clear as anything, sitting in front of them playing the organ. The former court composer. Belle found herself slowly walking towards him… the man who seemed so lost in the music around him, oblivious to everything else.

'Belle!' breathed Adam, standing in the doorway, 'this man tried to kill us all… don't… stay away from him…'

She did not know why she was doing it, why she was inching towards him. She half-expected him to be a ghost, a phantom… yet she told herself he was not. He had survived… he had been alive these past six months… but how?

She was no more than a few inches away from him now. Part of her did not want to disturb him, yet she felt that she had to see if he was real. He was not a spirit, was he? Before she knew it, she had reached out and gently placed her hand on his bony shoulder.

He immediately stopped playing with a gasp and whipped around to face her. He was pale and gaunt, and he had black, arched eyebrows and thin lips that curled downwards into a sneer. He had high cheekbones and cold, black eyes that bore into anyone who looked into them. He looked both annoyed and alarmed at being disturbed.

Belle looked into his eyes. He was real. He was alive! He looked so much more frightening as a human. After what seemed like hours of tense, undisturbed silence, she dared to speak.

'Maestro… Forte!'