A Rose Will Do ~ An Alternate Ending and Continuation to Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 1

"No, no please don't leave me. I love you." She held onto the Beast as she felt his last breath leave his body. She couldn't believe that it took her so long to realize what is was that she felt for him, and now it was too late. His last words to her made her cry more than the fact that he was gone. She was still numb to that fact.

"At least I got to see you one last time." Her Beast had said that to her, he knew these were his last moments, and she was not ready to let him go. Gaston had taken so much from her, and now he officially had taken the one thing that meant more to her than her own freedom. She could not, would not let go of him. He had just been there, just spoken to her, just looked into her eyes. Why wouldn't he breathe? Why wouldn't he look at her with his kind and longing eyes? He couldn't be gone. He couldn't be gone.

She sobbed into his cloak. She gripped his cloak so tight trying to bring him to her, but she was not strong enough. She could only bury her face into the same chest that she had earlier that night, in a much more pleasant manner. They had been dancing and it was the most perfect moment of her life. It seemed like it had happened so long ago, but it really wasn't. How much can change in an instant. One moment he's there, and the next he's gone. Why wouldn't he come back to her?

Then she heard it. A high pitched chime that sounded like a bell was ringing, and then she heard more of them. Something was happening and she almost couldn't bear to look up, but she was curious by nature and needed to look up. Colors surrounded her, and she knew it was not the torrential and relentless rain that had cast a gloom over the scene she had just witnessed and been a part of. Then her Beast started to rise into the air. It was both mesmerizing and terrifying to witness. What was happening?

He rose into the air lifted by nothing more than air. His cape billowed around him encasing him and acting as support for the enormous body. Then light began to emit from his body, as if something was changing from within. It was his heart; the kindness in his heart was strong enough to change his hideous figure into the beauty that was found within him. His enormous paws began to change into the human form that lay beneath, and then his body began to change. He was encompassed in power and magic and it released its energy with such force that the only thing able to be seen was light and the warm breaths of magic flowed around the Beast and all throughout the balcony encompassing Belle as well.

The last thing she saw before the light overtook the entire balcony was the figure of a man floating above the stone, unconscious, and he looked familiar to her, or so she thought. Then as the final golden light completely engulfed her and the former Beast and balcony with it, the final release of power escaped and with a loud ringing echoing around her, all she saw was black, and nothing else.


"Lumiere!" Cogsworth shouted. "Lumiere!" He was running through the castle searching for his friends. He could hear footsteps approaching.

"Cogsworth!" Lumiere was running, on two feet. "Cogsworth! Isn't it amazing?"

"Lumi-oomph! Lumiere! It has happened the spell has been broken! I could just kiss you!" It was too late however, because Lumiere already had a hold of him and was kissing his cheek. "Ahh! Get off of me!"

"It's absolutely wonderful Cogsworth! We are human again at last! This must mean that Belle has fallen in love with the Master! We must go find some of the others and find Master and Madame!"

"Mademoiselle Lumiere. They are not married." Cogsworth reminded him.

"They might as well be! They love each other, no? They must in order for the spell to be broken! Of course a wedding will be soon!"

A smile had begun to form on Cogsworth's lips, he had lips now to do such a thing, and he could not pretend to not be excited at the idea of it. He was elated that he was human again, and so were all of his friends, and that the castle had been changed to its former glory apparently as they began to walk through the castle trying to find everyone, which was not hard as shouts of joy began to erupt from nearly every corner of the castle. However, he was not so sure that they should already be thinking and trying to plan a wedding so soon.

"First we should find the Master and Mademoiselle."

"Oh no!" They heard a loud cry come from the Master's bedroom. It sounded like Mrs. Potts. They immediately began to run.

Lumiere could not control himself, he ran so fast he almost tripped. He was so used to hopping around for ten years, finding his footing and using two feet and legs were going to be a difficult task, but that did not matter right then. They had to reach whoever was shouting.

The sight that they saw before them broke all of their hearts. On the balcony, where Mrs. Potts was standing, they saw their Master, now in human form and Belle lying on the ground, and it seemed to be that they were dead. How could it be? To go through all of this, and in the end to have the master and the woman he loved, who loved him, die in the end. It was like Romeo and Juliet, perhaps one of the greatest love stories ever told, and it ends in tragedy and death. This however was even more heartbreaking. Neither had died of their own accord. The Beast had died by the hands of a hunter, and Belle had seemed to die of a broken heart.

His master was rough and angry most of the time, but she had changed him. Even then she had not changed him; she had just brought out his better self; the good and kind that were within him. She had found it and showed him that he was capable of being good, and that he was capable of gentleness. She saw something within him that no one else saw, not even the servants. He had loved her with all that was in him, and with all of his heart. He had suffered more heartache than any being should ever have to suffer through, and it had taught him his lesson. To not have the reward of happiness and love in the end was wrong. Something had been taken from him, and it wasn't simply his life.

It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. Lumiere couldn't bear to see them laying there and attempted to move them. He went to Belle first. He had liked this girl. He thought she was kind and beautiful, and perhaps the most perfect woman to ever walk through the halls of this castle, and she had been the one who learned to love a Beast. No one had been more courageous. No one deserved this ending less.

He bent down to lift her, and as he did, he saw her chest rise and fall. She was breathing! She was alive. He heard the tears of Mrs. Potts and Chip and yes even Cogsworth standing nearby in the room and saw other servants just outside the Master's chamber doors crying and passing on the story of what had happened. He shouted with joy and saw their entire faces rise in shock.

"She is alive! She is breathing! Quick, check the Master!" Cogsworth ran over and assessed that their Master was alive. "He is breathing too! They are both alive!"