Part 1: Prologue - Chapter 2

Marie found her son and her servants waiting near the carriages. It was getting dark and everyone was obviously tired.

"Madame, I think it would be best if we slept at an inn tonight. We can finish the journey tomorrow." It was young Mrs Potts who spoke.

Her husband was six years older than her and had been with Firmin for eight years. Mr Potts married just last year and the family was happy to welcome the new maid into the household. They were 23 and 17. Marie looked at them and thought they seemed so young, though they were really her own age. She looked up at the sky and couldn't believe she was 20-years-old, widowed, and with a two-year-old son.

"Madame?" Mr Potts prompted. Marie sighed and nodded.

The village was small and not popular with traveler's. The inn was close to empty, so it was easy to find space for all of them, though a few servants had to sleep on the floor.

The company was up before sunrise and traveling to their new home. It took them a full day and well into the night to reach their destination. The servants took turns driving. Adam was quite restless. Marie was melancholy. The trip was long and uneventful.

When they finally arrived, the castle itself was surrounded by a great wall. All they could make out were its towers in the distance. There was no visible path, so it was quite difficult in the dark to find the gate. It was very rusted. Mr Potts took charge in finding the gate and forcing it open. Marie held Adam tight to her while the servants made some crude torches. She carefully followed them.

"It looks like there's a long bridge to the castle from here. Should we drive the carriages?" Mr Potts called out from the dark up ahead.

"What if the bridge is in a poor state? It's so dark we can't tell. We can't even tell what we'd fall into!" Elliot, an older servant, said. "A few of us should walk."

"But it's so cold! The boy can't stay out here like this." Sophie said.

"Then sit in the carriage until we know it's safe!" Elliot grumbled and turned to walk up the bridge with Mr Potts. "A couple more should come with us, just in case!"

Sophie and Mrs Potts saw Marie to the coach with Adam, while Yvette, Emma, and Henri walked up the bridge. The bridge's stones were broken and crumbling, but it was very stable. It took them about twenty minutes to walk all the way up to the castle doors.

"I'm sure they're all worried back there." Yvette said quietly.

"You and Henri, go on back, as fast as you can. I have a bad feeling about standing around in the dark woods like that. Drive up the carriages." Mr Potts gave the orders and the two servants set off at a quick pace. He had plenty of keys given to him by the lords, but he didn't know which was the right one. Every time a key didn't work, he felt more anxious. He had no idea what state the castle would be in, if there would be beds to sleep in, if there would be animals nesting, or if there would be holes in the walls. He mumbled to himself and tried the fourth key when a wolf's howl shot through the dark.

He turned and looked down the bridge in a panic. The gray stones disappeared into blackness. He looked at Elliot and Emma.

"You two, get back there and see if you can help speed them up." They took off running, and Mr Potts continued to fumble with the keys.

Finally, on the eighth one, the key turned and he pushed open the doors. He picked up his torch and stepped inside. He looked around swiftly, making sure there were no immediate problems. Right now, they had to be protected from the wolves.

The entrance hall was very large and empty. There were some nice chandeliers, but he couldn't light those just now. He turned into a room with a large fireplace. There was some furniture in here, a couch and some tables. He found a few candles and lit them.

Marie was dozing with Adam in her lap when the howl snapped her awake. She placed Adam on the seat and opened the door. She found Mrs Potts coming up to her. "What do we do?" Marie whispered.

"I think it's safe to cross the bridge. We would have heard shouts if there was any danger. We're going to get moving. Stay inside."

Marie closed the door and sat back against the seat.

"Mama, I'm tired!"

"I know, sit in my lap again."

The servants were piling into and onto the carriages. The horses were nervous now and it was difficult to get them to behave. In a single file, they slowly started up the bridge. With a few moments, the first carriage stopped because Yvette and Henri were walking towards them.

"Everything alright up there?"

"Yeah, he's trying the keys but none of them are working."

"We need to get inside in case a pack attacks."

Marie heard this exchange and closed her eyes. She imagined Mr Potts trying keys in the lock and the keys were not fitting. She slightly turned her heard and blew out some air as she imagined a key turning in the lock.

After a couple more minutes, Emma and Elliot came upon the carriages. They climbed inside for the short ride back to the castle.

A second howl split the night.

Mr Potts was able to light a dozen candles. He brushed off the few chairs and couches in the rooms closest to the door. He was just making up his mind to go back down the bridge when he heard the wheels on the stones. Relief set in and he let out a breath.

He carried his torch outside and started giving orders again. "Everybody carry everything inside as quick as you can! The hall here is large enough. Just pile it up and we'll sort it out later!" He walked over to Marie and Adam. "Come on inside, there's a place to sit and I'll light a fire."

While finding candles, Mr Potts also found bits of trash and debris that would make decent kindling. He had piled it in the fireplace. As he led Marie into the room, he told her, "We just need some wood. I could break apart some of these tables. They're not very valuable. We have nicer ones with us." Marie set Adam on the couch and examined the tables Mr Potts was indicating. They were small, wooden tables meant to display art or flowers. They were very cheap and ugly.

"Please, go right ahead. I'd rather be warm than look at that."

Mr Potts hesitated for a moment as Marie found her seat. He wasn't sure what to do with his torch. "Madame, would you mind holding this?" She smiled and took it. Mr Potts went outside and pulled his ax out from a carriage. He always kept it handy. He broke apart the tables with the blunt end. He didn't want the blade to damage the floor. One table filled the fireplace, so he left the other two alone for now. He took the torch back from Marie and took a few moments to get the fire going.

The servants, meanwhile, had formed an assembly line for the luggage and lighter belongings. It didn't take long to get it all inside. They then had to pair off to carry in anything larger, and only one piece at a time could fit through the doorway. Tables, beds, armoires, bookshelves, trunks, and the like were all very cumbersome.

A third howl came up the bridge just when Elliot spotted the first wolf. Even though he was the oldest, his eyes were the best. It was moving very slow, surveying its prey. Elliot quickly thought that the wolves couldn't possibly have surrounded them, but he had no idea how many wolves were with this one that he saw. He pretended not to see it for several seconds. Then he calmly walked to the back of the line of servants waiting to carry furniture and said in a normal voice, "Everybody, do not react. I want you all to calmly walk inside. Right now." They all hesitated and looked at him. "Go. Now. Follow my lead. Act normal. Get inside." He gently pressed on their backs. He couldn't look at the wolf because that would mean turning his head completely over his shoulder. The wolf would know he saw it. "Alright, good, keep it moving." Elliot could sense the wolves creeping in on them. He was either sensing it or imagining it. Either way, he needed everybody inside and he needed to close the doors.

Yvette could tell Elliot was acting strangely. She walked with every one else, but kept looking around a bit. The wolves were indeed getting closer. That's why she saw one. She gasped and ran into the castle. This made the wolves go into a frenzy. They began snarling, abandoning their stealth.

"Run!" Elliot shouted. He was about forty feet away from the door. He didn't care to look back at the wolves. He heaved himself through the doorway. Two servants were standing on either side, ready to close the doors, and as they pushed, a wolf pushed itself into the entrance hall. The doors closed and the wolf growled. Elliot didn't move, but everyone else scattered. Mr Potts came in the room with his ax. He swung at the wolf and that just aggravated it.

"I've never taken down a wolf before, have you?"

"When I was a boy."

Mr Potts swung again.

"I'll try and distract it. You get close and hit it with your ax."

"Don't hurt yourself."

"I won't if you hit it fast enough."

The men circled the wolf. Elliot was always a brave man. He lunged at the wolf, which was only to get its attention on him. He wasn't going to make contact. The wolf snarled at him. Elliot backed up, walked forward, stepped left, and lunged again. The wolf growled and stepped towards him. Elliot was really anxious now. He knew if he lunged a third time, the wolf would lunge back at him. He kept his eyes on the wolf to try to keep its attention, so it would know he was a real threat.

Mr Potts waited for the wolf to look like he was in a pouncing position. He was ready to swing. He knew he couldn't even be a second late. The handle was gripped tight in his hand while Elliot stepped back and forth.

"Oh!" Adam's cry made the wolf look behind it. Mr Potts swung hard enough to seriously injure the animal, but then he kept on hacking. Blood was everywhere. Elliot was leaning against the wall, thankful he wasn't dead. Mr Potts dropped his ax and sat on the floor, away from the pool of blood. Marie stepped into the room.

"I'm glad there are no rugs in here yet."