Chapter 2- Family Affairs

...

I lead the way back from that sunless courtyard, as Lefou was still reluctant to leave. We went to the same flight of stairs I had descended before. Three official-looking men came rushing down the steps as we walked up. They looked as if they were searching for something; my gut instinct told me that they, too, were searching for the man who had died here last night.

"Monsieurs, were you just down in the courtyard?" the one in the lead asked, pointing where we had just came from.

"Oui," I replied.

"Are you two Villeneuve residents?"

"Yes," Lefou said, looking down at his feet, likely embarrassed for them to see his swollen, reddened eyes.

"Gentlemen, unfortunately...there was a fatality last night. We need to search the courtyard to locate someone who fell from the tower. Please stay out of that area, for your own safety."

"I searched already! He isn't there," Lefou said them in a distressed voice. The man glanced down at my shorter friend with narrowed eyes.

"Just allow us to search. The Prince's orders."

"But-"

"Please allow us, we are the Prince's men. When we find the victim, we will let you know so you can make arrangements. We will do all we can to locate your fallen friend. Our condolences, monsieurs."

Lefou nodded politely, and I nodded as well in thanks. I would much rather avoid seeing the mangled and crushed remains of our great town hero. My own opinion of the man was irrelevant now.

The bright sun made me squint as we walked back out into the castle gardens. Few people were still there; I assumed many had decided to go inside the castle. I was curious about it all, but first I wanted to get my exhausted friend home. He was walking on heavy legs, at a nearly stooped posture.

"Are you going to be okay, mon ami?"

"Back hurts a little..."

"A 'little.' Lefou, you were crushed by some musical instrument, then you were running around with a teapot, not long after you screamed something about a haunted toilet! And this morning, you spent hours moving boulders! And your back only hurts a 'little?'"

"My back can heal. Other things...can't." His voice came out more low-pitched and flat; he barely sounded like himself without his characteristic lilting, sing-song tenor.

"Like your heart?"

He looked at his shoes with pained eyes. "Yeah."

I nodded sadly, it was another awkward moment. "Shall we find our horses? I sure hope they weren't transformed into anything!" I tried to joke.

"Ami's already a beast." I caught a hint of a smile on Lefou's face; albeit a sad one.

We found our horses at the side of the castle where we'd dismounted last night. A few stable boys were trying to herd them about, and I realized it must have been a bit of an annoyance to them. Nearly half the populace of Villeneuve had left their horses to mill around on His Highness' castle lawn. I recognized one large stallion as Gaston's horse, Magnifique. A stable boy was trying to guide him; he reared his head at him angrily.

"Magnifique-" Lefou said softly, approaching the horse who calmed at the presence of someone familiar. "Hey, it's okay, I can take him now," he said to the nearest stable boy. "Ami! Where are you going?"

Lefou's own small, stout horse, Ami, had taken off and started running away, past the gate and to the road leading down the mountainside to Villeneuve.

"I'm not dealing with him this morning. It's been a long night," said Lefou, with an apologetic look the stable boy. "Um, were you...one of the things?" he asked him.

"One of the 'things?'" The young man threw his head back and laughed. "Yes, in fact! I'd rather not tell you what."

"I hope you weren't a toilet, like that other guy! I mean, this castle's so big there must've been-"

"You mean you met someone who was cursed as a toilet?" the fellow exclaimed, shocked. Lefou's face brightened a bit; he seemed to be getting a little of his good humor about him again. The man was iron, both physically and emotionally. A feeling of great affection for him tightened around my heart like a vice.

His eyes were sparkling so much in that moment, even under grief! Sunshine. This man was literally sunshine personified. He was before last night, and he still remained so.

"Yeah. Early this morning! The guy looked like he'd lost his mind! Uh...not the best smell, either. Said he had to go brush his teeth. I think he needs more than that!" A little chuckle escaped him, and he tossed his head to the side, sweeping a lock of raven hair from his sweet face.

I couldn't help but smile a little at his ability to joke under the circumstances. I listened to their conversation as I located my own horse- Rosie, my mare. She was glad to see me.

"Thank my lucky stars I was a water bucket! Here, I thought I had it rough! Whew!" the stable attendant said. "Can I help you?" he added, gesturing to Magnifique.

"Okay, um, thanks. What's your name?" Lefou asked the young man, who firmly held Magnifique's stirrups still. Lefou tried unsuccessfully two times to hoist himself atop the very tall horse. I walked over and gave him a boost up by pushing my palms on his upper right thigh. Once he was mounted on Magnifique, he looked at me sheepishly. His face was flushed, probably from embarrassment or more exertion.

"Thanks, Stanley."

"No problem, Lefou." I replied, giving him an embarrassed smile. I knew I shouldn't be smiling under the circumstances myself. Gaston was dead. I felt my cheeks warm up a little out of awkwardness. I ought to feel worse about the great man being gone- but from what he had just told me- about what Gaston did, I couldn't force a single tear from my eye. I wished that I could.

"Nice to meet you both, Stanley, Lefou," the stable attendant said politely. "My name is Michel."

"Nice to meet you, too, Michel! I'm...uh, glad you're not a water bucket anymore! It must feel nice," said Lefou in his typical amiable manner.

Michel nodded. "Yeah, it feels great! Well, have a safe ride back to Villeneuve! Do you two have relatives here in the castle?"

"Non," I said, shaking my head. "But my friend Tom's sister Therese is a maid here."

"No, I did not," said Lefou. "But, a long, long time ago, I had a great-grandfather here who was the Royal Fool for the King. 'The Fool.' He passed his name down to me."

"Oh, I get it now! I was just thinking your name doesn't suit you, Monsieur." Michel glanced from Lefou over to me. "Therese?" He furrowed his brow, eyes to the sky, trying to remember if he knew anyone by that name. "Is she pretty?" he suddenly asked with eagerness.

"She's lovely," I replied with a grin. "Go introduce yourself sometime. She's probably in Villeneuve today with her brother and her whole family. They're probably planning her nuptials...to me."

Michel's face fell in disappointment. I grinned wider. "But I'm not the marrying type," I quickly added. "I'd much rather see the sweet little soup ladle with a handsome water bucket."

Michel's grin came back again. He was a nice-looking fellow, with a goatee and lean build, medium-brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. I couldn't imagine what it felt like to be turned from a water bucket back to a man in three seconds flat.

"All right, then! Au revoir, and safe travels, Stanley and Lefou!"

"Au revoir, Michel! Thanks for taking care of Magnifique and Rosie!" Lefou called back to him as we took our leave of the castle grounds and crossed the large iron gate.

"Are you worried about Ami?" I inquired Lefou about his horse.

"No. He's a devil horse and he'll scare away any wolves still about. Don't worry, he'll remember his way back."

"Are you certain?"

"He has a good sense of smell, Stanley. He can smell the baker's shop in town from five miles away, believe me."

"Speaking of smell, tell me about the Toilet Man," I said with a little grin.

Lefou smiled back gently. "Not much to tell."

"Do you have enough energy to ride Magnifique all the way to town?" I didn't want him to collapse off Gaston's great horse, or for us to encounter- Heaven forbid- any wolves between here and Villeneuve.

He shrugged. "Yeah. I guess. I dunno." He glanced down at Magnifique and patted his mane. A shadow of pain and grief passed over his face again. "Your master's gone now...I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Do you want to talk about it? About...him?" I asked.

"Please, Stanley...I'd rather not. Not now."

I sighed. "Neither do I, I guess."

We rode our horses in silence from then on, until we reached Villeneuve about an hour later. The streets were much quieter than they usually were this time of day. I guessed that part of it was because some residents were still at the castle. Many were likely just back at home, sleeping the night off, still in shock that Gaston did what he did, led us to a nightmare which ended in happiness for some...but grief for only a few. It was a brilliant sunny day, almost at high noon. I could hear the birdsong in the trees as we left the main center of town. Rosie's hooves made clip-clopping sounds; she seemed content to be almost home. Magnifique, with Lefou riding him just behind me, gave an impatient snorting noise.

"The blackbirds and finches are out," I heard Lefou comment from behind; more to himself, or perhaps Magnifique, than to me. "Almost as if things are the same. How could the birds even be singing?"

I lowered my head and frowned. I wanted to make a comment, but there was nothing I could think of to say about that.

"Do you want to stop at your place first?"

"Yeah. Sure, thanks, Stanley."

Lefou lived in a small cottage at the other side of town. He said once he'd grown up there. I knew that his parents had been dead for a while. His mother had died when Lefou was growing up, and his father passed away more recently, about seven or eight years ago. His name had been Jacques; he was a candlemaker. Lefou's father had been quite advanced in age at death, so he must have been roughly fifty or more when his son was born. I wondered if Lefou had siblings, either in town or away.

I dismounted Rosie and helped him dismount Magnifique. "I'll go stable the big guy for you, give him some water. You go get some sleep, okay?"

"Okay." He walked on exhausted legs to his front door and took off his blue coat in the warming sun. "Stanley?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now you go rest, mon ami!" I insisted, waving him off with my hand. He nodded sadly and shut his door.

I took Magnifique and Rosie to my own stable, at my house where I still lived with my mother, only two doors down from where Dick and his wife, Martine, lived. It was good I was still a bachelor. I was taking care of Maman, after all. Of course, Maman would rather have me and my nonexistent wife and nonexistent babies living with her. She fantasized about it every day. She already had one beautiful granddaughter, a two-year-old girl named Cecile who belonged to Dick and Martine. But she wanted one through me as well.

I went into my house and checked in with Maman, who was in her chair knitting something, as usual. When she saw me, she stood up fast and began talking excitedly.

"Stephan, honey, you're back! Are you all right? I heard some strange things happened! The Prince is alive! How could we have forgotten about that great castle? My old dear friend Beatrice was there, Jean Potts' wife! I've missed her so much! I'm so worried that tyrant will go back to taxing us to starvation, and-"

"I think Prince Adam has turned a new leaf, Maman. I didn't see Beatrice, but I did see Therese, Tom's sister. She told me that the Prince is changed, he is a new man!"

"I'll have to see it to believe it. So was the horrible Beast killed? Was it the reason the castle was abandoned? I am just so glad you're all right! You could have been killed!" Maman rushed over to me and hugged me around the waist. Her head came up to about my middle; she was a short, plump woman, with light brown hair and fair features. Dick took after her, while I had taken after my late Papa physically. Papa- only fifty-nine, tall, dark-eyed, swarthy and rugged- had died only last year; it had been hard for all of us.

"I'm fine. There was one fatality, though, Maman."

"Who?" Her eyes started to mist with anticipated grief.

"Gaston." I sighed as she put her hands to her mouth and shook her head in disbelief. "Gaston? Our war hero? Non, not him! He was so strong, so invincible! How?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "In battle, against the creature. I just got done taking Lefou home."

"Ohh! That poor, poor boy!" she sighed in empathy. "He must be devastated! You must invite him over sometime, Stanley!"

"I know. I will. I'm going to go over to Tom's today. Dick and Martine are there. Do you want to come with me? Tom's younger sister Therese is back."

Maman nodded. "Yes. I will. I do remember now that Thomas had a sister. I forgot he had one, but now I remember. Stanley, this is so strange! I forgot about Beatrice! I forgot about the tyrant Royal Family, their castle, I forgot Thomas had a sister...what is all of this about?" She picked up her bag of knitting before joining me out the door. When we left our house, the great tower clock struck noon.

...

We only had to walk a short way to Tom's house. The baker and the fruit and vegetable sellers were now rushing out and getting their wares on, though they looked exhausted. Maman took a coin from her bag and bought some croissants from M. Cuire. He thanked her with reddened and bleary eyes.

I knocked on the door of Tom's cottage, and both his wife Marie and my sister-in-law, Martine, answered quietly. Marie and Martine were sisters themselves, and looked very much alike. Martine, Dick's wife, was a cute woman in her early thirties, with freckles and fair hair. At her skirts was my little niece Cecile, a tiny blonde whose eyes lit up upon seeing me.

"Unka 'Tan-wey!" she squealed. I reached down and she jumped into my arms. "Oui! Uncle Stanley is here! How's my pretty girl? I love your bow!" I said to her in a singsong voice while fiddling with the big blue bow in her flaxen locks. My smile faded when I saw my brother and Tom sitting at the kitchen table, holding tankards of beer. It was only lunchtime- and they were drinking already. Our great loss was now starting to sink in.

They nodded to me in greeting. "Hey, Stan."

"Bonjour." I noticed Therese standing near the other two women. She gave me a huge, friendly smile, but she didn't say anything. Her delicate little hands fluttered about, fixing the skirts of her peach and cream-colored dress, smoothing her bodice. Her cheeks were bright pink. "Bonjour again to you, Therese!" I said.

"Hello, Stanley," she replied with a shy smile.

I set Cecile down, she was getting heavy. "Beer?" asked Dick, pointing to a barrel near the kitchen table.

"Non," I replied, lowering my head in the solemnity of the moment. Little Cecile grasped my hands. She wanted me to flip her in a somersault like I always did with her. I obliged, pulling her up and flipping her into a somersault. She giggled as she turned upside down and righted back up. "Again, Tanwey! Again!"

"Not right now, ma petite, okay? Uncle Stanley's kinda tired." I glanced back at Dick and Tom, whose eyes were on me like daggers, wanting to know the answer to a question they didn't have to ask aloud.

"He...the body hasn't been located yet. The Prince's guards were doing a search around the castle. Um-" I cleared my scratchy throat- "Ahem...they said that they will let us know as soon as possible, so a memorial service can be performed."

Dick and Tom's faces fell. Dick shook his head and took a swig from his tankard.

"Papa, are you sad?" Cecile toddled over to her father. Even at two years old, not quite three, she could sense tension, a troubled air, among the adults in her life.

Dick set his beer back on the kitchen table and took Cecile in his lap. "Oui, my little bonbon. We are all sad. Someone died last night, Cecile."

"Who?" She didn't likely understand that death was permanent, but she knew that it meant that someone was hurt very, very bad.

"It was Monsieur Gaston."

Cecile's face scrunched up; she was trying to remember who that was. Gaston had paid no mind to Villeneuve's children. He didn't touch their lives in in any memorable way. The older schoolboys admired the town hero from afar, but Gaston barely paid attention to them.

"Do you remember the man in red? Who rides a big horse?" I asked her. "He's Monsieur Lefou's best friend. Monsieur Lefou always rides the little horse with him."

"Oh! Fou! The candy man!" Cecile exclaimed. She knew right away who that was. "Him die?" she asked, her green eyes suddenly wide in worry. Lefou was known for buying candy for small children and giving the sweets to them at random. Anyone in Villeneuve ten years old or under was especially drawn to him, with his pocketful of treats and infectious laugh.

"No, no! He rode his horse into town with me. He's at home," I replied. My niece's face relaxed, and she leaned into her father's arms. Dick hugged his daughter close, an expression of pain on his face as he held his own child like a lifeline. Grief and loss were no strangers to Dick and his wife. A few years before Cecile was born, they'd had a baby boy...who only lived about a month until he was taken by a fever.

The atmosphere remained somber through lunch. Marie and Martine had fixed a nice meal of roast venison, vegetables, and long rolls of bakery fresh bread. I was famished, since I didn't recall having eaten since about five o'clock yesterday, at home. There had been a big rainstorm late in the afternoon and into evening. That was when I went with Dick and Tom into the tavern- when all this hullabaloo started about poor old Maurice accusing Gaston of attempted murder, Gaston accusing Maurice of lunacy, Maurice's missing, oddball daughter Belle's arrival, and the sudden turn of events leading to our march to the castle after a Beast.

The thought of the Beast having been the long-lost Prince of our region was something that I had a terrible time wrapping my mind around. Just like everything else that happened last night, the concept knocked around in my brain like a weird, waking dream, having no semblance of reality.

Like the wardrobe with the lady's voice. Did that really happen? Did she literally throw out women's garments by some magic and dress us up in them? With fancy ladies' wigs on our heads?

I loved that so much. Yes. I admit it, again. That would be the sort of thing I would have a happy dream about. I loved her operatic voice, singing out to me to be free, calling us her 'pretty boys.'

I glanced over at my brother and Tom. I wanted to ask them about it, to ascertain that it was an actual event and not merely my dream. Tom was chugging another beer. He drained it, set the tankard down with his sleepy eyes closing, and pushed back his empty plate in satiation. Dick was hunched over the table with his head in his hands, rubbing his forehead.

I decided I'd better not.

I looked over to Therese, whose eyes were already fixed on me. When I sought her eye contact, she averted hers right away and fiddled with the ruffle on her sleeve. She then put her hands around a warm cup of tea and sipped it daintily.

"Therese?"

"Yes, Stanley?" She turned her blushing face back to me again.

"Would you like to take a walk outside with me?" The overjoyed expression told me that I was in for a sticky situation. My own Maman, as well as Marie and Martine, looked pointedly at me, then Therese, then back to me with optimism. I only wanted to talk to Therese to discuss more about the castle events. I would have to think of a kind way to let the girl down.

...