Hmm… Where should she wait…?

Babette wandered around the castle, looking for a good place to wait for Lumière. It needed be a romantic place. A place that was enchanting…

While she was sweeping down a corridor lined with windows, she happened to glance outside. She stopped in her tracks and stared at the sky.

It was nighttime, and for the first time in weeks the stars were out from behind those dreaded storm clouds that had hovered over the castle since that enchantress placed the spell.

She swept closer to the window to get a better view at the grounds below.

The gardens were still in pretty good condition: The grass was still green, the bushes in the maze had barely thinned, and the flowers still bloomed. The caretakers who had been turned into shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows, and watering cans had been trying to keep it in the best condition possible in their state—and they probably had nothing else to do. There were also fountains with statues spewing water into their pools, all looking clean and freshly scrubbed. The entire area was not like it was before, but it still held most of its former beauty.

Immediately, Babette knew where she wanted to wait. She flew down the corridor towards the southern back entrance.

But on the way, she heard terrible sobbing. She stopped to find where it was coming from and found she was at the maids' room.

She hadn't passed by this room in weeks, and she decided to take a peek inside to see what the other maids could possibly be crying about.

Babette pushed open the door to see a whole group of feather dusters huddled in the middle of the room, where there weren't any beds in the way. The only light in the room was coming from the partially open door from the moon shining from a window right across from it. Babette's shadow stretched across the floor.

The group of maids turned around to face her. One cried in anguish, "Shut the door! We want no one to see our pitiful forms!"

"What are all of you doing sitting here in the dark?" Babette asked, ignoring the plea.

"Who is that?" a feather duster asked the group.

"I don't know," another answered.

"It's that new maid." The group opened to let a tall feather duster with a fancily engraved handle through. She looked down at Babette through square spectacles with what would've been a wrinkled nose, like she smelled something rotten. "Babette," she recognized, pronouncing her name with absolute disdain.

"Madame Margaux," Babette addressed, trying to keep her voice level.

Mme. Margaux didn't like Babette because she had never seen her clean anything. Babette did clean some things here while she had been human—which had only been for two days—but because Mme. Margaux didn't see with her own eyes that Babette indeed did some dusting, she had a grudge on her, and Babette just had to deal with it, much to her displeasure. In Babette's eyes, Mme. Margaux was nothing more than a strict, bothersome head maid who would be better suited as a librarian, for she did this annoying "Sssh!" when she wanted quiet.

"Why haven't you come back to these quarters at night?" Mme. Margaux interrogated. "Every maid is to come back here at eight o' clock for a good night's rest! You haven't been here in weeks! And I bet you didn't clean one spot!"

"Have you not noticed that we are all feather dusters?!" Babette cried, her feathers ruffling. "No one from outside has entered since that witch cast the curse on this place! There is not a need to clean anymore! And what have you all been doing? Sitting here crying your eyes out? You haven't been cleaning either!"

"Sssh!" Mme. Margaux hissed.

"No! I will not 'Sssh!'" Babette imitated, her temper rising. "Do not criticize me when you will not even come out to see the light of day!"

Babette faced the other maids and spoke gently to them. "There is no need to hide in here in the dark. None of you look terrible, I promise you. Everyone else here has also been turned into objects, and they do not look horrible at all. Merely different."

The maids made uncertain glances at each other and to Mme. Margaux, who shook her head to them.

"Do not listen to her!" Babette cried. "You can come out of this cramped closet—I mean, room." Babette hoped they didn't think she meant coming out of the closet.

"Did you hear her?" Mme. Margaux said almost hysterically, jumping on her slip-up. "She just called you all 'queer!'"

Babette resisted rolling her eyes at the ridiculousness of that accusation. "No no no! I didn't mean it that way! I only—"

"Sssh!" Mme. Margaux interrupted. "You've made your meaning quite clear on how you think of us!"

"What? Now do you really think I meant that?"

The maids were in tears again. One cried, "Leave us alone!"

"Fine!" Babette said angrily, swept to the door. "While you wallow in self-pity, I am going to meet a certain monsieur in a nice romantic place outside." She glanced back to see if she sparked anyone's curiosity.

The maids immediately snapped out of their sorrow and gasped in wonder. "Who? Who?"

Maids. They always needed the latest gossip.

"Hm… I don't think any of you would want to know, since you're too busy sobbing—"

"We're not sobbing!"

"Not at all!"

They crowded around her with eager expressions.

"Who are you meeting?"

"Do you really want to know?" Babette checked.

"Yes! Yes!"

"Who?"

Babette shrugged only for show. "Oh, it is only Monsieur Lumière—"

"Really?"

"How did you catch his attention-?"

"Is it a date?"

"You could say that," Babette decided to admit.

The maids squeaked in excitement.

"Lucky—"

"Where are you meeting?"

"I was planning on waiting for him outside in the gardens—" Babette seemed to nonchalantly mull over.

"In the moonlight?"

"Oh how romantic!"

"When?"

"It could be anytime," Babette said indifferently, still acting like this wasn't a big deal, even though the maids' excitement was starting to become contagious. "So you'll have to watch from the windows to be sure you don't miss anything—"

"Great idea!"

"Let's go!"

The maids rushed past Babette to the windows to find a good view of the gardens.

Babette smiled. She had gotten the maids out of the room, which had been her goal in the first place.

She turned to leave but Mme. Margaux said from behind her, "Yes, go slack off some more with the maître d'. It's a good excuse for not cleaning."

Babette wished she had arms to shut the door in that annoying woman's face. Alas, she could only huff away toward the gardens.

Despite the fact that she had gotten the maids out of that closet, she had lost pure privacy with Lumière. Hopefully, he wouldn't find out that they'll be being watched by the gossiping maids.

Well, she would forget all about them anyway when she spotted Lumière. She couldn't help but smile as she continued on her way to the gardens.

Lumière wished she could've said where she would be waiting.

But of course, Cogsworth had to drag him away from Babette for his own childish reasons.

Cogsworth would've done fine on his own without Lumière. He just needed the courage to walk into the room and let himself be known. It was fortuitous Madame de la Grand Bouche's feelings were mutual, for she had taken their current circumstances into consideration as well.

Despite what Lumière had said about leaving when they started to speak, he had to watch from the doorway, all the while being hidden. He found that his curiosity had been piqued, and not only that, this phenomenon in itself had to procure some form of entertainment.

Cogsworth stuttered the first few minutes, making absolutely no sense. Lumière credited that display with his apparent lack of social skills. Thankfully, Madame de la Grand Bouche was incredibly sympathetic to him and took the initiative in the conversation, since she was the one for chit-chat.

Lumière had never seen Cogsworth as happy and relaxed as he was just talking (well, mostly listening) to the wardrobe. He was almost unrecognizable, always being so tightly wound!

He had left them to their privacy, and began roaming the enchanted hallways of the castle for his own date. He turned a corner to find a bunch of feather dusters looking out from the windows lining the south wall of the corridor, all with anticipating faces.

"Ah, the maids have emerged!" Lumière exclaimed.

They all turned at once and smiled widely, bursting into chatter. He heard one cry "Babette" and called them to order. "Ladies, s'il vous plait! I cannot understand you! What about Babette?"

One maid spoke up. "She is waiting for you outside in the gardens!"

"Hurry!"

"Go meet her!"

He hurried to the end of the corridor away from the maids, just to stop them from rushing him.

They continued to cry urging shouts until he was out of sight around the corner. He hopped briskly to the southern entrance, and wondered what she could possibly have in store for him waiting beyond the garden gates.

Babette picked a spot by a lavish three-story fountain with red rose bushes and tender white lilies blooming around the surrounding area, filling the air with a pleasantly intoxicating scent. She sat on the rim of the fountain looked up the full moon and the glistening stars encircling it. Oh how perfect the night was!

She glanced at the water, the moon's shine reflecting off of it. As she turned away, she caught her own reflection in the fountain's water and stared.

She had said to the maids that they look merely different, but she realized she had unintentionally quoted Lumière.

As she looked at her reflection, she realized he was right. She had only changed in her form, but her face and eyes were still the same. She still had her long thick lashes, her plump ruby red lips, and her brown velvet eyes with that same lustrous sparkle she used to catch any man passing her by.

She had been so distracted with her appearance and thoughts, she hadn't noticed Lumière until his own reflection appeared by her own.

"Such a beautiful mademoiselle is shown in the water's reflection, no?" He looked at Babette's eyes through the glassy surface.

Babette only made a quick small smile without taking her eyes off of her own reflection, before going back to her brooding expression.

She saw concern take over his features in the fountain's surface. "You are not still thinking you look like a monstrosity, are you?"

Babette looked up from the water at him with a sincere smile. "No. Not anymore."

"Magnifique!" he said, smiling and settling down next to her. He provided a warming glow in the dim moonlight. "What made you change your mind? Not that I'm complaining, of course."

"I stumbled upon the maids' room before coming out here, and they were all crying still about how ugly they thought they were, when they really didn't look bad at all... It helped me realize that you were right about that."

"I know a beautiful woman when I see one, chérie, and you are no exception. I am so glad that those thoughts no longer fill your precious head."

"Me, too. They were probably taking up too much space," Babette murmured with dark humor.

"What could that possibly mean?" Lumiere asked, frustrated at the self-depreciating comment.

"Exactly what I said," she replied, firmly baring her own self-worth. "My head does not have enough room to hold much. I am not a scholar after all."

"That does not mean you are not intelligent!" he insisted. "Why are thinking such things?"

Before she could stop herself, her personal past began to flow out of her. "Many people, mostly men, have rejected me because I never seemed to think deeply about anything. I took these accusations to heart and tried to fix my lacking knowledge, but I could not compel myself to keep my nose in books. It was confusing and, well, boring! They didn't interest me, so I accepted the fact that I am only a wench."

"Do not talk of yourself in this way!" he cried. "You are so much more than that. Babette, look at me!" Babette stubbornly kept her gaze averted so Lumière turned her head to face him. "You should not judge yourself by what other people think of you. By what you're telling me, they never bothered to look farther than your fair façade. You are just as beautiful on the inside as the outside. Do not let anyone tell you different." He smiled. "And for your information, you are more to me than a mere silly girl."

Her heart contracted as she heard his words. Never has anyone called her beautiful on the inside. She was only a pretty face, a beauty for mere show, a servant girl lacking depth. Never an enthralling person to talk to, to listen to.

She felt like he had just released her from the prison of her own mind. Weight fell of shoulders and she felt light. Her heart fluttered at the seeming sincerity of what he said. The glorious feeling made her smile with a sense of relief and joy and her eyes fill with tears. She looked away to blink them back, hoping he hadn't noticed them.

He looked around at their romantic atmosphere. "You picked a wonderful place to meet, I must say. And when the moon and stars have finally come out. I am impressed."

Babette giggled, fully recovered. "Merci, monsieur."

Lumière looked at her with a knowing smile. "I am sure the maids are enjoying the view also."

Babette blushed. "Well—you see—it was the only way to stop them from mourning—" Lumière raised an eyebrow, amused at her attempt to explain. "—because I knew that they could not resist a piece of juicy gossip so—"

"You told them we were meeting here," he finished.

"Yes," she confessed, still embarrassed. "I am sorry about that. I hoped you wouldn't find out…"

"I do not mind, chérie," he said with a slight laugh. "They cannot hear what we are saying. Besides, most of them would have gotten bored by now."

"Why?"

"Is it not obvious?" he asked, his laughter growing. "They are waiting for us to kiss."

"Oh!" Babette was taken aback and blushed more furiously than before. How hadn't she guessed they had been waiting for that?

He caught her reaction. "Being a maid yourself, I would have expected you knew that also."

"I was only a maid for two days here before we were changed! I had no time to learn their habits." Her tone became slightly accusatory. "I expect you know them well enough though."

He spoke carelessly. "Of course I do. I have been here for years, and maids are easy to figure out."

Babette fired up. "Excuse me?"

Lumière realized with a shock that Babette was in that category. "But not you, mademoiselle! You are not like the others!"

"I will not be judged by my occupation, Lumière!" she cried as she straightened up to tower over him. "I am not an open book you can simply read aloud!"

He stood up also. "Chérie, I didn't mean it like that!"

"Then how did you mean?" she demanded.

"I merely meant the other maids are easy to read, only because… well, they aren't very bright. But you, mon amour, no one shines brighter," he added quickly with his charm, putting an arm around her.

Babette couldn't resist giving in. She had tried to call his bluff, but he was so good at recovering. She looked to him, lashes fluttering, with a smile playing upon her lips. "Really?"

"Oui, mademoiselle," he said with a handsome smile. "You shine brighter than the stars hung over us tonight. No one can hold a candle to your brilliance."

"Except you, monsieur," she bantered.

"I was hoping you would say that."

"But surely you knew that already."

"That you are the most exquisite woman I have ever had the pleasure of stumbling onto? Of course I knew, mademoiselle."

Babette laughed coyly. "That was not quite the answer I was expecting."

"Expect more to come, amour, for compliments slip from the tongue so easily."

"And why is that?"

"Because they are so true."

"Oh, Lumière!" she said, giggling. "Your words make me feel so light!"

"As a feather?" he asked, grinning on his own wit. "I am sure."

"I didn't know you were so clever, Lumière!"

"Is it enough, though, to keep your interest?"

"Perhaps…" She swept out of his grasp and glanced back tauntingly. "But do I have yours?"

He turned a shoulder to her and crossed his arms with eyes silently daring her. "Possibly."

She moved slowly away around the rim of the rectangular pool, and thought out loud, "I wonder…" She was a quarter ways around the fountain and he didn't move, only smirked. "Can he resist the temptation?" On the complete opposite side from him and she peeked around the tower in the fountain, she called provokingly, "You know you want to follow…"

Lumière turned his head to the side so she could just see he was smiling confidently. "I am stronger than you think, mademoiselle."

"Oh oui, monsieur!" Babette complimented, impressed. "The stronger, the better."

She hopped off the rim of the fountain and began gliding toward the castle doors, still taunting. "Perhaps an escort will show so I am not alone wandering the castle. Unless…" She glanced back at the unmoving candelabrum. "There is someone present to make sure I am not lonely."

She sighed when he still didn't move. "Oh well."

She swept away up the steps to the doors, which opened automatically for her. She took one glance back to make sure he hadn't moved and slipped into the castle, smiling happily to herself. To be certain, she swept to the maids' room corridor where the windows had the view of the gardens.

He had been right again, for the maids had indeed gotten bored. There was no one else in the hallway except for her. She swept to the window and peered down at the fountain.

Lumière was still there.

Babette smiled even more to herself. He had passed her test. He had enough endurance to not give into her taunts. There was no doubt now that he would not be following her around and clinging to her. She had already had that suspicion, but she had to be certain.

She had used this test every time she had a special kind of interest in a man. They had all failed, though some not as much as others. Lumière was the first one to pass with flying colors.

Another thing was that it seemed he knew exactly what she was doing, like he had done it before, though she couldn't think how he could've faced a test that she had came up with herself, much more how he had figured out she had been testing him in the first place.

Maybe she was easy to figure out, but he had seemed to be enjoying himself while she had been flirtatiously taunting him. Admittedly, she had felt the same.

Babette looked up the sky to look over the moon and the stars dotting the sky, and she wished it could always be this beautiful.

Her wishes were dashed as she saw in the distance dark storm clouds. They seemed a few miles away. She prayed silently they didn't come over the castle and were heading in another direction.

She glanced one more time at the golden light below that was Lumière and swept away for a night of rest.