Dangerous Secrets: Chapter Four
"Belle! Belle!" Two voices sounded as their fists hammered on the door to the library.
"Open the door this instant!" That was Cogsworth's voice.
"We need to talk to you!" That was Lumiere.
Belle sighed and opened the door. Cogsworth and Lumiere tumbled inside, panting from having run all the way from Marie's room to the library on the other side of the castle.
"What is it, boys?" she asked.
"That girl that is staying here, Marie," Lumiere said, "is Gaston's girlfriend!"
"But… isn't Gaston dead?" asked Belle, astonished.
Cogsworth shook his head. "As crazy as this may sound, an enchantress, like the one that turned us into… well, turned us into OTHER things… she brought him back to life! I think Marie may be getting suspicious, as her boyfriend told her everything about the master and this castle! And to make matters worse, it sounds like she is completely on Gaston's side and will not hear a word against him!"
Belle gasped. "What are we going to do?!"
"That is why we have come," said Lumiere. "We could not think of anything."
Belle looked at them for a moment. "I did talk to Marie, this afternoon," she told them. "Actually, it was about… you."
Cogsworth glared at his companion. "Nice going, Lumiere!"
"I did not do anything! I am assuming she meant both of us," said Lumiere.
"Yes, I did," said Belle. "She said it was like you two were both trying to make her fall for you, like you were having a contest to get her affections. She thought the contest idea was silly… but I know you better. What were you trying to do?"
Embarrassed, Cogsworth looked at the floor. "It was all Lumiere's fault," he mumbled.
Belle rolled her eyes. "It's always Lumiere's fault, to you, anyway. And I suppose you are going to say it's Cogsworth's fault, Lumiere."
Lumiere shook his head. "No, I will not give him the blame. However, we have a bigger problem on our hands."
Belle thought for a moment. "You two, try to figure out if Marie's caught on yet. If she hasn't figured out that we're the people in Gaston's story, then everything will be all right."
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Marie had a plan. She had to figure out what was going on. So that afternoon, she snuck into the kitchens where Chip was standing beside his mother, tugging on Mrs. Potts' skirt.
"Mom, I'm bored," complained Chip.
Mrs. Potts sighed. "I'm sorry, dear, but there is so much to do…"
"…and no time for me," Chip grumbled. He suddenly noticed Marie in the corner. "Mama, mama! It's that girl that killed the teacup! Mama!"
"I'm not falling for that one again," said Mrs. Potts. "You said that Gaston had come back from the dead to attack us a few weeks ago when you were bored, remember?"
Gaston, coming to attack them? Marie wondered why her boyfriend would want to harm these nice people. Unless… of course! They were in league with the beast and the living objects of the house!
"Chip," Marie whispered. "It's me, Marie."
Chip screamed. "Don't drop me! You're going to kill me!"
"No, I'm not," Marie assured him. "Come on, come with me. We'll have fun together."
"Are you sure?"
"I promise I won't hurt you. Word of honor. Come, we'll have fun."
Chip paused, thinking it over. "More fun than I'll ever have here, probably," he muttered, and followed her out the door.
"I still don't trust you," Chip told her, once they were back in Marie's room.
"You don't?"
"I don't trust anyone who kills teacups," he replied.
"Chip, why do you think that teacups are… alive?"
"Because they are. I was a teacup. I know how it feels to be one."
It took a moment for his words to sink in. "You were a teacup?" Marie repeated incredulously.
And then he remembered. "Oh, no! I'm not supposed to be telling you this! It's a secret!"
"I won't tell anyone," Marie promised. "Please, Chip, what happened? How were you, er, a teacup?"
"Why should I tell you? You would just drop me on the floor," Chip replied curtly, and fled from the room.
Marie sighed. So Chip had been a teacup, or at least he said he had been. And someone, probably his mother, had forbid him to tell anyone about it. This was making no sense at all. Here she was, an accomplished woman, trying to make sense of a six-year-old's words. She sighed. If Chip had been told not to tell anyone, surely everyone else in the castle had been sworn to secrecy too. No one would be willing to tell her about it.
And then an idea came to her. There were two people in the castle who seemed vulnerable, who could be persuaded to let something slip if she flattered them in the right way. Marie chuckled, wondering why she hadn't thought of it before. The two of them would do anything she said.
She knew she could easily find out the secret of the castle by nightfall, thanks to Lumiere and Cogsworth.