Chapter Six: Confession

I had thought my sister was joking, but she managed to pull me out of the chair. This was quite an accomplishment, considering one of her arms was broken.

"The other servants are dancing to celebrate the end of the spell. We will dance too!" she insisted. "We have just as much right!"

We must have looked ridiculous. She danced while I held onto her shoulders for balance and hopped on the one foot I could still use.

"See? You're dancing! Walking will be easy!"

My sister refused to let me hold onto anything for balance when I walked. Every day, she forced me to hop short distances. Then she made me try to use both feet. Eventually I reached the point where I could walk with a very bad limp, but I still had trouble going up and down flights of stairs.

"Hop up the stairs and slide down the railing," she suggested.

It worked so well that I still use that method to this day. Gradually, my limp lessened a little.

"Now you are walking properly!" my sister announced one day. "You'll never lose your limp, but what does that matter?"

I felt bad. I could adapt to life with a limp, but my sister would never be able to use her broken arm again. She always pretended it didn't bother her and that one arm was just as good as two, but I could tell she was just saying that to make me feel better.

During our fight, Prince Adam had given me a long speech in no uncertain terms about what he would do to me if I ever got within ten feet of Belle, so I made sure to treat her with the utmost respect at all times. When Prince Adam married Belle, I was even more polite since she was now my master. I stopped thinking of her as "Belle" or "the young peasant woman" and started thinking of her by royal titles, making sure to address her as royalty every time I spoke to her.

One day a messenger came to the castle. The king of France had decided that the pressures of ruling a kingdom were too much for him to handle.

"What does this mean?" Prince Adam asked kindly.

"It means, Sire, that you are no longer a prince. Your father has abdicated," the messenger explained.

"Abdicated?"

"Don't worry. You will surely like the new king."

"What makes you say that?"

"He abdicated to you. You are now the ruler of France, Your Majesty." The messenger bowed.

Only weeks after becoming a princess, Her Majesty became queen. She and the former prince had a magnificent coronation ceremony.

"Long live King Adam! Long live Queen Belle!" we shouted.

About the time that life finally settled into a comfortable routine, the queen announced that the kingdom would have a new little prince or princess. The king was thrilled, as we all were. However, we were completely shocked when the queen had twins.

The two children were complete opposites. Forgive my candor, but the prince was a real coward. He was afraid of everyone and everything. The princess, on the other hand, seemed to have inherited her father's former temper. She loved to throw things and have tantrums. Fortunately, they mellowed out as they got older. Now they are both very sweet children.

Louve dotes on them. "They are like the children I was never meant to have," she always says.

I feel bad for her not having her own family. She would have been a good wife and mother. I suppose she could still be, but she seems to have given up hope of ever falling in love.

I almost hoped to fall in love once. The masters had sent me to town on an errand of some sort, and I met a charming young woman. We got to talking and found out we had a lot in common. After several meetings, we realized we were best friends. It got to the point where we did almost everything together. Neither of us felt anything more than friendship, but I had a feeling we would one day love each other.

Yesterday she confessed, "My dearest friend, I can no longer keep any secrets from you. All this time, you've been thinking I was a peasant, but I'm not. I am King Adam's cousin. I disguised myself as a commoner so I could truly understand how life was for my cousin's subjects. I shouldn't have worried. They all say he's a great king, and his wife is a wonderful queen, of course."

"His cousin?" I asked. "Years ago, did you not remove an arrow from between a wolf's ribs?"

She laughed softly. "Yes I did. She was suffering, and I helped her get better. How'd you know about that story?"

I wasn't about to confess that the wolf was actually my sister during a spell, so I just replied, "I work in the royal forest. It's my job to know about incidents involving wild animals."

"You're my cousin's servant?"

"I'm so sorry. I should have told you before."

She smiled. "Kind of ironic for you being best friends with your master's cousin, isn't it?"

I nodded. "Ironic, but not at all unpleasant."

I didn't have the heart to tell her what I was during the spell. If she ever finds out I wounded her cousin, it will end our friendship! However, if I keep it a secret forever, she'll wonder why I didn't tell her something that important, and our friendship will still be over. That's how I know I will never fall in love with this woman. There's no way I can even have her as a friend for much longer.

Mrs. Potts wanted to know what was troubling my heart. Tonight she found out. My sister and I confessed everything. We used to be wolves, and now we are outcasts. We wake up every day dreading the thought of the masters and the royal children finding out about our past. Louve will never again be able to use both arms, and I will never be able to walk without limping.

The most amazing thing was what happened after we told the story. Mrs. Potts looked at us and asked why we had given up.

"Is there still reason to hope for anything good?" Louve asked.

"Listen to the two of you talking that way!" Mrs. Potts exclaimed. "When you were beggars, did you ever dream you'd work for royalty? When you first became servants, did you think His Majesty would one day be a good master? When you were wolves, did you believe you would one day be human again? Have you honestly come this far just to quit now?"

Her tone became more gentle. "Everybody makes mistakes. Everyone can be forgiven. As for your injured limbs, why haven't you spoken with the royal physicians?"

I sighed. "Medical science is not yet advanced enough to…"

"You forget this used to be an enchanted castle. Perhaps the doctors here know more than most. Besides, if they can't help you, there may be magical beings somewhere who can."

She has a point. Tomorrow I will try to explain my story to the masters. I will kneel and beg their forgiveness. Then I will ask the royal physicians for advice. If they aren't able to do anything, I will try to find someone with magical powers and see if they will give me the ability to walk again in exchange for a sort of favor. After that is resolved, I will find my best friend, the king's cousin, and tell her everything. I'll apologize to her for nearly killing her cousin during the spell and ask her to forgive me. I hope we'll be able to work this out.

Tomorrow it seems I will be very busy, but now the hour grows late, and I must rise early for chores. Tonight I will go to bed and dream of the happiness I hope to find. Bonne nuit, mes amis.