Belle and Adam reported the news to the staff the very next morning. Every one was quite relieved to hear that the princess was alive but they were all, to some degree, wary of this strange Beast that seemed to be keeping her company. People spent a lot of time speculating about his identity and his origins but, of course, no one had a clue. Prince Dietrich found it quite odd and more than a little unsettling that the revelation of a giant creature wandering around in the forest didn't provoke more than mild surprise from the castle's inhabitants. He decided to ask the head of the kitchens what was going on.
Chip was surprised to see the Prince in his kitchen again. Mostly the young man just kept to the guest quarters and the library but he could see from the expression on Dietrich's face that he wanted to ask him something. He folded his arms and waited.
"Why is no one troubled by the presence of a monster in the forest?" asked Dietrich.
Chip shrugged. "Beasts are nothing new around here," he said. He didn't want to go into to much detail, it wasn't a widely known fact that King Adam had once been a beast and Chip didn't want to be the one responsible for spreading rumors.
Dietrich stared at him, it must be a French thing...who on earth could rationally be calm about a big, black monster?
Chip had to admit that he got a little satisfaction out of seeing the German rattled. He knew he shouldn't feel so pleased to see him unnerved but he was. All this time Dietrich had been running around the castle asking everyone all about Lynette, What her hobbies were, what she liked to do in her spare time, even her favorite food. The more he found out the more interested he seemed. Chip hoped that as soon as all of ice and snow melted enough for travel he'd be gone but it seemed more and more unlikely. The worst part of it all was that everyone in the castle seemed to like this man. He was charming, he was handsome and he was clever. Even Cogsworth was impressed with him. Frankly it made Chip feel a bit sick...
"You French are certainly a different breed," said Dietrich half admiringly half incredulously.
"Actually my mother and I are English, so is Cogsworth. We came here a long time ago looking for work," said Chip. To his surprise Dietrich looked sheepish.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you." said the Prince. He didn't much care for young Mr. Potts but he didn't want to make any enemies.
It was Chips turn to look abashed. He hadn't meant to get snappish. "No, it's alright, it's not a bit deal," he said. As much as he disliked the young man he couldn't see that he deserved to be treated disrespectfully. He wasn't really a bad person or anything.
"Look I think you and I got off on the wrong foot," said Dietrich. "The important thing is that the Princess is missing and she needs to be brought back home very soon am I right?"
Chip nodded reluctantly, he didn't want to cause any trouble with this man, but he didn't want to be friends either. He did have a point though, Lynette was more important than their differences.
"If only there was a way to get to her, but the forest is really dangerous in winter, the wolves are hungry because there's less to eat and all of the ice and snow makes the terrain hard to traverse," Chip rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He didn't want to wait for spring, he wanted to find Lynette now. If there had been a way to rescue her he would have done it in a heartbeat. Knowing she was alive and , everyone was hoping, safe just wasn't enough.
"You're right, I would go out there myself and find her if I could. I can't stand the thought of her being out there with that Beast."
Dietrich studied Chip with a look of interest. This man didn't look very extraordinary. He was tall, but his body was slim and his clothing was plain and non descript. He could have been any peasant in the world. But Dietrich had no doubt that he would have risked life and limb to rescue the Princess.
"You have feelings for her," said Dietrich bemused at the idea.
"What about it?" Chip demanded turning slightly pink. Why should it matter? Nothing would ever come of it. Princesses didn't marry people in their staff and Chip had no delusions about the future. That didn't mean he wouldn't look after her though.
"Does she feel the same? Is there anything going on between you two?" Dietrich wanted to know exactly what his chances of winning the Princess were, if there was something going on between her hand the servants...well that might not mean too much, he himself had occasional flings with the maids at his own castle so why shouldn't she fool around with this Chip Potts? As long as all of that stopped after they were married, he didn't mind if people had their fun while they were young and single but he was a firm believer in marriage vows.
"Would it bother you if there was?" Chip wondered if this man was particular about his girls being pure...
"No, not really, as far as I'm concerned as long as she's not mine she can do as she pleases. I won't pretend I don't want her though, she is very beautiful and such spark! Why that day at dinner I don't think I've ever seen a woman with such fire, it was very intriguing to say the least. I'd be willing to do a lot to win her over."
Chip didn't think he could stand another minute of the Prince's company, he made up a brief excuse and left before further conversation could be initiated. He wondered if Lynette had given him a chance at dinner she would have fallen for him. It was not a pleasant thought...
Adam was in his study pacing in front of the fireplace, it was a habit of his to pace when he was aggravated and he was quite aggravated. He itched to venture into those woods and bring his daughter back, but there was no way he'd be able to face the cold for very long and it was unthinkable for a lone human to try braving the wolves. If I were a beast I'd have no trouble...He stopped himself from continuing that thought. He was quite glad to be free of that curse even if it had been useful at times. The waiting was killing him. Waiting for spring so that he could find Lynette and bring her back. He didn't much care what became of the beast. He knew it he should have been more sympathetic to someone suffering as he had but this monster wasn't his concern and damned if he was going to hand his little girl over to a Beast! He would never have her go through what her mother had. His thoughts shifted to Belle, she was taking this harder than she let on. Belle was a quiet sort of person and she tried to keep up good spirits for everyone else's sake while he bellowed and raged over every little thing to vent his frustrations. He wanted this whole ordeal to be done with so he and his wife could have some peace of mind. With a sigh he picked up the mirror and said. "Show me Lynette."
To Lynette's delight the cabin was dusty from long years of disuse but still fully furnished. There was a table, chairs, cabinets, a stove and even beds. It was a good sized building with four rooms. Definitely an improvement over that cramped little cave.
"Oh this is much better," she remarked to Beast, forgetting that they had argued just moments before.
"Glad you think so," he replied as he removed the sack from his back and began unpacking. "Go ahead and pick one of the rooms, I'll set everything up in here."
He was pleased to be back on friendly terms with her. Even if he wasn't trying to break his curse he would still have liked her. She might not be nice and quiet like most girls but she had spunk and he liked that. For a princess she was also holding out pretty well in this environment. He had to admit he was impressed.
Lynette chose the smaller of the two rooms. She didn't have much, she'd taken a little bag with her when she'd run away but all that had been in it was some food, her comb and three books. If not for the books she may well have died of boredom in that tiny cave. With Beast's reluctance to reveal anything about himself that wasn't flattering she'd had little to discuss with him. After their argument she wanted more than anything to know who he really was and what was so terrible he couldn't share it with anyone. She'd have to win his trust...but how? She sat on the bed and opened on of her books. She was determined to figure it out one way or another.
Adam put away the mirror, they'd moved to a cabin and Lynette seemed to be just fine. He was relieved, but only slightly. He wouldn't be happy until she was home again with him and her mother. It was going to be a long winter...