Garfield, Belle, and Odie followed Lumiere and Cogsworth down a long hallway. The hallway was filled with suits of armor whose heads turned as the group walked by. Cogsworth explained the style of the hallway but the others simply tuned him out. "As I always say if it is not beroke don't fix it." Cogsworth joked to himself with much hilarity. Garfield just stared at him with a straight face. Cogsworth looked at him rather embarrassed.
"Don't quit your day job fella." Garfield said with a roll of his eyes. Cogsworth responded with a rather snobbish snort even though he couldn't understand Garfield, he knew he was thinking of something sarcastic.
As the group moved on Cogsworth noticed the suits of armor staring at Belle. "As you were!"
Following Belle, Garfield and Odie watched Belle start to go up a staircase. "Huh now where is she is going?" Garfield wondered to Odie who groaned in response. Belle curiously made her up the staircase only to be cut off by Lumiere and Cogsworth.
"What's up there?" Belle asked the two objects as Garfield and Odie.
"Oh nothing; nothing at all; it's just the West Wing; it's all moldy and dusty…" Cogsworth nervously tried to explain.
"Ah so that's the West Wing." Belle said fascinated.
"Nice going. " Lumiere scolded Cogsworth who smacked himself in the forehead.
"Wonder what he's hiding up there?" Belle wondered aloud.
"Unless something edible who cares?" Garfield said to Odie who nodded in agreement.
"Hiding!? The master is hiding nothing." Lumiere replied rather unconvincing.
"Then it wouldn't be forbidden." Belle stated knowingly walking pass Cogsworth and Lumiere.
Cutting her off again Lumiere and Cogsworth stuttered to say anything to get Belle's attention away from the West Wing. "Wouldn't like to see the garden?"
"Maybe later." Bell replied insincerely.
"Or maybe perhaps the library." Lumiere suggested.
"You have a library!" Belle excitedly exclaimed.
"Why yes we do!" Cogsworth happily exclaimed relieved to have Belle's attention on something else beside the West Wing. Or so he thought.
"We have walls and walls of books!" Lumiere added excitedly.
As they both trotted off bragging about the library Belle took the opportunity to sneak away. Garfield didn't like this.
"Uh oh she has that look to her." Garfield said dreadfully to Odie who nodded mournfully as Belle made her way up the stairs. Garfield and Odie caught up with her quickly. The upstairs like the rest of castle had a gothic style quality. Demonic statues lined the hall. "Who decorated this place? Marilyn Manson?" Garfield said with shiver to Odie who groaned in response. Belle though disturbed by the decorum of the hall was still intrigued and not about quit exploring. Going down further they came upon a door with handles made to look like the head of a demon. This was as far as Garfield was willing to go. "Belle! Warning! Bad idea in progress, this is a bad idea!" He screamed pulling on Belle's skirt.
"Garfield relax, we're only looking." Belle reassured her cat.
"You want me to relax? Take me to Hawaii!" Garfield replied sternly still clinging to Belle's dress.
"We're only going to look for a moment." Belle said reassuringly.
"Translation, we're going to run into the Beast and get chased again." Garfield said glumly to the readers.
Slowly opening the door, Belle was greeted with easily the most dilapidated room one had ever seen which wasn't lost on Garfield.
"Well it's homely if you're Hannibal Lecter." Garfeld sarcastically remarked.
The trio explored the room looking over the various damaged furniture. Belle became fixated on a portrait of a man with the face torn. Belle looked deeply in the portraits eyes thinking she had seen it somewhere before. She took a part of the tear trying to rearrange the face but was stopped by Garfield and Odie who were frantically pulling on Belle's skirt. Belle looked down to see her friends shivering in fear pointing to the far end of the room. Looking up to see what had spooked them, Belle saw a rose emitting a haunting pink light, but what was really spooky was that it was floating. Instead of being scared of the rose, Belle was quite captivated by it and approached it with curiosity. Garfield and Odie on the other hand had seen enough and wanted to leave immediately.
"Belle we've seen enough, please don't touch the floating haunted rose!" Garfield pleaded with his charge. But Belle was seemingly hypnotized by the rose and carefully removed the glass top covering it. Finding it more beautiful than scary Belle reached out to touch it only to have a shadow envelope her, Garfield and Odie. Sure enough it was the Beast. And he didn't look happy.
"I was right wasn't I?" Garfield dreadfully asked Odie who was shaking with fear.
The Beast leaped at Belle covering the rose with the glass. He then glared fiercely at Belle. "Why did you come here?" He demanded.
"I'm sorry." Belle said fearfully.
"Do you realize what you could have done?!" The beast hollered.
"I didn't mean any harm!" Belle pleaded.
"Get out!" The Beast screamed. "Get out!"
"Belle that's our cue!" Garfield said in fright as grabbed Belle's hand and led her out the door and down the hall. By the time Belle and her pets got to the main hall leading to the main door she had Garfield and Odie in her arms.
Passing Cogsworth and Lumiere on the way out they both urged her to stay but Belle was having none of it. "Promise or no promise I'm not staying here another minute!" She declared.
"Wait please!" They pleaded to no avail as she was already out the door.
Belle riding Philippe with Garfield and Odie in her arms made their way out the gate and into the woods.
Riding through the woods the tabby cat couldn't help but admonish Belle a little. "Would I be correct in assuming you weren't supposed to be in there and you ignored it and went any way, I'm just asking." He said looking up at Belle with an angry look.
After getting deep into the woods Belle seemingly got lost. All Garfield cared about was that they were out of the castle. "Whew! Safe at last Odie." Garfield gasped.
At that moment Belle gasped when she saw something move in the woods. A pack of wolves emerged from the forest looking hungry at the trio. "I knew the second I said that something would show up to try to kill us." Garfield said glumly to the readers.
Snapping Philippe's reins Belle rode the Clydesdale has fast as she could push him to evade the wolves. At first it seemed like they would they get away but they were cut off by another group of wolves with Philippe's reins getting tied up on a branch. Belle was thrown from the horse while Garfield and Odie got stuck on the branch. While trying to untie the reins a few wolves try to chomp Garfield. "Now I know how everything I must have eaten felt." He said with exasperation as he dodged the wolves. Belle was doing everything she could to fend off the hungry pack but she was quickly being overrun. Outnumbered with wolves closing in, Garfield stared helplessly as a hungry wolf licked his chops at him. "Hehe you don't want to eat me I irritate the stomach." Garfield nervously joked at the wolf.
"Garfield! Odie!" Belle cried helplessly.
As the branch broke sending Garfield to his doom while Odie held on for dear life to the remaining portion of the branch as he tried but failed to grab Garfield. A paw swooped out of nowhere and grabbed Garfield and the wolf trying to devour him. It was the Beast who roared with all his might at the wolf as he tossed him aside. Quickly handing a petrified Garfield to a surprised Belle the Beast took a defensive position around Belle, Garfield, as Odie crept down from the tree to join his friends.
The Beast leapt over the pack with a roar. The pack gave chase to the Beast and within moments overran him and slashed and bit at him but the Beast managed to throw them off him despite being badly cut in the process. A few more attempted to attack but as with before he managed to fight them off despite sustaining serious cuts in the process. The wolves deciding to give up retreated to into the woods, leaving the Beast and the trio.
Garfield who had his eyes covered this entire time tepidly uncovered. "I'm alive?" He said. "I haven't been devoured?" That's when he saw the Beast off in the distance. "Oh."
Belle, Garfield, and Odie watched as the Beast slowly turned towards them breathing heavily and in clear distress. Instead of the fierceness and rage that he emanated wherever he was present, the Beast looked at the group as if he was pleading for help. He made one desperate gasp for breath and collapsed.
Belle put Garfield and Odie on Philippe and was about to get on herself when she looked into the eyes of her pets. Staring at them Belle couldn't help but think how close she came to losing them had it not been for the Beast's timely intervention. Looking at her friends Belle gave them a loving hug and went over to the Beast to tend to him. Garfield was incredulous at this. "Belle, are you kidding me?!" he bellowed.
Of course Belle couldn't understand Garfield as knelt down at the Beast's side and put her robe around him. After much effort Belle finally managed to get the Beast up off the ground and over to Philippe which made Garfield and Odie jump down. With equally much effort she got the Beast on the horse.
Garfield still not believing what he was seeing, was about to go back home without Belle and Odie. "Okay, you know what? You want to go back! Fine by me! I'm I'm….." But Garfield was interrupted by a timely appearance by Nermal and Arlene looking at him judgmentally. Guilt-ridden Garfield sauntered back in defeat. "I'm going, I'm going." He muttered as he followed his friends back to the castle.
In the main parlor Belle was using Mrs. Potts to pour hot water into a basin to help clean the wounds to the Beasts arm who was seated in the chair resting. Garfield and Odie were on the arm of the chair while the rest of the servants were cowering in fear at the Beast as he growled in pain.
Seeing him lick his wounds caused concern for Belle. "Oh don't do that." She said to him as she prepared to wash his injuries to which he growled in response. "Here let me see it." She commanded unfazed but the Beast who wasn't very eager to comply. Finally she managed to apply the cloth to the wound The Beast at the stinging pain.
"That hurt!" He bellowed so loudly Belle's hair flew back as well as Garfield's tail. Garfield, Belle and Odie were not fazed by the Beast's outburst. The servants on the other hand fled behind a case in fear.
Belle had had enough of the Beast's temper. "If you'd hold still it won't hurt so much."
"If you hadn't run away none of this wouldn't have happened." The Beast said to her with a grin thinking he had her.
"If you hadn't frightened me I wouldn't have run away." She shot back.
Beast struggled for second or two form an argument finally coming up with one. "Well you shouldn't have been in the west wing." He added with a wide grin thinking he had finally won the argument.
"Well you should learn to control your temper!" Belle added mimicking the tone Beast took with her. Beast looked at Garfield who shook his head in disagreement with an irritated look. After a moment of silence between them, the servants and Odie came out from their hiding place as Belle prepared to apply the cloth again. "Now this might sting a little." She said as she quickly as she applied the cloth again. As she warned it was stinging as the Beast shuddered in pain. "By the way; thank you; for saving Garfield. Isn't that right Garfield?" She asked the tabby cat. The Beast looked at the cat, who was not in a forgiving mood, promptly stick out his tongue and razzed him with an angry look. "Garfield!" Belle cried in offense. Odie on the other hand licked the Beast in the face barking happily. The Beast sighed in exasperation placing his face which was dripping drool in his left paw. "Any ways; thank you." Belle said sincerely.
Taken aback by her gratefulness after everything the Beast replied. "You're welcome." He said which surprised the servants to hear there master speak any kindness.
Hope everyone enjoyed this. I will try the last few chapters as soon as I can. Thanks for all your patience. My apologies for not getting this up sooner, so I will drop a hint for the next chapter. Think Garfield one shot comic strips.
