Chapter 7: The Escape

Belle combed through her wet hair as she sat on the bed and looked around. Babette had shown her to another room to take a bath. A talking wardrobe had left along with Babette to give Belle some privacy and something about the way they had talked to her had told her they actually wanted her to move into this room. But in their absence, Belle had already noticed that the balcony that came with the room made an escape impossible. She would have to find a way to return to her first room… as soon as she was dressed properly.

Wearing only underwear, Belle walked barefoot to her blue dress, which lay stained and sticky on the floor. She carefully took the key out of her apron. She would have to tuck it away somewhere and gulped as she hid it in her corset. At least nobody was going to find it there. She would need the key to get back into her first room, but before that, she would need some proper clothes.

She slowly opened the door and peeked outside. Babette and the wardrobe were in the hallway, talking to each other quietly, but they stopped immediately when they saw Belle in the doorway.

"Did you have a nice bath, mademoiselle?" Babette asked politely and Belle nodded in return.

"Yes, thank you for asking. I'd like to get some clothes now, if that's alright."

Babette and the wardrobe entered the room again. Babette couldn't help a sigh as she looked at Belle. She had legs, arms, boobs… Everything a woman was supposed to have. Babette felt a hint of jealousy, even though she knew it was unfair to Belle to feel this way. But it felt unfair to Babette too that she was trapped in the form of a feather duster. She had to try to help Belle lift the curse.

The wardrobe had barely squeezed through the door when she flew open her doors and started calling out excitedly: "Have a look, Mademoiselle Belle! I've got some gorgeous dresses in which I'm sure you'll look lovely!"

Belle smiled kindly, although she was a bit taken aback by the loud voice of the wardrobe. She seemed eager to help, but it made Belle uncomfortable. Belle didn't hesitate though as she browsed through the clothes in the wardrobe. The fabrics were beautiful and elegant, but Belle couldn't help but turn a little red at their style. The dresses were so… revealing! She didn't know if she would feel at ease in them.

Babette noticed Belle's sudden hesitation as she saw the young woman go through the same clothes for a third time. "Is something wrong, mademoiselle?" Babette tried to inquire.

Belle shook her head quickly, even though she thought something was wrong. The dresses were so unlike anything she had ever worn! "No, no, not really!" Belle gulped. She just couldn't wear these dresses! "But eh… Isn't this a little bit too cold… in the chest area? I'd… hate to get sick."

Babette saw through the excuses. Belle appeared to be a little prim… But she knew that few women weren't. It was nothing Babette couldn't overcome. "I know what you are thinking, Mademoiselle Belle… You are afraid you will not be decent. I know you can not be worried about looking ugly in these dresses. You are absolutely beautiful and those dresses will bring out your beauty even more so. Tell you what… Try them on… All of them. I am convinced that you will fall in love with at least one of them. You haven't lived until you have tried on one of these dresses!"

Belle was a little bit taken aback by Babette's suggestion, but the feather duster did make it sound intriguing. And Belle was a little curious. She had never ever worn dresses like those. Slowly she took out a red dress, not noticing how Babette's eyes lit up as she held it in front of her. "This fabric is so soft," she admitted, letting her fingertips slide over the satin. "I think I will try this one on first…"

"Excellent choice!" the wardrobe complimented her. "I would have picked the very same one myself!"

Babette and the wardrobe watched eagerly as Belle put on the dress and gasped when she turned around, finished. The bodice was made of the finest silk, but dark-red threads shaped like vines decorated the sides of it and ended in two small roses at the bottom. The skirt was simple, were it not for the various layers of red satin fabric that covered the back in a smart way.

"You are absolutely gorgeous!" Babette said dreamily, secretly imagining she was the one wearing the dress. "You look just like a princess!"

"Here, put this in your hair!" the wardrobe suggested as she opened one of her drawers and showed a comb with a red rose on it.

Belle took it out and put the hair slide in on the side of her hair. "Like this?" she asked, looking at Babette and the wardrobe for approval.

"Yes! Stunning! What do you think of yourself?" Babette asked curiously.

Belle blushed. "Hard to say without a mirror…"

The wardrobe quickly swung open one of her doors, revealing a mirror that was stuck on the inside. "Have a look, dearest!"

Belle took a step forward and couldn't help a smile as she looked at her reflection. She had always known she was beautiful, she just didn't always feel like she was. This was a different experience. Belle figured that the dress had to be magical, for it made her feel special. Special in a way that she was okay with. Not special like she had felt in her home town, as though she had been a freak.

"Well, are you going to say something?" the wardrobe wondered, grinning.

"I'm… speechless," Belle admitted, still looking at herself in the mirror while her hands played with the soft satin layers on her skirt. "I don't know if I'll ever want to take this one off."

"You won't have to!" Babette assured Belle quickly. "You can wear it as much and as long as you like!"

"It would need to get washed at some point though…" the wardrobe interrupted as she frowned.

Babette and Belle both laughed. "Hmm… Yes," Belle smiled. "I think I'll wear this one for now and try on the others another time…"

Belle turned her gaze away from the mirror and looked around in the room. Something inside of her felt bad for playing princess at this moment. But she would have to keep this up for a little while longer. It wasn't dark just yet and this was not the time for her escape. But she would have to be ready. And she would have to get out of this room.

"Is it okay if I go for a little walk?" Belle asked quickly. "To see if the dress isn't too cold?"

The wardrobe was about to hesitate, but Babette cut in. "Of course it is! Let us know if there is any way in which we can help you!"

Belle nodded politely before she left the room. "Thank you!"

The wardrobe turned to Babette and hissed quietly: "Are you sure it's a good idea to let her wander around the castle?"

"Why not?" Babette replied slyly. "What's the worst thing that could happen? If we're lucky, she'll run into the master like that…"

"Lucky?" the wardrobe repeated in a confused matter. "What do you mean lucky, the master…" All of a sudden the wardrobe fell silent as she remembered the plan and she smiled devilishly. "Oh right… We wouldn't want her to accidentally run into the master like that…"

Babette and the wardrobe both laughed, glad that their plan was working.


"I still think it's a miracle she didn't get sick, the way you were behaving, master! I honestly have to admit I wondered if you had ever listened to me at all! Why do you think I keep on giving you advice – for my own pleasure? The way you behaved at dinner was inexcusable!" Lumière was pacing besides a large bath tub, his flames swelling in anger at the memory of the afternoon's events. "Plenty of other ladies would have just left the table or would have stopped eating all together!"

Beast winced in pain with every brushstroke the hairdresser took to get through his fur. Apparently the mayonnaise had left awful knots, and he was nearly crying now. "Well, she didn't leave, did she?" Beast tried to argue with Lumière, thinking he was exaggerating. "And she didn't stop eating either!"

"She probably has a strong stomach," Cogsworth muttered from his spot on the boudoir.

Beast growled. He hated it when Cogsworth and Lumière teamed up against him. He preferred to see them bicker with each other so much more.

"I really feel like it's a bad idea to have you dine with Belle again until you have learned some manners," Lumière said firmly as he crossed his arms.

"But I don't want to learn manners!" Beast whined, wincing as the hairdresser combed through another thick knot. "Belle is fine with the way I behave! She doesn't make it an issue; why do you?!"

"Of course she does not make it an issue!" Lumière was fuming at the master's ignorance. "She is a true lady! It doesn't mean that she wasn't disgusted by your behavior!"

Beast grumbled as he let the hairdresser cut his hair and listened to Lumière's complaints. "Well, I'm okay with it if she is disgusted by my behavior. I can't help being a Beast! Neither can she help she is a lady. She has every right to feel that way and I have every right to act the way I do." Beast said this as though that finished the conversation, but Lumière looked as though he was about to jump in the bath tub to smack his master in the face.

"First of all: it is your own fault you are a Beast! It is not your nature! Second of all: you can change back into a human if only you'd try. Third: you need her affections to lift this curse so I think it's only proper to try and behave in front of her. And fourth: you have no right to act the way you do! It is rude and selfish! Don't you want this dreadful curse to break?! Would you rather have us stay household objects? Would you rather have your castle remain dark and gloomy? Would you rather stay trapped in that monstrous body instead of become human again?! Once you lift the curse, you will no longer be a beastly prince, you will be king! It was the agreement that your uncle Stefan would only take over the reign of this country until you were of age! Who is going to rule the country if you remain a beast?"

Beast roared as he jumped up and knocked the hairdresser over. He shook the water out of his hair so fiercely that the entire room was soaked and he angrily grabbed a towel from a stool to dry himself.

Lumière looked annoyed that he was drenched and tried to get his flames burning again. Cogsworth kept quiet as he felt a little fear of the master getting into an angry fit. This was not the first time they had had a similar argument.

"King Stefan can rule the country all he wants," Beast muttered darkly. "He can have the throne and keep it. Besides, he has three sons. I'm sure they would love to be king someday." Beast sat down angrily on his chair in front of the boudoir, waiting for the hairdresser to get up again and comb through his fur some more.

"That is not what was agreed!" Lumière went on angrily. "We promised king Stefan we would prepare you for taking over the leadership of France. We tried our very best to instruct you in the proper behavior of a king, to teach you about eloquence and state affairs and what-not! But you seem to value your childish games a lot more than you do the well-being of your country!"

"It is NOT my country!" Beast yelled back as he clenched his fists, swearing to himself that he was going to knock Lumière of his boudoir any moment now. "You seem to be so convinced that I would help France go to the dogs if ever I were to become a king! Why do you urge me to change and can't I just stay a Beast instead?!"

Lumière screamed in frustration. In conversations like these he forgot that he was dealing with a beast ten times his size. Cogsworth had figured it was better to keep quiet, but Lumière had not yet come to that safe resolve. "Your parents would kill us if they found out we would just give up on you like that!"

"My parents are dead!" Beast called back angrily. "I doubt they'd be able to kill you from wherever they are now!"

Lumière sighed deeply and rubbed his candles through his eyes, trying to calm down. "Master," he continued in a softer voice. "Please, master, try your best to behave like a gentleman. It would make your parents so proud. It would make all of us proud. Please."

Beast growled. How could he possibly argue with someone that talked to him like that? It was just… impossible! He hated people that begged.

"Are you done?" Beast asked the hairdresser, who quickly stepped out of the way when he heard Beast's aggressive undertone. Beast put on his pants and took his cape, without making any vow to Lumière about behaving himself. He was not going to be let himself be restricted by rules and promises. "I'm going to look for Sultan," Beast muttered as he headed to the exit of the West Wing. "Don't wait for me." With a loud slam, the door shut. Lumière's candles had been blown out by the draft and he shook his head.

"Don't give up yet…" Cogsworth tried to cheer up Lumière.

Lumière's sad face slowly turned into a smirk. "Do not worry, Cogsworth. I never lose hope this easily…" Lumière faced the door for a moment. "Once he notices how gorgeous Belle is and falls in love with her, he won't be able to wait to turn back into a prince."

"You think?" Cogsworth asked with a lot of doubt in his voice.

"I know so!" Lumière replied in a self-assured voice, before adding in a whisper: "When he notices her… really notices her… He'll be a gentleman. Whether he wants to or not."


Belle waited for the sun to set as she sat by the window. All light of day was nearly gone when she got her stuff together and put on her cloak. She closed it tightly around her neck, a little afraid to catch a cold in her new dress, and opened the window. She had a few minutes before it would be completely dark and she would use those minutes to climb down the trellis.

She threw her bag into the flowerbed before climbing out of the window and making her way to the trellis. All was silent around the castle as she jumped in the flowerbed and she looked around suspiciously before picking up her bag.

She stayed close to the palace walls as she made her way over to the secret passageway. She hoped she would find her way out of there on her own. This time she didn't have Beast's hand to hold and she wondered if she was going to find the lever to get out. As she reached the secret passageway, she looked for the right stone to push. Oddly enough, it didn't go as quickly as it had gone that morning. But in the complete darkness, it was harder to make out which stone stood loosely in the wall. After a few minutes, she succeeded and the door slid open.

Belle quickly stepped inside and didn't hesitate to move forward while the door was still open. The more distance she would cover before the door would slide close and darkness would fill the room, the better. After half a dozen steps, the door closed again and Belle slowed down. She felt the walls with one of her hands and held the other hand in front of her. Oddly enough, it seemed like the darkness in the passageway wasn't blinding her as much as it had that morning. She was convinced she could see better this time. That didn't prevent her from tripping though and Belle hardly managed to keep standing as she dropped her bag.

"Merde!" Belle cursed as she held onto the wall for support. She bowed down to look for her bag, but wasn't fond on moving her hands across the dirty floor. By the time she had found it, she suddenly froze as she heard something.

Barking. Loud barking. And it sounded like it was approaching her rapidly.

"Sultan, get back here!" Beast's voice sounded quite distant still, but Belle gasped as she recognized his voice. This simply can not get any worse.

She took a few steps back in the darkness, but she wasn't fast enough. The dog was nearly with her now and Belle held her hands high, afraid that the creature would attack her. As Sultan closed the final distance between Belle and himself, he started jumping around her, barking loudly. Belle was grateful to not feel any teeth sink into her and figured that the dog wasn't that huge, but that didn't stop her heart from pounding when she noticed a light was approaching.

Beast had wondered what on earth had distracted Sultan, and had run after him to find out. Now, as the light revealed that it was Belle, he was confused for a moment and took a few steps closer. She wore a rose in her loose hair. Not a real rose, but a comb of sorts. That was the first thing he noticed, but it only took him a moment to figure out the rest. She wore her dark blue traveling cloak and held her bag in her hands. Not just that, but the look on her face was unmistakably that of someone who had been caught in a crime.

Belle couldn't say a word and just stared at Beast, hoping he would be forgiving, when her attention got drawn by Sultan again. Looking to her side at the barking dog, she suddenly noticed that it wasn't a dog at all and she jumped. It was a footstool! A barking footstool! Belle felt like she could faint, but held onto the wall instead.

Beast was still staring at the bag in her hands and his voice sounded a little numb when he finally spoke. "You're trying to escape?"

Belle nodded as she cast her eyes down.

"I see," Beast replied shortly, looking at her face. She looked sad. Miserable, even. And who could blame her for trying? She had other obligations, other things to do in life than spend her time with him and his servants. If it had been his choice, she wouldn't have stayed this long anyways, she would have been on her way to her sick aunt.

"Sultan!" Beast summoned the barking footstool to him and Sultan obliged. It wagged its tail as it circled Beast and Beast stepped to the side of the wall, giving Belle enough room to pass. The servants would kill him if they ever found out… But they would never find out. He would say he hadn't known. Act surprised when they told him the news that Belle had managed to escape. Nobody had to know. "Make sure nobody sees you," Beast said slowly as he still stood quietly to the side.

Belle gazed up at Beast with her mouth open. What did he mean? What was he doing? "Are you… letting me go?" she asked, her voice hoarse from surprise.

Beast hesitated. "Yes. Sort of. I am… letting you escape." Beast quickly added: "But don't tell the servants!"

Belle couldn't believe what she was hearing and looked curiously at Beast, who was now avoiding her gaze. He was allowing her to escape. He didn't want her to be a prisoner. Belle felt such a rush of gratitude that she quickly closed the distance between them and gave him a big hug.

Beast had no idea what was happening when Belle appeared to… fall against him or something. Too confused to move, he slowly figured out that she hadn't fallen or anything, but that she was giving him a hug. It was making him mighty uncomfortable and he took her by her shoulders and gently pushed her back a little.

He cleared his throat before he added in a stern voice: "I'm serious about this. Don't ever tell anybody we saw each other here. As far as you're concerned, you didn't see me here at all. You didn't see Sultan here either. You didn't see anyone."

"Got it," Belle quickly said, unable to suppress a smile. "I won't say a thing. And I won't tell anyone about the castle either. I promise."

It felt good to Beast that Belle was smiling. She seemed happy now. It made him feel better too. He was glad he was able to help her. At least this is one thing in life I didn't screw up.

He handed over his lantern to Belle and picked up Sultan from the floor. "Use the lantern to find your way out of the passageway, but leave it in here," Beast advised her. "And use the backdoor to the stables; that way you won't cross any servants on your way."

Belle nodded, grateful for Beast's pointers. "How can I ever repay you?" she wondered, almost breathlessly.

Beast shrugged. "You can't. I suppose." Beast figured that his servants would have asked her to repay him by loving him, but Beast would rather have it end like this. He was comfortable with this. "Take care," Beast said, turning around and heading out.

"Thank you!" Belle called after him, feeling a hint of sadness to see him leave. "I won't forget this!"

As he disappeared in the darkness, Belle heard him talking to Sultan. "You are one ungrateful dog. I take you to your mother's corpse, but instead of paying your respects you almost knock over her skeleton completely to jump at a guest instead. I'm very disappointed in you…"

Belle smiled sadly as Beast's voice died out and she heard the secret door slide close again. Using the light of the lantern, she made her way through the passageway swiftly, stopping for a moment to stare at the skeleton. Belle didn't get it. How could a genuine dog have been the mother of a footstool that acted like a dog? So far, she had assumed that all magical creatures she had seen here had been objects that had been brought to life by magic… But if the footstool had a dog-mother… That meant that it was born from a real being and that it had something of a real dog inside it as well…

Perhaps that meant that the magical objects hadn't always been objects… But did that mean that once upon a time they had been human instead? And what about Beast? He acted kind of beastly most of the time… But he wasn't a monster really. He was rather kind. Perhaps he had always been that way… Belle found it hard to picture him human. Perhaps he was the one with the magical powers… He might have been the one that had enslaved the humans to act as his servants by turning them into objects?

Belle shook her head. Beast just wasn't magical. He didn't appear to be. But what kind of magic had fallen upon the castle? Belle feared that she would never find out now and decided to put it out of her mind. She had to focus on escaping now.

She pulled the lever and put down the lantern. She took a deep breath and whispered as she stepped out on the grass. "Here goes nothing…"


Beast was still holding Sultan in his arms as he entered his room in the West Wing and when the footstool started barking, Beast finally put him down. Sultan raced through the room like a loose cannon, messing up the West Wing even more and not stopping until he finally reached the table that held the rose. Sultan barked like mad as the magical presence of the rose was driving him crazy.

Beast shook his head and stretched, feeling very tired from the day's events. More tired than he had felt in a long while. Sultan's incessant barking was becoming the source of a headache and Beast moaned a little. "Keep it down, Sultan! I'll throw you out if you don't shut up!"

Sultan, however, didn't understand a word of that and kept on barking at the rose instead.

"What are you barking about anyway?" Beast wondered out loud as he lay down on the bed. "It's just a stupid rose. With magical light. You're supposed to find it pretty, not bark at it as though it's a cat. It's not going to hurt you." Beast closed his eyes as Sultan's barking didn't diminish at all. Why was it so hard to find some peace and quiet in this castle? "Look, Sultan, shut up. I'm not putting the rose away. It's your choice. Either you stay here, quietly, or you can go. I'm not destroying the rose just to have your barking end." Beast opened his eyes again and looked at the rose. Destroying it… That would feel like such a relief. No more lectures… No more pressure… But no more servants either. Ever again. They would leave him for destroying their only hope. He'd be alone forever… until the day he died. A scary thought. He would just have to be patient. Only a few more weeks, a month at most. Surely the rose would be completely withered by then. He'd have to wait another month and then he would be free of this curse… Perhaps not free in the way the servants would want, but free in the way that he would never have to worry about it again. He could just live on his life as a Beast. No responsibility whatsoever. A life of freedom. A life without people telling him what to do… Though he hoped the servants would still be there. He was not going to start cooking for himself. He'd simply die or kill himself in an attempt to light the stove. The servants still had to serve him. That was why they were called servants: to serve. Not to give him lectures. If he had wanted lectures, he would have hired lecturers. When would the servants figure that out?

Sultan suddenly stopped barking and turned his head, listening attentively before he sped off to the balcony. Beast wondered what had drawn Sultan's attention and got up from the bed to follow him. He walked to the balustrade and picked up the footstool as he gazed down at the grounds and pricked up his ears. He heard the trampling of hoofs and shortly thereafter he noticed Belle was riding Philippe, heading to the gate as quickly as they could.

Beast smiled as he petted Sultan, keeping him quiet. Belle had made it and no statue had tried to stop her. Good for her. Beast was about to turn and go back in his room when he suddenly noticed Belle had gotten off Philippe and was trying to open the gate. Beast gasped as he realized something. The gate. It wasn't just an ordinary gate, it was a servant. And unless the servant was eager to remain a gate, it was unlikely he would let Belle go. Beast cursed as he blamed himself for forgetting.

He watched from the balcony how Belle tried to open up the gate by using all her strength, which wasn't much strength, then smashed a branch she had found on the ground against it. It was never going to work. She needed help.

Beast put down Sultan and hurried out of the West Wing, racing on his hands and feet through the castle. Perhaps nobody had noticed yet. If the gate was the only one who knew, Beast wouldn't mind letting Belle go. Because if the curse never got lifted, the gate would never be able to talk about it. Beast could still make up an alibi. He could say he hadn't known. But he would have to hurry.

As Beast was about to go down the stairs in the entrance hall, he suddenly heard voices and slowed down. Beast pricked up his ears and soon recognized the voices of his household staff. He felt a hint of panic, afraid that they had found out about Belle's escape attempt.

"Mama, what is she doing?"

"I… I don't know, dearest."

"I believe she is hitting the gate with a piece of wood." Babette gasped as all of them stood by the window and looked outside.

"Don't worry," Cogsworth said in a self-assured voice. "She can't get out. I instructed the gate to take special care of that."

"Are you sure the gate is still going to be alive after she is through with him?" Lumière asked, unable to resist a chuckle.

"He's made out of iron, Lumière, I doubt a bit of wood is going to hurt him," Cogsworth replied as he rolled his eyes.

"Might make him dizzy though," Lumière said in an amused voice as he pressed his nose against the window, finding it intriguing how determined Belle was to beat the gate. It was clear to him that she was nowhere near desperate yet and he admired that in her. She seemed to have a feisty spirit. He liked that.

"Well I can only imagine that the poor child has a lot of anger inside for being forced to stay here," said Mrs. Potts. "I say we let her take it out on the gate and pretend we never were witnesses of this."

Cogsworth turned to Mrs. Potts in surprise. "Pretend we never saw this?! The girl needs a firm scolding for this attempt to escape! We agreed she would stay a month, she shouldn't even try such a thing!"

"No, I agree with Mrs. Potts," Babette argued with Cogsworth. "Let her try. She will come back inside at some point once she figures there is no way out. But no scolding. Let her keep her dignity."

"She looks pretty determined to get out. I don't think she will give up soon. She is..." Lumière frowned as he tried to see what she was doing. "What is she doing?"

"Looks to me as though she's using the branch as some kind of leverage now…" Babette muttered, tilting her head to one side to look at her better.

"Oh…" Lumière said with a voice full of admiration. "Very, very clever!" But as he imagined her clever idea actually working, he quickly turned to the others with a hint of fear in his voice. "Will it work?"

"I highly doubt it," Cogsworth said, looking sternly out the window. "The gate weighs way too much to be lifted. Let her try. I'm sure that once she is out of ideas, she'll give up and return inside. And then I'll be ready for a scolding!"

"No scolding!" Mrs. Potts insisted firmly. "The poor child can do without!"

"Surely you are not referring to mademoiselle Belle as a poor child? Just look at her!" Lumière gave a longing sigh, causing Babette to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Look at the graceful way in which she is battling the gate! Look how she's trying to break the hinges by slamming that rock into it? Have you ever seen any woman slam into something with such fire, such passion?"

Cogsworth rolled his eyes and replied in a sarcastic tone: "Yes, of course this is a very romantic moment between Belle and the gate we are witnessing, Lumière. Shall we give them some time alone as she gracefully tries to destroy his hinges?"

Lumière sighed again as he put an arm around Cogsworth. "Ah, but do forgive me old friend, but such a spirited young woman was just what we were waiting for. She is fearless, beautiful, exactly like I would want a woman to be!"

Babette's expression had turned very sour by now and she cleared her throat meaningfully.

"For the master!" Lumière quickly added, noticing Babette's reaction. "What I would want a woman to be for the master! Surely together, they can make it work! This time next month, we shall be human again!"

"I do hope you're right…" Mrs. Potts said with a little doubt in her voice. "But I do feel sorry for her… That she is trapped here, I mean."

Cogsworth shook his head and quickly interrupted the teapot, feeling that her guilt was useless: "Well, it's not as though we have a choice, Mrs. Potts… And it's only for a month… What's that compared to a lifetime of walking around like this? Either you can feel sorry for her having to stay here for a month or you can feel sorry for us staying like this for the rest of our lives. I'd rather be sorry for the first reason, you know? Seven years of walking around with a pendulum in my stomach isn't exactly comfortable. Spare it to me for the rest of my lifetime, please! And it's not like we're mistreating Miss Belle."

"No, we're only asking her to fall in love with a monster," Babette muttered darkly.

"Now, now, chéri… Once he turns back into a prince, there won't be much of a monster left in him," Lumière tried to ease her mind. "And we're not asking her… All we do is… gently nudge her in the right direction."

"And nudge him in her direction," Cogsworth chuckled, being a little amused by the idea of himself being a matchmaker.

"Mama! What is she doing now?"

All the servants looked out the window again as they heard Chip's voice. Mrs. Potts was the first to reply. "It looks as though she's trying to make her horse pull open the gate!"

Cogsworth sounded amazed. "Where on earth did she find the rope?"

Lumière lifted his candles in a perplexed way. "Not a clue!" He sighed deeply. "She is truly intelligent! I like that in a woman!" As he heard Babette clear her throat again, he quickly added: "For the master!"

"Well how long is she going to keep on trying?" Cogsworth wondered.

"No more than half an hour, I think," Babette answered. "Until she is out of ideas."

"I value her intelligence and creativity a little more than that…" Lumière said challengingly. "I say an hour… and a half."

Cogsworth liked the idea of placing a little bet and chuckled. "Mind if I put my bet on one hour?"

"Not at all!" Lumière grinned. "What shall we wager?"

Cogsworth only needed a moment to think. "As the head of the household staff, I could give you a day off… The moment we turn human again…"

"Deal!" Lumière was excited and he quickly swung his candle-arm around Babette. "If it's for the both of us!"

Babette giggled. "Oh, Lumière!" she said playfully as she batted her eyelashes.

Cogsworth sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. For the both of you. As for me?" he tried to inquire.

Lumière lifted his shoulders carelessly. "I shall comb your toupees for a month!"

Cogsworth opened his mouth, outraged he would talk about his toupees in front of Mrs. Potts and Babette. And the children! Chip probably hadn't even known!

"Mama, what's a toupee?" Chip asked curiously as he looked away from the window for a second.

"Shush, Chip," Mrs. Potts said with a smile.

Lumière quickly glanced outside again. "How about I go and light the fireplace in Belle's room? She would appreciate that after standing out in the cold for an hour and a half."

"That sounds lovely, dear, you go and do that," Mrs. Potts said absent-mindedly as she curiously looked outside.

"I say no more than an hour," Cogsworth insisted.

"But shouldn't we tell the master about Belle trying to escape?" Chip's sharp voice cut in. He didn't understand why nobody was doing anything.

"No, dearest… Best not to tell him. We wouldn't need him to give her a shouting. It is going to be hard enough for him to break this spell without knowing she was actually planning on escaping. He could very well be hurt by that knowledge."

Beast couldn't take it any longer. He had heard every word they had said to one another and the way the servants had talked about him and Belle infuriated him. Playing matchmakers, taking bets on how long she'd stay outside, talking about him as though he was going to treat her like he treated them… She deserved no such cruelty. Not from him and especially not from his servants.

"You filthy traitors!" Beast roared as he stormed down the stairs, heading to the door and opening it. "You all make me sick!" Beast slammed the door shut behind him and the servants were left standing stock-still as the windows were still trembling in their frames.

"Oh my…" Mrs. Potts said after a few moments, being the first to find her voice again.

"Dear me…" Cogsworth whispered.

"Why is the master sick?" Chip wondered curiously. "Did we cook him something wrong?"

"Did he just overhear everything we said?" Lumière asked the others with a slightly guilty voice.

"I am afraid so…" Babette replied quietly, staring out the window with a sad expression. "Is he going to get mad at her now?"

Curiously the servants focused their attention to the outside again. They didn't dare to breathe as they saw Beast storm towards Belle, but she did something which the servants found a little strange. When she noticed Beast was approaching, she started talking to him, pointing to the gate as though trying to explain that it wouldn't open. Beast stepped closely to the gate and started talking to it, pointing his finger and even roaring when the gate didn't budge.

"What on earth is he doing?" Cogsworth wondered, unable to keep up.

Suddenly Beast tried to ram the gate, smashing his entire weight into it, but the iron appeared sturdier than the master and it remained shut.

"He's trying to open the gate," Mrs. Potts realized in surprise.

"You mean… he is letting her escape?" Babette asked as her mouth dropped open.

"He is helping her escape," Lumière muttered darkly, feeling angry with the master for not cooperating in this. This was his one chance to break the curse and he was about to let it walk away!

After Beast had tried to ram the gate for the fifth time, Belle approached him quickly, put her hand on his arm and talked to him. The servants wished they could hear what she was saying, but there was something that looked to be very gentle in between the two of them.

"This is well enough," Lumière decided. "I am going to stop them. They should get back inside. He can not let her go!"

"No wait!" Cogsworth quickly called and he grabbed Lumière by his arm, preventing him from walking away. He looked outside and couldn't help but feel hope at the sight of Belle and Beast together. "This is… good!"

"Good?!" Lumière repeated incredulously. "Ha! Don't make me laugh! He is trying to help her escape!"

Lumière tried to break free from Cogsworth's grip, but the clock didn't budge. "No, no, Lumière! Look! They are kind to each other! He is trying to help her out and is proving to her that he has the best intentions for her, but we don't have to worry! They can't get out! The master will have nothing but Belle's gratitude for trying to help her out and that is only going to make it easier for them to fall in love, eventually! Don't you see?"

Lumière looked outside and blinked. Belle and Beast did appear to be nice to each other. Cogsworth did have a point for once. A very good point, too! "Sacré bleu, I believe you are right!" Lumière embraced Cogsworth and the two men danced into each other's arms, cheering as they spun around, feeling more optimistic than they had in a long while.

Babette, however, was still paying attention to the scene and tried to get the attention of her two colleagues. "Uhm, monsieurs… They are climbing the gate."

"Yes, we know, we know!" Cogsworth sang cheerfully, still dancing with Lumière. "They are climbing…" Cogsworth suddenly stopped still and gasped. "WHAT?!"

Lumière pressed his forehead against the window and gasped as well. Belle had apparently climbed on the master's back and held on tightly as Beast climbed on, higher and higher.

"That must be… ten meters high!" Mrs. Potts said quietly, the worry obvious in her voice. "If they fall… Oh dear, I wouldn't want to imagine the consequences."

Chip frowned as he looked at the master helping Belle get over the gate and quickly turned to the adults. "Mama, is he going to carry the horse over the gate too?"


Belle let go of Beast as they finally reached the other side of the gate and Belle was trembling on her feet. It had been quite scary, especially when they had to get over the very top of the gate, but Beast had taken very good care of them both. Even though they were safe, Belle couldn't help trembling from the excitement.

Beast was panting a bit and held onto the gate, feeling tired. He wasn't used to climbing around while carrying others. The look on his face was quite miserable as he tried to imagine the servants' reactions to this and it didn't take long for Bell to notice this.

"What's wrong?" she asked, closing her cape tightly around her as she was feeling quite cold.

"Nothing," Beast muttered.

"If nothing's wrong, then why do you look so miserable?"

Beast shrugged. "The servants know I helped you get out."

Belle felt sorry for Beast. For one or another reason, he had tried to keep it hidden from them and she felt guilty that they had found out anyway. "I'm really sorry," she apologized.

Philippe's sudden neighing distracted them both and Beast turned to the gate again. "Okay, now let her horse out. There's no use in keeping the horse on the castle grounds," Beast tried to reason with the iron gate.

The gate stayed firmly shut though and Beast moaned in agony. "Just open the bloody gate!" Beast whined miserably. "Look: the girl is out! No need to keep a horse in, is there?"

Belle tried to help Beast reason with the apparently lifeless gate. "Exactly. I am leaving, with or without my horse. So unless you are an animal-lover or anything of the sort, I don't see a reason for keeping the horse on the castle grounds." Belle hoped the gate would open. She didn't think Beast would be able to carry the animal over the gate as he had her. And without a horse, it would prove hard to get back to Molyneaux. Not to mention that it would prove impossible to go to Florence.

Belle thought deeply. The gate was being extremely stubborn. She cleared her throat and addressed Beast in a very formal matter, hoping he would notice that she was just playing. "What a shame that I have no other choice but to leave my horse behind. I do hope you will take very good care of him. Thank you kindly for helping me out. This is where we must part. I wish you the very best." Belle bowed courteously and gave Beast a wink before she turned and walked away, but no further than the first tree she encountered. She hid behind it and listened if Beast could help Philippe out.

"What a shame that she is gone!" she heard Beast say dramatically. Belle smiled as she realized he had been able to figure out her plan. "I best do as she says and take care of her horse now. Would you be so kind to open your… gate? I have a horrible backache and would hate to climb over again."

Belle heard nothing but silence for a few moments, until she heard Beast growl, frustrated with the fact that their little plan hadn't worked. "Look, I asked you politely. Open up! Are you deaf or something?!"

As she realized the gate was apparently more clever than they had figured out, she sighed. From what she heard, it appeared that Beast wasn't giving up yet. Instead, he had started shouting at the gate and from his aggressive undertone, she figured that nothing was going to convince the gate to open up. They were not going to win this.

"Look, I'm telling you!" Beast shouted. "The girl is gone! Open up and let me through!"

"Do no such thing!" a desperate voice suddenly cut in and Cogsworth hopped closer. He was going to die for this, he knew that for sure, but he couldn't just let Belle get away this easily. She was their last hope. On other occasions, the clock would never have dared to defy the master so blatantly, but for the moment, the master and himself were separated by a large and firm gate and that meant he wasn't dead yet. "Mademoiselle Belle is only hiding behind a tree until the master can get her horse out. Whatever you do, do not open up the gate. They'll use that moment to free the horse."

Beast growled menacingly. "You're lucky that I can't reach you right now, Cogsworth! You'd be dead!"

Cogsworth took a deep breath as he braced himself. It wasn't the first time the master had spoken to him like that, but he feared that the master's threat wasn't as hallow this time. "Dead? There are worse fates than death," Cogsworth replied darkly, trying not to reveal how intimidated he was by Beast, who was now baring his fangs.

As Belle was still hiding behind the tree, she listened to Beast's growls, only to freeze when she heard his growls mirrored in threatening rumbles that came from behind the other trees around her. Breathlessly, she turned around and ran to Beast. "Open the gate!" she shouted. "Wolves!"

"Don't listen to her!" Cogsworth ordered the gate. "She's just trying to trick you into…"

But when a wolf howled from the edge of the forest, Cogsworth gasped. Then he saw the first gray wolves appear from behind the trees and promptly passed out.

Beast had been startled as Belle had run up to him and warned him. In a flash, he had lifted Belle in the air and set her on the iron bars of the gate. The gate was ornate, with a vertical bar across the middle and decorative iron curlicues all over it... which, luckily, provided Belle with handholds and footholds, allowing her to cling to it.

She grasped onto the bars thankfully, glad to be out of reach, but before she could turn to see how Beast was doing, she already heard his first roar of pain.

Beast howled in pain as one of the wolves sank its teeth into his tail. He had never imagined a wolf could bite this fiercely and nearly passed out in the first moment he felt the pain. With a sharp intake of breath, he whirled around and slashed upwards at the wolf, tearing it off his tail and sending it flying.

Before Beast could catch his breath, a second wolf lunged at Beast, snapping at his hand. Beast took the wolf by its neck before it could bite and threw it away as hard as he could. Undaunted, the other wolves kept up their attack, leaping and snapping at him.

Belle watched in horror as Beast was unable to shake them off. Every time he managed to break free from one wolf's bite, another wolf would jump at him. "Open up this bloody gate!" Belle yelled, only to hear someone repeat her words.

Lumière hurried closer over the long bridge that led to the castle's gate, Babette close behind him. Lumière was nearly out of breath as he yelled: "Open up, sacré bleu! What kind of fool are you?! Do you wish them to die?!"

The gate suddenly swung open so fiercely that Belle had no choice but to let go. She fell to the ground, rolling away from the gate and closer to Lumière. A wolf spotted Belle and leaped toward her, but the gate suddenly slammed shut again, nearly knocking the wolf unconscious as it did so. It only took a moment for the wolf to focus its attention on Beast again, who was still on the other side of the gate.

Belle got up as fast as she could and looked around. "A weapon…" she muttered. "A weapon…" Then she saw the branch she had tried to use before to open the gate. Quickly she dove for it and ran to the gate. "OPEN UP!" she shouted, but the gate didn't listen to her this time either.

"Babette! Fetch some suits of armor! Quickly!" Lumière ordered her as he went over to Cogsworth, who was still lying unconscious on the ground. "Wake up you stupid clock!" Lumière hissed in frustration as he saw Belle wanted to go to his master's aid. "This is no time to faint! Order the wretched gate to open!"

Cogsworth still felt very faint and opened his eyes a little. Lumière sounded serious and without realizing what exactly he was saying, Cogsworth murmured quietly: "Gate open… Gate open now." As he had said these words, he fainted again.

The gate opened slightly and Belle trembled as she saw Beast was still fighting for his life. "BEAST! OVER HERE!" she called, standing behind the gate and hoping he heard her. He just had to try to get back inside… Preferably without the wolves.

Beast tried his hardest to shake off the wolves, but they were persistent. They knew that together, they could take down their prey.

Belle gulped. With no idea of what she was going to do, she suddenly swung open the gate and ran out again. She hurried to Beast, who was now rolling over the ground in an attempt to rid himself of the wolves. Quickly, she tried to hit one of the wolves that were on him with the stick. But she missed and hit Beast on the back instead, causing him to notice her.

"Go back!" Beast yelled as he realized Belle was there, but it was too late. Two wolves jumped at her. One bit her cape and tugged, causing Belle to fall over. Another one went for her foot and bit it, but Belle instantly hit the wolf with her branch and the wolf howled shortly before backing away again.

Lumière couldn't believe what he was seeing. This was going to be a massacre! They were not only going to be left without a girl, but without a master as well! There would be no breaking the curse at all. Lumière didn't hesitate and jumped through the bars of the gate, hurrying to Belle's aid as another wolf jumped at her.

Belle let out a scream as she felt some teeth piercing her arm, but the wolf released sooner than expected. Lumière lit the wolf's tail on fire and the wolf ran away with painful yelps.

Belle gasped as she realized that Lumière was exactly the weapon she needed and without asking, she took the candelabra in her hands and waved him at the wolves that were trying to approach them. The wolves growled at the fire, but kept their distance, and Belle made her way over to Beast once more.

Lumière tried to make his flames as impressive as possible, taking deep breaths and glaring angrily at the wolves. In the meanwhile, Belle tried to light the branch on fire and when a small flame was burning on it, she threw the stick on a dry bush that stood nearby.

The wolves were terrified by the fire that started and drew back. As they saw the bush go up in flames, they made a run for it, howling with their tails in between their legs. Together, the wolves could face any prey… But against fire they were powerless.

Beast lay down with his face to the ground, panting heavily as Belle and Lumière hurried to his side.

"Master!" Lumière called out as he hurried to Beast's paw and lifted it in the air, as though to feel for a pulse. "Master, say something!"

Beast, however, was too dazed to say anything. He was aware that he heard a familiar voice, but he had no idea whose it was. The shadows he saw around him didn't tell him much either. All he knew was that there were wolves. Too many of them. And he couldn't fight them. He was sure that they had won. Sure that he was defeated.

Belle heard the ringing of metal and turned to see that a dozen suits of armor were marching closer. She immediately turned her gaze back to Beast and was overcome by a feeling of guilt as she saw the wounds the wolves had inflicted on him, especially on one of his paws and his tail, which seemed to be bleeding fiercely. She put her hand on his arm, stroking it gently. "I'm so sorry…" she whispered. "This is all my fault!"

Belle bit her lip as the suits of armor approached and she stood up, giving them room to lift Beast in the air.

"To the castle!" Lumière ordered them. "And someone pick up Cogsworth, that useless, cowardly and no-good clock!"

One of the suits of armor grabbed Cogsworth from the ground as the others lifted Beast in the air and made their way over to the castle. Belle hurried after them, not even considering escaping even though the way through the gate and to her home was clear.

Philippe stood motionless behind the gate, confused by all the evening's events. One moment he had been convinced that he and Belle would go riding… But now she was just leaving him standing there again. Philippe shook his head as he walked away from the gate. He felt hungry. He had seen some lovely flowers around this castle. Surely nobody would mind him eating some.


Author's Note: Yep… That was 15 pages of story for your reading pleasure in one chapter... Read and review?

I have to say this wasn't the easiest chapter to write though, I made some pretty severe mistakes, but thankfully my beta-reader TrudiRose helped me back on track. I don't know where I'd be without her so: thank you Trudi!