1st A/N: Woot! An hour lunch break! ^.^ I'm not sure how, but the cheap Butterfinger flavored coffee of Ivy Tech and the Cheez-Its have made the creative juices flow faster, so yaay! (Healthy lunch, I know, but I'm a broke college student, what can I say…?)

2nd A/N: I did start working on this during my lunch break, but I couldn't type it all out in time… –sigh– Stupid Psychology class!

…

A beautiful violin chord poured out of the music room, where Stan was playing Apocalyptica's "Beautiful." He had been practicing that single song nearly nonstop since The Beast left the music room a few hours ago, determined to learn and perfect it by the time the week was done. The only time he stopped was when his fingers began giving him some trouble with the unfamiliar violin but the problem was remedied in only a minute, and then he was playing again.

Given a task by The Beast that he was more than willing to carry out, Cartman hopped into the music room and up to Stan. "Hey!" He tried yelling over the music, but finding that he couldn't be heard. With a huff, he jumped onto the small table the violin normally sat on. "Stan!"

Stan stopped playing and looked over at the candelabra. "Oh, hey Cartman. What's up?"

"Go upstairs and get changed." Cartman pointed at the door and a drip of wax fell from the candle serving as his left hand, not offering an explanation as to why Stan had to change.

"Uh," he lowered the violin from where it had been resting in the crook of his neck, "why?"

"The master requested it." Cartman crossed his arms. "I was also told to tell you that it was a surprise."

Stan sighed deeply. Two surprises in one day? The Beast was going to give him a heart attack if the next surprise was as big as the music room had been. "Okay then." Gently, he returned the violin to the place it had been sitting in on the table where he had picked it up from and followed Cartman up to his room, where Token stood with his doors open, waiting.

When Cartman left, Stan looked at Token confusingly. "What's going on? Is this something I should know about?"

"Don't worry about it," Token reassured as he reached for the same brown suit he had a few days ago. "Besides, you've been wearing that same t-shirt and blue jean combination for two days, you need a shower man."

Stan's eyes narrowed. "I don't need a shower, my clothes just need to be washed."

"Regardless," Token held out the brown suit, "change into this."

Stan snatched the suit and sighed. "Doesn't this seem a little formal to just be wearing to go back downstairs and play the violin?"

Token chuckled. "Don't worry; it's perfect for what you're going to be doing."

With a confused eyebrow raised, Stan pulled off his t-shirt and blue jeans and changed into the brown suit Token gave him. He messed with the dark blue tie for a few minutes, not entirely comfortable with it around his neck. He wasn't exactly used to wearing suits, the only time he ever wore one before in his life was when his older sister, Shelly got married, and even then, he didn't feel comfortable. Having a tie around his neck, constricting its movement, was a virtual hell for him.

"I look stupid," Stan groaned, "and I feel weird."

Again, Token chuckled. "I think you look fine, now we need someone to fix your hair."

"What's wrong with my hair?" Stan demanded. True, in the past few days he'd gone without brushing it, turning it into a nearly unkempt mess, but he didn't think it was too bad. When he got sick, his hair could turn into something resembling the Seiyans' from Dragon Ball Z, and he wasn't entirely sure how.

"It's a mess," Token said flat out. He really wasn't one to soften the blow when it came to the truth, but it was better that way. He opened the door a crack and summoned someone - a hat rack, Stan noticed with a sigh - to fix the man's hair.

Within moments, the hat rack had combed and slicked Stan's hair down to the point that he looked like a character right out of The Outsiders. "Um… Could I go without all of the hair gel?" He asked with a blank stare directed at the mirror.

The hat rack nodded and quickly sprayed Stan's hair and took all of the hair gel out of it. It simply combed his hair that time, leaving it looking like the simple hairstyle the twenty-year-old normally had - straightened flat against his head to the top of his ears and parted down the middle with a few random strands sticking into the air. Stan nodded in approval and did a three-sixty in the black full-length mirror. He still thought he looked weird in the suit but figured there was no point in arguing the matter. He was going to be wearing the thing for some reason.

"Well," Stan looked at Token, "how do I look?"

Token smiled. "You look great! The master will be happy!"

Stan sighed. Of course him dressing up was for The Beast, though why would he even want him to dress up in the first place? Were they going to attempt another dinner together? (No, that wouldn't make sense, he thought, we've been eating together just fine…)

Cartman opened the door and ushered Stan out of the room. "Come on."

With his stomach doing nervous flips, Stan followed the candelabra down the hall only to be stopped at the top of the eastern stairs. He asked why he was being stopped but found his answer a moment later when he saw The Beast stop at the top of the western stairs wearing a dark red suit. He actually looked handsome like that, Stan realized with a light blush.

As he saw The Beast move, Stan began walking down the staircase and stopped on the small area where the staircase split into two in front of him. The Beast smiled and said, "You look…" He chuckled nervously. "You look great."

Stan smiled softly. "So do you."

The Beast held out one paw, which Stan took with one of his hands, not caring that the paw completely enveloped his hand. They walked down the staircase into the main hall as Butters cued a violin and a cello to begin playing. Stan's smile widened as he began dancing with The Beast, both because he felt wonderful twirling around in The Beast's arms and because he recognized the song - Beauty and the Beast, his favorite.

Sitting on the end of the banister of the staircase with Ike and Cartman, Pip smiled and began singing,

"Tale as old as time

True as it can be

Barely even friends

Then somebody bends

Unexpectedly"

Stan, still smiling, twirled out to be arms length away, his hand still linked with The Beast's. It felt right to be doing this with him, far more than any of the girls in South Park he had dated through high school. Could it be possible? Did he love The Beast?

"Just a little change

Small to say the least

Both a little scared

Neither one prepared"

The Beast wrapped one arm back around Stan's waist as the man folded back into him. He smiled widely as Stan rested his head against his collarbone, feeling a warmth he'd never felt before well up inside of him. His heart was racing at the contact, and he knew that he loved him.

"Beauty and the beast…

Ever just the same

Ever a surprise

Ever as before

Ever just as sure

As the sun will rise"

As The Beast released him for a moment as he was twirling, Stan did a quick three-sixty and caught The Beast's hand again.

"Tale as old as time

Tune as old as song

Bittersweet and strange

Finding you can change

Learning you were wrong"

Hands linked, The Beast's arm around Stan's waist, and Stan's hand resting on the arm around his waist, the two somehow found their way out of an open, tall window-door leading to a balcony sitting over a small frozen pond.

"Certain as the sun

Rising in the east

Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

Beauty and the beast"

The Beast released Stan, holding his hands arms length away from him with a soft smile. Stan returned the smile, his eyes showing the same happiness in them. They both wanted the other, but were unsure if the other wanted him.

"Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

Beauty and the beast…"

As the violin and cello faded out with the end of the song, Stan suddenly began laughing with some tears running down his face. The Beast's face became concerned and he cupped Stan's face in one of his paws. "What's wrong?"

"I can't believe this," Stan laughed and wiped the tears from his face, "it's amazing. The music room, the song, the dance…" He laughed. "I never even thought to imagine someone doing all of this."

The Beast's smile returned when Stan said that, he was happy to see Stan so happy, if not overwhelmed. "I just thought that…maybe you deserved it. You've been so good to me lately, even though I was more than rude to you when you first got here."

Stan smiled for a moment and then sat down on the railing of the balcony with his hands resting on his knees. "To be honest, at first I stayed because of the promise, but now…I see this place as more of a home than South Park ever was. It's strange, I've only been here a few days."

"Then," The Beast sat down on the railing next to Stan, "what's wrong?"

He looked over at The Beast with worry lacing every feature of his face. "I'm worried about Kyle. His arm was broken when he left, and I'm just worried that something happened to him."

At first, The Beast didn't know what to say to him, unsure if it would help, but he grabbed Stan's hands as he stood up and pulled the man up from the railing. "Come on, I want to show you something."

…

Hesitantly, Stan followed The Beast into his room and over to the small table with the mirror and the rose sitting on it. The Beast picked up the silver mirror and handed it to Stan. "It's a magic mirror. Just tell it who you want to see, and it'll show them to you."

Stan looked into the mirror, feeling a little silly as he did, and said, "Show me Kyle Broflosky."

The mirror lit up and showed the redhead walking away from a cherry red motorcycle coughing and clutching his right arm. The motorcycle had run out of gas seeing as Kyle had forgotten to fill it up before leaving South Park. There were bags under his eyes, his skin was pale.

Stan's eyes went wide at the sight of his best friend. "Kyle! He's sick, and he's trapped in the snow!" Suddenly, Kyle dropped to his knees and fell face first in the snow. "I-I need to go!" He turned to run out of the door, but stopped after only a few steps when his promise ran through his mind. "Oh…" He looked back at The Beast with pleading eyes.

His mouth formed a straight line, unwilling to let Stan go but knowing it would be for the best. If he didn't let him go, Stan would never forgive him because his best friend would die without help. "Go. I release you from your promise."

"Thank you." Stan smiled small again and held the mirror out, but it was pushed back against him.

"Take it." The Beast ran one paw gently down the side of Stan's face. "If you ever get lonely, just look into it and you can relive all that happened here."

"Thank you so much." He turned and ran out of the west wing and back to his room, quickly changing back into his white t-shirt and blue jeans before running out as he slipped into his brown jacket. Kyle's black bike had been repaired by some of the servants in the castle, so Stan pulled on the scratched helmet and kick started the bike, riding off towards South Park as fast as he dared to go.

…

As Stan was running out to the motorcycle, The Beast watched from a balcony and Cartman hopped into the room he was in. A smile graced the candelabra's face, happy that the say had gone so well.

"Well, I'd say things are going great!" Cartman exclaimed. "Give it a few more days and I'll start planning the wedding with Butters! Haha!"

"There's not going to be a wedding," The Beast muttered.

"Huh? What?"

"He's gone."

"Why?"

"I let him go."

Cartman's mouth dropped, shocked. Why would he do such a thing? The spell was so close to being broken! "What the hell were you thinking? Why would you do that?"

"Because…I love him," The Beast admitted sadly. He watched with tears stinging his eyes as Stan rode away on the black motorcycle. As the man left the grounds, a sorrowful roar escaped his throat. He knew that would be the last time he ever saw Stan.