The orphaned girl made a mad, limping, dash down the winding staircase, and sprinted as fast as she could with her still weak body and horrible limping foot away from that place. She had to get out of there fast, before he started asking questions, and she started giving answers.
Finally determining she was far enough away from the old man and his inventing room, the girl gave a slight sigh of relief, letting her shoulders drop in the process. Why she kept spilling details about what her and the other orphans were forced to do, she didn't know. She only knew that if she kept up with this, she'd be dead soon, because Master Brys would find her. It didn't matter if she was in a fancy home or not. He would find her, and he would hurt her.
"…Lumiere…*giggle*… stop that Lumiere…" The sound of a voice immediately made Juliette tense up, as she let her eyes grow wide…and not panicked, for once, but curious. She could hear voices from behind one a curtain. But this curtain was different. Unlike all the other tapestries which were pulled back to show what a beautiful day it was…the one wasn't. It covered up nearly half of the window, but the girl could clearly see the imprint of two bodies from behind it. There was a sudden, deep laugh from behind the curtain, as though…there was a man behind there.
"Mon amour, I cannot help it. It's what being in your presence does to me." Faintly, Juliette heard kissing sounds, and more giggling from behind the loose curtain. The girl blinked a few times, not understanding what was happening. There was only one way to find out, the girl's mind reasoned, as she took as step forward to open up the curtain.
But, before she could do so, the tapestry was flung open, making the poor girl immediately flinch, as she stumbled back a few steps and fell flat on her rear. She couldn't help the fact that her hands instinctively flew in front of her face, or how her body started to shake in slight fear.
"Oh!" A feminine voice said, as if suddenly seeing the orphaned girl not three steps away. "Excusez-moi, Juliette!" The feminine voice said hastily, as Juliette could hear the soft pattering of feet on the hallway's floors. "I did not mean to scare you, chéri." The voice said in a gentler, softer, more motherly tone. Juliette let herself open one eye carefully, determining who was here or not, before she let her shoulders drop in relief, and her arms dropped with them. It was only Babette.
"I-It's okay." The girl stuttered out, feeling her face grow red as she stared down at her lap. Silly girl, you acted like a fool, and all for not, the girl's mind chastised. But Babette only smiled gently at the girl, before helping the teenager to her foot. By now, it was old news in the castle that the girl had a horrible limp. While Babette usually tuned out the sillier rumors, she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to make the girl's leg so…so…useless.
"Bien." Babette said with a smile towards the girl, brushing the girl off quickly to make sure there weren't any new bruises or such on the child. She'd grown quite fond of her over a month.
When Belle was busy trying to keep her children under control, and Mrs. Potts had work to do in the kitchen, Babette would usually go up and check on the teen herself. She'd use any excuse to get away from her work, really, but after awhile, seeing the orphaned girl hadn't been an excuse any longer. It had been more like…like a pleasure to see how the girl did slightly better every day.
"Amour, are you going to introduce me?" A foreign, male voice asked with a chuckle, making Juliette look up, immediately tensing. The man was tall, stick thin, but his brown eyes were bouncing with mischief. His light brown hair was pulled back with a neat bow, and a nose a bit too long for his face, and his clothes were of fine material…but there was an impish look to him that immediately made Juliette wary.
"You have a voice; introduce yourself." Babette said simply to her husband, resisting the urge to smirk at the man. Honestly though, after years of marriage, he should know that she never did do as he asked. Why he still bothered to ask though would forever be a mystery to the woman.
"Mon amour, you pain me with your words." Lumiere said dramatically, clutching at his heart. "But, if you will not introduire me, than I will have to do it myself." Lumiere's eyes danced with mischief, as he stepped forward and reached for Juliette's hand.
The girl's eyes went wide at the movement, and she flinched so fiercely that her entire too-thin frame jerked horribly, and her feet, still a bit unused to walking after so long in bed, started to slip from underneath her. Had it not been for Babette catching the girl at the last second by the arm, the poor child would have fallen face first on the ground.
"Careful, chéri." Babette's gentle voice said, steadying the girl back on her feet before releasing her too-small body from her hands. Her brown eyes glared at her husband over the girl's head. Lumiere, who actually seemed a bit concerned, mouthed 'sorry' and gave a sheepish shrug of his shoulders. He had forgotten that the girl was…how do you say…frail. And not to mention terrified of strangers.
"Pardon, fille petit, little girl. I am Lumiere." What Lumiere lacked in grace with the girl, he made up with in charm as he swooped down low to a rather impressive bow, to which Babette rolled her eyes, and flicked off something on her maids clothes while she wondered where her daughter, Gemma could be at this time. Juliette, however, had her large, hypnotic green eyes wide, wondering why someone would bow to her. Surely this person must not know of her social standing…which was…absolutely none. Still, though an orphan with hardly any education, the girl knew it would be rude not to answer back.
"I'm Juli-Juliette." The girl stuttered, her eyes cast to the ground and an embarrassed blush creeping onto her cheeks. She hated her stutter; really, she did. It made her seem like a child who was hiding behind their mother's skirts, when really she was…she was…well, she wasn't quite sure what she was at the moment, but soon she'd figure it out.
"Enchanté." Lumiere said gently towards the girl, who kept her head so low that her dark, thick curls hid her face. For a moment, she looked up, seeing the gentleness that had replaced the mischief in Lumiere's eyes. He smiled towards her winningly, and the girl felt her own features morphing into a weak, hopeful look. That is, until she heard a voice.
"Lumiere! Lumiere! LUMIERE!" A voice shouted from what seemed to be not too distant. Juliette cringed immediately, hating the shouting, before she looked questioningly at Lumiere as to why someone as shouting his name.
"And there is Monsieur Tik-Tok himself." Lumiere mumbled beneath his breath, just loud enough for Babette to smirk and twist a piece of her hair back, and Juliette to wonder what on earth he meant.
"I should be getting back to my work anyway." Babette said, a sly smile on her features as she walked over to her husband. "Au revoir." The woman said, reaching over to kiss her awaiting husband, who already had his lips puckered out…before she used the feather duster in her hand to playfully brush it across his face, and then slink away. She turned around briefly for a moment, to smile at Juliette, before she was gone. Lumiere though, didn't want to be left without a kiss, as he immediately started following after her with a coy smile. But he was interrupted by another.
"Lumiere, you dim witted torch! Just where have you been?" A plump, curly mustached man exclaimed in a loud voice that made Juliette wince. Lumiere, didn't even seem fazed by this, just slightly annoyed, though he excellently kept it down.
"Do you realize that it is exactly—" the man stopped a moment, taking his fancy looking pocket watch out of his waistcoat, and looking at the time before continuing on. "Exactly two hours and twenty-one minutes until the party?" Then the man's eyes grew wide. "Oh my! Only two hours and twenty-one—no, make that twenty—minutes until the party! And there's still so much to do! The punch still isn't made, and the decorations aren't top notch, and oh, the doorknobs still need to be shined, and then the cutlery—"
"Mon ami, Cogsworth, relax. We have two hours!" Lumiere pointed out, cutting off the so called named (without his knowing) Monsieur Tik-Tok. Juliette, knowing immediately when she wasn't needed or wanted any longer, silently started to slip away.
"And over a million things that still need to be done!" Cogsworth fretted, mostly to himself. He was a perfectionist; it was his life's work. "But half my worries would probably be gone if it wasn't for you, sneaking off and chasing after anything with dark hair and full lips and not doing any of your duties!" Cogsworth nearly shouted, though Lumiere kept his calm composure, as always. By now, he knew how to get around Cogsworth. This was his life's work.
"Ah, you see mon ami, I would have been doing my work, but my new friend, Juliette, was in need of some…how do you say…directions, so naturally I had to stop and point her in the right direction. Droit, right, Julitette?" Lumiere easily lied, turning to get a confirmation from the teenage orphan that his story checked out. His easy going smile faltered then, and slight alarm took a hold of his eyes. "Juliette?" He asked again…but there was no answer. Juliette was gone.
I am the reason why bad things happen, you know that? I haven't updated this story in forever, and I feel so horrible about it, I mean, really, really, really, really horrible. Like, you're a little kid who knows they've done something wrong and is going to be punished for it kind of feeling. I have no excuse for my horrible updating skills, and if you all were to desert this story right now, I would understand completely. I hope it doesn't come to that, but if it does, than *Sigh* I guess I kind of deserve it for not updating.
For those of you who don't want to give up on me just yet, and are willing to give me a chance, I have made a promise to myself. I, ConverseRlife, do solemnly swear, to update at least once every week. If I break this promise, you can send evil robot killing machines after me, and I will totally understand and not take it to heart. Really, I won't.
So in this chapter, Juliette met up with Lumiere, Babette, and Monsieur Tik-Tok (aka, Cogsworth—I thought I'd give him a nickname). This chapter was mostly a filler, because in next chapter, Juliette is going to be meeting a boy that we all know and love…his name starts with C and ends with P! I bet you all know who it is!
Please review you guys! Remember, I don't EVER mind constructive criticism and your all getting sundae's in my book if you review! Thanks!