Chapter 14

The Hunt for Closure

The castle was bustling with activity as the day of Prince Adam's return to the throne drew nearer. There was an enormous feast planned for that night, and later in the week Adam and Belle were to be married. Although it was common for the wedding to be a grand public affair, the prince had wanted a simpler day with only the castle's residents and close friends present. The festive banquet after would serve as the public occasion.

Cogsworth was running everywhere, trying to direct several projects at once, as was his custom. Ella, eager to assist, worked in various jobs as she was needed. After the evening meal the pair would return to Cogsworth's study and as the head of house navigated his way through piles of paperwork in preparation for the big day Ella would shares stories of her ventures in foreign countries.

"I have not been to London," Ella said one night. "What is it like?"

"Wet," Cogsworth replied with a laugh. "It rains a lot. It is also a lot more crowded than out here in France."

"Do you long to go home?" Ella asked quietly.

"A little," the head of house confessed, rubbing his brow tiredly. He scratched out a line of script before continuing. "I miss the smells and the sounds, but I like it here as well. Even though I have a difficult time here because my French is rather poor, I still enjoy my position here. How did you develop your French so well?"

"My father saw that I was trained to be multi-lingual from a young age," Ella replied with her careful plotted lie. "My family are the country's ambassadors and since I was to succeed him I needed to be able to commune with any other diplomats I should have to meet."

"So you speak many other languages?" Cogsworth asked in amazement. "How many?"

"Every common language spoken in the world," Ella answered. "I did not learn the smaller languages or the variant dialects, but I can comprehend about twelve major languages."

"Twelve!" Cogsworth gasped. "I'm astounded. I can hardly handle two."

"Your French is quite nice though," Ella commented. "Although you still speak through your nose."

"That shows how hopeless I am at linguistics," Cogsworth laughed. "I've lived in this country for over two decades and I still have not mastered the language."

"Twenty years?" Ella asked.

"Twenty-six years this harvest," Cogsworth answered. Ella stared at him silently, her thoughts rushing. How must it have felt to have carried this lost love within his heart for so long a time without someone to share it with? How had he survived being so in love with someone and having them taken away from him, leaving him with only a few memories and unrequited love?

Cogsworth looked up into the enchantress' eyes and a faint smile crossed his face as if he had read the questions in her mind. "These years have been long and dark without Elaine. There were many times I wished it merely to end so that I might see her again, but every time I heard her voice in my heart, urging me to not give up. I know I would be letting her down if I were to not keep fighting."

"She loved you very deeply to want you to continue living and find happiness again before your years are through," Ella remarked in a whisper. "She is willing to postpone your eternal togetherness so that you have the chance to live." Ella placed a hand on his forearm. "But you must first find closure about your past before you may make a future."

The enchantress watched as a tear fell from Cogsworth's face, staining the parchment beneath it. Shortly after several more follow but neither Ella or Cogsworth had moved or said a word. Cogsworth's shoulders shook as he withheld sobs and finally he whispered, "I miss her, so very much." Ella placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and Cogsworth buried his face in his hands, trembling as his tears fell.

That night Ella sat alone on the floor of her bedchambers. She stared deeply into the flames burning in the grate, preparing herself for what she was about to do. The fire illuminated her eyes as she fought against her mind to achieve calm. If she became too nervous she might lose control of the magic and kill herself. Even though she was immortal, sending her summons into the afterlife was a dangerous thing. One false word or move and her spirit could be trapped in the Otherworld for good.

Taking a deep breath, Ella closed her eyes and began muttering under her breath. The majestic words of her people's language rolled from her mouth and the air around her filled with tensed magic. Darkness and mist flooded the room and eerie voices whispered from the shadows. With a final, sinister word, Ella opened her eyes and gazed up at the being before her.

The woman appeared to be portrayed in black-and-white, her smoky form nearly translucent. Hair cascaded around her shoulders and seemed to flutter in a gentle breeze. Her eyes, breathtakingly blue amid her pale grey skin, locked onto Ella's with intensity enough to make the enchantress shudder in terror.

"Who are you?" the spectre asked, her voice echoing slightly through the chasm of the Otherworld.

"I am Tryamon, High Enchantress of the Dying Line," Ella answered, managing to stop her voice from shaking. "I have called you here because I need your aid, Elaine Cogsworth."

"My aid?" the spectre asked in interest. "How can an enchanter need my aid?"

"It is not truly I who needs your aid," Ella confessed. "It is your husband."

The spectre stared in shock. "My husband? What has befallen him?"

"He mourns your death daily," Ella explained. "It has been over twenty-five years and still he cannot bear to live with the fact that you were killed. His depression grows worse continually and I fear soon it may take his health. I need you to help him move on."

"Oh, my poor Tobias," Elaine's spectre sighed. Ella blinked in surprise, never having heard or even asked about Cogsworth's first name before. "I knew he would fare badly but I had hoped better than this." The spectre stepped forward. "I will speak with him. Thank you for summoning me, enchantress."

"Elaine," Ella added hastily as the spectre moved toward the wall. Elaine paused. "Please do not tell him that it was I who brought you here. He does not know that I am an enchantress and I would prefer it stay that way for now."

Elaine bowed her head in understanding and proceeded through the wall. Ella settled herself down, letting her mind focus on maintaining the link. She had to hold on to the Otherworld until Elaine had finished her work.

Elaine drifted through yet another wall, following the faint pull in her heart, and entered a shadowy bedroom. The window was thrown open, letting in a night breeze that the spectre could not feel. Cogsworth lay on his side in the bed, one hand resting on a portrait on the bedside table. Elaine sighed softly and moved to kneel beside the bed.

"Tobias," the spectre whispered. Cogsworth grumbled something in his sleep, his face winced in pain. "Tobias," Elaine repeated, brushing her hand against his face. The head of house started, yelling something as he did, and shot up in bed. He quickly rubbed his eyes and then glanced to his side. And saw Elaine.

Instantly Cogsworth's face paled. He backed away slightly and muttered something incoherent beneath his breath.

"Tobias, be still," Elaine pleaded. "It is only I."

"Elaine?" Cogsworth asked weakly. "It can't be."

"You cried to me in your dreams and I have come," Elaine said softly. She rose and perched herself on the edge of the mattress. "You needed me."

"This is impossible," Cogsworth said breathlessly. He reached forward to touch the spectre's face but his hand passed through her transparent skin.

"I am not a being," Elaine explained. "I am merely a shadow. My spirit given form so that I may travel to this world."

"I have missed you," Cogsworth said, his voice choked.

"I know, my love," Elaine replied. "I have seen you every morning watching the sunrise. I have seen your sadness. I only hoped you might have found happiness again."

"I am happy," Cogsworth protested. "I have a good job and I've made new friends."

"But you still cling to your past," Elaine insisted. "How can you move on if you live in history?"

"You sound like Ella," Cogsworth laughed.

"Who is Ella?" Elaine asked curiously. "Is it good to sound like her?"

"Yes, it is fine," Cogsworth assured her. "Ella is one of the workers here. She has become my closest friend these last few months. I don't know what it is about her but she is so easy for me to feel close to. I think it might be because she is so like you."

"Is she pretty?" Elaine pressed.

"She's quite beautiful, but in a unique way. She looks so different from anyone I've met. Her skin is darker than any I have seen, yet her hair is as white as snow." Cogsworth shook his head. "She is a foreign wanderer, but I know not where from."

Elaine pretended to be surprised as well, but she recognised the description as the enchantress who had summoned her. "Do you love her?"

Cogsworth looked hurt. "I could love none but you, Elaine."

"Tobias, I won't be hurt if you love another," the spectre said gently. "That's why I wished you to live on. I want you to find happiness again. I want you to love another, have many friends, a family, a life. You've never been given children, and I know how much you've always wanted that. How can you do so if you do not let me go?"

"I do not want to love another, Elaine," Cogsworth said with a sob. "You were the one I loved. I want nothing more than that."

"I am sorry that this is the way you feel," Elaine whispered, her misty eyes shining with diamond-like tears. "I want what is best for you. Maybe you should think of the same." The spectre stood and turned away from him.

"Elaine," Cogsworth choked. "Don't go."

"I'm sorry, I've tried my best but there is nothing more I can do." Elaine walked a few steps before stopping and turning back to face him. "Tobias, dear, you need to know that finding someone new to love won't be replacing me in your heart. It'll simply be making room for someone else. I can share. There is another who loves you and I hope you can open your heart enough to see that."

"Elaine, please, I love you," Cogsworth said desperately.

The spectre turned to the wall again. "I love you too. That's why I'm doing this." Without another word Elaine vanished through the wall. Cogsworth fell back into the pillows, crying softly.

Ella jumped with fright as the spectre glided back through the smouldering fireplace.

"How did it go?" the enchantress asked, concerned by the distressed look on Elaine's face.

"It could have been better," Elaine admitted. "I have never seen him like this, even after his parents died. I talked to him but I don't know if it will be enough to shake him out of this. I can't believe he took things this badly."

"He blames himself," Ella told her. "He thinks that by staying at the tavern to play cards, he is responsible for your death. That maybe if he'd have come straight home he could have stopped your murder."

"So that's where he was," Elaine said with a smile. "It seems right that he would blame himself, however. That's the way he always was. Cogsworth was always ready to accept the responsibility for anything." Elaine sighed heavily. "I only hope that what I said to him will bring him to his senses. I did the best I could, Ella."

"How did you learn that name?" the enchantress asked suddenly.

"He told me," Elaine answered, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "He talked quite fondly of you, Ella the servant girl. He calls you his closest friend and his sole confidant."

"He told you all that?" Ella asked in surprise. "Well, we have become very close friends. He was one of my first friends when I came to the castle and he has remained so for quite some time. I did not know that I was his closest friend however." Ella was embarrassed to feel a faint flush creeping up her neck.

"You love him," the spectre announced.

Ella stared at Elaine in astonishment. Her words were impossible; the enchantress had given in to her father's word. She was incapable of love and always would be. She didn't dare allow her heart to believe what the spectre had told her, she had been hurt enough already.

"Thank you for all your help," the enchantress said as if she had not heard Elaine.

"I only hope it works," the spectre answered. "Good luck to you, enchantress. Or servant girl. Whoever you are, I hope you find what you are looking for. Likewise, I hope my husband can find hope again. Please, try to help him. I would hate to see the rest of his life wasted away."

"I promise," Ella agreed.

"Thank you, enchantress, for this last chance to speak with my husband," Elaine added as she turned away. "I only hope it does what you planned." With that the spectre faded into mist and was gone. Ella released her hold on the magic and felt a great deal of her energy pulled from her body with it. Exhausted, the enchantress lifted herself into the bed and instantly fell asleep.