Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own Beauty and the Beast.

For the first time, Xavier felt horror as he transformed into the Eistier. He had been exhilarated and slightly nervous after kissing Belle, wondering what her reaction would be, when abruptly he felt himself changing. He hadn't wanted to, had certainly not planned it. How could this be? His body had never changed without his permission before.

Even after the change, he couldn't regain control. His muscles were moving without his consent. He willed himself to change back, to run away, or even to scream, but he was a prisoner in his own mind. He could feel himself growling, drawing lips back from enormous, sharp teeth, but he didn't want to do any of it. He wanted to become a man again, to take Belle in his arms and protect her from the horrible monster she faced.

Except he was the monster, and he was lost within it.

Belle was terrified. He could see it; he could smell it. His senses still belonged to him, as little good as it did. She was shaking violently and there were tears gleaming in her eyes. She stared at him with all the horror he had once seen in his sister Marie Thérèse's eyes as she stood in the doorway to the royal nursery. His heart twisted to see the woman he loved looking at him like that. He had come to depend on Belle's acceptance of him at his worst. How easily that had been shattered.

The Enchantress appeared beside him. Where had she come from? He hadn't even realized she was there. Her eyes gleamed as she looked at him and he realized it was she that was doing this to him. She had actually taken control of him through the magic that bound them.

"What does she get out of it?"

"You'll do whatever I tell you."

Xavier realized then how deeply he'd been a fool for all these years. He had assumed that if she ever told him to do something, it would be in the form of a verbal order which he could accept or not. He'd never imagined the bargain went this deep. It had been her greatest trump card, one she had waited to play until now. She must be truly desperate, truly afraid she was going to lose him forever to Belle.

She must have seen the kiss.

Now the Enchantress did speak aloud. "Kill her."

No! Xavier screamed silently. No! No! No! He strained and thrashed, trying desperately to regain control of himself, but he was locked in this prison with no doors, only windows, and his screams went unheard. His body began to move forward.

Belle fell to her knees before him as he raised his enormous paw that was bigger than her head. She looked up with hurt and betrayal and fear in her eyes, but also a kind of resignation. As if she had somehow been expecting he would do this all along, and she had known she couldn't escape.

She believed he was choosing to kill her for the sake of his bargain. She had never completely trusted him, no matter how close they got.

And she had been right, even though she had no idea that this was not his choice, that he would choose anything but this. His already broken heart shattered into a million fragments.

Now all my choices have been taken away.

Except—

No. Not that.

Yes.

I c-can't. I might die.

Are you willing to take that chance to save Belle's life? Is she really more important? Is she worth it? Is the life of an innocent worth risking yours?

Y-yes. Yes.

Then choose.

Now.

Xavier took a deep mental breath, all the time he had before his own paw came down to snap Belle's neck.

"I renounce you!" he screamed at the Enchantress in his voiceless voice, beating uselessly at the black walls of his prison with intangible fists. "I renounce you, do you hear? Our bargain is broken! Take back everything you gave me. Take it back! Take it all! I renounce you! I won't let you use me to hurt anyone again!

Instantly, it was pain like he'd never experienced. He felt as though his very flesh was being torn away, exposing the bone underneath. He thought he screamed but it was lost in the roaring in his ears. He wanted to fall to the ground and writhe in agony, but he wasn't sure which way was up or down anymore. White, hot light seared through his mind. At the last moment, when he thought he couldn't bear it anymore and his mind would snap from the sheer intensity of it, some unseen force that felt like a gentle breath of wind blew around his smarting soul. It became like armor, blocking some of the pain, protecting him somehow from being utterly broken by it.

Then everything went dark.

-0-0-0-

When Xavier fell to the ground a second time before her, this time in the Eistier's body, Belle could hardly believe it. It felt like a miracle. He had been a barest breath away from killing her. She had sensed it. Death had surged closer than the night she almost froze, and when Gaston had been about to shoot her.

And then something happened. Something that surprised even the Enchantress, if the creature's expression was to be believed. The Eistier began to shudder. It crumpled to the stones so that its horrible face was bare inches away from Belle's as she knelt. It convulsed, its blue eyes rolling up and it began letting out whimpers of agony.

"You fool!" the Enchantress began to shriek at the body, her words nearly incomprehensible her rage was so great. "You might think to have thwarted me by throwing it all back in my face, but you've only killed yourself in the process. And who will save your precious mortal girl from me then?"

Belle gasped. Thwarted? Was it possible? Had Xavier actually found it somewhere inside himself to reject the Enchantress? But now it seemed her fears had been realized. In rejecting the bargain, he now appeared to be dying.

Slowly, very slowly, the Eistier began to shrink. The hair and claws retracted bit by bit. But each change seemed to cause him unimaginable pain. The whimpering, which was becoming more human with each passing second, now sounded closer to tortured sobs. Tears began to run from his eyes.

And over it all stood the Enchantress with her awful, triumphant smile, reveling in Xavier's pain. It made Belle sick to see it.

Heedless of her own danger, Belle flung her arms around the writhing body, wanting desperately to calm him. She had to hold on fairly hard to keep from being bucked off, but at least her touch didn't seem to cause him any more pain.

"What are you doing?" the Enchantress demanded, her voice suddenly sharp. "Get away from him!"

Belle ignored her. She began instead to pray. She prayed to every saint she could think of, asking for protection. Xavier had freed himself from the Enchantress's influence for her. She asked that such a selfless act be rewarded and that he be given back his life.

It actually seemed to make a difference. Xavier relaxed a little and his pained cries grew quieter. He continued to change back into a man as she held him close. The Enchantress also continued to shout, but Belle paid her no attention. Vaguely she was aware that the Enchantress seemed to be trying to come closer but was unable to do so.

With a last shudder Xavier's transformation was complete. The pain appeared to be over, but Xavier just lay there on his side, gasping for breath. Cautiously, Belle released him, though she hovered close. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she should be horrified that she had just been holding a practically naked man in her arms, but she couldn't bring herself to care. However, it did occur to her to take off her cloak and cover him.

"Xavier?" she asked tentatively.

He groaned and shifted a little, which she took as an encouraging sign. She glanced nervously up at the Enchantress, who was standing above them looking wrathful. Belle barely defeated the urge to cower.

"Xavier?" she said, a little more urgently.

Xavier rolled towards her, enough that she got a good look at his face. It was familiar enough that she knew it was him, but he was different, too. The most marked change was that he was no longer impossibly perfect. He was still handsome, but his face had softened in some places and hardened in others, his features now those of an ordinary mortal. His skin had a few blemishes here and there and he had new hollows to his cheeks. There were actually dark circles under his eyes. Though some people might consider his new appearance for the worse, Belle privately thought overall the changes were an improvement. They made him human rather than inhumanly beautiful.

He was also no longer quite so young, though for some reason he had not aged to past sixty, either. There were fine lines at the corners of his mouth and eyes, and on his forehead, but no more. Overall he now appeared to be no older than thirty-five.

"Meddlesome little chit," snarled the Enchantress. "Look at what you've done."

"I take no credit for any of this," said Belle.

"Credit?" snapped the Enchantress, stamping her foot. "Credit? Do you still not understand? Girl, he lives solely because of your interference. Breaking the bargain was supposed to kill him since he was fated to die as a child. Or at the very least change him into what he should be, an old cripple with only a few years left to live. Instead, because of your intervention and that he did what he did out of love, he became this." She gestured to Xavier's body in disgust, as if she would like nothing better than to spit on it.

"My prayers did this?" asked Belle. Well, she had prayed for protection, but she hadn't expected God and his saints to be listening quite so closely or to answer so directly.

"That and his love. Did you think those human books would tell you everything? Why did you think I wanted you gone? I knew he had fallen in love with you, the kind of love that is dangerous to me. Love negates any power I have, and faith…" She looked away. "Faith repels my kind. I cannot abide it. How you found that in one of your books I cannot understand."

"I didn't," said Belle. "That is the nature of faith. It is the hope and belief in things you can't see and may not ever fully understand. I hoped my prayers would make a difference. If after the millennia you've been alive you still do not realize that, I'm not sure I can explain any better."

"It matters not," the Enchantress said. "Your small faith will not prevent me from killing you both, now."

Belle pulled the small makeshift cross from her pocket. "Leave us alone."

The Enchantress actually took a step back at the sight of the cross, but then she smiled. "All that does is prevent me from using my magic directly on either of you. But I don't need to do that. There are plenty of other ways to kill you."

"Xavier," Belle hissed. "You need to get up. We need to get away from here."

Xavier groaned.

"Xavier," Belle snapped. "I've slapped you before to bring you to your senses and I'll do it again. Get up. Now."

His eyes opened and he looked blearily at her. "Belle? What—happened?"

"No time," said Belle. The Enchantress had moved a little distance away—presumably to escape the limited influence of Belle's cross—and had turned herself into a snarling wolf. Now she approached again, teeth exposed.

Xavier caught sight of the wolf and his eyes went wide. He began to scrabble to push himself to his feet. Belle got an arm wrapped around him and heaved. He was lighter and bonier than he'd been before. He managed to get up, but then he staggered sideways, looking horrified.

"My leg," he whispered.

Belle looked down. With his legs bare under mostly tattered breeches, she could see his left leg was now significantly thinner than the other and the foot was slightly deformed. Not much, but enough to affect his walk.

Belle flung his left arm over her shoulders so that she could provide balance. "Hurry!" They began to run as fast as they were able with three good legs between them, Belle steering them into the castle.

"Where are we going?" he gasped.

"The chapel," Belle replied.

"Why?"

"Bigger cross," she managed.

This probably confused him, but he asked no more questions. They staggered up the steps with the snarling wolf not far behind. Somehow they managed to get through the doors and slam them shut together before the Enchantress caught them. They leaned against the door, catching their breath, listing to the claws scratching the wood outside and the frustrated growls.

"That won't…hold her for long," Xavier managed.

"It might buy us enough time to get up those stairs," said Belle.

Xavier tried to step away from the door and staggered again on his bad leg. Belle caught him. They looked at each other, and Belle saw the same fear in his eyes that had been there the night she told him he might never be able to use his shattered arm.

"I'm sure it will only take time for you to learn to walk again," she said reassuringly. "But we don't have that time now."

"Oh, Belle." He pulled her to him and crushed her in a hard, fast embrace. Belle returned it as best she was able, grateful he hadn't tried to kiss her again. She wasn't sure how she would respond.

They pushed back to an arm's length. "In case we don't…in case there isn't time later," Xavier began. He hesitated, swallowed, and said, "Thank you."

This time it was Belle who flung her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. "Thank you. I know it wasn't an easy decision. I understand what it cost, and no matter what, I am grateful."

They stood that way for a long moment. Belle listened to the steady, if fast, beating of Xavier's heart. They had crossed one hurdle, one less than an hour ago she wasn't sure could ever be crossed. Now they had to see if they could survive crossing another.

Author's Note: So there ended up being a Tam Lin reference in there, for those of you familiar with that legend. That just sort of popped up as I wrote; it wasn't really planned when I originally conceived this scene. However, chunks of this chapter I had planned pretty much word for word for months before I actually typed it out, in particular the moment where the Enchantress takes control of Xavier and he has to choose between killing Belle and taking back the bargain.

One of the things that annoys me about stories that establish a universe wherein magic and religion (usually Christianity) coexist is that very often in such stories magic has agency while religion/faith does not. It's just kind of a thing people pay lip service to but doesn't actually have any clout. Historical fantasy is particularly guilty of this, where authors know religion was a big part of whatever time period they're portraying so they include it, but what they really want to write is a story about magic so religion is just kind of…there. This happens even when the author presents them as equal and opposing forces, but we the readers know it's a lie because religion never actually does anything. I'm not sure why this is, though my guess is authors tread lightly around religion because in the very backs of their minds they're afraid of blaspheming, or being accused by members of whatever religion they're using in the story of blaspheming. I could be wrong. Anyway, it bothers me every time I see it. Thus when I set this climax up, I tried hard to do it so religion and faith could legitimately oppose magic but in a way that doesn't have God coming down out of the clouds and smiting anything. That would be descent into literal deus ex machina (I learned what that means while studying, coincidentally, The Odyssey) and that's not the story I'm trying to tell.

Stick around to see how it all shakes out!

SamoaPhoenix9