(Beast/Adam's P.O.V.) -A few hours later-

I groaned lightly as I slowly woke up, hissing lowly as pain flared up in places, and I heard a voice, "Easy, sir. Don't move too much as I had to bandage you up.", and I opened my eyes to see a pale-faired, exotic man with a concerned face, and I blinked softly with a grunt, "What happened?".

"You got into a nasty fight with those goblins. Thank god that you saved Pippa from being raped by that goblin!", explained the man with concern and horror. When I heard the word 'goblin', memories came back.

I was merely 16 years old when I got cursed by a Enchantress, and after living at the castle in my new form for a year, Gaston and his thugs invaded, ransacked, and destroyed the castle. I was barely able to escape along with my closest servants/aides; Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Chip, cursed as household objects.

I would never forget the screams of the other servants as they were destroyed by the thugs or the fire that Gaston had ignited. The rose had been destroyed, yet the mirror is still with me, which is a miracle, and when I occasionally visited the castle, I was relieved to see it still standing yet the scent of smoke and blood is there, and much to my shock, apparently, death ends the curse as the other servants had turned back to human when destroyed.

Lumiere's scream of grief and relief when he found Fifi, his lover, it honestly broke my heart even when I didn't know Fifi that well. I blamed myself even if he didn't blame me, telling me that Fifi only wanted to be human again, and that she's free and human once again, watching over him in the heavens. Then there was the occasional squatting of the goblins in the castle, forcing me to drive them out.

Creeper had been the ringleader often, and we battled many times. Keeping count of the seasons, I have been Beast for four years now since the Enchantress first cursed me, and I, my servants have been wandering the forests near and far from the castle, and Montreau has been a familiar sight during nighttime, but since about five months ago, it wasn't lively and peaceful anymore, and I avoided it since I wasn't there to stop the horrible actions of the goblins in the first place.

I was quite lucky that I was close enough to hear the battle yet it was strange to hear such thundering sounds when there isn't any storm in sight, and when I saw Creeper intending to deflower that young woman who's screaming and struggling, I knew I had to intervene even when I don't want any humans to see me like this.

It happened so fast. I only remember flashes of claws, blood, roars, and when I came to just before I blacked out, I saw other people approach the woman who's wearing my cloak, and I saw her look at me for a brief moment as the others tried to wake her up, and then I knew nothing else.

I growled lowly, "Are they gone?". The man blinked before replying, "The surviving goblins disappeared into the forest, rather nursing their injuries and such as you did a bang up job at beating them for good. Creeper sure was the worst out of all. Your servants explained about everything.".

I blinked before I snapped, "What do you mean by everything?!". The man narrowed his eyes, "Hey, calm down! And besides, if it wasn't for Pippa, I wouldn't have bandaged you up!". I blinked in surprise, finally taking into the sight of bandages wrapped around my arms, chest, hips, and even a leg.

I exhaled slowly, "I presume Pippa is the woman I saved?". The man nodded, "Yes, and even in new clothes, she wouldn't let go of your cape.", glancing over with a concerned, weary look, and I looked up and over, taking into the scene before me.

I saw two young men talking and laughing with Chip, a middle-aged woman talking with Mrs. Potts and Cogworth, and one adult woman rolling her eyes with a smirk at a flirting Lumiere, and there, near the crackling fire with a iron pot hanging over the fire from a wood/iron tent, sat the woman I saved, recognizing my cape upon her.

Judging by the sky and sun, it looks like about a hour before sunset, and I can smell the aroma of bear meat, seeming to be in a stew if I smell correctly by the further scents of rosemary, carrots, potatoes, bay leaves, peas, and tomatoes. I realize that we are in the premises of the meadow near the ruined cottage. I sighed heavily, "Thank you, mister...?".

The man, apparently my doctor for the moment, smiled softly, "Call me Haku. The young boys with Chip is Jason and Logan, the best fighters of the group and the woman with Mrs. Potts and Cogsworth is Emma, the leader of the group. Don't ever insult her if you don't want to be shouted at by a woman. The woman over there, joking with Lumiere is Zuri, the best runner of us all. You probably would beat her by a yard or so, but she's stubborn as a bull. And finally, Pippa...She is practically a library, knowing facts and stories off her head, and she sure is a meat lover...This is the first time I ever saw her silent as by now, normally, she would be asking for firsts and seconds of the stew...It's scaring me...", whispered Haku worriedly and lightly.

I glanced at Pippa, and from here, I can see her hands wringing my cape so tightly, and there's a glimmer of something in her eyes...Shock, maybe? I couldn't blame her for that as she was nearly raped by Creeper...I knew Creeper to be a cruel, sadistic, bloodthirsty goblin in the interactions I had with him, but this is the first time I can honestly call him a monster.

"You...All of you tried to talk to her?", I spoke softly, and Haku sighed wearily, "Yeah...She wouldn't say anything...If I or the others had noticed sooner, we'd save her already! It was so damn close when you saved her...She never had been with a man romantically...I heard so many rumors about goblins, but seeing it nearly happen to her, a sister and a friend we all care deeply for...it's darn breaking my heart...".

I exhaled sharply when I heard that Pippa is a pure woman, untouched by man, and I closed my eyes, remembering several dead women I found here in the village, naked and molested, even with soot and dust covering them. I had to bury them, along with their husbands, spouses, brothers, fathers, sons...

A pure, untouched woman is like the ultimate trophy for any goblin, and with Creeper being the leader and ringleader of his horde, it was obviously his rank that enabled him to go for Pippa...It's damn miraculous that I was just in time to stop him from ruining Pippa's modesty.

I exhaled slowly as I opened my eyes, "Is it okay if I talk to her?". Haku looked at me seriously for a moment, raking up and down over my bandages before sighing, "You're the best chance to help her, really, but watch yourself. I do not want to force you to sit and lay down if you dare pull a bandage or move wrong, understand?".

I nodded, "Yes, I understand. I appreciate your help, Haku.". Haku smiled wryly, "Of course. It isn't every day I get to stitch and bandage up a prince, nor a cursed one at that!". I chuckled weakly with a sheepish tiny smile before I carefully got up, and I walked over slowly to Pippa whose eyes are wandering about the fire, seeing nothing.

I sat down far enough to respect her personal boundaries, but close enough to hear her words if she is able to talk momentarily, and I noticed her glance at me, hearing the sounds of my claws clicking and the faint thump of my backside landing upon the ground.

I took in her nearly flawless tan skin, with cuts and wounds about her, and I then recognized that the other humans are similarly wounded up in bandages and cuts. I then saw her brown hair, mussed up and flying about even in a bound ponytail, having the shade of dark earth, and her eyes, blue eyes in the shade of the summer sky, about a shade lighter than my eyes, looking dull at the moment.

I exhaled softly and slowly, struggling to think of what to say to her as this is the first time I officially met her even if I saved her prior to this. I then thought of something to start with.

Without growling as best as I could, I softly spoke, "Madame Pippa, are you all right?", looking at her slightly out of the corner of my eye, not wanting to push her yet being genuinely concerned about her. I noticed she shook her head slowly, and I blinked softly when I heard the familiar sounds of Lumiere clambering over to me.

I looked over as I felt one of his 'hands' poke me in the side, and I leaned down slightly, perking my ears. Lumiere whispered lowly, "Zuri said that Pippa likes stories from the stars. Tell her your favorite.". I leaned up, processing his words as I glanced at Pippa again, and I looked up to see some stars coming out.

I exhaled slowly, "I used to come out on the balconies to look at the stars when I was young, and my mother used to tell me stories about the stars. Her absolute favorite was the 'The Little Storm Eagle', and I loved hearing about it.", I chuckled warmly, and I heard rustling sounds, and I looked over to see Pippa glancing at me with a spark of curiosity.

I smiled lightly without revealing my fangs, not wanting to scare her, and I looked up again, pointing a paw, "Right there, there's a curve of stars left and right, shaping to be his wings, and if you look up slightly, you see the head and beak, and then if you look down, you see the tail with these three stars.", hearing soft exclamations from Pippa as I glance at her occasionally during my explanation.

I drop my paw, smiling warmly as I looked back at Pippa, "Would you like to hear it?". Pippa nodded eagerly with a shy smile. I chuckled softly, "It has been a while, but I promise to say it word for word as best as I could. Let's see here...Ah, right. Long ago, there was scores of Storm Eagles, proud golden birds with wings sparking up with lightning and their calls resembling thunder.",

"Practically in every direction, they create such powerful storms, flying with no fear as lightning and thunder boomed around them, herding the storms with the aide of wind spirits. Now, regular eagles respect and admire them for their power, bravery, and pride, watching the Storm Birds on their days off, flying around and doing tricks with their wings, and one of them was the smallest of all, Jax.",

"Jax was quite a dreamer, wishing that his dirty brown wings were golden like the Storm Eagles, or as big as them for he was smaller than a peregrine falcon, and teased by his bigger cousins. He would often go up to the highest tiptop of trees during storms, glimpsing the Storm Eagles, and shivered in delight as thunder or lightning sounded out.",

"He would attempt their aerial tricks, always failing a proper turn or other steps, laughed at and taunted by his bigger cousins who would see Jax, but he never listened, always trying again and again, even at his expense. Only his mother would heal him if Jax hurt his wing or had a sore throat from trying to screech out like the Storm Eagles.",

"One day, Jax was witnessing another storm as usual, and at the end of the storm, there was a scream of pain, and Jax flew out to check it out, and he saw a fox attacking a Storm Eagle. Despite being small, he was brave, clawing and stabbing at the fox, saving the Storm Eagle's life while driving the fox away with scratched out eyes.",

"When Jax returned soon after checking that the fox's gone for good, he saw that the Storm Eagle is injured, having a hurt wing, and he knew her. This Storm Eagle was Vera, a renowned aerial flyer, and excellent with conjurations of lightning. Jax brought Vera to his nest, knowing how to heal her thanks to his mother, and listened to her when she despaired about not doing her storms as the current season needs water desperately.",

"Jax offered to help her out, determined to save his forest home from a dry season, and Vera was hesitant at first, but when she saw something in his eyes, something of potential, she gave in, and passed some of her power into Jax, and Jax practiced his aerial tricks, successfully doing turns and such. He healed Vera at night while heading out to do storms during the days, feeling proud of what he's doing and never hesitated when he would go into the deep parts of the storms, herding as best as he could, attempting to communicate with the wind spirits.",

"All of this lasted for four weeks, and when Jax saw Vera opening her wings fully without any gesture of pain, he knew that she's all healed, and feeling happy yet sad, he gave back the power to her, telling that she needs it more than he does. Vera hugged him, smiling warmly and happily, and then flew off with a thundering screech, and Jax smiled, knowing that Vera's happy to be back in the sky, looking beautiful and graceful.",

"Jax kept watching the storms, but he never went to do aerial tricks again, not wanting his bigger cousins to taunt him after he just had his dream come true briefly. Oh, he wanted to be in the storms again, but he knew he'd done so much to help Vera, and he'd do it all over again, knowing Storm Eagles like her belong in the sky, not him.",

"Not barely two days later, Jax was approached by one of the largest Storm Eagles, the elderly Hickory, and at his side was Vera, looking quite proud and happy. Hickory said that Vera had explained everything, and upon discussion with the other elder Storm Eagles, they decided to award Jax by giving him his biggest wish. Jax was shocked, and then eagerly accepted it, suddenly becoming a Storm Eagle, his pelt bright golden, lightning sparking at the tips of his wings, and when he flew up into the sky, he gave out about the biggest call of thunder.",

"He noticed that he's still small, but he realized that his small size helped him into the deepest spots of the storms when the bigger Storm Eagles couldn't. And he found a mate in Vera, creating a family of great, small Storm Eagles. And so, the story became legendary, telling about Jax, the Smallest Storm Eagle, advising that size doesn't show who we are, but rather our hearts and souls.", finally looking over at Pippa who looked quite awed and thoughtful.

She blinked slowly, and looked at me, and spoke softly, "Thank you...for the story...and saving me...", and I smiled softly, and spoke, "You're welcome, Madame Pippa." Pippa smiled widely, "Call me Pippa.", and for the first time, I saw her eyes becoming brightly beautiful, sparkling like stars, and I realized that I did something right, feeling my heart swell in pride and happiness, and for once since I've become cursed, I feel hope.