Chapter 16: Dazed and Distracted

The light grew brighter until he could no longer look directly at her. He felt his knees give and he landed heavily on the ground in front of her. She was lifting up into the sky in a blinding white halo of sunlight. Tears burned in the corners of his eyes.

"Wait!" He called, reaching up as she ascended. His fingers grasped the air and clasped around a slender ankle.

He held on for dear life.

"Don't leave me!" He begged. He felt his own life leave him the further she got.

Then the light eased back slightly and he could see her beneath its beams. Her lovely heart shaped face glowed but she frowned down at him sadly. Her long brown hair blew back, shooting rays of ivory in all directions. She spoke in a sweetly sympathetic voice.

"Adam. You let me go."

"No, never!" He denied, his deep voice choking with emotion. His grip on her tightened.

"You did." She persisted, with a sorrowful smile, her beauty almost as blinding as the light.

He shook his head and pounded his chest with a closed fist. "I take it back. I take it back." He repeated over and over, his heart bursting beneath his ribs.

"You can't, my love."

He lifted his head sharply at her words. Shock caused him to loosen his grasp on her. She lifted, her exalted body just out of his reach.

"Please, please. Don't…" He called, but she was too far away from him to hear.

He felt her light leave him, the beams parted from his flesh, and his skin turned cold. Deathly cold. She was gone, and he knew with her went his reason, his world.

The Beast awoke with a growl. He did not remember falling asleep, but the cold from the fireplace and the brightness of the room told him it was past dawn.

The dream continued to lurk in his mind. It was foggy, but the feelings were so raw that they remained and resonated. He could still feel the excruciating loss, the mind-altering grief. He could see her. The woman. He tried to recall her face but couldn't make out the features.

Shaking himself out of his morose thoughts, he stood up from the carpeted ground and stretched out his long limbs. The Beast longed for a run in the woods and a meal of something red and juicy. His enormous body was perpetually cramped indoors.

He could smell his servant down the hall. Cogsworth was later than usual, and The Beast could hear his heart beat heavily in his chest. His claws extended naturally and he had to mentally force them back. He swung the door open and stared down at his surprised butler.

"Oh, I will never get used to that, sire!" The servant huffed, dramatically placing a hand on his chest. Cogsworth trudged into the room and shivered as the cold of the space hit him. "Are you well? It's freezing in here!"

The Beast didn't respond but folded his massive arms and rumbled low in his chest. At that, the butler let out an audible swallow and stood up straighter.

"Forgive me, sire. Mrs. Potts bid me fetch you. The girl has not recovered as well as she wished and still sleeps. I await your orders."

The Beast frowned and answered sternly. "I'll come. Warn the servants to avoid that room."

The man nodded solemnly and strode away with renewed purpose.

The Beast closed the door and began to dress. He forced his mighty body into his newly obtained attire, fighting the instinct to remain in just his fur. As the Beast, he despised the bonds of fabric and leather. When he finished he headed straight for the East wing and the girl.

He paused outside the room and listened to the sounds from within. All was silent except for shallow breathing and an occasional sigh. The Beast opened the door slowly and ducked inside the room. The girl lay in the center of a large bed. She looked impossibly small and frail. She was clean and dressed in a white gown that only accentuated the paleness of her skin. Her long curly hair was spread out around her like an amber crown. Her fair face was pulled tightly into a deep frown and she let out a moan.

The Beast watched as she tossed her head and mumbled a quiet word into her pillow. He made out the sound, thanks to his excellent hearing, and felt regret drop in the pit of his stomach.

"She's been talking all night. Wish I knew what she was saying." Mrs. Potts spoke from the doorway.

He didn't turn at the sound of her voice. He simply answered in a grave whisper. "'Papa.'"

"Ah, well that makes senses, doesn't it? Been looking for her papa, sweet girl." Mrs. Potts responded, as she moved into the room and placed a bowl with a towel on the nightstand. She touched the girl on the forehead with the back of her hand and nodded.

"No fever. That's a good sign. But she hasn't opened an eye. Makes me worried, Master."

The girl shivered and buried herself deeper into her blankets. The Beast grabbed her cloak from the end of the bed and draped it gently over her. She instantly stilled and breathed more deeply. He looked over to Mrs. Potts but she did not seem to notice a change.

"Inform me if she awakens." The Beast ordered roughly and turned away from his servant and the girl. The heaviness in his chest grew until his mood was so dark no one dared disturb him.

Mrs. Potts watched him depart and began to murmur to herself.

"As changeable as the weather. Thought he was bad before the curse, but now." She tisked loudly and shook her head. "Almost impossible, that's what he is. Hope that Savior comes soon so he can stop all that studying, too. Been haunting that library night and day." She wrung out the towel into the bowl and began to tap it to the girl's cheeks. Then, her unruly hips hit the bowl and upended it onto the floor.

"Oh, dear." She groaned and bent to clean her mess.

"Hello?" Came a tiny, strained voice behind her.

Mrs. Potts squeaked and stood up suddenly, dropping the bowl to the floor again. This time it broke with a loud shatter. The girl had spoken and was looking at the mess on the floor with wide eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I startled you. Please, let me help." She offered and moved to sit up.

A sudden spell of dizziness seemed to overcome the girl and she sat back again, placing a trembling hand to her temple. She sent an apologetic smile to the white-capped woman and closed her eyes momentarily. "Emm, I don't seem to be myself at the moment."

When she opened them again she looked back at Mrs. Potts and frowned. The older woman had not moved. She stood still as a statue, surrounded by broken pieces of the porcelain. "Madame?"

After a long moment, Mrs. Potts began to recover and took a cautious step closer to the bed.

"Can you see me, dearie?" She asked slowly, her eyes wild and wide.

A.N. All rights to the Walt Disney Co.

Hello, readers! First of all, I would like to say thank you for being so patient waiting for this new chapter. Thank you all for the good wishes and messages. It meant so much to me! I would like to thank my new reviewer, civilwarrose for your thoughtful words and my lovely guest reviewers who always bring a smile to my face. I hope this was a nice reprieve from all the darkness of the last few chapters, but don't get too comfortable, readers! Any thought's about what is going on. Why is the Beast so interested in Belle? How can she see Mrs. Potts? Who is going to clean up that mess?! Let me know, and you can win a broken mirror, (bad luck not included!)

As always thank you for reading, reviewing, following and/or favoriting. – S.