Chapter 2: Difficult decisions

"No, Monsieur Cogsworth, that is out of the question at all!"

"But Your Majesty! Under the circumstances..."

"...I cannot and will not allow anyone to risk his life in this storm!"

"Your Majesty! If we don't get a doctor here as soon as possible, Lumiere may..."

The majordomo faltered, unable to bring himself to finish the sentence. And he didn't have to, because everyone in the room knew what he meant. Everyone knew how poor Lumiere was.

Prince Adam took a deep breath and stroked his reddish-blond hair as he tried to calm himself. He sighed, then turned to the majordomo.

"What time is it, anyway?"

"Well, it's... It's..."

The elder almost stuttered with emotion, which neither the prince nor his wife failed to notice. And when Cogsworth reached for his pocket watch, his hand shook so violently that the clock almost slipped away. He tried to keep his composure, but he barely managed it.

"Monsieur Cogsworth..."

Belle had approached the majordomo and placed her hand reassuringly on his.

As he looked at her now, his face full of worry, she smiled at him with kindness.

"It will be all right, I promise! We'll... We'll find a way to help Lumiere, I'm sure of it! Won't we darling?"

At the last sentence, she turned to her husband, who had approached them. He smiled, though it was a saddened smile, then said with far more confidence in his voice than he felt: "Of course!"

Another thunderclap shook the castle, a lightning strike ripped through the night and the three people in the room looked out of the window where the gale force winds were ruffling the trees in the castle grounds. No one spoke a word, they knew it would be pure suicide to set foot outside in this weather.

"We'll have to wait and see..."

This simple sentence hung heavy in the room and no one said anything.

"We'll just have to hope that the storm subsides quickly and the Lumiere continues to pull through..."

"He will pull through."

Surprised at the sudden conviction in Cogsworth's voice, the majesties looked at each other questioningly, to which the majordomo smiled.

"I have known Lumiere for many years now and if there is one thing I know about him, it is that he just can't be brought down."

Prince Adam looked at his wife, who smiled in turn.

"I suppose that's true. I've only known him for a short time, of course, but I got the impression from the start that there's nothing that can stop Lumiere. He'll make it."

Von Cogsworth nodded, but his smile disappeared as he now glanced at his watch.

"By the way, it is exactly 3am and 27 minutes, Your Highness, and with your permission... I would like to see how Lumiere is doing..."

"Of course."

The Prince nodded and Cogsworth bowed to the couple before turning to leave.

As the door slammed shut behind him, the prince sighed dejectedly and Belle's uplifting smile had also given way to a look of worry. She approached her husband and snuggled up to him, while they both looked out of the window, where thick masses of rain were pouring down as if there were no tomorrow.

Neither spoke a word, but they were both thinking the same thing.

The chances of Lumiere surviving the night without help were slim.

Very slim...

Never before.

Never before in his life had he been so worried as he was now.

Never before in his life had a friend been so important to him as the man lying there in bed before him, fighting for his sheer life.

And never before in his life had Cogsworth felt so helpless...

He had been sitting at Lumiere's side for hours now, and since he had taken up this post, thoughts had been circling in his head, so that he was already getting a headache.

He had considered every possibility, thought through every plan he could think of, but he had not come up with a feasible solution. As long as the storm didn't calm down, there was no way to get help. All they could do was wait.

"Wait and see..."

The majordomo buried his face in his hands and groaned in frustration.

It was half past six by now and dawn should have been breaking, but there was nothing to even hint at. The storm wind had died down a little, but the rain was still as thick and unrelenting as it had been 3 hours earlier.

Cogsworth shook his head as he glanced first at his watch and then at Lumiere. The fever had risen to the point where it had robbed the man of consciousness, his breathing was ragged and yet so shallow that it was barely recognisable as such. His face felt as hot as if it were on fire, but his hands were as cold as ice.

Monsieur Cogsworth swallowed hard as he watched his friend and a bitter realisation dawned on him: Lumiere was running out of time.

He paced up and down the room like a trapped animal in its cage and at that moment he felt exactly the same. It was his castle, his servants, his responsibility. And that was where the problem lay: He had to make a choice.

Would he allow someone to put his life in danger to get the doctor from the village?

Or should they wait for the storm to pass, at the risk that it would be too late for Lumiere?

The young Frenchman was now more than just a servant to him, he was a friend, a part of the family. But so were the others, he couldn't bear the thought of putting one of them in danger. Especially since no one could say whether this risk was even worth it. For no one could say whether the doctor would even make the journey to the castle in this weather and whether it would not be too late by then...

The prince stopped and growled in frustration as he ruffled his hair.

And what if he himself...? No, that was no more a solution than anything else. Belle would never allow it and besides, what if something happened to him? He was the prince, he had the responsibility...

Totally frustrated, he whirled around, grabbed a nearby side table and, with a scream that was more like the roar of an animal, threw it against the nearest wall, where it came to a crashing halt.

Breathing heavily, he paused and stared at the debris until a clearing of throat made him whirl around.

Belle and Madame Potts stood in the doorway, visibly shocked by what they had just seen. Adam hadn't thrown such a tantrum since the retransformation, but now... Neither woman said anything, but a mutual glance was enough to know that this scene had reminded them of the same thing: The Beast.

The cruel, inhuman, beastly figure into which the prince had been transformed for 10 years and in which he had reduced half the castle to rubble during his rampages. Now he was human again, but every now and then the old shape seemed to make its way to the surface, as if it were still slumbering somewhere inside him. He had himself under control, had become a completely different person, but sometimes...

Sometimes, in situations like this, when all the responsibility became too much for him, he let his anger run wild and behaved like the beast before. But he tried hard not to let anyone know and especially not to let anyone get hurt. He knew that his servants had feared him during the curse and that many still did. He didn't want to fuel that fear, didn't want to risk the budding trust and friendships.

He looked at the two women who were still standing motionless in the doorway and sighed heavily. But then he saw the kind and understanding smile of the housekeeper who now pushed a tea trolley into the room and said as if it were a matter of course:

"Come, my prince, a cup of tea will do you good."

Adam said nothing, just dropped into one of the armchairs by the fireplace and waited until Madame Potts handed him a cup of sweet-smelling tea. He just nodded his thanks and sipped the tea, then stared silently into the flames. Belle had taken her seat and looked anxiously at her husband. The latter noticed the look, sighed and said in a voice pressed with grief, "I don't know what to do..."

He briefly explained his thoughts, his fears and all in the hope that perhaps together they could come up with a solution. But the two women were as clueless as he was. No matter how they twisted it, none of the solutions was a really good one. They were like two sides of the same coin.

"I... I have no choice..."

The Prince's voice was a low, emotionless whisper and Belle and Madame Potts remained silent waiting to see what decision Adam had come to.

"I have decided that..."

A knock on the door interrupted him and he sat there for a mere moment, confused, before inviting the waiting one in. It was Cogsworth, though the prince almost didn't recognise his majordomo at first glance. The normally dignified and authoritative Cogsworth was bent over with grief, his shoulders and head drooping, and when he spoke, his voice was so strangled with tears that he could hardly be understood.

"Lumiere, he... If we don't do something now, then..."

His voice died away and the room was filled with an oppressive silence.

Prince Adam slumped in his chair, Belle gasped in horror and Madame Potts immediately rushed to her side to comfort her, but was visibly fighting tears herself.

"Cogsworth..."

The addressed looked up, his master's voice making him shudder, for the tone he had struck did not bode well.

"I have just decided..."

He faltered and the tension in the room rose to unbearable levels.

"I will not expose anyone to the danger of the storm."

Cogsworth gasped in shock and was about to contradict but the prince had risen to his feet and continued in an almost imperious tone:

"I cannot risk losing anyone else, especially when the chances of success are dwindling."

The shock on the faces of the others tore at his heart, especially since he knew exactly what his words meant.

He was protecting his loyal servants from further harm.

And at the same time he signed Lumiere's death sentence.

Silence.

The room was filled with silence, so much so that even the soft crackling of the fire seemed almost unbearably loud.

No one spoke a word, it almost seemed as if those present did not even dare to breathe. Monsieur Cogsworth stood there thunderstruck as he really realised what this decision meant. When he finally spoke up, it seemed so surreal that the others visibly flinched.

"Then... Then you will allow Lumiere to die?"

It was the first time anyone had spoken those words since the cook had fallen ill.

Prince Adam braced himself, trying to give his words more expression with his posture, even if he didn't feel like it. He would have preferred to run out of the room, burst into tears, or throw a tantrum, but he was not allowed to. He had to stand behind his decision, even if it tore his heart apart.

But he couldn't get a word out, so he just nodded.

"You... You let him die, just like that?"

Cogsworth's voice quivered with rising anger, and now, as he took an energetic step towards the prince and continued speaking, his voice literally rolled over.

"I... I can't believe this... I can't believe you are doing this, I... I won't let this happen, I..."

"Monsieur Cogsworth..."

"I will not allow this!"

"No one will leave the castle during the storm!"

"You can't be serious! I will..."

"THIS IS AN ORDER!"

Silence.

Belle and Madame Potts stared in horror at the two men, who had built themselves up in front of each other like two angry animals and were now standing there transfixed. But the prince's last sentence, which he had shouted almost hatefully, had a different effect than expected.

He thought Cogsworth would bow, would retreat in respect, perhaps even in fear, as in the days of the curse. But he didn't. He just stared at the prince for a moment, then stretched his back, folded his arms behind his back as he always did when taking an order from his master, and said in a frighteningly calm voice: "Is that your final word?"

"Yes."

The answer came promptly, even though the prince's voice trembled with emotion. Something about the majordomo's behaviour was unsettling, it just didn't suit him. And this feeling was further confirmed when Cogsworth now closed his eyes, took one deep breath and, looking at the prince again, said firmly:

"Then you leave ME no choice... But to disobey your order."

Before any of the people present had properly understood what he had said, before any of them could react, Cogsworth turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.

They only regained consciousness when the door slammed shut loudly behind him.