Hello everyone, and Happy New Year! I must apologize for the large gap between chapters. The truth is: I have received so many wonderful reviews and praise I fear that the conclusion to this story will disappoint. Granted, it is only a fan fic, but I want to maintain the level of literary integrity that has been the staple of my writing. As always, please let me know what you think.

Again, I must give thanks to SerengetiDawn and TrudiRose, my two best reviewers: thanks for your insights and encouragement. SerengetiDawn, please respond to my e-mail. Thanks.

I would like to dedicate this story to the late, great Jerry Orbach who died of cancer two weeks ago. He was mostly known for his TV role as Lenny Briscoe on Law & Order; onscreen as Lumiere in both Batb movies, Dr. Houseman in Dirty Dancing among other roles; but he was also a theatre-trained actor who spent years on the stage and had won several awards including a Tony. He was and will remain one of my favorite actors. I know that he will be sadly missed by fans of all the entertainment mediums that he was associated with.

Disclaimer: The all-mighty Mouse owns it all. No enchanted objects were harmed during the making of this fic.

Tear Drops and Rose Petals

Chapter 4: Between Heaven and Earth

Behind them, Gaston soon recovered and glared at the happy couple. Stupid bitch, he thought, I'll kill that monster and take her if it's the last thing I do. He reached for the dagger in his boot and drove straight towards the Beast. It was Belle who saw the flash of cold steel before the Beast did. She shrieked as she tugged at the Beast's arm, using all of her slight weight to pull him off balance. Gaston slashed the vicious blade at the Beast and Belle was frozen in horror but it only lasted a minute. Without missing a beat, she ducked underneath the Beast's arm and positioned herself between Gaston and her Beast, pushing herself against his back. From an outside observer, the following scene occurred in seconds, but to those involved, it seemed to play out in slow motion. Gaston raised his knife, roaring in rage as he aimed for the Beast's heart. She felt the cold steel slice into her belly; a hot searing pain that shot up through her body, tiny sparks of light flashed behind her eyes as she felt her suddenly leaden legs give out beneath her. Gaston's surprised face was inches from hers as she began to slip away from the bloody knife still in his hands.

The Beast stood there, too stunned to do anything. He moved when he felt Belle begin to slip to the floor and caught her before she hit the ground. Gaston backed away slowly, before stumbling as his feet could find no purchase on the rain-slicked marble floor, dropping the bloody weapon in the process. The Beast slowly, gently, laid Belle on the cold floor, cradling her small body against his massive one; it was surreal, a dream, a nightmare; all of his worst fears realized in a few terrifying seconds. He looked up with tear-filled eyes as Gaston scrambled away towards the door. He felt the sudden urge to follow, finish what they had started, but the dying girl in his arms clung to him with all her might. It was then that the real fear sank in. She was dying. Belle was dying. Her soft skin was pale and glistened with a light sheen of perspiration, her eyes were slightly glazed then refocused; hot, red blood flowed from the gaping wound in her belly, soaking the white dress while a small pool of blood slowly formed beneath her, soaking the fur of his legs and chest. She began to shake; he could feel her slipping away.

"No…Belle…please." He moaned into her soft hair as he clutched her small body against him, if he held on tight enough, he could keep her alive. "You can't leave me, not now."

"Shh," she lifted a trembling hand to cup his face; her slight, bloody fingers gently stroked his furry, tear-stained cheek. "I wanted you to know…in case you didn't… that…I love you," she whispered hoarsely, as if speaking was too much for her. There was an odd tingly sensation from her waist down; she couldn't feel her legs. She tried to move but it was like she was in a suit of armor and unable to move. It was frightening, but not as frightening as the prospect of leaving the Beast alone. She had promised to never leave him, not even Death would make her break that promise. That vow was easier said than fulfilled. Belle could feel a coldness seeping deep into her core as she coughed hard; it was getting hard to breathe. Very hard. Her eyelids felt heavy, she needed to sleep, and she was cold and uncomfortable, lethargic as she slowly descended into oblivion.

She stopped breathing. The Beast gasped as he felt her go completely limp in his arms. He shook her desperately, "Belle, oh no, please! Belle, please!" he wailed, rocking her back and forth, a keening whimper emanating from deep within his throat. There, on the cold marble floor, Belle died in the arms of her beloved.

Upstairs in the West Wing, the Rose's last petal fell silently onto the pedestal, a lone glowing figure's shadow hovering over it as the only witness to the final petal falling. The figure was that of a woman, her pale pleasant face set in an unreadable mask. She levitated the bell jar and plucked the naked Rose stem from its suspended state, paying no heed to the thorns for the flower recognized its' Mistress. Her green eyes narrowed as she turned away, her flowing iridescent gown of gossamer and moonbeams swirling around her. And then she was gone.

Downstairs, the Beast still sat on the cold floor, the dead body of his beloved still in his arms. His fur was matted with blood, but he didn't notice or care. He was going to die as well. His heart was broken and he would just lie down next to her and die. He prayed that Death would come swiftly and take him so that they could be reunited, but it just so happened, that Fate had other plans. The enchanted objects had gathered in the room adjoining the Great Hall and had witnessed the entire thing. Now, Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts were consoling each other as they mourned. It was then that a bright flash and a burst of sparkles engulfed them. The next thing any of them knew, they were human once again. "Ze spell haz been broken!" Lumiere gasped as he wiggled his fingers in front of his face. "Yes, but what a terrible price to pay," Mrs. Potts said mournfully as they watched their Prince rock back and forth, holding his dead lover in his arms. "If we are human again, what about the Master? The spell must have been completely broken." Cogsworth interjected.

As if in answer, bright, searing light engulfed the entire room. The once-objects clung to each other, in an instant remembering that light from so many years ago. The Beast buried his face against Belle as he shielded his stinging eyes against the white-hot light. His grief-racked mind remembered that light, the night that he died. When the light dissipated, the beautiful Enchantress stood before him in an almost exact replica of the scene from a decade before: the servants cowering in the corner, a boy-beast on his knees before her. It had been only about twenty minutes since Belle had stepped in front of the knife, but to the Beast, it had seemed like an eternity. He tore his gaze from Belle and looked up at the Enchantress. Instead of the cold contempt that she had shown him during their last encounter, her face was a mix of sympathy and gentleness that shifted what little earth that was left beneath him.

"Forgive me, young Prince. This is not how events should have concluded." Her sweet lilting voice was laced with a sorrow that the Beast never thought he would hear coming from the creature before him. "What-what do you mean?" he asked hoarsely, his voice raw from grief. The Enchantress knelt down beside him; her swirling skirts formed a shimmering cloud around her. "When I cast the spell upon you and your house, I had the foreknowledge that this girl would be the one that would ultimately break it. If there had been no hope for you, I would not have set the specific terms concerning the Rose." It was then that she smiled wryly, "Believe it or not, I adore Happy Endings." The Beast stared at her, gaping for a moment before looking back down at Belle. "But…" he began.

The Enchantress held up an elegant hand to silence him. "I had not foreseen that Gaston would be such a problem; if I had known, I would have intervened earlier. He will be dealt with accordingly, but first, we must attempt to rectify the problem at hand." She stood up, brushing out her skirts with delicate hands, tiny sparkles escaped from the fabric, sprinkling the floor. The Enchantress' words had sparked hope in the Beast's heart and he had to ask, "Please, can you save her? I'll do anything you ask." She smiled sadly at him and said, "Yes, I know you would. If circumstances were more pleasant, I would congratulate you on your transformation." Her pale eyes clouded over with sincere regret and the Beast's heart sank. "Again, you must forgive me, Prince, but I fear that the Powers That Be will not allow me to bring back the Dead. Even if They did, I do not have that kind of power." He leaned against Belle and wept bitterly. He was surprised to feel cool hands on his head, soothing him. "But-" she continued carefully, "there is something that can be done." The Beast looked up expectantly, his tear-filled blue eyes filled with naked hope. "What?" he rasped, "I said I'll do anything."

She nodded, and held out one hand, palm upwards. Light filled her palm and formed into a bright blue ball, a swirling nebulous of blues and yellows veining outwards and back again, not many would recognize it for what it was, but most would say it was a concentration of pure energy. "My spell has been broken," with her other hand, she held the withered stem of the Rose, "your house and those within are as they were before our paths crossed. For the nullification of the spell to be complete, you too must be transformed." The blue orb levitated from her outstretched palm and settled itself in front of the Beast's face. within its swirling core, he saw himself, his human self. He saw what he would become: tall, strikingly handsome, his blue eyes the only clue that they were one and the same. But, when he looked closer, he saw differences as well. He saw an older, gentler, more appreciative face than the cruel, cold, unkind boy that he had been. He longed to be that man, not just for himself, but for Belle. He took a deep breath; the air was rich with a heavy, magic-rich, perfumed scent that he realized was emanating form the Enchantress. "What must I do?" he asked.

She gestured towards the light in front of him. "This is a life, yours in fact. Your human life," she added quickly as she saw the quick flash of queasiness in his soft blue eyes. "If you are willing, Belle with receive the sum of this energy and will live. But, you will be forsaking your humanity, thus reaming as you are until the day you die." She added regretfully. "This is the only way for as I said before, I cannot raise the dead. Take a moment to think about it." she respectfully backed away and gave him some space, the blue orb trailing after her.

The Beast sat there, cradling the still form in his arms. His mind was reeling. To be human but without Belle beside him, or, to be a Beast and have her with him till the end of their days. Could she really accept him? Hadn't she already? If she did reject him, she would still be alive and he would let her go, even if it killed him. "I'll do it." he told the Enchantress. She nodded, and then smiled down at Belle, "I knew I chose well. Take heart, she loves you more than you know." With a flick of her hand, the orb slowly drifted over Belle's body and descended into her, absorbed into her midsection. The gaping wound healed in on itself, the blood beneath her vanishing. A heartbeat later, she breathed again, slightly annoyed that her nap had been interrupted. She carefully opened her eyes and looked up at her beloved Beast, his eyes flooded with tears and filled with joy. He barked out a laugh and clutched her to him. She grabbed onto his forearm, painfully aware of the cold, hard floor beneath her. The Beast's heart swelled as he felt her take several breaths and begin to shift against him. She was alive. That was all that mattered, whatever else would come their way, they would endure. She was alive.

I'm afraid that that is it for now; I have some major revamping to do with the last chapter. This story kinda went off on its own, and I have to catch up. Also, I'm itchy to continue my Gravitation fic. Until Next time!