Chapter Twelve

"Ow! That hurts!"

Shaking his head, Cogsworth watched as Mrs. Potts pressed wrapped ice to Lumière's cheek. From the looks of the "wound," Babette was a bit stronger than she looked, but the ice seemed to be more of a psychological help than physical. The smack had, in Cogsworth's opinion, hardly left a mark, but if it would make Lumière stop lamenting, so be it.

"Oh come now, I barely touched it," Mrs. Potts said with gentle amusement. "Now hold still."

Lumière winced. "With God as my witness, I will never make another woman angry; it is not worth the pain."

"Make a woman angry, indeed!" Cogsworth scoffed. "She received the scolding she deserved! Her conduct was far from appropriate and completely unacceptable."

Lumière shook his head, careful not to disturb the ice. "There is a scolding, and then there is acting just as childish as she did. I did the latter and should have thought before I acted."

"The both of you simply need to talk this over," Mrs. Potts offered. "When you feel you can talk to her calmly, then do what you must."

Lumière smiled appreciatively. Of all the castle residents, Mrs. Potts was the mother to all; many would assuredly be lost without her. She was the single person who understood rational thinking and compromise the most.

"Do you think she will be more sympathetic if I take this with me?" he asked, gesturing to the ice.

"I don't see why not," Mrs. Potts laughed. "Go on, Cogsworth can help me with cleaning up for now."

With a nod, Lumière made his way upstairs, allowing himself a laugh as he listened to Cogsworth whining over his appointed volunteer work. When he reached the ladies' floor of the servants' wing, Lumière took a deep breath before knocking softly on Babette's door. No answer.

"Babette?" he called. "Are you in there?"

Still he did not receive any response. Growing a little worried, as she should have been in there, Lumière knocked a second time before he turned the knob. Inside, the small room was pitch black, and Babette was nowhere in sight. Leaving the ice bundle by the doorframe, he tried to feel around in the dark in case she had left any kind of note, only to remain empty handed.

Returning to the hallway, Lumière called for her again. This time, a response was made as a door across the hall opened, and a younger girl, perhaps about thirteen, answered him.

"She is not here; crept away before and ran off," she said.

Lumière cursed quietly. "Did she say where she was going?" he asked.

The girl looked thoughtful for a moment. "She was muttering something about a tavern nearby. 'It's not home, but it is close enough', I think she said."

Lumière quickly started thinking of the entire surrounding area near the Château Mountains. The only tavern that he knew of was in a town not far from the castle; if he left now, perhaps he could even reach Babette before she arrived.

Thanking the girl and hurrying downstairs, Lumière left instructions with one of his staff members to explain his absence before he raced for the stables. It was his doing that had made her run off; he would be the one to bring her back.

"Tell anyone who needs me that urgent matters have called me away," he said, "I will be back as soon as I can."


Dark streets and the sound of boisterous merry making met Babette as she strode to the door outside the local tavern. She had left what felt like an eternity ago on foot, yet she was still wiping her eyes free of tears furiously. Why she had cried this long, she did not have the faintest idea; all she knew was that tomorrow, she would be home and there would not be any more nights like this.

"I can not believe you are actually here."

Babette gasped, obviously not expecting to be discovered, but when she saw the owner of the voice, she frowned. Lumière rested against the doorframe, purposely trying to stand in her path.

"Step aside," she ordered, quiet but deadly.

"You do not know what it is like in there."

"You forget that I most certainly do, and even if I didn't, I don't care."

Lumière did not move an inch. "Those men in there are not as tame as the ones at the dance hall; they will eat you alive."

Babette shrugged. "Perhaps," she said before adding mockingly. "But you forget that I am a big girl; I can cross the street on my own, among other things."

Lumière did not give in. "Please…hate me if you want, more than you must be hating me now, but don't do this."

"Get out of my way."

He sighed, infuriated. "I am coming with you then."

Babette shoved him aside. "I do not need you to shelter and protect me."

"You leave me no choice," he replied. "You were placed under my watch and responsibility; I am therefore bound to bring you back safe and unharmed." He tried to appear nonchalant when he continued, but to Babette's trained eye, he failed miserably. "Besides, I need a drink after all you put me through."

Babette shrugged indifferently. "Fine, but don't even think about interfering in whatever I choose to do. As far as I am concerned tonight, I have never seen you before in my life."

"As you wish." He finally conceded to her previous request, and stood aside. "After you."

Babette took a few steps forward, turned the door handle, jumping at the sound of a glass shattering, hysterical laughter and cheers that were heard.

With a taunting smirk, she said, "Just like home."

He mirrored her expression, which seemed to surprise her; she clearly did not expect it. "To each his own beliefs; some just know better, namely myself."

Visibly more annoyed and determined, Babette turned the knob again, this time going inside, followed by Lumière. The patrons instantly turned around as they entered, every male in the room leering at her as they took in the newest pickings. Babette held her head high, taking somewhat of a delight in their looks, and walked to the nearest table, giving Lumière a look when he tried to follow her. Hesitating for a moment, he nodded in agreement, moving to another table.

Making himself comfortable, Lumière ordered his usual glass of wine, keeping an eye on Babette from across the room. He had to give her credit, going through so much trouble just to make him miserable. He did feel something for this woman; what it was exactly he was still uncertain, but he did care about her. It tore him apart inside to see her throw herself into this pit of snakes, just to feel better about what had happened before. Seeing the men move in on her, knowing what they wanted, was almost unbearable.

Over the rim of his drink, Lumière watched as she played the coy little flirt, talking to a man who pulled his seat right up next to her. They were a little too close for comfort if he had any say in it, and Lumière had to call on all his strength not to do anything stupid. When the man pulled her close, freely taking every liberty with his hands and her body, Lumière had to grip the table to keep quiet and still. When she slid onto her suitor's lap, goading Lumière purposely over the man's shoulder, he did not know which of the two to strangle first.

Lumière could not understand it. Babette was angry with him, she did not feel anything for him, yet she just had to taunt and tease? It was more than he could handle, and how he was not in a drunken jealous rage was beyond him.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the playing field, Babette broke free of a rough kiss, grasping the man's wrist as he reached to undo the ties of her dress.

"Ah, you are in too much of a rush!" she scolded playfully. "It is so much sweeter to go slowly, to savor every moment, non?"

"To hell with slowly," he murmured feverishly, reaching for the ties once more. "I need you, all of you, right now."

Babette glanced at the table, searching quickly for another escape route. "I thought it was…traditional to have a few more drinks before being romantic?" she asked, placing his mug in-between them.

The man simply took a short swig of ale before returning his attentions to her. "There, that is all I need."

Babette reached for the mug, making him lose his concentration yet again. "But I have not," she laughed nervously, taking a drink herself. When it was empty, she called for more to stall him, but he drew her hand back to him.

"Do not worry, ma petite," he said huskily. "You will want to be conscious for this, I swear it."

"No…wait," she gasped, struggling to pull herself away.

When she managed to stand, the man followed suit, making his dominance known as he pulled her close again forcefully. "What do you mean 'no'?" he asked.

Babette tried to keep her panic under control with no success. "I think you know exactly what I mean," she argued fearfully.

The man laughed, obviously amused, before growing serious and pressing himself against her. "A mere woman never says 'no' to me."

"That must be why you need so many women; none of them can stand for such dishonorable intentions," a male voice interrupted.

Babette's eyes went wide as she caught a glimpse of Lumière standing behind her suitor. The man turned, although he met Lumière's challenging words rather differently.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, harshly shoving Babette aside to focus his anger on Lumière.

"I have seen you with a number of other women tonight, monsieur," Lumière lied, but from the gradually menacing look on the man's face, he supposed he had not been too far off in his accusation. "Obviously none of them would stand for your disgusting behavior, yet you continue to use the same routine."

The man loomed over him. "And what makes you such an expert on this one then?" he asked, nodding to Babette.

"I know my own lover quite well," Lumière replied casually, ignoring the looks he was receiving from the woman in question. "Her honor, thanks to you, has been threatened; I demand the satisfaction of hearing an apology."

"Honor?" the man laughed. "Honor of…of…that? You have eyes; you could see that she has anything but honor!"

Lumière's hand shot towardsthe man's throat, and gripping it tightly, he slowly brought the man to his knees before looking to Babette.

"Chérie, if you could join us for a minute?" he called. When she had done so, he turned his attention back to his opponent. "Now, monsieur, you were about to say…?"

The man remained silent, still determined not to give in, but as Lumière tightened his grip even more, breathing was becoming more increasingly difficult. Desperate for air, he gasped, "I…I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Lumière grinned politely and released the man, watching him fall in a heap to the floor as his face changed from blue to its normal color. "Much better, we appreciate it and bid you a fond good evening."

Taking Babette forcibly by the wrist, Lumière threw payment for the wine on his table before he led her outside. She in turn tore her wrist from his hand.

"Who do you think you are?" she cried.

Lumière raised an eyebrow at her as he untied his horse. "Only someone who just spared you from a humiliating fate, however little you deserve it. Now get on; we are going home."

Babette folded her arms, standing her ground. "No."

"Yes, get on," he replied simply.

"No," she said. "According to you, I do not work at the palace anymore, therefore you have no say over what I can and can not do."

Lumière sighed. "Suit yourself."

With a struggle, he picked her up, carrying her kicking and screaming, and placed her on the horse himself. Climbing on immediately behind her, he blockaded any kind of escape with his arms as he snapped the reins. Babette only sulked in unwilling defeat the entire way back to the castle.

When they arrived, Lumière walked with her to her room. As she was about to slam the door shut, he reached out a hand to stop it.

"Before I go," he said slowly, pausing for a moment. "I wanted you to know that what I said earlier this evening at the banquet was in anger. I do not regret my decision; your actions will never be deemed excusable. But I do not want to send you back, nor should I have said any of the cruel things I did. If you could find it in you to forgive me, and please say that you will stay, I will be forever grateful."

Babette did not look at him until his last words. Did he really just swallow pride for once and apologize to her?

She remained silent for a minute before she replied, "Much as I hate to admit it, you were right."

"You forgive me then?"

"Of course," she said with a hint of a smile. "A man must be somewhat sincere if he goes through as much trouble as you did."

"Do I dare to ask if you will stay as well?" he asked, mirroring her smile.

"Absolutely," she said. As he nodded, content with her answer, Lumière turned to leave, but Babette stopped him.

"Lumière?" she called as he turned to look at her. "Thank you."

"You are more than welcome," he replied warmly.

"And just so you know," she said quickly. "You…did not have to say what you did before. I am pretty sure he would have left me be without the 'lover' detail."

Lumière nodded with a smile. "Yes, I know."

Grateful for the darkness as he would not be able to see her blush, Babette grinned to herself, watching him leave. When he was gone, she closed her door quietly for the night.


Reviews...

TrudiRose: I'm seriously convinced that Babette just causes more trouble than she can handle sometimes, especially after this last chapter! LOL! Thanks much for all your wonderful help!

Nadiil: Hey girl! Yeah, them getting together does start signalling an end in sight and there aren't too many more chapters to go. But it's not over yet! I have a deadline to finish this by next week so we'll see how that turns out. Thanks!

FairlyOdd: You said it perfectly! But now it gets better! Thanks much!

ShortStef: No apologizing! I'm only busting of course; it's my nature:-) Thanks for your kind words, and for considering a cameo for Lumi and Cogs in your story! Woo hoo!

Dark Beauty: Aww, hon, it's ok really! (hugs!) I'm very glad that you read the rest of it, and you're more than entitled to your opinion absolutely! I like to write my fics by exploring endless possibilities; that's what makes B&B a gold mine of fanfic in my opinion. There is so much to explore and ponder over. This was just one of them inspired by the pros, but if you love the other way, that's perfectly cool! No hard feelings at ALL; hope ya keep coming back! Thank you!

Knux: Glad to think Veronique is a fun character because her moment is about to come:-) Thanks for sticking with me!