I would like to thank everyone for their support! So many alerts have flooded my mailbox, I never imagined this kind of positive response and I'll do my best not to disappoint you. Now some final explanations about all that happened before we can really move forward with the story in the next chapter!

Chapter 3

The three occupants of the room turned to look who stood at the doorway.

"Agathe? How did you get here?" Belle stood up to greet her friend. When she walked past Beast, he blocked the way with his paw.

"Step away from her," Beast growled. "I don't want you anywhere near her."

"Beast I've know her for years, she's a friend." Belle smiled at Agathe.

"She's no friend Belle," Beast got up and made sure he stood protectively in front of Belle. "Come to gloat have you? Or have you return to cause even more misery?"

Belle looked at her Beast, eyes widening in realisation. Could it be? Was her friend the one who placed the curse?

"Neither, but I would like for you to calm down. Maurice I'm glad to see you've escaped, you didn't deserve what happened to you. I wish I could have helped you more, but my word holds little value as you've seen."

Maurice having come to the same conclusion as Belle could only stare.

"I suppose some explanation is in order. Belle I'm sure you've figured it out by now, who I really am. But it is very important that you listen to me. None of this was supposed to go this far, my kind gets glimpses of the future. Knowing who have the ability to change their ways and who don't." She turned to the former prince, "I saw great potential in you, yet your cold heart stood in the way and something drastic had to happen for you to open up."

"So just because I had to open up, you had to give all the others a death sentence? You could have cursed me alone, what did they do for you to decide to curse them as well?" Beast demanded to know.

"That was my own youthful mistake, I only just began and didn't look beyond first impressions. While I observed you for weeks and your cruelty, I never saw them standing up to you. Still unfamiliar with this world I didn't understand the concept of ranks and believed all to be equal. Now I know I was wrong."

This was something that had bothered her when she first started grasping the concept, knowing she condemned people to a curse they had no hand in. They had raised the prince, but he was raised being told he was better then all the rest. They couldn't go against that whilst holding on to their jobs.

"So is there a way to free them, knowing you'd mistakenly cursed them?" Belle tentatively asked. Surely something could be done? If even the enchantress knows she made a mistake so many years ago?

"Sadly I've yet to come up with a plan for that, but I'd be more than willing to release them. But curses are rather hard to break outside of their set conditions. The only other way I've heard of one breaking is when the power of the magic drained after a century." Agathe explained. "But the good news is that they are not dead, they are in a sleeplike state. Not dead, but not really alive either."

At this Beast brightened a bit, they weren't dead. And after the magic wore off they would be able to come back. But that would take too long and waiting for that would be unbearable. Seeing them and counting down the days not knowing when the actual day would be. No, something else had to happen. Al he wanted to do right now was get some time to rest. It was a long day, it started out so great, but after their dance everything went wrong. Now he started to think about it, he did have a few questions that needed answering.

"Let's all sit down, I see you didn't mean to be overly cruel in cursing us. But you'll have to excuse me for not giving you my complete trust, even if you have been a good friend to Belle." Beast hesitantly started.

Agathe nodded, "That would be a good way to start and we can built up from there. But the problems of today started in the village, but Maurice should be the one who should explain."

"Yes, I have wondered. Why was he being carted off? We all know he's not crazy and while Beast said he might have told the villagers about him, that can't have been all. They might have thought he had a few drinks to much." Belle looked at her father who was still sitting quietly taking everything in. While she had spend weeks in the castle to get used to the idea of magic, he only had one cold night in a cell and 2 hours to wrap his mind around it.

"Papa, what did happen? There must be more to this."

Maurice looked at his daughter, she had grown so much in these weeks. Now when he saw her, he saw wisdom in her eyes that wasn't there last time he saw her. She had matured through it all and he was proud of her.

"After I returned to the village I wanted to get help to free you from the monster," he gave an apologizing look at Beast, though he found no hard feelings there.

"When I told everyone what had happened they laughed and made fun of me, but one man was willing to help me. Gaston, he came up to me and told the villagers to be more supportive and told me to show the way to the Beast. We quickly climbed into the cart and left, after a while I found a familiar landmark that I remembered when coming here. But the path had disappeared, that's when he showed his real motive. He wanted your hand in marriage, Belle, but when I refused he knocked me out. Leaving me tied to a tree for the wolves that could be heard in the distance. Next thing I knew it was morning and Agathe found me. She helped me regain my strength and return to the village. There I told what had happened, what Gaston had done. When that scoundrel returned he denied everything and the only witnesses were Agathe and his best friend LeFou."

Belle looked at her father shocked. While she was enjoying herself he had been through so much, all to try and save her. Beast had similar thoughts, he caused this poor man more grief than he thought.

"But Belle, how did you know I was in trouble in the first place?" Maurice wondered, he doubted she and Beast were having a midnight stroll in wolf infested woods in formal ware.

Beast pulled out the mirror, "This mirror can show whatever you wish and Belle wished to see you. That's how we knew, you were just leaving town and we decided to intercept you. Though I don't think they'll come after you. The poor driver would be too terrified to tell anyone he saw a great beast helping you escape, they might commit him instead."

This did clear up a lot of questions, but Beast stared sadly at the teapot. He had something he needed to do. He stood up and carefully grabbed the teapot that used to be Mrs. Potts. "When the rose started wilting some of the servants told me their last wishes should the worst happen. Mrs. Potts wanted her and Chip to be together in Chip's old room. Chip should be in the cupboard bedroom she arranged for him. I'm going to respect their wishes, if you'll excuse me."

He stood up to get Chip, but Belle stopped him.

"Beast would you like us to help you?" she looked at him, wanting to be there for him in this difficult time.

"No, this is something I have to do on my own."

He moved past Belle on his way to the kitchen, on his way he found more objects most huddled together in what would have been their last moments. Finally he reached the kitchen and there he was. By the looks of it Chip was sleeping and never noticed what happened around him. This did bring a small smile to his face.

Knowing that this little innocent boy didn't feel the fear of completely turning. He had been sleeping and would remain as sleep, he didn't suffer. He picked him up and brought him and his mother to the room which hadn't been used in a long time. Tomorrow Belle could help him, he wanted this room to become spotless. Which made him think of Lumiere, Cogsworth and Plumette.

They and a few other servants asked that he made a much use of them as possible, wanting to serve him even now.

He put mother and son down on the table next to the bed and grabbed some fresh bedlinen. They would get a clean bed to sleep in, for lack of a better word. When the sun was up the rest of the room could be cleaned. When the bed was ready he lay them down on it and tucked them in. He took a seat at the end of the bed at looked at them lying there, until his exhaustion took over and fell asleep next to them.

In the meanwhile in the parlor Belle looked at the door her Beast disappeared through. Something told her he wouldn't be back tonight, but she couldn't fault him for that. She was proud that even in his grieving state he was doing his best to give his servants their last requests.

"I'll return tomorrow, today has been a long day. We do need to talk about what we can do in ways to solve this. In the meanwhile I'll make the wagon disappear and keep an eye out in the village." With that Agathe left in a big flash.

Belle and Maurice were now left alone, luckily the servants did finish preparing the room for her father just down the hall from her. Agathe was right it had been a long day and some sleep would do all of them some good.