Disclaimer: I don't own anythang!
Chapter 6
By: BeautyandYue
Fake Andros, as soon as he was out of sight, pulled up his red shirtsleeve and pressed a button. He was teleported out of sight. Astronema roved around in her black leather chair, "Greeting Ecliptor, I hope you mission went well?"
Fake Andros grinned evilly and his image melted away to reveal Astronema's right hand henchman. "Very well, my princess." He told her bowing deeply.
"She has no clue then?"
"Not one princess."
" Good." She grinned. "Lets us look to see what our little "objects" are up too."
Karone followed behind Zhane-Beast looking around at her new "home". Several grotesque statues lined the dark hallway. She gasped in fright and hurried to catch up with Zhane-Beast. Karone bowed her head and meekly followed behind her captor. Zhane-Beast was using Andros as a light to guide him and Karone to her room. He looked back at Karone seeing if she was following behind as she was told. Zhane-Beast caught sight of a lone tear make its way down her pale cheek. He felt something weird in his heart. Voices rang in his head "Zhane NO!" and "He jumped in front of me and took the hit meant for me." Zhane-Beast shook his head.
Andros noticed some conflict in his friend's eyes. He nudged Zhane-Beast's head "say something to her." He whispered.
"Huh?" Zhane-Beast said startled. "Uh…I hope you like it here, the castle is your home now, you can go anywhere you like, except the west wing." He told Karone over his shoulder.
"What's in the west wing?" Karone wanted to know.
Zhane-Beast whirled around "Its forbidden!" he barked harshly, voice echoing. Karone drew back fear written clearly in her eyes. He snorted at her and turned back around. They arrived at her room. Zhane-Beast opened the door and Karone stepped inside the gloomy and stuffy room. "Now if you need anything my servants will attend you." He told her.
Andros nudged him and whispered, "dinner, invite her to dinner."
Zhane-Beast drew himself up and commanded "Y-You will join me for dinner. That is not a request!" and forcefully slammed the door. Karone gasped and turned around at the insulting way he told her that she was supposed to come down for dinner, but he had already slammed the door. She turned back around tears gathering, as the emotional force of the day – Zhane listening to her, Zhane getting hurt, the others getting captured, losing her brother, and losing her freedom- hit her. Karone fled to the feather bed in the middle of the room and fell onto it sobbing.
When Andros got free of Zhane-Beast he went in search of Cassie and Carlos. He found them in the kitchen. Andros asked them, "Zhane was not nice to Karone just now…"
"And you are worried about her." Cassie replied. Andros nodded. "Come on Carlos, let's see if she would like a cup of tea." Cassie said impishly, hopping way.
"Alright, talk to you later Andros!" Carlos said. "Hey, Cassie wait up!" he hopped as fast as he could to catch up to a quickly disappearing Cassie.
Karone heard a light tapping on her door, dashing away the last of her tears she went to the door. "Who is it?" she asked.
"Ca-Mrs. Potts dear." Cassie called through the door. Karone opened the door looking but seeing no one there. "How would you like some tea?" Cassie asked hoping around the door.
Karone pointed and backed up surprised. "But, you're a…?" she walked into a wardrobe standing there.
"Ump!" the wardrobe exclaimed opening her brown eyes. "Oh, my goodness!"
Karone stepped back startled even more and dropped onto the edge of the bed. 'Sure after all that's happened today why not?' Karone thought putting her hand to her head.
Cassie poured some tea into Carlos and sent him over to Karone. "Careful now don't spill." Cassie cautioned him. Carlos looked back at her with an expression that clearly said 'what do you think I am an idiot!'
Karone slid off the bed to the floor gracefully. "Thank you." Said Karone as she carefully picked Carlos up and tried to take a sip.
Carlos suddenly asked, "wanna see me do a trick?" and not waiting for her answer he sucked in a lot of air and held it, making bubbles in the tea. (Like little kids would do in milk?)
"Car-Chip!" Cassie scolded.
Carlos stopped and looking very sheepish said "oops, sorry." Karone laughed. He reminded her of Carlos who would do anything to make her feel better if she felt down.
"That was a very brave thing you did my dear." Cassie said to Karone.
"We all think so." The wardrobe sighed.
"But I've lost my brother, my friends, my dreams, everything." Karone said sadly.
Cassie, Carlos, and Wardrobe looked sad at her statement. Cassie suddenly remembered, "Oh, look at me jabbering on while there's a supper to get on the table. Come along Chip." Cassie called as she went out the door.
"Bye!" Carlos called hopping down from Karone's hand and out the door.
"Well, what shall we dress you in for dinner?" Wardrobe asked. "Let's see what I got in my drawers!" she said excitedly, throwing open her doors. Several moths fluttered out. Wardrobe quickly shut her doors. "How embarrassing." She chuckled "almost as bad as that one time when I had to go to school and it rained! Everything was soaked and my pink socks dripped onto my white shoes!" Wardrobe stopped and opened her doors again. "Ah, here we are!" she exclaimed picking out a beautiful, deep purple dress. "You'll look ravishing in this one!"
"That's very kind of you." Karone protested "But I'm not going to dinner."
Wardrobe drew back aghast. "But you must!"
"Ahem, ahem, ahem?" TJ came scuttling in. "dinner is served." He said bowing and grinning widely.
Zhane-Beast paced in front of the dinning room fireplace. "Why hasn't she come yet! I told her to come down to dinner!" Zhane-Beast fumed impatiently to Andros and Cassie who were on the mantle of the fireplace. (How they got up there in the first place I do not know.)
"You must try to understand that the girl has lost everything all in one night." Cassie said gently, watching Zhane-Beast pace back and forth.
Andros held up his lighted hands "all they have to do, he said, is she falls in love with him, poof! He blew out one hand, he falls in love with her," poof! He blew out the other hand. "And poof! We'll be human again by midnight." Andros said relighting his hands in one swift move.
"Oh, its not that easy." Cassie protested giving Andros a look. "You should know better then that Lumiere." Andros had the decency to have a blush settle over his features.
"I know, but the rose has already begun to wilt." Andros told her making his hands droop.
"She's so beautiful and I'm…" Zhane-Beast said regretfully rubbing his head, then he lifted his paw and glared at them, "well look at me!" Zhane-Beast snarled at them.
"You must help her see past all that." Cassie said soothingly.
"I don't know how." Zhane-Beast sullenly said.
"Well you can start by straightening up." Cassie said crisply hopping down from the mantle onto a cushion and onto the table next to the sulking Zhane-Beast. Andros followed her. "Make yourself a presentable gentleman."
"And smile. Come; come, show me your dashing, debonair smile." Andros said smiling. Zhane-Beast grinned showing very sharp looking teeth. But the grin turned to his jaw dropping as comments about how to improve himself to Karone flew back and forth. Finally just as he gripped his head in frustration Cassie and Andros said firmly, at the exact same time, "but most of all you must control your temper!" the door opened. "Ah, there she is." Andros said. Zhane-Beast looked up expectantly.
But only TJ appeared looking extremely nervous. Zhane-Beast's face fell. "Well? Where is she?" Zhane-Beast asked through clenched teeth.
TJ paled even more. "The girl? Oh, haha…she was doing…she is in the process of…" TJ despaired, clenching his eyes shut. "She's not coming."
To Be Contiuned…
