Babette giggled to herself as she raced down the dirt path that wound through the trees. She could hear the crunching of dry leaves under Lumiere's feet as he chased her playfully down the forest path.
Normally, they wouldn't get away with this. They would be chased down by one of the most dangerous predators that ventured into the Black Forest: Cogsworth. But, ever since the incident a few nights ago, the head of household hadn't been himself. He'd been spending most of his time alone, and when he was around the others, his actions were either monotone or depressed. For the time being, however, Lumiere and Babette were enjoying the freedom to be alone with each other.
Pushing the thought of her usual pursuant to the back of her mind, Babette continued hurrying down the path. She skipped over a large stick that had fallen on the path.
Behind her, the sound of flying, rustling leaves erupted. There was the crack of a snapping branch and a sharp gasp. Babette turned to see if Lumiere had fallen over the branch she had just passed. Suddenly, she was pulled into his arms.
"I can't believe you fell for that," Lumiere whispered into her ear. He leaned in to kiss her, but, so fast that Babette could barely comprehend what happened, Lumiere pulled away and released her.
When Babette's mind caught up with the situation, she noticed a dark vine wrapped around Lumiere's waist, holding him a few inches off the ground. She was about to race towards him and try to help, but two shadows swooped onto the path and began circling her. Babette tried to take a step towards Lumiere, but a third shadow cut her off. All she could do was watch helplessly as the vine constricted itself around her lover like a snake.
Then, a young woman dressed in dark blue and black emerged from the trees. Her brown, hate-filled eyes almost seemed to be black. Some of the same shadows that circled Babette began to circle amongst the golden leaves of the trees, sending them fluttering down to the ground. The circle of shadow began to cause a breeze that sent the dark girl's black hair billowing like smoke. A smile spread across her face.
More black vines slithered out from the newly formed shadows, wrapping themselves around Lumiere as he struggled against them uselessly. A league of shadows continued to swarm around Babette, gradually blocking her view.
"Burn in the fiery pits of death, you dirty brother killers," the girl growled.
A tiny bolt of lightning flew from the trees, and it collided with the girl's head. Her eyes rolled back into her head as her knees buckled. She collapsed onto the dirt path, her body limp. The shadows cleared away in an instant. Babette gasped for air. While trapped in the shadows, she hadn't even noticed that she had been unable to breathe.
Once Babette had caught her breath, she looked up to see a man kneeled down next to the girl's body. He was tall and thin with sand-colored hair. His stormy gray eyes were focused on the girl's unmoving body.
Lumiere and Babette slowly walked to his side and kneeled down next to him. He didn't even glance in their direction, but he clearly knew that they were there.
"Is she dead?" Babette whispered.
"No, she is merely unconscious," the man replied. Finally, he turned to face them. "My name is Cumul, and I'm a lightning elemental."
"My name is Lumiere, and this is my fiancé Babette." Lumiere introduced them. "We come from Prince Adam's castle."
"I happen to have a friend from the castle, and I would be more than happy to escort you home." Cumul said.
Lumiere was about to protest, but when he thought of the girl who had attacked them, he decided that it would be safer with someone who was capable of dealing with such situations.
000
Cumul pushed open the door to the study. "Good afternoon, Cogsworth."
The head of household slowly turned to face him. Worry instantly began coursing through Cumul's body. This behavior wasn't normal for Cogsworth.
"Hello, Cumul," Cogsworth mumbled before turning to face forward again.
Determined to know what was troubling his friend, Cumul pulled a chair over and sat next to him. For a short while, the two sat in silence. "What's on our mind?" Cumul finally asked.
With a defeated sigh, Cogsworth began to recount the events of the incident for the third time.
"Interesting," Cumul mumbled to himself once Cogsworth had finished, "I ran into a dark elemental not too long ago. She looked to be around the same age as this Shyla you mentioned."
Cogsworth suddenly became very tense. He looked up at Cumul with questioning eyes.
"I was in the Black Forest when I came across her. At the time she was attacking two servants from the castle. Using my magic to knock the girl into unconsciousness, I escorted the two servants home." Cumul summarized.
"So that's why you came," Cogsworth muttered half to himself. Cumul lived a solitary life away from most of the country's problems. When he had first come, it was a question of why he had left his peaceful safe haven.
"I believe that the girl I met today is, in fact, your former student Shyla." Cumul admitted.
"That could be true, but why would she be so bent on destruction, even of people she's never met?" Cogsworth wondered.
"Revenge, maybe?" Cumul suggested.
"It's possible," Cogsworth agreed. "Thank you for everything, Cumul. I'll be sure to keep you updated on the situation."
"Do you honestly think that I'm going to do nothing and go home?" Cumul exclaimed.
"I know how you feel about battle, and with how things are going now, there will be bloodshed."
"Cogsworth, you are right about my dislike for battle. However, the battle itself isn't the thing I hate. I hate the bloodshed and the pointless killing. If I could, I would fight to uphold my morals and keep as many people as possible from dying. I am more than willing to stand beside you in battle if it means protecting the innocent." Cumul promised. "A storm has hit and it's shaking us apart. I'm just sorry that I couldn't predict this one."
"I wish it had been me instead," Cogsworth sighed.
