Chapter 9- Someone Watching Over Them

Belle and Maurice arrived back home to the castle to find Adam pacing strenuously about the Great Hall. As soon as he saw them, he rounded on them and demanded to know what took them so long.

"You have been away all day. I was worried about you, in that village with those backstabbing people!" he spat out angrily.

"Adam, it is all right. It's just a village. And it is a peaceful place. Not everyone there is a 'backstabber'... although I can understand you feeling that way. Adam, you are their Prince, and they are excited about you! I even found some ladies there who wish to help us with the wedding cake, and even a dressmaker. I feel that Yves and Georges should be allowed to retire." Belle calmly explained.

"Retire? They are the best tailors around! Look at the suit they made for me!" Adam indicated his blue jacket and breeches, pulling on his lapels.

"Yes, but all they did is make your old suit much smaller, Adam. To be honest, they don't have the nimble fingers they used to. But I will not visit the village much anyway. I will ask Madame de la Grande Bouche to take care of wedding details there."

"Thank you, Belle," Adam replied, much calmer. "You are almost sounding like a future princess, now." He stroked the strands of Belle's hair at her temple that always tended to fall from her ponytail. "But I will still love you in spite of that." He crinkled his blue eyes at her in a playful grin.

Belle blushed. She never cared to be a royal, it was overwhelming to her. All she wanted was to avoid the tongue-wagging of the villagers as much as she could. At the moment, she also wanted to relax. "I am going to the library; would you like to go along and read with me?"

"Yes, I... I would like that." said Adam, sheepishly. Belle took Adam's arm and they headed to the library, where they enjoyed a few quiet hours by the fire. Belle read her novel, and Adam attempted to get interested in a book as well, but he preferred staring at his ladylove's face as she sat curled up in a plush chair. Bored with the book after a while, he took a nap on the opposite chair.

Later, Madame de la Grande Bouche insisted that Belle try on the yellow gown again, after Belle's request that Madame bring it into the village seamstress. A group of maids, including Mrs. Potts, watched in giddy excitement as Madame zipped up Belle's gown. It was a little tight.

"Chef Thierry's chocolate eclairs," said Belle regretfully, holding her breath.

"Oh, yes, they are heavenly! I will simply tell the village seamstress to add an inch to the wedding gown, don't go trying to starve, now!" said Madame, fawning over Belle's dress, and smoothing her hair. "Have you thought of a hair trim? Your ends are quite dry."

"I'll trim your hair, Mistress Belle!" exclaimed Pauline, a small young brown-haired maid who, like Babette, had been one of the feather dusters.

"I am going to the village tomorrow, to meet with the seamstress." Madame announced. "I also would like someone else from the staff to come along and meet with the baker about the cakes. This person will be asked to go alone to the village later if possible, because I decided to take a trip to Paris to see about new formal wear for everyone on staff."

"New dresses for us?" Pauline exclaimed excitedly. The other girls beamed with joy.

"Yes, my dears, new dresses and suits for all of us!" sang Madame. "You girls have grown up so; why, Pauline, you were just twelve before our...ordeal started, and Sophie and Valerie, you were both fourteen back then! You all have nothing to wear to this wedding and I will take care of it. Of course, I admit I am just dying to see Paris again! So I need a substitute. Someone needs to pick up goods from the village merchants. Would anyone like to volunteer?"

"Oh, I would! I'd love to see the village! And Michel taught me everything about driving the horses!" exclaimed Sophie, a short and plump, pretty-faced blonde maid who had been the heart-shaped pink armchair. She eagerly waved her hand behind Valerie, a tall, thin raven-haired maid, almost as lovely as Belle, who had been the heart-shaped green armchair.

"Excellent. But you need to ask Cogsworth's permission first, as you work in the kitchen, and we need plenty of hands there as well," said Madame de la Grande Bouche. Sophie nodded and smiled, optimistically.

Madame and the group of maids headed downstairs to tend to their daily duties. Mrs. Potts lingered behind with Belle. "How have things been with you lately, Mrs. Potts?" asked Belle.

"Why, just lovely, dear. Life could not be better, I must say," she replied.

Mrs. Potts was taken aback; not many people really asked her how she was doing. She was always there, always kindly serving others, but never one to reveal much about what she was feeling or how her life went. They walked downstairs together, heading for the kitchens where the older woman was certain to put on a pot of tea.

"I see you have been getting along very nicely with Papa," said Belle, as they entered the enormous kitchen, greeting Chef Thierry, who was busily preparing roasts with his crew of ten helpers. They greeted Belle with bows and echos of "Your Grace." Mrs. Potts lit a stovetop with a match and put a kettle on.

"Your father? Oh, yes, well, he is a very delightful person, indeed he is," said Mrs. Potts, slightly flustered and averting her eyes from Belle's.

Just then, Maurice entered the kitchen. "Hi Emmeline! I'm starving again, are there any croissants left to tide me over until dinner?'

"You know I always make extra since you love them so, Maurice," Mrs. Potts answered warmly, taking a basket from the cupboard filled with leftover croissants. She set a few near the stove to rewarm, but Maurice took one and happily munched on it as Mrs. Potts poured him some tea. "Would you care for a cup, Belle dear?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Potts. I would, it was chilly outside on the way home," She accepted a cup of hot tea, and headed for the library again, happy and contented as her father and Mrs. Potts begin to chat.


Less than a mile away from the castle grounds, in the deep forest, three fat, lop-eared rabbits hopped about in the underbrush. The little creatures spoke amongst each other with the voices of men. They were impatient, and not very happy.

"Father, how could you fall for that trick! Why did you not draw your wand the moment you turned around! You allowed her a surprise attack!" one of the rabbits exclaimed.

"Bastien, son, you could have done the same, if you now claim to be as skillful a Sorceror as I am. Perhaps this shall be a lesson to us all. Now we must wait four more days. Lapin is a minor spell, it is only supposed to last five days. We must consider ourselves lucky," replied Fabien LaBarre, now in the form of a different animal than the one he was accustomed to.

"Lucky? And be eaten by real wolves whilst we wait for it to wear off!" said Bastien the sable-colored rabbit, trying to control the urge to jump on top of his younger brother, Benoit, to assert his dominance. This is crazy- stop it! he thought. Benoit, who was an identical sable-color, hopped away from his brother in annoyance.

"Quit looking at me like that!" exclaimed Benoit.

"Sorry. I keep wanting to jump on top of you and I do not know why. I am also really craving some sweet clover right now," admitted Bastien, sheepishly.

"So am I." admitted Fabien. He twitched his rabbit nose. "I sense some over in the meadow. But we must find shelter from predators until this infernal spell of Delphine's wears off!" He led his sons to a patch of clover in the clearing.


Meanwhile, in the home of Quentin Dufresne, Quentin looked in approval at the Magic Mirror, showing the three Enchanters-turned-rabbits hopping about in the forest near Adam's castle. Delphine watched his expression, hoping for the smallest hint of praise.

"Very amusing, Delphine. Good ambush. And if our luck holds out, a bona-fide wolf shall come along and have a good meal, and the fool LaBarres will be no more," said Quentin.

"I must go back now. Prince Adam goes outdoors to the castle grounds every day, taking walks. I have seen him about with his lady, the one who broke the spell. Without the LaBarres, he shall be easier prey the next few days," Delphine said with breathy enthusiasm. "Adieu for now, Father!"

She disappeared from the room in a flash of white light.

She reappeared in the forest, the same forest where the LaBarre men were stuck as rabbits for four more days. During those four days, Delphine camped out and spied on Adam and Belle as they took their walks along the castle grounds and through the forest paths. She never came close enough to be seen, but from what she heard of their conversations, it was banal, sweet talk about their love for each other, their wedding plans.

Hatred and spite filled her heart. She knew that she had no love in her own heart, only hate now, while Adam's heart was filled to bursting with love. The very thing she had tried to punish him for, she now was guilty of. She felt no love for anyone anymore, now that Lamont had left her for a mortal, of all things. She didn't even need to become a permanent old hag, he had rejected her already.

Mortals and their love- how could love be such a powerful force as to defeat her magic? How could love truly transcend the monstrous appearance of an enormous horned Beast? Who was this girl?

Hiding in her conjured tent on a craggy mountainside, Delphine waited, alone and bitter. Days passed. When she could stand it no more, she ventured toward the castle grounds one more time.

Her hands squeezed her magic wand in anticipation. She had to cast a curse on someone today. She had to make someone else feel pain, and follow her father's orders. As she neared the beautiful, slightly snow-dusted lawn of the castle grounds, she transformed herself into a cedar tree, and hid amongst the patch of similar cedar trees near it.

Here, she could see the comings and goings of the castle residents, as the trees faced the front entrance. Far away, near the West Wing of the castle, she could see a couple walking, their laughter carrying through the chill early spring air. Squinting, she could tell that the man was not Prince Adam. He was very thin and lanky. The young woman with him was very small, but with shorter, darker hair than Adam's ladylove. She was dressed as a maid. No, that was not who she wanted to approach. Would she see them soon?

She didn't have to wait very long. There they were, exiting the castle's side entrance! Prince Adam and his young woman, walking in the distance. They were going to the other side of the castle. Turn him back into the Beast, her father had ordered. But how? It could only be done with a reason. That was the law. If she pointed her wand and spoke the incantation 'Homme BĂȘte' at him without proper protocol, it would backfire- and the spell would enter her instead. The mortal Prince would have to behave in a way to deserve it, it was meant to be a punishment for ugliness on the inside. He had changed. Delphine was now the one who was a beast on the inside.

Father was watching her in the Mirror, now, she knew it. The happy couple disappeared into the forest, hand in hand. Confound it! Delphine was frozen and conflicted in her state as a cedar tree. She didn't know what to do next. She watched as four guards passed through the grounds. The guards walked to where the prince and his lady had ventured, and followed them into the forest. Shortly after that, a woman drove a wagon pulled by a Shire horse out of the castle grounds, past Delphine's tree-form, and out the front gate.

A few minutes later, two children came running in Delphine's direction. One of them, a little blond boy of six or seven, ran straight to where Delphine's cedar tree form stood still, and began playing in the trees. She watched him as he frolicked about happily. The older child was a young girl of about eleven or twelve, dressed as a maid. She watched over the little boy as he played, then she sat down on the ground only feet away from Delphine. She took out a book and began to read.

The little boy ran over to a very tall evergreen tree nearby, at the corner of the castle's East Wing, and shouted something to the girl. He started climbing it. The young girl glanced up at him.

"No, you shouldn't do that, Chip! It's too dangerous!" she yelled to him. The boy disobeyed and kept climbing, while the girl looked slightly annoyed, and decided to go back to reading her book.

A moment later, the boy slipped, and tumbled to the ground, falling flat on his back. He began to cry. The girl looked up and panicked. "Chip!" she screamed. She ran towards him to help.

Delphine's mood brightened. Here was a mortal girl who had made a mistake in judgement, who was feeling guilty for her irresponsibility. Delphine could see it. It was deserving of at least a ten-point, short term Transformation Hex. And if the little boy was guilty of disobedience, it would be double the points. Even though she couldn't curse Adam just yet, she decided to take this opportunity.

She transformed out of the form of a cedar tree and into her green-gowned, elegant self, facing the two children with a look of icy sternness. Father, I hope you are watching. What shall I do- Rabbit? Earthworm? Or shall they go back to inanimate objects as they had been?

The two children looked at her with curiosity at first, which soon turned to fear.

...

A.N. The two children in this last scene are, as you can guess- Chip, and his friend Mirielle. What happens to them next with the Enchantress is continued in 'The New Order in the Castle,' chapter 2. That story's timeline begins just as 'Little Town' ends.