Sultan had gotten well ahead of us, but I managed to track him down.

"Come here boy." Belle said as we moved through the halls. "Come here."

We soon went to another short hallway.

"Sultan?" Belle said.

"Back off doggy." I overheard a nervous sounding voice say.

At the end of the hallway was a large room with an organ and many pillars.

"Hello?' Belle said; no answer. "Hello?"

"W-well maybe there's nobody here." Chip said nervously. "M-m-maybe we should go."

Before any of us could reply, we heard Sultan barking. Looking in the direction of his barks, we saw that he was barking at something on a chair.

"What's the matter Sultan?" Belle asked.

We went over to look, and saw a scared fife on the chair.

"That's the fife who caused you, Belle, Harry, and the beast to tumble into the snow this morning." Kirsten whispered to me.

I didn't reply, though I did think about this for a moment.

"Oh hello, I don't believe we've met." Belle said to the fife. "I'm Belle, and this is Miranda. And you are?"

"Fife." Fife introduced himself; he then gave Sultan a scared look.

"Down boy, down." Belle ordered.

Sultan obeyed.

"We heard the most beautiful music." Belle added. "Was it you?"

"Me?" Fife stammered, obviously shy. "You…thought that was m-me?"

Fife ended with a blush and another high-pitched whistle. Most of us covered our ears, though I was already prepared and was wearing high-class earmuffs instead. When Ron W, Hermione, and the team noticed this they frowned at me.

"You could've warned us you know." Numbuh Three pointed out with an annoyed smirk.

"Reflex." I grinned sheepishly as I put the earmuffs away.

"Mademoiselle please," Forte said, causing us to gasp as we turned around. "I am maestro Forte, court composer, and your most humble servant."

"Please to meet you monsieur Forte, I'm Belle, and this is Miranda." Belle said as we approached him.

Chip hopped onto the bench in front of Forte.

"Yes, the entire castle is talking about you and your friends child." Forte said. "They say you're all planning a Christmas gala, marvelous idea. The very thing to shatter the masters' dark and gloomy past, but you must make this the grandest celebration ever. Have you gifts?"

"Yep." Chip replied.

"Food?"

"Yep?"

"Garlands, ribbons, wreaths?"

"Check."

"Spangles and 'fandangles'? The trinkets, the trimmings, the trappings?"

"Yep, we got 'em all!"

"A tree?" Forte ended in a hinting tone.

"See Belle, I told you." Chip sighed.

"Well we found one." Belle said.

"But it was on the piddlin' side of puny." Chip explained, disappointed.

Forte chuckled.

"But did you look in the Black Forest?" He asked. "There you will find a tree…better than any you can dream of."

"'Better?'" Chip repeated, excited. "We gotta go guys, we gotta!"

"Chip we can't." Belle said. "Miranda and I promised your master we wouldn't leave the castle grounds. We gave our word."

"Chin up son." Forte said. "There's a profound lesson here. Keeping your word is much more important than bringing joy to another."

"You're twisting what I said." Belle said in a gentle yet stern tone.

"Not at all, I agree with you." Forte said. "Look after yourself, let the masters do the same. Never mind that the tree was always their favorite part of Christmas."

"Please Belle?" Chip pleaded. "Please?"

Belle looked towards the window where we could see the Black Forest. The Black Forest was of course the very forest that Belle and I tried to escape through weeks ago.

"It looks dangerous." Belle pointed out.

Forte chuckled again.

"Mademoiselle, you and your friends are in more danger in this very room, I assure you." Forte smiled…though in my opinion, not in a friendly way.

"Was that a warning or a threat?" I half-growled.

"Miranda!" Belle whispered harshly as Forte looked hurt.

I didn't care, I didn't trust Forte. And I have never been wrong before. After my statement Ron W, Hermione, and the team also didn't trust Forte, especially Rudy and Numbuh Three. There was a moment's silence as we waited for Belle's decision.

"All right." Belle finally said.

"Yes!" Chip cheered.

"We'll take Philippe, if we hurry we can be back by nightfall." Belle finished.

"Hooray!" Chip cheered.

"Au-revoir monsieur Forte," Belle said as we left the room. "You'll keep our secret won't you?"

"Of course mademoiselle, the master will remain completely in the dark." Forte replied.

"Au-revoir Fife." Belle added.

"Au-revoir." Fife sighed, obviously love-struck.

Belle and the team and I left and started to head for the stables.

"Miranda, if you don't trust Forte then why are you going ahead with getting the tree in the Black Forest?" Sarah asked.

"Because the Christmas tree is the most important decoration of the holiday." I said.

"Why? Because of all the presents that go under it?" Hermione looked at me disapprovingly.

"No, because the evergreen trees became decorations due to their ability to stay green during winter." I explained. "People brought them into their homes in hopes that winter would thaw and the sun would return. Basically, the evergreen tree represents hope. That's why it's so important to get the tree, and a good one. To bring hope back to the beast and Harry."

Ron W, Hermione, and the team became thoughtful after that.