A/N: This chapter was written by me, SamoaPheonix9 and Wrestlemaniac829.
An hour had passed since Frederick was placed into his new bedroom in the castle. He was still sitting by the window, staring out at the ever growing snow storm outside. He was still thinking about how he had lost his family, and his future with Gabriella. Well, not as much. He took out the picture of the girl he had drawn out of his coat pocket. He had accidentally put it there while getting ready to meet the Le'Roux family. He sighed as he stared at it, still wondering what had happened to her on that fateful day.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Hearing this, Frederick quickly put the drawing back in his pocket.
"Who's there?" he asked.
"Miss Doe, sir," came a voice from behind the door.
Frederick sat up, walked over and opened the door. There, standing in the doorway, was a doe, an anthropomorphic doe wearing a white shirt, a light green buttoned vest, a dark green skirt, a white apron, and wheeling in a tea tray.
Tagging along beside the doe was a much younger fawn, which appeared to be her daughter. She looked very much like the doe, except she wore a pink frilly dress as opposed to her Mother's attire. Not entirely pink of course, it was more like a salmon color, a mixture of pale pinkish-orange with a light dash of pink. Even came with matching buttons. For a fawn, there was no doubt she was as pretty as her mother.
"I thought you'd might like some tea," the doe said with a smile.
Frederick slowly began to back away in confusion. "But you...ah...but...I-" Suddenly, he bumped into a large white wardrobe.
"Oof!" said the Wardrobe, who sounded like a woman. "Careful!"
In a panic, Frederick sat down on the side of the bed. "This is impossible-"
The wardrobe leaned her 'shoulder' on bed, popping the other end and Frederick into the air. "I know it is, but here we are!"
Looking around the room, Frederick slapped a hand to his forehead and practically fell flat on the bed.
"All my years as a school teacher, I've taught my students about so many strange and wondrous things," Frederick spoke. "But never in all that time, would I ever mention talking wardrobes… OR talking deer. I'm sorry, but, everyone would think I was crazy if I ever told anyone."
The doe giggled seeing Frederick so flabbergasted, finding his take on all this both funny, and kind of cute.
"Life's full of confusing moments, young man. Oh, silly me, where are my manners? All me to introduce my self: I'm Miss Doe and this is my daughter, Katrina."
"Hello, sir," Katrina spoke, with a giggle.
Seeing the fawn giggle, Frederick slowly began to smile. For such a strange creature, Frederick actually found her rather cute. So he extended a hand towards hers.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you," Frederick sayid politely, as he lightly shook Katrina's hoof.
"We heard about what you did earlier," Miss Doe replied. "What you've done today was very brave of you."
"The whole castle admires your bravery," The Wardrobe agreed.
But even with all this praise, Frederick's smile drops into a frown. He didn't want to be reminded of what happened, especially knowing he never got to tell them goodbye. He lowered his head as he spoke.
"But at what cost?" Frederick asked. "I've not only lost my parents, but my whole future as well. So many promises I broke today and so many dreams I'll never fulfill. So I won my family's freedom… Why does it feel like I lost?"
Miss Doe couldn't help but feel bad for the young man. Miss Doe made her way to the bed and sat beside Frederick. Gently, she patted his shoulder with her hoof, causing Frederick to turn to her.
"Keep a straight chin, child," Miss Doe spoke. "Life is full of ups and downs, happiness and misery. But if there's one thing I do know is this: So long as you look on the bright side of life, you'll find everything always works out. Trust me. When the time comes, you'll know."
Just then, it was as if Miss Doe remembered something as she got up off the bed, startled.
"Ooh, goodness! Listen to me! Here I am jabbering away and there's still supper to set on the table. Well, duty calls. Come along, Katrina."
"Coming, mother," Katrina said, skipping behind her mother and out the room. As she left, Katrina turned back to Frederick and waved her hoof. "Bye, mister!"
Frederick stood up and waved goodbye to Katrina, as the Wardrobe approached the young man.
"Well, now with that out of the way," said the Wardrobe. "I hope you understand that this is without a doubt a formal dinner."
"Actually, I…" Frederick was about to protest.
"Son, do you even know what you intend to wear?"
Frederick looked down at himself, gazing at the attire he wore all day, and gave a shrug.
"Uh-huh… That's what I thought," the Wardrobe figured.
The Wardrobe opened her drawers and looked for something suitable for Frederick to wear.
"Well, I'm sure we'll find something to dress you in. Just because it's a dinner, doesn't mean we don't want you to look smashing."
After quite a bit of searching, she opened one door and extended an arm inside. The arm pullsed out a fashionable green suit, appearing as if it hasn't been worn in years.
"Ah yes! Magnifique! A ravishing uniform for a ravishing young man like yourself. Well go on, try it on… I sure hope it fits after all these years. Hasn't been worn in years, but…"
"That's very kind of you," Frederick interrupted, placing the suit down. "But I have no intention of dining with the Mistress tonight."
"Oh, are you mad? Attending this dinner is a must in this household. The Mistress will be very angry, if not disappointed, if you're not down there."
Fredrick just simply folded his arms and stared back at the window. "Does it look like I care? Just tell the Mistress I won't..."
Just then. Cogsworth the clock waddled in. "Ahem, ahem, ahem. Dinner…is served." He said, smiling.
Downstairs, the Beast was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. "What's taking so long?" she growled, more to herself than to Lumiere and Miss Doe, who were also in the room.
"Try to be patient with the young man, m'lady. He's lost a lot today; he needs some time to get over the shock," Miss Doe pointed out.
"Mistress," said Lumiere casually from where he was lighting the final candles on the elaborately set table, "Have you thought that perhaps this young man might be the one to break the spell at last?"
"Lumiere, of course I have," the Beast snapped. "Don't patronize me; I'm no longer a child. But you should see the way he looks at me… It's like he'd rather he were anywhere but in the room with me." She shuddered.
Neither servant had a reply for this. After a minute's silence, Lumiere ventured, "Mistress? Out of curiosity, why did you decide to let him exchange himself for his parents? It seemed an… unusual move."
The Beast sighed, her temper fading for the moment. "I recognized him, Lumiere."
Both servants were taken aback. "Recognized him? From where?" asked Miss Doe.
"It was the same day… The day I found the rose. You remember, I was playing in the forest, and I slipped away from my guardians. I had tripped over a branch, and cut my leg. I was sitting there, crying, when a boy from the village found me. He was only a few years older than me, maybe twelve or thirteen, but he was so friendly, and gentle. He bandaged my leg and told me stories until I felt better. It was so nice to be treated like a normal person that I didn't tell him who I was. He offered to escort me home, but I turned him down. I was afraid that someone would think he had kidnapped me if we were seen together. So I told him I would come back to see him, and walked towards the palace alone…" Her voice trailed off.
The servants knew what had happened next. They all had had to live with the consequences every day.
"I've often wondered what became of that boy," the Beast continued, her blue eyes far away. "And when I saw him again upstairs, I felt as though I owed it to him to return the favor he did me that day by allowing him to exchange himself for his parents and their servant."
Miss Doe and Lumiere said nothing, but exchanged significant looks behind their mistress's back.
"But now he's here. For good. I made him promise to stay. And I don't know what to do with him. What do I know about love?"
"Well, the best way to start would be to make good impression at dinner," Miss Doe offered.
"Ah, oui," cried Lumiere excitedly, "Impress him with your manners and your witty conversation."
"But don't talk his ear off, either," put in Miss Doe. "Give him a chance to feel at ease and tell you about himself."
"And most important of all," Lumiere said, before he and Miss Doe spoke simultaneously: "You must control your temper!"
The door handle to the room creaked. All three of the room's occupants spun to face it with expressions of apprehension, but it was only Cogsworth, poking his head in nervously. "Good evening!" he said, quickly.
"Well?" asked the Beast after a moment, during which it became clear that Cogsworth did not intend to start talking. "Where is he?"
"Who?" said Cogsworth, for a second or two looking genuinely startled. Then he gave a few fainthearted chuckles at his 'joke' and continued. "Oh, the young man. Well, to come right to the point, circumstances being what they are… He says he's not coming."
Lumiere and Miss Doe slightly gasped in response to Cogsworth's announcement. Nervously, they turned to The Beast. The Mistress at first didn't show any emotion. She was practically frozen in place, but they could bet that there was deep anger swelling up inside and any moment she would burst.
"Perhaps Lumiere and I better go on up and talk to Frederick, Miss," Miss Doe offered.
"Ah, oui," Lumiere agreed. "Perhaps we should…"
"No." The Beast spoke. "It was my idea for him to come down to dinner. I'll go talk to him."
"But…" They both protest.
"I said… I. Will. Talk to him." The Beast spoke.
With a sigh, they stepped aside as The Beast walked ahead of them. The way she paced it was not really much of a run, but neither was it a walk either. In a sense, this was a mixture of both and the determination on her face said it all. She would get Frederick down to the Dining Hall for dinner no matter what she'd have to do to make it so. Cautiously, the others followed The Beast to ensure she didn't overdo it.
Picking up her pace, The Beast strolled toward Frederick's door and proceeded to pound on it with all her might before Frederick finally responded.
"What?"
"I believe I had made a request for you to come down to dinner!"
"And I believe I told you I had no desire for food!" Frederick shouted. "I'm not hungry!"
"Young man, if you do not come down to the Dining Hall right now, I'll…"
"Mistress!" Manx shouted, the cat running in from down the hallway. He stood in front of the Beast, straightening his collar and clearing his throat.
"Pardon the interruption, Mistress, but unless this is an attempt to win the man's affections…I don't believe it's working."
"Manx is right," Cogsworth spoke. "We're not just asking you, we're telling you: Please! Attempt to act like a lady!"
"You don't think I'm trying?" The Beast asked. "Why must he is be so… So… Difficult!" She then turned her attention to the door and shouted: "Why are YOU being so difficult?"
"Why are YOU acting like a child?"
Just as The Beast was about to respond, Miss Doe grabbed a hold of her arm with her hooves. She turned around as Miss Doe softly calmed her down.
"Gently… Gently."
The Beast calmed down, letting the tension ease a bit. She then took a deep breath and turned to face Frederick's door. "Will you come down to dinner?"
"No!" came Frederick's quick answer.
The Beast looked at all her servants, with an expression that said 'SEE?!'
"It's all right, it's all right," Cogsworth spoke assuredly. "Just try again, more calmly…"
"The clock's right, and it's highly important to keep a straight posture," Manx added, massaging her shoulders. "Be sincere, be kind..."
The Beast tried to act formal, grabbing her cape and curtsying at the door. Her tail wagging in annoyance.
"It would give me great pleasure...if you would join me for dinner."
"Ahem, ahem," Cogsworth suggested. "We say 'please.'"
The Beast sighed. "Please?"
"No, thank you!" Frederick said once again.
"What!? You're just going to sit in that bedroom forever?"
"Maybe I should, considering I AM your prisoner, after all! What did you expect me to do? Come out of this room, sit on some chair, act like nothing ever happened, put on a happy face and smile? You sent my family away from me! And you expect me to simply forgive you over dinner? I'd rather starve to death in here than dine with someone who is so cold and cruel and locks up poor innocent people! You're an inhuman monster!"
The Beast was filled with rage. But instead of roaring out with anger, she began to cry. She then covered her face with her paws and ran off into the darkness of the hallways
"Oh my," Miss Doe replied. "This didn't go as well as we had hoped?"
"I'm afraid not, Miss Doe," Cogsworth agreed. "At this rate, we'll never end this dreadful curse."
"Don't ever say 'never' Cogsworth," Manx replied. "I'll have a word with the Mistress once she calms down. Until then…" Manx turned and addressed Lumiere. "Lumiere, stand watch at the door and inform me or Cogsworth at once if there is the slightest change."
Lumiere took a guard position next to door. "You can count on me, mon capitan." he said, saluting.
"Well," Cogsworth said. "I guess we better go downstairs and start cleaning up."
Upstairs, the Beast slammed her bedroom door shut, muttering to herself and wiping the tears from her eyes. The Beast was still frightfully upset at those awful words Frederick said out loud to her. But now she wasn't just sad, she was mad to the extreme.
"I ask nicely… Nicely! But NO, he refused… Does he expect me to "beg" for the pleasure of eating with him?"
For the first time in many days, she did not look at the rose as soon as she entered the room. Instead, she picked up the small hand mirror sitting on the table beside it.
"Show me the young man," she commanded.
Immediately, the mirror clouded over, then cleared to show Fredrick sitting perched on the end of his bed, talking to the Wardrobe.
"The Mistress really isn't so bad," the Wardrobe was saying, "You just have to get to know her a little more. Why not give her another chance?"
"And what difference would it make if I did get to know her?" Fredrick answered bitterly. "Quite frankly, it's a little late to change first impressions... Or second, or third. How many chances does such a monster deserve before it's clear what her nature is?"
"But, well…"
"But nothing! There's nothing you can do to change my mind. Not you or the others... Not even her! I don't want anything to do with her... Ever!"
The Beast almost dropped the mirror, or flung it across the room. But the Beast was able to control herself and remembered to place it safely down next to the wilting rose. For if she destroyed the mirror, she would lose her only window to the outside world. She padded despondently to the furthest corner of her room.
The Beasts turned and gazed at every portion of the room, as she pondered deep in thought. Everything in the room was either battered or torn. But there was this corner hidden by a set of intact, if dusty, velvet curtains. The Beast had ordered the curtains to be placed there because she could not bear to look at what was behind them. Even now, she did not draw the curtains, but spoke to them as if what they concealed could answer back.
"Mama, Papa, you would cringe if you could see me now. I can only be grateful you are spared seeing what your daughter has become. But what am I supposed to do? There is a man here who can save me, save us all, and he wants nothing to do with me. He is our last hope. Our last hope. What am I to do?"
There was no answer, as she had known there would be. She waited a few moments, wishing the two voices she most longed to hear would speak again, but nothing happened. At last, with a choking sob, the Beast fled to the balcony to stand in the snow, hiding from herself and from reality, at least for a time.