No babble this time, just fanfic.

After the curse had been laid on the castle, the chef-turned-stove had forbidden me from entering the kitchens. I frightened the maids, causing them to drop something or to faint. As such, over the years I'd forgotten where the kitchen was. I knew it was on the lowest level, but that was it.

Frustrated and fed up with trying, I sent one of the maids to make up the tray. It was getting harder to discern one feather duster from another, but I think I sent Babette. If that were the case, Lumière would know before the night was through, and the entire castle would have heard by morning.

The maid came back with the tray, smiling. "Master, are you really going to apologize to the girl?" she asked. Her voice gave her away. It was Babette.

In an attempt to hide my nervousness, I became gruff. "She's the last chance to break the spell," I muttered. "I have no chance of that if I don't apologize."

Babette smiled wider and clapped. I noticed her hands were now feathers. "Oh, merci le Dieu!" She hurried off, no doubt to find Lumière.

I rolled my eyes and headed for Belle's room. Balancing the tray with my paws was proving harder than I'd anticipated. "Act like a gentleman," I told myself. "Act like a gentleman." I reached Belle's door. "This'll be good."

I carefully held the tray with one paw as I tried to politely knock on the door. "Belle?" No response. I tried again. "Belle?" More silence. I almost opened the door, but Cogsworth's pompous voice came from the other end of the hall. I ducked into the shadow of a massive statue.

He was leading Belle and Lumière down the hallway. Belle had a hold of Lumière's arm, trying to seem interested in whatever Cogsworth was ranting on about. I caught a small bit of the conversation as they drew closer.

"…late neo-classic baroque period. And as I always say, if it's not baroque, don't fix it!" Cogsworth began to laugh uproariously at his own joke, while Belle merely grimaced. I had heard this pathetic attempt at what Cogsworth called "humor" before and merely shook my head.

Cogsworth eventually noticed that no one else was laughing and continued with the tour. Belle stopped Lumière before following him.

"Oh, Lumière, it's so beautiful!" Lumière nodded proudly. "I had no idea. Now if only he weren't here." Belle scowled.

"Who? Cogsworth? You'll get used to him. I have," Lumière assured her. Belle smiled, but shook her head.

"Not Cogsworth. That…Beast. Knowing he's around here somewhere…ruins the beauty of this place," she explained. Lumière turned his head and led Belle away after Cogsworth.

I came out from behind the statue. "'Act like a gentleman'", I scoffed. The mere thought of my presence disgusted her. Angry with myself for being so stupid, I threw the tray aside and returned to the West Wing.

The usual comforting walls of my private lair seemed to constricting for once. I went out onto the balcony and jumped up to the roof.

The snow had stopped falling for now, but the sky told of more later that night. I sat on the roof, something I had started doing once I realized I could jump that high. Even in my wing I could not be certain of absolute solitude, since Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Lumière frequently came to me there. Babette accompanied Lumière, but she never spoke or came on her own.

I pressed my paws to my forehead, frustrated. The Enchantress knew it would be impossible to break this spell…why even give me hope that it could be? I was tempted to crush the rose under my paw, but I knew that if I did, the servants would become objects and I'd be alone in this castle. They didn't deserve to be cursed because of my mistake; I realized that now. At first I was glad that I wasn't alone in suffering, but now I saw that it hurt them to watch as their friends and family became less human and more object. Ten of the children Mrs. Potts had adopted over the years had already become completely teacups or saucers; I'd heard her sobbing when she realized it.

A sound below me drew me back into the real world. Someone was in the West Wing, and they were near my table. That meant it could only be her.

I jumped from the roof with a cat-like grace and watched as she looked around her. She hadn't seen my rose yet. I was about to enter and catch her disobeying me when she turned and saw the rose.

Belle approached the rose like she was being pulled by it. Carefully, she reached out to remove the dome and touch the rose.

The rose. No one had touched it since I'd covered it with the dome. I was afraid to crush it and be doomed to this form. And Belle. She had deliberately gone against my orders and entered my room. Wasn't it enough that I gave her the rest of the entire castle? She had to come into my room and tried to touch the rose. My rose. Furious, I roared.

"Don't touch that!"

I swept in and covered the rose again. Belle stumbled away from me, clearly startled. "I-I'm sorry," she mumbled.

I paid her no mind until I was content that my precious rose was safe and in one piece. Fuming, I turned to her.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded. Belle stood and backed away as fast as she could. I went after her. "I told you never to come here!"

"I know, and I…"

I cut her off as I grabbed her arms. She trembled in my grasp. "Do you realize what you could have DONE?!" I let go, too angry to realize there was no way she could have. "Get out!" Belle ran, and I chased after her until we were at the top of the stairs leading to the lower levels. "You had no right to be there!" I cried, stopping Belle when she tried to flee. She halted and turned towards me, tears in her eyes. "NO RIGHT!"

"I'm sorry!"

As I screamed, she tried to escaped again, but this time I grabbed her sleeve and pulled her back. The sleeve tore, and Belle fell to the floor. Too late, I realized what I'd done. Horrified, I tried to approach Belle. "Oh…no…"

"Don't touch me!" Belle scrambled from the floor and fled down the stairs, clutching her sleeve. "Promise or no promise, I can't stay here another minute!"

I chased after her, this time hoping to apologize. "I'm sorry!" I called out. Too late. She'd grabbed her cloak and ran out the door. "I'm sorry!" I stopped. "I didn't mean to hurt you!" Realizing it was hopeless, I went back up the stairs, muttering to myself. "You don't understand. There's just…so little left of me…."

Once in the West Wing, I looked at the mirror and the rose. More petals had fallen, whether from design or from my outburst I didn't know. I went out to the balcony, ashamed.

How could I have been so blind? I'd had her. I'd had the girl who could possibly break the spell, and I'd frightened her away. If I couldn't learn to love her, then there was no hope for anyone in my castle. I would remain a Beast, and my servants would become mere tools.

I was an idiot. There was no point in keeping the rose alive any longer; I was doomed any way. I entered my room and removed the glass dome from the rose, the thing that had taunted me for too long. Closing my eyes, I went to destroy it.

My paw brushed the mirror. The mirror. Maybe it wasn't too late. Quickly, I grabbed the mirror and looked into it. "Show me Belle," I whispered, hoping I'd find that she'd come back.

The wolves had found her. I saw her running away from the entire pack…and they were catching up.

I set the mirror down and covered the rose once more. Belle was in trouble…she may have run from me, but no one deserved to be mauled by those wolves. I'd seen what they did to victims before, through the mirror. It was not a pretty sight.

The fastest way to the forest was from my balcony, but no one could survive that fall. I left the West Wing, racing on all fours to the door.

"Master! What's wrong?" I turned at the sound of Cogsworth's voice. Lumière and Mrs. Potts weren't too far behind him.

"Belle's run into the wolves," was all I said before leaving the castle.

It wasn't hard to find them. Belle's cries for help could be heard a mile away. By the time I'd reached them, the wolves had managed to bring Belle to the ground and were snapping at her ankles.

"Help! Please!"

I raced forward with a roar that stopped the wolves for a moment before turning on me. I threw one that had tackled Belle to the side, hearing it hit a tree or a rock. Belle cowered against a rock and I moved to stand over her, growling my challenge to the wolves. It was foolish to think I would scare them off on all fours, so I stood on my back paws, hunched over.

They jumped on me. With a roar, I threw most off. The more timid ones left, but the bolder ones, the males, renewed their attack.

"Duck!" I obeyed Belle's voice and ducked as a massive branch swung over my head. A wolf had been prepared to pounce on my neck as the others occupied me and Belle knocked it off course and into the snow.

Most of the others fled after that, but what I knew to be the alpha male and two others attacked me again, sinking their teeth in past my fur and into my skin. Howling with pain, I threw them off into the snow, taking patches of my fur with them. Finally, all the wolves ran.

Something wet fell on my back paws. Looking down, I realized it was blood. My blood. As the adrenaline died down, I felt the wounds the wolves had given me and the pain made me feel nauseous. With a faint groan, I collapsed.

I heard Belle start to run off in the other direction, towards what must have been her home. She stopped, and I heard her mutter what sounded like "Mon Dieu" before her footsteps drew closer. Something heavy fell on me, and I knew she'd covered me with her cloak.

Belle's face appeared next to me on the ground. She was kneeling. "Can you stand or walk at all?" she asked.

In response, I tried to stumble back to the castle, but collapsed before I'd gotten very far. "Clearly that's a no," Belle murmured, helping me to stand. "You need to get back inside the castle," she said to me. "Lean on me."

Careful not to hurt her any more than she already was, I allowed her to lead me back to the castle. It took considerably longer, but we did get there.

Cogsworth and Lumière were shocked when the doors opened, whether because Belle was back or because we both looked awful I couldn't tell. "Mrs. Potts! Hot water and bandages!" Cogsworth called once he'd regained his senses. "Lumière! Go get a fire started in the den!"

Lumière nodded and hurried away. I dimly noticed that, although I'd only been gone a few hours at most, Lumière's head was now almost fully candlestick and Cogsworth's head was slightly more square than I remembered it to be.

"Come on," Belle murmured, helping me to the den. My chair sat where had just the night before, in front of the fire. Belle carefully moved so I could sit in the chair. The worse wound was on my arm, and I cradled it to me carefully.

Belle waited for the hot water and bandages; I carefully went about licking my wounds. Cogsworth entered with a large basin with the water and bandages. He set them down at Belle's feet and retreated to join Lumière and the others watching in a corner near the fire.

Belle sat down next to my chair, carefully dipping a rag in the water. She turned to me and saw what I was doing. "Here, let me see." I withdrew from her touch and continued licking. "No, don't do that." She reached for my arm, but I withdrew again. "If you'll just hold still…"

She grabbed my arm and pressed down on the cut with the rag. Sharp pain flooded my senses. "That hurt!"

Belle looked at me like I was stupid. "Of course it did. If you'd hold still, it wouldn't hurt as much." She tried again. I tensed and moved out of her reach.

"If you hadn't run away," I pointed out, "this wouldn't have happened."

Belle sat back, one fist on her hip. "If you hadn't frightened me, I wouldn't have run away."

For a moment I was lost for a comeback. "Well…you shouldn't have been in the West Wing!" I sat back, certain I'd won this argument.

"And you should learn to control your temper!"

A collective gasp came from the corner. For years they had been telling me to control my temper, but no one had ever lectured me when I lost it. I started to make another retort, but found I couldn't. Belle was right.

Sulking, I sat still while she rewet the rag. "Now, will you hold still?" I nodded. "This may sting a little," Belle warned, pressing it gently to my arm.

I tried to refrain from it, but in the end I whimpered. Belle looked up at me, slightly surprised, then went back to her work. We sat in silence for a few moments before she spoke again. "By the way, thank you for saving my life."

I looked at her. Thank you? No one had ever thanked me, nor had I ever thanked anyone. To give me time to think, I studied her hair. It had been tied back when we…first met. Now her dark brown hair hung loose around her face, amazingly dirt-free after a fight with wolves in the woods. Her torn sleeve had been lost in the fight and one arm was bare.

Before I could think, I murmured, "You're welcome."