A Plan Put in Action

(Chapter Sneek Peek, full release on Tuesday.)

The crowd cheers after Slade and Leo's little musical show they put into the bar. Slade sits back in his chair next to the fireplace and Leo joins him.

"Leo, you're the best," Slade complements his friend as they look at each other. "How is it no girl has snatched you up yet?"

"I've been told I'm clingy, but I really don't get it," Leo admits. He almost has his arm around Slade, who sees Thomas staggering into the tavern. "Please, please. Someone, someone," Thomas said, sounding out of breath, then went to a citizen and put his hands on their shoulders. "You, help." The citizen was in shock a little.

"Whoa, whoa," that person said.

"You must help me. It's Bruce. He's got, he's got Bruce. He's locked in a dungeon," Thomas said, sounding worried.

"Who's got her?" Slade asks.

"A beast," Thomas said, then turns to the crowd, "a huge, horrid, monstrous beast!" The people in the bar start laughing at Thomas, thinking he's making up such nonsense as well as mocking him. "My son's life is danger. Why do you laugh? It's not a joke," Thomas asks. "His castle is hidden in the woods. It's already winter there." Slade gets up from his chair.

"Winter in June?" somebody asks, then people laugh again.

"Crazy old Thomas."

"Listen to me! The beast is real. Do you understand?" Thomas says. "Will no one help me?"

"I'll help, Thomas," Slade says.

"You will?" Thomas asks Slade.

"Everybody. Stop making fun of this man at once," Slade says to the audience as he walks to Thomas.

"Captain, thank you," Thomas says gratefully.

"Don't thank me, Thomas. Lead us to the beast," Slade says. Everyone looked at each other in disbelief as Slade and Leo follows Thomas out of the bar.

~Back at the castle

"Barbara, there's a boy in the castle!" Richard said excitedly as he enters the kitchen with his saucer.

"Yes Richard, we know," Barbara, the tea pot, replied as she stands on a rolling cart.

"What kind of tea does he like? Herbal, oolong, chamomile?" Richard asks as he moves around with his saucer. "I'm too excited!"

"Slow down before you break your handle," Barbara says as Richard joins her. Then Barbara's lid was lifted up as a living furnace filled her with tea.

The beast dressed in ragged clothes strides into the dining room and takes his seat in his gilded chair at the end of the long table. He looks across at the dinner setting later at the other end, and in a furious sweeps his setting.

"EDWARD!" the beast roars.

"Be calm, let me do the talking," Edward assures William, sounding a little nervous. The beast comes back into the kitchen and stops at the table that the two were standing on.

"You're making her dinner?!" the beast asks in a rude tone. "Well we thought you might appreciate the company!" Edward said assuringly but also defending himself a little.

"Master, I want to assure you that I had no part in this hopeless plan; Preparing her a dinner, designing an outfit for him, giving her a suite in the east wing!" William says.

"You gave him a bedroom?!" the beast exclaims with a little rage.

"No, no, no! HE gave him a bedroom!" William said, pointing to Edward.

"This is true," Edward said without fear. "But, if this guy is the one to break the spell, then maybe you could start by using dinner to charm her. Good thinking, William." The clock asks "what?" in protest.

"That's the most ridiculous idea I ever heard!" the beast exclaims. "Charm the prisoner."

"But you must try, master. With every passing day we become less human," Edward said.

"He's the son of a common thief!" the beast protests. "What kind of a person that makes him?!"

"Oh, you can't judge people by who their father is, can you?" Barbara says with a little discreet with a little bit of rudeness.

Later, the beast is banging on Bruce's door. He also has William, Edward, Barbara with him and Harleen has joined them.

"You'll join me for dinner," beast says in demand at the door. "That's not a request."

"Gently master. The boy lost her father and her freedom in one day," Barbara said, protesting a little.

"Yes, the poor thing is probably scared to death in there," Edward said.

"Exactly!" Barbara says, agreeing with him.

Unknown to the group on the other side of the door, Bruce has tied multiple strands of fabric with the help of the five inch gold Drury Walker (Killer Moth) and has it dangling outside his window for an escape as he clambers through it.

The beast knocks more gently this time, catching the attention of both males in the room but Drury was looking a little nervous.

"Just a minute," Bruce says.

"You see, there he is. Now, remember, be gentle," Edward says to the beast.

"Kind," Barbara says.

"Charming," Harleen says.

"Sweet!" William adds.

"And when he opens the door, give him a dashing, debonair smile," Edward says. "Come, come. Show me the smile."

The beast bares his fangs for a moment.

"Oh mon dieu."

Then shuts his mouth, disheartened, "will you join me for dinner?" he asks the doors as he turns away from the others. Bruce then walks to the door.

"You've taken me as your prisoner and now you want to have dinner with me?" he asks in disbelief. "Are you insane?"

This gets the beast riled up and he bangs on the door again. "I TOLD YOU TO JOIN ME FOR DINNER!"

"AND I TOLD YOU NO!" Bruce says.

Then Madame de' Maire yawns. "What time is it? What's happening?" Bruce turns to her before looking at the door again.

"I'd starve before I ever ate with you," Bruce said, turning back to the window.

"Well, be my guest!" the beast yells at him through the door. "Go ahead and starve." Then the beast turns to Edward, "if he doesn't eat with me then he doesn't eat at all." Then he lopes off. "Idiots."

"You can't talk to us like that, I forbid it!" William said, coming out of hiding. "I- oh."

"Am I too late?" William asks Edward. "Shame, I was really gonna tell him off this time." As William turns away, Edward then said, "Oh master, you've returned!" which startled William. "Oh very funny," William said.

"I got you there," Edward said.

As the beast angrily walked through the halls, breaking and smashing things as he bashed, he went to his room in the west wing. Then walks to an unlit snow covered balcony where he keeps a red rose in a bell jar on a table, then picks up an ornate hand held mirror. "Show me the boy," beast says. Then he sees Bruce's unhappy face as he sits against the wall with Drury comforting him. Bruce's image disappears and he sees his monstrous face, putting the mirror down, he stares at the red rose.