A couple of notes really quick! 1. Thanks for the reviews and constructive criticism. I appreciate it! 2. It was pointed out to me that stewardess is probably not the best word to describe Eveline's position and I considered the thought and realized the suggested title made more sense, so I changed all remaining 'stewardess' to 'serving maid' It is not that often of an occurring statement, but I figured I would point it out now before I forget. If I just say 'maid' it's referring to the usual thought you have when you think 'maid' Thanks for the suggestion for clarity, TrudiRose! 3. Unfortunately, I was unable to get Cogsworth's point of view in this chapter, but I promise it is in the next chapter(actually it starts the next chapter). I have all my chapter splits complete now. Okay, taking deep breath, I hope you enjoy! I don't own anything besides Eveline and Clarisse.

"He did what?!" we all chorused.

"Yes, I'm afraid it's true…" Cogsworth answered sadly.

"She's going away?" Chip asked.

"But he was so close," Lumiere said in despair. "After all this time, he's finally learned to love," Mrs. Potts added. "That's it, then. That should break the spell!" Lumiere exclaimed.

"But it's not enough. She has to love him in return."

"And now it's too late…" And with Cogsworth's words I blinked back the tears that were threatening to pour out. This is what I got for being optimistic for a day. I thought things could turn around, and I thought I finally was being noticed despite my efforts otherwise and that maybe, just maybe, I could have another chance at love. The thing that scared yet fascinated me the most in this world.

The next hour was a blur. I sat with Clarisse and we both cried. I hadn't allowed myself to cry in years, but here I was sobbing. All of the servants mourned in their own way, but we were all in the same room. "I knew it, I knew it was foolish to get our hopes up," Cogsworth took the thoughts right out of my head.

"Maybe it would have been better if she had never come at all!" Lumiere replied ruefully.

The dog then began to bark and the next thing I knew we were being bombarded with a mob. Then an epic battle came forth that I cannot recap with words. Needless to say, the mob was confused by our actions. However, they fought on. One of them grabbed me after I bit him. He held me above his head, ready to throw me down. Well, this is it, I thought, my death will come by being shattered into a million pieces, as if I weren't already… Then Cogsworth yelled and slammed a hammer on the man's foot. He threw me into the air, I closed my eyes, hoping it would be a quick and painless death, but the shattering never came. I opened my eyes to see Cogsworth holding me, "That was a close one, Eveline."

I blinked at him, "Th—thank you."

"Of course, mademoiselle," he replied, setting me down on the ground gently.

After a while, we were able to successfully fend off the mob. We immediately rushed upstairs to check on Prince Adam. When we arrived, Belle was leaning over his limp body, crying, "No, no! Please! Please! Please don't leave me! I love you."

As she said the three words we all longed to hear, the last petal dropped. We all became downcast.

Cogsworth was comforting Mrs. Potts when it happened: the rain began to change into light. As the light rained down, Belle became increasingly confused and backed away. The lights lifted him up and I tapped Cogsworth on the shoulder and whispered, "Look." Cogsworth turned to witness Prince Adam return to his human form and gently reach the ground again. I gasped, then turned to see my sister standing tall above me as a human. "Oh Clare…" I breathed, then I felt it. I was being stretched. I felt something unfamiliarly familiar, then held it in front of me: my hand. I started to look around…I could turn my head. I was back. I was finally human again. "Clarisse!" I squealed. I ran to her and lifted her. I spun her and we hugged each other tighter than we had ever before.

Clarisse laughed, "I'm dizzy, Eveline!" I put her down, and touched her hair, smiling. "Eveline, we're back!" She had tears of joy spilling over; soon I realized I did as well. I hugged her again, this time leaving her on the ground.

I heard a cough behind us, I let go of Clarisse and turned around to see Cogsworth shyly smiling at me. "Bonjour…" I said slowly.

"I knew you were the serving maid I had wanted to acquaint with."

"I don't understand why, monsieur…"

"You'll understand soon enough, ma chérie."

"I'll take your word for it…"

Prince Adam, which he was going by again, allowed everyone to sleep in the next day…actually he ordered we do so due to the insanity of that fateful day. Once I awakened, for the first time in years I pulled a dress on and tied my apron on my waist. I looked over towards my sister's bed and it was empty, which was odd because I usually had to drag her out of bed. I went to go find her and noticed that everybody was hard at work. "How late did I sleep in?" I wondered aloud.

"Oh, you're finally up!" an unfamiliar voice said, I turned to see a very cheerful Belle.

"Uh—bonjour…"

"I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm Belle, it's a pleasure to meet you," she held her hand out, which I slowly shook.

"I'm Eveline," I responded quietly, "and you didn't frighten me, I'm just not used to being addressed or noticed…" I wasn't sure why I was telling her this, but I immediately felt comfortable around her, perhaps due impart to the fact that she was able to make Prince Adam love her.

"Your sister was looking for you…then she got distracted by one of the servants, so I decided to see if you were up."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh Clarisse…"

"Should you really be rolling your eyes?"

"Excuse me?"

"You seem to be quite found of Cogsworth," she replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I—uh—um—well…"

She chuckled, "You sound exactly how I did when I stayed up the evening before the ball with Madame de la Grand Bouche talking about Bea—Adam."

"I, uh—surely you are mistaken…"

"I'm not asking you to admit it to me, but perhaps your sister would like to be told."

"I don't know what you're talking about…" the further into the sentence I got, the less true it sounded.

Belle smiled, "Do any of us really know when it comes to the matters of the heart?"

"I suppose not…" I replied, slowly, hoping no one was listening in. "I really must get to work, though. It was nice meeting you, Belle." I rushed away without looking back, wondering if I was really that obvious…I sighed then pushed the thought away, I had work to attend to.

"Finally up, I see," Clarisse said with a smile as I walked into the dining room.

"Good morning," I replied, ignoring her comment.

"Morning? It's two in the afternoon, Eveline."

"Oh my! I sure did sleep in!"

"I went to look for you…but well, I uh…"

"Got distracted by one of the servants?" I finished.

"Yes! …Wait, how did you know that?"

"I had a chat with Belle."

"Oh, isn't she lovely?

"Yes, she seems quite lovely…"

"Are you alright?"

I was about to deny it, but I decided to push aside my dignity for the sake of my sister, "If I admit I have something on my mind, will you allow me to wait to tell you?"

"Is that a promise?"

"If you'd like it to be."

"Alright, it's a promise!" She went back to her work and I chuckled. For a twenty-five year old, she sure did have some adolescent qualities…of course, the last time she was human she was only fifteen.

Later that day, I was setting the table for that evening's meal when I heard the door open and shut. I continued to set the table until I heard a soft humming; I turned around to see Cogsworth awkwardly looking around the room. "Bonjour, monsieur."

"Oh—bonjour!" he said, sounding surprised at my presence.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's quite alright, mademoiselle; I—erm—actually…I was hoping to ask you something."

At this point I was utterly confused, "Yes?"

"Well, you see…there's the celebration ball…tomorrow evening…"

"Yes, yes, I know, I'm looking forward to it. It'll be the most exciting thing I've worked in years!"

"Well, uhm—I was wondering…" he trailed off, looking to the ground, "I'll just be going now…" he abruptly left.

"Wait monsieur!" I would have followed him, but I had a table to set. Such a shy, awkward man…I really couldn't tell you why I saw past that…at least not at that point.

I continued to set the table, lost in my thoughts of Monsieur Cogsworth. I sighed, realizing I'd never actually had a real conversation with the man. I wondered how old he was, a few years older than me, I guessed.