Cogsworth~

I groaned after I left Eveline. I am too much of a fool to even have a conversation with her. I remembered the first time I met her as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. I was twenty three at the time and she reminded me of my childhood best friend, Geneviève. Much like Geneviève, she was lively and spunky. She lived life her own way. Though unlike my friend, she was very quiet. I rarely heard a word from her and when I did, it was either required or to her sister. The few conversations with her sister that I overheard were what made me fascinated with her. I am aware how scandalous that sounds, but I honestly just wished to be acquainted with her. The first conversation they had is ingrained in my mind as it will forever be.

"It's so fascinating here, isn't it?" her sister asked.

"I suppose so, but I really can't stand that prince."

"You shouldn't say such things! What if someone heard you?"

"So what if they do? Will they behead me for speaking the truth? He's so rude and arrogant. I've never met someone so selfish!"

"Oh, sister—"

"What's fascinating is wondering about the personal lives of the other servants! What makes Babette so insecure or Mrs. Potts so caring or Madame de la Grand Bouche so lively? What makes Lumiere so boisterous or Cogsworth such a hard worker?"

"Hard worker? Don't you mean overkill perfectionist?"

"No, he's quite admirable. I only hope to be that hard working…oh, don't you just love thinking about people?"

"No, no I really don't."

"Perhaps that's why I don't tell you what's bothering me ever…" she replied coyly, crossing her arms and giving her sister a look that could only be interpreted by a close friend.

"You make no sense. You try to change the subject, I decide to give up, then you bring the original subject back up!"

She grinned, "It's a sister's job to annoy, besides other than reading, sassing is my only source of enjoyment."

The way she spoke her mind so freely filled me with envy. I would never allow myself to even think the way that she spoke, yet I longed to be able to say what I truly thought, even if it was unpleasant to the royalty. But I kept my loyalty and earned my way to Head of the Household. I smiled at the memory, Eveline would always be arguing with her sister about something. Whether it was a secret or something of someone within the castle, Eveline always had the upper hand, of course, she was quite a bit older, which she used to her advantage rather than giving her young sister a chance to be right.

Her normally quiet demeanor was rarely interrupted by anyone besides her sister, but the day of the enchantment, things changed. I saw her plate figure yelling in the kitchen. She screamed and cried and complained about the faults of the prince with no shame. She knew I was there, as were Lumiere and Mrs. Potts. I tried to calm her down, but she would not have it. All of the sass she displayed that day was somehow endearing. I could not forget how fired up she was. Two years later, she had another moment of sass in company beyond just her sister. Babette, whom she clearly had never cared for, was yet again complaining about Lumiere not loving her, when Eveline had it. She yelled at her and told her there were bigger problems than her insecurities. Other people had worse off relationships than hers and that she should stop going on about how horrid her life was because Lumiere never stopped loving her. That was the last time I heard her talk until we ran into each other by the master's room. I knew it was her immediately and was glad that I ran into her. I attempted to keep the Head of the Household façade on to direct her back to the kitchen for preparations, but I was entranced by her eyes and attitude yet again. Except her attitude was much more subtle while talking to me and her shyness was evident, which I found adorable.

At this point, standing outside of the dining room, I mentally slapped myself for being such an idiot. I had never had a legitimate conversation with Eveline, yet I wanted to escort her to the master's party. I also stuttered continuously as I spoke to her. Nothing ever went right for me when it came to women…the same happened when I became attracted to Geneviève…I lost the friendship. I would love it if I could finally find someone and not scare her away with my awkwardness and my workaholic tendencies. I sighed, knowing I was hopeless.

"Cogsworth!"

I turned to see Lumiere staring at me, "Oh, it's you…" "Who else would it be, mon ami?"

"No one, I suppose…" I replied glumly.

"Why have you been so sad since the spell got lifted? Shouldn't you be happy? It's easier to be Head of the Household as a man than a clock."

"Yes, indeed it is, I—I just have a lot on my mind…" Lumiere was the last person I wanted to discuss my feelings with. I hated to admit even to myself that I was attracted to Eveline, but there I was, practically swooning…quite ungentlemanly.

"The plate?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I'd use her name, but I don't know what it is."

I sighed, knowing I had been caught, "Eveline…"

"Do you not remember the advice we gave the master?"

"It is much easier telling someone else to do such things than to actually do them."

"I suppose it is, but you must try, Cogsworth," and with that he left. I was surprised he did not say anything sarcastic. He was a good friend when he wanted to be. I checked the time and frowned, I was late for meeting the master…I had always been quite punctual. I hastily made my way to the West Wing.

"Bonjour Cogsworth!"

"I am so sorry I am late, master!" I said, flustered as I gasped for a sufficient air supply.

"It's quite alright, Cogsworth," he said with a hearty laugh, "After twenty years of never being late, it would be wrong to be angry over being late once…especially since it was only two minutes."

I chuckled awkwardly. "Where shall we begin?" I asked, desperately wanting a subject change before he asked why I was late.

"Well, Lumiere suggested the celebration ball for tomorrow, what preparations should we do for that?"

"Everything is going swimmingly for that, sire, there is no need for you fuss over it."

"Do you really need to fuss, I can give you a break of that, you know."

"I would still be, just if you took over the responsibility, I would just be internally anxious, which is much worse."

"Don't overdo it, Cogsworth."

There was a gentle tapping at the door, soon followed by its opening. Belle walked into the room with a huge smile plastered on her face. "Bea—Adam! Guess what!"

"What is it, Belle?" he said with a smile.

She then noticed me sitting there, "Oh, bonjour Cogsworth! I didn't mean to interrupt, I'm sorry."

"Oh, you're no interruption, mademoiselle," I replied.

"Thank you, Cogsworth. I can wait, though. Please, do continue."

We finished our discussion about the ball, then briefly deliberated about getting reestablished into the world of monarchy. "Thank you, Cogsworth," he said, "I look forward to further examining the future of the kingdom."