Hey, sorry it's been a while! Enjoy! Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, except Eveline. And Clarisse.

Cogsworth~

I walked to and sat in my quarters wishing I could learn to be somewhat approachable. I thought back to the day in the library with Eveline and how she ran when I wished to get to know her more…I was thankful that the next time I tried she did not run, but I still had no clue how to get to know her without frightening her again…I sighed, that was the main reason I was terribly nervous around her. I overdid things once and she intrigues me so. Lumiere walked in without knocking, "You, mon ami, need to get over your fears."

"How do you propose I do that?" I asked bitterly.

"Training, much like the master had."

"Non, non, non!" I exclaimed.

"Why not, Cogsworth?"

"Because…she is frightened of me, I do not wish to frighten her more."

"I believe she only has fear because of how much she admires you."

"I refuse to believe it, Lumiere."

"That is your own fault then."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Mrs. Potts told me that she believes the girl to be quite fond of you."

"Why would she be fond of me? What do I have to offer?"

Lumiere put a hand on my shoulder, "Security, affection, loyalty…" he continued to list qualities as I thought to myself how unlikely an event it would be if she were actually to dance with me. "You should ask her to dance with you!" he announced. I looked at him with widened eyes, wondering if he had read my mind.

"That seems rather upfront, does it not? How much conversation have I had with her?"

"You would know better than I!" he replied with a chuckle.

"Never a real conversation…" I answered the implied inquiry with reluctance.

The next morning, I woke up with a new determination. If I kept hiding from my emotions, I would live my life full of regrets and never find happiness. I walked down to the dining room and with a deep breath walked in. When I entered I saw Eveline with her sister, they were whispering.

"Bonjour, monsieur Cogsworth!" she said with a smile.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle…" I took in a breath of air, not sure when to allow it to exit.

"Bonjour…" her sister said coolly.

"Bonjour…Oh! I am distracting you both! I will be quick, though." I had no intention of asking her in front of her sister, "May I speak with you outside for a moment, Eveline?"

She looked rather confused, but complied. We stepped out and my nerves returned, "I—I have a question for you…" I started feeling incredibly unintelligent.

"Oui?"

"Well, the ball is tonight and I was wondering…if you would mind—uh—I was wondering if I could escort you to the ball?" I finally got out. Once I got past the stuttering the rest of my sentence was quite smooth.

She stared at me with wide eyes for a few seconds, I was afraid I had done it again, then she spoke, "Oui, I would like that very much. Merci, monsieur."

"Please, just call me Cogsworth," I said with a smile.

"Alright, thank you, Cogsworth, I'd be honored," she grinned at me, "I should return to work though…"

"Right, I will meet you outside your quarters at ten till!"

She warmly smiled at me, "Delightful! See you tonight, mons—Cogsworth!"

Eveline~

I walked back into the dining room and sat down, gathering my thoughts.

"Earth to Eveline…" Clarisse was holding a napkin in front of my face.

"Oh, just stop…"

"No sassy come back? No yelling? What's gotten into you?"

"Perhaps I am ready to move on with my life, Clarisse."

"Care to explain?"

"He asked me to the ball…he asked me…to go be escorted to the ball…by him…"

"He's always been fond of you, Eveline."

"I'm well aware of that. But he acted on it, despite my actions pushing him away…Clarisse, I—I think I can do this!"

"Meaning?"

"I think I can learn to love again."

That evening, everyone in the castle was hustling with last minute preparations. I found it somewhat pointless to go to all this trouble when the only guest from outside the castle was Belle's father, but this is the way they wanted it, so I wasn't one to argue…actually normally I would have, but I was excited to be going with Cogsworth.

Once we finished preparing the ball room, I dashed up to my room to get ready. Clarisse arrived five minutes after me. She went to the wardrobe and picked out a frilly pink dress and laid it on her bed. "Maman would have loved this dress on me…" she stated quietly.

I hugged her, "Maman would love anything you wear…though, I would love to hear her reaction to us going to a royal ball!"

"I miss her…"

"I do too, ma sœur, but I don't think she would want us to dwell on it on such a day…come on, let's get ready. You're going to look dashing in that dress!"

"You really care for him, don't you?"

I sighed, "I'm hoping to confirm my feelings for him tonight, actually. He is quite enchanting, but…I don't know, I need to have a real conversation with him before I can actually decide my feelings on him…do you know what I mean or am I babbling?"

She giggled, "Both."

I smiled at her, deciding it was best not to respond. I pulled a purple gown out of the wardrobe. It had ruffles all the way to the ground, but not a superfluous amount. It had subtle jewels at the bodice and a sweetheart neckline. I twisted the front of my hair back and pinned it in place with a purple flower that matched my gown perfectly. As I pulled the gown up, I looked up at Clarisse. She wore her brunette curls in an elaborate bun with a few loose strands framing her face. "You look beautiful, Clarisse."

"So do you, are you sure Cogsworth is worth it?"

"Please stop, Clare…"

"I'm sorry, I can't help it…he's—he's just so uptight."

"He's Head of the Household; he has a lot of responsibility," I replied as I applied make up to my pale face.

"You're beautiful, you know that, right?"

I turned to her in shock. She had an innocent smile on her face and I weakly returned it, "I don't need you to do that…"

"Yes you do…and I'm here to do it no matter how many times you say I don't need to." I hugged her again, "You're the best sister in the world."

"Wrong," she replied, "you are…and you'll do great with him tonight."

I turned my head to look at her in shock, "What's with the sudden attitude change?"

"I love you and I care too much about you to ruin your night with my sarcasm."

I laughed, "I love you too."

I looked at myself in the full length mirror, "I don't even look like myself, Clare…"

"Sure you do! I see Eveline right there!" she pointed at my heart.

"That was incredibly lame, you know."

"Oui, but that's just me."

I giggled, then heard a knock at my door. "Oh gosh…" I tensed up.

"I'll get it," she said with a smirk.

"No, Clari—"

"Bonjour monsieur! I suppose you're here for my sister…"

"Oy…" I whispered to myself as she greeted Cogsworth.

"Oh, please, just call me Cogsworth," he sounded less tense than usual. Clarisse opened the door the rest of the way to reveal him standing and smiling.

"Bonjour Cogsworth…" I just barely whispered.

"Bonjour, Eveline, are you ready for the dance?"

"Yes," I replied, taking one last look in the mirror before latching my arm in his extended one.

We arrived in the ballroom and it amazed me how different it looks when not working. While working in the ballroom, I always felt overwhelmed and stressed, but walking in as a guest of the ball…I felt almost like a princess. It excited me and I felt free…free, there was that word again. I didn't believe it possible just a week before and here I was, feeling as though I could have nothing besides it. I let out a soft gasp.

I heard Cogsworth chuckle so I turned to him. "It sure is a different perspective, is it not?"

I smiled in response, "I never imagined I'd be in such a grand position."

"How come?" he inquired.

"Well, a plain servant never gets the opportunity to go to such an event…and with an escort? That's unheard of…I feel somewhat undeserving, to be honest with you…" I had no idea what possessed me to admit that to him, but there I was, babbling about my undeserved fate.

"Undeserving? That is absurd, ma chérie, you are quite worthy of being here."

"What makes me so?"

"The same as us all, Eveline. We have worked in this castle, spell and all, for ten years. Now we are in celebration. This is a reward for the work we have done."

"What else were we supposed to do? I was a plate, I had no choice but to stay and work!" I lowered my voice, "I would have left if I could have…"

"Why are you still here now?"

"I changed my mind…" I stated simply. We descended the staircase and met Lumiere and Babette at the bottom. I forced myself to be civil, but Babette honestly annoyed me to no end with her constant babbling of whether or not Lumiere loved her.

After a quick conversation with them, the men got into an argument over who said that Belle would break the spell. Babette walked away then came back, rubbing her feather duster on the neck of Lumiere, while seductively saying his name. Cogsworth and I took the opportunity to get refreshments. "Why me?" I asked, unable to hold in my curiosity a moment longer.

"Oh—uhm—well, ma chérie, you have always intrigued me, honestly. The way that you are willing to speak so freely about what you are passionate about is quite admirable…I wish I had that courage."

I scoffed, "Courage? Willing to speak freely? Oh, Cogsworth, I wish that were me."

"But it is, mademoiselle."

I shook my head, "No, I am very shy…I really prefer to stay quiet…I only speak my mind to my sister…apparently you've walked by at just the right moments because I'm very careful to make sure no one is around…"

"Most of us would not even say it to ourselves. I have scolded myself for such thoughts because I knew what would happen if I voiced them, yet you still did."

"Yet I am incapable of speaking to anyone besides my sister about anything. Is that really brave?"

"You are now," he noted with a small grin.

I returned the smile, "It's new to me, though…this is all so very new."

"It is for me as well."

I made eye contact with him, which he held. It felt right unlike when I stole glances at Raoul. "I'm so glad to not be alone."

"So am I…"

So yeah, that's a lot of stuff. Second part of the ball will come...eventually. Actually, it will probably be Friday because I'll be on break and such, so yeah. Review?