AN: Here we are, Chapter Two! Yaaaay! Alright, so a lot of people have been telling me that England should have been Cogsworth (The clock), but I made him the dad so that he would have a reason for going out in the woods. Yes, I agree that he and France would have been entertaining as Lumiere and Cogsworth, but I think that the person I've chosen to be Cogsworth will do a good job, too. Besides, the character I've chosen rarely gets a chance in the spotlight. In fact, he seems to be forgotten almost as often as Canada. Wait, who is Canada again...? Oh well. Here's Chapter Two! :D
Disclaimer: I own nothing. :( Merrr.
Chapter Two
"This way, Arthur. Just a little farther." Tink promised, beckoning him closer as she led him down a shady trail. "The Flying Mint Bunny should be just around the next turn."
"You said that nine turns ago." Arthur reminded her, but following her nonetheless. Tink has never led me astray before, he told himself, so why would this time be any different? That's probably why the pixie dust didn't work on me earlier. I didn't have faith in her. Now he was on Dusty, riding down a narrow, winding road in the middle of a dark forest.
Then, off in the distance, Arthur heard howling. "Pssst! Tink!" He whispered fearfully. "Did you hear that?"
Tink brushed his concern aside. "That's just the song of the Dalikai Birds." She told him. "You, Arthur, should have nothing to fear, for they only harm those who don't believe in them. You do believe in them, right?" She asked.
"Well, I've never heard of them before." Arthur admitted. "Oh! But I believe in them! I believe in them one hundred percent!" He promised. As he spoke, the howling grew closer, and Arthur found himself chanting "I do believe in Dalikai Birds, I do believe in Dalikai Birds, I do believe in Dalikai Birds…"
Then, the wolves attacked.
They lunged out at him from both sides of the trail, teeth bared in malice. One wolf latched onto his leg with its teeth, pulling him off of his horse and onto the ground below. Arthur screamed as the wolves attacked him, his horse rearing and dashing away as fast as possible. Only his friends stayed with him, Captain Hook and Uni trying to fight off some of the wolves while Tink called out from above. "It's just an illusion created by the Dalikai Birds, Arthur! You have to believe in the birds, or it won't stop! Believe, Arthur!" She cried.
"Screw believing!" Captain Hook yelled. "Arthur, run!"
He didn't hesitate for a moment. Rolling onto his stomach and lunging forward, Arthur ran blindly through the forest, ignoring Tink's wails of protest from behind him. Run. Run. Run. Don't forget to breathe. Run. He told himself, trying to block out the snarls and panting that came from all around him. Finally, he broke through the trees, and found himself slamming into the metal bars of what appeared to be an enormous gate. Without stopping, Arthur picked himself back up and shoved the heavy doors open, slipping inside and slamming them shut just as the first wolf threw itself against the bars. Gasping for air, Arthur took a few precautionary steps back from the gate and collapsed to the ground.
When he managed to get his breathing under control, he turned around and took in his surroundings. Before him stood an enormous castle, gothic and eerie against the grey sky above. Wait, grey sky? Arthur looked up just as the first raindrop fell. Suddenly, it was pouring buckets. Uttering a few choice words that would leave no man wondering as to where Elizabeta picked up her vocabulary, Arthur hobbled up the path to the front door of the castle, babying his wounded leg as best he could. With great difficulty, he managed to lift the heavy brass knocker and release it, causing an echoing crash to resound within. Upon receiving no response, Arthur tried again. Soon, he was soaked with rain and decided to go inside, invitation or no invitation to do so.
"H-Hello?" He called out, shivering fiercely. The main hall of the castle was dark, the only light coming from a single candlestick resting on a ledge. "Hello?" Arthur tried again, louder. He passed by the candlestick and continued walking, stopping when he heard whispers from behind him. Turning around, he saw no one. "Hello? Please, I was travelling through these woods and my group was attacked by… birds. I'm wounded and in need of shelter for the night. Please…" He pleaded to the direction the voices had come from. "I know someone is there. Please, come out."
He heard the voices start up again, this time a little louder. Listening closely, Arthur could make out two distinct voices that seemed to be arguing about something.
"Absolutely not, aru! If the master finds out that-"
"Awww… have a heart. The poor man looks hurt and practically frozen."
"No, no, no!"
"Please, I don't mean any trouble." Arthur promised the voices, who quieted immediately. Arthur walked over to the candlestick on the ledge and picked it up, using it to cast light on the darker areas of the room in an attempt to find the source of the voices.
"Welcome, monsieur!" A voice called out.
"What? Who said that?" Arthur asked.
"Look up." The voice replied. Arthur looked up to see the candlestick staring back at him. "Bonsoir." He greeted. Startled, Arthur dropped the candlestick, who fell to the floor and righted himself with a sniff.
He was quickly joined by the clock that Arthur had seen next to the candlestick on the ledge earlier, who proceeded to scold him fiercely. "Well, now you've done it, aru! Just look! If the master knew what you were doing-Hey! Put me down, aru!" The clock protested as Arthur picked him up and began to examine him closely.
"Amazing." Arthur exclaimed. "A real life clock golem! Incredible!"
The clock huffed and gave him an odd look. "I am not a golem. I am a talking clock, that's all." Arthur didn't seem to have heard him, though, as he proceeded to poke and prod all aspects of the clock's frame. "Stop that, aru!" He demanded, breaking free of Arthur's hold and falling back to the floor.
Once the momentary euphoria and shock that came from meeting enchanted object passed, Arthur found himself shivering once again as his rain-soaked clothes chilled him to the bone.
"Zut! But of course! You are cold, tired and injured. Please, follow me. You can come warm yourself by the fire." The candlestick began to hop along the floor towards another room. Arthur, grateful for the chance to warm himself and treat his injury, followed.
"No! No! No!" The clock chased after the two. "Not the fire! He can't be here, Francis! You know what the master will do when he finds out that he's here, aru? He'll throw him in the dungeon, you in the freezer, and me in the kindling pile!"
"Oh, Yao, you worry too much." The candlestick laughed. "Come, monsieur, sit. Warm your bones." He gestured to a large, ornately carved armchair that sat before an already blazing fire.
"Not the master's chair!" The clock called Yao wailed as Arthur sat down.
Almost immediately upon sitting down, a tea tray rolled up beside the chair. "Ooh! You have tea?" Arthur asked excitedly. This is incredible. He thought.
"Nein." A gruff voice replied. A beer stein that was resting on the tray turned around. "You are cold. You need beer to warm you up." He said. Arthur nodded in consent, and the beer stein turned to a small cup that was beside it. "Okay, Feliciano. I'm going to pour the beer now. Try not to laugh and spill it everywhere this time." He warned.
The cup turned to his larger partner and nodded. "I promise I'll try not to laugh, Ludwig. It's just such a funny feeling! Like when you have too much pas- Eeep!" The cup squealed in a very unmanly way and giggled as the stein poured the amber liquid into it.
"Verdammt, Feli! Control yourself!" The stein roared.
Arthur laughed at the exchange before him. "I like his enthusiasm." He said. The cup turned to him and nodded, indicating that he was ready to be picked up. Reaching over, Arthur noticed that the cup had a very unusual handle. It was near the top of the side of the cup, curling upwards in a spiral. After struggling for a minute with how to best grasp the handle, Arthur eventually just gave up and ignored the handle altogether. Lifting the cup to his lips, he took a long, slow swig of the beer, allowing the liquid to pour down his throat and send sparks through his fingers and toes. "That's good beer." He commented. He lifted the cup to take another sip-
Suddenly, the doors behind him slammed open, the air wave created by the motion extinguishing the fire before him and sending him into semi-darkness. The air around him grew cold, and Arthur felt his heart leap from his chest. A growl that would put any wolf outside to shame came from behind him, and Arthur noticed that all of the enchanted object around him were stock-stilled, their faces filled with terror.
"Someone is in my castle?" A dark, gruff voice demanded. Terrified to turn around, Arthur could only watch as a shadow descended upon him from behind. The beast behind him roared, and the entire room seemed to shake from the ferocity of it. Then, his chair was spun around, and Arthur found himself staring into a pair of enormous violet eyes. The monster in front of him was covered in dark brown fur, his enormous jaws opening and closing to reveal deadly fangs. The claws of the creature dug into the surfaces around him, threatening to tear the area apart. Arthur was trapped. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" The monster boomed.
"Please, I-I was in the w-woods and I was attacked! I lost my wa-" Arthur fell silent and cowered as the creature roared again.
"You aren't welcome here!" It growled.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know! Please! Just let me go!" Arthur begged.
"Oh, you can go somewhere all right. Straight to the dungeons!" The beast thundered, grabbing Arthur by the neck and dragging him from the room.
"No, please! No! NO!" Arthur screamed.
In the fireplace room, the enchanted objects looked at one another guiltily. No one said a word as they listened to the man's screams fade into the darkness.
Well, there you go! Chapter Two is done! I know it was a little shorter than the last one, but I have good reasons for breaking this up the way I do. What do you all think of my choices for Lumiere, Cogsworth (aru ;) ), Mrs. Potts, and Chip? Did anyone notice what I did with Italy's handle? R&R Please! And stay tuned! :D