Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Beauty and the Beast characters, plots, or anything like that.
At one point in this chapter I've found some music to go with the scene. When you see the word "Now" in bold, go to /watch?v=9kSf8w28Fs4, press play, and read on. You might need a computer so that you can have this window and the music window open and going at the same time.
At this point Clara breathed in again. She processed what she had just seen. The Prince, an arrogant brat of a man had just struck down a helpless old woman because she offered him no power. And now he is leaving her here to die without even giving her a chance. Clara had had enough! There was enough unfairness in her world. The death of Garon, the evil of Babette, the ruthlessness of Lumiere. None of it was good! None of it was meant for this world. This beautiful world full of trees and flowers and sun and light. And her son. She would not let this man take away all the good that Chevell could live in in the future. In the present. So she stepped forward.
"Stop!" she demanded, setting Chevell down.
The Prince halted suddenly, his cape whipping with the wind. He turned slowly, horribly slowly to face Clara, "What?"
Clara trembled slightly, she shook the shivers off and stood a lightle straighter. Her jaw twitching, "You heard me."
The Prince looked her up and down, a sneer growing on his horribly perfect face. He took a step forward, his metal greaves scraping the floor.
"Who are you?" he snarled. The sky outside glowed red as an explosion rocked the ground. Almost as if it was punctuating his evil.
"Clara," she said shakily, her eyes narrowed nonetheless, "Clara Potts."
At this the Obscuran's smile failed. Just for a moment. Then he regained his sneering look and spat, "That is of no consequence. Why do you think that you could possibly stop me? Have you some great power? Are you a wielder of fire? Of earth? What could you possibly do to harm me?! I who have toppled mountains and drained seas! I who have sent the Splendorans to their knees countless times!? I who have broken the very nature of balance! I am Adam! I am the beginning of the End!" His hand was ablaze with blue swirls of energy, flickering and fluctuating with his every word.
She stared at him and, with an angry defiance, said, "I," her voice was soft, "I am one who helps."
"And what good will that do you now?" he growled fiendishly.
Now.
Clara turned to face the old woman. She inhaled. She closed her eyes. Inside her she looked deeply. She found an abundance of light.
"What are you doing!?" the Prince demanded.
She reached into the light. It was warm, it was good. It was like all the days of summer, and all the days with Garon. It was strong. It was power. And the power was in abundance. But it was not unlimited. In the power there was an end. It was like a fire that burned fuel, and in order to take the fire, one had to grasp a coal. It took the light out of her, and gave it to someone else. Someone who needed power. And the power did not come back, and Clara was weaker when she lost it.
So she began to work with the power, swirling it and forming it. Drawing it from her reserve. Moving it slowly throughout her into the open space. It came slowly, as some help must. For if one does not work to help, one does not help much at all. And much help was needed.
"What are you doing!?" came the shout from the Prince.
Clara bent down ever so slightly, and she began to glow, the light was coming out of her. It swirled around her shoulders and head, around her body and legs. It formed a spiral in front of her, slowly spinning like a galaxy. The tendrils of stardust condensed slowly, and the formed into a ball of light before her. Wind rushed around her and her apron whipped with it. Chevell held to her hand.
She opened her eyes and a light glowed from within, bathing the room in violet. The light from outside was not as bright as this. No, because this was a different power. This was not of strength or might. This was not of destruction, this was a power of helping. This was a power of healing. And restoring.
She took a step. Her movements were not quick. They didn't need to be.
"What are you DOING!?" Adam cried, for he had never sacrificed anything for anyone.
She took another step, her arm began to raise.
"STOP!" the Prince screamed.
She took another step. And the power moved down her arm, twisting around until it rested in her palm.
She took another step. The light swelled and fluctuated now, it was eager to go. At that moment it burst from Clara's hand, and it struck the old woman.
The old woman began to rise. Violet light around her turned to gold sparks of power. Her crumpled form floated upward. Her old eyes slowly opened. And something happened.
Her form started to change, she began to become something new. Something younger. The wrinkles of her face changed to smooth skin. The gray in her hair faded to gold. Her dark green cloak changed to a bright green gown. A crown appeared on her head and a wand in her hand. She bent inward. Then she threw her arms open.
A wave of light flew from her, knocking the Prince back against the wall. It cracked and crumbled there, knocking a pillar down. The Enchantress moved slowly towards the Prince, her wand spouting light and sparks.
"Prince Adam of the Obscura sorcerers. You have taken this too far," her voice was deeper, but breathtakingly beautiful.
"Now the time of your darkness," she flashed, "is over."
"You-" he tried.
"I set a curse upon you, Prince of evil. You shall lose the physical appearance of goodness. You shall become what you truly are on the outside. You shall become a beast. You shall stay that way," she summoned the rose to her hand, and tapped it with her wand. A golden light surged into it, causing it to glow with a pink light, "until all the petals of this flower drop."
"You shall never leave this castle. The only way for you to see into the world outside," she looked about the room, her elegant gaze rested on the mirror at Clara's side. With her hand she summoned the mirror, and it flew into her palm, "Is with this mirror. It two glowed with the green of her magic, and sparks dropped from it.
"Say the thing you wish to see, and it will be shown to you," both of these things drifted out of her hand and came to rest at the crippled Prince's feet.
She came to rest at the ground and looked to Clara, "Come here, my friend."
Clara grabbed Chevell's little hand and moved towards the Enchantress. Then she halted, unsure of whether or not the woman she helped could really be trusted. She had just condemned the Prince to eternity in the castle, something that showed hints of possible... cruelty.
"Do not be afraid, I wish only to speak with you," the woman said, kindness crossing over her narrow face. Clara continued on, but readied herself, she would not lose Chevell.
"I wish to thank you for your help," the woman spoke solemnly, but not harshly, "Without your power, I would be gone, dead. And for that I owe you my life."
Clara had no words, she only muttered, "You're welcome."
The Enchantress smiled, but just for a moment, her smile turned to a sad seriousness, "Now I must tell you something," She looked at the Prince.
"He will try to send his servants out into the world of goodness. For he is clever. There are few ways to stop this from happening, and the only one that I can choose," she looked back to Clara, sadness in her eyes, "Is death for them all. So leave, and go quickly, else you may die as well."
Clara thought. There were truly many in the castle who deserved to die, and she would not be sorry in the least to see them go. She doubted she would feel anything. And then she could know she was safe with Chevell. Safe from the evil that the servants of the Prince wished to cause. That would be so easy.
But that was not what Garon would have wanted. He always looked for the good in people, he always gave them second chances. Because that is what they needed. Everyone fails in life. Everyone turns to evil at some point. Everyone needs someone to understand and someone to love. And if someone is dead, they cannot love anymore. They cannot change. So Clara looked to the Enchantress.
"No."
The woman tilted her head slowly, "What," she asked, "would you have me do?"
Clara thought furiously. She thought about Henri and his magic of time, she thought about Lumiere and his power of fire, she thought of the Beast and his power of evil. The woman, she had revealed that evil and brought it to the surface, not letting him hide anything. What if...
"Do what you did with the Prince," Clara said, the idea forming in her head, "And change them. Change them into something, an object, that shows who they are. Give them no way to conceal their true nature, so that they can have a second chance. And..." she looked at Chevell. She thought of life with him outside. And she thought of the people that would suffer as objects for the rest of their lives. They would be like that forever, unless someone helped them. Unless someone helped them change...
"Let me stay here. And let my little boy stay here. And we will try to change them."
The woman smiled, "You truly are one who gives help, for there is no love greater than one who gives up the easy life for others. Because of this, the key to the castle's freedom will be through you."
"How?" Clara asked, Chevell moved closer to her.
"The only way for the Prince to go back to his old life, is for him to find someone to love him. And the one who will unlock that, she will be from you. Someone you thought you lost a long time ago."
Clara thought back, to a long time before Chevell. Back when she had first been with Garon. She had a... she gasped, "She's alive?! How!?"
The woman smiled again, "Things are not always as they seem." And she turned to the Prince, and she raised her wand.