I had been counting my months working in the castle, I was on the tenth. One day while I was enjoying myself in the servant quarters Ms. Tasses and Mr. Potts entered the room. The two called in all the others, except for the little prince. Then they made their announcement.
"Mademoiselle, why are we here?" Lumiere complained.
"Because I am no longer a Mademoiselle!" Ms. Tasses said happily.
"What are you going on about, woman?" Cogsworth snapped, he was probably under too much stress.
"We're going to be married in three months and hopefully we will leave the castle to start a new life in the outside world." Mr. Potts said.
I felt so happy for them, they were following their dreams and they were together, just they way they belonged.
"That was quite the announcement." Mr. Chapeau said sarcastically.
I suppose it was quite a short announcement but it didn't matter. Ms. Tasses and Mr. Potts weren't the type of people to mess around. Their marriage came at such a surprise that no one knew if we could throw them a sort of reception. Besides, Mr. potts, who was a man of business, likely wouldn't allow a wedding reception. All the servants were chatting around the servant quarters when Lumiere pulled me outside of the room.
"Babette, Mr. Potts and Ms. Tasses are getting married. You know what we need to do, no?" He asked.
"No…?" I was confused already but this seemed like something Lumiere would do so I wasn't too concerned.
"If there's one thing I'm good at it's entertaining, and as the castle maîtred I have made the decision to throw them their traditional bridal shower and bachelor party!" Lumiere said with determination.
I liked how he said he made the decision, as if he was all business.
"Alright, I'm interested." I smiled with him.
I was put in charge of the bridal shower. I had to deal with the decorations, food, games, guests, and most importantly, keeping it a secret from Ms. Tasses. I found an empty room in the castle which was normally used as a guest room but because Prince Adma was too young to have any guests it was empty. I dusted the room, and hung up some white curtains, then I had Cook carry in a table for me. I requested that she made cookies and small snacks for the party. I was also wondering if I could get some wine for the party, but it was unlikely because of how expensive it was. I hung up banners in the room, opened the windows to air it out and get rid of that musty smell, then I got new candles for the chandelier from the candelry. I assumed that I wasn't allowed to check on Lumiere as he was setting up for the bachelor party because I was sure that there was a rule against it. I was beginning to feel tired as I set up but I really just wanted to get the job over with. I covered the sturdy wooden table in the center of the room with a white table cloth. A few minutes more into my work I heard a knock at the door. I instantly ran to the door and held it closed.
"Who is it?" I called out to the other side of the door.
"Who do you think?"
I smiled and opened the door for Lumiere. He looked around the room in disbelief, "It looks great! You did this all yourself?"
"Cook helped move the table in." I responded, I was flattered that he liked the room so much.
"Okay well, it's getting late, let's go back to the quarters." He offered his hand and I took it.
As we walked the sleeplessness dawned on me. I was exhausted but I was still awake. I remember my vision was blurry and I was stumbling down the hallway. Lumiere didn't seem worried by this, he just looked at me and smiled as he continued to lead me down the hallway. I looked out one of the stained glass windows. It was already dark outside. The darkness of the outside world was beginning to make me miss my family. I missed my mother's warm smile, and my father's kind words when I used to get scared of the dark. I missed them so much and in that moment I felt awful. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Lumiere opened the door to the servant quarters for me, not noticing my tears. He walked me over to my makeshift bed in the corner of the room. When he let me sit down at my bed, then he noticed that I was crying.
"Babette? What's wrong?" He asked as he kneeled down in front of me.
I shook my head and closed my eyes for a moment before I spoke, "Nothing I just- I just miss my family so much."
He looked at me with a longing in his eyes, it almost scared me because he looked as if he was thinking so hard. Before I could say anything he leaned forward and kissed my forcefully. I didn't stop him but I didn't kiss him back at all. I felt too numb to do anything/
"I-I'm sorry" Lumiere said, obviously feeling rejected.
"No it's not your fault, I just feel so… disconnected."
I looked at Lumiere, he was staring at the ground with disappointment. I sighed quietly so he wouldn't hear me. Then I took his chin in my hand to make him look at me. I smiled my best seductive smile and kissed him as well as I could although I felt so awful. The kiss clearly made him feel better because he kissed me one last time, stood up, and wished me bonsoir.