Feeling that he had no more tears to cry, Leon, his face tearstained and eyes red and sore from crying, slowly rose up from the bed and walked over to the window, sat on the still and watched the snow falling down lightly outside and snowflakes making unique patterns on the glass.

Normally, Leon loved looking at snowflakes and the patterns they made but he felt like they were mocking him by showing a beautiful scene outside to him, where they were floating freely in the sky while he was in gloomy, dark castle, confined to a room he felt was too feminine looking for him (but nice and spacious, he had to admit) like it was an insult and he was at the mercy of a terrible beast as her prisoner.

Leon sighed while lamenting his fate and the family, hopes, dreams, future and a friend he had lost due to his sacrifice.

His luck had changed like his mother said, only for the worst and he hadn't expected to be a prisoner of the Beast, promised her to stay forever and leave everything he had known behind.

All he had wanted was to have adventures, leave the village, find true love and save his mother, trying to be a good son but never realised that he had to sacrifice his freedom for her and never see her for as long as he remained in the castle.

Leon then considered escaping and making a run for it- he could sneak out, get Sabine who was probably still waiting for him at the gates and wondering why he hadn't come out yet and where he had got to and run away back to the village- but decided against it for he would most likely get lost in the maze of rooms and corridors and if the Beast caught him escaping (or at least trying to) when he had promised her he wouldn't, he would get thrown back in the dungeon for his pains.

Fresh tears began to fall as Leon put his face in his hands, grateful that no one was around to see him cry as he imagined the boys back in the village taunting him for crying and showing emotions, being an emotional wimp and a girl.

'Hey kid,' a voice said outside the room. Leon stopped crying as his ears perked up at hearing a voice other than the Beast's call out to him.

It was loud like hers but didn't have her silky, deep animal-like tones, which was a relief, as Leon had expected it to be her. It was more like a young man's, about his age or older; a lively, friendly, jokey voice which was a welcome thing to hear rather than roaring and growling.

Leon had decided to defy the Beast by not accepting anything her servants had to offer but the voice was so friendly, that he thought it would be rude to ignore it and said,

'You can come in if you like,'

The door opened and the voice said kindly,

'Rough day, huh?' as Leon turned around and saw that the voice belonged not to a human man but a washboard that was waddling over, eager to greet him and be the first of the servants to do so.

Leon looked at it, wondering why it was able to walk and talk without anything helping or powering it, much like the candelabra he had seen earlier talking to the Beast and wondered if there were any more objects like him.

'Yeah, I'm a washboard, big whoop, want to fight about it?' he said, when he noticed Leon looking at him.

'I'm kidding,' he then said, giving Leon a friendly nudge, 'I'm just messing with you, that's all, it's what I like to do. I wouldn't fight with you! Anyway, it looks like you've had a rough day, like I said before.'

The washboard's friendly tone, warm yet goofy smile and sympathetic look at his red eyes and tearstained face made Leon give a small, sad smile back and reply,

'Yes, it has been rough, thank you for asking,' which sounded a bit sarcastic but the washboard didn't seem to mind or take notice.

'Oh, I've had rougher myself but if I were to tell you, I'll have to write a book about it and since I can't write, it'll be like a blunt pencil- pointless!'

Leon, in spite of his sadness, gave a small chuckle.

'Ha, ha, I'm hilarious, aren't I? I'm glad you appreciate my humour, no one else really does, since they all think I'm an idiot and a loudmouth amongst other many other things, but I won't bore you with the details.

When I heard that you were our new guest, I thought that I would be the very first servant to come and talk to you since I'm so good at cheering people up and here I am! Oh, and if you have any laundry that needs to be done, please don't hesitate to come to me and I'll have it done in a blink of an eye!'

'Well, thank you for that,' Leon said.

'Oh, I'm so sorry, where are my manners? I better introduce myself!' he said while making a show of 'finding his manners' (literally) which made Leon laugh, amused by his antics.

'Manners, where are you? Why do you always hide when I need you most… Oh here they are!' the washboard said triumphantly, ' Anyway, my name's Remy and it's very nice to meet you and to be your very first friend and one of many loyal servants happy to serve you at any time, no questions asked, or requests too ridiculous!'

'Nice to meet you Remy,' said Leon, 'My name is Leon Dupont,'

'Leon,' Remy said, rolling it around his tongue like it was a delicious sweet, 'that's a great name, means 'lion' doesn't it?'

'That's right,' Leon said, amazed at his knowledge.

'Now to find a suitable nickname for you,' said Remy, 'You see, I call everyone here a nickname I give them with the exception of the mistress, of course. Help me out here, kid; what do they call you where you come from?'

'Well,' said Leon, hesitating, 'Back in the village, everyone called me 'Duplonk' amongst other things,' He didn't want to mention 'Swinekisser' as being another nickname for obvious reasons.

'Duplonk?' said Remy, 'Well, that's not a very nice nickname for you! An honoured guest like you doesn't deserve that! Let's find you a nicer one, shall we, that is if you don't mind, do you?'

'Not at all, as long as it's not offensive or demeaning,' said Leon.

'That's good because everyone else DOES MIND,' said Remy, 'they don't like the nicknames I give them, even though they're fun and not offensive. They think I can't be bothered to remember their names, I do but I just like to use a nickname, that's all.

Tell you what; I'm just going to call you 'kid.' It's already stuck in my head, I like the sound of it, it's not at all offensive and it's simple and suitable for a nice boy like you,'

'Thank you, Remy,' said Leon, glad not to be known in the castle as 'Duplonk' or 'Swinekisser'.

'You're welcome, kid,' Remy said, ' and that was a great thing you did, having the guts to stand up to the mistress and giving up your freedom for that woman who was here before,'

'You mean my mother?' said Leon, ' and how did you find out about that?'

'She's your mother? I first thought that she was Lumsie's new girlfriend! Well, I can see the family resemblance right there!' Remy laughed and Leon gave a slight chuckle at that, for he resembled his father rather than his mother, so he couldn't see why Remy would say that.

'And how I found out, you see, news travels fast in the castle. When she was here, we had so much fun serving her, making her feel welcome because she was the first guest we've had in years and I even washed her cape for her, well me and my brother did- did I mention I have an older brother? No? Well, now you know!

Anyway we were having a great time, until the mistress came in an angry mood, spoiled the party and chucked your poor Mumsie in the dungeon to catch cold and die just because she came in wanting shelter!' Remy said.

'Your beastly mistress shouldn't be allowed to treat people like that,' Leon said, 'It's cruel and inhumane locking up innocent people and treating them badly. You should tell her that.'

'If we did, we would get a roar in the face,' said Remy, ' But that's how she is, she hasn't been around people for years and her manners and social skills have rusted up, which is a shame because she used to be so happy, kind and polite.

But don't worry, kid, her roar is worse than her bite! Not that she's bitten anyone apart from animals she hunts and eats, but since you aren't one, you're safe as houses!'

Leon gave a small, sarcastic chuckle at that.

'And if you let yourself get close to her, be her friend and fall in love with her, she'll change for the better and the s..'

'The what?'

'I've said too much, kid, you better figure that out for yourself, but you didn't hear it from me!'

'Well, despite what you believe, I am definitely not getting close to your mistress, I'm not going to be her friend and I most certainly am not going to fall in love with her! From what I first saw, she's nothing more than an ill-tempered, mean, cruel, selfish and horrible looking beast and nothing will change that!' Leon said.

'You will eventually kid,' said Remy.

'Anyway,' Leon said, keen to change the subject, 'are there other servants like you?'

'Plenty of them, kid and they're very excited to meet you!' said Remy.

'Remy, there you are!' another strange but friendly voice said near the door, 'I've been looking everywhere for you!'

'Speak of the devil, kid, this is my big bother-BROTHER, George or Georgie as I like to call him!' said Remy, as a washtub hopped in with a harried and annoyed look on his face.

'I hope that you haven't made a nuisance of yourself, Remy,' said George, as the last two days had been total pandemonium thanks to him and he hoped that he didn't do what he did again.

'No Georgie, I've just been introducing myself to the kid, since none of you had the decency to do it yourselves and cheering him up!' said Remy, 'Read page one of How to Be a Servant- 'Introduce Yourself to New Guests!'

'Actually, it's 'Always respect your masters and never question them!' something you're clearly not doing,' said George.

'No, YOU'RE not doing it, Georgie, you haven't even introduced yourself yet and instead you're giving me the lecture of the century about servant behaviour! Don't you know that's rude not to do that?'

'Oh, really Remy, I hadn't realised that. But you've seemed to have taken the liberty of introducing me to the boy earlier, you idiot.' George said, but nonetheless said to Leon,

'Welcome to the castle, monsieur, my name is George, as Remy has told you already and I sadly have the misfortune to be his older brother but it is a pleasure to meet, serve and do your laundry for you, sir.'

'I'm Leon Dupont, it's very nice to meet you and Remy as well,' Leon said.

'I do hope Remy hasn't been bothering you,' George said, apologetically.

'Oh, no, on the contrary, he has been very friendly and entertaining,' Leon said. Remy gave George a smirk as if to say 'See?'

'See, Georgie? The kid appreciates me cheering him up, which you and the others don't! And if that is a crime in your books, then consider me guilty as charged!'

'And your punishment is doing the laundry which you were supposed to have done ages ago! Being a washboard and having no arms and legs is no excuse for being lazy and skiving off your duties!' George said.

'Alright, Georgie, I'll do the stinking laundry! Just don't lecture me, okay?' said Remy.

To Leon, he said,

'See you later, kid, Big Bother and duty calls! We'll give you a hamper to put your dirty clothes in later so we can collect and wash them!'

'It was nice to meet you both and thank you Remy, for making me feel a little better,' Leon said.

'Anytime, kid,' Remy said, 'Oh, by the way, since you've still got some time before you have to go down to dinner with the mistress and if you're desperate for something for do, why not visit Ray-Ray, Ami and Soph in the art studio? It's only a short distance from your room and they'll love to see you, especially little Soph! She's very excited to meet you, you think she's had all her birthdays come at once!' said Remy.

'I'm not having dinner with the mistress,' Leon said, 'but thank you for your offer, I'll take that into consideration.'

'Okay, but you're playing with fire by refusing dinner,' Remy replied.

'Come along, Remy,' George said and the two left the room.

'If I was human, I swear I will punch you in the face, Remy,' he then muttered to himself.

'What was that, Georgie?' said Remy.

'Oh, nothing dear brother, just keep hopping,' George said.

Leon looked at the clock on his bedside table and saw it was six-thirty. He still didn't want to go to dinner, he wanted nothing to do with the Beast, but having made a new friend in Remy and maybe George and curious to see the art studio, crept out of his room dragging along some string he had found in the desk's drawer so that he would find his way back easily and walked down the long corridor.

Back in the village, at the tavern, everyone returned to good spirits after the proposal debacle, drinking beer, playing cards, chess and arm wrestling; the Bimbette cousins, their mothers and barmaids were serving beer (and cleaning up vomit from the floor to their disgust) and LeFou and Genevieve were pouring beer into mugs and preparing big, hearty meals for the men and boys.

In the area dedicated to Gaston and where he once sat like a king, Amandine, who now occupied it, was back in her violet dress and sulking on her purple velvet throne fit for a princess, underneath a portrait of herself which was in the place where Gaston's one had been (it was now on the left of the wall with his trophies and the list of winners of the Games).

All the boys (except for Jean-Luc, who was sitting at a table, drinking and Francois, who was drinking mug after mug of beer next to him) surrounded her, comforting her, whispering sweet nothings in her ear, kissing her hand, trying to get her to notice them and worshipping the ground she walked on, the same one as their hero Gaston and Martine was duly by her side on the left

Amandine wasn't paying attention to them or returning their affections, instead fuming at her failed plan and being rejected and humiliated by Leon.

'That good for nothing..' she muttered, as she held a royal family candle in her hand, scowling at it like her most hated things were in one single ball of wax, wanting to squash it.

'Who does he think he is?' Amandine then said, 'That boy has messed with the wrong girl!'

'He sure has!' Martine said in agreement.

'No one and I mean NO ONE says no to Amandine LeGume and retains their dignity!' Amandine said.

'Well, there's a first time for everything, Amandine!' Jean-Luc said, 'and Leon had the good sense to turn you down after that disgusting proposal!'

'What, Jean-Luc?' said Amandine.

'Don't listen to him, sweet Amandine, he's Duplonk's friend and we all know it! He pretends not to be, but he can't deny it any longer!'

To Jean-Luc, Henri muttered,

'Look, Jean-Luc, you're hanging on by a thread here with your fence sitting. Either you shape up and act like a proper Muscular Man or you're out of the group!'

'Yes, Henri,' Jean-Luc said, somewhat sarcastically.

'I give him the wonderful opportunity of a lifetime and what does he do? Dismisses me! Rejects me! Publicly humiliates me! Makes me fall in to a mud puddle and ruin my beautiful red dress!

It's more than I can take and it's ruining my complexion!' Amandine wailed, looking in the mirror for an invisible blemish or spot that may have appeared on her face.

'Should I run a milk bath for you, Amandine?' Martine said, helpfully.

'What for? It won't help!' said Amandine.

'Looks like the shoe's on the other foot, Amandine,' said Jean-Luc, 'Now you know how Leon felt when he was humiliated after the pig incident!' but she and the boys ignored him.

'Ooooh, that Duplonk has got some cheek turning you down like that!' said Pierre, 'If I ever get my hands on him, I'll give him the flogging of a lifetime! But I don't want to get my hands dirty, so I'll get someone else to do it for me!'

'I'll hunt that coward Duplonk down and bring back his head on a pike for you, our lovely queen!' said Beauden, which made the boys cheer, willing to commit murder for their goddess.

'What are you going to do, Francois?' Henri called out to him.

Francois's only response was to fall off his chair and vomit on the floor.

LeFou called, 'Bridgette, Violette, Annette, I need one of you to clean up the vomit!'

'But that's disgusting!' Bridgette said in horror.

'I did it the last time!' said Violette.

'Well, I'm not doing it!' said Annette.

'Hey, if you didn't want to clean up vomit, you shouldn't have become a barmaid!' said Henri which earned him high fives from the boys.

'Oh, snap!' said Pierre.

The girls drew straws and Annette ended up being the one to clean up the vomit, to her dismay.

'Gross,' she said.

'Now, we were going out to hunt Duplonk down and bring back his head for Amandine!' Stephane said, and the boys resumed their cheering.

'Boys, please,' Amandine said, flattered that they were willing to kill Leon, but she didn't want him dead, she just wanted attention and to feel better.

She clicked her fingers and the boys quickly obeyed, calming down.

'Leon has made it obvious what I really am today.. I AM A DISGRACE.'

'You? Never!' the boys said, horrified that she would say that, 'How could you think that?'

'The milk baths aren't working… I'm losing my looks… I'm UGLY!' wailed Amandine, 'How could you bear to look at this sad, ugly excuse for a lovely beauty like me?'

'But you are beautiful, Amandine!' the boys said, 'No one is like you; you're everyone's belle ideal!'

'Is there anything I can do for you, Amandine?' Martine asked.

'Yes, there is something you can do for me- make Leon my husband!' said Amandine, 'or GETTING OUT OF MY SIGHT! I've had enough of your incompetence, your stupidity, your repeated failures at the simplest of tasks, your dumb ideas and looking at your disgusting froggy face!

Leave me alone for the rest of the night, Martine and don't speak to me until tomorrow!'

'But Amandine..' said Martine.

'GET OUT!' Amandine screamed and Martine scattered like a startled cat, while she stayed in her throne, sulking, not having cheered up one bit, all due to Leon's rejection.

'Stupid boy,' she muttered, 'but he'll be mine, I just have to think of another plan! He won't escape my clutches again!'