Nearly twenty minutes later, Leon was slowly waking up from his slumber when he saw a huge pair of emerald green eyes staring at him up close like they had been watching him the whole time he had been sleeping, which disturbed him, considering he hadn't heard anyone come in the room or had been aware of it and had waited for him to wake up.

'Well hello, Sleeping Beauty,' a young woman's voice said as the eyes revealed themselves to be on a cream-coloured mannequin with a mahogany stand, much like the ones in the living room in the cottage that his mother used; who was still staring at him, hardly blinking.

Now fully awake and seeing the mannequin talk to him, Leon jumped in surprise for the third or fourth time (he had lost count) on his bed and slowly backed away from it, while it moved closer to him.

'Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!' the mannequin said apologetically, but Leon kept backing away until he bumped into the wardrobe which he had thought was inanimate but turned out to be moving as well, who woke up and groaned when Leon bumped into it.

'Ooof!' the wardrobe said in an operatic woman's voice, 'Careful there son!'

'Oh, I'm so sorry, madame, I didn't see you there,' Leon said, 'and I wasn't aware that you were able to move and talk as well.'

'Not to worry, dearie, there's no harm done,' the wardrobe said, 'and aren't you a handsome young man!'

'Um, thank you,' Leon said. He had wanted to shout out, 'Stop telling me that I'm handsome, I'm getting sick of it,' as he had heard it many times before but thought better of it, since it would be rude to shout, especially in the wardrobe's face.

'I know what you're thinking at the moment, that what you are seeing is impossible, but here we are!' The wardrobe said.

'Well, from what I have seen already, I really shouldn't be surprised but I was when that mannequin stared at me, while I was waking up from my slumber.'

'Yes, sorry about that but I didn't want to disturb you while you were sleeping, so I waited for you to wake up so that I could help you get ready for dinner! It's nearly eight o'clock you know,' the mannequin said.

Leon sighed heavily at the mention of dinner again.

'Katrine, dearie,' the wardrobe said, 'aren't you forgetting something, like introducing ourselves to this fine young gentleman?'

'Oh my goodness, you're right, Aunt Estelle, how rude of me!' Katrine said, bashfully, 'My name is Katrine Armoire and the wardrobe is my aunt, Madame Estelle Armoire and it's a pleasure to meet, dress and make clothes for you, monsieur.'

'Indeed, I look forward to helping you get dressed for the day, monsieur although I have to admit I don't normally serve a man, it's always been women but I guess there's a first time for everything, isn't there?' Madame Armoire said.

'We'll manage, won't we Aunt Estelle?' said Katrine.

'Of course dearie, as long as I have to you to help me,' Madame Armoire said.

'Lovely to meet you both,' Leon said.

There was a knock on the door, which cut the conversation short.

'Who is it?' Leon asked, as he went to answer it.

'Mrs Potts-Gravois, dear,' a teapot said, entering the room, as Leon opened the door and let her in, followed by a teacup, sugar pot and milk jug hopping behind her.

'Or you can call me Mrs Potts, if you prefer, everyone else does,'

Before she had come to see Leon, she, along with Lumiere and Cogsworth, had been very discouraged about what had happened with the boy and the mistress as they had been through the same thing with her parents, but they knew that they had to make an effort, no matter what, for the boy, who they knew could be their saviour and break the spell, freeing them all from their cruel misery.

He needed comforting and good hospitality and Mrs Potts was the perfect person to start with by giving him a cup of tea, since she was so motherly to everyone who knew her.

'I thought that you might like a nice cup of tea, dear,' she said, as she poured one into Chip, who had come in with his mother and the sugar bowl put in two lumps, 'It'll make you feel better after the day you've had.'

'Thank you,' Leon said, as Chip, full of tea, hopped towards him.

'Be careful, Chip, go slowly,' Mrs Potts warned him, 'Don't spill anything,' as Leon picked him up, feeling uneasy about drinking out of a moving, breathing teacup but he didn't seem to mind, as Leon took a sip of the tea, which was sweet-tasting, with a lovely, smooth herbal aroma, unlike the malty tea he drank back in the village.

'What a lovely cup of tea,' he said, 'Thank you so much, Mrs Potts,'

'My pleasure, dear,' she said.

'Hi, how's it going?' Chip said, 'How are you liking this room..' while making a face at its feminine décor although it was in this very room that he first met Belle and made friends with her.

'You'll think that the mistress would've given you a better room than this, it's too feminine for a boy. If you like, I can go out and talk to her..'

'No, it's fine, really,' said Leon, not wanting to cause any more fuss than he needed to.

'Suit yourself,' said Chip, 'Hey, do you want to see me do a trick? I used to do it when I was little,'

'Oh dear,' Mrs Potts said, rolling her eyes.

'Okay, show me,' Leon said. Like Sophie had done earlier, Chip took a deep breath and blew bubbles from the tea and grinned.

'Chip!' Mrs Potts said, sternly, 'You're too old to be doing that trick anymore! That's not how a young man..'

'Teacup, Mama,' Chip reminded her.

'..should behave, you know better than that.' Mrs Potts continued.

'Aw, Mama,' moaned Chip, 'how come Sophie can squirt paint from her and have everyone say it's cute whereas I blow bubbles, like I used to do and get told that I'm too old to do it?'

'It's because Sophie is little and cute and you're a teenager and it's considered immature and bad manners to do that,' Katrine said, 'Face it, Chip, your cute little teacup act doesn't work anymore.'

'Exactly what I was thinking,' Mrs Potts said,' and Sophie's mother has the good sense to tell her not to do that trick.'

'She showed it to me, too,' Leon said, 'and I thought it was really cute,' which Chip pouted at.

'Yours was good too, Chip,' he then said.

'Thanks, glad someone thinks so,' Chip replied, giving his mother and Katrine hard stares.

'Still got it,' he said to himself, chuckling.

'Children today,' Mrs Potts sighed, then turned to Leon.

'That was a very brave thing you did, my dear,' she said gently.

'We all think so,' Madame Armoire said in agreement.

'The whole castle admires your bravery,' Katrine said.

Leon sighed as he was reminded of what he had been trying to forget for the past two hours.

'That's very kind of you to think that I'm brave, but I'm not really,' he said and that was true, since no one in the village had considered him brave, only 'odd', 'dreamer', 'coward', 'mama's boy' and of course, 'Swinekisser,' 'I only did it so my mother could be free.'

'Oh, don't be so modest, dear boy!' Madame Armoire said, 'you did such a wonderful thing for her!'

'But for what?' Leon said, sadly, 'I try to be a good son and I get rewarded by losing my mother, my friends, my hopes, dreams..everything! I never expected to be a prisoner of a beast and having her lay my life out for me like it was back in the village. Yes, I had been successful in rescuing my mother, but it's been an empty victory since now I have to pay for it!'

'Don't be sad, dearie,' Madame Armoire said, putting her 'shoulder' around Leon soothingly, 'You did everything you could for her and everything's going to be fine.'

'Every cloud has a silver lining and some good will come out of this, believe me,' said Katrine.

'Cheer up child, it'll be alright in the end, you'll see,' said Mrs Potts, 'Oh, goodness, listen to me! Jabbering away when there's a supper to be put on the table! I better go see how Rebecca and Chef Bouche are doing.'

She smiled warmly at Leon who smiled back and hopped towards the door.

'Come along Chip, let's leave Leon to get dressed for dinner,' she said to him, as he jumped off Leon's hand and followed his mother.

'See you around, Leon,' he said and they, along with the sugar bowl and milk jug left the room.

'Right then, we better get you ready for dinner. You'll have to get dressed for a start,' said Katrine, eyeing Leon's outfit and scrunching up her face like it had some contagious disease.

'Why is everyone so insistent that I go down to have dinner with your mistress?' Leon said, getting sick and tired of hearing about the dinner he was DEFINTELY NOT going to and definitely NOT WITH A BEAST, but it seemed to have gone unnoticed.

'And what is wrong with what I'm wearing? It's my only outfit I have and feel comfortable in,' he said, tugging at his shirt and smoothing down his vest and trousers.

'Well, monsieur,' Katrine said, 'it is a custom in the castle that one must dress formally and appropriately for dinner and that peasant outfit simply won't do.'

'It shows the proper discipline,' Madame Armoire replied, 'but don't worry, we'll find the perfect outfit for you. Let's see what I've got in my drawers.'

As she opened them, several moths came out to her embarrassment.

'There go the moths,' she said, 'now, what would be suitable for your, dearie? You need something formal..' as she fumbled around, 'something that screams suave, genteel, charming, dashing.. Oh, here we go! This would look ravishing on you!'

She pulled something pink and frilly out, which Leon was certain wasn't a formal suit, as it was placed in his arms and he gave the wardrobe a look which said, 'You got to be kidding, I can't wear that!'

'I don't think so,' he said, as he looked at a hideous-looking pink and frilly dress which looked at least ten years out of fashion.

'Aunt Estelle, he can't wear that!' Katrine said, giggling, 'It's a dress and a hideously out of fashion dress too!'

'You're right, Katrine, this simply won't do!' Madame Armoire said, 'How embarrassing!' as she put the dress back.

'Did I mention that I normally don't dress men?' she then said to Leon, 'Now I know I have a suit in here somewhere,'

Katrine whispered to her aunt,

'He'll need some decent clothes to wear and the master's old ones would be perfect for him, he's about the same size, but I'll need to go into the West Wing to get them.'

'Katrine, you can't!' Madame Armoire gasped at her niece's suggestion, but was soon distracted when she found what she was looking for.

'Oh, here it is! I knew I had it all along!' as she gave Leon a forest green jacket with sea green and gold trimmings and gold buttons on both sides which had a string looped in the middle, a white silk shirt with a cravat and black silk trousers.

'It hasn't been worn for years but it should fit you and you'll look so dashing in it, as it really brings out your eyes! Go ahead, try it on!'

Seeing the grand suit and the wardrobe's enthusiasm and kind gesture, Leon was feeling guilty about what he was going to say to her.

'I appreciate the thought, but I've stressed it enough times already that I'm not going to dinner,' he said, giving the suit back to Madame Armoire, who recoiled as if Leon had spat in her face.

'Oh, but you must!' she said, hurt at his rejection of the suit.

'The mistress will be ever so upset if you don't and we don't want that, don't we?' said Katrine.

Before Leon could explain why, there was a faint knock at the door and a little pendulum clock waddled in and bowed.

'Ahem,' he said, gleefully, 'Dinner is served.'

Downstairs in the dining room, a huge feast was laid on the table with Rebecca and Lumiere adding the dessert platters and lighting the candles, admiring their work.

The Beast, meanwhile, was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace, growling in impatience and frustration with her tail swishing between her legs, as each minute ticked by.

'You did tell him dinner was at eight, right?' Rebecca said, noticing the Beast's impatience.

'Yes, I did Rebecca,' the Beast replied.

'Well, it's ten past now and the food is getting cold,' said Rebecca, rather unhelpfully.

'Rebecca, if I wanted to know the time, I would've asked Cogsworth,' the Beast said, like Rebecca was being deliberately oblivious.

'What is taking him so long?' she then growled, 'Surely, it can't take this much time to get here!'

'Katrine and Madame Armoire are probably helping him pick out a nice outfit for him to wear and he must be still deciding which one he wants.' Rebecca said.

'Be patient with him, dear,' Mrs Potts said, 'Try to see it from his point of view. The poor boy's lost his mother and his freedom in one day and it would be overwhelming for him.'

'I lost my parents too, you know, but I don't go on about it!' the Beast snapped.

'Actually..' Lumiere said but a look from Mrs Potts convinced him not to say anything more.

'Mistress, have you taken into consideration that this boy may be the one to break the spell?' he then said, changing the subject.

'Of course I have, Uncle Lumiere, I'm not an idiot you know,'

'Well then, like your mother and father, who hated each other when they first met and eventually fell in love in the end, you and the boy will overcome your differences over dinner, fall in love and the spell will be broken before you know it!' Lumiere said, perhaps a little bit too optimistically.

'If only it was that easy, Uncle Lumiere,' the Beast said doubtfully, 'I know Mama and Papa were able to do it, but I don't think the same could be said for me. I mean, I know next to nothing about love and he's so handsome and I'm so…well, look at me! I'm so..so..'

'Beastly?' Rebecca chimed in.

'Yes, that,' the Beast said, ' Everytime he looked at me, he wanted to be anywhere but here, he didn't seem to like Mama's old room and he doesn't seem to want to be with me, because let's face it, I made a bad first impression on him.'

'Well, tonight's a good chance to change his mind about you,' Mrs Potts said gently, 'Make him see that first impressions aren't always correct.'

'How can I do that?' the Beast said.

'For a start, you can act like a proper lady, like the princess you are inside,' said Mrs Potts, 'Have a good posture by sitting up straight, showing grace and good manners.'

'Give him a nice smile while you're at it!' Lumiere said. The Beast did so uncertainly, revealing a set of sharp teeth and fangs which he flinched at.

'Then again, maybe not, you don't want to frighten him.'

'Engage in witty chit-chat,' said Rebecca, 'only don't be obnoxious like Remy or use worn-out clichés like Katrine,'

'Don't talk about yourself the whole time; give him a chance to talk.'

'Ask him about his hobbies, his likes and dislikes,'

'Look interested in what he has to say,'

'And most important of all..'

'Yes?' said the Beast.

'YOU MUST CONTROL YOUR TEMPER!' Mrs Potts, Lumiere and Rebecca all said at the same time.

Then the door opened and the Beast's face lit up and her ears perked up at seeing Leon come in.

'There he is!' Lumiere said.

'Better late than never,' Rebecca said.

But instead of Leon, it was an extremely nervous Cogsworth approaching and the Beast's face and ears fell in disappointment.

'Good evening, Your Highness,' he said.

'Well?' she said in an annoyed tone, 'Where is he?'

'Who?' said Cogsworth, pretending to be confused.

'You know exactly who I'm talking about, Uncle Cogsworth,' the Beast said, getting frustrated at his dithering and feigned confusion.

'Oh, yes, the boy!' said Cogsworth.

'And is he coming down to dinner like I told him to?' the Beast demanded. Cogsworth, dreading her response if he was to tell her that Leon wasn't going to come, decided to beat around the bush and nervously said,

'Well, Your Grace, there has been a slight change in plans and the circumstances being what they are, I'm afraid that…'

'Cut to the chase NOW,' the Beast said.

'He's not coming,' said Cogsworth.

'Now, you've done it, Cogsworth,' Lumiere muttered, 'it looks like YOU haven't learnt anything from the last time!'

For a moment, the Beast didn't say anything but dug her claws into the chair that she was sitting in and her ears and tail twitched in anger.

'Oh, no,' Mrs Potts muttered.

'Here we go again,' said Rebecca, 'Brace yourselves,'

'WHAATTTTT?' the Beast roared, which echoed around the castle, 'How dare he disobey me? I'm going to give him what for, that stupid boy!'

Immediately, she dropped on all fours and ran, growling ferociously up the stairs, ignoring her servants' pleas for her not to overreact as they followed her.

'Your Grace, please, won't you reconsider?' Cogsworth said.

'Mistress, please don't overreact!' Rebecca said, as they ran behind her (At least Rebecca did since she still had legs) as the Beast flew up the stairs, found Leon's room and pounded on the door so forcefully that it could've flung off the hinges if she tried hard enough.

'I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO HAVE DINNER WITH ME?' she roared.

'And I told you I wasn't hungry!' Leon shouted back from inside.

'You'll come and have dinner with me, even if I have to break down the door and drag you down myself!' the Beast roared back.

'Mistress, is that really the best way to deal with this situation?' Lumiere said, 'Resorting to violence to get what you want? That's not ladylike at all!'

'If you're trying to win the boy's affections, you're definitely not succeeding!' Rebecca said.

'Please, Mistress,' Cogsworth pleaded, 'we're not asking you, we're telling you, ATTEMPT to be a lady!'

'But he's being so DIFFICULT!' the Beast said.

'The same could be said for you, you know,' said Rebecca, 'your bratty attitude and behaviour is only making this worse.'

'Gently, gently, dear,' Mrs Potts said.

'Will you come down to dinner?' the Beast said in a calm but still annoyed tone.

'No!' came Leon's response. The Beast gave her servants a look that said, 'See? What did I tell you?'

'Remember, poise, grace, gentleness,' Cogsworth said, grinning and bowing.

'Curtsey,' Rebecca added, demonstrating a curtsey.

'It would give me ..great pleasure if you would join me for dinner,' the Beast said, trying to act ladylike but getting more frustrated and did a curtsey, her tail wagging in annoyance.

'We also use a little word called 'please,' said Cogsworth.

'Please?' the Beast said.

'No thank you!' Leon said.

'Well, what are you going to do then? Stay in there forever?' the Beast shouted.

'I may as well!' Leon shouted back, 'I am your prisoner after all and if you think you can win my forgiveness by inviting me for dinner, making me put on a happy face and pretend nothing had happened after what you have done, you thought wrong! I'd rather starve to death than have dinner with a monster like you!'

'FINE!' the Beast roared, 'HAVE IT YOUR WAY! STAY IN THERE AND STARRRVVEEEE! SEE IF I CARE!'

Turning to her terrified servants, she said,

'And don't even think about giving him anything to eat, because if he doesn't eat with me, then he doesn't eat at all!'

She gave a roar, while running off and slamming the door behind her, which made a portrait fall off the wall and poor Mrs Potts, Cogsworth, Lumiere and Rebecca flinch.

'Oh dear, that didn't go very well at all, did it?' Mrs Potts said.

'No, it went splendidly!' Rebecca said sarcastically.

'Really?' Lumiere said.

'Of course not, I was being sarcastic!' said Rebecca, 'Chef Bouche is going to blow his top when he realises that his culinary masterpiece which I helped him with is going to waste, making it the second meal I made that's going to be rejected by someone.'

'How on earth are we going to make the boy and the mistress fall in love before the last petal falls and convince him she's not all bad, when she really is?' Cogsworth said, sighing heavily.

'Just like her father was,' Lumiere said, bitterly, 'If only he and the mistress were here to support and love her, then she wouldn't be so angry and BEASTLY.'

'But they aren't and we have to deal with this ourselves,' said Mrs Potts. At the rate they were going and with the mistress's behaviour not improving one bit since Leon came, any hope they had left was slowly being extinguished.

What did they do to deserve this terrible fate for the second time?