In the dining room, which was huge and grander than Leon had ever seen, Lumiere ushered him to the long table that stretched out to the door and a chair came up from behind and sat him down, although Leon had been convinced that it was going to do the old 'take the chair away before you sit down' trick, as he had been the victim of that many times before, but the chair obviously had no intention of doing that, as he took his seat.

'Monsieur, it is my extreme pleasure to welcome you this fine evening!' Lumiere said warmly, 'All you have to do now is to sit down and relax as we present your dinner!' as he handed Leon a menu, while the dishes were waiting rather impatiently in the kitchen, with Rebecca trying to hold them back.

'Not yet, please be patient!' she said, while pushing a trolley back but it was quickly overpowering her.

'Please hurry up, Lumiere, I don't think they can wait any longer!' she then called out.

'And as a bonus, we will perform a fantastic cabaret and sing a tune as old as song, one that I did many years ago, if I can remember it, that is, but hey, I'll improvise!' Lumiere said, signalling to Rebecca to bring out the dishes, who couldn't wait any longer.

'Now you can go out,' she said, 'but do it in single file, please.'

However the dishes zoomed straight past, nearly knocking her over, along with the mugs full of beer and wine glasses, jumped carefully on the table as not to break or spill anything near Leon, who watched with amazement and a little amusement.

'How rude,' Rebecca said to herself, while straightening out her dress and adjusting her bow.

Lumiere started to sing,

'Be our guest,' which was the very song he used when Belle had been in this room, being presented with dinner and a show, which she had enjoyed greatly.

He was pleased that he was able to do it again with Leon, making him feel better, feeding him fine food and making the gloomy atmosphere bright and cheerful, even if it was only for a little while.

Leon couldn't believe the amount of food that was being served to him. Within a few minutes, he was feasting on beef ragout, cheese soufflé, pie en pudding 'en flambé, with Lumiere literally adding the 'en flambé' with his candles, ratatouille, French onion soup, coq au vin, duck a l'orange, pot-au-feu, crab and lobster bisque.

It was food that was very different from the simple meals he had in the village and that he could only dream of eating and yet he was, filling his empty stomach which seemed to be very satisfied and he enjoyed every mouthful, as more and more food was given to him.

He was also offered beer and wine, which he drank a little of since he usually didn't drink but thought it would be rude not to as the mug was looking at him eagerly, hoping that he wouldn't turn it down.

'Go on, monsieur, what's a little drink amongst friends?' Lumiere had said, egging him on but Leon didn't want anymore, to the disappointment of both Lumiere and the mug he drank out of, as he had seen all too often the unpleasant side effects of drinking, with the boys in the village stumbling out of the tavern, falling over, making drunken advances at girls, singing stupid songs, swearing like sailors, slurring their words and engaging in drunken brawls.

But the best moment was the promised cabaret, with the dishes singing and dancing, 'After all, this is France!' sang Lumiere, the spoons diving into a huge bowl of punch and dancing in it, as well as performing acrobatic routines with the forks.

Lumiere told bad, corny jokes and did tricks with his fellow candle sticks, which amused Leon greatly and was starting to enjoy it, despite himself, as no one seemed gloomy or was complaining, taking great pride and joy in their performance.

'Be our guest, be our guest, be our guest,' they sang to him, for that was how they saw him- as their guest, the first one they had in years and wanted to let him know that he was more than a prisoner of their mistress.

Babette and her fellow feather dusters were doing a can-can routine, flirting and giggling as they lifted up their feathers like they were skirts and Lumiere wasted no time dancing with them, but his eyes remained firmly on Babette, as she danced with him.

'Come to me, my little spark,' she said to him, as he wrapped his arms around her.

Unfortunately, not everyone was sharing in the festives and it was in the form of a certain, wound-up clock, who had barged in, having been alerted by all the noise everyone was making and was very worried that the Beast would hear and decided to nip it in the bud before she found out.

'Lumiere, you better not be doing what I think you are doing!' he said, which stopped the show, just as some spoons and forks were doing an acrobatic routine and were about to catch a spoon who had jumped in mid-air, only for it to land on the table when it hadn't been caught in time.

'Oh, Cogsworth, you just couldn't help yourself, couldn't you?' Lumiere sighed, irritated that his show had been so rudely interrupted,

'We were having so much fun and the boy was enjoying a grand meal while he watched us and you just HAD to come in and be a fussy busybody, not to mention you ruined an acrobatic routine!' pointing to the unfortunate spoon on the table, who gave a squeak in pain, then got up as if nothing had happened.

'Well, sorry to rain on your parade, but I had told you not to do this and you are making so much noise when it is LATE at night and some people are trying to get some sleep, not to mention giving the boy food behind the mistress's back, when she told us not to!

But, you just had to flout the rules yet again, so woe betide you when the mistress comes down and finds out what you have done!' Cogsworth said, unable to contain himself.

'Does anyone care what Cogsworth thinks anymore?' said Lumiere.

'NO!' everyone said and Lumiere, getting fed up with the pompous clock spoiling all their fun, flipped him off a serving spoon and he landed face first into some green jelly, which muffled his protests and shouts.

'Now, then,' Lumiere said, satisfied that Cogsworth wouldn't bother them now, 'the show must go on, provided that Cogsworth won't be spoiling it again,' as he was still stuck in the jelly, protesting loudly only for it to be muffled.

Taking his cue, the show resumed and Leon, feeling rather full but thought that he could manage a little more food, was offered dessert by Mrs Potts and Rebecca, who gave him crème brulee, macaroons the colours of the rainbow, strawberry pie, apple tart, cupcakes and elaborately decorated cakes.

Rebecca offered him strawberry cream cookies that she had made herself, éclairs and Mrs Potts provided a cup of tea ('One lump or two?' she said) in Chip to finish off the wonderful meal that Leon had enjoyed.

The performance ended with a huge chandelier lowering itself down from the ceiling with forks dancing on it and Lumiere, the tea things, dishes, candle sticks, Babette, the feather dusters and Rebecca dancing, with the wine shooting out, forming a bridge around them.

Even Cogsworth, who had managed to free himself from the jelly, was now enjoying himself, as he danced along a feather duster. Leon swayed to and fro along with the music in his chair that was so in tune, unlike the awful tones the Etiennes would play in the village, savouring the wonderful hospitality that the servants had so kindly provided and had gone out of their way to make him feel at home and didn't see him as a prisoner, which made him almost forget that fact.

'Be our guest! Be our guest! Please, be our guest!' they all sang, as the performance ended and Leon clapped enthusiastically.

'Bravo!' he said, 'Bravo! That was the most fantastic cabaret I have ever seen in my life! And the food was delicious, too! I never thought that I would be eating the finest cuisine, which I could only dream about, right here! Thank you!' as he patted his now full stomach.

'You're very welcome, monsieur, you certainly looked like you were having the time of your life!' said Lumiere, 'I'm glad that someone actually appreciates my hospitality,' while giving Cogsworth a hard stare, 'and how grand it was to do that show as I thought that I had forgotten it, but it all came back to me!'

'Yes, yes, it was splendid,' said Cogsworth, dismissively but relieved that they seemed to have gotten away with it, since the Beast hadn't heard them,

'And while I'm glad that you were able to reminisce and bring back the dinner cabaret that you love so much and miraculously didn't disturb the mistress with the incredible noise you were making, I'm afraid that it is time for BED,' pointing at himself, which indicated that it was now midnight.

'Oh, I couldn't possibly go to bed now, Cogsworth!' said Leon, who felt very much awake, likely to the huge amount of food he had consumed and the cup of tea he had and he was keen to explore the rest of the castle. If he was going to be there forever, he may as well see what else it had to offer.

'In fact, I would appreciate it if you gave me a little tour,' he said to Lumiere and Cogsworth, who were surprised and stammered nervously at hearing his request.

'After all, this is my first night in an ENCHANTED castle and the only rooms I have seen so far are my room, the art studio, the dungeon (he gave a slight shudder as he said it), the kitchen and the dining room and I'd like to see the rest of the castle.' Leon said.

'My dear boy,' Cogsworth said, laughing nervously, 'what on earth made you think that this castle is enchanted?'

At that moment, a feather duster unintentionally chose to sweep herself across the table, singing,

'Be our guest, be our guest,'

She then saw Leon, Cogsworth and Lumiere starting at her like she had grown an extra head or had unwittingly exposed some sort of secret and grinned sheepishly.

'Sorry,' she said and hurriedly left the room.

'Well, you are all talking and moving household objects and furniture,' Leon said, in response to Cogsworth's question earlier, 'and your mistress is a beast and some sort of royalty if she is indeed living in here, so I put two and two together.'

'How clever of you,' Cogsworth said, somewhat sarcastically.

'And who could be better to give me a tour than you two?' Leon said, to Lumiere and Cogsworth.

'Us?' they both said, surprised, yet suspicious.

'Isn't it obvious?' said Leon, 'Cogsworth, you are head of the household and Lumiere, you are the maître'd and you two have been here for longer than you would actually admit, so you would know the castle like the back of your hand!'

'That is true, sir,' said Cogsworth.

'So, would you please give me a tour? It doesn't have to take forever, maybe about half an hour or so, just enough to let me see what else is there to explore.'

Lumiere and Cogsworth shifted down the table to discuss the matter in private. They thought about it , weighing the pros and cons, then realised something. If they were to give Leon a tour he would most likely find forbidden areas such as…

'Lumiere, have you gone completely mad? We are not going to give the boy a tour! Don't you remember the last time you did this and it led to nothing but trouble? He may even find the you-know-what!' Cogsworth said.

'Cogsworth, why must you keep bringing up the past every time we or the boy want to do something and relate it back to the mistress's mother? He's not like her and things will be different this time!' snapped Lumiere.

'Because, Lumiere, we didn't learn ANYTHING from the past and now we're doomed to repeat it, which you most certainly have been doing!' said Cogsworth.

'Yes we did and what the mistress did wrong to bring it back was to pick a rose! Now come on, be reasonable and let us give the boy a tour. We'll distract him from the you-know-where by showing him more interesting rooms, like the library!' Lumiere said.

'Oh, alright, alright, Lumiere, you win, as per usual, we'll give the boy a tour, but we don't want to lose him, just like you did with Raymond on his first day and it took us five days to find him.' Cogsworth said, while slightly smiling at the memory.

'Thank you Cogsworth,' said Lumiere, 'but do one thing for me, please don't use that old Baroque joke when you talk about the architecture, it's staler than the bread in the kitchen.'

The two went over to Leon and signalled him to come and join them for the tour, which he got out of his chair and eagerly followed them, to see more of the castle.

However, the eagerness Leon had soon worn off after about fifteen minutes, as he walked across the corridor in the main foyer behind Lumiere and Cogsworth, as the latter droned on and pointed out various rooms and features, which Leon had found interesting at first, seeing the suits of armour, who moved and bowed at him.

'Ahem,' said Cogsworth, 'as you were,' which made them resume their positions and the trio continued on their way, just as Leon's interest and attention was starting to wane. Stone statues and wall designs were nice and all, but seeing them over again and Cogsworth's descriptions of them were getting repetitive.

He had wanted to see the rooms and to even see if they had a library so that he could keep up with his reading and studies, but it seemed Cogsworth and Lumiere were keeping him away from them, like they had something to hide.

'Now, as you see over here, we have gone for a more modern look to keep up with the times,' Cogsworth explained about the castle's architecture, 'but for the West Wing, we decided to keep the Baroque design as a reminder of the past and as I always say…'

'Oh, no, don't say it,' Lumiere moaned.

'If it's not Baroque, don't fix it!' Cogsworth said, reusing the old joke which made Leon laugh and Lumiere groan loudly, which didn't go unnoticed by Cogsworth.

'Is something bothering you, Lumiere?' he said, 'because if there is, just let it out now so we can finish this tour and go to bed.'

'Yes, there is,' Lumiere said, 'You said that stupid joke that I told you not to use! It wasn't funny then and it isn't funny now!'

That led to an argument between the two and that gave Leon the perfect opportunity to go exploring on his own, seeing as Cogsworth and Lumiere were too occupied with their petty quarrel and hadn't noticed that Leon had gone off.

He found a door that was slightly open and entered a small, dingy room no bigger than the shed back at his cottage with no windows. He then saw, covered with dust and cobwebs three stone statues of a man on the left, a woman in the middle and a short, elderly man on the right, with horrified expressions on their faces, leaning forward, as if they were reaching out to someone.

Leon looked at them and sensed that there was something familiar about them, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. Yet at the same time, he felt sorry for them, being stowed away in a dark room, doing nothing but gathering dust.

He soon left, wanting to explore more rooms and walked upstairs to the corridor that led to his room, yet he turned right and found himself at the end of it, right in front of a huge and eerie-looking door with a handle shaped like a beast and decorated in the Baroque style Cogsworth had mentioned before, which led to only one conclusion.

'So, this must be the forbidden West Wing,' he said and he was in the very place that the Beast said he couldn't go in. But why would she do that?

'Why would the Beast say that it is forbidden? She didn't give a good enough reason,' he said, remembering that when he did ask her, all he was told was to stop asking questions and that she had her reasons known only to her. Unless…

'Unless she has something to hide,' he said and it didn't take a brilliant scholar to figure that out. But he had to see it for himself, find out more about the girl-beast that he hated and why she seemed to be keeping secrets from him.

Abandoning his common sense and his curiosity getting the better of him, he turned around to make sure that no one was watching him enter the forbidden place and going to tell the mistress, Leon went to open the door, but found it difficult, as if it was afraid of him finding the secrets that it had tried so hard to hide.

Nonetheless, he did it and carefully went inside and was greeted not by a grand, majestic wing but a sad-looking and horribly neglected place, much like the room with the stone statues, littered by broken furniture, smashed mirrors, torn portraits and claw marks on the walls and was dark beyond belief, much like the Beast's moods.

'Ooof!' Leon said, as he bumped into a broken table near him, due to the poor visibility and having no candle to provide any light. Seeing the sorry sight and the debris, which had to be the work of the Beast, he made his way down the corridor, as quietly as he could, hoping that he would not get caught.

Something on the wall then got his attention as he looked at a portrait of a young girl in a gold frame decorated with roses., She looked beautiful with her auburn hair tied with a pink bow and her pink and lavender dress, but it was hard to tell since it had been savagely ripped with claw marks .The only thing that remained intact were the blue, doe-shaped eyes that were unmoving but stared back, like they knew him and he noticed that the eyes were very familiar.

Could the girl in the portrait be who he thought it was?

'No,' Leon said, 'that's impossible,' He hadn't seen that girl for years but he couldn't shake off a nagging feeling about it, as he looked at the plaque at the bottom of it:

Princess Rose Belle Lucile Therese.

'That surely can't be.. I mean, she disappeared with her parents ten years ago. There's no way that…'

He was soon distracted when a pink glow emerged from a bedroom and he thought no more about the mysterious girl in the portrait and the Beast, as he was drawn to the glow.

The bedroom which looked like it had belonged to a little girl, as shown by the destroyed remains of a doll house, smashed porcelain that had once been beautiful dolls, ragdolls' heads and bodies were scattered over the floor, buried under some animal bones, which made Leon flinch slightly.

'Hope they're not relatives of Rebecca,' he said, but quickly ruled that out, as they didn't have the human-like features she had and that they were genuine ragdolls. He walked carefully around them as well as some broken chairs and torn curtains.

Then, he had found the source of the pink glow, which came from some sort of rose, unlike any one he had seen on a table near the window, sealed in a bell jar and levitating in the air, with a few fallen petals at the bottom, like it was magical, a truly beautiful and unique rose.

'Of course it's magic, how else would it be able to levitate and glow like that?' Leon said and realised that this may be the very thing that the Beast was hiding and didn't want him to see it and why the West Wing was forbidden.

But he had to touch it, maybe stroke one petal to see for himself, so with his curiosity getting the better of him again, he carefully lifted the bell jar, avoiding the mirror that was next to it, so as not to break them both and placed it down gently and reached out to the rose, enticed by its beauty and glow.

He was just about to stroke the petals, when all of a sudden, two hairy paws that were holding the bell jar, put it back down on the rose and a low growling noise made Leon turn around and look straight into the Beast, who had the most ferocious look on her face.

She had found him in her room, about to touch the rose and as he saw her arms wrapped protectively around it, like it was something precious to her, he realised that he was in deep trouble.