When she had seen Amandine fall down the ravine, Martine's eyes teared up and she threw her arms around Jean-Luc, who held her close to him, mourning the loss of her former friend, even though she had turned against her and had been subject to her abuse, she felt she had to mourn her since no one else would, at least until she had been returned to the village.
Leon also looked down the balcony, slightly saddened that Amandine had met her demise for as much as he had despised her, he would've never wished for her to suffer a death that horrible, but she had brought it on herself due to her jealousy.
But that was not his main concern now, as he gently pulled Rose up with her moaning in pain as the wound started seeping blood and lay her on the ground, her breathing getting weaker as she struggled against her pain but she gave Leon a small smile, being so glad to see him, as he held her in his arms.
'Oh, Rose,' Leon whispered, 'oh, my sweet beast,' as he nuzzled against her fur as both the rain and his tears fell down his face, distraught to see her in this state.
He then tried to stop the blood with his cape, but Rose put her paw out, stopping him, for she knew it was too late for her and she wanted to die in peace.
'No, don't Leon, just leave it,' said Rose, then smiled weakly at him and he gave a shaky smile back, amazed that she lay there, fatally wounded yet was so glad to see him, her love that she thought was lost to her.
'Leon,' she then said, 'I can't believe you came back to me. I thought that you were lost to me forever.'
'I said I would, I told you that I never make a promise I don't intend to keep,' said Leon, as he hugged her,
'Oh, this is all my fault! If only I had come sooner, if only I had never shown you to the villagers, then this would have never happened! I didn't mean to put you in danger and have a mob come after you and for you to be stabbed!' he said, sobbing.
'Oh, Leon, please don't blame yourself for this,' said Rose, 'maybe it's for the best..maybe it's better this way. Please don't be sad for me for I'll soon be at peace.'
'No, don't say that!' Leon said, as he held her paw and kissed it, then held it against his face, as it became more tearstained,
'You're going to be fine, I know you will, if you could save me from wolves and only get a few scratches on your arm, you can handle a stab wound!
And we're together now, nothing can break us apart again and everything's going to be alright, you'll see,' he said, although that was a lie and he knew it, but still didn't want to believe it, as the tears kept flowing down.
'Oh, Leon, please don't cry, please don't cry for me,' said Rose, as she wiped the tears from his face and Leon still held on to her, unwilling to let her go, even though she was slipping away from him like sand in an hourglass.
Having heard Rose roar in pain, Mrs Potts, Lumiere and Cogsworth then came rushing through the room and what they saw truly shocked and saddened them to the core, as they saw their beloved mistress gravelly injured, lying in Leon's arms and felt not only their own pain and anguish, but Belle and Adam's if they were to see their precious daughter dying from a stab wound.
'Oh no, no, no, this can't be happening!' Cogsworth said, as memories of seeing Adam dying with Belle by his side, sobbing her heart out, as he slipped away from her came back to him and was distraught that it was happening to Rose.
'Oh mon Dieu,' Lumiere said and Mrs Potts let out a shriek of anguish, like Belle would have done, if she was to see Rose now.
They could just see it in their minds, her screaming and she and Adam sobbing their hearts out while holding their daughter, desperately trying to wake her up, like they had done when she had the very serious bout of influenza and took a turn for the worst one night, when her fever grew dangerously high.
Whereas she survived that illness, it wasn't the case this time and there was no miracle to save her, unless Leon confessed his love for her.
The other servants came up from behind and entered the room, anxious to see what had happened and stood in shock at the sight that greeted them.
'What's happening, did we win? Did the kid win and told the mistress that he loved her?' Remy said, riding inside George, not because he couldn't be bothered with walking but it was because of his injury.
Not realising that Rose was fatally wounded nor that he and the others were still enchanted objects, he then saw that Leon was crying and thought that they were happy tears.
George hopped closer to the balcony windows and their worst fears were soon realised when they saw Rose and Leon and Remy, after seeing that Leon's tears weren't ones of joy, his mood suddenly changed, as he realised the terrible truth.
'Wait, the mistress is still a beast and we're still household items, so the kid hasn't told her,' he said, as he looked down at his stumps, wiggling them, which made him gasp in pain since he moved his sore grooves,
'And the kid's tears aren't ones of joy; they're ones of sadness, aren't they?'
'I'm afraid so, Remy, it looks like the mistress has been stabbed by that woman and it could be fatal,' said George, sadly, which made the others cry out and gasp in shock.
'Is she going to be okay?' Chip asked anxiously, 'Will true love save her now?'
'I don't think it will, dear, it may be too late for her and for us if the boy doesn't confess his love,' Mrs Potts said.
Elsewhere, Jean-Luc, Martine and Madeleine still stood on the bridge and although they couldn't see what was happening, they too felt Leon's sadness, as the beast, who they had believed to be vicious, was dying and they were helpless to intervene in any way that they could.
'We should go and get help at least!' Martine said, getting hysterical, when no one else seemed to be taking action,
'We're smart enough to know that Rose needs help, so why don't we go and get the village doctor? Go get Artemis, Jean-Luc and head back to the village, otherwise Leon will lose his love!'
'If only we could,' Jean-Luc said, 'but I think it may be too late for her now, for Amandine did plunge that dagger pretty deep into her and that is usually fatal to anybody, human or beast.
Besides the doctor will be busy with all the boys and men, treating their injuries from their battle and I doubt he would come to tend to a beast.'
'But we must do something! We can't just stand there and do nothing, not after we told Leon that we would help him in any way we could!' Martine said, running towards to the door, only to be stopped by Madeleine.
'No, dear, I don't think we can help her now, no matter how much we want to,' she said.
The memory of being at her husband's side when he had been shot by the Gaston Games competitor and holding him as he lost his battle for life came back to Madeleine and she felt the pain that Leon was now feeling.
She then shed a few tears for the beast, who had once imprisoned her and had now forgiven her, having been convinced by Leon that she was no longer the monster she first saw when she came to the castle months ago.
Throughout her nearly eighteen years of life, Rose had survived an attempt on her life when she was still in her mother's stomach, a near-fatal illness, being transformed into a beast and fought against vicious wolves but she couldn't survive a stab wound.
And she was fast succumbing to it, as she got weaker and her breathing more shallow, as Leon held her closer, desperate not to lose her, as she kept slipping away from him, his voice becoming more distant to her and she could barely keep her eyes open.
But try as he might, he knew that he couldn't stop the inevitable, it was in Rose's eyes, but he still wanted to hold on her, in her last moments, although he wished that this wasn't happening, that he could've stopped Amandine from landing that fatal blow to his love, or at least never shown Rose to her and the villagers.
'Leon,' Rose said, 'could you really love such a hideous creature like me?'
'Of course, Rose you're everything to me,' he said, sadly, 'for you are my Rapunzel and my new dream, as she would say near the end from the first ever book we read together and our favourite fairy tale.'
'And you are my Eugene and my new dream as well,' Rose said and they nuzzled their noses together, longer than they had usually done, before she let out another gasp of pain.
'Leon, there's something that I want to tell you when we were outside the ballroom..' she then said as she struggled to keep speaking, wanting to tell him what she had wanted to say only a few hours ago but couldn't until now.
'What is it, Rose?' Leon said, although he knew already, something that he wanted to say as well, but had struggled to do so and had left it too late.
'I love you,' she managed to say, as Leon smiled sadly at her, 'I love you with all my heart and I'm glad that you were here with me in my final moments…that I got to see you..one last time, my love.'
Taking her final breath, Rose's eyes rolled back into her head and her paw went limp in Leon's hand, as she collapsed on the cold concrete and quietly passed away, her last breath escaping through her lips and disappearing into the sky.
'No!' Leon said, lying down next to her, hugging her lifeless body and started to sob his heart out for the first time since his father died and his first night in the castle, when he had been so miserable about losing his mother and freedom.
Only this time, he was distraught about having lost his love, his Rose, the beast he once hated, who had encouraged him, loved him for who he was and not for his looks, listened to him, understood him when no one else did and taught him that it was possible to live a life outside a storybook.
And through her, Leon had learned to see beyond appearance and he had indeed found the right girl for him, like his mother said he would; only now she had been taken away from him in a moment of jealousy and rage.
'No, Rose! Rose! My sweet beast, please don't leave me! Please, I'm not ready to lose you, not after everything we've been through!' he said, his tears soaking into her fur, as he held on to her, but she continued to lie motionless on the ground.
'Don't you know how you've changed me? I've finally found the adventure and the life I wanted and where I truly belong, with you in the castle and my real home! Please stay with me! Please, oh, please don't leave me, I..'
As he sobbed, he finally managed to say the words that he had been wanting to say for so long, but never could until now,
'I love you,' he whispered into her soft, velvety ear, as he stroked it gently and nuzzled his nose against hers, only this time she wasn't able to return it.
'I love you, Rose, with all my heart,' he whispered again.
Behind them, in the bell jar, the faint glow of the rose faded as the last petal finally fell.
The sad sight of Leon sobbing his heart out and hugging the lifeless body of Rose and seeing the last petal fall, made poor Mrs Potts cry as Chip comforted her and he too shed a few tears, having lost her dear step-granddaughter and would never see her beloved Maurice, Belle and Adam again.
And the teapot was feeling the overwhelming grief that they would have felt, hearing Belle's screams and both she and Adam crying their hearts out over her, much like Leon was doing right now, in her head, which was shared by the servants, as they mourned the loss of their beloved mistress.
The little girl who they had known and helped Belle and Adam care for her since she was born, who they all saw grow up into a beautiful, happy and kind girl and be cruelly transformed into a hideous beast, like her father was due to the innocent mistake of picking an enchanted rose.
Sharing the burden of the curse with her and seeing her change for the better and find the true love that they had worked so hard to bring them together, was no longer with them.
Rebecca immediately burst into tears as she threw her arms around Remy, who wished he had arms so that he could comfort her and he didn't care if her tears rusted up his metal grooves which were hurting from both his injury and his grief.
Cogsworth and Lumiere also shed some tears as they hugged each other and, distraught about Rose's death and that they would never be human again, especially since the former, along with Mrs Potts and Babette had gone through the same thing with Belle and Adam in the first enchantment and they were devastated that history had repeated itself in Rose, like it had done for the past ten years.
It was especially hard for those who had never gone through the first enchantment and had left their former lives and hardships behind for a fresh start and a happy, safe life in the castle, only for that to suddenly end with a curse that they believed was nothing more than a silly fairy tale and that they had lived it out.
And now their fate that they had managed to evade during the first enchantment had finally caught up with them and that they would soon be nothing more than a miserable and lonely soul trapped in a motionless and unbreathing household object.
And the boy, who they all believed would break the spell and had fallen in love with the mistress without realising it, was too late in confessing it to her, which sealed their fate right there.
On the bridge, Martine and Jean-Luc were also saddened by Rose's death, in spite of barely knowing her and felt Leon's anguish and heartbreak inside them, as they hugged each other and Martine sobbed quietly, while Jean-Luc shed a tear, not caring if he was seen as emotional wimp, if the boys had been here.
Madeleine also looked sadly at the balcony, hearing Leon sobbing his heart out for his lost love, remembering doing the same thing with Paul when he had been shot, as she desperately begged him not to die and to leave her, holding him close as he took his last breath and slipped away in her arms.
All was lost now for the castle and its inhabitants and without anyone to care and serve for, they waited for the inevitable to begin.
As Leon continued sobbing and clinging onto Rose, a green spark suddenly appeared in the sky and sent a shower of colourful sparkles falling down with the rain, which landed like pebbles on the ground, as Leon stopped crying and looked up at the sudden shower of sparkles that was falling around him.
That got his attention and while he, the servants, Jean-Luc and Martine gazed at them, not quite believing what they were seeing, Rose's body began to lighten and rise up in the air, like a delicate rose petal fluttering in the wind.
Leon looked up and saw Rose hovering in the air, and stared at her in shock as the sparkles surrounded her and she squirmed and moved inside her cape, which had wrapped around her like a cocoon and her body began to change, much like it did when she had transformed into the Beast.
Only this time it was less painful and she had her eyes closed, so she couldn't see what was happening, nor could cry out or scream in pain, since she wasn't feeling any.
Leon stayed where he was standing, frozen in shock as he watched Rose's transformation as the fur from her arms and legs disappeared, along with her tail, turning into human flesh and her claws and paws became human hands and feet and her dress became looser and had been torn at the hem, as her body became smaller and more human like.
With her hair flying in the air, her horns shrunk into her head, her fangs disappeared and an incredibly bright light shone through her face as the last traces of the beast vanished completely, revealing the face of a young woman and she slowly descended on the ground, her cape slipping off her new human body.
Leon reached out to her as she landed, thinking that she was still motionless in spite of the transformation, but the woman moved as she slowly and groggily got up, her legs shaking slightly and her back was turned to him as she looked at her hands, not quite believing they were hers and as Leon stared at her, she turned around and revealed herself to him.
Instead of the 'Beast' Rose that Leon had known and grown to love, a beautiful young woman, possibly in her late teens or early twenties, now stood in her place, wearing the dress that Rose had worn in the battle, which was hanging off her as she smiled at him.
Leon didn't know what to think, as he stared at the stranger. Granted, she was very beautiful, maybe even be as kind, loving and caring as Rose had been to him, but he couldn't help but think that this woman wasn't her and that she had taken her away.
'Rose?' he said, sceptically, as he didn't know the woman's name, but she seemed to respond to it, as she walked towards him, rather unsteadily as she felt the cold concrete against her bare feet, but showing no ill-effects of being fatally stabbed, the wound disappearing when she transformed.
'Leon,' she said, holding his hands, as he tried to step away, her voice softer and sweeter than the silky, animal-like tones she had used when she was the Beast,
'It's me,'
'But, how can that be? What happened to Rose and where did she go? What did you do to her?' Leon said.
Rose couldn't understand what was going through his mind, when he didn't recognise her. He had seen her transform, for goodness sake, so why was he so hesitant? The Beast and her were the same, so why didn't he see it?
The transformation had been overwhelming for her, but less painful than the first one, although she couldn't open her eyes and had felt her body shift and her fur, horns, tail, fangs, paws and claws disappear and her body turn into the human she hadn't been for so long.
And yet, when she came to and saw that she was human again, by feeling the cold concrete of the balcony against her feet, which she was surprised to see, along with the hands she looked at, she saw her love staring at her and that he had broken the spell, but he didn't come running into her arms, instead frowning slightly at her.
Oh no, she thought, he still loves the Beast! He doesn't realise that we're the same and thinks that I took her place! He has to know that it's really me!
'I'm right here, Leon,' Rose said, still holding his hands, but this time, Leon didn't step away although he was still hesitant to get close to her.
She then stroked his face, glad that she didn't have any claws anymore and saw that it was tearstained.
'I'm Rose,' she said.
Leon still wasn't convinced, not even when he thought about his theory that Rose may have once been human, so she then decided to jog his memory by reminding him of the time they spent together and all the things that they had done, hoping that it would make him see that she was the woman he loved.
'Don't you remember the wonderful times we had spent together in the castle?' she said,
'When we read Rapunzel and The Snow Queen together in the library and you did those funny and accurate impressions of Eugene and the Duke of Weaselton?
Or when we read The Canterbury Tales in those bad British accents and Uncle Cogsworth thought we were mocking him?
And when we painted in the art studio and you made my blobby painting better and we got sprayed with paint by Sophie and you drew that picture for her and we had that scribble competition?
Or when we played in the snow and made those snow figures of the servants and had that snowball fight and threw snowballs at Uncle Cogsworth?
Or when we sat in the sitting room and talked and sang together?
I wouldn't know all that, if I wasn't Rose, would I? It really is me, Leon, look into my eyes and see the beast in the woman that is here before you.' Rose said.
Leon walked closer to her and stroked her auburn hair, which was a shade lighter than Rose's had been, feeling the smooth strands slip beneath his fingers and it was cut in the same style as hers.
He then looked into her eyes, the beautiful blue doe-shaped ones, very like Rose's and the ones of the mysterious girl in the portrait he had seen, who had looked at him with warmth, love and kindness and as he looked into them deeper, he saw the soul beneath them and he knew at once that she was telling him the truth.
His face lit up at this realisation that Rose and the woman were the same person and that his love was alive and it didn't matter that she was beast or human, for it was HER that he fell in love with, not her appearance.
'It is you!' Leon said happily, with the biggest smile on his face and had happy tears in his eyes as Rose smiled at him.
The two then embraced, as Leon twirled her in the air, never letting go and both of them were happy that that they were together again, Rose especially since she was human again and her love had returned to her and that nothing would break them apart again.
He then gently put her down on the ground again and they nuzzled their noses, only this time he was doing it against a human nose instead of a beast's snout, but he didn't care, as it was their special sign.
'Oh, Leon,' Rose said, as she leaned against his chest, 'I heard you say that you loved me before but do you really mean that?'
'Oh, Rose, of course I do!' Leon said, baffled that she would actually doubt his love for her, 'I wouldn't have said it if I didn't and it doesn't matter if you're beast or human, I fell in love with YOU.
I love you with all my heart, Rose.'
'And I love you too, Leon,' Rose said, as they embraced again.
Then, Leon leaned towards Rose, as she stood on her toes, being slightly shorter than him now she was human, anticipating what was about to happen and the two shared their first kiss, holding each other close as the kiss got deeper, both of them unwilling to let go.
And for Leon, it was the sweetest moment that he had ever had and was glad that it didn't involve a pig, but his true love.
The rain had stopped and more magic swirled around them, as it crackled in the sky above the castle, as the dark clouds gave way to a blue, cloudless sky and a warm, shining sun, which indicated that it was now morning.
The castle was soon restored to its former glory, as the dark stone and gloomy statues were transformed back into white marble and angels and pink roses grew on the once shrivelled vines around the balcony.
In the small room with the three stone statues, the magic shone on them and they turned back into Belle, Adam and Maurice, as they stretched out from the positions that they had been frozen in for ten years and in spite of feeling stiff, they happily embraced each other, finally free from their stony prison.
Finally, the spell is broken for the second time and Rose is human again! (a VERY LONG time between chapters!) And Leon confessed her love for her just in time! And Belle, Adam and Maurice are no longer stone statues! What started as a sad chapter has ended happily and don't worry, the servants will be human again in the next chapter, where everything will be wrapped up and the epilogue will be the last chapter.
Read and review! :)