He can't tell obviously as he was far from the balcony, but he can tell the worry and tension coming, and then he heard an ear-piercing sound, a faint scream, a feminine scream of Perla as he froze in horror. Then he saw Beast watching something as he grabbed something from inside the room, and then he heard the howls of wolves among more faint screams of Perla, and then the raging, protective roar of the Beast as he scrambled down the castle walls, jumping off and on roofs, and all. What did Beast see in what he was holding?
Jiminy had no idea but he started rushing towards where he was sure he was hearing her screams. But Jiminy was sure that Beast would reach wherever first.
Beast ran faster than he had ever known, the images burning in his mind from the magical mirror, not knowing that it was a copy of Perla, but all the same, it was her, screaming in pain as she was trying to get out of an iron trap, the blood gushing out, trying to find a branch, anything to wrench the trap out of her leg, and freezing in fear when she saw the yellow glinting eyes of the few stray wolves, snarling.
Then came the sound of more wolves as the other wolves called them, and Beast came into instinct, his primal instincts and himself roaring in unison, to get his mate and unborn litter safe and out of the way, hearing more screams of fear, determination, "Help! Beast! No, no! Get away!", and then came a blood-curling scream of pure horror.
Beast roared louder, springing over logs, seeing the pile of wolves, and he came into battle, roaring and snarling, snapping wolves left and right, throwing them against trees, killing a few there and here before the wolves yelped out of fright and submission, running away as Beast gave a roar at them before turning around, his eyes widening in horror.
The clothes were ripped everywhere as blood came from everywhere, from slashes, bites, and more, and Beast came closer, breathing heavily as his wild side roared in grief from the sight of his cubs ripped away from their mother's womb, halfway through in development, and Perla...she clearly fought to keep over the womb safe, but it was no use as she was torn away from it, bleeding from the neck.
Beast scrambled to hold her into his arms, "Perla! Perla, please don't leave me!", blood staining his fur, but he didn't care as he listened to her fading heartbeat, "Please...", before feeling a little touch, and he looked into her eyes as Perla whispered, "C-Ca-rlo...pro-omi-se...".
"I promise, Perla...Carlo is our son...", Beast whispered, and Perla gave a small weak smile before gasping in pain, about to say, "A-a, I-", before closing her eyes with a last exhale.
Everything was deathly silent for a few moments as if all sound in the world just disappeared before finally, it hit Beast... and one of the loudest and most sorrowful roars he had ever given rang out... so loud it probably could be heard as far past as the Rhine River to the far east.
Jiminy froze in horror and realization when he heard it and knew that the castle very much heard it as well, and with a moment's hesitation, he slowly walked, expecting to see the most horrible sight in his life, something that it was partly his fault to start with...
Beast held Perla's body as he choked out, "I love you...Gods, why does this keep happening to me?!", grieving as he sobbed with roars of sorrow, his dreams of the curse breaking, becoming human again, to love his Perla forever, to hold his children to his chest during naptime, to see them nursing from Perla, to ask her to marry him, to have all his children including Carlo to stand by his side...all dashed away in a day that was joyful, to now...
Jiminy took another step before a branch broke and Beast slowly turned his head to see him. Jiminy feared he'd be killed by him which he honestly felt he rightfully deserved upon seeing the site of Perla... Jiminy wanted to die right then and there too. But the look Beast gave him was more of just asking him for answers.
"We... we got separated by a mama bear... protecting her cubs...", Jiminy whispered as Beast closed his eyes tight again. At least he had an answer... and it was a decent reason; he knew Jiminy wouldn't have left her alone if he couldn't help it...
Beast exhaled deeply and he looked at Perla's face, gently stroking her hair, and whispered, "Now I know how it feels to love...I was...I was thinking a lot of my dreams of being with her...I was going to tell her tonight... that if she had forgotten by then, not that I could blame her, that she and all of you are free...I understand if you want to leave, you can...just...please give me the chance to bury her...Carlo...I promised her I'd keep seeing him as a son...but he's free to go with you...just let him visit me if he wants to...I won't bar him from visiting his mother...his mother's grave...nor the others...".
Jiminy sighed as he closed his eyes, "I... I understand if you would wish for us to all leave at least... but... I think the others would want to stay... at least for a little bit more time...". Jiminy said, "As for Carlo... I think... I think he would probably just want to stay no matter what... even if all the rest of us left.".
Beast nodded softly and glanced at the remains of his unborn cubs...twins...His breath caught as he sobbed in grief, realizing that he would never get the chance to ravish his mate again, to hear the first breaths of life from his cubs...He shakily glanced at Jiminy, "She was given news by Leila, and she told me before she left...She was carrying my cubs...our children...", seeing Jiminy's eyes widen in horror, his face paling.
"She...she didn't tell me! I should have turned around the clearing or something to track her!", Jiminy choked out, blaming himself as he could have...he could have directed her to a safer place...
Beast replied, "She, being a mother before, must have thought that since I didn't say anything about announcing the news to the staff or the family yet, I wanted her to...be thoughtful on the perchance that the risks of the cubs is higher than normal...like needing to be out of the danger zone, in case if there...there was a miscarriage the natural way if I wasn't...compatible enough...", with a sob, knowing that he was a monstrous beast, not human.
Jiminy just kept feeling those thoughts of death... of his own... it would've been so much better if he had been the one mauled to death, not her. Sure, the others would be sad... but they could be able to at least move on... this however...
Perla was the one who started it all...began to make a family...and the family grew from there...He glanced at the sun, and whispered, "Beast...we...we need to bring her and the little ones home...the sun's going down...".
Beast closed his eyes and nodded, taking his cape off, to wrap Perla lovingly into the cape, unsnapping the trap away, and with a snarl, he destroyed it into a mangled mess, throwing it into a spot of mud, and exhaled as he gently took Perla into his arms, glancing at Jiminy, "Could...could you carry the cubs?".
Jiminy nodded as he slowly reached for them, tears running down his face as he just couldn't stop crying. He knew the others would know already; that roar could be understood in only one way.
Of course, as none of them had known, Facilier's plan was going off without a hitch with the realistic fake playing its role perfectly... while at the same time, Perla was finding herself in serious trouble the moment she was transported away from the area around the castle. Dealing with a threat all too similar to where she was before with a pack of wolves on the hunt.
She snarled and roared at the pack of the wolves, growling and snapping at her, as she backed up against a cliffside, knowing even if the pain of the forced transformation hurt her babies, she won't ever lose them to a mangy pack of wolves, ever!
Perla slashed, whipped, and clawed at the wolves, roaring in pain and determination as they fought her, but using so much strength she didn't know she had, quickly, a few wolves were killed, and the pack, now cowered and weary of the new creature, they left her, yelping and whimpering.
She panted heavily, glad for her new body as she only got some cuts, scrapes, and a deep bite wound on her leg, the back right leg. She glanced at the wound, and knew she has to clean it up somehow as she winced, and started to walk on, listening for any sound of water.
She found herbs she knew, finding a stream, and glanced at her newfound claws, and slashed at a stump that had naturally rounded around like a bowl, and she filled the wood stump bowl with water, searching for shelter, realizing that she can't be in any hunter's cottage in the woods or near any village, glad that traveling taught her some needed survival skills, and they will broaden with experience, as she has a big feeling that she's far away from the castle, her family, her son, and her mate...
Perla took a deep breath. At least she was cursed like her mate... and so were their children... so at least he probably wouldn't feel as guilty now... though it maybe for the time being if she could get her claws on Facilier. But her concern at the moment was just trying to stay alive and make her way back to the castle... somehow, and quickly so she could stop that cruel warlock's plans.
Perla soon found a cave, and went to gather a fire with wood, using her claws to strike a stone into flickers, and soon, the cave became warm, with Perla waiting for the wood bowl of water to boil as she rested, sighing softly as she cleaned her wound with the herbs, murmuring, "I'm sorry, little ones...I should have stayed with your father, I should have drawn something of the needed herbs for Ray and Jiminy or maybe the staff for the better portion of the forest than the wolves' territory, at least they wouldn't be separated like that like I was with Jiminy...Gods, I hope you are okay in there...", licking her belly as she curled up.
Her ears perked up suddenly as she felt something pressing against her tongue, "Baby?", watching her belly, feeling more and more pressing against her belly, and she whispered, "Oh...you're alive...", tears steaking across her snout in relief and joy, "Mama's here...Don't worry, we will get home together, to our family, to your papa...You feel like it's a lot of you in there...Are you twins, babies?".
Nothing pressed against her snout, and she whispered, "Triplets?", and nothing again, and Perla widened her eyes, "Four?", and nothing again, and Perla exhaled, "Five?", and her belly pressed against her snout.
"Oh, my lord...Five...a litter...Are you all okay?", Perla asked worriedly, and now as she is getting used to the pressing, they answered, and she whispered, "Thank goodness...Adam is going to be shocked...I hope you were able to come when you were small enough to live while I was human.".
Nothing pressed again, and Perla blinked, "Wait, are...are you all different ages?", and more pressing answered her, and she exhaled, "So, those...Jesus Christ...And I thought Adam was really bent up the first time, next to those other times...Please, can the oldest one wait a while until I'm all better? I need to hunt for all of you with all my legs intact, darlings.", as she can see the beginning of teats on her belly.
There wasn't much of a response, which Perla had to understand was a yes or something along those lines, "Listen, just... try to hold back as long as you can; I know I can't keep you from being born, but just work with Mama, alright? It's going to be tough to make it back home if I also have to deal with any of you out of the womb.".
One of the little ones pressed against her snout, "My oldest one, huh? You just keep growing, so you can be born, okay, baby?", and an eager press on her snout, "Good. I love you...I love all of you...", and all the little ones pressed against her snout, and Perla smiled happily.
"That's my little smart darlings...I wish I had told your papa that I love him...but I guess I was hesitating because he was still learning to admit his feelings as it is...Hell, maybe it would have been tonight after I would have told him the truth about everything...", Perla whispered.
She heard the sound of the water boiling, "Well, one way or another, we'll get home, do everything I can to break his spell somehow, and he will be happy...he deserves it.", as she went to focus on nursing the wound with the hot water, using some of her clothes to be sterilized and used as bandages. "I just hope your papa's protecting the family for us...who knows what he's thinking right now? He must be mad at Jiminy, or upset with me for vanishing out of nowhere, but I wouldn't never run away from him, from our family...Oh, please, let him be the man I taught him to be...", praying to the cloudy night skies as the evening approached, bringing the chill of the air, but luckily, the cave is warm and safe.
"Oh, Evangeline...", Perla whispered to herself. "I really could use a hand from you... or at least play messenger and let the others know I'm alright...". She took a deep breath. Her mind racing so fast as she was trying to think of what to do, where to go, really, just whatever it would take to try and make it home as she was.
Evangeline herself was stuck, and she was devastated that she would not see what happened deep underneath the forest as it was definitely dark magic that led Perla to...something happening to have a strange feeling that the body of Perla within the Beast's arms wasn't real, yet she obviously saw the signs of a mauling, blood, and of course, the loss of the little ones as well...
Yet she would have known if she was informed by one of her friends in the heavens that the soul of Perla had arrived safely with the little souls of the children by her side, but nothing...Then she felt a faint pulse of white magic, a praying wish, familiar to her, but for some reason, dark magic is blocking her...So, maybe Perla is trapped on the Earth as a spirit, or something nefarious is happening...She doesn't know...as the dark magic isn't definitely familiar to her, so it wouldn't have been the Enchantress's neutral-ish magic.
She wishes she could go to Ray right now, but with him in close proximity to Beast, Beast would perhaps accuse her or worse, so it's best for her to try to keep the family safe, for Perla's sake.
Beast is in his room, his heart hurting so badly as he can smell his mate on everything, almost swearing that she'd come in, with a content smile, a book in her hand, to sleep by his side and read, with Beast holding her, stroking her baby bump, and she'd kiss him on the lips for the sweet gesture...
He gave a sob as he held his paws in his face, and then his ears perked up to hear a soft knock, "Beast?", hearing Carlo's little voice, and Beast murmured gently, "Carlo?".
"I'm sorry, Master, but he was most insistent to see you. Do you want him to go in?", the voice of Mrs. Potts replied solemnly yet kindly.
"Yes... please...", Beast said. The scene earlier was one of devastation. He didn't even need to say anything when he and Jiminy returned; the others all knew in an instant that Perla had just been killed.
The happy day of the twins' arrival had changed into a tragedy for one of their own, and when they saw the remains of the two cubs, it was even more devastating...Beast had given the body of Perla to Ray and some of the servants to prepare and clean her up...he wanted her to be buried in peace, not in pain and ruins like she was...Ray promised him that she will be ready to be buried as he had seen death in the plantation he lived in and such.
Beast wished he'd die when he heard the devastating cry of loss from Juliet and Leila as they were there for her first before Carlo, Jules, and the others came later.
The door creaked quietly as Carlo walked slowly to the bed with red-rimmed eyes, and Beast exhaled, looking down into the sheets in sadness and shame and guilt, feeling the bed shake, hearing the little body of Carlo crawl to him, and whispered softly, "Did...did Mama fight like Gramma? Wanting to stay with us?".