Yes! I did it! Praise me! PRAISE ME!

...Or you can just praise the CopperRight gods; they're the real MVPs here! Anyway, more CopperRight, yay!

I'll talk more about it in the end notes, so for now... see you at the bottom of the page!

Reginald's mornings in Lil' Town had always been consistent and idle, while his mornings while staying with the Toppat Clan were loud, sudden, and a flurry of activities. Yet despite these varied experiences, neither of them had prepared him for being a "guest" in the beast's home; life at the estate hidden within the Dark Forest was something else altogether.

His internal clock was still quite accurate, even with his exceedingly comfortable bed- it had always been important to him to rise quickly and early to get everything done before the day was out. Though he no longer had so many tasks to perform, he'd hoped that he'd at least have a moment of privacy, some quiet time to think about his life choices until now. The servants had caught on quickly, though, and hardly a day or two after arriving, Reginald often awoke to the sound of Sven chiming loudly in his ear, even having the nerve to scold him for not rising out of bed exactly on the hour.

The way Sven and whoever else accompanied him would fuss over Reginald was honestly rather embarrassing, as well, and he was unsure if he would ever get used to talking objects tending to him like a helpless child. He did have to admit, though: he'd quickly become enthralled by the number of clothes and outfits Thomas and Carol had made for him. What could he say? He was a man with taste, and those two seemed to understand that taste near flawlessly.

But then his day would actually begin, and any sense of "normalcy" he'd manage to scratch out for himself in this estate more or less went out the window.

Sven had taken it upon himself to throw the book at Reginald and the beast in terms of their manners. If either of them so much as shifted in their seats out of turn, they'd get a solid scolding for it; Burt insisted that it was the result of Sven's excitement at having things to organize things again. That didn't make sense to Reginald, but as he and the beast had more or less agreed on their first day together, it wouldn't do well for either of them to question Sven's sense of authority.

That was the last time the two of them truly agreed on anything. Whether Sven had meant to or not, in his efforts to make Reginald and the beast into the poster children of good behavior, he'd created a competitive atmosphere that was highly contagious. The beast had apparently been raised in the estate as something of a nobling, but all the time spent in the form of a beast had caused it to neglect its noble manners quite a bit. Though Reginald had only been raised in a moderately wealthy home, his mother had taken much time to ensure he would one day become a fine gentleman. It was out of both habit and respect for his mother that Reginald had kept a loose grip on the knowledge of which hand to use a fork with and how to properly fold a napkin on his lap, so he was quick to earn his place as Sven's "favorite student", which felt surprisingly good, even if it was also extremely childish. Reginald didn't particularly care, and neither did the Beast, apparently. They'd come to establish a sort of rivalry with one another, trying to outdo the other in an odd game of teasing remarks and intimidation that made excitement race through Reginald's heart nearly every time they played, much to the quiet curiosity of the servants and the flustered delight of Sven.

Then one evening, when the servants were out of the room getting the dining room prepared…

LINEBREAK

Reginald tried very hard to ignore the beast glaring at him so pointedly. The servants had departed to prepare dinner, and Sven tagged along out of a need to keep Gremlin from running amok in the kitchen. This meant there was no one to get between them; no one to behave properly for, in fear of Sven's wrath.

His silence seemed only to irritate the beast more; Reginald felt the heat of its gaze even from the other side of the elegant sofa they were sitting on. "Is something wrong?" He finally asked, keeping his voice steady.

The beast spoke quickly, like a dam finally bursting. "You've been real clever, worming your way around, y'know."

Reginald shot it a look. "I beg your pardon?"

"I've been watching you," the beast replied, the firelight barely catching on its fangs as they formed a small smirk. "Actin' so perfect, like you're some fancy prince in a castle."

Reginald narrowed his eyes, giving the beast a smirk of his own. "If I recall, it was you who brought me into your little 'castle' in the first place. That's entirely your own fault. The next time you wish to be exalted, perhaps you should consider not bringing a veritable master of manners into your home."

"Oh, a master, huh?" The beast's eyes flickered with flame, one that was less angry and more challenging. "So you do think you're better than me, do ya?"

Reginald crossed his legs at the ankle and rested his chin on the back of his hand. "Perhaps I am. Perhaps you're merely jealous of my skills. Who's to say?"

The beast leaned towards him. Reginald held his position; he'd seen the beast pull this move enough times at this point to know this was an intimidation tactic, not a threat. "You talk real big for a little man like yourself. Maybe I should rip your guts out and spill 'em all over the floor."

Reginald bit the inside of his cheek; excessively gorey threats were usually also for intimidation, though a part of him couldn't help but worry that there could be some truth to the beast's words. Still, he held his ground. "Goodness me; would you really make such a mess all over the table? What would Sven say? For that matter, what would your parents say?"

The beast was quiet for a long moment. Then it spoke shortly, "I never knew my parents."

Reginald blanched. "...Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." Reginald squirmed under the sudden frigidity of the beast's gaze, but just as he opened his mouth to apologize, the beast spoke again. "What would your parents say about you dealing low blows?"

Reginald's mouth snapped shut as embarrassment and shock filled his whole body. That shock was quick to turn into dismay, though, and then irritation. "That's not your business," he said quietly.

The beast raised a large brow, fire smoldering in its gaze in a way that Reginald had not seen before, and did not like one bit. "What, did they abandon you like your little friends did?"

Reginald smacked his fists onto the seat next to him. "That wasn't necessary."

"You wanna know what's real unnecessary?" The beast leaned forward, its ginger fur glinting in the fire light like strands of gold. Reginald really, really wished it wasn't so mesmerizing to look at. "Coming all the way out here to break into someone's home, just to steal a crummy little rose-"

"Stop-"

"-And not even being able to do that! No wonder your 'friends' left you!"

Reginald shot to his feet. "You don't know what you're talking about! But then again, why would you?" He crossed his arms and turned on his heel. "A thoughtless, hateful beast like yourself would never have to worry about being abandoned; you'd smash anyone to pieces if they even hinted at disloyalty. That's how you keep them here, isn't it? Under threat of death!"

"What was that?" The beast growled. "You don't know a damn thing about what we've been through! Guess it's not surprising you wouldn't bother learning; thieves like you only care about yourselves! Just like your friends!"

"They were my family!"

"Oh, sure they were; that's why they left you behind first chance they could get!"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up-!"

A tuneless series of notes made Reginald and the beast snap their necks towards the entrance of the room. Burt sat there with his lid open, watching them silently. "...Dinner's ready," he said after a beat.

It was then that Reginald noticed that the other servants were peering around the doorway at them, also in total silence. It was unclear how long they'd been sitting there, or even what they were feeling about what they'd heard, but what was clear was that he felt deeply ashamed and humiliated for all of it. He covered his face with one hand, shifting in place until finally exiting the room and walking away. "Dining room's this way, kid," Geoffrey called after him.

Reginald hesitated at the turn of the hall. "...I'm not hungry," was all he could manage, before turning the corner to head back to his bedroom. No one followed after him.

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…Where the bloody hell was his bedroom?

It only occurred to him now how embarrassing it was that he didn't know how to get to his own room. Considering how he'd relied almost entirely on the servants to take him from room to room, though, he supposed it shouldn't be all that surprising. It just went to show how useless he'd become. Even if he went back to Lil' Town now, would he still know how to help his villagers? Or had he languished long enough to lose any abilities he'd built up over the last five years? Maybe Terrence had sensed that he was languishing even in Lil' Town, and that's why he-

Reginald shook his head sharply and turned down another hallway. All of the hallways in this damn estate looked the same; how was anyone meant to know which direction was which? The servants knew, certainly, and clearly the beast did as well. And why shouldn't they? They lived there at least as long as the beast had; man or beast, human or object, this was clearly their home.

Reginald knew Lil' Town like the back of his hand, but without any deep bonds with the villagers, it didn't really feel like a home. Even the house Terrence had built for him was less of a home and more of a place to hang his hat. Speaking of Terrence… he had been like a home, in a sense; home was where the heart was, after all. Terrence had taken him in, along with the other members of the Toppat Clan. He'd cared for him and helped him find his footing, but then he'd tossed Reginald away like a broken tool. A part of him hoped that being abandoned was actually meant to be some sort of test, or a lesson, and once Reginald passed it or learned it, Terrence would come back with the Toppat Clan- maybe even with some of the villagers- and rescue him from this place.

But it had been many days since then. He wasn't sure how many; the days had more or less blended into each other when the only thing to occupy his time was his childish "competition" with the beast, but if there had been a test to pass or a lesson to learn, surely he would have done so by now. No, the simplest answer was most likely the true answer: Terrence had abandoned him, and was not coming back. No one was coming for him.

Reginald sniffed hard, wiping his eyes with the heel of his gloved palm as he paused to take in his surroundings. At first, it looked the same as the rest of the estate, but then he started to notice little things: the amount of dust gathering on the edges of the hall, the torn and tattered tapestries hanging on the walls, the lack of windows… Where was he?

The hall he was in came to a stop in front of a set of double doors. They were a grayish, purple color, and appeared to have thin cushions with paisley patterns built into it; creating a both strange and lavish look. He pushed them open before he even realized what he was doing. The room beyond was the dustiest of all, gray and chilly and lifeless, with tattered paintings, broken furniture, and a large pile of fabric scraps towards the back being the only items in the room. The fabric pile had a gauzy purple curtain hanging above it, tattered and drifting in an unseen draft, and Reginald shuddered involuntarily when he noticed that lots of ginger fur was mixed among the fabric. This could only be the room at the back of the estate.

Reginald immediately turned to leave. He was certainly curious about whatever the beast was keeping secret in here, but after their argument, he knew it would be best not to upset the beast further. He had every intention of leaving and beginning his search for his bedroom once more… but then he heard a quiet, quiet chiming sound. Like a bell, or a windchime, and he felt compelled to look.

It turned out that the purple gauze didn't just surround the pile of fabric and fur; it covered the very, very back of the room, too, and just visible in the gauze was a small, faint light; perhaps from a window. Reginald felt like he was floating as he approached the curtain and slowly brushed it to the side. It was not, in fact, a window that lay beyond, or a candle, or a hole in the wall, or any other natural source of light.

Instead, sitting under a dainty glass dome on a small, porcelain table was a single purple rose. It was larger than any rose Reginald had ever seen, easily as big as his whole hand despite missing most of its petals. It was a lovely, pastel shade akin to lavender, but most enchanting of all was how the rose seemed to glow and even glitter in the darkness, and as a single petal drifted away from the bloom, Reginald realized that it wasn't a bell or a windchime; it was the rose itself that made that chilling sound, ringing out with every petal that fell. Judging by the almost obscene number of petals scattered around the rose's stem, the flower had once been much, much bigger. His hand rose of its own free will- to touch the rose, the glass, to bask in its beauty, for any reason-

The beast shoved him to the side, wrapping its large, muscular arms around the dome as if it would rather lose its life than let anyone touch what lay beneath. Reginald stumbled and just barely managed to catch himself before he fell to the ground, looking up to see the beast glaring at him with far more vitriol than he'd been given the first night they'd met. "The hell'd you do?" It growled lowly.

"I- I didn't, I-"

"You could've hurt her, you idiot!"

"Her-?"

"Y'know what? That's it!" The beast rose to its full height, towering over Reginald with its fangs open wide in a snarl. "I'm given' ya ten seconds to get out…"

"W-wait-!"

"Starting now!" It roared, and Reginald ran.

LINEBREAK

Somehow, finding the front entrance of the estate was much easier than finding his bedroom, but that didn't matter now. All Reginald needed to know was that he'd crossed the beast twice in succession, and if he didn't leave the estate in the allotted time frame, then he was sure to be eaten alive.

He didn't see any of the servants as he ran- or if he did, he was in too much of a panic to notice or hear them- and when he saw those tall, metal doors that had been the start of this whole nightmare, he didn't hesitate as he shoved them open and ran out to the gates.

As he approached his exit, he nearly stumbled over his feet in shock. However long Reginald had been inside the beast's estate, it was long enough for at least a foot of snow to cover the ground and the leaves on all the trees to vanish, leaving a thin crescent moon to light the unmarred white that spread across the forest floor.

I don't have a coat, Reginald thought before barrelling through the forest. It would be obvious where he went, but if he ran far enough, maybe the beast wouldn't care. Maybe he could even return to Lil' Town, back to his normal, provincial life of tending to his villagers, tending to his mother's garden (which was surely overgrown by now, if not completely dead), maybe even rejoin his clan-

Reginald slowed to a stop, barely catching himself before he fell face first into a snow drift. He had stopped in a small clearing of trees that looked identical in every direction he looked. The trees were dark and gangly, and he shivered as a cold breeze made the branches creak and moan. The moon was slowly being covered by a thick sheet of clouds, and it was becoming difficult to see.

He could certainly try to return to Lil' Town; if he recalled correctly, the clan had traveled for only about a half an hour or so before reaching the estate. But his worries from earlier came back to him even stronger, and the cold and his doubts began to cloud his mind. Was this even the right direction to be going to return to Lil' Town? Even if he returned, would he be of any use to his villagers? What if Terrence had wrecked the whole village completely in his absence, and the people of Lil' Town blamed Reginald for the damage? If he returned to the Toppat Clan, what would stop Terrence from abandoning him again if something happened? What if Terrence and the rest had departed after escaping the beast and left no note or hint as to where they were headed? What would he do then?

Reginald drew his arms tightly around himself, staring hard at the ground as the cold and his anxieties began to overwhelm him. Returning to the estate wasn't an option, either. Even if the beast had somehow calmed down enough to forgive his transgressions, things simply wouldn't be the same. His childish behavior was no doubt something that the servants would hold against him, even if they were too professional to say so aloud, and he and the beast would never again share those teasing looks and over the top intimidations. Strangely, Reginald realized that that was what he would miss most of all. Though the beast was terrifying, stubborn, and grouchy, Reginald had felt a sort of bond between them. He couldn't name what it was, but there'd been something there that wasn't there before, and the thought that he could no longer have that "something" left an aching hole in his chest.

He sighed slowly, then began to trek forward once more. It was his own fault that he wouldn't have anything he'd once had. The price of his foolishness and greed was waiting for him at the end of the forest; whatever it was, it was all he deserved-

A high, long howl echoed through the forest and Reginald stopped short, looking around wildly. That wasn't the beast, or at least he didn't think that was the beast; the beast didn't howl, and even if it did, the pitch was far too high for the beast's deep, throaty voice. Considering the mannish nature of the beast as well, that howl was simply far too animalistic to-

The moon peeked briefly from behind the clouds, and that was when Reginald saw them. Wolves. Five or six wolves surrounded the clearing he'd been standing in for who knew how long, watching him with bright yellow eyes and silent, anticipatory faces. Oh, so now there were animals in the Dark Forest?

The snow around him seemed to have frozen again in the midst of his self pity, and it would take a solid second to break through and start running in earnest again. The wolves would no doubt surround him in an instant, and if he made any other sudden sounds or movements, it would all be over anyway. He groaned to himself anxiously.

The wolves somehow heard even that, and began to crawl closer. The fur at their necks stuck out as their tails swished from side to side, fangs gleaming in the moonlight while drool fell to the snow in increasingly frequent drops. Reginald had absolutely nothing to defend himself with; not even a cloak to try and make himself look bigger and intimidating. The wolves raised their tails in preparation to pounce, and the words bubbled out of his mouth: "Someone, HELP-!"

The first wolf to leap was swatted down by a massive ginger paw. Reginald looked up to see the beast without its shirt or ragged cloak, easily batting the other wolves away like a kitten with toys. "Run!" The beast shouted at him over its shoulder. "Get back to yer village; just RUN!"

Reginald stumbled away, watching in amazement as the beast moved swiftly and powerfully; even in the dim light of the moon, he could see the way the muscles on the beast's arms and legs and chest flexed and shifted with raw strength, and there was something equally as mesmerizing about these movements as the way firelight turned its ginger coat into gold… Reginald shook his head and blinked rapidly. Right, dangerous wolves attacking. He had to run back to Lil' Town while the beast was distracting them-

A deep, strangled yell ripped through the air as a wolf got a lucky shot in at the beast, digging its fangs into the meat of its arm. The beast was quick to throw the wolf away, but the damage had been dealt, and now that it was thrown off by the pain, the other wolves were quick to take advantage. Fear pierced Reginald's heart; a different kind of fear to the fears that he'd felt up until now, and he moved around the edge of the clearing as quickly as he could.

The snow had covered more than just the ground; the lowest tree branches had their boughs filled with thick lines of snow, and with well timed jumps and yanks, Reginald began to fling the snow at the wolves by pulling and releasing the branches, using his own weight and gravity to knock the wolves aside. Any of the animals that tried to approach him were quickly smacked by the beast, and it wasn't long before the little pack of wolves rushed off into the Dark Forest, whimpering and whining as they stumbled along, discombobulated.

Reginald leaned forward to rest his hands on his knees, taking deep breaths of painfully cold air as the beast regained its balance. "Why didn't you run?" It asked after a moment.

Reginald looked up to see the beast staring at him. It kept a firm grip on its upper arm, a dark patch of blood beginning to soak through its lovely coat, but its eyes were what drew him in the most. They were stunned, blinking rapidly, but most of all, thoughtful; the beast's features were lit with an odd emotion that Reginald would not have even thought possible before now. Not even on a human.

He blinked out of his thoughts and spoke as loudly as he dared. "I'd thought about it; I truly did. But… the fact is, you came to save me."

The beast glanced away, seeming almost sheepish. "I mean, I wasn't gonna let you get eaten…"

"But why?" Reginald prompted. "I've been nothing but a nuisance to you all this whole time, but you still came for me."

"I… might've exaggerated a little…"

Reginald laughed humorlessly. "You never said anything that wasn't true. I had no right to say what I said to you, and especially not to those who live with you." He hugged himself slowly, unable to meet the beast's eyes. "It's clear as day that your servants care for you greatly, and you, them. If the wolves had killed you, they'd all doubtlessly be worried for you. How could I think to take away their master after they've been so kind to me, in their odd little ways?"

"They are odd," the beast agreed, "but yeah, they're… the closest thing I've ever had to a family."

"All the more reason you needed to be saved. No one deserves to lose their family, for any reason." The beast was looking at him again, he could see it out of the corner of his eye. But Reginald was tired, cold, and in no mood to burst into pitiful tears, which he was sure to do if he looked upon the beast again. Not out of fear, but unable to face that strange, wonderful emotion lighting across its face. He sighed shortly, uncrossing his arms and beginning to walk back towards the estate. The paths he and the beast had made were quite evident, even in this late winter lighting. "Come on, then," he said over his shoulder. "We'd best return; Sven doubtlessly will have much to scooooOH GOD-!"

His foot slid out from under him, and Reginald tumbled head over heels past the side brush, down a long, deep snow bed, and crashed bodily through a thin sheet of ice covering a frigidly cold lake. The shock of the water sent flashing lights across his gaze, and he inhaled sharply on instinct, filling his lungs with water and blacking out in an instant.

Oops, Reginald drowned! Everybody go home; story's over, no more CopperRight (just kidding... unless?).

This chapter was difficult for me to write, namely the beginning section. I was torn between jumping right into the next "big plot point" and taking a little time to establish the "norm" Reginald's dealing with now. In the end, I ended up doing a bit of both, but hopefully I'll get to give everyone more screen time in future chapters. I mostly just want this chapter to get uploaded so I can be done with it (until next Monday, whee).

Ah, you thought Reginald and the beast would get along right away, did you? Well, you were WRONG! We get weird rivalries! The beast is used to being the only one getting waited on by the servants, but now that Reginald's here, he's gotta work to get back on top! Too bad for him, Reginald's real good at being a good boy. They banter about it, even if the only instance of that banter quickly crosses some serious lines and sparks a heated argument.

Hm, that rose sure is there, huh? I wonder who "she" is? Fun note, purple roses often represent enchantment, which makes it a fitting color for a magical rose. But... the prologue didn't say anything about a rose... who is this rose, then? You'll have to wait until next week to find out...!

In the Disney film Beauty and the Beast, Belle getting attacked by wolves is a pretty important scene, since it's when she makes the decision to take the Beast back to his castle even though she has the opportunity to go home. So obviously, I had to include it here, but I also wanted the "Beauty" to actually, y'know... do something, instead of just standing there watching this magical beast get torn apart by wolves. So Reginald uses his big boy brain and helps out! ...And then immediately falls into a frozen lake. Whoops. Not such a big boy brain after all, huh?

Anyway, gonna go nap for the rest of the day, probably. I'm so tired all the time... Sleep is so great; I could sleep forever if I wanted. Leave a comment and let me know what you thought of this one. I'll see you next week; until then!