Switched!

By Faith Kelter

Beauty and the Beast characters © Disney

Dedicated tomy favoriteprincess Caroline. :-)

Ah, nothing like the sight of a beautiful sunrise, Cogsworth thought, grinning as he threw open the curtains in the foyer. During the course of the spell, that was certainly the one thing that he had missed the most: being able to see the sun rise promptly at six every morning. But having been a small clock, opening the curtains was a difficult task, and a complete waste of time. Objects or not, there was still work to be done. With all that in the past, however, he was able to happily make this a part of his morning ritual once more.

But with every delight, there inevitably came a downside. Not everyone in the castle, in fact no one at all, shared Cogsworth's joy of awakening at dawn, and seeing to it that the staff was out of bed and ready to work was never easy.

Especially when it comes to Lumière, Cogsworth thought with a sigh, making his way down the hall of the servants' wing. That irresponsible pea brain! The only thing that Lumière was competent enough to do was make Cogsworth's life a living nightmare, and unfortunately, he did that very well. In the mornings, for example, minutes seemed like hours as he waited at that infuriating halfwit's door just to be certain he was awake and getting ready for the day ahead.

Bracing himself for a complete waste of valuable time, Cogsworth knocked on Lumière's door.

"Lumière!" he called, exasperation already in his tone. "I do not have time for foolishness this morning!"

Miraculously, a few seconds later, Lumière emerged from his room, yawning tiredly.

"All right, I am awake," he said groggily. "You can keep your voice down this morning; heaven forbid you lose it before shouting out orders all day long."

Cogsworth followed him as they headed for the kitchen, so pleasantly surprised that he missed Lumière's comment. "Well, thank goodness you are; we have no time to waste today with the Autumn Gala being tomorrow."

"We have far too many parties around here," Lumière said with an amused laugh. As they reached the staircase, he made himself comfortable on the banister, preparing to slide down when Cogsworth stopped him.

"Do not even think about it," he warned.

Lumière raised an eyebrow. "They need to be cleaned anyway, and besides, if you can do it, why is it wrong if I do?"

Cogsworth frowned, remembering that night a few months ago during the spell when a mob of villagers had stormed the castle. To save Lumière, of all people, from an attack, he had let caution fly away with the wind, sliding down a banister with a pair of scissors to counterattack the intruder from behind. Now, Cogsworth completely regretted his action, as Lumière constantly used the incident to his advantage when he felt it necessary.

"Those were dangerous times; I had to make an exception to the rules," Cogsworth argued. "Now that they stand once again, I shall remind you: no sliding down the banisters."

Lumière shrugged, nonchalantly. If there was anything he would never do, it was let Cogsworth have the last word. "Very well, mon capitan," he said, using that cursed nickname that his comrade despised. "When Babette has to do more work later, I will be sure she knows who to thank."

"Ah ah ah!" Cogsworth said. "That is another thing we can not afford today: your shameless public displays! God help me if I catch you even looking at Babette!"

"Have you no decency?" Lumière gasped, sarcastically. He knew he could arrange whatever he must when it came to a rendezvous with his lover, but nothing amused him more than annoying Cogsworth incessantly. "An entire day without seeing ma chérie, ma bijou, ma plumette? My very heart will stop beating!"

"I shall send for a doctor now," Cogsworth countered, irritated.

Lumière shook his head, laughing. "Really, mon ami, you can not take a jest, can you?"

"Not when there is work to be done."

"All work, no play; it is a wonder that you are still living with such an unhealthy lifestyle."

"I could say the same for you."

"For me?" Lumière asked, indignantly. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Cogsworth stopped to face him. "It is a greater wonder that you still work here when all you do is loaf about the castle all day instead of attending to your duties."

Lumière stared him down. "If not for me, the kitchen staff would have no organization to prepare meals, three a day to be exact and extra for celebrations."

Cogsworth glared angrily at him. "Oh, you poor thing!" he said, sarcasm dripping from his every word. "So much to do, so little time for thinking about yourself."

"You could not last one day in my shoes," Lumière snarled.

"Your shoes?" Cogsworth asked. "Ha, that would be a holiday after all that I have to go through! On the contrary, you would not last one hour in mine!"

Lumière's expression became tauntingly thoughtful. "Hmm, let us think for a moment on that, shall we? Shouting out orders all day, hovering over the staff waiting for a speck of dust to be left on the floor, and groveling at the master and mistress' feet. Indeed, such backbreaking labor!"

Cogsworth took a deep breath, trying to subdue his rising temper. "We do not have time for such pointless bickering," he said, feeling more relaxed as he took on authority. "As the head of this household, may I remind you that it is now almost quarter past six? Therefore, I order you to march down to the kitchen before breakfast is late, or else."

Raising his hand in a mock salute, Lumière literally did as he was told, whistling a battle tune as he marched his way downstairs. Cogsworth sighed the minute he was out of sight, pinching the bridge of his nose to calm an oncoming headache. Time waited for no one, and he should have seen to the master's wake up call by now. What a senseless way to start the morning!

ooo

Giggling with amusement, a young imp placed her magic mirror on a table as the vision disappeared.

"My sister is a fool!" she laughed to a small toad beside her. "She had no trouble turning a prince into a beast, making him learn to love in order to reverse the spell. Yet she can not spare a little extra time to make these two court jesters see the light!"

The toad did not move a muscle as the imp raced to the bookshelf. When she found her choice selection, she quickly skimmed through the book, grinning with delight as she found what she was looking for.

"I suppose that, for once, she was leaving this little matter to me," she said. "A few years under her enchantment did not harm them; this time in my hands should be simple and much more fun!"

"If you even consider such a frivolous notion…"

The imp whirled around, her mouth hanging open as she was preparing to recite her incantation.

"Sister, dearest!" she exclaimed, hiding the book behind her back as she found herself face to face with the enchantress. "Such a surprise! I was not expecting a visit today!"

"Do not play your foolish games with me," the enchantress warned. "Leave the humans alone; they have done nothing to deserve your nonsense."

The imp pouted, disappointed. "I merely wanted to be as talented as my elder sister," she said, wincing as if the very thought left a wretched taste in her mouth. "The enchantment you cast on them years ago was sheer brilliance!"

"Unlike you, I use my power only for the sake of others, not for my own pleasure," the enchantress replied. "A human's will is not something to be tampered with, and solely belongs to the person in whom it resides. We do what we can to help those who are leading not only themselves but others into pain and darkness, but ultimately, only they can make their own decisions."

The imp frowned, picking up her mirror again, commanding it to show Cogsworth and Lumière once again. "And I simply wish to help them, nothing more," she muttered as the mirror crackled and glowed bringing back the vision. If anything could make her sister allow this, it was supposed sincerity; it seemed to work.

The enchantress' eyes softened a little, gazing at her younger sister. "They are harmless, child," she said reassuringly. "The only ones who can change those two are themselves. Now leave them be, understood?"

The imp's frown deepened; that was not the response she was looking for. Nonetheless, she offered a nod in reply, and the enchantress smiled with satisfaction, vanishing as quickly as she appeared.

The imp, however, grinned mischievously as she opened her book again.

"Did you hear that, my friend?" she asked the unaffected toad. "The only ones who can help these two men are themselves…which is exactly what I had in mind, right?" Her grin broadened on the realization of the technicality. "Of course," she said in afterthought. "If I can get a good laugh out of it as well, that is an added bonus."

Finding the previously discovered spell, the imp read the words in a tongue unknown to humans, smilingly gleefully as she watched her subjects in her mirror. By tonight, the games would begin.

ooo

Throughout the day, Cogsworth surveyed the preparation for the gala, which was easier said than done. In the morning, everything seemed to be going smoothly, living up to the motto "So far, so good." But later in the evening hours, problems by the dozen arose over the smallest details.

"Monsieur Cogsworth!" cried one of the houseboys, breathlessly running to catch up to him.

Cogsworth closed his eyes tightly as he felt his headache greatly intensifying. If anyone in this castle could do one thing without him, it would be a miracle! Retirement was sounding better with each passing day.

"Yes, Pierre, what is it?" he asked exasperated.

"The decorators do not have enough roses for the ballroom; Mademoiselle Angelique is about to go mad!"

Cogsworth sighed, frustrated. "All right, all right; lead on," he said, failing to keep annoyance from his tone as he followed Pierre to the ballroom, preparing himself to deal with Angelique's childish fits.

Across the hall, Lumière watched the exchange with a frown, shaking his head in dismay. Heaven forbid Cogsworth actually have to deal with a problem!

"Unbelievable," he muttered, only to himself so he thought.

"What is?" a female voice said suddenly behind him.

Lumière gasped startled for a moment, but grinned in delight to meet the beautiful features of his beloved Babette. "Nothing more than the usual," he answered, holding her close; she, of course, did not object to the romantic advances.

"Do not let him bother you, mon cher," she said, pouting adorably. "If you do, you will only turn into him."

"Moi?" Lumière asked, an amused smirk playing about his lips. "Turn into Cogsworth?"

"Oui," Babette said, grinning. "And then whatever shall I do?"

Lumière released her, wriggling his fingers before her in a playful tickling threat, as he replied in a ghostlike manner, "Run for your very life!"

Babette only let out a squeal and fled laughing while Lumière, never one to turn down a chase, raced after her.

ooo

"Amateurs! I am surrounded by them!" Angelique cried, wearing a trail into the floor with her pacing while Cogsworth stood by waiting for her to finish ranting. "You can not use lilies once you have set the roses in place!"

"And why not?" Cogsworth inquired, attempting to sound interested.

"Because I said we could not," Angelique growled, glaring dangerously at him. "The two simply can not be mixed."

"Very well," Cogsworth complied, thinking quickly. "But if I may suggest, mademoiselle, that we use the lilies instead of trying to combine the two?"

"But all the roses that we have already here…!" Angelique protested.

Cogsworth offered, "They can be used on the tables, perhaps; center pieces. Lilies are just as lovely, after all, to use for decoration; this way the roses (which we know are very dear to the master and mistress) will grace the guests with their glorious presence and fragrance during dinner. I personally think that will be much more satisfactory."

Angelique grimaced, but nodded in agreement. Muttering something about no one understanding her art like she did, she stormed back to her group to give the new orders, and Cogsworth breathed a sigh of relief. One less problem to worry about, thanks to the brilliance of yours truly, he thought with a proud grin, and noticing the late hour, he was relieved to see he could now rest easily for the night…

Why was a light shining from below the sitting room door? The master and mistress were in their rooms by this hour…

So that is where he has been hiding all day, Cogsworth assumed as he frowned angrily in realization. "Lumière!" he called. "Get out of there this instant!"

Sure enough, the light had apparently been extinguished a minute later, and the guilty party, namely Lumière and Babette exited the room.

"Babette, finish your work, as I am certain it is far from done, and then go to bed," Cogsworth ordered with authority.

Babette was about to protest when Lumière took her hand, shaking his head.

"He makes a good point, chérie; we have a big day tomorrow," he said. "Best to get some rest."

Babette pouted, but did as she was told. When she was gone, Cogsworth turned to Lumière.

"One day," he said, irritated. "One day is all I asked for you to focus on your duties, and still you give me nothing but disrespectful disregard."

"I finished my work hours ago," Lumière argued.

"Then find something productive to do instead of passing the time doing Lord knows what with that girl!"

Lumière narrowed his glare at him. "I have done everything that has been asked of me, and more that you have not seen. But of course, as usual, if you did not see me doing so, then it did not happen! As I said before, you have your own 'painstaking labors' to worry about, and not enough time to acknowledge the work of others!"

Cogsworth stared at him, wide eyed with indignity. "How dare you suggest such a thing! I constantly see more than you think throughout the day, and in your case, more than I wish to see most of the time!"

"You have my sympathies," Lumière growled sarcastically.

Ignoring the comment, Cogsworth persisted, "I would trade places with you in a heartbeat just to have some rest and relaxation!"

"Relax what? Your voice from all the shouting you do?" Lumière asked. "It is I who should take your place!"

Cogsworth furiously turned bright red. "You honestly believe that I have it easier than you?"

"Quite easier," Lumière enforced.

Cogsworth snarled, "Very well then. I shall speak with the master himself to see if he would allow such a switch after the gala is over. That way, I can give you a taste of your own medicine!"

"Fine with me!" Lumière agreed in the same tone.

Leaving the argument at that decision, both men went their separate ways to their quarters, coincidently wishing to themselves that the other knew just how easy his lot in life truly was.