Chapter 2:Then Somebody Bends

"No, you don't understand." The soft, female voice raised in frustration.

"I don't understand?" A disbelieving huff followed.

Cogsworth stood outside the door and waited for the sound of something breaking. He was surprised when only the noise of scrapping chairs could be heard.

"Obviously."

The Beast let loose a growl and Cogsworth took a step to the door. His hand raised to knock, but halted midway.

"Enlighten me, Savior. Why couldn't we simply use the sword? It's within our reach."

Cogsworth almost tipped over when Belle let out her own quiet growl.

"Within our reach? Beast, it is in the Vale of the Enchanted." She paused and then sighed. "At Haven's Hilt."

"And?"

"And, it's guarded by magic. And purple fire. And…"

Then something did crash. Cogsworth jumped as a loud smash echoed from the enormous library. He hurried through the door.

Mademoiselle Belle, dressed from head to toe in rose pink satin, leaned back from the master with a hand pressed to her chest. The Beast looked down at the girl, his claws extracted and his eyes blaring in anger. At his feet lay books of all shapes and sizes. They had obviously been shoved to the ground.

Neither the Beast nor Belle seemed to notice the small man's presence.

Belle dropped her hands to her sides and clenched her fists.

"Those are priceless." She spoke, her voice wobbling only slightly.

She lifted her chin and met the eyes of the monster as he scoffed and took a step closer to her.

"Find a way, Savior." His deep voice rumbled. The sound caused the butler to flinch.

Belle simply remained silent and watched him. Then she stepped to the side and walked over to the fallen books. Slowly, she began to heave them onto the long wooden table. With each book returned, the silence dragged on.

Cogsworth began to walk toward the girl but was stopped when the Beast swung a deadly look in his direction.

"I didn't summon you,Cogsworth." He snarled and grabbed a book from Belle's hands before she could lift it. With a grunt he gathered the rest and tossed them onto the table.

The creature placed a large hand under Belle's elbow and dragged her into a standing position without looking away from the butler.

"Master, I'm sorry to intrude," the rolly-polly man began, "but the soldiers have returned and are ready to report." His voice sounded weak and Cogsworth cleared his throat and drew his body up.

The Beast's eyes grew even sharper and Cogsworth blinked rapidly and stared at the floor. He heard the Master's claws scratch the marble as he stormed past him and left the room.

The butler sighed and relaxed his stomach. He looked first after his ruler, then over to the girl.

She was pale and one of her hands pulled at the curls that lay over her shoulder in a long ponytail. She didn't seem to even notice that he was in the room.

Cogsworth coughed politely and bowed his head as he backed out of the room.

By the time he reached the massive throne room, Cogsworth was out of breath and sweaty. He moved to his spot along the ivory wall and crossed his arms.

The Beast was speaking in a low, rough voice. For a moment, the butler just listened to the rumbling thunder of it, not paying attention to his words. Then the voice paused and another spoke up.

It was the Captain of the Guard, Olivier. The brown haired soldier stood before his highness with a bowed head, helmet in hand.

"It's my fault, majesty. I sent the troops back."

"Disobeying my direct order." The Beast growled and began to stalk down the wide steps that led to the man.

The Captain swallowed and nodded. He removed the sword from his side and stuck the point down into the ground. Bending down on one knee, he let his face be covered by a mess of straight, mud colored hair.

The Beast towered above the man. His shoulders squared as he lifted his massive horns to the vaulted ceiling.

The room was silent.

Cogsworth let his eyes scan the large assembly and he felt his mustache twitch. The armored men stood at attention in the center of the room. Their arms hung to their sides and their gazes were fixed straight forward.

To the sides of these men, noble men and women leaned in to watch the scene with interest. A few of the women placed hands over their faces and cooled themselves with large feather fans.

A few servants weaved through the gathering but they did so in the most discreet way they could and they never looked at the scene before them.

The Beast released a heavy breath and spoke.

"Captain Olivier," He huffed.

The Captain raised his eyes and waited.

"How many of your men have abandoned you?" The Beast asked darkly.

The Captain dropped his head again and stood up straight.

"Ten are still missing, sire."

The Beast nodded his thick mane and spoke again, flashing his razor sharp teeth.

"And how many men, women, and children lived in the village?"

Captain Olivier glanced up at his sovereign and passed a tongue over his dry lips.

"There were three hundred and twenty-five souls in the village, sire." He answered. The words seemed to choke him.

The Beast grew impossibly taller and even the strongest man present seemed to fold within himself.

"Then I have only one question, Captain." He paused and waited for absolute silence. "Which dungeon do you prefer?"

The Beast roared and grabbed the Captain by the neck. A gasp went through the crowd.

Captain Olivier kicked in the air as the Beast lifted his body up and snarled in his horrified face.

"Sire," He croaked, his face turning redder and redder. "We can't stop them. They're demons. It's suicide!"

The Beast bared his terrifying fangs. His terrifying body tightened and the many muscles of his arms bulged. Most of the noblemen and women ran to the exit of the throne room.

"Then save one, Captain. Save one life. Don't return to me without even trying." He flung the Captain to the ground with a painful thud and panted over his body.

He turned to the castle guards that stood beside the throne and nodded with a grunt. The men rushed forward and grabbed the Captain by the arms, dragging his body away. The Captain did not fight.

The Beast turned his vicious glare to his soldiers and bellowed, "Get out of my sight before you follow your Captain to hell!"

The room erupted as the soldiers turned in formation and marched out of the room as quickly as possible. The remaining men and women dashed from the room as well and Cogsworth pushed himself from the wall he stood against. As he began to leave the room, he heard his Master shout above the noise.

"Not you, Phoebus."

The butler scanned the soldiers and found the man the Beast called out to.

Captain Phoebus, a tall and golden haired soldier, stood in the emptying room and waited for his ruler to speak.

The Beast let out a heavy breath and shoved his claws into his shaggy red and blonde fur. He paced back to his throne and sat down heavily. His eyes turned to the man and he frowned.

"I just received your message." The beastly prince spoke with a shake of his head. "If I had seen it before…"

Captain Phoebus nodded and stepped forward. "I know, sire. I wish I had been aware sooner."

The Beast waited and the Captain continued after a moment of silence.

"The pack is enormous and our men are scared. Even if that coward Olivier had fought, they wouldn't have won, Prince Adam. "

The Beast clasped the arms of his throne chair and clenched his jaw tightly. The butler by the door trembled at the sight. The Captain continued to explain.

"The few that abandoned their posts were caught. The others," the Captain shook his head and raised his shoulders, "they slithered off on their march home." Phoebus shook his head. "Crazy kids. I don't know where they'll go. The spell keeps them invisible. Who knows what kind of mischief they'll find themselves in."

The Beast was quiet. His shoulders slumped in his chair. When he spoke, he almost sounded to the butler like the young prince again.

"All those people are dead, Phobebus, while I sit here and wait."

Captain Phoebus paused a second and then walked to the massive seat high on the stairs.

"Sire. You are doing all you can. The Enchantress said to wait for the Savior. When she comes…" He began, but the Beast interrupted.

"She's here."

The Captain leaned back slightly and gazed upon his prince. His face lit up with hope.

"Here? Where?"

The Beast shook his head and glanced at the doorway. "My library. She isn't what I expected."

The Captain nodded and smiled broadly. Hope was obvious on his face as he looked at his ruler.

"Women never are."

The Beast grunted and shook his head. "She had no power."

The blonde man frowned and looked up to the master. Cogsworth was surprised, not for the first time, by the ease the two of them had with each other. Captain Phoebus had somehow earned the trust and friendship of Prince Adam and it was a wonder to all who witnessed it. The Captain didn't speak.

The Beast shook his mane with a disbelieving look. "But you wouldn't know it by speaking to her."

"If she has no power, why would the Enchantress send her?" The Captain asked, confused.

Silence followed as the Beast stood and crossed his arms. His horrifying face seemed to set and he looked again in the direction of the library.

But he didn't say a word.

A.N. All rights to Disney

Hello readers and welcome! I hope you are all happy and well.

So, here we have some new characters. Do you recognize them. I added one as a kind of wink. Let's see which of my brilliant readers can place who it is. Tell me and maybe a secret meeting in the library is in your future!

As always, thank you for reading, reviewing, following and/or favoriting! -S.