Adam pushed his form forwards, bounding fiercely forward, barging through each door that came in his way. He only paused momentarily when he heard clinking and shouting behind him, accompanied by determined voices trying to stop him. Ordinarily he would just ignore it and move on, but after everything he had thought about lately he decided to stop. After all, he valued them, he had to listen to what they had to say. Although he wasn't in any kind of mood to listen for long.

"What?" He snapped quickly, spinning around and stopping suddenly. His plan to be calm had failed the moment he heard about Lumiere. His worry for the man overshadowed everything.

Cogsworth, who had was still hoping to catch up, called forward breathlessly. "I… just… you can't just… go after him!"

Adam grit his teeth together, why was Cogsworth making this more difficult than it needed to be? "Why not?" He spat.

Cogsworth, who had just caught up, looked nervously at his master before answering. "Your form… and if people see you." His eyes darted down.

Before Adam could give another irritated reply, Mrs Potts chimed in. "He went to find a village. If you went there too, people would be frightened. They may try to hurt you if you go too close to them…" Mrs Potts looked nervous too now, afraid about pointing out the obvious, that he looked terrifying.

Adam tensed slightly, grinding his teeth together. He knew that what they said was perfectly valid. "I can't just leave him, he's-" Adam hesitated. What was Lumiere to him? In the past he had considered him a pest, but that probably wasn't what Lumiere was trying to be. Out of all his servants, Lumiere was someone who would try to give Adam advice no matter the cost. He was one of the last to run away in fear, and always tried to get his thoughts in. In the earlier days Lumiere tried to constantly encourage Adam, and was probably the only one who sincerely thought that there was hope for breaking the curse. Lumiere believed in him, and that wasn't something Adam had really acknowledged till now. Still, he couldn't find the words to express these strange feelings. He glanced down to the two staring up at him, and he realised that he must've been lost in thought for a moment. "He's a fool who I need to bring back." That was far from the true answer, but it was all he could bring himself to say.

Cogsworth and Mrs Potts glanced at each other for a moment, both speechless. They seemed to pick up on Adam's hesitation, wondering what was going on in the Master's head. "I'm sure he'll be back soon…" Cogsworth trailed off, sounding completely unconvincing.

"How long has he been gone?" Adam asked quickly.

The two looked at each other again, this time Mrs Potts answered, slowly and hesitantly. "A few… days."

Adam growled, causing the two to flinch backwards slightly. Without saying another word he turned and span off again, heading back towards the large front doors.

"Master!" Cogsworth shouted, as the two began to follow him again.

Adam span quickly, facing both of them suddenly. Crouching down so his face was lower to the ground, he roared fiercely at them. "You will stay here!" The two looked at him wide eyed. "I do not want to have to come after you two either."

Cogsworth went to say something else, but Adam roared again, causing them both to huddle together closely out of fright. "YOU WILL DO AS I SAY, UNDERSTOOD?" The two shook violently, but managed to nod.

As he glanced down at the small figured before him, Adam's eyes widened in horror briefly, before he forced himself to harden them and look away. Even though he was concerned for their safety, he had acted horribly towards them. Was this the way all his servants looked at him? He'd acknowledged their fear before, but facing it now had somehow caused him to see how truly horrifying he must seem. For a moment he was paralysed by guilt that seeped through him, he had come to apologise and instead he proved that the enchantress had picked a perfect form for him. In that moment he was tempted to say something else, but he had no thoughts as to what he could say to make up for the years of abuse he pushed on them. The only comfort he found was in the fact that they should be terrified into listening to him, and so they would stay.

Without speaking again, he turned and left through the large doors, pushing against them until he marched out through the gripping coldness of outside. For a moment he was thankful for his coat, as he barely felt it for the most part, and knew that once he got moving again he would feel even warmer. At first he moved with some uncertainty as he took his first few steps, but then he reminded himself of Lumiere, the reason he was out here. With this determination, he slammed the door behind him and began running.

The world outside his castle was no less bleak and dark than the world inside. The trees stood barren, looking like cruel twisted blades reaching up for the darkened colourless sky. The ground below was covered in freezing snow, making hushed sounds as he walked. The only other sound was the wind blowing occasionally, rocking at the trees around him. He began at the bridge of the castle, but soon ended up approaching the tangle of trees that encompassed the horizon. He wasn't sure where exactly to go, but knew that there was a path to follow. His knowledge of the area was incredibly poor, but he knew that Lumiere couldn't have gone all that far, so Adam's plan was to follow the path to the closest village. However, instead of running right on the path, he intended to run alongside it, weaving in and out of the forest. The last thing he wanted was to face any humans.

Authors Note:

Sorry this hasn't been updated in quite literally years. I've edited some of the chapters (just in the hope of making it read better, I haven't really changed what happens) and I've added this fairly short chapter, which probably doesn't push the plot foward massively. Still I really intend on finishing this, as I've been thinking about it for a VERY long time.