Author's Notes:

I don't own Beauty and the Beast or its characters. It's the property of Walt Disney and all other versions of the story belong to their respective owners.

Rated M for the usual: language, adult themes, and other good stuff.

Chapter 8:

Mrs. Potts dried her hands on a nearby towel; she glanced outside the window in the kitchen and saw Belle sitting below a large, billowing tree. Mrs. Potts smoothed out her apron as she watched Belle read a book. Mrs. Potts smiled gently as she muttered, "Miss Belle is quite the bookworm, isn't she?"

Cogsworth wiped his forehead with his beloved handkerchief as he entered the kitchen and replied to Mrs. Potts' rhetorical question, "That girl is too strong-willed for her own good." He walked over to the stove and plucked a freshly baked biscuit off a tray as he looked out the window. Mrs. Potts looked at Cogsworth pointedly as she picked the tray of biscuits off the stove, "the young miss is clever and fiery. Surely, I could never bring myself to behave the way she does, but if I had a choice to go back in time…I would try to have some of that fire within me."

Cogsworth turned to gape at Mrs. Potts in disbelief, "the young miss is reckless and does not heed any warnings. She is impossible to talk to… we did not need another person in the household to look after."

Mrs. Potts sighed in slight frustration as she glanced out the window one more time, "well, I am more than happy to have another person to take care of."

…

Belle leisurely turned another page in her novel; she quickly devoured the story that unfolded before her eyes. Reading had been one of her first loves. As oddly as it sounded, Belle's greatest joy came from reading school books when she was younger. It gave her the biggest sense of accomplishment, and of course, a perfect escape from reality.

When Belle cracked open a new book, she could immerse herself in a world where her father was not labeled the town lunatic for his rich imagination, her mother had not run away when she was born, and where her opportunities where limitless.

It seemed completely surreal that Belle had stayed at the mansion for this long. It had been days since she had been attacked by Le Fou and Adam had left to attend to some business. She hadn't wanted to stay at Adam's estate, but she was tired of fighting when her own body screamed at her to slow down. The mental games that she and Adam played weighed heavily on Belle; as much as she hated him, she couldn't ignore the exhaustion she felt.

She had entertained the idea of running away again, but she couldn't muster up the energy. Aside from that, she was a bit fearful of the forest after the incident with Le Fou; it seemed that her terrible luck followed her wherever she was. She realized that she didn't know whether Le Fou had told Gaston that he'd seen her. It would be idiotic to leave on a whim and run through the forest again.

She hadn't been able to ask Adam whether he had taken care of Le Fou; there was no way to know if she was in danger of being found until Adam returned, but she wasn't too sure she'd stay that long. It was already too late to beg Gaston for her job; if she were to turn up at his doorstep now, he'd surely injure her severely. Maybe even kill her.

She sighed. How had she gotten to this place? Belle gently rested her head against the tree behind her and closed her eyes.

Belle thought about all the responsibilities that waited for her back in the village; she needed to get back to her father. Every day she had spent at Adam's mansion, her heart had panged painfully in her chest thinking about how he had been managing without her. If anything happened to him, she could never forgive…

Belle was startled out of her thoughts when she heard rustling in the forest. She staggered to her feet, the book she had been reading dropped to the ground with a muted thud. Belle's heart pounded loudly in her ears as she moved away from the tree line slowly. Her eyes scanned the trees, but rested on a moving figure.

"What…?" Belle whispered to herself. The figure was too small to be Le Fou or Gaston. As soon as Belle had the thought, she relaxed perceptibly. However, she was still wary of the moving figure in the distance, but her curiosity got the best of her.

Carefully, Belle lifted her skirts as she moved toward the forest. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw a small hand reach out and grab a tree branch for balance. Without thinking, Belle took off towards the small figure that struggled to pull itself up.

Belle took off in a sprint toward the small child that was huddled against the base of the tree. As soon as the child caught sight of Belle running towards him, he let out a loud scream.

"Stay away from me! Stay away! Leave me alone!" The child scrambled to his feet and tried to take off in the opposite direction, but Belle caught up to him just in time.

Belle stopped short and reached her hand out to the boy as he gripped the tree, "Hey, calm down… my name is Belle."

The child didn't seem comforted by her words and continued to clutch onto the tree. His light hair was matted around his face and hung in his eyes. He seemed tired and very weak, but even though he could barely stand, his face was scrunched up in distrust and anger.

"I said leave me alone!" He wailed again when Belle tried walking towards him.

She put her hands up and replied, "Okay, okay. You win, I'll leave you be…"

Belle looked around the woods; she couldn't possibly leave the child alone, but she was not about to yank him off the tree trunk. She knew all too well how horrible that feeling was. As Belle was about to try walking towards the boy one more time, she heard the shutters of the windows fly open and Mrs. Potts voice pierced the silence.

"Young miss, hurry in and take your afternoon meal before Mr. Cogsworth finishes off the biscuits!"

At that moment, Belle's face broke into a huge smile as she turned towards the house, "I'll be right there, Mrs. Potts."

The child's face momentarily took on a look of longing, but immediately went back to looking at Belle angrily.

Belle slowly lowered her hands as she turned sideways, "Personally, I would love to stay out here and try to get you to speak with me, little boy, but frankly the idea of biscuits and sweets sound much more appealing." Belle smirked and turned toward the house and slowly took a few steps in that direction.

"B-biscuits?" the young boy asked hesitantly.

Belle turned back around and smiled warmly, "Yes. Do you like biscuits?" She inquired.

The boy peeked out a little more from behind the tree and nodded his head eagerly, "y-yes I do…" His demeanor changed from one of defense to hesitance; Belle understood that the boy was afraid of her because she was a stranger. As he should be, she thought.

Belle outstretched her hand to the boy and smiled softly, "there's no harm in getting a bite to eat before continuing your journey, right?" She smiled even wider as the little boy carefully placed his hand into hers.

He looked down the path as they made their way towards the house and bit down on his lower lip. He took occasional glances up at Belle and towards the house as it loomed in the view.

His nerves got the better of him as he blurted out in a small voice, "You're not that witch that eats little children with candy, are you?"

Belle let out a laugh as she looked down at the boy and his worried expression, "No, I never had a taste for children. Unfortunately, I'm not anything special. I don't have any magic or anything to hurt you with. I'm just an ordinary person."

The little boy nodded his head in amusing concentration as he considered what Belle had said. "That's good." He concluded as they came to the mansion.

…

Lumiere helped Mrs. Potts bring another pot of hot cocoa to the dining table where Belle and the little boy were in an animated conversation.

"Nuh-uh. I could outrun any ghouls in the forest if I wanted to!" The little boy exclaimed as he wiped some cream from his mouth with his sleeve in a swift motion.

"I believe you, but wouldn't it be nice to stay here for the night and sleep in a comfortable bed? Just for tonight?" Belle asked; she had tired of asking the child for any information about himself. He had made it abundantly clear that he did not trust anyone and least of all, Belle.

The boy bit into another biscuit and shook his head dramatically, "I can't stay…" He trailed off and ignored any other questions she prodded him with. An overwhelming look of worry took over his features as he clutched onto his teacup filled with cocoa.

Belle sighed and tried once more, "How about just your name? I'm sure your parents are very worried about you, it's not safe for a young boy to…"

Belle's voice tapered off once the teacup fell from the boy's hands. She looked down to his shaking his hands and looked up to Lumiere for help.

Instead, Mrs. Potts came to the rescue with a dish rag, already cleaning up the spill. "Oh, well now. There's no use in crying over spilled cocoa, hm?" She commented warmly while looking up at the boy. Her face twisted in a look of discomfort as she straightened up and looked at the cup on the ground.

"I'll get that cleaned up in no time. In the meantime, why don't you finish off those biscuits before someone comes and claims them from you, hm?"

The boy looked down at the remnants of the biscuit in his hands and set it back on the tray before bending down and picked up the broken teacup. His little hands offered the broken pieces to the older woman with a look of remorse, "I'm sorry, ma'am." He added quietly.

Mrs. Potts broke into a warm smile as she ruffled the boy's hair affectionately, "thank you, dear. Bring that chipped cup into the kitchen. I think chips give it character." Mrs. Potts tilted her head to the side as she regarded the boy.

"Perhaps if you don't feel ready to share your name, we'll give you a nickname? How does Chip sound to you?" Mrs. Potts laughed softly and put her arm around the little boy's shoulders as she guided him to the kitchen.

Belle slumped in her chair with a smile as she heard the boy's voice respond, "Sounds good."

Lumiere took the seat next to Belle and wiped some crumbs from the table. He relaxed into the chair as he looked at the door the older woman and child had exited through.

"The master might not like this, mademoiselle." He commented resting his gaze on Belle.

Belle shrugged as she sat up a bit straighter, "If the master wants to bring in strays then he shouldn't discriminate."

Lumiere chuckled as he laced his fingers together and rested his hands on his crossed legs, "Then Monsieur Adam will have a larger welcoming committee when he returns tomorrow."

Belle felt her heart skip a beat when she heard Lumiere's words. Welcoming committee… I've allowed myself to become too comfortable in this monster's home. I thought I had more time before he returned so that I could leave before he caught wind of it… In any case, I need the mongrel here. I still need answers.

Regardless of her panicking heart, Belle smiled easily, "I can't wait."

A/N:

So that's chapter 8, guys. I know it's been a long while since I've written for this story, but I hope you guys enjoy it. I'm going to try to keep up with it as much as I can, but in the meantime, let me know what you think.

Until next time,

N.E.