Another Beauty and the BEAST story

Chapter VII

The journey through the woods and into the castle is a blurry memory. I remember putting Philippe in the stables, and then carrying Elsa's destroyed body up the stairs and into the castle through the heavy front doors. I don't know where to go, still not having figured out how to make my way around this place yet. 

So I take a chance and start jogging through the entrance into a big room with windows covered by heavy drapes. On the opposite wall is a huge fireplace, and that's where I set my sights. The room is decorated beautifully, with sofas and elegant chairs arranged around the room. I stand in front of the fireplace, catching my breath. My shirt and my hand is covered in Elsa's clear blood, and I realize that I am going to need help.

So I exhale, take a deep breath, and yell at the top of my lungs, praying for a miracle to appear.

"PIERRE!"

And thank the Lord, a few seconds the armor comes rushing into the room. 

"Yes, my guest, what can I be of-... What in the world? What has happened to the mistress?" Pierre gasps shocked, interrupting himself at the sight of the two of us.

"I need you to wake the other objects! I'm going to need a bowl of hot water and a rag to clean the wound, as well as some type of bandage to hinder the bleeding. And tell Lumiere to light his candles, I need to borrow some of his light to light a fire!" I order the armor, and for a terrifying second it just stands there and stares at the limp body of his mistress. But then Pierre salutes me and turns to rush out of the room, banging an aromred hand against his chest to make as much nose as possible. 

I sit myself down by the fireplace, trembling but alive, and looks down at the young girl in my arms. This close, I notice the neat row of long eyelashes creating a slight shadow on her chin. She's pretty when she's not yelling at me or frightening me. 

I'm about to gently stroke away a strand of her hair when Pierre comes rushing back with Lumiere on his shoulder, screaming words in French at the armor, dragging on a tray with Madame Potts readying a bowl of boiling water and the rag I asked for. My wardrobe comes crashing behind them all, cursing in Scottish probably, along with a few unnamed objects that I do not know. 

Madame Potts and Lumiere gasps as they lay their eyes on the two of us for the first time, and I smile weakly to them. 

"Help," I whimper, not feeling any of the confidence I used to order Pierre a few minutes ago. 

"Oh, dear, this is worse than you said, Pierre," Madame Potts says as the armor hand me the bowl of boiling water with the rag. Lumiere is occupied by lighting a fire, still swearing to himself in French. Wardrobe brings us a lot of pillows for Elsa to rest on, and I tuck the arms of my shirt up so that my hands are free to work. I dip the rag in the water, slowly, before starting to clean the terrible wound on Elsa's shoulder.

She sits up, growling from the pain of water in her wound. Her head wisp around and glare at me. I swallow my fear, and glare back at her stubbornly. 

"That hurts!" She screams, sending the objects jumping back to hide from the outburst. 

"If you will hold still, it won't hurt as much," I counterpoint, and try to wet the wound once again. She mutters in pain as the wet rag touches the skin, and I slowly clean the blood away.

"If you hadn't run away, none of this would've happened," She comments after a while, crossing her arms across her chest like a child. 

"If you hadn't frightened me, I wouldn't have run away," I comment back with the same stubborn tone. Elsa opens her mouth to respond, but has to fall silent to think of another point. I take the chance to dip the rag into the bowl of water. The water is immediately colored red from the bloodied rag. I shrug and continue.