Then Somebody Bends

Beauty of the Beast

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Phillippe runs to the castle, getting there quickly. As Phillippe comes to a stop just outside the door, a glow surrounds the young teacup and he transforms, growing taller with arms and legs of his own. The bag breaks and Chip falls to the ground, holding the letter in his hands. He looks himself over quickly, laughing and smiling, before running to the door. It opens and he looks around. "Hello?" he calls. "Master? Mom? Lumière?"

A teapot rolls in a moment later, on a cart. Lumière sits beside Mrs. Potts on the cart, trying to calm her. "Bonjour, young man. How can we help you?"

"Lumière, Mom, it's me," he starts. "It's Chip!"

"Chip?!" Mrs. Potts asks. "Oh, Chip! You're a boy again!" Chip steps forward and hugs the teapot to him.

Chip smiles and looks around. "Gather everyone in the west wing. Come on!" Chip runs through the castle, getting everyone's attention. He brings them all to the west wing. Beast stands near the window looking out the way Belle left. "Master," Chip starts. Beast turns to him, surprised.

"Who are you? You're familiar," Beast says.

"It's me, master! It's Chip. The little teacup!" Chip cheers. "I'm a boy again!"

The beast's eyes widen. He turns to look at the rose and sees all the petals have fallen. "The last petal has fallen," Beast starts. "You are all still awake and yet I'm still a beast."

A glow surrounds Lumière and he's lifted up. As the light fades, Lumière stands there as a human. He looks himself over slowly, laughing. "The spell is breaking slowly. What would cause this?" Cogsworth says. A light envelopes Plumette and Cogsworth, then Mrs. Potts. They all smile and laugh as they revel in their humanity.

They all watch, waiting for beast to turn back to man but nothing happens. "Why isn't the master changing back?" Chip asks.

"Perhaps it'll just take longer because the curse was centered around him?" Mrs. Potts suggests.

"Oh!" Chip starts. "Belle wanted me to give this to you. And we need to send her horse back. She sent Phillippe to deliver me because she said she can't risk coming back. She said that if she ever came back, that we'd be in danger."

Chip hands him the letter and the beast looks at the envelope, missing her. "I- I'm not sure I can read this," he admits.

Lumière looks to his prince. "Master, if the curse was broken for us, she must have felt something for you."

Beast sighs, looking at the letter. He gently removes the ribbon. Before he opens the letter, there's a sharp pull in his gut. He sways for a moment before collapsing, curled around his stomach. "Master!" Plumette cries. They all surround him, trying to find out what's wrong.

"Get him on the bed," Mrs. Potts suggests.

"Why is it hurting him?" Lumière asks. "It did not hurt the rest of us."

A glow starts to envelope the beast and everyone backs off, watching as his paws shrink to hands and his feet gain toes. His fangs retract to their normal size as the horns are drawn back into his head. As the glow slowly fades from his form, they all gather closer. Mrs. Potts feels his forehead and looks to her son. "Chip, go get a rag and a bowl of water. He's got an angry fever."

Chip runs off and Lumière steps forward. With the help of Plumette, they manage to get the prince's coat off of him. "He looks really tired," Chip says, standing by the door. "Like how Lumière got shadows under his eyes as a candelabra whenever he did too much."

His mother takes the bowl and cloth, setting the cloth on his forehead. They all sit by his side, waiting.

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As the prince's eyes flutter open, Mrs. Potts draws closer to bedside. "Mrs. Potts?" he whispers.

"Oh, my dear!" Mrs. Potts starts. "How are you feeling, master?"

Slowly, the man sits up and Lumière adjusts the pillows. "What- what happened?"

"You're human, master," Cogsworth says. "You changed back!"

The prince is startled, sitting up quickly and tearing the covers away. He looks himself over and smiles, laughing. He jumps forward, gathering everyone nearby in a hug, waving the others into the hug. "This is amazing!"

Mrs. Potts pulls away a little. "My prince, you-"

He shakes his head. "Please, we've been through so much to use such titles when we're alone. Call me by my name, please," he says. "Call me by the name my mother gave me."

They all smile at him, nodding. "Of course, Adam," Lumière says. "Now, you really must rest."

"I feel fine," Adam says. "I feel better than fine!" Adam gets up, running his hands over his human form. He stumbles around for a moment and Lumière catches him. "This- this is amazing. We must celebrate! Maybe we could host a party, invite the closer villages." He turns to everyone and they're smiling. "Three weeks from today!"

"Adam," Cogsworth says. "You really must rest, now."

"Wait," Adam starts. "Wait, the- the letter. Where is it? I need to read it. She loves me! She really loves me. She learned to love a beast." Lumière helps him into bed as Mrs. Potts hands him the letter.

"Adam, perhaps you should rest before you read it," Mrs. Potts says. "Chip said that she told him she could never return. Are you sure you need that kind of pressure right now?"

Adam shakes his head. "No, I'm not sure but I need to know. Maybe- maybe now that I'm human again I can help her. I- I could use my power and influence to help her!" Adam gently opens the letter and shakily pulls out the paper. He unfolds the pages and looks them over carefully. "Her handwriting is so beautiful. She wrote so much!"

"If these were the last words you could say to someone you loved, as she believes, would you only write a few words or would you write your manifesto?" Lumière asks.