A Royal Holiday, part Trois

Disney owns Beauty and the Beast and its characters.

December 25, 1771, Prince Adam and Princess Belle's castle

The holiday dawned cold and bright, and the rays of winter sun through the castle's gigantic windows hit the freshly scrubbed floor of the Great Hall, brightening the room in a magical way and making the golden tablecloths shimmer. This year, Angelique, the decorator, had chosen gold as the singular color scheme. The tablecloths, ribbons, candles, and decorations on the gigantic fir tree were all done in gilded hues. The effect was even more beautiful than the year before.

Servants rose and rushed eagerly to the kitchens, the cooks preparing a mouthwatering holiday breakfast. Emmeline Potts-DeFleur, the sixty-one year old maid who was the mother figure to nearly everyone in the castle, boiled several pots of water on the three huge iron cookstoves and expertly brewed fresh batches of tea. Her husband was loading firewood to stoke the ovens, as he always loved to do. After tossing in the last log, he put his arms around his wife and kissed her cheek warmly.

"Joyeaux Noel, my sweet Emmeline."

"Joyeaux Noel, Maurice, dear."

"When do you expect our royal couple to rise and start the festivities?" Maurice queried.

"Knowing your daughter, she ought to be coming into the kitchen, with a book in her hand, right about now-"

Right on cue, Belle arrived in the kitchen, carrying a book and yawning a little. She was dressed in her new holiday gown in bright red, trimmed with gold fabric at the sleeves and gold rosettes at the bodice. She embraced her father warmly, while the cooks greeted her with echoes of "Joyeaux Noel, Mistress Belle!" and "You look tres magnifique this morning!"

"Good morning, Papa, and a merry Christmas, everyone!" she greeted. Maurice helped Emmeline with the usual tasks, and Belle left the kitchen and went to walk along the Great Hall while the cook staff bustled with preparing foods, and maids set the tables with the best gold-plated chinaware. Not long afterward, Adam came down from the West Wing and joined his wife, dressed festively in a red frock coat with a gold vest.

"Sorry to sleep late, I've never slept well on Christmas Eve."

"It is fine, Adam. I want you to be well rested. You took quite a tumble on the ice yesterday trying to skate with Chip!" She took his arm as they continued to walk along the expanse of the Great Hall in its finery.

Adam smiled and shook his head. "You're spoiling me, Belle, I have to say."

He was glad to be back to castle family life and a holiday break after his recent travel throughout the region, meeting with leaders of cities about laws and taxes, and his least favorite job as prince, giving public speeches. His speeches were so abrupt he was known to the public as "Adam of Three Words." He always took the more socially outgoing Lumiere with him on such travels, as his aide and moral support.

Lumiere and Babette soon bounded down the staircase from the East Wing, joining them. "The Great Hall looks magnificent, no?" asked Lumiere, smiling broadly.

"It's wonderful! Everyone has done such a great job!" exclaimed Belle. Christmastime was obviously Belle's favorite time of the entire year. She had spent the previous day reading stories in the grand library to a small group of village children, and the children, in turn, had sung some carols for her and for Adam. The village's schoolmaster was overjoyed when Belle presented him and his class with a new set of twenty hornbooks printed in very simple French, so the children could learn to read at home.

"I spent hours dusting every surface and mopped nearly all of the floor," Babette said in exasperation. "The other maids barely lifted a finger, they just don't respect me, they only work if Cogsworth is right there, but he and Pippa have their hands full with the baby now."

"Ah, cheer up, my sweet. I demand that as your husband, you are to rest and enjoy the holiday." Lumiere put his arm around her, concerned. Babette was losing the vivacious spark she used to have, and he would do anything to help her get it back.

A short time later, the entire castle was enjoying a sumptuous holiday brunch, and were exchanging their small gifts among themselves. Just as the night before, on Christmas Eve, Lumiere and Madame de la Grande Bouche led the entire castle in singing carols.

Nine-year-old Chip was delighted to have received a new snow sled from Pere Noel, which he had found in the fireplace that morning. Adam and Belle had exchanged simple practical gifts for each other; warm scarves and the best wool-lined boots so they could still take sleigh rides outdoors in the chilly winter afternoons.

Thirteen-year-old Mirielle, the youngest maid and Belle's fellow bookworm, had received her own copy of the translated works of Dante, from Belle. Belle had asked her if she thought The Inferno was too disturbing for her, but Mirielle found it quite exciting to read. Belle, on the other hand, disliked reading The Inferno, because it gave her disturbing images of her old suitor turning and spinning in the fiery depths of Hades.

Belle happened to be sitting at the gilded table talking books with Mirielle, Adam sitting quietly near them, when Cogsworth came into the dining hall, looking exhausted, with dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. He was followed by his equally exhausted wife, Pippa, who was also Mrs. Potts-DeFleur's niece. She was humming and bouncing a very fussy little baby in her arms.

Lumiere smiled hugely at the sight of the infant. He rushed to little Felicity Jane Cogsworth and stroked her tiny pink cheek.

"Ah, there you are, Félicie, ma petite! It's Christmas! No need to cry, now! And look what I have for you!"

He produced a tiny, handmade cloth teddy bear from his coat pocket, and put it in front of the baby's face like a puppet, talking in a high pitched voice.

"Joyeaux Noel, petit fille! Are you hungry? Does maman have your bottle?"

"Yes, Lumiere, I have it," Pippa said, yawning. She held a milk bottle in her free hand, while her other arm continued to cradle Felicity, who had stopped fussing and now had her huge blue eyes fixed expectantly on Lumiere.

The maitre d' grinned. "Would you like me to sing for your meal again?" Cogsworth, standing nearby, rolled his eyes as he also stifled a yawn.

Pippa sat down tiredly on a chair and held the tiny girl to face Lumiere. The baby continued to stare at him as he began to put on an impromptu show for her. He began to sing "Be Our Guest," changing the phrase "your dinner" to "your bottle," while Felicity dribbled milk on her chin giving Lumiere a huge smile.

Lumiere ad-libbed the rest of the song and when he finished, Felicity was bouncing and cooing, flapping her tiny arms as Pippa tried to coax her to finish the bottle.

Adam and Belle applauded Lumiere happily from their table. "When she gets older, she will need someone besides Lumiere, Mirielle, and Chip to play with, you know," Adam said quietly as he leaned toward Belle.

"Adam." Belle said gently, giving him a look that clearly meant 'not now, please.'

"But someday she might like a child near her own age in the palace. Chip is nine now. I'm just saying." Adam shrugged.

Lumiere went back to sit with his wife. Babette looked pensive, and tears glistened in her eyes. "You are so good with her, mon chere. If only..." Her voice broke a little.

"Babette, my sweet. It is Christmas, and the new year is coming, the old year gone! We will keep trying. I promise it will happen. Someday...soon." He kissed her hand.

Babette forced a smile, and the next moment, Cogsworth approached the couple.

"My daughter is fussing again! It appears that she wants more of your questionable entertainment. I must say, Lumiere, you seem to be more cut out to be a father than I. I do hope you have your own brood soon, so you can coddle and spoil them like a..."

Babette suddenly burst into full tears and ran from the table, rushing into the kitchen to find Mrs. Potts-DeFleur for consolation. Cogsworth looked confused. "What did I...?"

Lumiere, an uncharacteristically serious look on his face, rose and patted Cogsworth's shoulder. "I am sorry, I must explain. Can you come to the library with me for a moment?" he whispered.

The two friends slipped into the library, while most of the other servants were getting ready to do some quick clean up chores. A few of them looked at the two men as they walked by. "Do we ever have any privacy around here?" Lumiere muttered.

When they entered the enormous library, Lumiere closed the door.

"Cogsworth, I may as well tell you exactly what is distressing my wife. We did not wish to tell the entire castle. The truth is, that last summer, for a very brief time, Babette and I were expecting. I was about to announce it in August, it would have been the third month. But...then, we lost it."

Cogsworth was shocked. "Why did you not tell me, or Master Adam, or Belle, or anyone?"

Lumiere shrugged and sighed. "Because I did not want anyone feeling sorry for us. I did not want to dwell on it, and I did not want Babette to dwell on it either. Like I say, we shall keep trying. And it is not my job to be sad about such things. After all...I am Francois Lumiere! The joie de vivre of this castle! The life of the party! I cannot afford to be seen glum and moping about. Master Adam always needs-"

"Lumiere! You are not responsible for Adam's joyfulness anymore. He has Belle now, he has had Belle for nearly two years! And I do not want you coddling MY child the way you coddled and spoiled Master Adam all those years ago! The way you sing and clown like a fool- why, I distinctly remember the exact same behavior from you, many years ago with him!"

Lumiere glared flaming eyes at Cogsworth. He wished for a second his hands still had real flames upon them. He snuffed his temper, however, and took a pleading tone.

"Believe me, Cogsworth, I will not try to "spoil" your child. But have a heart! Félicie is so precious, so lovely, and you are such a lucky man to be a father, I cannot help to be part of her raising! And I want so much for it to happen for Babette and I, and for the Master and Belle!"

Cogsworth softened. "I wish the same. I am sorry for your and Babette's loss. I truly am. And...although it is none of my and your business, I also keep hoping for a royal child someday soon, as well. Mistress Belle is still quite young, twenty-two now, and she loves traveling to the orphanage in Paris and doing her charity work with you. She has not seemed ready yet."

"Yes, that is true. And I appreciate your condelences, Cogsworth. Let's go now and spend this day with our wives. It seems at least I get to spend more, ahem, quality time with my wife than you with yours, eh, mon capitan?"

Cogsworth narrowed his eyes irritably at Lumiere with his forefinger up for a second, trying to think of a comeback. Being sleep deprived, he failed to do such, so he turned away on his heel toward the East Wing's staircase, where the sound of his child's wailing echoed from above.

Lumiere found Babette with Emmeline and Maurice, drinking tea in the smaller dining room off the main kitchen. He hugged her shoulders and kissed her neck lovingly, Babette having been comforted over Emmeline's tale of the twins she had lost at birth with Mr. Potts, long ago, as well as her only daughter's death at young womanhood.

"Elizabeth would have been forty this Christmas," Emmeline said to Maurice, as he held her hand. "Chip has her eyes." She wiped an eye, and rose to start the afternoon's tidying before the kitchen crew would start crowding in to begin cooking dinner.

Babette turned her eyes up to her husband. "Francois, shall we take a walk in the gardens outdoors?"

"Why yes, of course! Chip is probably out sledding on the frozen pond. We can keep an eye on that boy, he tends to be the daredevil! Let's get some fresh winter air, and later, warm up by the fire. Upstairs." He gave Babette a suggestive wink, after the older couple had retreated to the kitchen. "How does that sound, ma cherie?"

"That sounds wonderful, Francois." The couple headed out.

A while later, Cogsworth and Pippa carried the still-fussy little Felicity into the small servants' dining room. This area, near the warm kitchen with its pleasant culinary smells, seemed to be the room where the baby was happiest.

Mrs. Potts-DeFleur dried her hands with a towel. "Pippa, dear, let me hold her for a while, please. You and Cogsworth ought to go take a rest. How much did you sleep this time?"

"Only three hours at a stretch," answered Pippa, rubbing her eyes.

"Five hours. Sometimes I can sleep through her crying," answered Cogsworth. Pippa gave him an irritated look.

"I cannot! She only quiets when I hold her facedown a certain way and walk in circles! And she is so loud I cannot walk her around the hallways either, she'll wake the entire castle up then! I feel angry at her sometimes, Aunt Emmie. I am a dreadful mother, despite having been the most well credentialed nanny in London for so many years!" Pippa said despairingly.

Belle and Adam came in, their cheeks red, and smiling brightly. They had also been out for a brief walk in the cold palace grounds. Maurice, seeing his wife had her hands full, poured the royal couple some more tea.

Belle looked at Pippa's exhausted face sympathetically. The Princess was coming to be well aware of the realities of life with a baby, and it was starting to raise some private issues of contention between herself and Adam. He was eager to replenish his family line soon, while Belle was certainly not.

"She probably has some stomach gas, it will get better soon as she gets older," said Emmeline comfortingly. "Look, she is already going down." Felicity had fallen asleep on her shoulder. "And just be thankful, dear, that the little one cries and does not chime like a clock every hour," the older woman joked, in a low whisper.

"To be serious, the last time Maurice and I went to Molyneux this autumn, poor Sophie was worried that she would be giving birth to a miniature chair, rather than a human baby. She was somewhat relieved when we told her about Felicity, being born normal, although still, you were not the one enchanted."

Maurice suddenly remembered something, and spoke up. "Actually, Emmeline, I have some great news from the village, I was there a few days ago, buying your Christmas hat from the milliner's. Sophie had her baby! A healthy little boy!"

"Oh, that is wonderful!" Belle, Emmeline and Pippa exclaimed.

"What did they name him?" Emmeline queried, as Belle made a grimacing face. "I hope they didn't name him-"

"Henri-Gaston." Maurice chuckled.

Belle rolled her eyes, then smiled, half relieved. "Henri is a nice name," she decided.

This was more encouraging news. There had been worries that the curse the servants had suffered as enchanted objects would have certain after-affects. Felicity obviously did not resemble a clock whatsoever, and now a former palace maid, Sophie Ouilette-Lefou, who lived in the village and was married to Molyneux's rather dopey but ambitious tavern owner, was the very first of the female "enchanted objects" to give birth to a child.

"Babette will be quite glad about this as well," said Mrs. Potts-DeFleur. She had been the only one whom Babette had confided in about the sad occurrence earlier in the year. But now, she could at least be consoled with the knowledge that her having been a feather-duster probably had nothing to do with it.

Belle and Adam left the warm kitchen and walked back into the Great Hall, where dozens of servants were clearing tables after their brunch. Their work was made happy and pleasant by a band sitting in the corner, playing festive music that filled the Hall, the notes echoing beautifully through the immense, golden room.

It was a string quartet led by the flute player and talented composer, Bernard Fife. At the moment they were performing a harmonious rendition of "Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella" at an up tempo.

Adam looked at Belle and grinned. "Shall we dance?"

"I would love to!"

Adam took Belle's hands and they whirled about the open section of the floor in a vigorous dance. As the servants finished clearing and cleaning, several of them paired up and joined the Prince and Princess.

Cogsworth and Pippa began dancing, (since Felicity was now fast asleep and watched over by Emmeline) as well as Madame de la Grande Bouche and her gentleman friend Jean-Robert, the assistant chef. Other couples joined- Angelique and her beau Etienne, Pauline the maid and Michel the horse groom, Yann the captain of the guard and his fiancée Annette, a maid named Valerie and her beau Mattheu, the young royal bookkeeper. (Valerie, Mattheu, and Valerie's father Gabriel did not observe Christmas; they had celebrated Hanukkah earlier that month, but they certainly enjoyed the feasting and dancing as well.)

Even Mirielle and Chip attempted to dance with each other, in a clumsy, silly fashion for a few minutes, until Chip stepped on her foot and they began to bicker again in their usual, sibling-like way. They were like siblings after all, in every way but blood, since the teenage maid was an orphan and had been raised mostly by Emmeline. The two youngsters then ran off in separate ways, Mirielle to go read, and Chip getting dressed to go back outdoors.

Adam and Belle danced a few songs, and then Belle remembered her tradition she had started last year, on Christmas Day. "Adam, remember our promise to leave a tithe to the village church every year? Our sleigh ride?"

"Belle, that is right! It was such fun to take that ride last year, but don't you think it is too cold?"

Chip, running past them, overheard them. "The sun's a lot warmer now! Did you say you are going on a sleigh ride? Can I come?"

"Well, Chip, you can if you ask your mother's permission. Would you ask Michel if he would mind driving us? We could take the four person sleigh," asked Adam.

"Sure!" said the young boy. He came back a few minutes later with Michel, the stable groom and driver. He had his girlfriend, the maid Pauline, by his side.

"Michel, would you mind going on a sleigh ride today, driving us to the village so we can give Christmas money for their church?" asked Adam.

"Certainly, Your Grace!" The young man was happy to oblige, and invited Pauline to come along as well.

Soon, at around one o'clock in the afternoon, the five of them were gliding down the trail through a wooded area, shaded by the bright winter sun, all of them bundled warmly. Michel led a team of four horses; the Shires Phillipe and Antoinette, and the Arabians Remy and Raoul. Belle and Adam snuggled together in the lower back seat, privately, as the young couple and Chip in the front drivers' bench were talking and laughing loudly.

"Adam, I really loved dancing with you today. It was the best part of my Christmas so far," Belle said lovingly. "I have been having...strange dreams lately. Of dancing with you, and playing in the snow with you, and-"

"I don't see why that is strange, Belle."

"It is strange, because...in my dreams, you are...well, the Beast."

"The Beast?" whispered Adam, incredulously. "Don't tell me you miss that. I mean, him. I mean, me. That is beyond strange."

"I know, but I can't help it," Belle said sadly, and more than a little embarrassed. "I miss Beast sometimes. It has been almost two years since I saw... I know it is you, but I...oh, just forget it. Please don't be angry."

"I'm not angry, Belle. It is just impossible to imagine, that's all. You really, truly loved a Beast."

"Yes, Adam. I love you."

"I love you too, Belle," Adam said softly, snuggling his face into her white fur-caped shoulder. "I suppose I can get a big fur hat made with horns on it, and wear it around you every day," he quipped. "Grrrrrr!" he growled playfully into her ear. "When we do have a child someday, would you like a boy Beast, or a girl Beast?"

"Oh, Adam, you know that won't happen. I hope for a healthy human child. Someday."

She laughed softly, and turned to kiss him as the carriage crossed the hilly fields, coming closer to the village of Molyneux, where the bells of St. Lucien's Church were tolling for Christmas Day.