FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"A Beastly Night"

A cold draft shot through the dark halls of the castle as the night let in a frozen breath of air. It banged the shutters, ruffled through the drapes that had long since been turned to tatters, sending them scuffling across the unpolished, barely kept floors leading into the foyer. The wind was strong enough to make the fire in the fireplace dance wildly as a desolate wind howled through it, threatening to blow the light out.

The Beast sat deep in between the arms of his favorite chair, staring into the fire which reflected off his deep blue eyes. The cold didn't affect him, he barely felt it through the thick layer of brown fur that covered his body, but he still felt the urge to curl the cape he wore around himself as he sat there. A clock's tick in the distance alerted his attention, he'd had little to do but stare into the fire and wait for the next day, and then the next. As a prince, he had whatever his heart desired in a moment's notice, but to meet the demands of the Enchantress' curse... he'd begun to lose hope of ever finding someone to love. His loins on the other hand; they had other needs that did not resort to minor details. He hadn't been with anyone in years, and the aches of a beast's passions were far stronger than he'd anticipated. The clock's ticking continued to distract him though, and he let out a long, rolling sigh.

"Cogsworth. Is there a purpose for disturbing me?" He asked, trying to remain calm. To his annoyance, there was no response, but the ticking continued. Beast clutched the arms of his chair, his claws making a rather loud ripping noise as they raked across the fabric. "...Cogsworth..." He said again. Still, the ticking continued. Finally, as though the flash of lightning through the window were a cue, Beast roared and threw himself around. "WHAT IS IT?!" He snarled in the most feral, booming voice he could possibly have imagined.

It was a clock, a normal clock placed on a shelf a few yards behind him, in his lunge Beast had managed to land face-to-face with it and saw only his reflection in its cover over the hands. Thunder followed immediately, then another flash of lightning that illuminated his expression across the clock's front. In irritation, Beast slammed a massive fist down upon the clock, shattering it effortlessly.

"M-Master?" The familiar voice of Lumiere asked from the doorway.

Beast turned toward the candelabra and glared. The icy cold stare caused the candlesticks on Lumiere's hands to dim somewhat. "What?" The beast snorted at him.

"Ju-just coming to check on you, monsieur." He said nervously. "You seem... distracted."

"It is not your place to tell me how I feel, servant." Beast said as he turned back around and headed for his chair again. "Have you found anything?"

"Erm... possibly. As you know, even finding a servant familiar enough with the magics that transformed us has been particularly difficult." He said. "Once we found Madame Chrystal, she was very hesitant to touch the magic she deemed too pure to risk touching."

"So you have nothing." Beast said sternly. "Worthless..." He added under his breath. "What am I going to do? Remain a beast forever? Stay in this castle for an eternity with... with YOU? Mrs. Potts? I had dreams once, dreams ruined by that damned Enchantress!"

Raising his arms in rage, he brought them down on the nearest object, literally causing the armchair he'd been using to fold into a pile of debris. Finishing it off, he slashed into the fibers of its seat and spread it apart like splitting the legs off a goose. Lumiere simply cringed at the raging prince as he hurled half the chair into the fireplace and the other half across the room. Grabbing the wood of the mantle above the fireplace, he roared as he ripped it from the wall. Several bricks fell from the chimney, suddenly spilling black smoke into the room and obscuring everything from sight as several servants came running into the room, and were immediately engulfed in the smoke.

"My word, what's goin' on now?!" Mrs. Potts' familiar voice called out in the midst of a coughing fit.

"Ahh. I'm afraid the master has lost his temper again..." Lumiere sighed.

"Well, that's simply perfect." Cogsworth complained, wiping the soot from his face and spitting out the smoke and debris wandering into his breath. "It is going to take ages to clean this mess. What set him off this time?"

"Madame Chrystal." The candle replied. "Has there been any progress?"

"Why, yes! Yes there has."

Beast coughed himself as he moved through the billowing soot and dusted his fur as he came into view, seemingly calmed down. "She has?" He asked.

"Yes. That's why we were headed up to see you, and then we heard that awful crash."

"Oh... erm..." Beast glanced guiltily over his shoulder at the mess littered through the room, including his favorite chair which had been burned and torn apart.

"We'll fix that up later." She said calmly. "Come now, master. She awaits your audience."

"My audience? I am the prince, she should come to--" A stern look from her made him close his mouth. "Fine." He said grudgingly.

The walk through the castle was illuminated only by Lumiere and the lone strike or two of lightning, accompanied by a crack of thunder. The others had gone on to perform their own nightly duties, but Lumiere and Mrs. Potts had come along while Cogsworth trailed behind, still coughing soot from his gears. They'd reached the door to the cellar and they headed down together. Lumiere hopping into Beast's paw to guide them downward. They'd entered into the sanctum of Madame Chrystal; an old woman from a traveling tribe that had been visiting the castle on the day of the Enchantress' arrival. She'd had nothing to do with it, but was cursed the same as everyone else. She'd taken the place of her own crystal ball, her face shimmering barely distinguishable within the center of the orb.

"Ah, Prince Adam." She said with a smile. "It is an honor to have you visiting my station."

Chrystal's body was worn and cracked from years of rolling around and living with the servants as a guest, but some time ago, a long crack had split her once-crystal face as it encircled her body. The realization of her fragile nature forced her to request a place where she would be safe. Beast's magic mirror, the rose, everything enchanted had been placed at the podium around her and the thought of these valuables being so vulnerable immediately made Beast nervous.

"Madame Chrystal." He said, trying to sound calm and restrained. "I've received word you may have a solution to this problem."

"Problem?" She said facetiously. "I see no problem here. There must be some mistake."

Beast snorted indignantly as Lumiere waved his sticks and made a slicing motion across the thin holder at his neck. Mrs. Potts stepped in. "I beg your pardon, Madame. But I'm afraid the master is not in the mood for sarcasm, please tell him what you've told us."

"Alright, alright. You don't gotta shine my ball." She said, rolling her eyes. "Prince, I believe I may have a solution for you, an incantation that will bring forth what you truly desire; a companion that may even reverse this curse upon us."

"Well let's do it!" Lumiere exclaimed excitedly. "I would love to meet this cherie! She would be my savior, all of our saviors if the master would allow her."

"Silence!" Chrystal's voice echoed through the chamber loudly, stopping the premature celebration between the three objects. "There is a cost however." She said. "In order to produce what you want, your highness, the curse will take on a different shape."

"What do you mean?"

"Part of the curse is that we; your servants and guests, cannot reveal the nature of the curse to any outsider. Once the summon is inacted, we will be forced not to hurry the natural flow. It will turn all of us inanimate."

"What?" Potts gasped. "Even Chip?"

"Everyone." She said. "The prince's guise will remain, and if it is done incorrectly, it could kill the enchanted rose and we would forever be inanimate. If the curse is lifted, or the girl returns through the mirror before sunrise, we will return to life."

"Either as objects or as ourselves..." Cogsworth paused on this. "I would say the chance is worth it to be human again!"

"I agree. Cast your spell, Madame." Beast said. "If she comes, she will meet Prince Adam and not the Beast."

"Light to light, star to star,

Bring forth a being from afar..."

As she chanted, the table under Chrystal began to shimmer green and shake, the mirror responding with shocks of lightning emerging from its glass as wind began to howl through the entire castle, it suddenly grew brighter and brighter.

"Heart's desire ring true, a way to lift the curse anew,

Use the power of this enchantment;

And bring forth an opposing incantment!"

Suddenly there was an explosion of blue energy that penetrated the room like a lightning storm, a massive bubble that threw Beast backwards. He screamed as the blast pinned him against a wall and with another extremely loud crack, the bubble vanished and Beast fell to the floor.

All had fallen silent in the room as Adam opened his eyes, he looked at his massive clawed hand for a moment, barely shadowed against the light of Lumiere's candlestick. He grunted and sighed; it hadn't worked, everything was just the way that it was. "Lumiere... what happened?" He looked up and noticed that the candlestick was no longer moving on its own, Lumiere's expression gone from its brass neck. He got up and saw that Mrs. Potts and Cogsworth were also lifeless and that Madame Chrystal had broken in half, her shards lying next to the mirror which was still glowing.

Adam scooped the shards into his hands and frowned. "Oh, Madame... what have you done? What have I allowed to have done?"

The sound from the mirror began to grow, Adam looked at the object and a great flash of energy shot from its reflective surface, hitting the floor. In surprise, Adam quickly ducked out of the way to see a figure transform on the ground.

It was a man... Adam thought in confusion. Wasn't it? The massive body of something had formed, and it definitely was not female. His body was covered in bright blue fur, he wore a slim coat of white, like that of a doctor, though the sleeves had been torn off, revealing a massive pair of arms. His body was large and his face, almost catlike as he roused from his sleep, making Adam slink slowly into the shadows even further.

This new beast had taken a moment's pause to look around before extracting a pair of spectacles and placing them on his nose. "Oh... oh my!" He spoke as he looked around in confusion. "Where... where am I?" He asked. Turning toward Adam's location, he quickly ducked back. "Wait! Don't hide from me, please. Where am I?"

"You are in my castle." Adam responded, growling. "Why are you in my castle?"

The other beast turned to see the mirror on the table and picked it up, investigating that, he then turned his attention to the glass containing the rose, as he reached for it, Adam quickly bolted out and snatched it away, snarling protectively toward him. The blue one did not even flinch as he stared at Adam's face, and simply pressed the frame of his glasses up with one finger. "It would seem that you are the one who summoned me." He said before extending his hand. "Hank McCoy, at your service."