paixaorpg | The Return of Mrs. Potts [Completed]

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The Return of Mrs. Potts [Completed]

Character(s): Belle, Beast, Mrs. Potts, Lumiere and Cogsworth if they want
Content: Belle returns Mrs. Potts to a panicked, upset Beast
Setting: Iriela Apartments
Time: Early evening, so totally backlogged
Warnings: None.

Walking up the warped, aged steps that had grown as familiar to her as the back of her own hand, Belle repressed a sigh. She carried Mrs. Potts' delicate porcelain form in her hands with gentle respect as she made her way down the hall to Beast's apartment. She had expected him to be worried and perhaps a little upset, but the journal post she had listened to on the way home was more than just a little upset. He was absolutely raging. Even from the opposite end of the hall, she could hear Beast's continued tantrum.

She winced as she heard something crash and glanced down at Mrs. Potts. To say she wasn't afraid would be a lie, but she had to believe in Beast's ability to control himself. She sucked in her breath and made the short journey to his door.

Belle knocked. "Beast?" she called, pleased that her voice didn't waver the way her knees currently were under her skirt.

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Mrs. Potts had known the Master would be in a towering temper and so the shouts weren't anything beyond what she'd expected. Still, she let out a little sigh and glanced encouragingly up at Belle.

"It'll be all right, dear."

Hopefully, this would end better than she could hope for.

"Who is it?" Beast called out in a growl. He'd been pacing back and forth across the room, and luckily most of the furniture had been spared his wrath. One chair, however, was in shambles. Its cushioning was ripped to shreds and piles of the stuffing laid everywhere on the floor, torn pieces of fabric had been thrown about, and the wooden body was splintered into about a dozen pieces. From just the one item's destruction, the whole place looked like a wreck again.

It wasn't nearly as bad as his room in the West Wing had been. No...it wasn't even close. He was controlling himself much better now...

But then...this was the main room of the apartment. His bedroom, where the rose was right now, was quickly closed off as Beast slammed the door, nearly jarring the frame from the walls. It would stay shut as long as there was someone here to see it. He...didn't want them to see it.

Edited 2010-12-25 14:16 (UTC)

Thankfully it had only been a chair that had suffered from Beast’s frustration. Though, Lumiere would have greatly preferred it had been nothing at all he was not about to pick or choose. He knew better than to say anything, only sharing a look of disappointment before he continued to try and calm the beast. He had remained in Beast’s bedroom, protecting the rose in fear that he may have taken his anger out on it. And though it seemed unlikely, who knew? When the prince grew angry, sometimes, he simply could not control himself…

A knock at the door, followed by a soft voice interrupted his thoughts. Lumiere recognized the voice immediately and began to hop toward the door hurriedly. It was the girl, she had returned! Perhaps not at the greatest of times but maybe she could help calm Beast down. “Master,” He began as he breathlessly followed after him. “You must remember to be calm, gentle, and most of all: you must control your-“ Suddenly Lumiere found himself met with the bedroom door slammed rather violently before him, preventing him from following the Beast. He stared at it, needing a moment to comprehend what had just occurred before he uttered the last of his sentence. “… temper.”

The candelabra sighed, knowing there was no way possible for him to open the door himself. Still, that did not prevent him from hearing what went on inside the other room. As long as Belle was there, he knew he could not afford to miss out on what occurred between the pair. He pressed his waxy head against the door and listened carefully.

Belle winced and bit her bottom lip at the growl and the slam of the door that followed. "It's Belle," she replied hesitantly. "May I come in?" She looked down at Mrs. Potts, not quite wanting to mention who she had with her just yet. She steeled her shoulders and lifted her chin, readying herself for whatever happened next.

Mrs. Potts also winced at the loud yell. She had really hoped her absence wouldn't upset the Master this much, but it seemed he'd either been really worried or was just angry that she'd been taken from him.

Giving Belle's side the closest she could to a comforting hug (really, it was no more than her just leaning against the woman), she settled in to wait.

Beast yanked open the door violently, planning to yell more the instant he could. But when he saw Belle's defiant expression, he stopped.

Quickly, he turned away, and a gruff "come in" was all he said, in place of the expected tantrum. He couldn't bring himself to yell at her anymore. Not even now that he wanted to.

As Beast turned away, Belle sighed silently in relief. He was clearly not happy but he hadn't immediately screamed at her...that was progress. She gave an encouraging smile to Mrs. Potts as she entered and shut the door behind her. "I found Mrs. Potts at a nearby tea shop," she began to explain, gently setting said teapot on the closest surface.

Mrs. Potts remained silent for the moment, though she took a little pride in the fact that the Master hadn't yelled at Belle once he'd discovered it was she who stood behind the door. Now all that was left was making sure everything else went smoothly. After all, he could still lose his temper after she explained what had happened.

The door slammed shut far more forcefully than was necessary. Beast looked down at his servant.

"Why didn't you tell me where you were going?!" The shout wasn't as loud as it could have been, and it was probably far softer than Mrs. Potts would have been expecting. But then...Beast himself was almost surprised he wasn't raising his voice further.

Without really thinking about it, Belle found herself moving in front of Mrs. Potts protectively. "It was a misunderstanding," she said quickly, hands held out in a placating gesture. "A kind gentleman named Iroh thought she was a normal teapot and took her back to his shop."

Unacquainted with Mrs. Potts, she had no idea that her attempt to shield her from her Master's wrath was very likely unnecessary...

Edited 2010-12-28 00:56 (UTC)

Mrs. Potts hopped around Belle at Beast's thundering question. It definitely wasn't nearly as loud as she'd expected, but she wasn't dumb enough to think his temper couldn't get the most of him later on. Still, she knew how to keep him in line when she needed to and to run and hide when necessary.

"Oh, it's all right, dear," she told Belle, smiling kindly before frowning and turning to her Master. If she could have placed her hands on her hips, she would have.

"If I'd been able to, I would have," she told him pointedly. "Using the journals is a little harder for someone like me. The kind sir thought I was one of his. He treated me quite well while I was gone. I owe him quite a bit."

Beast responded to both of them with nothing more than a grunt, and then a growl. He didn't face either of them, but instead his gaze fell on the shambles of the chair he'd destroyed. He sighed.

"You could have told me you were leaving."

As Mrs. Potts chimed in, Belle moved aside, hands clasped over her thighs as she stood in quiet concern. The dynamic between Beast and his servant was not at all what she'd expected. It was almost as if she were his mother, patient but firm. His petulant response only seemed to enhance the feeling of family. She glanced between them, unsure of her place in this discussion but not ready to leave them alone.

Not looking at her wasn't good enough for Mrs. Potts. She hopped off the table and down onto the floor, moving so she could see him. The teapot didn't look too upset by this point. She was more worried about what other poor pieces of furniture might have reached their demise by his anger.

"And I would have had I known I was going," she answered, peering up at him. "I am sorry, sir. I came back as soon as I could. Iroh and Belle kept me as well as possible. Now I'm back, so everything's all right."

Beast whipped around and got right in her face. "You never told me you left to start with! Did you think you could just walk out and I wouldn't notice?!"

He was on all fours, face scrunched up in frustration.

The teapot winced at that. He had a point. "I'm sorry, Master. I should have told you, indeed, but I hadn't intended to go very far."

It wasn't that she thought he wouldn't notice. It was just that she'd wanted to look around outside for an hour or so. And then one thing led to another and she'd found herself elsewhere.

"I was--" Beast stopped mid-sentence and started pacing back and forth, still on all fours, and grabbed at the ruff of his neck. "I was worried about you."

All kinds of things could have happened to her, and he'd already lost her once just by coming here. He refused to let anything happen to any of his servants again!

Mrs. Potts looked down. He'd been genuinely worried about her? If he'd said it in a different way, she might have questioned his words, but there was something in his tone. She believed him normally, but especially now.

"I never meant to cause you worry, sir," she told him honestly, looking like a cowed servant for once. "I won't let it happen again."

Next time, she'd tell him if she got a hankering to leave the apartment, even for a short time.

Beast huffed, and kept pacing. He looked down at Mrs. Potts again, and then quickly looked away when he saw her face. Then he remembered that Belle was here, and stood up, trying to make himself look more presentable.

"Thank you..." he said awkwardly, his voice lacking confidence as it often did when he spoke to her. "...For bringing her back to me."

When Beast turned towards her, he would have seen the open affection on her face, her lips curved into a warm and gentle smile. As Belle had been watching the exchange between servant and master, the dread and worry had faded, replaced by something else. He was awkward and moody and terribly temperamental...but it was becoming clear to her now that this was all he knew how to do. In his worry for Mrs. Potts, his anger was just a way for him to cope.

"You're welcome," she said softly, ducking her head a bit shyly. It would be too much right now to say she understood just how much Beast cared for Mrs. Potts. She cast a glance to the teapot in question, sharing a dimpled smile. "I was happy to help." This had not gone remotely how she had expected...and she was glad for it.

Edited 2010-12-29 18:05 (UTC)

Mrs. Potts ducked her head when the Master addressed Belle, wondering if she was going to receive another reprimand later on. She supposed she deserved it this time. He had a point. But, well, if not-

"Now, who would like a nice spot of tea?" she asked as she glanced up to them both, sharing the smile with Belle momentarily. They all could do with a little brightening up, after all.

Beast's tail twitched when Belle smiled, and he bit his lip. He was glad that she was looking down at Mrs. Potts instead of up at him, so she couldn't see how excited he was over something so simple. He tried keep the smile restrained, but he was happy just to have her approval.

"...Tea?" The smile quickly left when Mrs. Potts spoke, but then he figured out why she had made the offer. "Belle...would you like to?"

Edited 2010-12-31 02:09 (UTC)

"If it isn't too much trouble...I'd be happy to," she replied, her shy smile breaking into a grin. She stepped closer to them both, hands behind her back. With Mrs. Potts here, Belle secretly hoped to see more of the vulnerable, almost child-like side of Beast she had caught a glimpse of earlier. At this point, she knew better than to ask him about his past point-blank, but...with any luck, the conversation between them would allow her to see what she couldn't previously.

"Of course not, my dear," Mrs. Potts answered with her normal cheerful nature quickly returning. She hopped off the table and quickly moved towards the kitchen. Hopefully this would let them talk a little to themselves while she got the tea all nice and hot.

"I'll call you when it's ready. If we were back in the castle, I'd be able to bring it to you, but I'm afraid I can't here."

Hopefully that wouldn't be a deal breaker. And maybe even the Master would be willing to bring the teacups to Belle. That would rack up the good points, wouldn't it?

Well...this was not what Beast had been expecting to happen. He stared blankly at Mrs. Potts as she hopped off into the kitchen. He almost made to follow her, but stopped. Belle was here, he couldn't leave her alone.

His tail flicked behind him nervously as he turned to face Belle. "Would you...like to sit down?" He wasn't even sure that was the right thing to ask, so the question came out sounding very funny.

"Sure," she responded, glancing around for a suitable place to sit. Her eyes rested upon the destroyed chair for a moment before she turned away. "Do you like tea?" Belle asked lightly, finding a whole chair to sit on. "The tea shop we came from has so many varieties! Maybe I can find you something you'd really love."

Mrs. Potts was just in the kitchen making tea, but she kept an ear out for what they were talking about. It wouldn't take long for her to work up her tea and get it ready. It was times like this that she really could have used her arms and hands again. Softly, she gave a wistful sort of sigh.

Belle was asking him about tea? Beast wasn't sure what kinds of things he was supposed to say, so he just...went with what he could think of. She had just asked him a simple question, so he should just answer her, right?

"...Yes," he answered after a pause. "Maybe...you could take me there. Sometime."

Belle nodded, leaning forward with a happy grin. "That would be wonderful! I think you'd like Iroh...he's very nice." She looked to the side, wistful affection in her expression as she spoke of the man she had met at the tea shop. "Very gentlemanly. He treated both myself and Mrs. Potts extremely well, so please don't worry." A thought suddenly occurred to her and she turned back to Beast.

"Oh! Mrs. Potts mentioned she'd like to visit there again as well. She could come with us!"

Mrs. Potts certainly would love an excuse to go visit Iroh again. Maybe she could enlist his help with Belle and the Master.

"Oh! The tea is ready, Master!"

She glanced around, looking for tea cups and again wished she had hands or at least a few other dishes that could move with her. Or just her children. Having them around would make everything seem better.

Whenever her master made it into the kitchen, she'd tell him she needed tea cups and couldn't quite grab them herself. But, the good news was that the tea was nice and warm. It was a start!

Iroh? "I've...met him before." It had been a very long time since that day in the rain. That old man had been one of few to look past both Beast's appearance and demeanor, though it was hard to say what Iroh had really thought of him. All he remembered was that he reminded the retired general of his nephew...

Beast stood when Mrs. Potts called, which didn't give Belle much of a chance to respond to him as he went into the kitchen. He motioned for Belle to follow, he didn't want her to feel left alone while she was his guest. There was no one here to entertain her.

"Oh...!" Belle quickly followed, hesitantly poking her head in after Beast entered. "Are you alright, Mrs. Potts?" She hadn't even considered that the enchanted servant would have difficulty managing the tea by herself. She had seemed so self-sufficient and reliable when managing Beast that her physical limitations were forgotten.

"Fine, dear!" Mrs. Potts called in response, smiling up at them as they entered. "I could use a couple of teacups."

Which was a not-so-subtle hint that she couldn't exactly pick them up, even if she could still pour the tea herself. She did as much as she could by herself, as she was used to back at the castle, but the lack of the little extra things made her miss her home more than ever, even if she didn't let it show on her face.

Beast looked over to Belle, then down at Mrs. Potts. He rubbed at the ruff of his neck.

He...didn't know where the teacups were. He hadn't ever really used his kitchen, and until Mrs. Potts had arrived, he hadn't even had teacups. He tried to hide his embarrassment by gesturing toward the cupboards to Belle, making it look like he was inviting her to get them herself, and feel more at home.

He attempted a smile to match, but he seemed far more flustered than flourishing.

Belle was quickly moving to find the teacups even before Beast gestured towards her. As it was, she didn't even notice his attempt to cover up his lack of knowledge regarding this domestic activity. She opened the cupboards and found a set of plain white tea cups, clearly well-used but clean. She took them out and placed them carefully before Mrs. Potts with a smile.

"Here you are...I'm sorry I didn't realize you'd need help or I would have volunteered earlier."

Mrs. Potts merely smiled at the both of them and quickly bounced over to pour tea into the cups. She'd noticed her master's hesitation and made a note to get better acquainted with the kitchen later on.

"It's quite all right, dear," she told Belle, nudging the teacups closer to them. "Here you are. Drink up before it gets cold!"

She peered up at the both of them, smiling warmly with how well everything was going. If the two of them decided to move back into the other room, she'd likely remain behind just to give them a little time to themselves. It couldn't hurt, right?

Beast's paw shook as he nervously reached to take one of the cups, and the steaming hot tea spilled a few drops. His fur was thick enough that he didn't really feel it as it splashed his hand, but he grabbed the cup with his other paw to keep it more steady nonetheless. He was holding it all wrong though--beyond the simple fact his hands and fingers were just far too big for the teacup to start with. And when he drank, he slurped at it loudly, making an awful noise, one that he didn't even notice.

Watching Beast attempt to maneuver the tea cup like a normal person was almost painful. Belle winced and looked away as the hot tea splashed on his paw, lifting her own cup to her lips to hide her reaction. He was, of course, trying his best. The best course of action was to pretend she didn't see anything, to spare his dignity and pride. She quickly looked down to Mrs. Potts.

"Thank you for the tea...it's delicious."

Mrs. Potts winced a little and tried to catch her master's eye so he would slow down and be a little quieter about it while still trying to keep Belle from noticing. Though, knowing the girl, she probably had noticed and was trying not to show it.

The teapot sighed to herself and made a note to work on this with Lumiere later on. "It's no trouble at all, my dear. We'd love to have you over again."

Pointed look: Beast was now getting one.

It took Beast a few more slurps before he noticed Mrs. Potts out of the corner of his eye. When he did, he abruptly stopped, and his cheeks flushed under his fur. The blush wasn't visible of course, but it embarrassed him further nonetheless. He didn't notice Belle at all.

Moments passed awkwardly for him before he put the teacup back to his lips. He took more care in not making that terribly loud noise, but wasn't entirely successful at first. His tusks and fangs were making it very difficult.

Belle caught the pointed look between servant and master and bit her bottom lip. She paused for a moment, looking down at her own tea cup in thought...then brought it to her lips, slurping the rest of the tea. Loudly.

Setting down the cup as if nothing was amiss, she smiled at Beast. "Thank you for inviting me in, but I should head back. I'm relieved Mrs. Potts is safe and sound." She glanced at the tea pot. "I hope we'll visit General Iroh again soon!"

Resting her hand gently on Beast's forearm, her expression soft, Belle looked into his eyes. "Please, come visit me anytime." With that, she turned and made her way out of the kitchen, pausing once to curtsy in farewell once before leaving entirely.

"Thank you for returning me!" Mrs. Potts called, once she noticed that Belle was leaving. She smiled first at the girl and then turned to her master with a brilliant one. He'd done so well once he got the idea to be quieter with his sipping. A great deal of pride was welling up inside her. He was making steps!

"That was very nicely done, sir!" she told Beast, still beaming. "I think you've made a very good impression on her already!"

One step closer to breaking the spell!

Beast nearly reached for Belle as she left. He wished she could stay with him, and that she didn't have to go anywhere. Her touch on his forearm was the first time she'd ever done something like that, and it felt...so...wonderful. He couldn't think of any other way to describe it.

He looked down at Mrs. Potts and her cheerful smile. "You...think so?"

"I do indeed, sir!" Mrs. Potts answered, bouncing once so that her lid shot upwards and fell down with a pop that echoed her excitement. "She spoke very highly of you at the tea shop. I think she wouldn't mind another visit in a few days' time."

Despite himself, Beast found he was smiling.

"I'm...sorry I was angry...before." He rubbed at the ruff of his neck. "When...you came in with her."

That smile made up for everything. Mrs. Potts found herself beaming in reply. This was definitely putting a happy spin on recent events. "It's quite all right. I'm sorry I worried you." It wouldn't happen again. She looked up at him with a proud mother's smile. This was just as good as Chip's first words or when he'd learned to hop around by himself and she knew her master would learn to be the kind of person he needed to be to break the spell. It would all take time. Just time.

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The Return of Mrs. Potts [Completed]

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