It had happened before, more than once. Beast would stay locked in his room, refusing company and food, for days at a time, until finally he would become so ill that he had no choice but to allow his servants to tend to him and nurse him back to health. The memory left a sour taste in his mouth.

He growled again. "What if everything ends up the same? What if I lose you or Mrs. Potts? How is that going to help me?" The questions, while demanding, spoke volumes of how Beast had changed in these long months spent outside his castle. His realization of that showed. He hadn't thought about it until now, but...if he were still in the castle, and something like this had happened, he would still be refusing Lumiere's company. Not only that, but he would be screaming in rage.

"What would you have me do?" he asked more softly.