TMatB: Chapter 2

--Chapter 2: Out There--

Will and Claire made it into the stables easily, as no one was around at the moment, but trying to get back into the castle once their horses were taken care of was another matter. The castle was littered with many back doors and entrances, so getting in wasn’t a problem. But none of them were exactly secret passages, and in a castle full of servants and guards there was almost always someone close to one of these entrances. They knew that if anyone like Cogsworth  or Mrs. Potts happened to spot them coming in through one of these entrances their gooses would be cooked.
Carefully, Claire pushed open a small wooden door which stood just a few feet away from the stable. A logical first choice. She gently pushed it open a crack, wincing at the soft creak which to her sounded like a crack of thunder, and peaked inside. She was disappointed to see two guards chatting away with one of the maids who was supposed to be cleaning. If not for the circumstances under which she’d seen the girl, Claire would certainly have reported her to her mother, the chief maid.
Claire closed the door gently and turned to Will, nodding toward another door to her left. Together they quietly crept over to the door, which was slightly smaller than the first, and Claire cautiously opened it a crack. She sighed in relief when she saw no one there, and signaled for Will to follow her in.
“Thank goodness that’s over,” she sighed.
Will shut the door behind him and they walked into the hallway together. “You worry too much,” he told her.
“And you worry too little,” Claire shot back. “Can you imagine what it would have been like if someone had seen us come in? Like Mrs. Potts, or Cogsworth, or your mom or…”
Suddenly, they each felt a hand on their shoulders. Turning around, they saw a man tall with hair that was similar in shade to Claire’s. He smiled at them and greeted in a French accent, “allo.”
Claire gave a sheepish grin and waved over her shoulder. “Hello, Daddy,” she said.
“And just what would you two be doing here, eh?” Lumiere asked.
Claire tried to think of an excuse, but after a moment she just sighed in defeat. “We’re busted, aren’t we?” Lumiere simply nodded in reply.
---
Lumiere led Will and Claire to the library, where Belle, Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts were waiting. From the look on Belle’s face, she had already figured out where Will had been.
“Just what were you two doing?” Belle demanded.
“I’m so sorry, Ma’am,” Claire replied, bowing her head respectfully. “When I couldn’t find Will I knew he had to be in the village, but…”
“But you should have told us, Claire. But I’m not angry at you.” Claire sighed in relief and Belle turned to Will. “But I am upset with you. Why do you keep doing this?”
“What’s the big deal?” Will asked. “I’m nineteen. I can go where I want.”
“That may be so, but what upsets me is that you sneak out. It’s deceitful and dishonest, Will.”
“Oh, well if I asked would you be okay with me going to the village? Or anywhere, for that matter?”
Belle was about to answer, but found she had nothing to say. With a sigh she turned to the others. “Would you all please give me a moment with Will?” Cogsworth, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts and Claire all nodded and filed out of the library. When they were alone, Belle sat down in a chair and put her hand over her eyes. “Will…” she sighed, “why do you always sneak out? What is it about being here that you hate so much?”
Will rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
Will sighed and turned to look out a nearby window. “Do you ever feel… like you want something else? Something other than what you have now?”
Belle’s face softened into a smile, glad Will was opening up to her. “I used to,” she answered. “In fact, I used to feel that a lot. But that was before I met your father.”
Will frowned at the mention of his father. “Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that story before, you met Dad, fell in love, broke the spell, yadda-yadda. Not like turning human made him any better.”
“Will, what are you talking about? Your father is a wonderful man.”
“Not like I’d know that… He’s never even here!”
“Will… He’s very busy. He’ll be home soon.”
“Yeah, then you two are going go see your friends, then I bet he’ll have to leave again.” Will scoffed. “But hey, I’m not a kid, anymore. It doesn’t really bother me.”
“Well something does.” Belle stood up. “So what is it?”
Will just shook his head and turned to walk away. “Nothing. Never mind.”
Belle called after him, but Will ignored her and left the room. She sighed again and sat back down, placing her head in her hands. “What am I going to do with him…?”
---
A few hours passed, but Belle didn’t see Will again. When he didn’t come down for dinner, she had Cogsworth remind him to come down, but he declined, preferring to stay in his room in the east wing. Belle tried to talk to him again before she went to bed, but he wouldn’t open his door. She sighed, but as this hadn’t been the first time he’d locked himself in his room she simply told him goodnight through the door and went to bed.
A little later, Claire--unable to sleep--quietly snuck out of her room with the intent to check up on Will. Something told her that he wouldn’t be asleep, either. She silently crept over to her parent’s door which was right down the hall from hers and cautiously held an ear to the door. Hearing the expected giggling--and shuddering slightly--she decided it was safe and headed to Will’s room.
At his door, Claire gave a soft, gently knock, so as not to awaken anyone. Getting no reply, she slowly opened the door and peaked in to see Will sitting on the edge of his bed, facing the large window which let in the bright light of the almost full moon. Seeing that he wasn’t asleep, Claire stepped inside and carefully closed the door behind her.
Will, hearing her come in, turned to face her. “Isn’t it a little late to be wandering through the castle?” he asked.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Claire explained. “Apparently, neither could you. What are you doing, anyway? And… why aren’t you even dressed for bed, yet?”
Will, who was now wearing a light purple shirt, stood and turned to her, and she finally saw that he was packing his bag. He put on a purple cloak and lifted the hood before taking the bag in his hand. “I’m not going to sleep,” he told her. “I’m leaving.”
“Leaving?” Claire asked. “Where? You’re not going to sneak to the village in the middle of the night, are you?”
“No. I don’t know where I’m going, but I am leaving. Tonight.”
“Will, you’re being stupid! Why are you leaving?”
Will turned away. “You wouldn’t get it.”
Claire put her hands on her hips. “Oh no? Tell me anyway.”
Will sighed and put the hood of his cloak down again. He turned to her and sat back down, gesturing for her to sit as well, which she did. “All my life, who have you seen me as?” he asked.
Claire looked confused a moment. “You’ve always been Will. My best friend who does stupid things and gets us both in trouble.”
“What else?”
“What else? What do you mean what else?”
Will sighed again and looked down at the floor. “Exactly. Everyone knows me as Prince William, or Adam’s heir, or just Will. But I don’t want to be any of those things. I don’t want to be just Will, I don’t want to be a prince… and I certainly don’t want to be his heir.”
Claire stared at him a moment. His intense blue eyes seemed to glow in the bright moonlight. “What do you want to be, then?”
Will turned to her and opened his mouth to answer… but found he had none. “I don’t know…” he finally answered. “I only know I won’t find out here. I have to go find out, somewhere away from this castle, away from my title…”
Claire frowned, as if hurt. “Away from me?”
Will looked at her, surprised, and shook his head. “Claire, you’re my best friend. You always have been. But this is something I have to do.”
Claire looked at him, and a sigh escaped her. “Maybe. But I’m not letting you just sneak out in the dead of night.” She stood up and looked down at him, putting her hands on her hips again. “You are going to go to bed, and tomorrow you’re going to talk to your mother. And I mean really talk to her.”
“Claire, Mom’s not going to listen to anything I have to say.” Claire put a finger over his lips to silence him.
“Stop judging people beforehand, Will,” she ordered. “She’s your mother. She’ll listen. Now as my friend, promise me you won’t sneak out.”
“But…”
“Promise!”
Will rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. “Alright,” he said at last, “I promise.” Claire continued to glare at him, staring him straight in the eye. “I said I promise, okay? I won’t go.”
Claire finally stopped glaring and nodded. “Good. I’ll be watching you though, monsieur. And don’t forget it. Now, goodnight, Will.”
“Goodnight, Claire.”
Claire gave on last nod and quietly left, returning to her own room. When Will was sure she had gone, he sighed again and put his hood back up, picking up the bag and heading to the window where he had already tied a rope he’d “borrowed” and began climbing down. Once he had reached the ground he carefully snuck through the gate and headed down the path, giving one last look back towards the castle.
“Sorry, Claire,” he whispered, and he continued on his way.
The next day Claire awoke early and got dressed to go to breakfast. She intended to eat with her parents, as always, but on her way she happened to pass by Will’s door and she remembered the events of the past night.
Deciding it would be best to check on him, she knocked on the door but got no response. “Will?” she called as she opened the door. But to her horror there was no one in the room, and the window was left wide open. She rushed over and saw the rope still dangling all the way to the ground.
“He didn’t…” she gasped. “He wouldn’t…!”
“He wouldn’t what?” Claire screamed in shock and turned around fast to see Belle, standing with her arms folded, looking intently at her. “Where is Will, Claire?” she asked point-blank.
---
Meanwhile, in the woods between the castle and the village, Celeste sat by the bank of a river, fishing pole in hand, waiting to catch something. Fishing wasn’t quite as fun for her as hunting, but so far she hadn’t managed to bag a single rabbit or pheasant. It was unusual for her, but she knew what was wrong. She was too distracted.
“How dare that royal brat reject me?” she asked herself. “Me! There isn’t a man within a hundred miles of here who wouldn’t give his right arm for me!” She looked down at the flowing water and admired her reflection. “I mean, after all, with a face like mine, I could have any man I want.” She smiled, but the smile quickly turned to a frown. “So why does one stuck up prince infuriate me so!?” With a growl, Celeste threw the nearest rock she could find into the water.
She sighed and leaned back, closing her eyes. But then, she heard an odd splashing noise. She stood up quickly and looked into the river to see the water bubbling and splashing. “What’s going on…?” she asked. Suddenly, the water erupted into a geyser, and Celeste put her hands over her head to protect herself.
Finally the water calmed, but to Celeste’s surprise, she now saw someone standing in the water before her. He looked like a young man in his mid-twenties (and not that bad looking, by human standards)… but his hair was white, and seemed to stand on end, and his skin was light blue. He wore a chest plate made of some kind of black metal, and--strangest of all--he appeared to have six black octopus tentacles instead of legs.
Celeste backed away in fear, about to scream, when suddenly on of the tentacles covered her mouth, silencing her.
“Let’s not go making a big fuss,” the strange octopus man said to her. “I’m gonna let go of your mouth now, so do you promise not to scream?”
Celeste nodded and the tentacle moved away from her mouth. Wiping off her lips, Celeste stared in amazement at the creature before her. He smiled back at her, revealing his slightly sharp teeth. “Who… or what are you?” she asked.
The man bowed politely. “I am Caliban,” he answered, “Sea-wizard extraordinaire.”
Celeste looked confused. “Sea-wizard?”
Caliban nodded. “That’s right. A wizard from the sea. You’ve heard of mer-people, haven’t you?”
Celeste thought for a moment. “Yeah… but don’t they usually live… in the sea instead of rivers? And I never heard of mer-people with octopus legs.”
Caliban sighed. “Yeah, my kind tends to get left out a lot. And you are?”
“Um, C-Celeste…”
“Ah, lovely name. I wonder if you could help me? I’m looking for the castle where a beast lives. Would you happen to know where it is?”
“Beast…?” Celeste thought for another minute. Oddly enough, her fear was beginning to subside. “I remember hearing old stories about Prince Adam having had a spell on him that made him a beast.”
“That would be him,” said Caliban. “See, I’m working on something… big. And I need a little muscle. I figured a beast might just do the trick.”
“Something big?” Celeste asked, sounding interested now. “Like what?”
Caliban just grinned. “Let’s just say… I have an old score to settle with a friend of the family.”