In a small, willowy cottage just outside of the Kingdom grounds, sat Belle, sitting in the most comfortable enchanted rocking chair that rocked by itself, and reading her favorite book for the fifteenth time. She had been in this cottage for weeks, though she had only meant to stay for the night. She was actually scared to go back to the castle with the beast, because he was not acting like himself. Their first few weeks had been magical, everything a girl could ever want. There were magnificent feasts, beautiful dresses, and their wedding had been the best experience of her life. After things settled down, though, Belle had started to feel lonely. The only other person at the castle besides her and the beast was her father, and he usually stayed at their house in town. So Belle had started to wander off and explore the palace some more, along with her friend Chip. One day when they were exploring, Chip had noticed a door that they had not noticed the day prior.
"Ooo! I'm gonna go in, and then unlock it, and then you come in, and then we can search it!" before Belle could protest, Chip had wiggled his little self in under the door. Belle stood there, waiting for the click of the lock to come, but it never did.
"Chip?" Belle asked nervously. She wiggled the handle, but it was still locked. "Chip!" she yelled louder, desperately shaking the handle and pounding on the door. Minutes passed and still nothing. Belle did not know what to do, because she did not want to tell the beast for fear of his reaction to her snooping around. She decided to wait for Chip to come out, if he ever did. A moment later, though, Belle heard a click. She scrambled for the handle and threw the door open. Inside was a dark windowless room, so she turned the light on quickly and frantically searched for Chip. He was in a heap just inside the door, looking terrified and twitching.
"Chip! Chip! What happened? Are you okay?" Belle asked, searching for more chips on his frail little body.
"Ju-Just look around," Chip said, shivering with fear. Belle slowly turned around, and at first did not know what she was seeing. Then it hit her. Shattered plates, burned and decayed wood, rusted candlesticks, broken clocks. Horrified, Belle turned around to block Chip from the view, but the damage was already done. "He's just go-going to throw us away!" Chip hiccupped, shaking and crying.
"No, I won't let that happen," Belle said reassuringly, "This is probably not what it looks like," But Belle knew it was exactly what it looked like.
Later that night, after Chip had gone back in the cupboard and Belle had warned him not to tell anyone about what they saw that day, Belle went back to the room. It was just as horrifying as before. Belle knew something wasn't right about the beast. He couldn't have been trapped in a beast's body for so long and just suddenly go back to normal, there had to be some side effects. These broken pots and candlesticks, though, seemed like they were years old and had been collecting dust for a long time now. Belle wondered why the beast had not gotten rid of this stuff as soon as he turned human again. With hesitation but determination, Belle decided that she would bring it up to the beast in the morning.
When morning came, Belle nervously put on her clothes to go have breakfast. Mrs. Wardrobe could tell that something was amiss, and started to say something, but Belle just waved her off and said she just had a slight headache. Downstairs, the beast was nowhere to be seen. Belle wanted to talk with him before she lost her nerve, so she asked around if anyone had seen him. Cogsworth and Lumiere both said they had not seen him since the day prior, so she went to Mrs. Potts.
"Bonjour, Mrs. Potts, have you seen the beast this morning?" Belle asked.
"Oh, hello love! Have I seen the beast, no, I don't think so, I've been busy with Chip, he seems to have gotten quite a cold, hasn't he?" Mrs. Potts said, shaking her head at the fact that her son was under the weather.
"Yes, I'm afraid he has," Belle replied, "But I am sure he will feel a hundred times better after you are through taking care of him."
"Oh, you are too kind, now, about that beast, check the gardens, I've noticed him walking about out there quite often lately," said Mrs. Potts.
"Thank you so much, give Chip my best," Belle replied as she went on her way to find the beast.
Belle began her search in the garden as Mrs. Potts had suggested. She decided to start among the rosebushes that she and the beast used to share a love for. When she rounded the corner to the rosebushes, however, what she saw nearly made her faint with fear. Every single bush was burned, uprooted, or destroyed. Pink and red petals scattered the walkway, and what looked like claw marks were scratched into the wall above where the bushes used to be. Horrified, Belle ran back into the castle to get her belongings. She knew that she was not safe there anymore, and needed to get away for a night to think about what to do. She left without telling anyone, for she did not want to put her friends in danger. Making sure to walk out as quietly as she could, and confirming that the beast was in the living room, Belle left the castle and ran to a cottage she had found one day while wandering around. She knew she would be safe there for a while because the beast never left his castle, even though the curse had been broken.
While thinking about all of the strange things that had happened in the past few weeks concerning the beast, Belle came to some shocking conclusions. Belle had started to doubt the beast which was causing him to sometimes turn into his beast form again. Those broken pots, clocks, and plates were all a result of the beast's uncontrollable temper tantrums during the curse. The door had appeared after hiding from sight with an invisibility enchantment because Belle needed to know the truth about the beast. He had not recovered from being the beast and as long as Belle could not trust him, he would continue to change form on and off again.
Weeks later, After being in the cottage for a while and thinking things over, Belle decided to look through the mirror the beast gave her when they first fell in love that shows whatever she desires to see. She had considered going back to save Chip and everybody else, but the castle was their home, and she had no place for all of them. Belle had also contacted her father, telling him that she would be on a long vacation and warning him not to go back to the castle; that she would inform him of her return. She looked through the mirror, wishing to see the beast back to normal and calm again, but what she saw confirmed her thoughts. He had completely turned back into the Beast, for she had discovered his true self, and did not love him anymore.
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