Disclaimer: see first chapter.

Chapter 15 A Change in Him

After a while, Marian and her father heard a small tapping noise. Suddenly, the cellar door slowly creaked open. Chip had somehow removed the stones and opened the door to let Marian and her father out. Without saying a word, Marian grabbed Chip, kissing him on the cheek as she helped her father out. They dashed for Achilles and Marian quickly retrieved her messenger bag from inside and jumped on. They hurried as quickly as they could for the mansion.

When they arrived at the mansion, Marian and her father were shocked to see the Beast lying helplessly on a balcony as Will was about to lower a broken griffin head onto the Beast as a beating stick. The Beast heard Achilles' whinny and opened his eyes slowly.

"Marian…" the Beast trailed off as he spoke in a frail voice.

"No! Will, please! Don't—" Marian cried out as Will almost struck the Beast. The moment Marian cried out, the Beast had stood up, regaining his strength and fighting Will face-to-face. "Let's hurry inside, Achilles," Marian murmured in his ear as Achilles charged for the doorway ahead. When they arrived inside, the castle was a mess. Bits and pieces of various furniture and books were scattered throughout the room. The enchanted objects were standing around it, talking excitedly about something.

Marian leaned down to let Chip out of the bag, letting him hop over to Mrs. Potts.

"Mama!" Chip called out as he reached her. Mrs. Potts' face was full of excitement.

"Oh, Marian! You should have been there! We fought off the trespassers and—" Madame started as Marian hurried past.

"I'm so sorry, Madame, but I really can't talk right now, I have to hurry," Marian apologized as she hurried up the staircase. She tried following her memory and soon found the West Wing, almost flying up; running the fastest her legs could carry her. She soon reached the balcony and saw the Beast holding Will out over the edge of the wall, then brought him back and lowered him down.

"Beast! Up here!" Marian called out. The Beast's reflexes were quick; he turned around to find Marian looking back at him.

"Marian," he said, full of hopefulness. All of his anger and spitefulness seemed to melt away from him. He climbed up the roof to her, reaching out his paw as he came closer. "Marian," the Beast said a second time, sounding almost unbelieving that she had come back. For him. Marian reached out her hand and felt the power of him as he wrapped his massive paw around it. He reached out his other hand to stroke Marian's hair as she felt it passionately. "You came back!" the Beast said in a hushed tone. Marian closed her eyes, wishing the moment could last forever. Suddenly, the Beast let out a scream of pain. Will was right behind him, having lowered a hunting knife into the Beast's back. Will was ready to lower a second one, but lost his balance in the process and fell to his watery death in a gorge off to the side of the castle. The Beast would have fallen as well, had Marian not grabbed his cloak and pulled him back with all of her strength. She helped the limping Beast onto the balcony and laid him down, taking full notice of the wound.

"You know, we really need to get a bandage on that," Marian murmured, part-joking, part-feeling his pain. The Beast seemed to be struggling for life as he opened his eyes and smiled at her.

"Y—you came back, Marian. Why did you do it?" The Beast said in a hushed voice, smiling.

"Why wouldn't I come back for you? I—Oh, this whole mess is my entire fault. I should have gotten here sooner than I did," Marian leaned down to embrace him.

"It'll be better—" The Beast coughed, "—better this way. You would never want to be seen with a beast like me," the Beast said sadly.

"No; don't even think that. I'm with you now; you know that. Everything's going to be fine. You'll see." Marian murmured. The Beast stroked her hair and Marian took hold of his paw.

"At least I got to see the most beautiful young woman in the world one last time. I… Marian, I…" the Beast's eyes rolled back in his head as his paw lowered. Marian clasped her hands over her mouth.

"'Marian, I' what? No, please! You can't leave me! Stay with me! Please…don't leave me…I love you, now and forever." Marian cried onto the Beast's chest. She was wiling to stay there with him if he got better. Even if he didn't, she would be willing to stay with him forever. She felt lost, lonely, and a little bit afraid, losing the only person she felt like herself with. Suddenly, something bright caught her attention. Marian ignored it. Soon, there was another—then another—another, till they surrounded Marian and the Beast. Suddenly, the Beast's body rose into the air and Marian scooted back, a bit in fear of what might happen to him. She watched in amazement as the Beast's cloak wrapped itself around him. He seemed to struggle as he brought his paw out, soon morphing into the shape of a human hand. Then his foot to a human's foot, and finally—Marian couldn't tell what had happened to his face. The shape lowered slowly to the ground, the cloak acting as a sort of blanket. The shape was much smaller than the Beast, Marian could tell that much. She leaned down to touch it, but jumped backwards when it moved. The shape seemed to stand up, looking at the hands, and then it came out of the shadows, turning to face Marian. It was the face from the ripped portrait in the West Wing. Other than that, Marian could see no resemblance…

"Marian! Don't you recognize me?" asked the figure in a voice that slightly resembled that of the Beast's but much different. Marian wasn't sure what to say. She checked his face for any slight trace of the Beast' but other than that, she saw nothing. Until she looked into his eyes. They were the same ocean-blue eyes as in the picture…and in the Beast.

"It is you!" Marian exclaimed, smiling up into his face as he beamed at her, running his fingers through her hair. He leaned down and offered to kiss her. Marian closed her eyes, letting him do so. He wrapped his arms around her as she wrapped her arms around him. When she opened her eyes, Marian looked around to find her surroundings completely changed. The castle no longer looked menacing; it looked brighter and much cheerier. Lumiere hopped out as blue sparkles surrounded him, turning him into a human form of himself, with slight resemblances to his former candelabrum self. Soon, Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts came bounding out to see the couple. They were soon surrounded by sparkles, causing them to turn into humans as well.

"Look at us! We're human again!" The former Beast gathered them all in a group hug as Chip and Sultan hurried out, Sultan barking happily. Soon, the two of them were magically changed as well.

"Oh my goodness!" Mrs. Potts chuckled, bending down to embrace Chip. The former Beast offered his arm to Marian. She took it, and he led her inside the castle. The entire castle was filled with happiness. All of the castle's residents were entirely transformed, making it simple for Marian to tell which was which. Marian and the prince stood at the staircase, looking into each other's eyes.

"Alright, I guess I have a bit of explaining to do," The prince started. "You see, this entire castle—along with everyone in it—was under a curse, thanks to me. A bizarre woman came to my door and offered a rose so that I'd take her out of the cold. Unfortunately, I was a cold, heartless jerk who didn't accept it. She transformed into a beautiful enchantress who bestowed upon me the curse of being a Beast. The rest of the castle suffered as well. We had to stay that way for ten whole years. That is, until you came, Marian."

Marian was slightly shocked, but surprised as well. She threw her arms around his shoulders, letting him know she truly loved him. He embraced her back, feeling that they could spend the rest of their lives together. When Marian let go, the prince looked into Marian's eyes and she looked back, both of them knowing they had found true love at last.