Beauty and the Phantom

Chapter Four: The Phantom

Maurice climbed up the large steps up to the giant doors of the castle. Maurice assumed that the castle was occupied by someone since a lamp outside was lit. The door opened for him so he walked in, thanking whoever opened the door, only to see that there was no one there. Keeping out the cold, Maurice closed the door behind him. Walking in more, Maurice called out to see if anyone was in, while also apologising for the intrusion. He explained that he was just a traveler, hoping to seek shelter from the storm outside. But no one seemed to answer him.

He put his coat on a coat hanger as he waited for someone to speak up. As Maurice waited for someone to answer, a candelabra and a clock started to whisper to each other. The candelabra whispered to the clock about how Maurice must have lost his way. The clock told the candelabra to be quiet. Of course, their loud whispers caught the attention of Maurice who went to investigate. Seeing the candelabra and clock, he admired how beautiful they both looked. Such fine craftsmanship. But his attention was taken away from the artifacts when he heard a piano playing.

Walking towards the ballroom, the music grew louder. But, once Maurice reached the ballroom, the music stopped and the candles went out. This confused Maurice as there was no one in the room to play the piano. So, Maurice just walked away, heading towards the fire to warm up a bit. But his focus was soon taken away from the fire when he heard the clatter of plates in the other room. Following the noise, Maurice found himself in a dining room where a small feast was waiting for him. Thanking his unknown hoast, he sat at the table to eat after his long and dangerous journey so far. As he started to eat some bread, a little teacup with a chip in it moved forward, startling Maurice a bit.

"Mum said I wasn't supposed to move because it might be scary," the teacup said in a little boy's voice, "Sorry."

Maurice hesitated at first before answering, "It's alright..."

He almost immediately got up from his chair, thinking it was a good idea to leave this strange castle. Going back to the main doors, Maurice grabbed his coat, thanked his unknown host, and bid them goodnight, wanting to leave now. But, at last, all this had gained the attention of the owner of the castle. And they were far from happy. Climbing onto the back of Philippe, Maurice started to leave the castle. But, before he left, he stumbled upon a part of the garden filled with white roses. Maurice knew that he wasn't going to be able to find his music box again to take it to where he was originally supposed to go.

So, not wanting this journey to go to waste, Maurice tied up Philippe and went to pick a rose for (Y/N). But there was something out there with him. Philippe could sense it and was becoming agitated. But Maurice took no notice, trying to take the first rose he could reach. As he tried to pick the rose off, he pricked himself on its thorns. But he tried again, successfully managing to take the rose from the bush. Only for someone to appear behind him and wrap a Punjab Lasso around his neck, pulling it tight. Scared, Philippe managed to break free from where he was being held and ran away, leaving his master to his fate.

Knowing his way home, Philippe ran all the way back to the village to get (Y/N). (Y/N) was picking the vegetable from her garden when she heard Philippe whining. By then, it was the next morning, and (Y/N) was still waiting for her father to return. But when she only saw Philippe without her father or the wagon, she grew worried. Philippe took a drink of water while (Y/N) made sure that her father wasn't lagging behind at all. But Maurice was nowhere in sight. So, putting a saddle on Philippe, she had him take her to where her father had gone missing.

Philippe took her through the snowy woods, leading her quickly through the path they took the other night. Halfway to the castle, (Y/N) saw the broken wagon and the music box which had fallen out of its box during the chaos with the wolves. (Y/N) just continued going forward until she and Philippe reached the castle grounds. Once they reached the stairs to the castle, (Y/N) dismounted Philippe and picked up a stick for protection. Remaining cautious, (Y/N) walked towards the doors, opening them to let herself in.