An Unexpected Guest (ATTN: Lumiere)

[Cinderella]

“Well, you could’ve picked something better to buy!” The green-clad brunette, Drizella, barked, briefly examining the glimmering object she held, before tossing it carelessly to her equally brash red-headed sister, Anastasia. “Just look at it! Why, it wouldn’t be seen dead in my room! It’s so ugly!” The sisters turned to look at their fairer step-sister, Cinderella, both with scowls on their plain faces, but with a glimmer in their eyes which seemed to suggest of excited malice. The girl, dressed much more simply than the other two, barely had time to catch the said item as Anastasia, mirroring Drizella’s actions, threw it away without much thought, if any.

“But, you did ask me to buy something that looked elegant, and I thought that this would do…” Cinderella explained, her voice soft and reasonable, much of a contrast to her step-sisters. She looked to the object, a candelabra, which was a shining gold colour, probably matching the metal it was made out of and featured simple, yet beautiful designs adorning it. This had been the rare occasion that the maiden had been allowed out on her own - though she was already sixteen, her step-mother was a little more than strict, to say the least - and though she had mostly positive spirits, she felt dis-heartened that such a lovely object was the scorn of her two step-sisters.

“Elegant?” Drizella cut in loudly, a sneer upon her face, “Obviously you’re stupider than we imagined if you thought that ugly thing was elegant. Well, I’d say it’s fit for the trash!” She was about to say more when the fourth, elder woman in the room, who had been silent up until this point, stepped forward, holding out her arm in signal for the two girls to be silent. Although she had signaled to them, her bright green eyes were focused solely on Cinderella.

"I am disappointed, Cinderella," she spoke, her tone harsh and to the point. "I expected you to find something worthy of this house...clearly, you cannot be trusted in these sorts of matters. Why, perhaps I should see to it you never leave the gates of this chateau again, it was such a simple request, too..." She turned briefly to her own two daughters, a cold smirk growing on her face, which the two girls automatically mirrored, clearly enjoying the situation.

At her step-mother's threat, Cinderella, who's head had been bowed, quickly came up. Whilst she tried to maintain a firm voice, inside she felt fear - it had been so wonderful to be out of the chateau, even if only briefly - and the thought of being confined permanently indoors wasn't such a pleasing idea. "Step-mother, please...I-I honestly did try to find something and-"

She was soon interrupted by the elder woman. "I don't wish to see that in the house any longer. Take it outside, Cinderella, or even better, back to where you bought it. We'll discuss the other matters later." The step-mother made a gesture for the girl to go. Sighing, Cinderella turned to leave the room.

"Very well..."

...........................

However, the maiden did not obey her step-mother's order. Standing out in the hall, she stared at the candelabra, running her free hand over it.

"Oh, I can't let such a lovely object go to waste. ...I'll keep it upstairs, in my room! It would certainly bright it up." Cinderella finally decided, quickly making her way to the lobby's far door and up the long flights of wooden stairs to her bedroom at the top of the house. Once in her room, she carefully placed the candelabra upon her dressing table. It stood out among her hairbrush and the various other items on the surface, such as some ribbons and sewing materials.

"There," Cinderella softly spoke to the object, almost as if it were a person, smiling. "You'll be alright up here."

[Lumiere]

Well this would be the last time he would play hide and seek to stave off the boredom when living in a forgotten castle. After attending to the master and attempting to carry out their duties as best they could, despite knowing full well that they were continuing a pointless cycle which usually resulted in tasks being completed before the noon hour, Lumiere and his friends would gather in a stale room with a stale smell and contemplate what to do with themselves for the rest of the day. Yesterday Chip proposed playing hide and seek, and while Lumiere had been quite keen on the idea (he always enjoyed competing against Cogsworth in any form) the others were not that interested. Still, no one could deny the teacup child a bit of fun, taking pity on the enchanted boy who was denied normal childhood play. Cogsworth was deemed seeker, a role he did not want, and everyone quickly scattered.

Lumiere had found the perfect spot in a chest located near the main entrance to the castle; he blended in well with the other non-enchanted objects that were placed inside and stifled his laughter as Cogsworth’s frustrated grumblings echoed down the halls. Everything was going fine until he felt the chest being lifted in the air and was suddenly crushed by books and other objects that came tumbling in his direction. Consumed in darkness the candelabrum called out, demanding to know what was going on, calls which eventually turned into frantic cries for attention when the jostling did not stop. At last the trunk was roughly dropped and the lid popped open long enough for Lumiere to realize he was inside a carriage; he was only allowed a brief glimpse however before the lid fell back down and terror gripped him when he heard the squeak of turning wheels. He couldn’t leave the castle! His hollers were either unheard or ignored- he could hear the creak of the castle gates- and each bump he felt from travelling over an uneven path sent another jolt of fear through him. Where was he going?

Time seemed to have no meaning throughout his confinement, for though he could not say how long he had been trapped for, he knew it could not have been the eternity he had felt. When the carriage finally ceased moving, Lumiere felt the chest being unloaded, numb to being thrown against the roof of the trunk in the process, having endured rough and painful jostling throughout the journey. Daylight blinded the frightened candelabrum and he was quickly removed by a pair of thick hands along with the rest of the objects and placed carelessly on a table.

From what he could gather he was at a market of some sort in a village he did not know; somehow he would have to get back to the castle and no doubt the carriage would return. Proceeding cautiously, Lumiere hopped around, pausing when a person passed. The chest had been closed so he would have to find another way in and just as he was about to make a daring leap, voices began to ring out, advertising their wares as early morning shoppers arrived. It was too risky to move now and Lumiere watched hopelessly as the carriage left without him. With no idea where he was, the candelabrum was forced to wait and pretend that he was not… human.

He had to be careful to avoid being picked up by customers, moving stealthily among objects and occasionally speaking discreetly to distract interested buyers. When they looked around for the disembodied voice, he’d hop away and hide until he was forgotten. This seemed to work very well until he spotted… her. The woman did not flaunt her beauty in any means, attired in a simple dress, her golden tresses kissed with strawberry modestly tied back, but still it seemed to radiate. Trapped as a candelabrum or not, Lumiere was still a man and he was quickly captivated by the attractive maiden- particularly her legs- and he noticed she moved with what must have been a natural grace.

Well that changed everything! Cogsworth was quickly dashed from his mind and Lumiere had a new goal to be picked up by this vision of loveliness; he would befriend her and maybe… after some time… she could help him find a way home. Still as careful as ever, he hopped his way towards the front of the table and when she was close enough, hopped right up to the edge and held his tealight arms up in a perfect pose. To be sure to attract attention he waited until her eyes were averted before turning on the flames. Just as he had hoped, he garnered enough interest and a short transaction later, he was packed away and carried off to a chateau.

Immediately he disliked the stepsisters; they were as ugly on the inside as they were on the outside. Honestly, they had no taste or appreciation for the finer things in life! Ugly? Fit for the trash? It took everything he had to hold his tongue and not fling off insult after insult in their direction. And that stuffy grey old hag of a mother they had! Although initially miffed by the cruel insults that were directed at him he quickly became more concerned about the treatment of the maiden who had barely been able to say a word. Lumiere was certain he had only witnessed a small sampling of the kind of awful life he suspected she led. For a moment his thoughts returned to his own situation and he silently prayed she would not discard him as ordered; she had clearly seen something in him that was worth keeping and it was difficult to contain the sigh of relief that had welled up when Cinderella decided to do just that.

Lumiere remained quiet as they went up the stairs; despite being alone, people generally don’t expect objects to talk. Now that he was safe for a while the last thing he wanted to do was frighten the young woman. Of course this was Lumiere and Lumiere had a bad habit of calling attention to himself and after not being able to speak for such a long time, he replied immediately to Cinderella’s soothing comments without thinking.

“Thank you, Mademoiselle! Ah do not think I could bear to be in the company of those women any longer.” The last bit was spoken with a noticeable tinge of disgust but Lumiere suddenly realized what he had done and quickly clamped his tealights over his mouth. “Please do not be frightened!” he hurriedly continued, “I mean you no harm.”