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It was a rather beautiful night in the castle, the birds were sleeping, the moon was shining. A thin layer of snow was coated around the area like a cool blanket, chilling the air. All of the servants were either fast asleep in their resting chambers or in their own respective room attempting to sleep, everyone except one.
Lumière, the castle's resident candelabra, was wide awake. And just like he had been doing nearly every night for the past week, he waited until it was close to midnight before leaving his own chambers, the door already left slightly open in order to make it easier to move around.
He felt the chilly air against the gold that now represented his skin from one of the open windows in the hallway, oddly enough it was a comforting feeling. He made his way towards the library; the faint metallic clacking of his steps echoed throughput the area. His thoughts had been keeping him up, refusing to let him properly rest.
He had been feeling more stressed than usual lately, and even though he always worked hard, he felt like he wasn't doing enough. At least, not compared to when he was still a human. He had caught his mind wandering much too often nowadays, there was only so much one could do in a day.
Lumière was one of the most well-liked servants in the castle, and he always tried to make sure that everyone was happy. He would throw parties, sing songs, and make everyone laugh with his jokes. But despite all this, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was letting everyone down whenever he slacked. He honestly felt like he wasn't doing enough work and that he was just goofing around too much lately the past few months.
He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, forcing his flames to temporarily dim when he felt his wax begin to drip. He was an insomniac at heart, so instead of just laying around in bed in hopes of falling asleep like some poor folk did, he decided to spend his nights catching up on any of his chores that he missed, which in turn usually made him slower and more lazy during the day. It was hard for him to balance work and rest, managing his personal life had never been something he was very good at.
It wasn’t like anyone knew out his nightly activities, no. He knew it wasn’t exactly healthy, working until well past midnight and waking up early in the morning just to do more work. But he certainly wasn’t going to bother or complain to anyone about his own messed up schedule. He hated worrying people, and the only thing worse then that was disappointing them.
He loved to annoy Cogsworth, but hated seeing the older man disappointed in him. Over the years of being turned into mere objects Lumiere and Cogsworth had become best friends, even though Lumière looked up to Cogsworth, and the two were total opposites, the clock and candelabra were great friends.
Lumière couldn’t help but notice the atmosphere felt lighter than it had been the last few weeks, ever since the master- price Adam had broken his fathers rocking chair in a fit of rage, which in turn scared nearly all the servants who did their best to avoid their master afterwards, in fear of them being broken next.
He scoffed at the mere thought as he made his way past Cogsworth’s room which was at the very end of the hallway before making a quick turn towards and staircase. He was lucky enough to be one of the few servants to get his own room since he was a footman and the castle’s maître’d’
The candelabra wanted to share it with his girlfriend Plumette, the head of the castles maids, but unfortunately sharing resting chambers wasn’t allowed unless you were married or you had a child, even if he did have a high and respected role in the castle.
In fact, when it came to giving commands to the servants in the castle he was only in third place. Just behind his best friend who just so happened to be the castle’s majordomo, Cogsworth was the most powerful figure in the castle, second only to the master himself.
Nearly tripping down the stairs, he temporarily made the flames on his hands spark up, showing him each of the stone stairs, he didn’t was to trip and make a ruckus after-all. The stairs were carpeted with lavish and expensive leather, he personally preferred wool but he would never complain about the decor of the castle, after all it was his home.
He absently started to hum a lullaby Mrs. Potts sang him from his childhood as his thoughts drifted once more, making sure to be quiet enough not to disturb anyone, he couldn’t understand the rest of the servants sometimes.
The master yelled at his staff, sure, it was to be expected by someone so short-tempered like himself. But the master would never lay his hands on any of his servants with the true intention to hurt them, ever. Both when he was human and beast. Even as a child Adam always had zero tolerance towards anyone harming his staff if he could help it, even the staff members themselves, especially after his mother passed away and his father became more… aggressive towards everyone in the castle.
Lumière temporarily stopped moving down the stairs and shivered at the thought, forcing his flames on his hands to burn brighter once more to get rid of the sudden chill he felt and to better light his way, the moon shining through the curtains didn’t reach the stairs unfortunately.
Despite being a footman as well as the head (and only) maître'd, Lumière was actually one of the youngest servants in the castle, only two years older than prince Adam himself.
The young Prince was 11 when the enchantress put the curse on him and everyone in the castle, Lumière was only 13. At that time the only job he had as a servant was taking care of the horses, and bugging his superior and guardian Cogsworth who was merely three weeks after reaching the age of 25 before he was turned into a clock.
Lumière let out a huff and smiled once he reached the bottom. Cogsworth, his dearest friend and companion as well as his use-to-be guardian ever since his parents sent him away (sold him) from Paris. Despite their constant bickering, Lumière couldn’t think of anyone he would rather have as his best friend throughout the years.
He could still vividly remember the day when he first arrived at the castle, his 10 year old self standing at the castle’s front doors for the first time, feeling frightened and overwhelmed with being so away from home.
His mind was young yet old enough to know he would never see his beloved parents again, and he cried knowing that who he had previously thought loved him had sold him off for a great deal of money, like he was nothing more than an object, or a high-prized horse.
Just when he thought all hope was lost, an Englishman named Henry- who now went by his last name name Cogsworth, had swooped in like some hero from the fairytale’s books and took him under his wing. The 22 year old helped Lumière adapt to his new environment, made sure he was well fed and got lots of rests, and even took a handful of his task so the younger boy wouldn’t be so overwhelmed during the first few months of his arrival.
If it weren’t for him, Lumière knew he wouldn’t have made it very far, but then Cogsworth had introduced him to the rest of the staff, and soon Lumière found that he fit in very well, it was like a large rowdy family!
Lumière felt a larger smile graze his golden features as he spotted the library doors which to his luck just so happened to be left open. Cogsworth became a father figure to him at one point, or at the very least someone he viewed as a parental guardian, like an older sibling, even though they were only 12 years apart in age. The clock was someone whom he went to when he needed guidance or knowledge, when he was hurt or perhaps was unable to complete a certain task and needed assistance.
He definitely viewed Mrs. Potts as some sort of aunt of his, though just about everyone in the castle did that. No one actually knew how old she was, it was impolite to ask a lady her age, although Lumière was fairly certain the woman was past her 50’s.
Lumière shook his head, back to the present, nearly 10 years later from when he first became a servant to the castle, Lumière was soon to turn 20 in a few months, and he was now the castles main maître'd thanks to a now 18 year old prince Adam.
As Lumière entered the library, he made sure to keep the door open and light any candles he saw as he made his way towards the large glass windows, content to watch the falling snow for a minute or two before he began working.
He wasn’t afraid to admit that he was happy with his life, with his job, with those he considered his friends- no, his family. Even if he was a candelabra instead of a human. He was happy, happy enough to spread joy to others or go out of his way to light up the castle (both figuratively and literally) for everyone, the master and the staff.
Lumière climbed onto the fancy couch by the window with much more effort than he’d like to admit, letting out a chuckle at the thought of the other servants. Oh how foolish they were. Adam had never and would never lay a finger on any of them with the intent to harm, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out the prince wasn’t that cruel.
The prince was just… a little broken. His father had made him that way, with the death of his mother and the abuse from his father, there was only so much a growing child could do. But he would never intentionally hurt them or allow anyone else to either.
He could remember the first time someone had ventured into the castle after the curse had taken place. It was a greedy man, and to Lumière’s misfortune, easily startled and rather violent as well. In fact, the event happened just over a year ago in late January.
It was not a very fond memory he liked to relive.
“Oh mon Dieu! Someone fetch the master!” Lumière shouted as he rushed down the main hallway as fast as he could, warning every servant he came across and ordering them to spread the news and hide.
His legs/stem, despite being made of metal and gold felt like they would fall right off his body. His flames burned brightly, nearing a blue-ish colour as he waved his arms in the air in a frantic motion to get the attention of those he ran past.
After what felt like an eternity of running he saw his friend who was halfway through making his way up the stairs, raising his voice louder then how he usually spoke. “Cogsworth!”
The clock jumped, startled by the shout of his name before looking down at the panicked candelabra. “Lumière what on Earth are you-?!”
“Someone’s coming!” Lumière didn’t let the older man finish his sentence, he heard the gasp from the servants who heard his shout who he had yet to warn, though news spread fast in the castle and there was no doubt in his mind at least a courter of the staff already knew. “Someone’s gotten past the castle gates- a human! We must alert the master at once!”
Cogsworth stopped his decent up the stairs and narrowed his eyes, the look of annoyance crossing onto his facial features made the younger mans heart drop, if he still had one anyways. “Lumière, I swear if this is some sort of ridiculous joke-“
“Je suis sérieux!” The candelabra snapped, it must have been the extreme look of fear on his face because Cogworth’s expression changed from annoyance to wide-eyed panicked. Instantly the clock started rushing towards the masters bedroom in the West wing to inform him, barking out orders for all those who could hear him.
“Human! Everyone hide!” For once deciding to follow Cogsworth’s orders, Lumière turned around and rushed towards a table located near the front door, right beside his mute friend Chapeau. “There’s a human on castle grounds! Find a place to hide at once!”
Just like that everyone started moving, some shouting and others speaking in hushed whispers. Lumiere tried not to roll his eyes, of course they would listen to Cogsworth and not him, how amazing.
The curious servants like himself hiding in either plan sight or the smart ones who hid in any of the crevices they could fit into. Staff on all floors began to hurry in order to keep themselves hidden, closing the curtains and putting out any candles nearby, clearly frightened and panicked as they turned off any and all light sources, all except Lumiere himself who was too in the moment to do so.
Lumière fruitlessly tried to climb onto the small table which he had set his eyes on, it would be a perfect spot for a candelabra like himself to blend in and it was close enough to the front door that he could get a better glance at the stranger once they arrived.
Chapeau, bless his soul, noticed his struggles and leaned down, letting the candelabra climb on him without getting burned letting him jump onto the small wooden table. Lumière felt his flames burn brighter in embarrassment at being unable to do something so simple, but quietly said his thanks before getting into position, his arms stretched to the side in a posture he had practiced alone in his chambers many times.
The castle went silent after a few seconds and Lumiere’s thoughts were quick to wander in the silence, where was Plumette? Was she safe? What about Mrs. Pots and her son Chip? Would they all be alright? Did they get the news? Where were they hiding? What was Cogsworth going to tell the master? How would the master react? This would be the first time a human had stopped by in 6 years since the curse had taken place.
“Hello?” A gravely voice echoed around the quiet castle followed by a knock at the front doors, which had a mind of their own and opened themselves willingly.
Lumière saw a shadow of the figure jump as the doors opened, sunlight pouring through. “What the hell…?”
The intruder took a few steps into the castle and Lumière did his best to stay completely still, taking in the strangers appearance as they ran their hand along the castles walls and looked around in wonder.
It was a man Lumière noticed, though that should’ve been a given based on his voice. He looked to be in his late 30’s, and the clothes he wore, not one of a peasant, but also not one of the rich. But he seemed fairly wealthy if the high-grade leather boots were anything to go by, and he could easily be a lost traveller, or maybe a thief based on all the mini bags on his belt.
“Hello?! Is someone there?!” The man called out again, his next words were a demand. “Show yourself!”
Lumière noted how the intruder didn’t have a French nor an English accent, so what was this doing so far from home? He was speaking perfect English, which was rather odd. He still took lessons with Cogsworth once a month.
“Can barely see a damn thing in here…” It wasn’t as though it was hard to see, but it certainly wasn’t easy either with all the lights being turned off and the curtains all closed, his gaze drifted off and he noticed how someone had even poured water over the fireplace based on how it was still streaming, before Lumière came to a sick realization when he realized the man was now looking directly at him and walking over.
While everything in the castle was dark thanks to the staff, except for the sunlight just barely peaking through the curtain, he had forgotten to put out his own flames in his rush to get onto the table.
“Woah…” Whispered the man once he was standing right in front of the lit candelabra, before a greedy smirk replaced the look of amazement. The man lifted a finger and began to gently trace the golden carvings on Lumière’s arms and the matre’d held back a flinch. “An antique like this has gotta be worth something big…”
Lumière saw chapeau’s form from behind the stranger jerk forward when the man reached out and grabbed hold of Lumière, before lifting him up off the table and bringing him close to his face to get a better look, the man had blue eyes, he noted. “I’m sure no one will mind if i take you back home with me…”
Now, just over 3 years into the future when a beautiful brown haired woman named Belle entered the castle and picked Lumière up to light her way as she investigated the castle looking for her missing father, Lumière wouldn’t have a reaction at all and continued to remain hidden as an object…
…however.
The difference now was that Lumière had never been picked up in his six years of being a transformed candelabra, ever. The master refused to handle them like objects, both for their dignity and because he was deeply afraid he may accidentally hurt one of them. And the staff, wanting to be as human as possible, treated each other the same. If someone wanted to get somewhere difficult, they would simply climb, most often with someone to watch in case something bad happened, or they got assisted like how Lumière got onto the table with chapeau’s help, but they rarely ever got directly picked up.
So, when the matre’d panicked at the unfamiliar feeling of someone’s hand wrapping tightly around his small, fragile body, nobody could really blame him.
“Ah!” Lumière jolted backwards and screamed- actually screamed! Wiggling and hitting the man’s hand repeatedly in a desperate panic to be released. He saw chapeau hesitate in the corner of his vision, unsure whether to interfere or not. “Ne me touchez pas!” He hurriedly switched to English. “Down! Put me down!”
The man flinched, his eyes widened comically before his body alerted him that his hand was burning. He quickly tossed Lumière to the side, and the sound of metal bouncing off the castles marble floor echoed all across the main room followed by a muffled groan.
“What the hell!” Screeched the intruder, staring between his slightly burned hand and a very dazed Lumière who was laying with his back to the floor a few feet from him.
“Erm… Bonjour Monsieur!” Lumière made an uneasy greeting gesture before crawling backwards when the stranger stalked closer, not really getting anywhere due to the marble floor under him, it was always hard to walk on marble in this form. “W-Welcome to le Château de Chambord-“
“What kind of witchcraft is this?!” Hissed the man who reached into his shirt and pulled out a cross necklace, his demeanour changing from fearful shock to violent anger. “What are you? A demon?!”
“Non!” Lumière was about to stand up but thought better of it, not wanting the man to get even more frightened by him. “No! I’m no demon, for I am just a servant-!”
“A servant of the devil!” Suddenly, with speed that a man his age shouldn’t have had, the stranger pounced and pressed his foot down on the candelabra to keep him in place, and Lumière couldn’t help but let out a pained shout. The air in the lungs that he no longer had being sucked right out of him. “I knew it, a castle like this in the middle of nowhere- it snowing in the middle of July! All signs of a bad omen I tell you!”
“Ack-!” Now actually panicking, Lumière struggled from under the mans leather boot, the weight making it so he was unable to get a proper sentence out. He forced his flames to increase their heat and tried burning the boot that pinned him to the floor.
Unfortunately for him, high-grade leather was not an easy material to burn.
“I’ll send you kind back down to the pits of hell when you belong-“ Lumière tuned out the man’s ranting, counting down the seconds and praying Cogsworth and the master would get here soon. His wax started dripping at how hot his flames had become, and as he repeated hit the man’s boot he couldn’t help but wonder in the back of his mind whether or not future visitors would react to him the same way this guy did.
If so, he wasn’t sure if he wanted anyone else to visit unless it was to break the curse.
“-but a curse to mankind!” Suddenly the man’s cross necklace was hanging right above him and Lumière couldn’t help but dim the candle on his head by instinct to not burn it. He was Catholic after all.
The man seemed to think him dimming his own flame was a sign of some sort. “Aha! I knew it! Nothing but a bad omen is what you are.” He brought the cross closer to Lumière who was leaning away and had extinguished his flames entirely, now trying to fruitlessly push the man’s boot off him. “Are there other demons like you? Huh?”
“Veuillez vous calmer monsieur-“ Lumière could only give a pained gasp when the weight increased drastically after a few seconds, now completely unable to produce the other with a response and could only wave his arms frantically.
The man had a sneer on his face, looking down at him with disgust. “Answer me in English you damn omen! Are there more of you?” Lumière certainly wasn’t about to give away the other staff, especially if this is how he’d react, he was surprised chapeau hadn’t just outright attacked the stranger yet. “Who’s your master? Who do you serve?!”
“He serves me.” A low, guttural sound sound came from the top of the staircase, and Lumière was sure if he could cry he would’ve shed tears of joy, especially when he caught sight of the master of the castle on the top of the stairs staring down at them, and Cogsworth standing on the railing looking more panicked then a pig in a butcher shop.
“And you will get your foot off him. Immediately .”
It was not long after that moment did the stranger realize what he was really dealing with once he got a good look at their master who absolutely towered above the man by a good 3 feet, the lighting in the castle may have not been that good that day, but anyone would be able to make out the monstrous figure.
The prince- who was only 17 at the time as Lumière was 19, gave chase when the intruder got too frightened and decided to make a run for it out the castle doors, effectively releasing Lumière but not before giving him a swift kick which sent him tumbling across the room.
This action obviously just enraged the beast even more, if his ground-shaking roar and murderous expression was anything to go by. Lumière had only heard him make that same sound once before, during his transformation by the enchantress.
Lumière had said his thanks to prince Adam exactly a week after, but he was quickly brushed off. The young prince claimed he didn’t want his thanks and that it was simply his duty as prince to make sure nobody hurt his staff. Which in a way was true.
He wasn’t seriously hurt, but he did have two rather nasty looking dents, one on his shoulder thanks to being thrown and the other on his leg because of the kick. Luckily for him the dents went away after a few days and some serous damage control.
The candelabra hadn’t gotten in trouble that day, at least not after his explained the situation with chapeau as his witness, but he did get a serious scolding from Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts about working on his hiding skills that lasted at least three hours. He was also bedridden for a whole week, a direct demand from the master himself so he would heal properly.
It was the little things like that which proved to the castle’s staff that the prince really did care for them, even if it was just a little.
Nobody was sure what happened after Adam had chased the strange man away, for he didn’t return until hours later when the sun was set, and only a small handful of staff had actually been there to see the attack on Lumière take place.
Plus, anyone who saw instantly went to check on Lumière once the threat was gone, nobody bothered to look out the windows and see what happened next.
But word spread quickly in the castle, and everyone had their own guess as to what happened to the stranger.
Some people, mostly the utensils or kitchen staff guessed that the young prince had killed and ate the man which was the reason he came back so late. Which everyone else just found ridiculous and rolled their eyes whenever it was brought up.
The maids (as well as everyone in the castle) thought otherwise, suggesting that their master had simply chased the intruder far away from the castle and deep into the forest to make sure he never returned.
Others simply thought the prince chased off the stranger before guarding the castle’s perimeters for hours to make sure he stayed away.
Lumière, Cogsworth, Plumette, Chapeau, and Mrs. Potts were the ones who had stayed up late waiting for their prince to return that night, and they were the only ones who heard the howling of hungry wolves after a successful hunt that lasted hours after midnight.
Safe to say, the man was most likely no longer living given how he hadn’t returned to the castle with a mob. And it most certainly wasn’t Adam who had taken his life, but the feral animals of nature which the enchantress had cursed to guard the thick forest that surrounded the castle.
The luck the stranger had to be able to get as far as he did without alerting the wolves of his presence in the first place was remarkable.
“Ugh, merde…” Lumière felt his wax drip and rapidly shook his head, trying to shake the unpleasant thoughts away, death of any kind always made him feel uneasy. Whether it be the death of a human, animal, even a plant.
Instead, he focused on the frost in the corner of the window, memorizing the dangerous yet beautiful patterns of Mother Nature herself, he brought his hand closet the window to heat it up and watched the frost slowly disappear.
He looked at what used to be his hand, now replaced with a candle and found a bitter smile forming on his face. Of course, out of every object the enchantress turned him into a candelabra of all things, something in direct confrontation with fire.
Fire, which just so happened to be one of his biggest fears when he was a human.
Fire, something that could cause someone so much harm if wrongly used, yet it was a necessity to live.
Fire, something that could bring people warmth and comfort, yet scare them off all the same.
Fire, an element that could light up any room in seconds, but destroy anything in its path in mere minutes if given the chance.
“Alright…” He sighed deeply and brought his hand to his chest, dimming his flames into nothing but tiny sparks so the library’s light was from the full moon shining through the windows. Watching the snow slowly fall he pushed himself up with a loud yawn and stretched, trying to shake away his sleepiness. “I suppose it’s time to get to work.”
Fire, something so dangerous yet so, so beautiful.
“Who in Gods name is making all that racket?” Cogsworth, the castle's resident clock, scowled as he awoke from his peaceful slumber. Some idiot was humming in the hallways and they either weren’t being as quiet as they thought, or they just didn’t care if they woke up the entire castle’s staff.
Letting out an annoyed sigh Cogsworth slowly made his way down the wooden cabinet he was standing on, listening closely as the humming got quieter and quieter.
He paused once his feet hit the floor with a quiet *thud* and got a sense of déjà vu, the song they were humming sounded familiar but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Slowly pushing open his door (The servants very Ararat closed any doors in the castle because how of difficult it was to re-open them) Cogsworth popped his head through his doorway, turning it just in time to see a very familiar figure down the hallway and turn the corner, the resident maître’d of the castle.
Lumière.
Cogsworth resisted the urge to bang his head against the door, quietly grumbling he left his room and followed the candelabra, speeding up a bit when the light coming from his friend got smaller and smaller. “Unbelievable.”
“I mean- what could he possibly be doing this late anyways?” He whispered to himself, reaching the stairs just in time to see his friend reach the bottom of the stairs which was three floors below him.
“Lumière!” Cogsworth hissed, as quiet as a baby kittens first meow, he was taking no chance in waking up one of the other staff members of heaven forbid their master. Unfortunately, because of that same reason the castle’s maître’d didn’t hear him and kept walking. “Lumière!”
Cogsworth resisted the urge to stomp his foot in agitation as he slowly made his way down the castle stairs that he’s fallen once too many times down.
“Cant have a single good nights rest…” Cogsworth muttered as he finished the third set of stairs after what felt like minutes and started walking in the direction the French man went. “Honestly, I swear it’s like he’s still an incompetent child.”
Lumière had always been the life of the castle. His infectious laughter and witty humour brought joy to everyone around him, both as a child and an adult. But lately, the Cogsworth had started to notice a change in him. He had become slower and more tired, and he wasn't as quick with his jokes as he used to be.
Cogsworth was of course worried for the younger man. Having practically raised Lumière for half of his life, it was easy to pick up on the signs of exhaustion, even if they were no longer human.
So why the hell was Lumière seemingly wide-awake so late at night if he was clearly exhausted?
It took a few minutes since it was so dark, but while he walked down the long hallway he came across the library’s doors which just so happen to be wide open. Walking slower to quiet his footsteps Cogsworth peaked his head through the door, where he could make out the faint silhouette of Lumière who was resting on the arm of a couch and staring out of the window.
Deciding to take a closer look Cogsworth crept forward, his wooden feet clicked against the marble floor but Lumière seemed to be too far in his daydream to hear him.
Once he was less than a meter away from the couch Cogsworth stopped, taking in a deep breath he tapped his foot impatiently for the other to notice him.
“Alright…” Cogsworth jumped when Lumière suddenly spoke as he stood up, his quiet voice echoed in the silent library as he stared longingly out the window and yawned. “I suppose it’s time to get to work.”
‘What?’ Cogsworth thought incredulously, he crossed his arms in front of himself and scowled as he watched Lumière stretch and dim his flames. Of course the reason the candelabra was lagging behind on his duties this week was because he stayed up so late working, no wonder he looked so tired.
The realization both surprised him and didn’t at the same time, the situation was just so… Lumière.
It was exactly something the big oaf would do.
“Work? At such a ridiculous time like this?” Cogsworth got a feeling of mild satisfaction when Lumière jumped in fright and stared at him with a wide-eyed expression. Like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar. “No you absolutely will not.”
“Cogsworth?” Lumière narrowed his eyes and brightened his flames to get a better view of the older man, he wasn’t very surprised at the peeved expression the other wore as he further entered the library, clearly the clock was upset with him. “What are you doing awake so late?”
Despite having a limited range of facial expressions, Cogsworth clearly wasn’t amused. “I could ask you the same question. But if you must know, someone” this was said very pointedly. “was causing a ruckus in the hallway and.”
“Ah.” Lumière jumped down from the couch, looking embarrassed. “Désolé, it certainly wasn’t my intention to awaken anyone.”
“I would hope not.” Cogsworth rolled his eyes with a scoff, watching impatiently as the candelabra made his way over to him, fiddling with what use to be his hands the best he could.
Upon closer inspection Lumière looked even more exhausted than the day before. His wax was dripping and his flames moved slow and steadily, his face was set in between a grimace and a smile and his eyes repeatedly jerked from him to the floor.
If he could describe how Lumière looked in one word, Cogsworth would say tired.
Cogsworth frowned, concern etched on his face as he began to rub the sleep out of his eyes. “Lumière, are you feeling alright?"
Lumière paused, before he nodded and gave a forced smile. Straightening his back once he realized he was slouching. “Of course, mon ami. I am just a little tired is all."
“Given how it is the next day I would assume so.” Cogsworth could tell that wasn’t all but he didn’t push. He had known Lumière for too long, and he could tell when something was upsetting the younger man. “You should go to bed, Lumière.” He hesitated for a moment before continuing in a much firmer voice. “You've been working too hard lately, it would do you well to get a good nights rest."
Lumière shook his head and looked away, never one to listen unless he wanted to. Which was rarely ever. “No, thank you for your concern, but truly i am fine. I’ll sleep later."
“When?” The clock snapped, the fog of sleep that still clouded his head making him easily irritated, he glared at the younger man. “God, this is the reason you’ve been so tired lately isn’t it?”
“No-“ Lumiere winced as the glare intensified tenfold. “-Okay, while yes I suppose that is one of the reasons-“
“One of them?!”
Lumiere’s rushed forward, making rushed shushing gestures that only seemed to piss off Cogsworth more. “Shhh! Are you a madman?! You going to wake someone!”
“Oh, you would know all about that wouldn’t you?”
“I already apologized.” Lumiere whispered back, starting to get a little peeved but understanding as to why the other wouldn’t be in the best mood right now. “Would you like to hear it a second time? That is fine.” He shrugged and started ti speak sarcastically, patting Cogsworth on the shoulder without burning him. “Désolé, I didn’t mean to wake you my friend.”
Cogsworth was quick to grab what would be considered the candelabra’s wrist and started pulling him towards the library doors. “You are forgiven, you can make it up to me by going back to bed.”
The younger man sputtered, not resisting but not exactly going along willingly, so he was mostly getting dragged as he grumbled quiet insults in French under his breath that were clearly directed at the clock.
Little did Lumiere know, Cogsworth could very well understand being called a “stick in the mud” no matter the language, but he choose to be the bigger person and not comment on it.
Cogsworth led a pouty Lumière out of the library and back towards the candelabra’s room. “You need to rest, Lumière.” Said man opened his mouth to protest but the clock cut him off sternly. “And i mean really rest. No more of this sneaking off to do work in the middle of the night nonsense to do work. We may no longer be human, but we are not invincible. You need to take better care of yourself for heavens sake.”
Lumière hummed and nodded but didn't say anything, allowing the older man to forcefully drag him back to his room. Just like old times when he would sneak out to watch the stars, or to steal snacks from the kitchen which Mrs. Pots secretly always left out for him.
Finally once they reached the end of the first hallway and were at the bottom of the staircase Lumière stopped walking, when Cogsworth turned around to check on him he found a troubled expression on his friends usually smiling face.
He made a questioning sound and Lumière’s form slumped like the weight of the world had just been put on his shoulders.
“Henry?” Lumière spoke quietly, his gaze still directed at the marble floor as he fidgeted in place.
The clock sighed silently and pressed his lips into a thin line, ever since the curse their master said they weren’t allowed to call each other by their first names, as it was unprofessional.
But seeing the almost scared look on his friends face, he decided that rule could be broken just this once. “What is it Jean?”
The candelabra’s breath hitched, not expecting the older man to actually use his first name. His throat clogged up with emotion and for a moment he was thankful he wasn’t able to cry anymore or else there would be a river of tears streaming down his face.
“Answer me honestly, but do you think this curse will ever be broken?”
...oh.
Cogsworth hesitated, shifting from foot to foot when Lumière wrapped his arms around his own body. His ticking got slightly louder as Lumière’s flames grew brighter and doubled in size, he was stressed, the older of the two noted.
Even though it was ten years later and they were no longer in the form of a human, he could still see the lost and scared French 10 year old boy he took under his wing all those years ago. That boy had grown into a man, and yet he still kept his same personality as he did when he was a child, lighting up every room he walked into with his smile. Maybe the reason he kept his childlike personality was because his childhood was taken from him, but either way It was a breath of fresh air in the castle.
And the fact that Lumière was doubting their chance to ever become human again, despite being the main source of encouragement in the castle made the question so much harder to answer.
He was always good at lying, even if most thought the opposite.
“Yes.” He said before pausing, thinking of the right words to say. “I do believe that the curse will be lifted one day, and we will return to our human selves once more. But, until that day arrives we must be patient and wait, and take care of ourselves until then.” Cogsworth nodded once, there was a rare look of extreme determination in his eyes and he spoke with confidence he knew he didn’t have.
The lie tasted like acid in his mouth, but he knew his honest opinion was not something Lumière needed to hear at that moment.
He didn’t wish to extinguish the small flame of hope the other held so dearly in his heart.
As he watched his friends tense posture relax at his words, Cogsworth placed his hand on what would be the younger man’s shoulder in a show of comfort and silent support and gently guided him up the stairs. Fully prepared to guard the candelabra’s bedroom door for the next few hours to make sure the other didn’t try to sneak off and work himself into an early grave.
“Now, off to bed with you.”