Juliet was still curled up in her spot by the window when Mr. Potts, the teapot who used to be her butler, hopped into the room with a cart wheeling behind him (with no one pushing it, of course). He made his way over to his mistress and bowed as best he could without spilling his tea.
"Madam, I have brought you your tea. Would you like your usual two sugars and extra cream?" he asked as a teacup and dish were lowered down to his level so he could fill the cup.
"Yes, please. And thank you," Juliet said with a nod, her eyes never leaving her book. She was lost in a world of daring sword fights, far-off places, and a prince in disguise, and she didn't think she would be coming back anytime soon.
Mr. Potts smiled a little when he noticed the book she was reading, then finished making her tea. The saucer and cup were lifted up to the beastess, and she took them gratefully.
"Haven't you read that book twice already?" the teapot wondered with a soft chuckle.
Juliet glanced down at him with a small smile. "Yes, I have. But it's my favorite, so I read it again and again, and I notice something new each time.
Cormac groaned through gritted teeth as he got up upon Brady. “Maybe we’ll just leave right away, yeah?” He asked the horse, who whinnied up at him. He chuckled as a pretty woman bobbed up. She was a rather tall woman, with a healthy weight on her bones, with a full wonderfully pretty face, fine legs and bosom. Her blonde hair shone silver as she paused in front of Brady, smiling a seductive smile.
“Hey Cormy~” She repeated, her voice lowered a few pitches from the high-pitched one.
"Well, that sounds like quite the adventure," Mr. Potts chuckled softly. "Was there anything else you needed, Mistress?"
Juliet shook her head and took a sip of her still-hot tea, careful to not burn her tongue. "No, thank you. You're free to go, Mr. Potts," she said as she went back to her book.
Cormac sighed down at the woman. “Could you please move? I’m on my way to the forest, and I cannot be distracted.”
The woman shimmied out of his way, but when Cormac kicked off, she bounded after him, like an overzealous dog.
“I distract you, huh?”
“Not in the way you think,” Cormac responded frostily, frowning as he turned Brady towards the forest.
(Lol. Geez, woman… He’s clearly not interested. 😂)
The teapot bowed again before hopping out of the room. He made his way to the kitchen, where Lumiere and Cogsworth — the maid who had been turned into a clock — were waiting for him.
“Is anyone else worried about the mistress? Or is that just me?” Cogsworth questioned, looking around at the strange group of animated objects.
Lumiere sighed and rested what might have been her chin in one of the arms of her candelabra. “No, it’s not only you, dear friend. I am worried as well. It is getting rather close to the appointed time.”
“That is true, Lumiere,” Mr. Potts agreed, bobbing as though he was nodding his agreement. “Have either of you seen the rose lately?”
“Come on, Cormy! Don’t be that way!” She smiled her dashing, bright smile, which glistened in the fading sun.
“I’ll be however I need to be to get you out of my face.” He lashed the reigns, Brady neighing before trotting forward faster, the horse’s hooves hitting the ground loudly.
Both Lumiere and Cogsworth nodded slowly, looking a little down. The rose was starting to fade faster than it had before, its petals falling one by one. Pretty soon, it would be nothing but a stem, and then their time would be up.
“We need a miracle to happen. And soon,” Cogsworth said softly.
The woman had to jog to keep up with Brady’s pace. “Wait! I wanted to say good-byeeeee!”
“I’m not accepting any last words, thank you very much.” He leaned forward on Brady, sighing. “Come on, girl, let’s go. Yah!” He lashed the reingns harder, making Brady launch faster. He just wanted to get home before the rain started.
However his hope to avoid the rain was futile. By the time he reached the forest, rain was pittering noisily along the leaves and clinking off his armor.
The helpers of the palace talked with each other for a while longer, trying to plan how to save themselves and their mistress from the inevitable fate that would befall them otherwise. So far, they had come up with nothing plausible.
A howl came from the direction of the woods, and everyone looked towards it. Even Juliet looked up from her book in the large library. The wolves never came that close to the palace… They must be getting hungry.
Cormac stopped Brady in her tracks, mud and muck building up at the sudden stop. The howl was awfully close. Cormac looked this way and that, his hair shading over his eyes strangely. His hand strayed to his sword, and he continued his pace on his horse very slowly.
Another howl sounded almost right behind them, which spooked Brady, launching her into another wild run. Cormac sat up quickly, tugging on her reigns, but careful as to not shout yet.
Cormac was not able to control his horse, and he heard pawsteps behind them. Finally, Cormac was bucked off by his horse and he fell with a clatter. The wolves circled him and he scrambled up, starting to run. He ran, then he got tripped up by something: a log. His heavy foot had plunged into it and his drawn sword had been flung away at his fall. The wolves howled triumphantly as they drew closer, their eyes gleaming malevolently.
(Idk what to do until he gets closer and they need to help him…)
(Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh okay. Let me do somd more)
At the sound of more and more howls bear the palace, Juliet looked out the window. She could just barely see through the rain and the trees, but it looked like a person was in the woods… and being surrounded by the wolves, no less!
She quickly stood up, set her book down on her seat, and hurried out of the library. Having run down the staircase and to the door, the mistress of the house threw on her jacket, startling her butler and maids.
“Miss Juliet? Mistress, what are you doing?” Cogsworth asked as the beastess ran out the door. She did not receive a response other than the slamming of the door behind her mistress.
Juliet hurried into the woods, directly toward the howls of the wolves. She peered through the rain, her eyes squinting to keep the water out of them as she ran.
Upon finding the wolves, she growled at them fiercely. If she could do this without a fight, that would be much better than with one…
The wolves drove forward on the cornered knight, who kept shifting his head out of the way of the bites. One particularly stupid wolf was knawing on the metal sheet around his arm, occasionally biting his hand, which hurt a lot.
The wolves jumped into tension when she approached and they growled right back, one snapping towards her. The wolves didn’t particularly like the large beastess who holed herself up with all of the food she wanted.
Juliet growled again, more harshly this time. She took a step forward as her fur fluffed out, making her seem larger and more intimidating. If they would just leave, that would be amazing…
The wolves (except for the one now knawing on Cormac) dived forward near her, growling loudly and barking tremendously in return. They had found their dinner, so they were gonna keep it. One unhesitantly bit into her thigh, growling loudly.
Juliet sucked in a breath as the wolf nearly pierced her thick skin with its sharp teeth. She shook her leg, successfully dislodging it, the kicked it on the nose. She swatted at another wolf's muzzle, scratching it across the snout.
The wolf whined loudly as it hit the ground, gave up on her, and went to help the other two wolves crowded around Cormac. One was still busying him at his head, nearly biting off his nose. The wolf swatted at the nose scampered off, howling.
Juliet stepped closer to the wolves surrounding this armor-clad man and growled at them again. They knew what she's done to two of their pack-mates, so maybe they would decide that it wasn't worth the risk. She could just as easily break their bones as she could shred their hides.
The second wolf at his hand didn’t bother with Juliet, just bit fiercely into Cormac. His hand twitched and it slapped the wolf across the muzzle. It was unaffected.
The first looked up at her, whined, then hurried off. Cormac shook out his hair and flecks of blood went this way and that.
Juliet's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the blood flying when he shook his head out, and she quickly hurried to the wolf that was trying to snap at his face. She swatted at it, striking it across the soft skin on its nose, where blood immediately welled up. Another fierce growl came from her snarling lips as she stared it down.
(Sorry for the confusion, the first wolf is still at his hand. The second (at his face) ran off)
The first wolf took no difference, just shifted its legs under its body contentedly. It went back to chewing on the raw wound it made, which made Cormac stupidly try to slap it away again.
(I thought there were three, though?)
Juliet growled more at the other wolf, snarling at it fiercely. She clawed its ear as a warning, trying not to hurt the knight in the process.
(Yeah she scared that one off.)
The wolf looked up at her, growled a little and went back to his hand. But Cormac had time to move it and try to push himself up from the rotted log. The wolf barked loudly at Cormac.
