Beauty and the Beast Imagines

Dance With Me | Lumiere

requested by _Yugen

//

Ever since you first day in the castle, you found a friend in Lumiere. He was sweet and charming, handsome and amusing. He kept you feeling calm, even with the prince made everybody's days a little less than pleasant.

You were scrubbing the floor in his room again. You were a maid, and every time the prince threw a tantrum, it was you job to clean up the mess. This time, his tantrum happened because you had decided to change the bedsheets to red instead of gold.

You tried not to cry, but the sight of the young prince screaming at you as he trashed the room, crushing teacups and glass decorations, spilling wine and candle wax, was too much to handle on your first day.

So you wept softly, scrubbing at the red wine on the carpet that would not come out. You would have to get a rug to hide it. You felt sick.

Unbeknownst to you, your new friend was watching you from the doorway. He had become fond of you, and in return, protective. If he had witnessed the prince yelling at you, he would have stepped in and said something.

"Pardon me, mademoiselle," Lumiere said.

You jumped slightly, looking behind you at the man. "Oh. Hello, Lumiere," you said, wiping your face quickly.

He stepped forward. "You know what I find helps when I am upset?"

"I'm not upset," you insisted.

He ignored you. He bent down, reaching for your hand. You dropped the warm cloth that you held and looked up at him, heart stammering in your chest as he pulled you off the floor and onto your feet.

"I find that dancing helps tremendously," he said. He kissed your hand, eyes crinkled with a smile as you blushed. "May I have this dance, mademoiselle?"

"Yes," you breathed, hardly able to find your voice.

So there, in the prince's destroyed bedroom, he danced with you. He spun you and dipped you until a smile touched your lips, and you were in love.

                             ...

You had only been with Lumiere romantically for a short time, but he was very in love with you. Your life was looking perfect. A perfectly sketched out future.

But on that one night, when that old beggar woman came to the castle, everything changed. You resented that woman the moment your skin turned to feathers.

A feather duster. You were a feather duster.

It was a cruel reminder of the job that had become your life. Now, you were as stuck as ever.

You had not cried as hard as that night in a long, long time. Even when the prince purposefully destroyed the bedroom, you didn't cry this hard.

Lumiere was speechless. He stood slightly behind you, an unlit candle on what should be your back, looking at his friends and listening to the heartbroken roars coming from the west wing.

He looked back to you. "Oh, mademoiselle. Do not be afraid, there's still a chance!"

"What chance do we truly have, Lumiere? The prince isn't going to change. We are stuck like this forever." You paused. "I only wish I had the chance to kiss you, Lumiere. I knew I should have taken it."

"Oh, mademoiselle," he said. You were sure that if he had been human, he would have had wet eyes. "My love, my d-"

You turned toward him completely and launched yourself in his brass arms the best you could. He held them away from you, unsure of how to hold his love now that was now a feather duster.