Beauty X Beast ~ Thirty-Two!

To Danielle's great surprise, the Beast didn't throw a temper tantrum or do anything other than release a sigh of steam and step close to her father—blocking her view. There was a brief cry of pain, and when the automaton stepped away once more, her father had lost both of his pinkies, but the stumps were clean and carefully stitched closed.

“I had noticed the discrepancies in the story you were telling. In the oath you made.” The Beast’s normally severe tone was replaced with an intense wash of thankfulness and guilt. “If I had asked you any questions, I knew I would not be able to save my master. Thank you for lying to me… I wish there was some way I could undo the price you paid.”

Henri shook his head, though his eyes remained on his hands. “Sometimes, you just have to do what’s necessary, Beast. I saw your core runescripting taking over your mind. You were beginning to sink into despair, and that’s far too dangerous of a proposition for us. I can't imagine how the rest of you would’ve reacted if the Comte died.”

“There are failsafes in place which would have destroyed…” the Beast stopped speaking, looking over to the side, where the Artificer had begun to stir. 

Danielle stepped close to her father, focusing all of her system skills on him, specifically the hands that had been partially destroyed to save another man at her behest. The damaged, puckered skin visibly began to smooth over as she wrapped her arms around him, giving him the tightest, longest hug she could manage. “Why did you… no, thank you for saving him. But how did you know how to do the surgery if you weren't actually trained? Were you really in the war? We'll figure something out with your hands, maybe we can design-”

“Don't worry about it, my sweet girl.” Henri gently pushed her away, “I absolutely was in the war and lost many friends. I only fibbed slightly. My role was much more support than anything else, but only repairing any form of mechanism as needed. Wagons, clocks, long, wasted hours attempting to reverse engineer these metal soldiers… as to how I performed the surgery? Exactly as I said earlier. Changing out the parts of a person is no different than working on an engine while it’s still running. I mostly just hoped for the best, working under the assumption that the Beast would be able to assist with the next steps after I’d done the initial removal.”

“Uugh.” The Artificer let out a soft groan as his eyes opened. Blinking a few times, he stared at Danielle, then let out grumble and closed his eyes. “So I did die, then? I had hoped the afterlife wouldn't be so painful, but at least there's angels.”

“Attempt to comport yourself, my lord,” the Beast instructed the half-awake Comte. At this, the young man's eyes popped open, focusing on his looming machine.

“How did I manage to see her before I saw you, Beast?” LeKrout let out a pained chuckle, lifting a hand and pushing himself into a seated position. The sudden movement caused him to wince. “Beast… is there a reason I'm in so much pain?”

“I'm uncertain how much physical distress heart surgery normally would cause in a body.” The Beast spoke with a slight *click* of skeptical irritation. “But you had heart removal and replacement surgery. I can only assume that it is much worse for pain.” 

“That's not… ugh, Beast.” The Comte held up a hand and ran his fingers through his thick brown hair. “You're supposed to always have a high-end healing potion in your personal vault for situations when I am damaged. I know we didn't use one when I was poisoned, and I know they don't expire. Would you mind?”

At that moment, Danielle saw a side of the Beast that weeks of close contact hadn't revealed: he became actively flustered. With a great deal of hemming and hawing, the machine reached into its chest and slowly extracted a glowing gold-and-red bottle. “Comte… these are literal treasures meant to be used when you are fatally injured, not to reduce recovery time. At the moment, you are on the mend and-”

“Beast.” The Artificer looked over at where Danielle and Henri were huddled together. “This is the first time in a decade or more that I’m able to stand on my own two feet. I'd really like to enjoy it.”

Without any further hesitation, the bottle was handed over, and Comte LeKrout popped the cork, downing the entirety of the viscous fluid in a single draught. Danielle scooted closer, interested in seeing the effects of the alchemical substance firsthand. 

Healing potions were not something the general population had access to, as the components used to brew them were beyond rare—few and far between. This was one of the reasons so few people had an Alchemist class, and even those who did were usually low-leveled, due to the sheer investment required to empower themselves.

Color rushed back to his cheeks, his eyes gained clarity, and soon the Comte was breathing easier. After allowing himself a minute for the effects to fully settle into place, he swung himself out of the bed he’d been laying in for more than half of Danielle's life and got to his feet. Immediately, he stumbled, only to be caught by the Beast. “Whoa! I haven't used such an unbalanced body to walk around in since… yeah. Since the last time I stood on my own two feet.”

Completely unsure what to do with herself, the Enchantress simply stayed next to her father, gently holding his hand as she resisted the urge to rush over and check on the Artificer. “Are you… is everything…?”

“Working properly, and I'm rapidly regaining my strength.” He sent a crooked smile at Danielle. That smile dropped away for a split second, and he reached down into a compartment under the pod, pulling out proper clothes. Face flushed, he quickly dressed himself, even slipping on a pair of soft leather shoes. Then, perhaps feeling more confident, his wobbling steps slowly brought him closer to the father-daughter duo. 

Once he was a little over two arm’s lengths away, the Comte swept into a low bow, remaining bent and facing the ground. “Thank you for saving me, both from the damage that had been done to me, as well as my own arrogance. If you hadn't refused to leave right away, the Beast would have attempted to install my heart by himself. I would’ve died here.”

“How do you know that?” The words popped out of Danielle's mouth before she considered how they sounded, her academic curiosity overcoming her nerves at meeting the Artificer in person for the first time. “Oh right, I had already-”

“I assume you mean, how do I know he was unable to make the incision? I understand you know this, but for your father's sake, I will explain.” LeKrout returned to his normal standing position, jerking his head toward the Beast standing behind him. 

“Even when I'm unconscious, my skills give me updates from my most deeply connected automatons. The closer they are, the more clear the information comes across. As soon as I shook off my disorientation, I just… understood the full situation. Now, the estate is under attack, and I am back on my feet. Is there anything you need from me before you use the escape tunnel and start your new life elsewhere?”

Danielle stood dumbstruck for a heartbeat, then scowled at the man. “Is that it? ‘You've done your job, so get out’?”

“That's not-!” The Artificer reared back in surprise, “No! That’s not at all what I'm trying to say. I just wanted to get you to safety as soon as possible, and now that I'm up and about, I can take an active role in protecting my automatons against this ruthless baron who has seemingly no scruples whatsoever.”

“You're coming with us, Comte.” Surprisingly, it was Henri who made the claim, causing everyone to stare at him in surprise at the interjection. “You've met Danielle, even if it's just essentially been in your dreams. By now, you should understand that, unless you stuff her in a crate and force her out of here, she won't leave behind someone she loves.”

At her father's words, Danielle felt a slow spread of heat filling her cheeks and creeping down her neck. “Loves? I… I just met him!”

“No you didn't, Danielle.” Henri turned to her with an understanding smile on his face. “You've met him in his books, his writings, his creations. I guarantee that every automaton you've interacted with is imbued with a part of him. This means you've seen him at his best and his worst.” 

As he said this, his eyes flicked out to the thousands of metal soldiers around them. “I'm not saying you need to rush off and get married or anything like that, but I also know who you are and that you won't let him stay behind while we run. If I'm wrong… just tell me.”

“I'm not going to let him stay here by himself,” Danielle’s tongue felt strangely thick as she put up a weak argument, “That doesn't mean I'm in love with him.”

“Who said you were in love with him?” Henri quizzed with a sly grin. “I just said you love him. Could be like a brother or a friend. But it suddenly doesn't seem that way, now does it? Hmm?” 

“Father!”

“As much as I'm enjoying this family dispute, though perhaps not as much as my master,” the Beast cut them off before the Enchantress could interrupt his speaking, “May I please remind you that the estate is under attack? Staying here isn’t an option. At the very least, not a good one. If you have unfinished business, I highly suggest you finish it quickly.”

“There's one thing I'd like to do before going up,” Surprisingly, it was the Artificer who spoke out. “It will accomplish two of my immediate goals and one long-term one. This may sound a bit strange, but I need assistance getting used to how my body can move again. I'm too wobbly to run through the motions on my own, so…”

He gestured into the distance, where crystal spiers were lighting up as they rose into position around the motion-capture platform. “The best option, in my mind, is to have someone hold me as I shift and spin. Enchantress Danielle, would you be so kind as to dance with me?”

“You… we? Dance? Why dancing?” Now it felt as though her entire head was on fire, and Danielle could only assume that, if she was mechanical, she would be releasing steam more violently than the Beast did when angry. 

“As I said, I'm hoping it will help me achieve two of my short-term goals and one long-term.” He held out a hand, “Yes?”

“Okay?” Her reply sounded more frustrated than she had intended, but she still reached out and took the proffered hand. Danielle let out a gasp as the two of them were scooped into the air. The pulley system had dropped cables down to wrap around them, sending them soaring over the field of metal below. 

“I had forgotten I'm not the only one who can remotely control the mechanisms of the house,” the Beast grumbled as he looked at various machinery coming to life at the Artificer's mental commands. “I'm not sure how I feel about this, now that I think about it.”

Holding tight to the man as they continued drifting higher into the air, Danielle looked down at the small figures below. “What! Wait! What about my father and the Beast?”

“Your father has a new leg; I'm sure he'll be happy to use it,” the Comte replied with a mischievous grin. “As for the Beast, he can walk as well. He's gotten lazy over the last decade. He just likes appearing suddenly; there's no real need for him to float around everywhere. Especially now that I will be able to perform regular maintenance as needed. I temporarily locked him out of this system. He should notice… oh, any moment now.”

A high-pitched steaming whistle punctuated that statement almost immediately. The Comte began to chuckle, inciting Danielle to laugh just as hard. They dropped through the air slowly, twirling until they were deposited in the center of the platform. 

Just as Danielle realized they had held hands the entire time, the Artificer stepped in closer, wrapping an arm around her and beginning the slow movements of a waltz as soft music began to play from the crystals surrounding them. To her surprise, he lurched back and forth, nearly falling three times out of the four steps he took. Her own arm shot out and gripped him firmly, pulling him closer and guiding his motions. 

For the next several minutes, they moved back and forth, Danielle's system skills enabling her to gracefully avoid his clumsy steps and transform what would otherwise be jarring motions into gentle twirls. As he gradually adjusted to piloting his own body—a body which had been maintained at near-perfect health, thanks to remaining in stasis—all sequelae of his poisoning and heart replacement were fully undone by the potion he drank. 

Within only a few minutes, his movements became sharper, and his limbs responded more quickly and accurately to his intentions. Soon, he was moving correctly, finally even taking the lead in their movements. As Danielle was able to relax a little more, no longer having to dodge stomping feet, she found herself able to ask questions. “I'm assuming one of your short-term goals was getting into the swing of walking around again. You mentioned motion capturing this, was that one of the other ones? If so… I can't think of what the third would be.”

“Being able to imbue the ability to dance is definitely a long-term goal.” He met her eyes as he looked up from his feet, the same crooked smile on his face. “I thought I might spend a few years making toys when all this is over.”

“And… the short-term goal, then?” Danielle managed to force the words out as they tried to catch in her throat.

“I just wanted to have a chance to be close to the woman I've been dreaming about for months.” 

At his words, a nervous laugh escaped Danielle's mouth. For a few more moments, she tried to control her nervous energy and just enjoy dancing, but then she noticed how his eyes had shifted to look at the door to the stairwell. “They're going to get inside soon, aren't they?”

“I don't know for sure. I’ve cut off any information from outside. But… probably.”

Heaving a great sigh, Danielle pulled back slightly. “My father is safe; you are in good health and getting even better. I'm glad I escaped Gasteel… but I need to be sure-”

“Danielle.” Kota gently placed a hand on both of her shoulders, making sure she couldn't look away. “You are the sun, and he is a moth. He would be satisfied fluttering around a lantern… but you deserve to be among the stars.”