Mrs. Potts barely recognized the other servants. They had only been turned to furniture and cookware a day before. The brat, prince Adam, had been turned into a horrible beast with impossible conditions put onto his return transformation–someone had to fall in love with him.

Maurice had no time to work on his time machine. He had assumed that he was too old for a genuine relationship, let alone to become a father. He knew next to nothing about taking care of a baby, and no one in the town wanted anything to do with him. So he turned to books.

Danny’s computer was bored. She kept picking out pictures from the folder to show Danny, but it didn’t seem like he was there. She knew that sometimes he would go away for a while, but he usually powered her down so that time wouldn’t pass.

It was Cogsworth who found the king and queen’s bodies. The other castle servants had given up after a few days search. Most believed that they had simply run away to live a better life somewhere else, but Cogsworth knew them. They were like parents to him, and when they had a son of their own, they still spared moments here and there to greet him and see how he fared.

Maurice recovered quickly in the care of Collette, but he didn’t stay long in the winery stables. Collette’s father was not often sober, but on one such occasion, he happened upon Maurice and Collette sitting together in the barrel room. He ran Maurice out and gave Collette a few bruises for shaming their family.