A few people frowned at the newcomer wondering why a prince of all people would be coming into a tavern. Others stared uncomfortably.

"Please!" cried the Prince,"My good townspeople! Help Me! I need to find a doctor! It's a dire emergency!"

Suddenly, three blonds strolled up from the back of the room and practically swooned. "He's gorgeous!" one murmered. They surrounded the Prince, batting their eyes flirtatiously.

"You poor thing!" exclaimed the one in red grabbing one of his arms.

"I'm sure there must be something we can do to help!" said the one in gold taking his other arm.

"What's the problem, handsome?" asked the one in green pushing one of her sisters out of the way. The Prince gulped and backed up uncomfortabley. He certainly wasn't used to behavior like this!

"Umm.... my princess, my sweet Belle is deathly ill! Please direct me to the nearest doctor!" At the mention of Belle's name, all three girls immediately dropped their grip on the Prince with disgust.

"Argh!" screamed the one in gold. "What do you men see in that girl?!" she pouted like child who had been punished.

"Oooooh!" exclaimed the one in green. "She deserves to die after what she did to Gaston!"

The Prince couldn't believe anyone could say something so awful, but then he remembered how he himself had spoken to the enchantress before she had turned him into a Beast. "Please! Will someone tell me where I can find a doctor?"

A plump middle-aged woman who apparently worked at the tavern approached him. "Just go down past the fountain and take a left at Briar Lane. You'll see the sign. You can't miss it."

"I'm eternally grateful, my good woman." said the Prince. "You shall be rewarded for your kindness." With that, he placed a gold coin in the woman's hand and headed off to find a doctor.

Following the kind woman's instuctions, the Prince soon came across a small cottage. Hanging over the door was a worn wooden sign bearing the word le docteur and a picture of a person in bed. He push the door open causing a little bell on a string to jingle lightly. Inside, behind a counter littered with all kinds of strange instuments was a tall, plump man wearing specticals.

"Yes, Sir, may I help you?"

The Prince hastily explained the situation, and the doctor agreed at once to make a house call ,or perhaps castle call would be a better word, and do what he could to revive the princess.

The doctor saddled his own horse and pack supplies in his saddle bag as the Prince untied Phillipe and remounted him. The two then rode off to the castle. Once there, the doctor and the prince fled up to Belle's bedroom where Maurice and Mrs. Potts waited. Their tearful expressions made it clear that Belle's condition had not changed at all.

The doctor went to work examining Belle's limp body as everyone watched intensely looking for the slightest sign of life in her. Soon, the doctor turned to speak with the Prince. "It's the strangest thing I've ever seen." he said. "At first glance I thought she was dead for sure for she is not breathing at all and her face is ashen, but the girl still has a pulse. It's as if by some miracle her heart refuses to quit. I never would've thought it possible."

"Can you help her?" asked the Prince in desperation.

"I'm afraid not. I really don't know what to tell you... This is a most bizarre illness indeed." the doctor replied solumly.

The Prince felt completely torn apart. Doing something he hadn't done since the enchantment on him had been broken by Belle's love, he threw back his head and howled a heartbroken cry that came from the very bottom of his soul.