The beast sputters a bit at the romantic advice. He hadn't expected it, but he seems to appreciate it. "She did seem to like my library," he muses.
"How many rooms are in this castle anyway?"The beast stops to think. "The library, the entryway, two bathrooms, three...four...five bedrooms, two studies, the servants' quarters, the living room, the family dining room, the banquet room, the game room, the kitchen, the dungeons, and the storage rooms. Oh, and the ballroom."
His eyes widen as he considers the task at hand, and realizes that he will need to help as well. He attaches cleaning implements to the various players, then takes their advice and, after poking through the cleaning supplies, settles on a dustpan and hand broom. He begins to sweep at random, and accidentally scatters several piles of dust that the other cleaners had been working on. Eventually he gets the hang of it, and empties the endlessly forming piles of dust and dirt into an unused barrel.
The following montage passes as a montage, with scenes of precarious dangling from rafters, buckets of dirty water, and household tools grinning inexplicably at each other as they clear out a large building's worth of mess, all while singing Disney song parodies.
"ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: A MUSICAL OF SKILL."
Two weeks later, at the end of the montage, all of the players and the beast stand in the entryway, admiring their work. The castle still looks empty and dead, but it's now clean. The change is quite remarkable: the windows let in light, the floor doesn't look tricky to walk on, and the rafters practically sparkle.
The beast, however, is a different matter. Being not unlike a shag rug himself, his fur has become caked with dust and cobwebs, and despite going outside and shaking himself vigorously, he still looks dirtier than when Belle first showed up.
For the second time in ten years, there is a knock at the door.
The beast steps forward, and opens it fully this time, rather than cracking it. Belle stands on the other side of the threshold. She is carrying a large carpet bag. She first looks at the beast, and wrinkles her nose. When she looks behind him to see the newly cleaned castle, the expression reverses itself, and her eyes widen.
"Good morning," the beast ventures tentatively after a pause.
"It's past noon," Belle responds. "But good day to you, anyway." The beast steps aside, and she walks in, scratching down notes, until she catches sight of the players. "Did your servants not finish putting away the mops and brooms before I arrived?"
The beast blinks a few times, before understanding. "Oh, these
are my servants," he answers with a gesture. Several players wave or make other gestures so as not to make the him look crazy.
Belle raises an eyebrow. "I see. Then the curse upon you also did...this?"
"Y--yes," the beast responds. "They helped a lot. In fact, they did most of this. But I did what I could..."
"Well, we'll see if it is sufficient," Belle interrupts.
Once again, the beast shows her through the castle. She writes down a few notes, but not nearly as many as the previous time. After they finish the tour, they rest at the library once again.
"I must say, I'm impressed," Belle says, going over her notes. "Even considering that you had a great deal of help, achieving this much in two weeks is dramatic."
The beast seems unsure whether to straighten up at the compliment, or cringe away from it. After fighting with himself, he raises up slightly. "Thank you."
"But understand that keeping a clean castle is not a one-time undertaking. Should you let it fall into disrepair once again, it will not reflect well on your progress."
The beast flinches, but soon regains his composure and straightens up again. "I understand."
Belle flips several pages back in her notepad. "However, that still leaves a number of unaddressed issues. Perhaps I should explain more fully why I am here. The kingdom's Social Health and Welfare Department received a number of complaints from the residents of the village near here. They said that there was a castle that has not shown any activity for a decade. Furthermore, the farmland that belongs to the castle estate has lain fallow for that entire time. Arable farmland is scarce here, and a great many acres around this castle are going to waste. If this land starts to grow crops again, it would be an economic boon to the village. On top of all this, there were rumors that a monster stalked the castle, and the kitchenware moved on its own.
"I was sent here to determine whether this castle was indeed occupied. If it was not, then it would have been condemned, and the farmland returned to the village. Since the rightful owner of the castle is still living here, the property cannot be reclaimed immediately. However, if the owner is so unfit to manage the estate that the surrounding community is harmed, then the castle and the surrounding farmland will be seized."
As the beast listened to this, any confidence he had gained was sucked away, and he slowly crumpled over.
"As such, my first priority is ensuring that you are capable of...functioning. Normally, the lord of a castle would be taught his duties as a child, including both how to act and how to run the estate. Since you did not have this opportunity--" Belle paused, realizing the implications of what she had just said, and glanced to one side. "Rather, you do not have these skills, so it is necessary that you learn them. Once again, I do not expect immediate results, but I do expect change. You do not carry yourself or speak as a lord would. A lord is expected to be able to interact with his servants and tenants, as well as with other landed gentry. On top of all that, your hygiene is...lacking, even considering that you have been working to clean the castle."
Belle gets up, and the beast reluctantly follows. "I will be staying here to monitor your progress.
The beast jerks his head up from its downward position. "What?"
"I wish to oversee the changes that you will be making, though I will not take an active role just yet. I have brought my own clothing and bed linens, though I will need a room to sleep in. I take two meals a day, breakfast and dinner, as well as afternoon tea. I trust that one of your servants will show me to a room."
The beast staggers out of the library behind Belle, unsure of what just happened. The next course of action seems to be laid out pretty clearly, but what should be done when?
You need to:
- Teach the beast proper manners,
- Increase his self-confidence,
- Give the poor guy a bath and some clean clothes.
Note that you don't have any cleaning products or food in stock, so you'll need to buy soap and shampoo to wash the beast and his clothes, and you'll need to buy food for Belle. The castle has a little bit of money, but how to go shopping when you're all inanimate objects? Wacky antics are sure to ensue!
You'll need to do all of the above things, so decide what order to do do them in. You will then act on them one at a time.
