Gaston struggled to keep his balance. Thrashing his arms, he desperately reached out for something- anything- to grab onto. Belle only had a moment to react and her instinct was to save the Beast. Gaston fell from the castle roof, letting out a blood-curdling scream. As he fell, Bell saw an image of skulls flash in his fearful blue eyes. A second later, a sickening crack filled the air as Gaston hit the ground below. Belle looked down and saw she was completely covered in blood and Gaston's mangled, unrecognizable corpse was lying at her feet.

Belle woke with a jolt. Her heart hammered against her ribcage as if it, too, were trying to escape the nightmare. She's had the same nightmare every night for the last year; since the night Gaston died. It had been his own fault, of course. He instigated the fight against the Beast and then stabbed him. Still, Belle couldn't shake her guilt.

Maybe she could have saved him, too. Gaston had been rude and conceited, but he didn't deserve to die. Especially like that. The truth was, the more Belle thought about it, the more she couldn't blame Gaston for the way he had reacted towards the Beast. When Belle first met the Beast, she feared and hated him, the same as Gaston. She never wanted to kill him. But, Gaston was a hunter and his instincts were different than hers. When a hunter sees a Beast, his first thought is to kill it. Gaston could not have known the Beast was really a person under a curse. Gaston was many awful things, but a murderer was not one of them.

Of course, if Belle had to go back and choose to save only the Beast or Gaston, she would choose the Beast every time. That only added to her guilt. Despite his selfish tendencies, Gaston had been loved and adored by everyone in the village. His death was one of the greatest tragedies to ever befall the small village. It was a loss everyone felt, even a year later.

Belle rolled over and reached for Adam, but his side of the bed was empty. The sheets were cold and undisturbed, so she knew Adam hadn't been to bed, yet. Knowing she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, Belle got out of bed. She pulled on her robe, tying it tightly around her as she stuck her feet in her slippers.

She stepped out of the room, expecting to see her regular guard standing in the hallway, but he wasn't there. Instead, another guard sat in a chair beside the door, asleep. She tiptoed around him and headed down the hall.

The castle was silent and there was a chill in the still air. Belle wrapped her arms around herself. A clock in a nearby room chimed. It was five o'clock in the morning. Some of the servants would be waking up soon to start their daily chores.

Belle stopped outside of the west wing doors. Despite the renovations to the rest of the castle since the curse was lifted, the west wing still remained exactly how it had been during the curse. During the last year, Adam had been working hard to reunite with his former allies and traders. He traveled a lot and Belle rarely saw him. When he was at the castle, he locked himself in the west wing and demanded that no one enter so he could get his work done without any disturbances.

Belle opened the door slowly and stepped inside. Adam was seated at his desk, writing furiously onto a piece of parchment. The large glass doors leading out to the balcony were closed and frosted, but Belle could see it was snowing.

"Adam?"

Adam didn't look up. "What is it, Belle?"

"It's five o'clock in the morning."

Now Adam stopped writing and looked at her. "Is it?" He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "How did the night get away from me?"

"You're working yourself too hard," Belle said, quietly.

Adam dropped his pen on his desk and ran his hand over his face. "I know. But, there's so much to do."

"Come to bed, Adam. Try to get a little sleep."

Adam shook his head. "I have to finish this."

Belle didn't know what Adam was working on. She actually knew nothing about the responsibilities and duties of royalty, seeing as she was not a royal. She and Adam planned to marry, but he had been so busy and rarely at home, that they hadn't had a chance, yet. Though Adam was now a king, Belle still had no title; she was nothing more than a commoner, an inventor's daughter. If they had married, she'd be queen now, and maybe she could help Adam. However, every time Belle mentioned this, Adam told her he had everything under control and she didn't have to worry about anything.

Belle nodded. "Very well. Will I see you at breakfast?"

"Yes. I should be done by then."

Belle smiled at him. "I look forward to it."

Adam smiled and shook his head as he picked up his pen. "It's just breakfast, Belle."

To him it was just breakfast, but Belle couldn't remember the last time they ate together. Perhaps the night the curse was lifted? This filled Belle with some excitement. When Adam said he would be somewhere, he would be there. He was a man of his word.

xxx

An hour after breakfast had been served, Adam's breakfast sat in front of the empty chair at the other end of the table, untouched. Belle had eaten some of her fruit while she waited, but the rest of her breakfast had gotten cold.

A young servant girl came into the dining room to clear the dishes and was surprised to see them still filled with food. "The food must be cold by now," she told Belle. "Would you like me to have the cook make two fresh plates?"

Belle nodded. "Yes, please."

The girl cleared the plates quickly and left the room. It didn't take long for her to return with two plates of hot food. She set one plate in front of Belle.

"Would you like me to bring the king his food?" the servant girl asked.

Belle shook her head. "Leave it here." She motioned at the seat to her left. The girl set down the plate and left again.

Once the girl was gone, Belle turned around in her seat. Her regular guard, Sandor Clegane, stood still in the corner. He was a tall man, the tallest Belle had ever seen. He was at least 6'6" and muscular. He was known as one of most skilled and dangerous fighters in Europe. Everyone who saw him was afraid of him; not just because of his reputation, but also his appearance. In addition to his height and muscles, the entire right side of his face was covered in scars. He wore his hair longer in attempt to hide the scars, but they were so prominent, that it didn't help much. Still, despite his intimidating and scarred appearance, Belle had never been afraid of him. After seeing Adam as a Beast, scars and deformities of regular men did not faze Belle. In fact, Belle found Sandor to be quite handsome in spite of everything.

"Sandor? Join me for breakfast?"

"It's not my place, princess."

Belle raised an eyebrow at him. "Sandor, you and I both know I'm not a princess. I'm not even a lady. I'm the same as you. You can eat breakfast with me." Still, Sandor didn't move. "Please? I hate to eat alone."

Sandor hesitated, but gave in. He moved the chair slightly away from Belle before sitting down. He ate with no regard to etiquette. Much like the Adam had when he was the Beast. This didn't surprise Belle. Sandor had crude behavior in general, so she hadn't expected him to eat with manners.

Sometimes Adam called Sandor "dog" because of his lack of manners. Though he- and the servants- mostly referred to him as the Hound. The nickname came from the hounds on his family's sigil and from Sandor's loyalty. Though the nickname was not meant to be degrading, Belle did not like to refer to him as the Hound.

Screams from down the hall startled both of them. Sandor was on his feet in an instant. Shouts and clanging metal came from somewhere in the castle and grew steadily louder. Adam and a couple of men from his army burst into the dining room. Adam closed and locked the door behind them.

"What's happening?" Belle asked him.

"Soldiers have invaded the castle."