Adam had been searching the castle for Belle, checking room after room, when he wound up in the one place he realized he ought to have checked first: the library. Sure enough, she had been there, books scattered about, pulled off of their shelves. Though there was evidence of Belle all around, Adam couldn't seem to spot her. Or, at least, until her looked up. Climbing up on the ladder to reach the top of the tallest bookcase, Belle was precariously balancing an armful books. Walking her way, Adam came to a stop at the bottom of the ladder, eyes still trained on her small form.
He opened his mouth to speak, only to see Belle slip, her foot missing a rung on the ladder. The top several books of her stack slid off the pile, dropping to the ground with a thud, a few of them just nearly missing Adam's head. After she had caught her balance, Belle looked down to the books that had fallen, surprised to see Adam standing below.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you alright, Adam? You didn't get hit did you?" Belle asked worriedly, her brows knitting in concern.
"I'm fine, but please, be careful, Belle," Adam replied, watching as she took another step up before starting to shelve the books she had been carrying. Once she had finished, she descended back down the ladder, offering Adam a gentle smile before heading to retrieve the books she had dropped. Bending down to help her, Adam picked up one of the book, looking it over to assure it wasn't damaged.
Once all the books had been properly cleaned up and set aside on one of the many ornate desks in the library, Belle turned to face Adam. "Thank you for the help," she said, her lips turning up in a warm, genuine smile.
"It's no problem," he replied. "What were you doing up there with so many books in the first place?" Adam inquired, a look of concern and curiosity crossing his expression.
"I was reorganizing," Belle explained before a playful smirk came across her features. "Someone didn't do a very good job keeping things orderly while they were a beast." Belle let her gaze meet Adam's, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"My apologies if properly shelving books was not my most pressing concern at the time," he said jokingly, a twinge of sarcasm creeping into his tone.
An easy, comfortable laughter filled the room before it faded into calm quiet, contentment seeming to drift palpably through the air. Adam couldn't remember a time he had been happier than when he had Belle by his side, and he wouldn't change a thing. Open conversation, content companionship, and most of all, love, where things he feared he would never have again when he was turned to a beast. And now, Belle gave them to him so willingly. For that, she was precious to him in a way that few would ever understand.
So, standing in the beautiful library, the slight aroma of her vanilla perfume mingling with the comforting scent of dusty, old books, gazing at her kind eyes, he was made happier than he ever was before she came into his life. Though, after a moment, he shook those thoughts from his head, the reason he had been looking for Belle in the first place coming to mind.
"Well, I was originally coming to let you know that dinner has been prepared, so if you would like to take a break, you're welcome to join me," Adam offered.
"I'd love to," Belle replied, taking his hand in hers as they left the library, winding through the halls of the grand castle.