A Baby Prince
Beauty and the Beast
Disney owns Beauty and the Beast and its characters.
...
Prince Adam couldn't stop his pacing in the Great Hall. He could hear Belle's cries of pain upstairs, and wanted desperately to race up there to be by her side.
Cogsworth tried his best to calm him. "Your Grace, I know it's a silly rule, I despised it myself when Pippa was in childbed with Felicity, but it's always been the rule and tradition. The father mustn't watch the birth! It is a private matter, between the doctor, the midwife, and the mother!"
An especially loud groan made poor Adam wince. She was in such excruciating pain, how could she be all right? And all the while, he heard Mrs. Potts' voice, perfectly calm, coaching her to breathe and relax.
"Blast it, it sounds like she's being tortured, Cogsworth! Can't Mrs. Potts or the doctor do something to help her?"
"I'm afraid not, Master Adam. She must endure the pain. I wanted to slip a little brandy in her tea last night, but Emmeline wouldn't allow it. She said it would only make her sleepy and not able to have the strength to push," Cogsworth admitted sheepishly, referring to everyone's favorite English maid and mother figure, Mrs. Emmeline Potts.
Adam went to the end of the hall, peering out a window. It was a brilliant blue and white winter day, a late Sunday morning shortly after the Christmas holidays. Mrs. Potts was hoping that today would be the day, for as the poem declared, 'a child who is born on the Sabbath day, is fair and wise and good and gay.' Adam himself was a Wednesday's child, and indeed had been 'full of woe' for a good decade of his life.
But for no longer. The last four years for him had been a dream. He worried that his dream could be dashed if anything could possibly go wrong. There were always risks.
"Ohhhh it hurts! It HURTS! I want Adam! PLEASE!" Belle screamed upstairs.
"One more push, love! You can DO it!" Mrs. Potts exclaimed.
A bloodcurdling scream sounded and Adam tore himself from the window. He ran to the great staircase.
"Master, you cannot!" warned Cogsworth. The Prince had already bounded up the staircase and was at the bedroom door, pounding on it.
"BELLE! Let me in!"
"Adam! Our baby...is here!" Belle called out breathlessly to him. She began sobbing in pure joy as a little voice began making hiccup sounds, then a loud healthy cry. They were the most beautiful sounds Prince Adam had ever heard in his entire life.
"Master Adam, just one minute please, dear, I need to do some tidying up-"
"Now, Mrs. Potts, or I'll break it DOWN!" he shouted, forgetting that the head maid was on her second husband and sometimes was called 'Mrs. DeFleur' or 'Mrs Potts-DeFleur' by the others. Speaking of Maurice, the said husband, he was trying his best to keep himself occupied in his inventing room, tinkering. He told Adam he would be a wreck if he wasn't doing something with his hands today.
The 'one minute' stretched into at least ten as Adam listened to that beautiful crying and heard Belle groan in pain and the doctor giving her some firm instructions, something about 'blood' which made Adam's heart pound. He heard no mention of the child's gender. Water was being poured, and Mrs. Potts spoke comforting words beyond the door.
"Now, that's better isn't it? Nice and warm, let's get you to Maman, little love, shall we?" she was cooing. The crying quieted down.
"Can he come in to see us now?" Belle asked. She sounded all right. Adam's fear began to calm.
"Yes, he may, dear. I will let him in."
The door opened and Mrs. Potts smiled up at him. "Are you ready for the grand introduction?"
"Please," he replied.
He was finally allowed in, and his eyes immediately met Belle's. She was pale and tired in the bed, her eyes were bloodshot, but she was beaming at him with pride and happiness. In her arms was a swaddled bundle of white blankets.
He walked to the other side of the bed and finally saw a tiny head, no bigger than an orange, peeking out from the bundle. The little head was covered in damp, dark hair. A miniscule ear, delicate as a seashell and perfectly formed, caught Adam's eye.
"This is your son," Belle said proudly.
He gasped. A dream come true. An absolute dream come true. A girl was just as wonderful. But a SON? His son...
He pulled up a chair closer and sat down. Belle carefully moved the baby closer so she could see his face. Little blue-grey eyes looked out on the new world in wonder. His lips were pink and perfect, and Adam thought that the tiny mouth and chin were definitely his mother's.
"He looks like you."
"But he has your eyes, Adam. They are definitely blue."
Belle put her hand in the blanket and drew out a little fisted hand, and Adam put his finger on it, stroking the brand-new, downy skin. The tiny fingers splayed out, as if greeting his Papa. He had long fingernails.
"We'll have to trim his fingernails, so he doesn't scratch his face. Babies do that." Belle said.
"I will sew him a little set of mittens, to go with the booties," Mrs. Potts said, as she stood near the little family, her hands clasped in excitement. "Have you decided on the name?"
"Well..." Belle said thoughtfully, looking down at the little fellow, "for certain we're using the names Christophe, Vincent, and Maurice, after Papa. It's the order of them we haven't decided, and what he'll go by every day. I think I'm leaning towards Vincent."
"He looks like a Vincent," Adam said, and smiled as his large finger was gripped by the baby's tiny ones.
"Vincent it is," Belle laughed. "If we called him Christophe, there will be at least two in the castle, since that's Michel and Pauline's little boy's name of course. And I'd feel funny calling him by Papa's name every day, even though I'm sure he'd be honored. I think his full name should be Prince Vincent Christophe Maurice."
"Can I hold him?" Adam asked. Belle nodded, and carefully held the baby up, so that Adam could secure him in his arms. He held him tightly to his chest, and tears blurred his vision. All those years in despair, living in seclusion as a monster. It was worth it now. No love could be greater.
"Hello son. I'm your Papa. Welcome to the world, Prince Vincent," he said softly to the little bundle. Mrs. Potts put a motherly arm around him.
"We will let your beautiful family bond right now. Dr. Lamoureux and I would like to go down and get some breakfast. And of course I will tell Cogsworth, so he can make his official announcement to the whole castle!" she said joyfully.
"Thank you," Adam said, his eyes fixed on the face of his son. Mrs. Potts, who had been trained as a midwife over the last few years, bent down and embraced Belle.
"You did wonderful, love. I knew you would."
The two left, closing the door softly behind him. Adam and Belle talked and cooed to Vincent for some time, and the baby boy began making fussy noises and chewing on his fists.
"Uh-oh, what now?" Adam said in a bit of alarm.
"Let's just see," Belle said with a little laugh. She watched as Vincent began insistently turning his head toward the warmth of Belle's chest, his mouth wide open. Belle knew exactly what to do, and unabashedly, she lowered her nightgown and put him to nurse. He drank hungrily.
Adam's eyes widened. "Does it make you feel like a cow?"
"Adam!" she teased. "No, you don't have to start calling me 'Bernadette' now, she said laughing. Bernadette was the name of her father Maurice's cow. "He isn't drinking milk yet, he's drinking a fluid with nutrients to keep him healthy. It will help him to not get sick. He's a healthy boy, his color is good and pink."
Adam nodded, still amazed at their little miracle. "He's very enthusiastic, he knows what he wants. I hope he doesn't have my temper."
"Two temperamental Princes would be a handful, but I'd love him just the same. I can't wait to start reading him books."
"Mon ange, You've already been reading books aloud to your stomach for months."
"Yes, Adam, but now he can hear them much better."
Vincent drank for a while, then his eyes closed and he fell asleep, a bit of dribble on his lips. Belle and Adam could hear his soft, peaceful breathing.
"Do you want me to bring you a tray of breakfast?" Adam asked her. "You must be famished."
"Yes, thank you," she said. "I feel like having some scrambled eggs with cheese, and strawberries if they have them. I can't eat right now though. I just want to lie here and hold him. I don't think I ever want to set him down in his cradle."
Adam looked down at his wife and son with bursting pride. "I understand." He bent down and kissed Vincent's fuzzy head.
A sound of cheering and clapping erupted downstairs in the main dining hall of the castle. Cogsworth must have made his official announcement. A moment later, the entire staff of servants broke out in a rousing rendition of 'Happy Birthday.'
"Happy Birthday, Vincent...you're an amazing little one," Belle marveled. This child, the product of their love, was the most precious thing Belle had ever held in her arms. She was now truly ready to be a mother, and knew that Adam would be the best father ever.
...
A.N. -This time of year always makes me think of a baby story, because of the Newborn King and also because 2 of my kids have their birthdays during the holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy Winter Holidays! -Civilwarrose
The fanart in the cover avatar is by madam-marla of Deviant Art. (See my author profile to see her DA profile link!)