Thank you everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story.

I decided not to include Cecil's meeting with King Pierre as the terms will have to be explained to Belle. The repeat seemed unnecessary and I do not want to bore readers.

Secondly, the prince's name will be "Henri" eventually. In my "Freedom of Choice" story, I did state that the prince disliked the name "Adam" even though everyone called him that. I am trying to keep this story as consistent as possible with the three Beauty and the Beast movies, and, I guess, the game which first called the prince "Adam." Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please read and review.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Beauty and the Beast, which are owned by Disney. The nobles (with the exception of three in the first chapter), King Pierre, and Cecil Toussaint are the only characters I created.

Cecil and Belle just came home the morning after the party. Belle, having energy from sleeping for six hours on a chair, threw open the door and ran shouting, "Papa, we're home!"

Maurice walked into the kitchen, "Yes, I can hear." He bent down to take his daughter into his arms and picked her up. She threw her arms around his neck.

"I missed you, Papa."

"And I missed you, sweetheart."

Belle pulled away slightly, "I wish you could come."

"I know, but at least you had a good time." He decided to put Belle down knowing what she was about to do once he asked his next question. "Did anything interesting happen?"

Belle's smile grew and she started skipping around the kitchen as she spoke, "A king was there, the king of Oise. Mama and I were presented to him."

Maurice was amazed, "A king?" He looked at Cecil who nodded and he realized there was more to the story from the look on her face.

Cecil needed to speak to Maurice alone, "Belle, I don't know where you got your energy, but you should get some more sleep."

Belle looked at her mother cheekily, "More like you don't have energy."

Cecil crouched down to Belle's level and stroked her cheek, "Yes, you know it. Now, you should take off your dress carefully and put it on the master bed, and take a nap for at least an hour. You and Papa will do something together a little later. I promise."

"All right." Belle was excited to do something with her father, so she ran to the master bedroom to take off her dress.

When Cecil heard the door close, she sighed. Maurice walked over to Cecil, "So was the ball a success?"

She walked over to a chair and sat down, "More of a success than we could have predicted. Belle was noticed."

Maurice sat next to her, "Noticed? You mean she got a marriage proposal?"

"Sure did," said a young voice as Belle entered the room in her undergarments. "Well, actually, it wasn't a real marriage proposal. Philbert de Chagny asked if I were older, would I accept a proposal from him. I said no."

Cecil looked at Belle sternly, "Belle, what did I say?"

Belle quickly said, "Sorry, Mama," and ran to her room.

Maurice and Cecil looked at each other and giggled a little. He sobered up first and toned down his voice, "Now, tell me about this marriage proposal."

Cecil took a deep breath, "Maurice, this is better than we ever could have dreamed for Belle. The king noticed her."

Maurice shook his head, "Oh no, he is not going to marry my daughter, no sir. He must be, what, thirty-something?"

She tried not to laugh as she replied, "Well, I think he is in his forties, but he does not want Belle for his wife. He's only the interim king since his nephew, the real heir, is only ten."

"And has Belle met this prince?"

"No, he wasn't at the party."

Maurice glanced towards Belle's room. "I don't know, Cecil, an arranged marriage for Belle?"

"I had the same thoughts, but you have to admit, she will be comfortable for the rest of her life. She can go further in life than we ever thought possible."

"Why didn't Belle tell me about this?"

"She doesn't know. I am supposed to go to Oise in three weeks and discuss the terms with the king. I'll make sure that Belle is not forced into a marriage before she turns seventeen."

Maurice sighed. He had to admit that if this worked, it was a sure thing for Belle's future, unlike yesterday when everything was so uncertain. "When do we plan to tell her?"

"I'll tell her after my meeting with the king."

King Pierre traveled to the vacation castle where his nephew was living. When he arrived, he looked for the one person who he entrusted his nephew's upbringing. "Mrs. Potts?"

Mrs. Potts came down the stairs quickly, "Your Majesty, I'm sorry but we weren't expecting you." When she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, she curtsied.

King Pierre replied, "Yes, I realize that, but I bring news about my nephew and his education."

"Yes, Sire?"

"I'm trying to arrange a marriage for my nephew."

Mrs. Potts was surprised, "Marriage? Why he is only ten."

If this was any other servant, King Pierre would have scolded him or her for giving an opinion, but Mrs. Potts was different. "I realize that, but he becomes of age in eight years and he must be prepared to step up to his duty, including marriage and heirs. Where is he?"

"Why he is up in the study with his tutor, Sir."

"Yes, well, how many languages can he speak fluently?"

Mrs. Potts was flustered by this news and the question. "None as far as I know, Sir."

"Have you tried to teach him English?"

She replied, "No, he is still learning the other romance languages."

King Pierre almost growled. "Fire the tutor. Obviously, he is not working hard enough with the boy. I'll send a new one next week and you keep this one until then. I want lunch within an hour to be had with my nephew."

Mrs. Potts was shocked, but she answered, "Yes Sir," and walked away to the kitchens.

King Pierre went to the study to find his nephew.

The young prince was bored as the tutor babbled about some ancient Greeks. He was not unintelligent, only disinterested, but the tutor thought he was teaching someone who was dim-witted.

The king entered the study just in time to see the prince let out a big yawn as he slouched further into his chair. The tutor rolled his eyes because that must have been the tenth time since they began an hour ago.

The king did not like what he was seeing, "Adam!"

The prince sat up quickly, "Uncle, I didn't know you were coming."

King Pierre responded, "I see."

The tutor bowed when the king made his presence known. Pierre dismissed him for the day and the prince smirked.

Pierre then looked at his nephew, "Get that smirk off your face."

The prince lost the smirk quickly. He gave a slight bow, "Yes, Uncle."

The king then asked, "Tell me what you've been learning."

He shrugged, "Things."

"What sort of things?"

The prince thought before saying, "Ancient Greeks, languages, grammar, things."

The king ignored his response. "Clean up, lunch is in twenty minutes."

The prince ran quickly from the room.

At lunch, King Pierre and his nephew sat on opposite sides of the table. The king thought it was time for them to have their talk.

"Adam, it is time to talk about your future as a ruler."

The prince had a nervous look on his face, but he quickly disguised it. He nodded to his uncle.

"First, which languages are you fluent in?"

The prince's eyes widened, "Um, none."

"None?"

"No, Sir."

King Pierre thought about Belle and her education. His nephew was two years older. "Well, in that case, you will receive a new tutor next week so that you can learn. You realize how important the different languages are."

The prince recited, "They help me to communicate with other diplomats."

"Correct. Now, there are other aspects to being a ruler besides languages."

"Yes, Uncle."

"You will need to secure the future of the monarchy."

The prince did not understand but nodded his head.

"So, you have two choices. When you turn sixteen, you will be sent to a university in Britain or be prepared for a betrothed."

The prince did not understand the second choice, but anything was better than being sent off for more schooling, right? "I think I rather have the second choice."

The king was happy, "Fine then, you will still have a tutor, but the schooling will not be as long."

"Great."

King Pierre gave the prince a look and the prince cowered. They continued the rest of their meal in silence.

Three weeks later –

"Mama, Christmas is only two weeks away," Belle complained.

Cecil was packing for a week's stay at King Pierre's castle. "I know, sweetheart, and I'll be back in plenty of time. It's only a week."

Belle crossed her arms, sat on the bed, and pouted.

Cecil tried not to laugh at her daughter's expression. Most of the time, Belle acted beyond her age but the times when she did not were too few and too cute.

"What about Papa's gift?"

Cecil answered, "I promise we'll have enough time to go shopping for Papa's gift. There is enough money for you to get started for your friends and I'll be back when you need help."

Belle huffed. Cecil walked over to her. "Think of it this way – you'll be home with Papa."

The little girl could not maintain her pouty face as she thought about time with her father. However, she did manage to keep the smile small enough that it almost looked like she was indifferent. Cecil looked up at the ceiling and shook her head slightly.

The carriage ride with Lady Montcharmin took the better part of a day. The atmosphere was thick between them, although Cecil did not know why. Lady Montcharmin hoped that her granddaughter would be noticed and chosen at the party, not some half-breed like Lady Toussaint's daughter.

Upon the arrival at the castle, it was three days before the king spoke to Lady Toussaint about the betrothal. Lady Toussaint explained her plans for Belle's education and was honest about Belle's time with peasants. The king told her about his conditions for the marriage. She agreed to all except when the marriage would occur. After some explanation as to why her daughter should wait, the king and she made a deal.

Lady Belle Toussaint was betrothed to Prince Alexander Henri Adam Cartier.