Chapter 4

Belle woke up slowly, her eyes fluttering open before her gaze fell on the sleeping man beside her. The morning light was seeping through the open balcony doors, highlighting the lighter shades of auburn in his hair. 'Who would have known such a beautiful man was on the inside of the Beast?' she thought. Some days she forgot that Adam and the Beast really were the same person on the inside until he would bring up past memories of the two of them in the castle before the incident with the mob and Gaston. Oh, Gaston! She had forgotten her worries so quickly after last night but now it all came rushing back to her, making a frown appear on her pink lips where a smile had just been. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling in contemplation.

That man was more of a beast than Adam ever was and that scared her more than anything. His reputation and physical physique mixed with his pride created something so dangerous and unpredictable that it intimidated anything and everything that was cast in the big man's shadow. Belle never understood why Gaston with all his pride would ever pursue a girl that was a well-known social outcast. He should have stayed clear of her and treated her like everyone else. But for some unknown reason to her, Gaston would hunt her down like she was his prey and inform her of their future life together like she didn't even have a choice. The man was purely arrogant and not used to hearing the word 'no.' The Beast's temper was easier to deal with than Gaston when he was determined to get what he wanted.

In a way though Belle was thankful for Gaston, but only in the slightest; if it wasn't for him, she might not have realized her true feelings for the Beast until later on. It was only when he was placed in danger that she was hit with the truth. She still loathed Gaston extensively because of his attack on the Beast and the fact that he had been practically forcing her into accepting marriage to him, disregarding the fact that she had turned him down. The thought of living as Gaston's little wife seemed even more despicable and unbearable now that she had Adam. When she first stepped through those castle gates she had no idea that everything she could have ever wanted was on the other side. All the adventure and romance that she read and admired in her books were all given to her due to her father stumbling into a mysterious castle that contained a strange secret. The haunted château was what saved her from a provincial life with Gaston as her burly and egotistical husband only to waste away her years as a simple housewife with only her books to escape through. Belle looked over at Adam silently thanking him for being in her life.

If the rumors in town were true and Gaston was really alive then Belle knew that he would come back with ten times the amount of fury that he had the night he found out that Belle had feelings for the Beast. Gaston was capable of doing so much more harm now that the Beast had transformed back into Adam, he was a strong man but not when compared to Gaston's large muscular form. "Even if Gaston had survived the fall from the castle ledge surely he would be injured quite severely." Belle wondered aloud. If that was the case then it would be quite a while before he had recuperated fully and was well enough to carry out any evil plans that he might have for the couple. This relieved Belle slightly and she let out a small sigh, hoping she was right. Gaston might be injured now but as soon as he wasn't, he would come after her. But it was the unknowable that scared her the most. Waiting for something so unpredictable was what would drive her mad with paranoia and fear. A slight shiver shot up her spine at the thought and she moved a bit closer to Adam for comfort.

She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes as she listened contently to the sound of his heartbeat as he slumbered. She loved this man with all her heart, a way she would never feel about Gaston no matter how much he wanted her to. "Why couldn't he ever understand that?" Belle pondered with a worried crease making its way across her forehead and she slipped her hands around her fiancé's torso. "Understand what?" Belle heard a soft voice ask from underneath her. She shot her eyes open and raised her head up to see Adam staring at her with a slight smile on his face but sleep still in his eyes. "Oh, I didn't know you were awake." Belle stated, realizing afterwards that she had sounded a bit stupid because it was an obvious fact. She blushed a little before continuing, "Gaston, he never understood that someone can't be forced into loving another person. Love just doesn't work that way." Belle slipped her hand into one of Adam's where it laid on his stomach and gave out a sigh as he rested his arm around her shoulders.

"Maybe he never had someone to show him how love works. Maybe he never knew what love actually was; never experienced it." Adam suggested, knowing from personal experience that it was a possibility. He had been that way before Belle had entered his life. Before her he was self-centered and quick to anger. He never had someone that would invest in him and have enough faith in him to put up with his unreasonable temper without being intimidated. Belle was scared of him at first but quickly saw right through him. Somehow she saw that small part of humanity left in him that he didn't even know was there. Perhaps Gaston was the same way; all he knew was lust, pride, and arrogance, never compassion, mercy, or sympathy. He was a skilled hunter and cold blooded killer that always got what his heart desired, just as Adam did as a spoiled royal youth before he was turned into the Beast.

"You're probably right. I feel sorry for him sometimes. He lived a life never knowing the beautiful and wonderful thing that is love, and that is such a tragic thing in itself. If only there had been someone that cared for him enough to change him then his life wouldn't have ended like it did." Belle sniffled softly and Adam felt one of her tears drop onto his night shirt and soak through to touch his skin. He took his hand out of Belle's and used it to raise Belle's chin up so he could look into to her eyes. "Is this what has been bothering you so for the past few weeks?" Adam asked his expression soft. He had waited for so long for her to tell him and finally he had the chance to confront her about it. "Well… it does bother me when I think about every once in a while… but it's not what has been troubling lately." Belle murmured and Adam frowned at this. "What is it then?" He questioned and he slipped his hand back into hers, giving it a small squeeze of encouragement.

"I've been having these nightmares every time I go to sleep about what happened the night of the mob." Belle said, her voice shaking a bit and she scooted close to Adam. "The dreams usually start when I first come out onto the roof and find you, but the endings of the night are different. Sometimes both you and Gaston die, and I am left alone. Other times Gaston murders you and he then forces me to agree to his marriage proposal and takes me as his right then and there since there is no one there to stop him." At this Belle gasped and trembled and Adam held her tightly to him as his eyes clouded with a fierce fury at the thought that someone would force themself onto his Belle. Adam most likely would have ripped the man limb from limb that night on the roof had he had known what Gaston's real intentions for Belle were. Adam clenched his teeth to keep from losing control. Belle was his only, no one else's, and even as her husband he would never take her innocence from her without her consent.

"Also I've had other nightmares that Gaston was still alive and that he wanted revenge." Belle continued looking back down at their entwined fingers. "In them he waits outside the castle grounds waiting until you leave on a trip. Then he sneaks in the castle at night, searching in every room until he finds my chambers before he kidnaps me and drags me from the castle. I scream for help but no one hears and I'm defenseless against Gaston." Belle whispers as if she talked too loudly it would become true. "Oh Belle, what kind of suffering has your subconscious put you through?" Adam sighed sympathetically and hugged Belle tightly before kissing the top of her head, "Why didn't you tell me of all this before?" Belle looked up at him suddenly and Adam saw the guilt swimming in her eyes. "I didn't want to worry you. You have so much to deal with right now I didn't want to be a burden." Belle let out and now she was regretful of her actions.

"Belle, my love, you are everything to me. Without you I would be a lowly beast, wallowing in self-pity and hopeless." Adam looked deep into her eyes and a smile started to grow on his face. "Nothing else is more worthy of my time than you. All other things are incomparable." Adam said and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Those rumors in town have no evidence to back them. I have sent a number of servants there to look around but they have not seen or heard anything alarming. Please just forget about him Belle and let me worry about it. Let's put the horrors of the past behind us. We'll be married soon and it'll be our new beginning." Adam made sure his voice was light and hopeful as he said this hoping to seem almost carefree about the whole thing but he knew he could not treat this situation with low regard. Inside he was deeply concerned about the rumors. Even though his servants had not found anything doesn't mean the man wasn't alive and just hiding somewhere else. Adam would be sure to be more thorough with his investigations and he definitely would not be leaving the castle any time soon. There was no way he would allow Belle's haunting dreams to come true.