Author's Note: Again I thank ArtFlourish and Emily for being my beta readers. Please read ArtFlourish's fic.
Weeks passed, and Belle had fallen into the habit of getting up before dawn to be ready for breakfast with Adam, her one guaranteed moment to see him before he was whisked away into politics. It seemed unfair that his parents abruptly dumped the full responsibility of being prince on his shoulders, leaving no time for Adam or anyone else to easily adjust to the change in leadership. Years of lessons and diplomacy had to be taught within days, and Adam was always surrounded by advisers barking in his ear on what had to be done and when and how. It was becoming increasingly rare to have any significant private time with him, much less private time at all, as Cogsworth was ever vigilant, making sure the two did not engage in "immoral relations," and almost everything they did fell into that category. As romantic as it was to be suddenly whisked into an empty room and share feverish kisses and heavy petting for a brief period, they weren't children; they shouldn't have to hide their love but publicly acknowledge it, but Adam gave no sign that he was even considering marriage, and she didn't dare force the idea upon him. Though Cogsworth was fond of spouting laws and quizzing Adam on their meaning and how they should be applied in certain situations, no one ever mentioned if the law allowed a prince to have a common-born wife or if it specifically barred him from anyone except those of noble blood. She didn't dare ask, fearing the answer would be no, putting Adam forever out of her reach. She couldn't ask him to give up everything just to be with her; it wasn't fair to the people, from the nobles to the common folk, who were counting on him to keep the province stable and profitable. All she dared to was hope, pray, and fight to maximize their time together.
Hastily dressing, she ran down the corridor as quickly as she could, not wanting Cogsworth shoving everything down his throat as quickly as possible and taking away her time with him. As much as she loved the pudgy little man, she was starting to hate him for keeping her away from her Adam.
"Good morning, Adam," she greeted, not even bothering to curtsy as she entered the dining room. When it was just him and the servants, she felt no need to follow protocol. Everyone knew how much she respected and revered her prince; there was no need to remind them with traditional gestures.
"Now that you're here, it is a good morning," Adam replied as he rushed over to her and gave her a loving kiss.
"Separate, separate," Cogsworth chided, but Adam ignored him and willfully made it worse.
"Forget breakfast, I want you instead," Adam purred as he began to nibble on her neck. Belle shuddered with delight and pulled him closer. Oh why couldn't he somehow take the day off and they could be alone together?
"Master, mademoiselle, I beg you, PLEASE separate!" He was nearly going blue in the face from how wrong this all was. "We can't have anyone accusing you two of—"
"Don't say it, PLEASE," Belle insisted as she unwillingly pulled away from Adam. How she had grown to loathe the words "immoral relations." It wasn't her place to propose nor did Adam seem to be in any great rush, if one at all, though he clearly loved her. Oh but if they were married, surely he could get a few days or even a week off for their honeymoon and they could spend each moment lying in each other's arms. How heavenly that would be!
"This can't last much longer," Adam promised as he helped her to her seat. For a moment, Belle panicked, fearing he meant their relationship. How could she possibly leave her handsome prince, the man she loved more than anything? "My schedule being so busy and every fairly important person in the province wanting my attention, this has to end soon and everything will settle into a ordinary, boring routine, allowing much more time for you. You're always first in my heart, and you always will be."
"Just as you are in mine," she replied, trying to control her rapidly beating heart. "Thank you, Javier," she instinctively said as a steaming hot platter was placed before her by a kitchen aide. She wondered over her eggs if she should tell Adam about her dream from a while back, where the two met at a Christmas party he had hosted, and she assumed they would continue to speak until they were as close and in love as they were now. It had to be planted in her mind by the Enchantress; her dreams never mimicked real life so perfectly. He often asked if she suffered nightmares, but she didn't want to worry him and always said no. They were nothing she couldn't handle on her own, and he had enough to worry about, she didn't need to add to that list. They came at random, with no discernible pattern, and there didn't seem to be any possible triggers she stumbled upon to encourage the dreams. Would Gaston simply haunt her for the rest of her life? How she prayed one day these nightmares would simply end!
Their time together was over all too quickly, and with another quick kiss and a promise to see her later that night, he was gone. "Sometimes I wish that dream was real," she said aloud to no one in particular.
"And what dream is that, dear?"
Belle turned around with a start, but calmed down when she saw Mrs. Potts standing in the doorway, drying the pan that cooked her eggs. "I wasn't aware anyone was around, forgive me."
Mrs. Potts chuckled warmly. "Just because we are not objects anymore does not mean we aren't hiding in the shadows, ready to serve at a moment's notice."
"Of course, I keep forgetting." She still didn't see the servants as mere servants, more like an extended family all working together to maintain the castle. "May I help with the dishes?"
"As long as Cogsworth isn't around, an extra pair of hands is always welcome," she laughed and then grew serious. "I overheard what happened during breakfast. I know how annoying and unfair he is, but you have to forgive him. He's always been a stickler for the rules; it's in his blood. His great-grandfather was an earl in England, but he so poorly managed the estate and lost everything, including his title. From birth Cogsworth had been taught to consider himself a nobleman, even though the law says he is just another common man, and he prides himself on running the castle as if he was in his true home in England, and this includes keeping everyone's morality high."
Belle took her usual seat next to the sink and began to dry the massive pile of dishes next to her while Mrs. Potts scrubbed and a blushing and nervous Javier returned each clean dish to its proper home. Unlike the others, he couldn't bring himself to feel comfortable around the master and mistress, even though she often lowered herself to help out in the kitchen ever since she came to the castle. In his heart, he was still a street urchin from Madrid, begging coin and kindness from the dons and more often receiving a kick then any mercy. He knew from the start that Belle was just another common girl, like himself, but his heart regarded her as a doña and she must be treated as such.
"So please tell me what you meant earlier when you mentioned a dream?" Mrs. Potts kindly asked.
"The first night that Adam resumed his duties as prince, I had a dream that I'm certain the Enchantress sent me. Adam was never turned into the Beast, he never had a reason to be; he was always the kind man he is now. He invited the villagers to réveillon and we spent some time talking to each other in private. It went so well, he—" well she couldn't exactly tell her how Adam kissed her more than once, "he asked my father for permission to call on me in Molyneux. Adam is always saying how the Enchantress brought us together and he is confident that we were meant to be. I think that dream signifies that he was right, that we would always be together, so would it have been better if he was never the Beast? If he didn't grow to be a spoiled brat, would taking over the province demand his attention all day and night like this? Would it have been a smoother transition?"
"Traditionally, yes, but it just wasn't meant to be. Adam was their first-born, and his parents were very inept in parenthood. More and more the task of raising him was put into the servants' hands, as his father just wanted to rule the province and his mother was absorbed in her social life. We all loved him like our own son and wanted to raise him to be a good man, but poor Pierre was thrown out when he was caught disciplining Adam as a toddler, trying to teach him right from wrong and how to behave. His parents acted as if children were born with the knowledge of proper behavior, and accused Pierre of insubordination because he didn't like having such a young master. Our hands were tied, and Adam quickly became out of control. The only time his parents paid any attention to him was when he acted out, which further encouraged his behavior. When he was ten, they declared he couldn't be saved, he couldn't run the province effectively, and they were terrified of losing the family right to rule, either through peasant revolt or the king appointing someone new. They had another child but kept it secret from Adam and made her the new heir. They abandoned him here in the summer castle with an army of servants to care for him as they raised their daughter separately from him. They kept in contact with us servants through letters but when we wrote back that he had transformed into a beast and we became enchanted objects, the letters stopped completely, until Cogsworth sent them a letter saying the enchantment was lifted and he was human again and a much better man for the experience. Whether or not they believed our story, I don't know, but we never had any problems with intruders except for the night the villagers came."
She thought back to that night where Adam nearly struck her with a table in his blind rage over meeting his parents, and how he never wanted to speak of them if she asked about them ever since. Forcing him to suddenly become crown prince though they were still of sound mind and body was perhaps traditional, but it still didn't seem fair, and she started to wonder if they loved their son or even cared about him at all. If he was bonding with them, making amends for the past, then surely he'd be more comfortable talking about them with her. "I'm so sorry that you all had to go through that. Until the Beast saved me from the wolves, I thought he was…well I didn't know what he was, just a sentient monster somehow. After that moment, I knew there was a good heart deep inside him, I just had to try and unlock it. After a while, I didn't even try to think about why he was a beast and you were enchanted objects. I just saw you all as friends and family."
"You were a godsend to us all, my dear," Mrs. Potts assured her as she placed a comforting hand on the young woman's shoulder, "especially to the master, a lost soul in need of someone to guide him down the right path, just as he helped you find yours. I know it's hard being separated from the one you love, but remember he did promise to see you tonight, and he always makes good on his promises."
Adam ran down the corridors, hastily apologizing as servants got of his way. Though he protested, complained, and tried to weasel his way out, it was much later than he anticipated when finally the day's events were done. How he hoped Belle waited for him instead of assuming he wouldn't see her that evening! She wasn't in any of her usual places, and no one knew where she was, so she must be in her room.
"Some things never change," one servant commented to another. "As the Beast, he would run us over if we weren't paying attention."
"At least Belle taught him some manners," the other corrected, "and if I had a girl like Belle waiting for me, I'd run like hell too. I might not even apologize if I ran someone over."
Such joy entered Adam's heart when he arrived at her door, and he knew it was worth enduring being a prince if only for the moment he would see his beloved Belle again. He knocked on her door, but she did not answer. So desperate was his need to see her, he slowly and carefully opened the door, praying he wasn't intruding. She was laying on her side in bed, still fully clothed, one arm slung over the side as a book lied open on the floor. She fell asleep waiting for me, he concluded, and his heart sank at the notion. He wanted to be human to be the man she needed, not someone who couldn't be around for her. He reached down and grabbed the book, identifying it as the one Mssr. Linwood gave her recently, and began to read.
"She will never marry the prince!" The king decreed. "She is of common blood; she will pollute our family's bloodlines! Centuries of careful breeding, gone in one generation!"
"Father, I love her," the young prince argued. "I thought you wanted me to be happy."
"Happiness comes later, you fool! You must put your family and the kingdom ahead of any such childish notions! Do you really think your mother and I cared for each other at first? The first time we ever met was at the wedding ceremony, and look at us now! It will be the same for you, with a girl of proper breeding, not some mutt!"
Adam swore under his breath and looked down at his sleeping love, for the first time noticing an uneasy expression on her face. Did she think it would be the same for them?"They aren't us," he whispered softly as he marked her place and closed the book, placing it on the nightstand. "I'm sure that prince marries his love, just as I pray you will honor me by agreeing to be my wife. That is our one obstacle, Belle; nothing and no one will stop us except ourselves."
She didn't respond but she seemed to be more at ease and snuggled deeper into her pillow. Did she imagine it all to be a dream? Was she dreaming that she was in his arms, and she was pressing herself tighter against him? So be it, he couldn't disturb such a lovely dream. "Good night, Belle. I'll see you at breakfast." He meant to leave and spend the night in his room in the west wing, but he couldn't bring himself to move. He was looking forward to spending time with her all day, and sharing breakfast wasn't enough, it was never enough. He got into bed beside her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he pulled her close, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek.
"Adam?" She groggily asked, her eyes fluttering open as she tried to wake up, but the pull of sleep was very strong.
He shushed her and whispered, "go back to sleep."
She smiled and snuggled closer to him, mumbling "I love you" as sleep claimed her once more.
"I love you too," he replied and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
"Where is he? He's late! If I have to make excuses for why he's not there, the old king will terminate my position!"
Adam growled as Cogsworth's piercing voice disturbed his sleep, and buried his head into Belle's hair, hoping they would go away and leave him be.
"Demote you is more likely," Lumière assured his friend. "I don't even think he has such authority over us, anyway. We are not his servants; we are his son's servants."
"We've been in his pay long before the master could pay us, I'm sure he'd hold that over our heads!"
"Perhaps Belle will know where he is, it wouldn't hurt to ask," Lumière added hastily before Cogsworth went into another speech about "immoral relations."
Oh no… Adam cursed as Lumière gently knocked before entering the room.
"Bonjour, mon cherie, so sorry to disturb you, but we cannot find the master anywhere. Do you know where he is?"
"Adam's missing?" She repeated as she tried to wake up. He never came to see her last night, or at least she didn't think so. She vaguely remembered something about him last night, but it could possibly be a dream.
"I'm right here," Adam growled as he reluctantly revealed himself, sitting up in bed. Belle turned around to face him, angry at herself for not realizing sooner that he was with her.
"How could you, master?" Cogsworth demanded, putting his hands on his hips as he grew red in the face from all his pent-up anger. "If anyone else caught you—what if word got out? You know some servants can't be trusted; they are always looking to gossip about their masters! I won't let your good name be sullied by letting people claim you are having immoral—"
"SILENCE!" Adam roared, scaring everyone in the room, especially poor Cogsworth, who suddenly felt like a fat deer standing before a hungry wolf pack. "I love Belle, and whatever I do with her is NOT immoral! You may live and breathe rules and regulations and be content with that, but I'm not! I hate being denied time to spend with her, and whatever few precious minutes I get with her during breakfast every morning is hardly enough. Don't you EVER accuse either of us of having immoral relations ever again! That is an order! Now, I will get up and do my duties as prince, but I am DONE with work by sunset, because I will spend this evening in its entirety with the woman I love. Do we understand each other, Cogsworth?"
"Yes master," he meekly agreed. Never mind being fearful of termination, now he was scared for his life!
"I'm sorry about everything," Adam apologized as he quickly kissed Belle. "It was very late when everything was done and you had already fallen asleep. I couldn't bring myself to leave you; I looked forward to seeing you all day. I promise I'm going to do something very special for you this evening, to try and apologize for being away so much, and I will be on time for this event, right Cogsworth?"
"Yes master. Whatever doesn't get done, we simply put it off till tomorrow, no excuses."
Belle nodded, praying that Adam would be able to fulfill his promise. "Please don't hurt Cogsworth too much, he's still our friend."
"I won't, but the devil will pity him if I can get this evening free to spend with you."
"It'll be free, it'll be free!"
"I'll see you tonight then," she said before giving him a loving kiss. "Next time, wake me, please."
"But you looked so peaceful; I couldn't bring myself to disturb you. I'll send a servant to fetch you when everything is ready." With one final kiss, he left the room, and Belle collapsed on her bed.
"The fairy tales were wrong, Lumière. Adam is just like Prince Charming, but being a princess isn't all it's cracked up to be."