Adam didn't know how far he'd walked, or where he was going for that matter. He just knew he couldn't be in that cottage a minute longer.
"Belle doesn't understand anything," he thought. And how could she? It was easy for her to forgive Avenant when she didn't know what it was like to see the same anger, the same hatred in somebody else's eyes…
"Please, let me go! Don't hurt me!" the man shouted, "I'll do anything! ANYTHING!"
A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. For a long moment, the Beast stood on the edge of the roof, dangling the hunter precariously over the ledge. He looked so small and fragile in his grasp. Why should he care if he died? He had invaded his castle; by all means he deserved it. To finish him off would be far too easy, as easy as breaking a twig in half…
When he finally stopped running it was to find himself standing in a meadow some distance away from the cottage. Belle hadn't followed him out and he was glad. He didn't want her to see him like this. He took a moment to wipe some sweat from his forehead and realized he was a mess: his knuckles were bleeding, his hair had fallen loose from its ponytail, a seam had been popped on the shoulder of his new jacket, and his cravat had come untied. Everything he wore felt so proper and constricted. And he hated it.
Quickly, he tore off his clothes until only his boots, britches and shirt remained. The ruined clothes fell in a heap on to the grass, almost resembling the ragged cloak of an old beggar woman who'd come to his castle so long ago. Being reminded of her only made him more furious.
"Is this another test of yours?" he shouted, "Are you enjoying ruining my happy ending by giving me something more to suffer with?!"
He kicked at his cravat, his jacket and his vest, until his strength gave way and he fell, face first on to the grass. It suddenly dawned on him how stupid he must look. "As if Molyneaux doesn't think you're crazy enough already, now you're taking your anger out on your clothes. Très bien."
Slowly, he sat up and buried his face in his hands.
The Beast felt a strange chill take hold of him as he continued to hold the man out to the edge of the roof. Why was he being so hesitant? He'd deserved to die, didn't he? But, there was something holding him back…he lifted his brows as though seeing the hunter clearly for the first time.
This felt...wrong. Maybe the man did deserve to be punished, but looking into his eyes, he didn't have the strength to do it. He was human, just as much as the Beast had once been. He could not kill him, anymore than he could let Belle remain his prisoner. Slowly, as though working on someone else's orders, he stepped backwards and placed the hunter back on the roof.
"Get out," he said. He had made the wrong choice of not showing mercy to someone long ago and he was not going to make that mistake again. He was done. And with that, he released him.
Adam had been so close to dropping Gaston off the ledge that night. He had been completely beast then; all he could see was red. It was a dangerous path he had walked across, and one he thought he could put away for good once he became human.
Until today that was. Today, it had come back. Not for him this time, but for someone else. For Gaston's brother, Avenant.
"Now now, Prince Adam," Avenant said with a smile, "A lesson must be learned here. You see, you can steal as many wenches as you want from my brother, but killing him? I simply cannot accept that. Now I'm about to cause you the pain that you caused me."
As if Belle believed that telling Avenant the truth about Gaston would just magically solve all their problems. She obviously didn't know the way people like Avenant thought. Adam did. He knew, because he had been him once. Being a Beast for ten years hadn't just twisted his appearance, but his sense of humanity too. Didn't Belle realize that when he locked her father away in the dungeon last winter, he would have probably let him die there, had she not come looking for him? Or when he'd agreed for Belle to take his place, he was willing to let her starve to death for not eating with him their first night together?
Of course not.After all, Belle had never been a Beast. She didn't know what it was like to lose a bit of her sanity day by day, wondering what was the point in caring about anyone, when no one could ever care about her. She didn't know what it was like to spend ten years wasting away in darkness…
As the years passed the Beast fell into despair and lost all hope. He came to believe that the enchantress had never intended for him to be human again, and so began to act like the Beast he would soon be for life, venturing further out into the black forest, burying his life as a prince on top of shredded curtains, ruined furniture and bloody animal carcasses. Sometimes he felt tempted to lose himself entirely, but then he would see the rose and he would remember.
The rose had a strange power over the Beast, one he had tried for many years to make sense out of without any avail. He believed that the rose didn't just bind him to his curse; it bound him to his humanity. He was convinced that human emotions radiated from that rose, human emotions both great and terrible. It was only through the rose that the Beast's desire to be human again became strongest, and only through the rose that he could see the monster he had truly become. How could a girl ever learn to love him when he couldn't even save himself from the darkness he was sinking into more and more each day?
And then, almost ten years later, just when he thought he was about ready to cross the threshold and never come back, she had come. And she had proven everything he feared to be wrong. She had shown him kindness, healed him when he'd been injured, treated him like a man instead of a monster, and made him want to prove to her that despite the fact that he was, he could be different.
It was only through Belle that the Beast could put his inner demons behind him for good. Everything he had done in those six months wasn't for him, or his servants, it was for her.
Was Avenant then the man Adam would have been if Belle hadn't come to the castle? Was that the extent the darkness would take him to? He felt chill ran down his spine as he remembered the livid look on Avenant's face as he lifted the rifle, his blue eyes mad with hunger, his mouth curled up into a smile so very similar to his brother's. He was powerful and dangerous and would stop at nothing until he got his revenge. He would hurt Belle, just as Adam had once hurt Maurice.
"But I can stop him!" he realized. Yes,from now on, things would be different. Security around the castle gates would be tightened, villagers would be interrogated; followers of Avenant would be scouted out. A thought suddenly occurred to him…what if they were already starting an ambush at the house while he lay out here, doing nothing? What if they'd already taken Belle and Maurice and were out looking for him next? Terrified, he got to his feet and raced back to the village. He only slowed down again when he was within sight of Belle's house.
No one was there. The guards still stood watch around the perimeter, and a quick look through the front window told Adam that Belle was still tending to her father; completely oblivious to her fiancé was watching her from the outside. He couldn't help feeling guilty as he watched her speak, her expression both sad and forlorn. She cared about her father so much. He hadn't meant for this to happen. He hadn't meant for them to suffer like this.
"The only reason Avenant is after Belle is because of me," he realized, "He knows that if he hurts her, he hurts me too."
Feeling ashamed, he lowered his hand on to the windowsill. It dawned on him what he had to do. It was obvious, both the simplest and most difficult thing he could do to save this situation.
"I have to let her go. I'm just fooling myself to think this marriage is right for her. She was almost killed because of me, and might even be killed again if he knows how much I care about her. I'd be no different from how I was ten years ago if I let this marriage continue. I can't be thinking of myself anymore."
Yes he would have to tell her the truth. Once things had settled down, he'd let Belle know he no longer wanted to marry her, send her and her father to another village where Avenant couldn't find them and then...then...well he didn't want to think about what would happen next.
And yes, maybe that would be hard for him to recover from, but so what? He was just coming to terms with the inevitable. He knew, just as he had the night he had let Belle go free that he was always meant to have misfortune fall on him. He was always meant to be alone. He'd best start living with that truth now, before he really got hurt.
"Master?" said one of the guards, waking the prince from his depressing reverie, "Is everything alright?"
Adam blinked up at him and forced a smile. "I'm fine," he lied, "Just…getting some air. If you'll tell Belle I'm out here…once her father's ready we'll return to the castle."
"Certainly, master," the guard replied. He gave him a bit of a curious looking, probably wondering why he wasn't capable of telling Belle this news himself but went inside to let her know anyway. Once the door had closed, Adam made his way back to the field with the intent of getting his clothes. He thought it best to distance himself from Belle now before things became too unbearable.
Back at the castle kitchens, Mrs. Potts was disturbed from washing dishes as a plump man in a russet jacket came running through the door, his wig askew and his pocket watch dangling from his front pocket. "Oh, Mrs. Potts, thank heavens!" Cogsworth exclaimed as he stopped to catch his breath, "I've been looking everywhere…have you seen Lumiere anywhere?"
"Afraid I haven't," the cook said in surprise, "Last I heard he was assisting Angelique with the wedding decorations in the ballroom."
"But that was two hours ago!" Cogsworth wailed, "No one's seen him since!"
"There, there, Cogsworth. Perhaps you ought to settle down, talk things out, maybe have a nice spot of tea."
"Tea?" Cogsworth looked completely appalled at the suggestion."There's no time for that! It is vital that I share this important piece of news with Lumiere immediately!" To show what he meant, he brandished an official looking envelope from his pocket. Before Mrs. Potts could enquire on its contents the door opened again and Chip and Sultan came running into the kitchens, crashing into Cogsworth and sending the envelope flying from his hands.
"No!" he shouted. The letter went flying toward a nearby stove, and it was only through an incredible amount of dexterity that he managed to catch it just before it fell into the fire.
"Mama, Mama!" Chip exclaimed, "You should have been there, you should have seen what Sultan did! He jumped so high Mama!"
"Now that's all good and fun Chip, but do you see what you've done?" said Mrs. Potts, "You just knocked poor Cogsworth on to the floor!"
"Oops," Chip said as he turned to the head of household, "Sorry, Cogsworth. I guess I didn't watch where I was going."
"No matter, my dear boy," Cogsworth said as he stood up and brushed the dirt and dog hairs off of his jacket. "It is clear to me that Lumiere is not here, however," he put the envelope back in his pocket, "If you do see the man, Mrs. Potts, tell me he is to come see me at once!"
"Of course Cogsworth,"
Cogsworth had spent exactly thirty-nine minutes and forty-two seconds running through the castle, without any clues as to where that blasted maitre d' may be. He was, to put it lightly, becoming quite frustrated. Even though it took less time for him to move from room to room now that he was human, it didn't make it any easier to find people when he needed them, especially Lumiere, who seemed more interested in walking off with maids than carrying out his job of sorting out the master's political affairs. Was Cogsworth the only person in the castle who was concerned about putting the master's throne back together? After the letter he had found today, he was starting to think so.
He was just moving down a corridor on the third floor, wondering if he should start retracing his steps when he heard a high-pitched voice coming from a curtain to his left.
"Oh, Lumière," a woman sighed, "Do you not think we are getting a leetle too big to be hiding behind these curtains now?"
"Nonsense, ma cherie," Lumiere replied, "There is plenty of room. Regarde."
There was a girlish shriek, followed by an intense rustling of curtains. Cogsworth rolled his eyes. Of course.
"Aha!" he exclaimed, throwing aside the draperies to reveal the couple concealed behind it.
"Cogsworth!" Lumiere shouted, alarmed. He dropped Babette, causing her to shriek as she hit the ground. "I can explain, I was just…," he suddenly looked quite furious with himself, "What are you doing here?!"
"Well someone has obviously not been reading the letters from the aristocrats lately," Cogsworth said, crossing his arms over his chest. He reached into his front pocket and shoved the envelope underneath his partner's pointy nose, "Read this, you venomed common-kissing coxcomb!"
Lumiere wordlessly snatched the letter from his hand. His expression became more and more aghast as his eyes trailed further down the page.
"He's coming here?" he said once he was done.
"Indeed."
"But...well…I most certainly didn't invite him!"
"Oh, of course you didn't," Cogsworth said, rolling his eyes, "You probably filled him with the notion that we're all happy to honour him with his presence, didn't you, Mister Hospitality?"
"No I didn't!" Lumiere insisted, "I thought we both agreed we were not going to invite him to the castle until Belle and the master had been married for at least a few months!"
"That's what I thought too, but explain this! You must have told him something in the last letter we sent or else why would he have sent this reply?"
"I did not tell him a thing!"
"You did so, you dissembling knotty-pated codpiece!"
"Did not, you fawning bat-fowling haggard!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Cogsworth, look at it this way," Lumiere interrupted, "Even if you didn't invite him, it would be quite foolish for the king to be absent at his own nephew's wedding, don't you think?"
"Perhaps," said Cogsworth, "But you know how the master feels about him."
"How he felt about him," the maitre d' corrected, "It's been over ten years since they last saw one another, maybe this is a chance for them to turn over a new leaf."
"With that temper I find that highly unlikely," said Cogsworth, "But…maybe it's not too late. If we can send one of our faster couriers to his castle tonight, maybe we can tell him he's ill. Or that they've postponed the wedding ceremony to a later –,"
"Zut alors!" Babette suddenly exclaimed as she noticed movement out the castle window, "Lumière, look, ze master has returned!"
Lumiere's face turned chalk white. "So soon?" he gasped.
"Well you know Lumiere," said Cogsworth, "Four hours, twenty-two minutes and fourteen seconds is an ample amount of time for Belle and the master to ride to the village and back…"
"Tais-toi!"
"Oui, he has returned," said Babette. Her expression suddenly fell, "…And it looks like 'zey have brought some company."
The letter was promptly forgotten after that.
