Adam stuck around for an hour after proposing to Belle to talk to the servants before he, too, turned in for the day. He was as tired as a dog by the time he hit his pillow, but he couldn't sleep. All he could think about was Belle. Belle, who had agreed to marry him, in spite of all the ways he'd wronged her. All the ways he'd hurt her, and she'd forgiven him. Knowing this made him love Belle even more than before, and also made sleeping alone nearly impossible.

After changing his sleeping position half a dozen times, however, Adam finally dozed off, and didn't wake up again until eight o'clock, when Mrs. Potts came by to visit him.

"Good evening, master," she said cheerfully as she pushed her tea trolley into the room. "Care for a spot of tea? I put some ginseng in it. It's great for stamina, or so I've heard."

"That would be great, Mrs. Potts," Adam said with a yawn. "Thank you. Have you heard from Belle, by the way? Is she all right?"

"Oh yes, master. She's doing just fine," Mrs. Potts said as she poured a cup for him. "Woke up about an hour ago before you did, as a matter of fact. She's in her room talking to her father right now."

"Oh." Adam frowned as he accepted the steaming tea cup from Mrs. Potts. He was hoping to see Belle again tonight, but he guessed he had to consider that other people wanted to see her, too. Especially Maurice. He must have been worried sick about her, given the circumstances. "Do you think you could bring some dinner to them?" he asked.

"Certainly, master. But I don't understand. Don't you want to eat dinner with Belle?"

"I would. But I think she deserves some time with her father tonight," he replied. "Is there... uh...anything I can help with around the castle in the meantime?"

"Hmm...well, now that you mention it, the stable keeper, Quentin, did mention that one of the horses was giving him some trouble earlier today. I can send him a message if you're interested in lending him a hand."

Adam groaned. "That sounds like Magnifique." The only person he seemed to behave around was Belle, and he was a complete menace to everybody else. "Well, tell him to meet me in the stables in half an hour," he told Mrs. Potts. "I'll take care of it."

As soon as he'd finished dinner, the prince went down to the stables, where Quentin showed him the stall where he'd detained the recalcitrant horse. Upon seeing the steed, however, Adam was surprised to realize that he wasn't Magnifique at all, but Gaston's old stallion, André.

"Gaston must have forgotten to ask the enchantress for him before he went on his quest," he concluded as he petted the horse's nose. "I guess that means he's mine now."

As he went to get the grooming brushes, Adam couldn't help remembering how he'd been in these stables only the day before, talking with LeFou before they went to pick tulips for Belle. "It feels strange to know he's not here anymore, André," he said as he brushed the horse's mane. "I mean, it's not like he was my friend or anything, but it was nice talking with him. I'm sure I could have offered him a permanent job here if he'd decided not to go with Gaston." As it was, Adam could only hope that LeFou was happy, and that he would be able to return to Molyneaux safely once he'd helped Gaston rescue the princess.

After he'd brushed and fed André, Adam returned to his room, where he spent the rest of the night reading the epilogue to Metamorphoses. The next morning, he received breakfast in bed from the servants and got a message from Belle to meet her in the library at ten o'clock. Adam tried to eat quickly so he could get ready, but was only halfway finished when Cogsworth and Lumiere came by to speak with him.

"Bonjour, master!" Lumiere began brightly. "You're looking well. We - that is, Cogsworth and I - were wondering if you could give us your permission to write to your uncle to announce that you have returned."

"My uncle?" Adam replied, raising an eyebrow at his maitre d's question. "But…I thought you told me that he thinks I'm dead."

"And he does...for now," Cogsworth confirmed. "But we have come up with a most beguiling cover story."

"A most ridiculous story," Lumiere added.

"Utterly ludicrous!"

"Which is why he'll have to believe us."

"We know how you felt about your parents abandoning you, master," Cogsworth continued, seeing Adam's puzzled expression. "But understand, they always had your best wishes at heart. You are the rightful heir to the throne, and they would have wanted very much for you to take over from them once you became of age. But we cannot take any further action until we contact your uncle."

Adam leaned against his pillows and considered his servants' suggestion. It hadn't occurred to him before, but having a castle full of human residents did raise a bit of a problem. For one thing, now that he no longer had the enchantress's magic to conjure food for the castle, he would have to send servants to the villages to bring back supplies instead. Undoubtedly, the sight of all these servants would soon cause rumours to spread about human activity taking place in the castle, rumours that might just spread far enough to catch the attention of Adam's uncle.

But, if Adam sent a letter to his uncle now announcing his return, he could avoid those complications before they even started. He could keep the castle, the servants, the library. And Belle... "What about Belle?" he asked, turning back to Lumiere and Cogsworth. "Is there any mention of her in this...cover story?"

"Absolutely, master," Cogsworth nodded. "We couldn't compromise her status exactly, but...if your uncle has any common sense in him I am sure he will honour the mademoiselle as if she were his own. Especially...if she is to be the next reigning princess of the province."

At the word "princess" Adam sat up with a start. "How did you -?"

"Ah, you'll find that there are no secrets in this castle when it comes to l'amour, master," Lumiere said knowingly. "It wasn't so much what you said when you came back from Belle's room yesterday, but what you didn't say that gave it away."

"Oh," Adam didn't know what he could say to that. He and Belle had planned to announce the engagement together once she was feeling better, but now it seemed that Lumiere and Cogsworth had voided that idea; the cat was already out of the bag. "Well, what is this idea?" he asked them instead. It was one thing to propose to Belle, but arranging a wedding ceremony was another challenge in itself. Adam knew he needed all the help he could get if he wanted this to be one of the happiest and most memorable days of Belle's life.

Adam only had a few minutes to change out of his nightshirt and into some clean clothes before Maurice came to his room to talk to him. Despite the prince's embarrassment at only being half-decent when he arrived, the old man was very understanding, and even helped him pick out an outfit to wear before he went to meet with Belle: a powder blue jacket with a navy blue vest.

"Thank - thank you for your help, monsieur," the Prince stammered afterwards, adjusting his cravat as he looked himself over in the full-length mirror beside his bed.

"Not at all, your highness," Maurice replied. "Considering you're going to be my son-in-law, I thought it would be good for us to have a little heart to heart."

At the word "son-in-law," Adam turned around in embarrassment. "Monsieur, please understand. It was my intention to ask you for your blessings first, it was just that –"

"Ah, there's no need for that, I understand," said Maurice. "And believe me, if I had any reservations about you and Belle marrying each other, I would have said so in the first place! Belle is very happy - the happiest I've seen her in weeks. And...well, considering everything that happened before, I'm just glad you finally cleared up your little misunderstanding and took the time to talk things out."

"Talk." Adam had to study the old man's expression carefully for a moment to make sure he wasn't being sarcastic. "Yes," he said, trying to keep his voice as collected as possible. "It was...exactly what we needed to do."

If the Prince appeared be blushing, which he was sure he was, Maurice didn't seem to notice. "Take good care of her," he said, giving him a light pat on the hand. "That's all I ask. She's my only daughter, and well...a father always worries."

"Oh, absolutely, monsieur! And please, don't feel like you're a stranger here. The castle is your home just as much as your daughter's. Feel free to stay here for as long as you like."

"I think I might just take you up on that invitation." Maurice smiled. "Thank you."

He walked towards the doors, then stopped suddenly and turned to face Adam again. "Your, uh, servants mentioned that you know how to do a little bit of carpentry," he said, shuffling his feet. "Is that true?"

"Oh," Adam raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Well, uh, I used to repair some leaks on the roof and replace some of the rotten window sills here during the curse. Why do you ask?"

"Well...between you and me, my eyesight isn't as good as it used to be," the old man confessed. "When Belle was younger, I always hoped that she would help me with my inventions, but she was always so caught up in her books, I guess it was never meant to be. But maybe – if you're not too busy with your duties, that is – you could help me work on my inventions from time to time?"

Adam blinked at Maurice in surprise. Was he actually asking for an excuse for them to spend more time together? It was a strange concept to him, given their history, but at the same time, flattering. In all his ten years as a Beast, no one had ever asked him for his help before. "I'd like that," he said, smiling.

Maurice nodded graciously. "I look forward to it. Thank you."

Once he had left the room, Adam let out a sigh of relief, unable to believe his dumb luck. Maurice had every reason not to trust Adam, given how cruel he'd been to him and Belle as the Beast. But the fact that Maurice had blessed his marriage and come to talk to him two times now had to mean that he was comfortable with Adam - at least comfortable enough to hold a civil conversation with him. Now that Maurice was about to become his father-in-law, Adam promised himself that he was going to make full amends with the old man, so that by the day of the wedding, Maurice wouldn't even remember that Adam used to be a monster.

It took a while for Adam to get to the library, given the new changes to the castle. Every corridor he passed was as white and shining as he remembered from his childhood, but even then, his memory had its limits. Oftentimes he had to stop to remember that the big gargoyle statue on the seventh floor was now an angel, or that the stucco painting of the horned demons on the fifth floor was now a painting of cherubs. By the time he finally found the library doors, Adam was half-afraid that Belle had thought he'd lost her message and gone back to her room. But thankfully, she hadn't.

As soon as he stepped into the library, the prince found Belle reading a book in the large, green armchair next to the fireplace. He only had a moment to admire how pretty she looked in her pink dress before the door closed behind him. Belle looked up, and seeing that Adam had arrived, closed her book and ran towards him, only to trip on her ankle and fall to the floor. Luckily, the prince moved quickly and was able to grab her just before hit the ground.

"I'm so sorry!" Belle said in embarrassment as she grabbed on to his shoulders. "The doctor keeps saying I shouldn't move so quickly when I stand up, but I keep forgetting."

"I won't tell if you won't," said Adam. "But here, why don't we both sit down? Just to be safe."

Belle agreed. The two of them got up and sat on the sofa by the window, staring at each other quietly for a few minutes before they started talking. Even though Adam knew appearances weren't everything, he still couldn't help brushing some stray hairs away from his face as he looked back at Belle, wondering what she was thinking about as she looked at him. Did she think he was handsome? Was she satisfied with what she saw, now that he was human?

Well, she seemed more than satisfied with what she saw two nights ago, said a voice in the back of his head. At that, he kicked his heel against the floor and looked away from Belle in embarrassment.

"Is something wrong?" Belle asked in concern.

"Huh? Oh, nothing," he replied, forcing himself to look back at her. "I just remembered that I...uh, have something to give you." He reached over beside him handed her Metamorphoses, which he'd been hiding behind his back when he entered the library. "I bought this for you back in Bridoré when we were out shopping for supplies," he explained. "I meant to give it to you before we went to your aunt's, but then you ran off and I...ended up holding on to it for longer than I expected."

Belle took the book from Adam and flipped through the pages curiously. "You read this all by yourself?" she asked in amazement.

"Uh, well, not all of it," he corrected. "I needed a dictionary to look up a few words I didn't understand. But I think I got the most of it. There's lots of great stories in it: battles, magic, romance...I wouldn't mind reading it again with you."

Belle smiled. "That sounds wonderful. Thank you." Considering that the Beast could barely read a full sentence when she first met him, she found it both sweet and endearing to think that he'd come to love a book enough to want to share it with her. It really seemed to stand as a milestone to how much he'd changed in the past few months.

"Another thing, Belle," Adam continued as Belle placed the book down on the windowsill. "I'm...uh, guessing the others told you about the letter Cogsworth and Lumiere are writing to my uncle?"

"Yes. Mrs. Potts told me about it this morning."

"Well, I've been thinking that we should wait for him to write back before we start planning the wedding," he continued. "Just so we have more time to clean up the castle and reorganize everything before he gets here. Would that be all right with you?"

"I guess it would be asking a lot for the servants to plan a wedding while they're still adjusting to being human," Belle nodded. "It's better that we wait for things to settle down a bit before we start making plans."

"There's another thing too, Belle," Adam said as he put his hands over hers. "I know we're engaged now...but I think we should wait for our wedding night before we do anymore...," he sighed, "Anymore...you-know-what."

It took a second for Belle to realize what he meant. "Oh. You mean...lovemaking?"

Adam's face turned as red as his hair. "Uh, yes. Lovemaking," he repeated mechanically. Mentally, he was kicking himself. I'm twenty-one years old! Why can't I say one word properly without sounding like an idiot? "But uh, don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't want to do it again," he added, trying to conceal his inexpertness. "I just think we need some time to...mentally prepare ourselves this time, instead of rushing right into it just because we did it one time before we were married. Does that make sense?"

Belle bit her lip as she thought of her answer. "We let our emotions get the better of us," she agreed. "We should spend more time together first and wait for a special occasion, when we both feel ready to do it again. I can understand that."

The prince smiled in relief. "Thank you, Belle. And don't get me wrong, it's not that I didn't enjoy it. I just...,"

"I know," Belle replied, blushing deeply at his honesty. "I liked it, too. Although...I feel like I owe you an apology. I didn't even realize how bad the bruises on my leg looked until I went to the bathroom to wash myself later. I mean, that's probably why you were so hesitant...at first."

"You looked beautiful," Adam assured her, putting his hand under her chin. "And believe me, I don't think I wouldn't have been able to...to..." he paused, "make l-love to you...if I knew something was going to go wrong. I thought that as long as it was what you wanted, and it wasn't hurting you, it was all right. Actually, I think what surprised me more was how fast you accepted me once you realized I was human. I mean, I'd spent the whole afternoon practising an explanation speech, thinking you'd be furious when I told you the truth, that you'd never want to speak to me again. But if I'd known you'd react the way you did…maybe I wouldn't have hesitated so much."

"I'd never be angry over something that petty," Belle replied, trying not to sound offended by Adam's comment. "I was just happy to know that you weren't dead! But I admit, I was surprised about one thing. Why didn't you save yourself all that trouble and tell me who you were when you rescued me back at the village?"

"Because…" Adam hesitated. "I had no idea if you wanted to see me at first. You never told me anything about your village, or Gaston, so I assumed the worst, thinking you sent Gaston to kill me for imprisoning you. And, even after I started to realize that something wasn't right about your engagement, I still thought it was overreaching to think you had feelings for me. It's just…" he paused. "After all those things I did to you and your father, and all the things I gave up the night you left, I started thinking that I was that bad guy, that I didn't deserve to be with anyone. So I hid my face when I came to your village, thinking that if I wasn't meant to find love, I could become someone else instead. Someone selfless, who could make me forget about the monster I used to be."

"Oh, Adam," Belle said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. It broke her heart to know that he had thought that lowly of himself that much that night, to the point that he'd disguised himself just to so he could forget who he was. But at the same time, she could understand his reasoning. She'd never told him about her life at the village, so he was free to draw endless conclusions to why the mob had stormed the castle that night. Add that to the fact that Gaston had brought the magic mirror with him, and he must have had every reason to think that Belle hated him and never wanted to see him again. "I guess that communication hasn't been our strongest point," she said, trying to look at the positives. "I mean, if I told you I'd come back once my father was feeling better, or if you told me that you needed my love to break the spell, maybe we could have stopped Gaston from coming to the castle altogether. I just...I didn't know I felt that way about you. Not at first."

"It's all in the past now," Adam reminded her gently. "All I know is that I don't want to be unhappy anymore. And I don't want to miss out on the chance to be with you, again."

He moved his face closer to hers, and Belle, catching on, placed her right hand on his left shoulder and kissed him. It was a soft, gentle kiss that brought back many sensations from their night together. Belle struggled not to go any further. She'd already promised Adam that she was going to wait until they were married before they consummated again, and she was going to hold on to that promise, no matter how much her body seemed to want the opposite.

After a minute or so, they pulled away, but kept their arms wrapped around each other. "I don't want there to be any more secrets between us, Belle," Adam said to her. "If there's anything you want to know about me, my past, or my family, I'll tell you right here."

"I'd start with knowing your name."

"My name?" he repeated, surprised. "But you already know my name! It's Adam."

"I mean your full name," she clarified. "I thought most noblemen are given four first names at birth, at least."

"Oh. Right. Well, let's see..." He began to count on his fingers. "There's Adam, Vincent, Christophe, Ruskin..."

"Ruskin?" Belle made a face.

"Yes, Ruskin. It's a German word for 'red-haired' I think. Named after my great-grandfather."

"I like Adam the best," Belle decided. "It suits you."

Adam smiled, one of the first smiles he'd consciously remember making in weeks. With that question aside, they began to talk about other things for the rest of the morning.