Beauty and the Beast: The Tale Continues
Chapter 29 - Wedding Celebration
Author's Note: Disney is the rightful owner of this franchise, and I just own the story.
Clang-clang-clang!
"Can I have everybody's attention for a moment?" said Lumiere, who had been knocking a fork against his wine glass, causing Belle, Adam, Maurice, and everyone else to become silent.
They were all sitting at a table in one of the castle's more larger and expansive dining rooms, and patiently waiting for the other servants to deliver the plates of food.
"Now, before we all enjoy the delicious and exquisite food that has been carefully prepared," said Lumiere. "I think there are some of us in this room who would like to propose a toast to the newlyweds."
While Belle and Adam gave their friend a warm smile, Cogsworth rolled his eyes, and muttered, "Typical... he always has to be the one to show off, and think of only-"
"Cogsworth, my friend, would you like to start us off?" asked Lumiere, taking the head of the houshold by surprise.
"What, I... m-me start the... (clears throat) right, then, um..."
Cogsworth stood up, raised his glass of wine, and turned his attention over to Belle and Adam. "I would just like to give my thanks to you, madame, for all that you have done. You've given us another chance to enjoy our lives again... and thank you, Master, for allowing her to help you change into a better person... I hope that the two of you enjoy the rest of your lives together."
"Thank you, my friend," replied Adam, while Belle politely nodded her head.
Cogsworth was about to take his seat when his wife nudged him in the shoulder, and he added, "Oh, er... also, thank you for helping me be with my wife."
Then, after drinking from his glass, the former mantle clock sat back down while Lumiere began to make his toast.
"When you entered the castle, mademoiselle, I-"
Suddenly, Cogsworth cleared his throat, and Lumiere replied, "What? We always call her that, no?"
"Well, yes, but now she is a married woman, you fool," reminded Cogsworth, and a sheepish smile appeared on Lumiere's face.
"Ah, yes, of course... well, then, um... madame, I already knew when you first came into the castle that you'd be the one for the master, and may I saw how happy I am knowing that I will forever be serving the two of you, as well as your children, and so on."
As she smiled, Belle's face also began to turn a little red while a slightly embarrassed Adam said, "Thank you, old friend."
"Of course, Master," replied Lumiere, and he sat himself down, while Cogsworth started shaking his head.
Mrs. Potts chose to go next, and a warm smile appeared on her face as she said, "Thank you, deary, for showing all of us here your kindess and bravery and independance... for helping our master become the person that he was meant to be, and-"
"And, now, I have a big sister!" interrupted Chip, which caused everyone to laugh and chuckle. "Oops, sorry, Mama."
"You're fine, my boy," whispered Mr. Potts, who began ruffling his son's hair in a playful way, while his wife continued with her toast.
"Also, Master, I think I speak for myself and the rest of the servants when I say that your mother would be very proud of the woman you chose to spend the rest of your life with."
Not wanting to release any tears, Adam simply nodded his head, and as Mrs. Potts sat herself back down, Garderobe decided to be the next person to deliver a toast.
"Thank you, my dear, for helping me be with my wonderful husband again, and I hope that you'll allow me to continue making special occasion dresses for you."
Belle let out a chuckle, and replied, "Well, just as long as you try to refrain from squeezing my face too much, I would love to see what else you could design for me."
"Oh, I would never try to damage such a perfect canvas," said Garderobe. "And thank you, Master, for all that you've given us."
Adam nodded his head, and replied, "My pleasure, Madame."
After Garderobe sat down, Plumette went next, but she chose to stay in her seat. "I hope the two of you will enjoy the wedding gift that Garderobe and I made for you, Belle."
Belle's blush became harder as she mouthed her thanks to Lumiere's future wife while Adam just looked a little bit confused.
I guess I'll find out what that means later.
"Um... may I, er, go next?"
LeFou was now standing up straight, setting down the bouquet of flowers that he'd caught back at the church (much to the Bimbettes' displeasure) and with a chuckle, Lumiere said, "But, of course, Monsieur, you are welcome to!"
The former friend of Gaston gave a small courtesy nod, and said, "Thank you, sir... and, um, to Belle, I would like to thank you for... helping me realize that the person whom I idolized so much was such a terrible monster.
"Oh, and to, um, Prince Adam, I would like to, er, again apologize for entering your castle without permission."
Adam chuckled, and he shook his head, replying, "No need for that, my friend... besides, that didn't stop Belle or her father."
The young woman rolled her eyes, and playfully punched Adam's shoulder while LeFou smiled at the newlyweds before sitting back down.
Last but not least, Maurice got up to his feet, and said, "Belle, you have no idea how happy I am to see the events of today unfold in front of me... I am sure that, if your mother were here, she would be just as proud of you as I am... as for you, Adam, I know that you'll do whatever you can to make her happy, and I look forward to the times that you and I will spend together."
"Thank you," replied Belle and Adam, at the same time, and Maurice gave them a warm smile before sitting back down.
"Anyone else?" asked Lumiere, as he waited a moment to allow another to give a toast. "Nobody? Well, alrighty, then... for those who have never been or eaten in the castle before until today, me and the other servants beside you would like to invite you all to relax as we proudly present... your dinner."
Belle started beaming with happiness, which Adam noticed, and he asked, "Why are you so-"
"You'll see," replied his wife, and Adam laid back against his seat, while the standing servants began to waltz and dance around with trays of well-prepared food, and four of them started to sing a song that was very familiar to Belle's ears.
Be our guest
Be our guest
Put our service to the test
When LeFou retrieved his plate, the kind gentleman was about to dive into it when a servant stopped him, with orders to wait until everyone else got their plate.
Tighten up your bow tie round your neck and wear your favorite dress
Twinkling lights
They're so bright
It's a very special night
Look around
What a crowd
We are cheerful and quite proud
We will sing
We will dance
If you please give us a chance
And we hope that you'll enjoy our (very best)
There's no more need to hurry
Just relax don't worry
Be our guest
Be our guest
Be our guest
Soon, everyone in the castle had a smile on their face, but Belle's was wider than any of them, and her body was filled with the most happiness.
"Consider this my wedding present, mademoiselle," whispered Lumiere. "And would you mind if I called you that occasionally?"
"Only for you," replied Belle, as she started to laugh. "And thank you."
Lumiere's response was a polite kiss to her hand, and then, he helped out with delivering the rest of the food plates.
Course by course
One by one
Till you shout, 'Enough, I'm done!'
We'll fill your minds with sights you won't forget
Tonight you'll prop your feet up
Cause it's time to eat up
Be our guest
Be our guest
Be our guest
Please be our guest!
Then, once everyone at the table had a plate of food in front of them, Lumiere said, "Bon appeti! Enjoy your meal!"
And that is exactly what the guests did, with LeFou momentarily scarfing down his plate when his friend reminded him to slow down.
"This does smell delicious," said Maurice, and he was about to cut up his meat portion into several slices when he found himself looking at his daughter.
"Belle? Why is your head in the soup?"
While Adam tried holding in his laughter, Belle found herself chuckling while lifting her head back up, and she replied, "It's a long story, Papa."
A few hours later
[Just imagine happy conclusion music similar to the one played in Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and the animated Beauty & the Beast.]
After dinner was complete, Lumiere and Cogsworth had led everyone to the ballroom, and now, Belle was being reminded of the celebration party that Adam had held not long after the transformation, with couples dancing around the room as she danced with Adam.
"Before you ask, I am still debating whether or not if I should grow a beard," said Adam, which caused Belle to laugh as he twirled her around. "Have you enjoyed everything up to this point?"
Belle nodded her head, and after Adam slowly dipped her, then brought her back up, she asked, "Where are we going for our honeymoon?"
A sly grin appeared on Adam's face as he said, "Let's just say that we'll be spending quite some time in a somewhat private castle in Paris that belonged to my mother's side of the family... courtesy of Nathaniel."
Before Belle could respond to him, Maurice tapped Adam on the shoulder, and asked, "May I have a dance with my daughter?"
The young man nodded his head, and stepped back a little bit while Belle tried to waltz with her father.
"Forgive me, Belle, for not being a perfect partner," admitted a sheepish Maurice. "But I have not really danced in years, so my skills are a bit... er, rusty, to say the least."
"You're doing fine, Papa," assured Belle, giving him a warm smile. "Did you finish your new music box yet?"
Maurice shook his head, and replied, "Probably not until you and Adam return from your honeymoon... but try not to worry too much about it, just enjoy your time with him."
"I will, Papa," said Belle. "But part of me is a little sad knowing that you-"
Her father chuckled, and replied, "I do not need another woman to make my life worth living, Belle... I have you, and now, I have Adam."
Belle's eyes started to water up, and she muttered, "Darn it, Papa, you're making me cry again."
A few moments later, she was back in Adam's arms, and Belle noticed that he looked bothered about something. "What's wrong?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing, my love," replied Adam, shaking his head, but then, a mischievous smile appeared on his face, and he brought her closer to him so that he could speak into her ear. "I'm just waiting until the moment comes for us to personally love each other."
Belle's body started to heat up, and she felt herself blushing very hard. "We have 'guests', Adam..."
"True, but we are not exactly riding off into the sunset to enjoy our honeymoon in Paris," reminded Adam, who placed one of his hands on her hip. "We can leave whenever you're ready to..."
Belle smirked at her new husband, and asked, "Well, what if I do not want to leave just yet?"
"Then, I'll simply continue with speaking to you like this," replied Adam. "Plus, I already had Lumiere and Plumette prepare our travel cases when we were eating dinner."
Then, before Belle could say anything else, Adam slowly dipped her again, and he gave her a slow and passionate kiss on the lips, while everyone else paused to give out their applause for the newlyweds.
Once they seperated from each other, Adam asked, "Are you ready then, Belle?"
"Um..." So many emotions were going through Belle's mind right now, and she found herself at a loss for words. "I... er..."
The young man laughed, and he continued to dance with her. "Alright, Belle, we'll wait until the guests leave. Is that better?"
Belle was about to respond when she found herself looking at Maurice, who let out a chuckle, and nodded his head over at the doorway, motioning for her to just go.
"Actually... yes, Adam, I'm ready to go, so - whoa!"
Suddenly, Belle was taken by surprise when her new husband started to carry her in his arms, bridal style. "Um, Adam, you're supposed to do this over a threshold."
As he began walking away, Adam gave a small shrug, and replied, "True, but we don't exactly always do what we are supposed to, now do we, Belle?"
His new wife let out a chuckle, and said, "No, I suppose not... so, to Paris, then?"
"To Paris," replied Adam, and the two of them shared another kiss.
