Chapter 50
Did you ever think that when this started that we would be on CHAPTER 50!? I did, but then I wrote it. However, I didn't really realize how much I would continue to fall in love with it.
The last chapter was a huge roller coaster and I waited a bit before posting another chapter because this one was pretty hard to write and had a very separate feel to it then the last few.
Again, sooooo much thanks to the last few reviews. I know I haven't been addressing you all by name but trust me when I say that they are all so beautiful and appreciated. I still have a few more tricks up my sleeve and so I hope, desperately, that you will continue to enjoy. It has been a very slow build-up, I know this. But I suppose that is the way I meant to write this. Very slow and beautiful and...even though there are exciting things happening I wanted to pace it in a way that would last and seem like you were on the journey with them. Not just getting snippets here and there.
Okay, so this chapter is a little more unique. I guess you could say this was the point where I saw the new 2017 Beauty and the Beast. And I will admit that the movie was flawed. But it did make me think about a lot of different things and it gave me some awesome ideas. I wanted to show a side of Adam we had not seen yet. I wanted to show some of the reasons. The line in the new movie about his father twisting him up really intrigued me. I played around with the idea that Adam has a fear of the dark. It makes it all the more ironic and cruel that he would become a creature that was banished to the darkness. I also toyed around with the concept of why Adam threw Maurice into a tower cell. Why he didn't just huck him out into the snow for the wolves. I think there was some psychology to it. Something that made him think the tower might be the cruelest thing he could do with his own moral compass fighting him from doing anything heinous. Deep down, Adam in any version of the story, is far more gentle then he is ever given credit for except by Belle. I wanted that to show here in this chapter. Sorry that I always use the dreaded dream or flashback sequence.
And, as always, I love the dynamic between Cogsworth, Lumiere, and Adam. I also wanted to make this transformation seem a little less...pretty? I mean, the poor man has had his whole body rearranged four times now. That can't be good for the digestion. Or the psyche. I wanted it to seem a little more realistic and a little less fireworks and beautiful turns into the sunlight (even though that is my favorite part of the original movie). Plus, I love Cogsworth and Lumiere taking care of their baby boy.
Well, that's all I probably should say. Enjoy so much. And don't worry, we ain't done yet! There is still such good stuff to come. Please review and know that I love you. Have a good week!
"No Way Out" Rie Sinclair
Will time illuminate the stains
And stop the pain
The night you held me under a spell
You know I cannot hide
You're the very thing unwinding me
No one ever will love me better than
Your everlasting love
I found only one way in and no way out
Tear my soul like paper
Carefully breaking off
A bitter tonic of lies
You cut me deeper inside
Only to sew me back up
You turn the room a shade heaven
You know my name
No one ever will love me better than
Your everlasting love
I found only one way in and no way out
Adam knew he was dreaming, at least intellectually. He knew it couldn't be real. He had been a man for far longer than he ever was a child. And yet, for some reason, he found himself wrapped in a world where he was a child again. Or, more accurately, he saw himself as he was. A lovely little prince-ling with soft blond hair and doleful, radiant eyes. Adam felt like he was mentally leaning over a reflective surface to get a better look at the boy. He was so small and fragile, it was a wonder anyone was surprised that he had broken so easily. He watched as a scene unfurled before him and he was powerless to do anything but watch.
A smattering of servants stood at attention as His Highness towered over them. His golden hair shone like fire over his heavy coat and furious glare. No one dared look him in the eye as he gazed down on them the same way he would a smashed cockroach.
He murmured with a voice like barbed velvet. "If you value your lives, I suggest you tell me where my son is."
Mrs. Potts made a move that would spell doom. She had had enough of this tyrant she called her employer and would have her say about what this man was doing to his son. To her rescue came a young Lumiere who had just been promoted to Under Butler from being His Highness's valet for over two years. Spending those years in the employ of this man, Lumiere knew the cost of a sharp word and it would not bode well for his dear friend. Taking a step out to face His Highness, Lumiere cleared his throat to cover up whatever it was Mrs. Potts had started to say.
"Your 'Ighness, Please forgive my interruption! Please allow us to explain ze absence of ze Prince. 'E-"
But before Lumiere could get another word out of his mouth the reigning Prince's hand flew back. The young Under Butler didn't have a moment to react as the back of the hand, covered in signet rings, flashed across his face and sent him flying. He made a sharp noise as he ricochet off the wall and landed at the Prince's feet where a swift kick found Lumiere's nose with a sickening crack. The Prince made to kick again when a young maid, not much older than fifteen, gripped her hands wildly and shouted out over the oaths.
"E' is in ze East Wing! 'E won't leave, Your 'Ighness! Ze East Wing!"
The Prince abruptly stopped and looked at the girl who could only stare at the splattered blood from Lumiere's broken nose. With a sneer he gave them all another look over before muttering
"I will deal with your insubordination later." Before sweeping out of the room like a dancer.
The scene shifted and with it came the terrible sensation of moving at winding speed that left Adam dizzy and unable to focus on the images playing out in his mind. He found himself in the East Wing of his childhood. The one his mother left behind. It was bare and sparse since they had removed the body, but the scent of her filled every part of Adam's mind and heart. The little boy he was lay on the bed with wracking sobs that could have broken a heart of stone. It was a testament to his father's absence of one that he could look upon his son and not feel terrible pain at the boy's loss.
"Papa..." the boy-prince whispered thickly. The older Prince strode forward purposefully and grasped his son's arm enough to make the boy cry out in pain. Bringing the child's face within inches of his own "I told you that we were done here!"
With a trembling lip Adam looked deeply into his father's beautiful blue eyes. "I want Maman."
A dark look passed over his father's face. Striding to the end table he glared at his son and promptly overturned the table. Adam screamed out as he watched his mother's possessions tumble to the floor. The Prince didn't stop there but proceeded to rip the curtains down from the bed, and pull the blankets from their spots before hurling them out the open window. Taking a chair, with only enough time for his son to cry for him to stop, he swung it in the direction of the vanity and proceeded to destroy everything that had made her what Adam remembered of her. Nothing was spared. By the time he was finished, Adam's father was panting and turned to see a shattered boy with his hands over his face. Once again taking him by the arm he walked purposefully out of the room and made his way to the tower.
It wasn't until they reached the landing that the little boy realized where they were going. He gave out a gasping scream and tried to free himself from his father's grip. Servants passed them and hid in the shadows to avoid a similar fate that the dear child would not be able to escape from. When they reached the cell that his father knew would bring the most effective response, he detached himself from the clawing arms and legs. With a violent jerk he sent his son sprawling into the cell and swiftly slammed the door closed. It clanged loudly and shut out most of the light in the room. The boy-prince tried to reach for his father through the bars at the grate but with a side-step the man retreated to the stairs, grabbing the only torchlight in the room.
"Please! Please, Papa! Please! Don't leave me! Please." Adam screamed and cried, pressing his face into the stone to hide from the darkness he feared so desperately.
"When you can be a man, then you can come out!" The Prince hurled over his shoulder as he retreated down the stairs.
For hours, Mrs. Potts sat on the steps of the tower clutching her husband and weeping as she listened to Adam scream in fear and pain at being left in a cold tower cell all through the night. He screamed and cried for so long that soon he no longer had a voice for which to relieve his fear of the darkness and of being left alone with no one to comfort him.
The next morning dawned with the Prince leisurely making his way up the stairs in front of a concourse of servants. Despite that his son was a sniveling coward, Adam would prove useful if only to be an example to his staff of what happens to those who defy him.
When he opened the cell door, surrounded by numerous servants he found his son curled in the corner of the cell. Eyes wide but unseeing, fingers and face bloody and scratched from clawing in terror at both the walls and his own skin.
"Stand!" The Prince barked with authority. The boy jerked to life and rose to his feet like a swan off the water. He gazed at his father with that same terror stricken expression. The Prince waved the boy in his direction and he stumbled forward like a puppet cut from his strings. No one spoke a word and the Prince smirked at the clear signs of self-abuse on his young boy.
"And did you enjoy your time in the tower, Adam?"
It was such an ugly taunt that several of the servants shook with the indignation they had to hide.
"Yes, Papa." Adam croaked weakly without looking at his father. Lumiere took a lurching step forward as a repeat of the previous day's abuse came across Adam's face in exactly the same way it had the Under Butler. Being so much smaller then Lumiere, Adam skipped to a stop on the floor several feet away. A deep gash from his father's ring bled freely as the child bit through his lip to keep from crying. Moving like a cat stalking his prey, Adam's father crouched down so that Adam couldn't look away from the hatred that read freely on his face.
"If you are to be my son then you do not have a 'papa'! You have no 'maman', no 'friends'. You are my heir and will act as such if you don't wish to spend the rest of your life here in the dark."
The silence was like stones crushing the air out of every lung. "Yes, Your Highness." The future ruler whispered.
With a sadistic smile Adam's father nodded proudly at his son as the darkness started to swirl around the image.
Adam tried to find his voice. It was so horse from screaming he couldn't seem to find it. The darkness was covering his eyes and he had to escape. He had to find a way out. With a burst of pain he reached out and felt his voice tear as he tried to call for anyone to come and find him in the darkness.
"No! Please! I'll do as you say! Please!"
A hand gripped his and he finally broke the surface of the shadows that filled up his mind. Adam jerked away from whoever had touched him and pried his eyes open as if they were sewn shut. The room was a blur and he filled his lungs with gasping breath.
The world tilted one way and then the other and he had to grasp his head to keep the darkness from overtaking him again. He felt his fingers intertwine in his hair and cover his bare forehead. The feeling of skin touching skin broke through the fog of haze that pounded inside his skull. Taking several deep breaths he felt the mist start to clear and his vision snapped into focus. With trembling fingers he pulled his hands down into view and confirmed what his sensations were telling him.
He was human.
He was human and alive with nothing more terrible attached to the term then a bump on his head. He assumed from fainting like a delicate lady in the sun.
He touched his face softly and was surprised at the strange nuances of his features. How large his nose was, how chapped his lips. What it felt like to have his ears on the side of his head and not near the top. No horns or fangs or claws. He tried to breathe deeply but only managed to sound like he was whimpering.
"How?" He whispered and squinted out into the room. He was surprised to see he was in his own. In his bed, and judging from the way he could feel the finely made bed sheets touching every inch of his very human skin, he was naked.
"My prince?" It was Lumiere.
Removing his hands from his face he squinted and began to see that it was, in fact, Lumiere standing at his bed as one would expect a nursemaid. Adam made a move to sit up and Lumiere put out a steadying hand.
"What happened?" Adam whispered as he grasped his old friend's fingers.
"You came back to us."
Something about those words finally caught up with Adam and he felt a surge of panic so powerful that it knocked the air out of him. "Rosamund!" He scrambled to untangle his bare limbs from the blankets and pushed Lumiere's hands away. "Oh God! My daughter! What has happened to her!? I can't be human!"
To Adam's utter astonishment, Cogsworth stepped forward from wherever he had been sitting in the room. "She is safe, Your Highness! There has been no bells and we received a missive two days ago that your uncle was coming here to assess your health now that the snow has broken."
Adam struggled against Lumiere's attempts to restrain his half-naked charge and looked over his shoulder as if he hadn't quite understood what Cogsworth had said.
"Buy why!?" The panic still gripping his chest like a fist.
"Well, you see, sire. There's been quite a few visitors to the castle after Maurice arrived. It seems the court is returning early."
"What?" Adam asked incredulously as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Cogsworz, 'ush! 'E only just woke up!"
"What is happening?" Adam said with a keening tone to his voice that embarrassed him more then he could say. Lumiere, seeing his Prince's distress, sat down on the bed very close to Adam. Then, taking his face between his hands he held the other man steady and forced him to look him in the eye. "It is alright, My Prince. Everyzing is alright. Rosamund is safe. She is returning to you. Ze castle is safe, you are safe. Everyzing is alright."
Adam heard the words and felt them sink into his brain. "She is alright?"
"Oui."
Adam relaxed a little against his pile of blankets and used Lumiere's arms for support against the fatigue and dizziness that was threatening him. He gasped a little in pain and grasped his side as blood, once again, started to pour from the open wound that came when his body was forced between its two forms. Lumiere called for more bandages and they set to work holding it against Adam's side, hoping it would disappear as it had before. If the silly man would just calm himself.
"Mon Dieu!" Lumiere whispered to himself as he gently pried Adam's hand away from the wound to continue to clean it. "Not again!"
Through the swirling red haze Adam continued to grip Lumiere and speak through the flurry of people who were tending to him.
"But I don't understand...She took away...magic; it was used up...I can't seem to think!"
Adam grasped his pounding head and applied pressure to his temples. "I want to see her. I need to hold her!"
"Rosamund, Your Highness?" Cogsworth gripped his hands nervously. It seemed after they had covered Adam with enough bandages to make a mummy that the blood was no longer pouring out of him like a fountain. Why this continued to happen was beyond understanding. Adam looked pale as a ghost and Cogsworth recognized the look he was making. He had seen it several times when Adam was violently sick with some of his childhood illnesses from long ago. Cogsworth slowly started to make his way over to the end table where the servants had laid several things to tidy the room and put it back to rights.
"Of course! Who else? When can you get them here? Where is Elizabeth?" Adam finally demanded, looking feverish and slightly mad.
Both Heads of House looked at one another as if to speak without words. When Adam was able to pry his eyes open he caught sight of the knowing look they shared.
"Do you remember what happened, Adam?" Came a measured reply from Cogsworth.
"What do you mean? I remember..."
His eyes flew open as the remainder of the story unfurled in his brain like a pair of wings. His eyes connected with Lumiere's as a thousand recognition's crossed his irises and his butler nodded his head ever so.
"She...she came back.." Adam whispered in disbelief, still holding the bandages on his aching side. "She's alive and she came back."
"She did, My Prince."
Adam couldn't seem to catch his breath. He gasped and looked around wildly before his whole body convulsed with the shock of it all.
"Oh God, Lumiere-" He jerked again and he heard Cogsworth move from one end of the room to the other. "Help! I think I'm going to be-"
But before he could say it hot liquid poured out of him and his stomach rolled violently. He grasped Lumiere's arms painfully as a pot was moved underneath him and he clenched and heaved over and over again. Someone was holding his hair out of his face and he vaguely heard Lumiere whispering comforts in French. When it felt like his whole stomach was going to come up too, he somehow found the will to get control of the spasms that sent his whole head spinning into darkness. He clenched his hands on the blanket and breathed deeply through his nose.
When he was sure he was once again in control, Adam laid back against his pillows. His valet and several footmen were called over to begin their ministrations. But Adam, shaking and covered in his own sick, could only think her name as the reality of it all settled in upon him.
"She's alive, she's alive she's alive."
Lumiere took four steps out the door of the west wing when he was seized on my two small, but strong, hands. "How is he?"
The skinny butler looked down at the woman at his arm and was again struck by how she looked so different and yet so much the same over the years she had been gone.
"Non so well, ma cherie. 'E is plagued wiz many nightmares. 'E 'as been given laudanum to 'elp 'im sleep."
Belle's fallen face was heart-crushing. She had been waiting for days to see him. Ever since he had passed out in the gardens. With a conspiratorial whisper Lumiere nodded her in the direction of the door. "If you 'urry 'e might not be asleep yet."
She smiled at him and rushed in the direction of the door before murmuring a thank you above her shoulder.
When she came to his bed she had to stop. He was lying on his back with the covers pulled up across his chest. His eyes were glazing over and drooping as only one could after consuming laudanum. He eyed his hands as if he wasn't quite sure what they were. She approached his side of the bed and when her shadow crossed his face he looked up at her as if it were the most normal thing for dead wives to come strolling up to you before sleep.
He gave a weak, drunken smile and reached out a few fingers towards her. "Belle...You came back." he slurred a bit.
"Of course I did. And I always will." She couldn't help it. She took his very human hands in her own and had to bite her lip to keep the sobs from rising up. How could she have forgotten what it felt like to hold his hand? To see his face with those beautiful blue eyes looking back at her?
So many thoughts and feeling swirled inside of her that she felt she was straddling an ever shifting continent and it would soon shift so far apart and she would simply fall between the two halves and be lost forever.
"I missed you..." He was barely audible as his eyes started to close and she wasn't sure if he even knew what was real anymore.
"Never again. You never have to miss me again."
He smiled at that before drifting into a dreamless sleep. "I wish..." But whatever he wished was gone, though the smile didn't fade from his mouth. Belle curled up onto the side of his bed and placed a gentle arm around his waist. Never letting go of his hand she rested her uncovered head on his shoulder and said to him all the things she remembered. And he seemed to hear her because he continued to smile even when she was sure he was so very far away.
