Beauty & the Beast: The Tale Continues

Chapter 14 - Payback, Part 3

Author's Note: Disney is the rightful owner of "Beauty & the Beast", and I own this story, which I am so happy to see is being read and loved by so many people. Thank you.

Now, quick question - exactly how long do you think time should pass before Adam proposes to Belle, and do you think it's fine for them to wait until after the wedding celebration to do you-know-what? I'm curious... XD

Once Adam had returned to the library, the first thing that he did was close the Enchanted Atlas so that it wouldn't look like he had used it.

A few minutes later, when Belle entered the room, she found him admiring the puzzle that she and Chip had completed.

"You must have had plenty of patience to put this all together," said Adam, sounding amused. "I could never deal with all of the frustration that these things always gave me."

"Well, it is more fun if you do it with another person," replied Belle, as she let out a small chuckle. "And why do you seem more... happier than normal?"

Adam pretended to be offended by her words. "Is it so wrong of me to be happy when I see the love of my life enter her library?"

Even though Belle felt herself blush, she wasn't going to let him off that easy. "Well, no... but is that the only reason why?"

Adam started to chuckle, and he replied, "Not exactly... let's just say that the next time you see those three girls, they'll be giving you a rightfully deserved apology."

Belle suddenly groaned, and rolled her eyes. "Ugh, Adam, those girls are horrible, and have no idea how to-"

"They'd better know how," interrupted Adam, with a slight edge in his voice. "Or else there's going to be some consequences."

As she sat down next to Adam, Belle gave him a confused look, and the young prince replied, "After seeing how they made you feel, I decided to play a simple harmless prank on them."

Belle blinked her eyes a few times, and said, "You... what?"

Adam nodded his head, and began explaining to Belle how he had disguised himself as the Beast so that he could teach the Bimbettes a lesson, as well as having them promise to give an apology to Belle whenever they saw her again, and to never bother her again after that.

"... so, basically, everyone wins," finished Adam, with a smug smile on his face, feeling proud of himself for defending her.

Unfortunately, Adam's happiness began to drop when he saw that Belle wasn't giving much of a positive reaction. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just..." replied Belle, giving a shrug. "You didn't have to do that for me."

"Didn't have to... what?" said Adam, who was taken by surprise. "Belle, sweetheart, they made you cry, for God's sake, and said horrible things to you. I couldn't just not do anything, and let them get away with-"

"That wasn't the entire reason why I was crying, though," explained Belle. "It was when I saw my reflection, and I thought that I wasn't special enough for you, and I was going to be treated like the other girls you've been with."

That's pretty much the same thing, thought Adam, who then let out a sigh, and he gently placed several strands of hair behind Belle's ear.

"First of all, I have not really been with that many girls... and, now that I look back on it, I never really spent much time with them either."

Belle smirked at Adam, but chose to continue listening to him before she spoke again.

"Then, you came into my life, Belle, and you helped me realize the error of my selfish and cruel ways... You helped me earn a second chance at life."

With a warm smile, Adam placed his hand on the side of her face, and gently caressed her cheek with his thumb. "You need not to worry about me ever leaving you for someone else, or because I am not satisfied with the way that you look. You are perfect and amazing just the way you are."

Belle's blush became deeper, with her body filling up with pure love and happiness, and she replied, "Well, in that case... thank you, Adam."

"My pleasure, Belle," said Adam, and the two of them shared a sweet and romantic kiss.

Taking a break from his music box project, Maurice walked over to Belle's room so he could see how she was doing, but when he got there, the room was empty.

"Should have went to the library first," said Maurice, chuckling quietly to himself, but before he walked away, the elderly gentleman noticed a familiar object on Belle's dresser.

It was the Enchanted Mirror, which he had remembered seeing Belle use when she had come to save him from the angry villagers, and as Maurice picked it up with his hands, he wondered if it would work for him.

"I'd like to see my daughter, please."

The mirror's reflection quickly changed from his own to one of Belle's, whom he could see was in the library, reading something to Adam, and a smile appeared on Maurice's face.

I wonder if...

Belle's father cleared his throat, and said, "I would like to see my wife, please."

Then, the image of Belle and Adam went away, and turned back to the way it was before, which made Maurice let out a sigh.

"Can't say that I am not surprised."

He was about to set it back down, but all of a sudden, Maurice heard a familiar voice say, "Do we have to put Belle in the painting, my love?"

That wasn't possible... or was it?

Either way, Maurice turned the mirror around, and found himself watching a memory of the past.

Almost two decades ago...

"Of course we do, Lillian," replied Maurice. "Belle won't be little forever, and I think that this is the perfect time to do it."

Unfortunately, Baby Belle didn't appear to be very enthusiastic about it, which explained why she was currently crying and whimpering.

"I think our daughter would prefer to be doing something else," said Lillian, causing Maurice to sigh from behind his canvas. "Unless... darling, could you play the music box that you made me for our anniversary?"

"Of course, my love," replied Maurice, who started to walk over to his nearby desk, finding said music box, and once he got it to start playing, Lillian gently rocked their daughter back and forth in her arms as she started to sing a type of lullaby.

How does a moment last forever?

How does our happiness endure?

Through the darkest of our troubles

Love is beauty, love is pure

Baby Belle's sadness started to turn into happiness, and she began making happy baby sounds.

Love pays no mind to desolation

It flows like a river through the soul

Protects, persists, and perseveres

And makes us whole

Once Lillian had finished, Baby Belle began to make a cooing sound, and her mother said, "Alright, Maurice, I think she's ready now."

"Wonderful, now don't move," replied the excited Maurice, and Lillian started to laugh, but then, she found herself coughing a few times.

"Should we make another appointment with the doctor?"

Lillian shook her head, and replied, "I will be fine, Maurice... just go on, and do your painting before Belle realizes that the music stopped playing."

"Well, alright, then," chuckled Maurice, and after dippping his paint brush into some paint, he started to work on his new painting of his wife and their little girl.

Present Time

After the mirror went back to normal, Maurice set it back down on the dresser, and a smile was on his face.

"I know you're happy up there, my love," he said, in a low voice, to himself. "And I know how proud you must be of the two of us..."

Later that evening, at the dinner table, Adam had told Maurice about his prank on the Bimbettes, and to Belle's surprise, he started laughing once Adam had finished.

"See, Belle?" teased Adam. "Now that is a reaction."

Belle rolled her eyes, and replied, "I told you, Adam, I am glad you did it, but you didn't have to-"

"Oh, don't worry about her, son," interrupted Maurice. "She just didn't have much of a response because she has never pulled a prank in her life."

As Adam tried holding in his laughter, Belle glared at her father, who added, "You know it's the truth, sweetheart. Not once did you ever pull any kind of prank on me."

"Well, because... there were far more better things to do than pranking someone," exclaimed Belle. "And why are you laughing?"

"Because it makes sense now," answered Adam. "No wonder your snowball didn't have much effect on me, unlike mine..."

"Size doesn't matter," growled Belle, but Adam continued to laugh, and she simply returned to her poetry book, grumbling underneath her breath.

"Oh, um, Adam..." asked Maurice, looking a little embarrassed. "Where is the nearest, er, restroom?"

Adam paused his laughter to clear his throat, and reply, "Go down the hall, walk up the stairs, and it's the first door on the left."

"Oh, thank you," said Maurice, and he walked out of the dining room, leaving Adam and an annoyed Belle to themselves.

As Adam looked down at his bowl of soup, he began to wonder about something, and then, after making sure that Belle was lost in her book, the young prince dunked his head into the bowl, eating the same way he used to as a beast before meeting Belle.

Not much of a difference, I suppose.

"Adam? What are you doing?"

Then, almost like deja vu, Adam looked up to find an amused Belle smiling back at him from across the table, and he replied, "I was, um... just trying something out..."

The embarassed young man was preparing to hear another one of Belle's lectures, but then, to his surprise, Belle did the same thing!

"Uh..."

As Belle lifted her head back up, she let out a chuckle, gave Adam shrug before she started laughing at herself, and Adam began laughing, as well.