Beauty and the Beast: The Tale Continues

Chapter 17 - The Proposal, Part 3

Author's Note: The amazing Walt Disney Company rightfully owns "Beauty and the Beast", while I only own this story.

And thanks again to everyone for reading/reviewing, it warms my heart to know that you're all enjoying it.

Also, I know that some minor things may seem out of place "timewise", and I apologize for that.

There were two... no, four moments of pain that Adam would always remember for the rest of his life... one was when the Enchantress had transformed him into a hideous beast, and the second one was after he had saved Belle's life from the wolves in the forest.

The third one was after being shot several times by Gaston, and the newest one was from Belle's fierce slap to his face after learning that he wasn't going to propose.

I'm a terrible person, thought Adam, who was now looking down from the balcony, and a tiny part of him wondered how far down it actually was.

"I am so sorry for this, Master," said Lumiere, with a guilty expression on his face. "I shouldn't have asked you to repeat my proposal plan out-"

"Well, it's about time that you apologize for your cursed mouth," interrupted a scolding Cogsworth. "And now look what's happened... Belle is heartbroken because-"

Before the former clock could continue, Adam shook his head, and said, "No, no, this is all my fault... now I know why Belle was so happy today. She thought I was going to propose to her."

That also explained her not-so-positive reaction to her restored rattle.

She probably thought I was going to show her a ring instead.

"Well, why don't you just propose, then, like she thought?" suggested Cogsworth. "Better you do it now than-"

"I, uh... don't think that would be a wise option," admitted Adam, letting out a heavy sigh. "She'll think it's obvious that I am only doing it just because I got caught... and I doubt that she even wants to look at me for the rest of the night."

Before either of his servants could give some more pieces of advice, Adam walked away from the balcony, and quietly headed out of the room.

"Are you going to see her, Master?" asked Lumiere, sounding hopeful, but the young prince shook his head, and stopped at the doorway.

"I need to spend some time alone... in my study... please do not disturb me."

Then, Adam continued walking away, with both Lumiere and Cosgworth feeling sorry for him and for Belle.

"You don't think that the Master would... try to..." wondered Cogsworth, and Lumiere immediately shook his head.

"I certainly hope not."

After the tears had finally finished falling down her face, Belle was now sitting in the same position she had been in after refusing to eat dinner with the Beast.

Out in the hall, Maurice and Mrs. Potts were about to walk up to her door when the former teapot said, "Hold on a moment, Maurice... um... perhaps it would be for the best if I talked with Belle while you talk to Adam."

"I... what?" said Maurice, surprised at her suggestion. "But Belle is my daughter, and I want to make sure that-"

"I know you do," replied Mrs. Potts. "And I have complete respect for you, but... I would rather prefer if I went in to console her."

Maurice was about to start arguing with her, but then, he thought about how Lillian would have probably told him something similar, so the elderly man nodded his head, and said, "Thank you... for doing this."

Mrs. Potts nodded her head, giving Belle's father a warm smile, and as Maurice walked away, she went over to Belle's door, knocking on it a few times.

"Who's there?"

"Mrs. Potts, dear... may I come in?"

"Oh... yes, please, come in."

Knowing already what to say, the kind and middle-aged woman entered the room, and found Belle sitting on top of the bed, with her eyes a little red and puffy from crying so much.

"I would offer you some tea, my dear, but before all of this happened, I was almost prepared to go to sleep."

A sheepish expression appeared on Belle's face, and she replied, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to deprive you of your sleep."

As Mrs. Potts sat next to Belle, she shook her head, and said, "Don't be... now, then, I know you must be quite upset with Adam, and I-"

"Oh, I'm not mad at him... that much," admitted Belle, as she looked up at her. "I'm mad at my own stupid self for getting my hopes up too high, and actually thinking that he was going to propose to me."

Mrs. Potts gently wrapped an arm around Belle, and gave her a warm smile. "No reason to be that mad at yourself, my dear... we've all made mistakes in life, and this will probably end up becoming something that you'll laugh at when you look back on it."

She then gave a soft rub to Belle's shoulder, and added, "Plus, you aren't stupid for thinking that Adam was going to propose tonight... if he were Jean, and I were you, I would have done the same exact thing."

A small chuckle came out of Belle, who started to feel a little better. "Still, I hate myself for giving him that slap from out of nowhere... I'm not that kind of person, and I would never try to-"

"Oh, we know you aren't, sweetheart," assured Mrs. Potts. "That was just a normal reaction you had because of how you were feeling towards him... and things like this happen to every couple, whether they like it or not."

Belle nodded her head, but as she and Mrs. Potts continued their conversation, the young woman still wished that she had never slapped him in the first place.

In his study, Adam was sitting by the desk, and his eyes were currently on the sword that hung above the fireplace.

Perhaps the lives of Belle and myself are more closer to Romeo & Juliet than we-

Thankfully, his thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Maurice, who had a faint smile on his face.

"Well, this is certainly an unfortunate situation."

Adam's eyes quickly went over to Belle's father, and his feelings of guilt increased even more. "Okay... Maurice, I know I should be saying this to Belle, but allow me to apologize for this entire mess. It's all my fault, and I take full-"

Suddenly, Maurice held up his hand, causing Adam to close his mouth, and the elderly painter said, "First of all, while I am a little upset that you made my daughter cry, and for me assuming then that you were going to propose to Belle without asking for my blessing... I understand how you must be feeling right now."

"How so?" mumbled Adam, and Maurice noticed that the prince looked terrible... not in an ugly way, but it was more along the lines of the fact that he could tell Adam felt terrible for making Belle upset.

"Because I went through something similar with Belle's mother," explained Maurice, which surprised Adam, who had not expected him to say that. "Before our wedding, Lillian and I had been together for several years, and during that time, she was always waiting for me to propose, but whenever it seemed like I was going to, I had to disappoint her by saying that I did not have it just yet... I was waiting until the time came for me to get a proper ring."

Adam sighed, and he nodded his head, in agreement. "I've been waiting for the right moment, as well, to ask Belle... what happened once you asked her with a ring?"

Maurice began to chuckle, and he said, "Well, when I was getting myself ready to propose, she thought I was joking... but then, once I showed her the ring, she knew it was real, and wasted no time in saying yes."

Adam smiled, but he began to groan, and he said, "I'm never going to forget that look of heartbreak on her face, Maurice... she was so happy this morning, and now... I don't think I am even going to see her until tomorrow."

"Oh, I don't know about that, son," replied Maurice, placing a comforting hand on Adam's shoulder. "The night is still young, and I know you'll find a way to make this right."

The young prince looked at Maurice, seeing all of the love and concern in his eyes, and he nodded his head. "Thank you, Maurice... but I'm going to give Belle some time to herself first before I try talking to her again."

"Completely understandable," agreed Maurice, and he began to walk away. "Oh, and by the way... you have my blessing."

Before Adam could say anything, Maurice added, "I know you and Belle love each other very much, Adam, and this one mistake is just part of human life... nothing and nobody is perfect in this world... plus, I might end up changing my mind if I don't say this now, so..."

"Thank you, Maurice," replied a grateful Adam. "And I am sorry for making Belle upset."

"I know you are," said Belle's father, who was now by the doorway, and he noticed the sword above the fireplace. "Just don't make things worse by making a certain part of a certain book a reality."

After Maurice had left, Adam let out another sigh, and hung his head down on his desk.

I'm so sorry, Belle... I have to do the right thing.

An hour later, after finishing her lengthy conversation with Mrs. Potts, Belle was feeling a lot better than how she felt earlier, and the first thing that she wanted to do was find Adam.

He was not in the libary, nor in the dining room, so the next place that she looked at was the study room, where an exhausted Adam was sleeping quietly, with his head on top of the desk.

"Adam, wake up," whispered Belle, in a soothing tone, as she gently rubbed Adam's shoulder.

Adam tilted his head a little, and he mumbled, "You are my stick..."

A look of amusement appeared on Belle's face, wondering what Adam was dreaming about, and she tried waking him up again.

"Adam, wake up..."

The young man slowly lifted his head up, and yawned as he stretched his arms, saying, "Oh, Belle, I was just-"

Suddenly, the memories of everything that had happened today entered Adam's mind, and his confusion turned into guilt.

"Belle, I am so sorry that-"

"No, Adam, I'm sorry," interrupted Belle, as she looked at the faint red mark that was still on the side of his face. "I never should have slapped you, and I didn't mean to-"

"Belle, no, I should be the one to apologize," replied Adam, who was now walking over to Belle. "I should have realized that you were expecting something more than-"

Suddenly, he was cut off by the young woman, who had wrapped her arms around him, and was starting to cry into his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Adam, I didn't mean to hurt you," exclaimed Belle, her voice slightly muffled.

Adam let out a sigh, and wrapped one arm around her waist while the other went around her neck, touching the top of her head, as he pulled her closer towards him.

"Belle... please stop crying... I don't like seeing you this upset..."

Her tears didn't last very long, and as she looked up at him, showing Adam her somewhat red and puffy eyes, the young man said, "I know you're sorry for slapping me, but I'm sorry for two things... with one of them being that I should not have given you the assumption that I was doing those things just to butter you up for a proposal.

"The second one is that I am sorry for not asking you this question sooner."

A look of confusion appeared on Belle's face as she asked, "What question?"

Adam was about to give an answer, but then, he looked around the room, and said, "Come with me."

He gently took Belle by the hand, and the two of them walked out of the study, going down the hall to where she assumed was the library.

Once they were in said location, the young prince brought her to the middle of the room, and he said, "Belle... you know that I love you, right?"

Belle nodded her head, and said what he always told her. "For evermore."

"Exactly," replied Adam, who was praying that he would not screw this up. "And, before I met you, I always viewed myself as the one who had it all, and the master of my own fate, never needing anybody in my life.

"But then you came into my life, and-"

Suddenly, they were interrupted by Cogsworth, who ran inside the library. "Master, you don't have to... oh... you're alive still."

"Um, of course I am," replied a confused Adam. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Before Cogsworth could answer him, Lumiere appeared from behind, and he cried, "Master, don't do what Romeo... oh, thank goodness, you're still-"

"Yes, he is alive," replied Belle, who was still confused. "And what did you mean by not doing what Romeo-"

"Lumiere, I cannot belive you," cried Plumette, as she walked up to her lover. "Why did you make Belle so... oh, mademoiselle, there you are, I am so sorry that he-"

Before anyone else could speak, Adam cleared his throat, and glared at his servants. "If you don't mind, I would like to say something very important to Belle, so would you all remain silent until I am finished?"

"Yes, Master," said the three of them, and Adam nodded his head before turning his attention back to the woman he loved.

"Belle?"

She nodded her head, and replied, "Yes, Adam?"

Adam smiled at her, and he began to recite a poem about love.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal-

"Oh, Mama, Papa, is she going to..."

"Shhh!"

Adam let out a sigh, and turned to see that Mrs. Potts, as well as Jean and Maurice, had joined the others, who had all told the little boy to be quiet.

Belle couldn't help but giggle at everything that was happening, and she asked, "Adam, what are you trying to tell me?"

"I was trying to... Belle, I... I love you, and I would like the two of us to be together fore..."

He paused, for a moment, to turn back around, and saw that Garderobe and Cadenza had arrived as well, but were remaining silent after seeing what was happening.

"Adam, just tell me," said Belle, who was trying her hardest not to laugh.

Well, so much for things trying to turn out the way I had planned.

Remaining silent, Adam slowly got down on one knee, and reached into his pocket, pulling out an object that Maurice instantly recognized.

It was the white rose that he had planned on giving Belle before having his encounter with the Beast, and it still looked as beautiful as ever.

"Belle?" asked Adam, as he offered the rose to her, and she instantly noticed that there was a gorgeous wedding ring tucked inside the petals. "Will you marry me?"

Once those words came out of his mouth, the library was filled with complete silence, and Belle appeared to be speechless.

Don't speak, Adam, don't speak, thought the young man, who was patiently waiting for her response.

As for Belle, she took another look at the white rose, as well as the ring, and a smile appeared on her face, with her eyes somehow finding a way to water up.

He does love me.

Then, to everyone's surprise, Belle simply walked over to Adam, and placed her hand on the side of his face, looking at him the same way she had after his transformation.

He was about to say her name again, but he didn't get the chance to because Belle had gently pulled him towards her, and she gave him a soft kiss on the lips, with Adam eventually returning the favor.

"So... was that a yes, Mama?" whispered Chip, looking up at his mother, who gave him a warm smile. "Are they gonna live happily ever after now?"

Mrs. Potts ruffled his hair just a little bit, and replied, "I certainly hope so, my dear... but I have a feeling that their story has just begun."