Beauty and the Beast: The Tale Continues
Chapter 18 - Not Your Average Fairy Tale
Author's Note: Disney is the rightful owner of the BATB franchise; I just own the story.
Also, I will try to keep the "customs" of a traditional France wedding/engagement as best as I can, but it will also be like the weddings that I am used to, here in the U.S., so just a fair warning to all of my readers.
Midnight had arrived, and by now, everyone in the castle was fast asleep, having wonderful dreams about past memories or whatever the future might bring.
Everyone... except for Belle, who had been sitting on top of her bed, wide awake, looking at the engagement ring that was currently on her right ring finger.
It's so... beautiful, she thought, admiring how it twinkled whenever the ring was in a certain position. He truly does love me.
Suddenly, Belle's attention was caught by the moonlight shining in from her window, and said, to herself, "The night came faster than I... oh, my gosh!"
The young woman had turned to look at a nearby clock hanging on the wall, and saw that it had the time at 12:05.
"I didn't even know I stayed up that late."
Plus, she was now starting to yawn, so Belle decided to get herself ready for bed.
Grabbing the hem of her skirt, Belle began to remove her dress by lifting it over herself, and so far, she had the same success, as usual, but when she only had to remove the right sleeve of the dress in order for it to be removed completely, a small problem occured.
"Oh, damn, I forgot to take the ring off," muttered Belle, referring to the fact that her sleeve had caught onto it, and it looked like she was simply holding onto her dress by one sleeve. "I just hope that-"
"I'm sorry it's late, Belle, but I wanted to... oh..."
Adam was now in the room, still looking tired after everything that he had been through the past 24 hours, and he was confused as to why his soon-to-be-wife was in her undergarments, holding onto her dress by a single sleeve.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, I am alright," exclaimed Belle, who was now starting to blush. "Why didn't you knock?"
"Because the door was open... again," replied Adam, trying his best to keep the focus of his eyes on Belle's face. "Why are you-"
Belle let out a groan, and she said, "I forgot to take the ring off, and now, I can't remove my dress because it got stuck, and... Adam, up here."
"Sorry," apologized Adam, who then walked over to the dress itself. "Alright, then, on the count of three, you and I will both pull-"
"Wait, what are you talking about?" asked Belle, not wanting her outfit to be ruined.
Adam lifted up Belle's dress, grabbing a hold on it, and he said, "You pull your arm back while I pull your dress towards me, and we will do so in one... two... three... gah!"
The young man felt himself fall backwards, landing on the floor, and the dress fell on top of him, with Belle choosing the moment of distraction to put on a sleeve-less nightgown.
"Perhaps next time, you should remove the ring beforehand," pointed out Adam, as he was helped up to his feet, and Belle rolled her eyes. "Now, what is your reason for being awake?"
"Just the realization that I-" began Belle, but then, she groaned, and added, "Does this mean I'll be a princess?"
Adam smirked at her, and said, "You sound as if you detest the possibility."
"Well, no, but... I don't really know what I am supposed to do as a princess," replied Belle. "I mean, what do you do as a prince?"
The young man gave her a sheepish smile, and said, "Not much, to be honest... just a lot of, um, boring documentation... and, er, after recent events... making sure that everyone in the village is happy, and such..."
"Adam, what is it?" asked Belle, noticing that he looked upset about something, and she sat by him on her bed.
The young man let out a sigh, and he replied, "The only person left in my family that lives in France is my uncle, who rules his own part of the world... and I am not really looking forward to meeting him again this weekend at our wedding... ugh, it's times like these when I wish I could just go someplace, and-"
"Like when we went to Paris?" finished Belle, and Adam turned to look at her. "We could go today, if you'd want... I remember reading about a festival that takes place at this time of the year."
Adam chuckled, and he said, "Sounds very intriguing... let's see if that is still the plan once we get some sleep."
He kissed the top of her head, and began to walk away, but then, Belle asked him another question.
"What is your uncle like?"
Stopping at the doorway, Adam looked at her, and said, "Well, let's just say that I wasn't the only one who changed from the loss of my mother..."
Not exactly feeling comfortable at the moment, the young man added, "I'll tell you another time, my love... see you in the morning."
Then, Adam left the room, and as Belle went over to open the window, looking up at the full moon in the sky, she began to wonder exactly what his mother was like.
After another moment of wondering, Belle's body and mind were telling her that she needed to rest, so she went back to the bed, and got under the warm covers before finally falling asleep.
However, she was completely unaware of the fact that someone had watched her standing outside, and as he stood atop a grassy hill, putting away his spyglass, the stranger let out a chuckle before riding away on his dark-colored stallion.
"Mark my words, Belle... you and your handsome prince will pay for what you have done."
When morning approached, and everyone who lived in the castle was now awake, Maurice had chosen to continue working on his newest music box project.
I never thought I'd live to see the day that my daughter would be married to someone else, let alone a prince.
"Papa?"
Maurice looked up from his work, and he saw his daughter. "Yes, Belle?"
"Adam and I were wondering if-"
"Well, for now, it's your suggestion," grumbled Adam, as he entered Maurice's workshop room, rubbing his eyes. "And I did not mean for us to go at this time in the morning."
Maurice chuckled, and looked back and forth between the two of them. "Go where exactly?"
"To Paris," replied Belle, who was one of those girls that only needed around seven or eight hours of sleep to be ready for the day. "I remember reading about a festival that-"
"Ah, yes, the festival of fools," chuckled Maurice. "That also happens to be when I met your mother for the first time."
Belle had a look of surprise on her face as she said, "Really? And does that mean you'll come?"
Before Maurice could give an answer, Adam let out a yawn, and replied, "I would like to point out that she'll probably be happier if you said yes..."
"What is it with you and wanting to sleep in?" questioned Belle, crossing her arms, and raising an eyebrow.
"I'm only human, Belle," replied Adam, giving a shrug. "Sleep was not always an easy thing when I was a beast, but now that I'm human again, I never realized how much I missed its comfort."
Belle rolled her eyes, and she said, "Ugh, you are so impossible sometimes."
Then, before they could continue arguing even further, Maurice stepped in between the two of them, saying, "Alright, that's enough... I would love to go to Paris... but, um, how exactly would we get there?"
When Belle and Adam led him into the library, Maurice could not help but start to laugh. "You cannot be serious."
"Trust me, Papa, it'll all make sense in a few moments," said Belle, while Adam brought over the enchanted atlas.
Maurice just shook his head, fully in disbelief about everything, but then, as Belle placed her hand on the atlas' pages, he saw what appeared to be gold-colored streams of ink rising out from the atlas itself. "Incredible..."
DING! DING! DING!
The next thing that Maurice knew, he was on the steps of Notre Dame.
"Well... um... that was certainly an experience I won't ever forget."
Adam looked around, seeing where they were at, and asked, "Belle, why are-"
Ahhh-ahhh-ahhh!
Ahhh-ahhh-ahhh!
"Because the festival is supposed to be in this area," explained Belle, as she opened her eyes. "And I-"
Kyrie Eleison!
Adam frowned, and he looked around again. "Where ever is that music coming from?"
"Oh, my apologies, newcomers," said the archdeacon, who walked out of the church, and walked towards them. "The choir is practicing today."
"No worries, sir," replied Belle. "Would you tell us where the-"
DING! DING! DING!
Adam, who was still filled with sleepiness, covered his ears, and he grumbled, "I don't recall the bells being this loud in the morning."
The archdeacon chuckled, and he looked at Belle, saying, "I take it that your special someone is not currently appreciative of the fact that he was woken up so early."
"Well, I didn't want to miss a second of the festival," replied Belle. "Speaking of which, when exactly is it-"
Suddenly, she found herself being interrupted by the sounds of cheers and hollers, followed by the singing of the townsfolk and others.
Come one, come all!
Adam groaned, and he said, "Fantastic, more singing."
Leave your loops and milking stools
Coop the hens and pen the mules
Streamers and confetti were now flying everywhere, and the four of them saw a puppeter walking down the streets on a large pair of stilts.
Come one, come all!
Close the churches and the schools
It's the day for breaking rules
Come and join the feast of... Fools!
"I believe you are just in time, my dear," replied the archdeacon, a warm smile on his face. "Go on, enjoy the festivities... it's certainly been a lot better now than when-"
"Alright, this is too much for me," growled Adam, who was getting ready to open the atlas, but then, Belle took it from his hands, and placed the atlas in her deep pockets.
"Okay, I apologize for waking you this early, Adam, but can you stay here and try to enjoy your time with me?"
The prince looked at the nearby festivities, and he grumbled to himself, but then, Belle pulled him closer towards him, and planted a soft kiss on his lips.
"Please, Adam?" She asked him again, after backing away, and Adam sighed.
"Alright, Belle... it'll be fun, right?"
Belle nodded her head, and she replied, "Besides, how bad can it be?"