Beauty and the Beast: The Tale Continues

Chapter 56 - A Final Loss, Part 4

Author's Note: Disney is the rightful owner. I just own the story.

"Ah, isn't this such a beautiful sight, princess?"

Raphael was sitting down in a chair, and laying back against the desk as he watched almost half of the library's books become nothing but ashes.

As for Belle, she had focused her attention on the ceiling since she could not bear to continue looking at her beloved books be destroyed by the flames.

"I've taken away your books... your dreams of traveling the world…"

It didn't take long for Belle to realize that the Enchanted Atlas must have been burned, as well.

"Would you like to know what's next on the list?"

Lowering her head, Belle raised an eyebrow at him, and replied, "Let me guess… Adam, right?"

Raphael began to laugh, and he shook his head, saying, "He will be in a moment, princess, but I was actually referring to this."

To Belle's confusion, the arsonist got up from the chair, and walked over to the fireplace, where she also noticed a pile of something that was covered up by a sheet.

"What, more books?"

The former solider shook his head, and after grabbing onto the sheet, he swiftly moved it aside to reveal what had been covered up.

When Belle saw what it was, she could almost hear her heart break into a million pieces, and she cried, "No, Raphael, please, not those… please, don't do this!"

"And what's a farm girl/princess like you going to do about it?" questioned Raphael, and before Belle could respond back to him, he started to toss the pile of white-colored roses into the fireplace, one flower at a time.

"No! Stop!" cried Belle, but her former friend refused to listen to her. "Raphael, please, stop! Please!"

Then, to her relief, Raphael did not continue with throwing the roses into the fire, but then, he quickly walked back over to her, with a dangerous look on his face.

"You are getting really close to pissing me off, you stupid farm girl," he growled. "Do you ever know when to shut up?"

"Not when it comes to-"

WHACK!

"You were not supposed to answer back, you idiot," cried Raphael, after delivering a slap to Belle's face. "God, sometimes I wonder why people still even call you Belle."

"What are you tal-"

WHACK!

He slapped her again, and gritted his teeth in frustration as he cried, "You are not Belle, you stupid girl… maybe you were once, but at one point, you just changed, and now… now, you're just a poorly written excuse for her.

"I mean, hell, you don't even show respect to your own damn husband, for crying out loud, and he is a freakin' prince!"

"Of course, I show-"

Thankfully, Raphael didn't slap her again, but instead, he came closer towards her, and raised his voice.

"No, you do not! After everything that he's apparently done for you, why would you think that he didn't love you or that he truly did love you because of this?"

He then showed Belle two very familiar objects (her wedding and engagement ring), and she cried, "W-what are-"

WHACK!

"SHUT UP! I wasn't finished yet," growled Raphael, who then tossed the rings toward the burning piles of books after delivering another slap to Belle's face. "If your husband does not want to celebrate Christmas in this castle, then you should at least respect him enough to not decorate!"

"Wha… where is all this coming from?" cried Belle, even though she knew that he would probably slap her again.

"I've been watching you, princess, and from what I can tell, you are no longer the farm girl who wants 'so much more' than this provincial life."

Then, Raphael got a tight grip on both sides of her face, and once they were eye-to-eye, he exclaimed, "Now then… you talk one more bloody time, you stupid farm girl, and I'll make sure you suffer the same fate as Juliet… do I make myself clear?"

When Belle didn't answer right away, Raphael simply squeezed harder, and she began to let out cries of pain.

"ANSWER ME!"

The young woman nodded her head as best as she could, and to her relief, he moved away from her face.

"Good… but since you hesitated… and since I doubt you're pregnant again so soon…"

Raphael delivered a blow to her stomach, and Belle let out a painful gasp, feeling like she had gotten the wind knocked out of her.

Adam… please, help me…

A glimmer of hope appeared on Adam's face once he caught a sight of the castle, but he still feared that, by now, his wife was in serious trouble.

I'm coming, Belle, just hang in there!

Then, once he went through the castle gates, Adam commanded his horse to stop immediately so that he could get down onto the ground. "Thank you, old friend… get some rest now, you deserve it."

As his horse walked away, the young prince ran as fast as he could into the castle, and once he was inside, he hurried in the direction of the library.

"You know what, princess?" growled Raphael. "I think I should make your beloved book a reality."

Before Belle could ask what he meant, the sinister antagonist walked over to her, and pulled out a flask from his pocket, with the object containing a red-colored liquid.

"This may not put you into a coma for 'two and forty hours', but long enough until the fire eventually reaches you… so, open your mouth."

Keeping her lips shut, Belle shook her head, and Raphael rolled his eyes. "Always having to do things the hard way, eh?"

WHAM!

Once Belle let out a gasp, after having recieved another blow to her stomach, Raphael quickly poured the liquid into her mouth, and forced it shut, smiling as he heard her swallow.

"Farewell, Juliet," said Gaston's half-brother, as he watched Belle begin to close her eyes.

"And, thus with a kiss, you die…"

After going through nearly a hundred keys, Cogsworth was relieved that he only had one more key left to try.

"Please hurry, Cogsworth," begged Mrs. Potts, who had arrived once Chip had told her about the news.

The head of the household nodded his head, and once he inserted the key into the keyhole, Cogsworth turned it to the side, which caused a "click" sound to appear, meaning that the doors were now unlocked.

"Yes! Now we can-"

"MOVE ASIDE!"

Everyone turned around, and to their surprise, Adam was standing a few feet away, looking extremely upset, as well as also holding onto his father's sword.

"Um, you heard the master, my friend," said Lumiere, quickly pulling Cogsworth away to the side once they saw Adam charge shoulder-first towards the library doors.

WHAM!

Once he was in the library, Adam stopped moving, and the first thing he saw was Belle, strapped to a table, with her eyes closed.

"Took you long enough!"

Standing in the middle of the room was Raphael, who was also wielding a sword, and Adam gave him a deathly glare.

"I can see why you married her," teased Raphael. "Belle is certainly a very good kisser… and having a baby definitely gave her body animprovement."

As the young prince's temper began to rise,he turned back to look at his staff, and said, "Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, you three stop the rest of the books from burning."

Then, while the three of them hurried away, he looked over at Maurice, and said, "You free and check on Belle, then take her away from here… I'll deal with this monster."

"Me? A monster?" cackled Raphael. "Coming from the one who was transformed into a beast."

Adam slowly walked towards his opponent, and said, "I'm going to do what I should have done in Verona… you're about to end up like your brother."

"Oh, I agree," replied Raphael, preparing for a duel against Adam. "Someone will die tonight… and if I am lucky, your wife will suffer the same fate."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," growled Adam, and once both of their swords struck against each other, the battle began.