... And here you thought this day would never come! No, this story has NOT been forgotten, as it will be the base structure of a serie of sequels that I am already working on. Unfortunately, not only have I lacked time, but also patience and a bit of inspiration. I've written "The Gift", a short story which you can considerthe firstsequel to this story.

Since I know it's been a while, here's a VERY short summary to get you back on track: Belle and Vincent have gotten married and shared their first wedding night. Luc still believes that Belle is "the one", and therefore he thinks up a plan to win her love again. Robert, Vincent's direct cousin and also second in line to the throne, is determined to become the next King of France. But it's up to Vincent to decide wether he is going to accept the throne or not. No matter what, Robert won't give up.

Now, on with the story...


Belle opened her eyes slowly and blinked twice to make sure she was really awake. She moved slowly and carefully to make sure Vincent wouldn't wake up. Little did she know that he was already awake.

Vincent had his arm wrapped around Belle. He pressed it a little closer around her waist and leaned his face against her neck. Belle turned over and smiled at him. Vincent responded with a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Good morning, love," he murmured.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"With you by my side? Of course."

Belle chuckled. "I can't believe we actually made it through," she said with a sigh.

"I know," agreed Vincent, holding her closer to him. "Yet I can feel there is so much ahead of us."

Belle was silent for a moment. Then she said, "Have you thought about whether you'll accept the crown?"

Vincent looked Belle in the eyes and took her hands. "I was thinking about that while you were asleep. It's just such a big step on my life… in our lives. I'm ready to take this responsibility, but I understand if you think that maybe things are going too fast. In that case, I—"

Vincent was interrupted by the sound of Belle laughing. He gave her a quizzical look. "Belle?"

"I'm SO relieved," she cried. "For a moment I thought you were going to give up!"

"You mean that…"

"Of COURSE I want you to go ahead with this! Deep in my heart I know that you're exactly what the people of France need. And you can be sure that I'll be here by your side no matter what," she added quietly.

"Belle, you have no idea how happy I am!" said Vincent.

"I just hope this doesn't mean you'll be constantly traveling and that I'll never get to see you…"

Vincent touched her nose lovingly and then rested his forehead against hers. "I couldn't stand a day without being with you, Belle. I'll never leave you… no matter what," he added playfully.

Belle smiled and leaned her head against his bare chest. "What are you going to do about Robert?"

Vincent sighed and gently stroked Belle's hair. "I told you not to worry about it."

"You can't expect me not to worry about it, Vincent. I love you!"

"I love you too, but nothing's going to happen. I'd never do anything to put us in danger."

"I know you wouldn't, but I'm not sure if Robert thinks the same way."

"Robert would never do anything to hurt his reputation. The man couldn't even kill a fly!"

Belle immediately sat up, making Vincent sit up after her. "His words still haunt me. The way he spoke made me realize it wasn't just a game. It sounded serious. This man will do anything to get that crown. You could be in danger."

Vincent rolled his eyes. "Fine, you win. I'll be more careful from now on. But do we really have to go through this on our first day as husband and wife?"

Belle leaned closer to kiss him. "You're right, but I only worry because I love you."

Vincent smiled and pulled Belle's hair away from her face. "You worry too much…"

He held her tighter and drew closer to feel her warm touch on his lips again. She pulled back. "That's only because I love you too much," she added teasingly.

---------------------

"Phew, I'm done!" cried Babette, wiping the sweat off her forehead. She let the feather duster fall, immediately pushed the closest chair towards her and sat down.

"You look tired," said Lumière as he came in and saw his beloved worn out. "Working too hard, I see?"

"All these big ceremonies kill me," Babette complained. "Too much to clean," she added.

"Ah, we won't be having such big ceremonies for a long time, mon chèrie. After all, the master and Belle can only get married once, non?"

"That is true," Babette agreed. "Although I did have hope that we'd be celebrating another marriage very soon…"

Lumière looked puzzled. "You really things will work out between Mrs. Potts and Maurice?"

"Non, silly one!" yelled Babette. She stood up from the chair and walked towards Lumière. He wrapped his arms around her. "I meant us…"

"Oh," said Lumière shyly. "I knew that!"

"Well, what do you say?" asked Babette anxiously, looking into his eyes.

"You must be patient, my love," replied Lumière.

"Patience, patience, patience! You've been telling me to be patient ever since we met!" Babette pouted.

"You must believe me when I say I really want to, but now would be such a bad time!" explained Lumière. "Soon the master will become King and we're going to have a lot of work on out hands. Once things settle down, I promise we'll get married!"

Lumière pulled up Babette's chin and anxiously waited for her to smile. Instead she pulled away from him and picked up the feather duster from the floor.

"In that case, I guess I should continue with my chores," she smirked.

Lumière pouted. "I thought you were done."

Babette thought up a quick answer. "I was… but now I'm not anymore. I have other… things to do," she turned back and gave him a wink.

Lumière fixed his collar and smirked, "You can't fool me, mon amour!"

He grabbed Babette and showered her neck with kisses. They were interrupted by Cogsworth's growling voice coming down the corridor.

"Well I suppose you two must be finished with all your chores!" he said sarcastically.

Babette groaned. "As a matter of fact –"

"We haven't!" Lumière interrupted. "We have some unfinished business to do in… the… tapestries!"

"The tapestries?" Cogsworth enquired. But before he could say something else, Lumière and Babette had disappeared into thin air. He sighed and sat down on the chair Babette had pulled out earlier. "Whatever am I going to do with those two?" he asked himself.

He took out a small handkerchief and wiped the sweat off the corner of his forehead. He slowly got up and put the chair back in its former place. Then he started heading towards the kitchen to make sure breakfast was ready.

----------------

Later that week, Maurice decided to pass by the village and collect some of his small inventions that he had forgotten to bring during his last visit. He took Philippe with him.

After he had packed everything and was preparing to head back to the village, a husky voice called out for him. Maurice turned around and saw the bookseller running towards him.

"Bonjour, monsieur! How do you do?" said Maurice politely.

The bookseller stopped for a moment to recover his breath. "Maurice, it has been so long! I've been worried! How is Belle?"

" Nothing to worry about, monsieur. Belle is perfectly well. She's never been happier!"

"A few weeks ago I saw her here with a handsome man. I confess I had never seen him. Do you know who the stranger was, by any chance?"

Maurice chuckled. "That stranger, monsieur, was in fact Prince Vincent."

The bookseller was shocked at what Maurice had just said. "You can't be serious! The Prince? But… I always heard that he had disappeared without a trace! What happened? And what was he doing with Belle?"

Maurice began explaining, trying to be as brief as possible. "I suppose the Prince returned after a few years of exile. He and Belle met, and fell in love. They got married last week, actually."

"In love? Married?" The bookseller was far too confused. "But how did they ever meet?"

"That, monsieur, is a rather long story. I'm afraid I don't have time to tell the tale…"

The bookseller was determined not to let Maurice go until he knew more about this uncommon event. "But you could at least explain how they could possibly get married! Belle is merely a peasant girl, and I believe it is goes against the law for a prince to marry one not of royal blood."

"But love has no laws," Maurice replied happily. "And I'm afraid that law no longer makes sense. Belle and Prince Vincent are happily married, and in a few weeks they will be crowned as King and Queen in the beautiful church of St. Denis!"

"I cannot believe my own ears," said the bookseller. "Belle? A queen?"

"Indeed, my friend. The event will take place next Thursday. You should be happy for Belle!"

"Of course I am!" replied the bookseller, almost offended. "But you must understand that this, my dear old friend, has come as quite a shock!"

Maurice chuckled. "I know. Sometimes I can't believe it myself," said Maurice as he struggled to hop onto Phillipe's back.

"I should get going," Maurice told the bookseller once he was ready to take off.

"Very well," agreed the old man. "Send my love to Belle and please congratulate her on my behalf!"

"Will do so," replied Maurice. He gave Phillipe a signal and the horse trotted off. Maurice turned around to wave the bookseller goodbye, before he disappeared into the forest.

"Who would have known?" the bookseller murmured to himself.

----------------

"Belle got married to the PRINCE?" cried Pierre, the tavern bartender. He poured another beer for the man sitting in front of him.

"That's what I said," replied the man. "The word has spread quicker than a rabbit escaping a hunter's snare!"

"I cannot believe it!"

"Ah, but you must, my friend!" the man told Pierre. "Soon you'll have to bow down to her feet, seeing she'll be crowned the queen in a matter of days."

Pierre laughed sarcastically. "Ha! That will be the day… But tell me, where did you get this information from? A reliable source, I hope."

"Who could be more reliable than the old man himself… Maurice?" smirked the man.

"I knew there was a catch," said Pierre as he threw a white cloth over his shoulder. Then he drew closer to the man and began to whisper, "Everyone knows Maurice is crazy. There's probably no truth to that story whatsoever."

"Maybe you're right, but it was proved that the Beast he raved about did in fact exist."

Pierre raised his eyebrow in disbelief. "Be honest, my friend. You really believe that a prince would fall for an odd girl like her?"

The man was about to reply until Luc sat next to him and ordered a beer. He was in a rather cheerful mood, compared to the last few days.

"Who?" said Luc before taking a huge sip off his mug.

"What?" The man was distracted by Luc's big structure, just like Gaston's.

"Who were you talking about?" Luc repeated.

"Have you not heard?" said Pierre, wiping his hands with the cloth. "Belle got married to the Prince."

Luc immediately spit out his beer, causing the whole tavern to fall silent. "What did you say?" he demanded.

Pierre drew back slowly, afraid that Luc might do something to him. "I thought you knew. She got married last week, according to this man," he pointed to the man sitting next to Luc.

Luc turned his eyes to the quivering man. "Is it true?"

"Everyone's t-t-talking about it. The Prince is also going to be crowned King this week. Which means she will be crowned the Queen…"

Luc got up from his chair so rapidly that it tumbled to the side. "When? Where?"

"N-n-n-no one knows for sure. They say it will be in a couple of weeks. In St. Denis."

Luc barged out of the tavern without saying another word. When he left, everyone started mumbling and Pierre began cleaning up the mess that had been made.

The man regained his posture and brushed off his shoulders. "What's the matter with him?"

Pierre sighed. "Looks like he's still in love with Belle. The poor guy. Never gives up. Just like his brother."

"Well, we all know what happened to Gaston…"

"Yes, but Luc is different. You just never know what he'll do next."


Ah, the mystery! )

Just a quick note: I'm trying my best to cook up the next chapter, but (unfortunately) it requires an amount of research and LOTS of thinking. But hopefully it won't take long, so don't give up on me just yet.

A very big thank you to TrudiRose for the beta-reading (what would I do without you?), and lots of hugs and chocolate milk to all my reviewers. I hope I haven't disappointed you )

God Bless,

Nikki