-The Beast-

He was unhappy. There was no longer any good chairs that remained in the castle that did not remind him of Belle, so that meant that when he had decided he was tired of his room and wanted to breathe some fresh air, the good chair in the garden was missing, presumably tucked away into the east wing by Vandy.

The beast sat in the subpar chair without any complaint.

The gardens used to bring him so much peace, but he felt nothing has he looked over the flora and fauna. Memories were too painful, they would become more bearable with time and eventually he would treasure them, just like the memories of his mother, but for now he did not know how to escape them.

The only place without touches of Belle was the west wing. When he finally decided to go to the place he hated most to run away from her memory he was across the gardens and nearly to the castle when a voice called him back.

"Your majesty!"

The Beast turned and saw one of the forest Nymphs running to him from the garden.

"What?" The beast tensed. If the werewolves were on the move, then it would be close this time.

"There's a girl out in the forest." The nymph said, out of breath.

The beast frowned, unsure if he heard her right. "There's what?"

"A girl, in the forest. JaEl requested that you be informed at once."

Belle wouldn't be in the forest. She wouldn't have a reason to... unless something horrible happened.

"Where is she?"

"Headed eastwards, right between the human town and werewolf territory."

The beast nodded and stretched out his wings testing them lightly. He knew it was her. It had to be, he could feel it in his bones. He felt bad, but for the first time since he left her on the edge of the forest, he finally felt alive. Maybe he had some sort of magic power he didn't know about to conjure people up with just his thoughts.

-Belle-

She had left her house with few rations and early in the morning before her father had woken up, and had followed the road to the forest using a walking stick.

It was early enough that the town had not truly woken up yet and it was easy enough to time the guards patrol. By the early morning hours, the night shift was so slow and loud that it was disgustingly easy to get past them without any real effort.

Once she crossed into the forest a chill surrounded her and the cold entered back into her body, but she was a woman with a purpose and wouldn't be frightened by the forest of beasts.

She had been walking for what felt like a few hours when she heard him flying towards her. It was him, it had to be. There were few sounds she could forget when it came to him. As his wings heralded his entrance Belle found that she couldn't even remember why she came out here anymore. He's here! That was the only thing running through her mind.

She stopped her progression in the forest when he landed dramatically in front of her, breathing heavily. She tried to listen for sounds that gave away his mood, but she didn't have to wait for very long to find out exactly what he was feeling.

"I told you to stay out of the forest." His voice was low and tight, he was definitely angry with her.

She finally remembered why she had come and leapt to her own defense.

"I came here to warn you. There's a party of men coming from the township led by some prince." She said, and she was met with an awkward silence that made her feel self-conscious

"They're coming to kill you." She added, forgetting that important part.

"Why did you come back to the forest Belle?" He asked, ignoring the very crucial information that she had just walked all morning to tell him.

"Didn't you just hear what I said? I came here to warn you!"

"I am capable of taking care of myself, but you are not. I'm wondering why you traveled into the forest at the great risk of your own personal safety and risk dying before you even get a message to me in order to tell me of some passing danger."

The steel in his voice is what made her realize the mistake she had made. Not a mistake in delivering the message, she knew he would be better off with a forewarning, but the mistake in thinking he would thank her. She felt stupid now. Belle knew she wasn't crazy. She knew that something had happened between them, but it seemed like he really was intent of suffocating it.

"I see now that I have made an error in coming. I apologize." She said, mustering up as much composure as she could gather in the face of rejection. She turned on her heels and he moved. He moved faster than he had ever moved before, she was surprised that something as big as him could move at such a speed. He moved right in front of her, she couldn't feel him, but she knew he was close. She could hear his heavy breath and the subtle undertones in his voice when he spoke again.

"You have made a grave error indeed." He said softly, his voice losing it's harsh edge.

"An error I will be sure not to make again."

"It's too late."

"It's too late for what?"

"Well you've foolishly walked into the beast king's forest during a blood moon. You know what they say happens to beautiful maidens who make that mistake."

"Yes, I do know what they say happens. Luckily for the both of us, I also happen to know the truth." She said,

"and what's the truth?"

"The beast king doesn't want me, so I'm perfectly safe, and since I've now done what I came here to do, I'll just leave." She said. He growled softly and Belle had to fight back an urge to reach out to him.

"You're not safe until you're out of this forest."

"I'm trying." She said, making a half attempt to go around him and he moved again in front of her.

"You're not going anywhere by yourself."

"Then either fly me there or walk with me. We'll never get me out of this forest if you don't move!" He moved out of her way and she finally was able to step forward. They walked for a short while in silence. She was slightly in front and he was trailing behind, she had been walking just fine and had done pretty well in unfamiliar terrain until she missed an uneven obstacle with her walking stick, causing her to stumble forward, but Adam had somehow managed to stop her before she hit the ground.

She was caught in a beasts arms, but it instantly molded into being steadied by his, now human, hands. His touch brought back tender memories between the two of them and she found herself wishing that he had just let her fall to the ground.

His hands lingered at her sides and she had to force herself to step away from his touch. She couldn't handle her heart getting broken consecutively by the same man.

"You can't even walk without breaking your neck Belle!" His burst out. His voice was thick with frustration. "Forget about all the beasts lurking in every dark corner. If this was the forest of happy elves you'd still be in danger!"

She felt stupid when tears came to her eyes. There was no fighting them off and keeping them at bay. Adam's frustrated words melted with her father's words, and the callous remarks of her new "betrothed", and she had never felt more pathetic in her life.

"Belle- I-" He was panicked. It seemed she could throw him off guard when she wasn't even trying, but she didn't want apologies. She didn't want anyone to witness her tears.

"I'm feeling tired of walking and I would like to take a break." She said, trying and failing to keep her voice even. "I would like to take a break alone." She said, setting off and he didn't follow her. She used her walking stick to take her far enough out of earshot and she found a sturdy enough log to sit on and she tried to chase away her feelings.

All she had to do was last a few hours and then she'd be back to the township and then she could just follow the road east. She would run away to avoid marrying the prince, she didn't know where the road led, but it was better than marrying a monster. Just a few hours with Adam would tear her heart out, but she could do it. Maybe this would even become a happy memory in a few years when all she would have to remember him by would be the memories.

She had gained her composure when she heard his footsteps coming towards her. She pulled herself up from the log and straightened her dress, scrubbing her face one more time from any possible signs of traitorous tears.

"I am ready to keep going." She said when he drew near enough.

"I am not, so you might as well sit back down." She hesitated, but he added a "please" and she complied with his request.

"I find that I need to apologize once more."

"No, I don't want-" she inserted, but he cut her off.

"Belle, let me be selfish for a moment and apologize, if not for your sake, then for mine."

It was not a question, but he was waiting for her permission all the same.

"Go ahead."

"You did not deserve my anger. I am the one who deserves all of your anger and ill-words. I don't even know why you came out here to give a beast a fighting chance against a justified mob, but I am grateful for your personal sacrifice and I will do my best to ensure it is not in vain. Thank you Belle. Please allow me to see you home safely. I can stay back and ensure you safe passage from afar so that you do not have me bothering you." He stopped talking and Belle felt like crying again.

Spending her last few hours and minutes with Adam while he watched her stumble home from a distance was not an appealing idea to her.

"You kidnapped me and locked me in a dungeon. Polly had to beg you to let me out of the dungeon, and you betrayed our deal, and then took me back home leaving me at the edge of the forest having to explain to an entire village how a blind woman managed to escape a beast. You didn't even think to warn me about the Prince who's vendetta against you had caused him claim me based on nothing but the spoils of war. War against you, and then after I learn about his plans I come here to warn you and I get berated for it. I thought we were-" She cut off, not knowing how to say what she wanted to say. "Friends." she added.

Adam was silent, but there was nothing she wanted him to say.

"I didn't want to go back. I t's stupid and pathetic, but for the last three weeks your castle has become my home. I was too comfortable and I didn't even realize that you didn't want me there."

Adam walked towards her, but he stopped a few steps away. She could close the distance, but she wouldn't.

"I don't want you back in my castle ever again." He said coldly and Belle faced him determined to not let the hurt show on her face.

"I don't want you there because I know that once you go back you might as well be a prisoner for the rest of your life because I don't think I have the strength to let you leave again. You have made me realize exactly what I've been missing for all these years trapped in this forest. From the first moment I first saw you, I was ensnared. Out there a month ago in this forest I took you for a witch, and once I learned who you really were, I was devastated."

Belle laughed sharply, "Is this supposed to be an apology? You're really bad at saying I'm sorry."

His hands were on her arms then and his simple act of touching her was enough to silence her effectively.

"I'm not good at explaining myself, but I am not sorry. Every time you're around I'm not sorry. I feel no remorse that you're back in my forest. I should be angry with you for risking your life, but I'm not. You're here and safe and it's the worst thing that could possibly happen."

"It must be all the devastation you feel every time I'm around." She said sardonically.

"It is actually." He said, his whole tone shifting to an unusually chipper voice.

"Well that's good to know. Maybe I should just make it home on my own, I wouldn't want to make you anymore miserable than I already have." The sarcasm was thick in her voice.

Adam was a puzzle she was trying to work out in her head. His actions betrayed his sentiments and she didn't really know what he wanted. She wanted to ask him, but she was too afraid to hear his answers.

She tried to worm her way out of his grasp, but he held on fast. His grip was like and iron band around her arm.

"It's devastating because when I found you, I found something I wanted."

she snorted, "until you dropped me off at the edge of the forest and sent me packing despite a very well formulated plan that we had!"

"That was a moment of moral strength. I can promise it won't happen again."

"You won't be given the opportunity. I am going back home now that I've done what I came here to do." She said and he just laughed.

"I am serious." She added, but he didn't move and didn't retaliate. "So let me go and I'll be skipping out if this forest."

Still he said nothing and Belle became overcome with a sudden desire of knowing what he looked like right now in this moment. She wanted to know if his face gave away his emotions as clearly as his voice did. She wanted to see if he was smiling right now or frowning.

She reached towards him and his grip loosened on her arm enough to allow her hand to touch the corner of his jaw. There were uneven ridges on his face, the feel of scars and abuse, but the very corner of his mouth was upturned.

"Why are you smiling?" She asked.

He grabbed her hand in his and pressed it to his heart drawing her in closer, making the blood all rush to her face.

"I was trying to figure out exactly how to break the bad news to you." He said.

" What bad news?" She asked

"Well, you're a poor defenseless maiden in the beast king's forest, ripe for the plucking, and I hear that the Beast King isn't in the kind forgiving mood today." He said.

"We've been through this before, and it didn't get us anywhere."

-The Beast-

They had been through this before, but that was before she came back to him. Letting her go the first time weakened him and he wasn't strong enough to do it again.

This time there would be no more plans to take her out of the forest. This time there were real stakes. Life with Belle or death, and until someone came and ran him through, there was not a minute that he was going to take for granted. If the hunting party was going to give him a day then he was going to use every second of it.

He shuddered back into the beast and stretched his wings, holding her tight the whole time.

"I want to abduct you again." He said

Her eyebrows shot up and she smirked in a challenge. "Are you asking?"

"Yes." he decided. It would be her choice. That's what he could do differently from his father. Everything would be her choice. "Can I abduct you?"

"yes."

He pulled her against him, "This time you won't get away so easily." was all he said before taking off with her in his arms.

He flew quickly without a moment to waste and ended landed on the bottom of the steps at the castle and he let her down slowly so that she could get her bearings.

He transformed back into himself, all without taking an eyes off her.

"You really did take me back to the castle." She said, with wonderment written all over her face.

"You better hope that your people send their best men on the hunting party, otherwise you just might never leave."

She smiled up at him, "If you take me back again I'll kill you."

He couldn't believe that she could like it here. He couldn't even hope that she would not shudder away from his touch, but here they were. It was at that moment that he realized that she was exactly where he wanted her to be. With her in his arms and at the front steps of his castle he wanted more than anything to live in this moment forever.

"I was serious you know." She said and he ignored her, lost in his own dreams. She reached up to touch his face again, but he intercepted her hand before she did something that would cause him to ruin the moment.

"I only want to know what you're thinking." She said, "You can't leave me in the dark."

He took both her hands and placed them on the sides of his face.

"I wouldn't dream of leaving you in the dark. I was merely reflecting on the proper way to welcome a guest." he said, mesmerized by her touch.

"Well, I do seem to remember you promising to forsake all moral strengths, so you should probably being doing something uncouth right now before I question your honor." She said with a playful smile on her lips.

That was all the permission he needed to spur himself forward and he wrapped himself in her.

The promise of tomorrow was in her every touch. The way she held onto him made him think that maybe she was as afraid as he was. When their lips met he was washed in a feeling of true belonging.

She was his greatest love. He felt it in the air she breathed and in her every word. He loved her.

"If you take me back I'll kill you." She said against his mouth.

If he lost her again she wouldn't have to kill him.