AN: I am so thankful for the reviews and the support on this story. Beauty and the Beast (the animated one) is my favorite Disney movie and I'm really happy I get to write a fic that people have shown such love towards. Thank you.
Chapter Three - Hiding
"You are the man that I love. You are a prince," Belle said as she looked at Adam with such passion and determination in her eyes. Adam was thankful for that, thankful that he had been the first one to see the true Belle and how amazing she was.
He was about to bring her up into a loving embrace but heard a voice that made his inside chill over.
"Well, if it isn't the prince that turned into the monster," a woman asked and Adam dropped down into a respectful bow with Belle immediately curtseying to her despite those words. "I mean, who gets themselves into that ugly situation, your heart is probably still medieval,"
Adam closed his eyes and Belle could see the pain he was going through, "Hello, Mother. It's nice to see you again," he said respectfully and the queen looked at him as if he were still in his beast form. "How have you been?"
"True elegance is lost on a creature such as you," the queen said and Belle grabbed to Adam's hand, squeezing it immediately. They had to maintain composure.
…
Adam sighed as he looked at his paw in the light of the moon. How could he have thought that he would become anything more than the hideous beast people had called him? This was the form that had defined him for so long. Wasn't the word recidivism, when you returned to the dysfunctional state you thought you were cured from and if this wasn't a dysfunctional state then what was.
The door opened and Adam's eyes flashed up. Hadn't Belle locked him in here? Well, he shouldn't have expected anything different.
He looked down with a heavy sigh but was greeted by a man's voice instead.
"It doesn't seem wise to me to be sitting down on the ground when it's this cold, it would affect one's posture in the long run," Lumiere said as he walked over to the prince. Adam closed his eyes. What good was the fear of losing one's posture when this body was so hard to move around in. He had done everything he could to become a better person and redeem himself in Belle's eyes. "So, we are sitting in silence, I see."
"Well, I was," Adam bit back and Lumiere sighed, letting his back rest on the wall next to his friend. "Look at me, I mean, what good am I to anyone in this state?"
"Having heard the full story, that state makes you into a hero," Lumiere smiled, "but sitting in the darkness does nothing. You need light, wonder, magic, beauty to truly understand what you can do in this world and where you best fit in. Now, I might not be able to produce all the light but I have experience in living in it."
Adam rolled his eyes, "If you hadn't lived in so much light, you wouldn't have nearly been melted," he argued and Lumiere nodded in agreement. "I'm just glad that this curse didn't affect anyone else this time. Nobody else is hurt and you can all cage up the beast."
"It's statements like that that will make Belle worry for you," the former-candelabra said as he closed his eyes and calmly waited with Adam. "It is my understanding that your daughter is asking to see you. I would hate to disappoint her."
"It would be an even greater disappointment to her were she to see me like this," the prince argued and put a paw to his face. "No, the isolation is better than scaring her. She's so young, so innocent. To have her know that her own father is a monster. I can't do that to her."
"Still, it is her own father who took the risk and saved her life even at the sacrifice of his own. Now, if that isn't parental love then I don't know what is," Lumiere said before standing up. "Well, the information has been presented to you. It is yours to decide what to do with it."
Adam felt his heart twist as he watched his servant out. He didn't know what to do but he wanted to be the father she loved, however that father was a prince and not a creature.
…..
…..
Belle was carrying the soup into the east tower and her eyes widened as she found that Adam had left the area. She looked around, making sure that he wasn't hiding in the darkness. He wasn't here. She couldn't see him and she had hope that he had gone to their bedroom and come to his senses that it wasn't the outside that was important but his heart and mind.
Should she leave the soup here? He would still be hungry, right? Belle smiled, she would take it to their bedroom and hope that he was there, hope that she had calculated his moves correctly. She left the room and made her way to their bedroom in the west wing. Hopefully if the soup was covered it wouldn't get too cold.
Walking through the castle, she paused as she neared their room and found Adam hiding behind a corner.
She raised an eyebrow as she managed to put the soup down on a table in the hallway and came around to face him as he peeked around the corner. "What are you doing?" she asked as she saw how nervous he was. She looked at the room that he was trying to look into without being seen. Isabella was sleeping soundly but she had also gone through so much of a shock.
"She won't hate you if that's what you're thinking," Belle said as she reached out to place a hand on his arm. "She might not recognize you but she's not going to be scared once you explain to her who you are."
"I don't want to scare her," Adam said as he pushed his back against the wall. "I mean, look at me. You were much older than she was when you saw me and you were still terrified of me in the beginning. Maybe Isabella is a lot like you but she's still a young child. No," Adam bowed his head and shook it so Belle took a step towards him, "I can't do that to her."
"Hey," Belle smiled as she placed a hand on each of his cheeks and saw him open those stunning blue eyes of his. "Adam, listen to me. She won't hate you and that fear will leave her quickly once you show her how gentle you've become. When I met you, you had been trapped in isolation and abandoned by your family, you had every right to be angry but you've changed and she loves you, she will continue to love you."
"You don't understand how it feels to look like this," Adam said and Belle put her arms around his neck, pressing her head into his chest.
"Maybe not but I love you. We'll handle this together, okay?" Belle reached to his cheek again and let her fingers go through the brown fur. She caressed his cheek and heard a soft purr which made her smile. It didn't matter to her what this outside was, he was still her husband and the man that she loved even if nobody else would see it that way.
"Come to our room with me?" Belle asked as she reached for his paw and Adam nodded nervously allowing Belle to smile, at least he wouldn't be in the tower.
…..
…..
Belle saw Adam climb onto the bed – which was fortunately large enough to accommodate both of them with him in his returned form – and she grabbed a larger blanket. She placed the soup on the side in case he was hungry but as he turned to his side on the bed, Belle got down opposite him.
He was much larger than before but there was still her husband that she adored sharing the bed with, she curled in closer, often Adam would hold her when she slept. She pushed her head into his fur, his body was warm and it was as if it was a pillow. She smiled gently but found Adam to pull back.
"Are you sure?" he asked and Belle blinked up at him, "I mean, with all this fur, my claws, teeth, the way that I'm looking. You've seen me like this before but we've never been…we've never been together whilst I've been like this," he said and Belle smiled.
"Adam, I want to continue being with my husband and your fur doesn't bother me, it's soft and warm and I can hear your heartbeat, I'd be more upset if you didn't allow for this to happen," Belle said as she sat up again and gently caressed his cheek. She kissed his mouth again and touched him right around the horn. She saw his expression soften as if he was some animal being pet behind the ear.
No, she had to get those thoughts out of her mind. Adam was a prince, he wasn't some kind of exotic pet. He was the one who had shown her that she could have a charmed life, a beautiful life with a family that both understood her and respected her. No pet could do that and she didn't want to feel any disrespect for him because of his change in species.
"How does that feel?" Belle asked as she gently ran her hand over the sharp horn.
"Surprisingly pleasing," he growled out and Belle sat up, she moved backwards and placed a loving kiss onto each of his horns. He looked at her, his eyes still showing his fear that she might have a complete change of heart but that simple love and confusion that Belle had started with had grown into a truly unconditional love for him.
"I'm going to change into a nightgown and then I'll be right back," she promised him and he reached his paw out for her. She took it in her hands and pressed a loving kiss to it. "I promise that I'll be right back."
Adam watched her longingly as she undressed and then put on her nightgown. He still couldn't believe that he had won the affections of someone so smart, kind, and beautiful. He didn't deserve her, especially like this. He was scared that his anger and frustration would come back and at that time Belle would leave and take their daughter with her. He wouldn't blame her if that happened.
He was deeply in love with her and it was out of his control. Even if something happened that made Belle leave him and even if she married Gaston and had children with him, he would still love her. As long as she was safe and happy then nothing else mattered. Well, he would be jealous and want her back but in this form did he even have a right to feel those emotions?
Belle swiftly returned to his side and cuddled closer to him. "I love you, Adam," she repeated once again and heard him purr. He probably didn't mean to do so but it was pretty adorable. She reached up to stroke his cheek again. "Maybe we could make some more clothes," she suggested. "Or have someone make them so you don't feel so exposed. What you did was very heroic and shows how amazing of a father you are."
"I can't be close to her until she's much older," Adam told her, "Tomorrow morning I'll return to the tower."
"She just wants her Daddy," Belle said as she tried to meet his gaze and saw the shame that he was carrying with him. She smiled as she snuggled into his warmth. "It'll be okay, we're together, it's going to be all right."
"I don't think that I could get through this without you, Belle," he honestly told her and Belle laughed.
"Then I assure you that I have no thoughts at all about leaving you," she tried to assure him and smiled as finally his body relaxed and he closed his eyes, ready to go to sleep.
End of Chapter Three
Thank you for reading
Thank you to the reviewers of Chapters One and Two
Maria, Romance and Musicals, Roxas gx,
