AN: More castle scenes in the next chapter as well as another Gaston scene. Hope you enjoy this chapter though 😊
Chapter Five – Mounted on My Wall
Belle arrived down into the dining room just as the breakfast was being served on the table. It was a meal of fresh eggs, bread, and a small serving of soup. Belle looked at the plate before seeing Adam's hesitation. She gazed at her daughter who was holding the fork intended for her age and then saw Adam's paw slipping over the spoon as he struggled to pick up the small object.
"Darling," she whispered, "It's okay. Here," she said as she got up and took the spoon from him, "Let me find you something a little larger, maybe there's something in the kitchen."
"Belle," Adam whispered as he put his paw to her upper arm and she stared at him nervously. "It's okay. I'm okay, please go ahead and eat your food," he growled to her and Belle placed a hand on his cheek before kissing him.
"If I can do anything to help," she told him and Adam nodded. He gazed nervously at Isabella before dropping his head down to the plate and starting to eat as an animal would. Belle wanted to stand behind him, assure him that it was okay for him to eat like that, but she concentrated on her own food.
"Daddy," Isabella laughed, "You're messy."
Belle saw Adam hang his head shamefully. She reached out to place her hand upon his paw. "Sweetheart, it's okay, please eat?" she pleaded and then turned to Isabella, "my love, please try to understand that Daddy has difficulty doing some of the things that he used to do. He may be a little messy or a little clumsy at times." Belle saw Adam nervously try using the spoon again, it was no use.
Belle looked at her own plate and wiped her hands with her napkin before picking up the egg with her fingers and eating it with her hands. She saw Adam watching her before he did that himself. She hadn't wanted him to feel alone again or ashamed of his actions.
"I hate to disappoint," Adam said with a look to his daughter and to his wife. "I don't think I'll be joining you in town today. I would prefer to stay within the castle boundaries," he said and Belle nodded.
"We can do that," she told him and Adam shook his head.
"Maurice is expecting the two of you. I don't want to let him down, I'll be sending you with Alexander in my place if that is okay," Adam said referring to the head of the guards who had once becoming a suit of armor.
"I can stay here, we can stay here, right Bella?" she asked and Isabella nodded but Adam shook his head.
"I'm not going to let you drop everything, change your plans just because I'm in this form," he told them, unexpectedly raising his voice a little. He should have gotten used to speaking whilst trapped inside this…this creature. He put a hand to his forehead and groaned. "You should go and enjoy yourselves. I'm going to figure out what I can actually do in this…position."
Belle nodded before wrapping her arms around him, burying her face into the back of his neck and kissing him. "If that's what you want then we'll only be gone for a short time. We love you," she tried to comfort him and he nodded.
Isabella jumped up and went to hug her Daddy's leg, "Love you, Daddy," she grinned at him and he let his paw push her closer. At least his family hadn't abandoned him yet.
…..
…..
One of the first things that Belle noticed when she returned to the town was a new shop. Unlike the bookstore that she loved or those which made clothes for the women of the town, the most popular stores, this was something else. A hunting store. It made her feel ill inside.
Yes, people loved to work with stuffed animal heads mounted on their wall and there were people who wanted to have their own animals stuffed so they could remember them but the practice gave Belle nightmares. She closed her eyes as she stood in front of it and placed her hands on Isabella's shoulders as memories of the night she had both lost and found Adam played in her mind.
'We're not safe until its head is mounted on my wall.'
No. That was before people knew Adam, before he had changed and done his best to govern over this and the neighboring towns, villages, and cities. They wouldn't hurt him, right? They wouldn't consider him a beast after knowing him as a human?
As Belle stared at the mounted wolf head on the building, she heard someone approaching them and pulled Isabella closer to herself. She saw a young man exit only a couple of years younger than herself and he bowed to her. She nodded back with a smile.
"I'm sorry, I was just leaving," she said as she tried to turn Bella away.
"Just leaving? Surely there must be something of interest in here for you or even you, young lady," he said and Belle stroked Isabella's hair back and shook her head. She turned to the side where Alexander was watching the two of them. "I've got some impressive art as well."
Belle looked at him, slowly turning her head to the side. "I'm sorry," she said as she studied him, "this isn't really my kind of store but I do wish you well at your business. It seems that it would be popular with some of the townspeople," she turned before feeling the man try to pull her in. Belle pulled back but something caught her eyes. There was some strange art in here.
Taking a deep breath in, Belle focused on an art piece that was a painting of a room. A man who wore the clothes that Gaston used to was sitting at a fireplace though you could only see his legs and boots and on the wall was a mounted a very familiar head. Belle's eyes widened as she studied the way that they had demonized Adam's beast form.
"Regicide is illegal," she told the shop owner before trying to cover Bella's eyes but Isabella had already seen the picture. "Even the thought of regicide is illegal," she said firmly and the man turned to her.
"Bestiality is also illegal and what's the harm from bringing up the past. It's not as if that monster exists any longer though I would like to be the one with his head upon my wall," he said and Belle glared at him, her eyes turning to the horrific image again. She wasn't going to let them hurt him.
"I'm leaving, Isabella," she said as she picked her daughter up and carried her out of the shop. She turned to the man, "I'm warning you. Treason is also a punishable offense." Belle walked quickly away from the store and towards where her father's house was. Isabella still in her arms.
The small girl lifted her head and stared at her mother, "Mommy?" she asked nervously, "Why was there a picture of Daddy's head?" she asked with wide eyes and Belle tried to soothe her though her heart was breaking. She didn't want to imagine Adam in such a position, as just another trophy prize where people would pull apart his body for their own greed. She didn't know whether to tell him of this or not, she just wished that neither she or Isabella had seen the monstrous side of people.
"Belle?" Maurice asked and then grinned as he saw Isabella run to him. He scooped her up in his arms and then turned to Belle.
"Good lord," he commented, "You look as if you've seen a gho-"
"Adam," Belle said quietly, "What if he's not safe?"
Maurice took a deep breath and put a hand to her shoulder, "Belle, if he ever hurts you then I want you to come to me. Don't make excuses that he can't help what he's doing. He may be in the form of a monster but that doesn't give him any reason to act monstrous." He told her, "If he's not safe then you can sta-"
"I'm not scared of him," Belle said with a raise of her eyebrow, how much did he know? "I'm scared for him. How did you…"
"I've seen the return of Gaston," Maurice told her and Belle's eyes widened. She sighed and bowed her head. "If all he is is a beast to…"
Belle frowned and tried to stop herself from showing the anger she felt towards her father. "Do you know why Adam is back to the way he was when I met him? It's not because he's a monster or he has some rage issues. That cold-hearted man attempted to curse Isabella and it was the only way of saving both her and myself. Adam took that curse on so that he could protect his family. He's suffering and you think that I'd leave him because he has horns and a tail. Father, I fell in love with him when he had horns and a tail. He's still my husband and he's got the same heart and head that he has always had."
…..
…..
As Belle arrived back at the castle, she made sure that Mrs. Potts was taking care of Isabella but she couldn't take her mind off of the painting. It was going to give her nightmares that if Adam remained this way, she was going to wake up to find him gone and then see only his head, decapitated and used for decoration.
Belle entered her bedroom to see Adam asleep on his side. He was wrapped only in the blanket, stretched in an odd way as if he were trying to find the best way to be comfortable. She truly loved him despite how scary other people might find him. If that made her an odd person then she didn't mind being considered odd. She walked towards her husband and gently sat down beside him.
She let her hand run through his fur and kissed him beside his horn. "I really do love you," she said as she got down into the bed with him and snuggled up to his back. He didn't mean harm to anyone and he definitely wasn't the monster that they had depicted him as. If they only knew how misunderstood he was.
"Belle?" he whispered as he gently pulled back to roll over to look at her. "Are you back already?" he asked and she smiled at him, gazing into those broken-hearted blue eyes. She placed her head under his chin as she took in deep breaths to calm herself down. He wasn't going to hurt anyone. Adam wasn't the kind to hurt anyone but they were too small-minded to give him the same chance.
"I missed you too much to stay away," she admitted. "I love you," she repeated again and he nodded.
"And I love you too," he said as he tried to study her. Something was upsetting her and he felt self-conscious. What if she was only pretending that it was okay that he was in this form? What if this was a deal breaker and she was forcing herself to pretend to love him? No. He had to get out of his own head. He had to try to rise above the self-doubt.
"Belle," he asked as he gently caressed her cheek with his thumb, "I'm sorry," he apologized but she shook her head.
"Adam," she breathed in, "I don't want your head to end up on a huntsman's wall," she said honestly and he looked at her. He had to admit he had thought of the idea but he had never wanted her to feel pain from it when it was just an idea. He loved her.
End of Chapter Five
Thank you for reading
Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Four
Galahsrock, Maria, Romance and Musicals, roxas gx,
AN2:
Thank you for the support, glad you liked the interactions 😊
