Chapter Fourteen – Who Is A Beast?

Belle looked to Adam as she felt that her side of the curse was taking place, she looked down nervously as she turned into the beast but he remained a human. At least she could keep him warm in this manner, if he accepted her, that was. Adam was still struggling to get warm but as Belle turned away, Adam reached his hand out to her and let it bury into her warm fur. He smiled to her. "You are still so beautiful to me," he promised her.

Belle slowly got to her paws, her beastly shape was different than his had been. She had more curves, a slightly smaller and more slender frame, her tail was more puffy than his. Adam forced himself up and made room right next to him, his eyes didn't shine with anything but love for his dream girl.

"At least I can get you warm," Belle said as she wrapped her arms around him, being careful of her paws. She started to sob as she held onto him and Adam turned so he could see her gorgeous eyes. He looked to her, letting his hand sink into the fur that was covering her cheek.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her and Belle froze.

"Don't be," she smiled to him as he seemed to be in such joy as she gently touched his cheek. Even with paws, it was obvious that he still found her beautiful. She felt shy. Before when they had both been this way, it hadn't mattered, she had been with him but now that he was human, he deserved better. "I love you, Adam," she whispered and he leaned up, kissing her larger mouth and jaw.

"Oh, Belle," he smiled despite still not feeling well enough to stand up and make the journey back home, "My Belle, how I adore you. I will never stop loving you. You are always going to be my beautiful princess."

"At least I can keep you warm," she said and Adam nodded. He didn't want to miss any chance of reminding her how much he still loved her. He would always love her. As soon as he could see her beautiful hazel eyes close, he let his eyes do the same. He would never forgive himself were anyone to hurt her in this form or make her feel any less than beautiful.

…..

Gaston was completely sickened as he sat in their prison cell. He tried to use his magic but for some reason it kept failing him. He had studied for such a long time. Teleportation should be easy. Crushing these bars and finding a way out should be easy. He frowned as he tried again. He had been able to get rid of that pathetic beast, he should be able to do other things as well. Stretching his arm out once again, his eyes widened.

Instead of being able to use his own magic, he could see that his arm was getting covered in a brown fur, his hand seemed to be becoming a paw, his body was growing larger and it was painful. No. No. This couldn't be happening to him. He was the most handsome man he had ever met, he would never become an ugly monster like that hideous Beast.

Feeling as if his back was ripping open, Gaston dropped to the ground and felt his stomach swell, a tail appearing from his backside and his mind appeared to go foggy for a moment. As he looked at his body, he could tell that he was turned into a creature just like that monster. He growled. Maybe he had the strength now to break through the bars. That's what his rival must have done several times.

He was still far too weak. He felt it easier to walk on his four paws but he wanted to refuse. He wasn't an animal. He hadn't died and come back to be an animal. He managed, after a while of pacing, to curl up into a ball. They would have to release him. He wasn't like that monster. They would have to release him.

As the morning started to turn into the afternoon, Isabella stood outside her parents' room. She blinked as she realized that neither of her parents had been home all night. That was unusual. Usually one of them would stay with her. She thought of the mornings when her mother had been awake and had hugged her and told her a story about princesses or magical lands. She thought of the way her father had sometimes slept in later than her and he had lifted the bed sheets and allowed her to curl into his warmth.

What she knew best was how much her parents loved her. It scared her how they weren't there. Her mother would have told her that just because they weren't there didn't mean she wasn't loved but she wasn't there to say it this morning. Isabella stared into the room. For some reason, a lot of the castle staff seemed incredibly sad and distant and nobody would tell her what was happening.

"Ah, my dear young princess," Isabella heard Cogsworth say as he approached her and then knelt opposite her. "Good morning, did you need something? I can get you anything that you request."

"Where's Daddy?" Isabella asked as she tilted her head to the side and Cogsworth felt sick to his stomach as he thought about the decapitation. How could he explain this to the young girl?

"You see…" he said awkwardly and Isabella looked at him, she knew he wanted to say something but she didn't know what he wanted to say.

"Where's Mama?" Isabella asked him and somehow Cogsworth seemed to relax with that question. Was there a difference in the questions that were being asked. Something felt bad when it came to Daddy. Maybe he had turned into the fluffy animal again, but even when he was in that state, he was kind and loving to her. He was always her daddy on the inside.

"She went out on a ride on one of the horses, said there was something she needed to take care of," the former clock said and Bella turned to him confused. Usually her mother would say that she was leaving and kiss her but her mother hadn't done so this time. It made sense though. Sometimes the best light was in the morning when the sun rose.

"Oh," the young girl said as she thought over his words, "I hope that she returns soon and Daddy with her."

"About your father…" Cogsworth said as he placed a hand on her cheek and saw the way that Isabella had such hope in her eyes. He had hoped that he hadn't been the one to have to tell her this. There was zero chance that Adam would return to them. Nobody returned after a decapitation and Adam's had been particularly gruesome.

As Cogsworth attempted to talk to her, to calm her down, there was a loud banging at the door and Isabella rushed off. Cogsworth followed behind her. He didn't want to see the heartbreak on her face when her mother told her the truth about her father but the more support for both of the ladies, the better.

As Cogsworth approached the door where a guard who used to be a suit of armor answered it, his eyes widened. Belle was standing there looking exhausted but she was leading a horse and on top of that horse, extremely weak, was Adam. It couldn't be possible. Adam was deceased. If that hadn't been his head… no, Cogsworth had known him since he was an infant, he didn't have any long lost twin brothers. It was impossible.

He quickly went over to them and saw a couple of guards lift Adam's shivering body from the horse. Belle quickly made sure that he was okay despite how weak he appeared. How this could be possible, none of the servants knew.

"Could you please draw him a warm bath?" Belle requested as Adam was brought to a nearby bench and placed down with great care.

"Daddy? Mama?" Isabella asked as she looked at them and Belle picked her up, wrapping her arms around the crying girl.

"It's okay," Belle tried to assure her, "We're back. We're home, we wouldn't want to leave you," Belle attempted to reassure her before Cogsworth approached the family. Adam was still having difficulty breathing.

"How is this possible?" he asked in disbelief and Adam looked at him, opening one of his blue eyes though he still felt extremely weak. He was fighting through the sickness though.

"The encha-ant—tress," he said weakly, "sa-sa-save—" he winced and Belle put a soft and loving hand over his mouth.

"My love, please don't talk if it's painful," she told him before turning her gaze towards her friend. "Gaston froze him, attempted to seal him away in the ice. The enchantress saved him," she said and Cogsworth nodded slowly.

"Yes, yes I think that a nice warm bath would be best," he said and Adam smiled slightly. Belle kissed Isabella's forehead again but was very glad when a couple of servants returned with blankets and a pillow.

"Here," Belle said quickly as she wrapped them around his ice cold body. "You'll be all right. You're home and you're safe. I'll protect you," she tried to assure him before turning to Cogsworth. "Anything that you can do to keep him warm would be appreciated." Belle paused as she saw Isabella rush forth and wrap her arms around her father.

"Here, Daddy," she said in her sweet manner. "You can use some of my warmth."

Adam smiled as he wrapped an arm around her before turning to Cogsworth and watching him. There was something that he wasn't being told. He saw Isabella shiver and so let her go, kissing her cheek. "Thank you. I'll be able to use your magic," he told her. Adam closed his eyes and tried to take a few breaths to settle himself. "There's something that you're not telling me."

"What do you want done with the prisoner?" the head of the staff asked and Adam closed his eyes. As cruel as it sounded, he didn't want to release him until he had changed his ways. That man had attempted to kill him and Adam wouldn't have been in complete shock if he had attempted to hurt Belle and Isabella as well, his special princesses.

"He can serve out a sentence," Adam whispered and Cogsworth shifted.

"It's a little more complicated than that," he said weakly and Adam looked at him. "I mean, I wouldn't rule out death as a part of his sentence," he said and Adam shook his head. As much as the man's cruelty was affecting his life and the wellbeing of his family. Death just wasn't an option. "He's taken on the transformation of a beast. You could technically, kill the beast."

Adam shook his head. He had changed from who he had been. He had tasted love which he hadn't experienced at the time. He shook his head. "I think that we need to keep him caged even more. Unless he can experience some kind of change from within. They tried to kill me as a beast after ten years of my becoming familiar with my new body, he wouldn't stand a chance out there."

Cogsworth nodded slowly, wanting to bring up the fact that Gaston had attempted to kill him on numerous occasions now and it wasn't a bad thing to get a little revenge.

Belle leaned down and kissed her husband's forehead before hearing that the bath had been drawn. "Just relax, my love. You've been through more than enough," she told him and he squeezed her hand. He loved her no matter if she might turn into her own version of a beast or beastess.

End of Chapter Fourteen

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