Chapter Six

6.1

With the preparations to leave the castle to go to the palace in a few days, Belle did worry about her husband. His nerves were going to make him ill due to the stress and that illness might make him more susceptible to the illness or affliction. Reaching out very gently, Belle let her fingertips go to where the lump of the horn had been. She smiled in relief when it wasn't there.

Pressing her lips to his forehead, Belle made sure to curl in closer to her prince. Whatever was happening to him seemed to be happening gradually. It didn't appear that he was suddenly going to just turn into his former self. She closed her eyes as she remembered how shy and insecure he had been when just feeding birds. Even his first few weeks after becoming human again, he was greatly insecure.

Belle reached up a hand for his heart but felt something furry, her eyes widened as she discretely placed her hand on his back. Her eyes widened and she bit her top lip. His tail was growing? It was still small, easy to hide, but she knew that when he discovered this that he would panic. He just needed some thicker clothes.

"Be-Belle?" he blinked awake although his eyes were only half open. "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

Belle hummed and pressed her forehead to his chest. "I really love you, Adam," she told him and he let his hands gently rub her upper arms before he reached down and took a nervous breath in. Belle knew from the pained expression on his face that he had discovered the truth about the tail and she grabbed his hand. "We can hide it," she said and he looked to her nervously. She took his hand and led it to where the lump for the horn had been. "No horn," she tried to comfort him.

"One step backwards, three forwards," he said with a painful exhale. "I think I need to see it," he said and Belle grabbed hold of his wrist. She watched him go towards the window before his eyes caught onto a large glass cloche similar to the one he had been given at eleven.

He put his hand on it, feeling a painful rush as his heartbeat quickened. He felt the pain flow through him and grabbed a candle, quickly lighting it. Inside of the dome was a black rose that still had all of its petals. Adam's eyes widened as he stared at it. When he had been a child, the rose had been red and that was symbolic of love, the love that he would have to feel to be freed from the curse along with the love someone would have to feel for him.

But…black?

Death? Was this telling him that when he reached the state of being a beast that he was to die? Would the wound to his back when he had been stabbed reappear, would he die again as he had before? He put two hands on it protectively as he heard Belle approach him. She looked at the barely there tail before seeing how he had his hands on the glass keeping the cloche tightly sealed.

"What is it?" she asked and Adam stared at her.

"You can't touch it," he told her and Belle stared at him as if asking him if he was really telling her this. Of course she wouldn't touch it. She pressed her hand to his shoulder and nodded.

"We'll both protect it this time," she said as she knelt down to look at it more carefully. "Did you know anything about the first rose? Was there any information that you were able to find out about it?"

"You mean, whilst I was living alone," Adam asked and shook his head. "No. Just that it was supposed to be a timer for how long I remained a beast or how long I had to break the curse. Maybe this is counting down the days until I lose my humanity," he said and Belle took his hand. "Or at least until I become a beast again."

Belle smiled to him sadly, "see all the petals are there though," she said before humming. "Maybe it's something that you need to do, that you need to accomplish. Black might not mean that there has to be a fatality," she told him. Adam looked at her for a moment longer and then nodded. In his mind, black meant death but truthfully, they had no idea what this meant.

6.2

A few days later, Adam and Belle were heading into the palace. This was a lot grander than the castle that they were used to but Belle could already tell that Adam was paler than he had been even upon exiting the coach they had ridden in. She knew that beneath his pants and tucked to the side was the miniature tail. It was definitely going to be itchy and uncomfortable.

"If it's too uncomfortable then we can leave," Belle whispered to him as her hand neared where the tail was but Adam quickly took it, bringing it to his lips and kissing it.

"Just ignore it," he whispered, "Pretend that it's not there."

Belle bit her top lip but she nodded. If that was what Adam felt was for the best then she would definitely follow his lead but she worried about the damages that could be done to his body if he continued to just hide his features like this tail. She could understand how he hated it but she hoped it wasn't too uncomfortable stuffed in those pantaloons.

"So, you've arrived," the king asked and Adam dropped down into a formal bow as Belle immediately went into a very formal curtsey. She knew that Adam was the son who was supposed to be bred for a spare until they had found out about his beast form and then given up on him. They had said before that they felt it was an act against God were they to kill a family member but that if someone else wanted to do the job then it was up to them.

For a young child to be forgotten when he was cursed, that was why there had been no love. Adam had never experienced familial love or at least not properly. He had just been left alone like a seed that one stuffs in a flower pot and expects for it to grow by itself.

"Yes," Adam said with a nod as he slowly stood up. "Father -" he tried but the king stared at him as if he were some kind of animal.

"Your Majesty," the king said and then looked away from him. "You owe your life to your mother. I would have sent people in to train you .Perhaps not kill you but…the hunting dogs could have always used some help," he said and Adam felt a deep rush of shame throughout his body. Belle placed her hand on his back right above where his tail was and tried to offer an encouraging smile.

"I owe a lot to the both of you, your Majesty," Adam said as he wondered whether it had even been a wise decision to come there at all.

"As you probably know there are men fighting in foreign lands and we have a battle of our own happening right now, I'm sure that you know that," the king said and Adam nodded. He looked to Belle. Were they actually going to say that he had to go off to war? Did he have to leave for the war with this tail, with the knowledge that he was going to be turned into the beast. They would use him as an animal and even if he proved that he could speak and think like a human, he could imagine rope and a muzzle around his mouth so that he couldn't protest. That's what man always did with monsters they feared. They trained them to know who master is.

"I do, understand," Adam said and the king laughed.

"I don't suppose you can go into the monster again? I dare say that no matter how many dogs we train, they would have nothing on a man-sized creature. Since you learned very little since you were eleven, I dare say that you would be as intelligent as those trained dogs. It's a shame though since we might as well keep you as a spare," the king commented and Adam looked to Belle who placed a hand on his upper arm hoping that she could calm him through some of this pain.

"I will be leaving for the war, as will your brother, Louis. He needs to be trained to be the shining leader of this country, a role that you would only hold in mockery," the king said and Adam nodded. "We have also found someone who will be leading our troops with a military background."

Adam stared at him as his heart started pounding in his chest. He regretted coming but at least he had shown his face whilst the transformation was in early progress. He could pretend to be sick so they wouldn't see him but he was scared about what might happen were he to become the beast. What would happen if his mother died? His father had no love for him, he thought he was weak and too emotional, he would be treated as the monster he appeared to be.

"This," the king said as he led them to a room in which Adam's two older brothers were sitting and opposite them the man who haunted his and Belle's dreams. "This is no place for a lady, or ladies," he said as he looked to Adam as if he were some pathetic street rat. "However, let me introduce you to our young general," the king smiled before gesturing to Gaston, "This is Gaston. He says that you've met."

"Yes, a few times," Adam nodded.

"You should bow to him, you know, that's what an animal does, isn't it?" one of the brother's said and Adam's eyes widened. Why hadn't the same thing happened to them? Why was he the one who had been forced to become an animal? This wasn't fair. He had always been told he was the least valuable son but for them to not even consider him a human.

"I'm sorry, I am wondering how long you would like me to be present as I have -"

Louis, the older brother, laughed. "Adam, we didn't think that you would come at all. It's not as if anyone wants you here."

Adam took a deep breath in and nodded. He made a fist with his hand but Belle grabbed his wrist and used both of her hands to soothe him. It really did appear that he was the only male here with a heart and yet he had been burdened with the curse. Gaston fit much more than Adam into this family.

"Why don't you leave this wretch?" Louis laughed and gestured to Gaston. "He's a much better choice for you."

"You heard it from them as well, Belle," Gaston smiled before shaking his head. "As if she would be that lucky. You know, I did tell her that I wanted to marry her but she turned me down, rejected me. It was a humility that I want to make her feel," he said as the two other princes started to laugh and Belle knew that it was best for her to stay quiet but seeing the pain on Adam's face pushed her forward.

"I'm sorry to break my silence," Belle said and Adam reached to her, his expression pleading with her to stop. "But Gaston attempted to murder Adam."

"Well he should have done it, if he had done it years earlier he really would have done me a favor," the king said and Adam felt the pain in his chest. He felt his tail getting a little bigger but thankfully his pants withheld the pressure.

End of Chapter Six

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