Chapter Fourteen

14.1

Adam sat quietly in his room in the west wing. He was still trying to come to terms with everything which had happened and as he thought it over, it only terrified him more. He hadn't been raised by the most attentive parents, in fact the complete opposite which had formed his antagonistic behavior. Still being bound up and treated like a monster had made it so that he was begging for someone to save him.

Maurice was kind to him. He cared about him. He understood him. In return Adam definitely regarded him as a father figure and he hadn't had someone truly there for him who wasn't a member of the staff. He wrapped his arms around himself and heard a knock on the door. He stood to answer it as he tried to hastily wipe away the tears in his eyes.

He looked at the kind motherly figure standing there and took a step backwards before turning to try to hide the sadness and fear from his expression. "C-come in," he coughed unable to hide the sadness from his face.

"Adam," Mrs. Potts said very gently as she looked at the young prince who looked very much like an animal. She felt sad and scared for him but she wanted to hear what was troubling him. "Would you like to talk?"

"Oh, yes, I suppose that you can either stay here or go wherever you want," Adam said and Mrs. Potts sighed as she looked over the teenager. She walked over to the torn picture of how he would look if he broke the curse, she sighed and sat down on the bed.

"Adam, that isn't what I want to talk to you about," she said and Adam looked at her taken aback. He bowed his head and took slow breaths.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I know that's not enough to make up for what I've done and the manner in which I have acted but I don't know if there is anything else which I can say. I do thank you for -"

"What happened after you ran away?" Mrs. Potts suddenly asked directly and Adam looked at her before bowing his head and cried, hugging himself. Mrs. Potts stood and wrapped her arms around the young prince. "Adam?" she asked concerned.

"It…it doesn't matter," he whispered as he cried even more from the pain he was reflecting upon. "What matters more is that your curse has been broken as well as the curse placed upon Chip, Lumiere, Cogsworth, that's what matters."

"Adam, what happened?" Mrs. Potts repeated and Adam cried even more, he walked over to the castle wall and rested his forehead on it before sobbing and breaking down hard. "They captured me," he told her, "muzzled me, tied me down, whipped me, but that's not even the worst of it," he said before looking up. "I wasn't able to save myself without help. I was trapped and bound and…" he shook his head before crying even harder.

"Adam…" Mrs. Potts said gently and slowly before Adam turned to her and told her everything. As he continued the story, he crashed down on the ground and started crying even more. Mrs. Potts grabbed him, moving him onto her lap and rocked him slightly. She tried to soothe him by running her fingers through the fur near his face. "And the enchantress brought you to Maurice?" she asked and Adam nodded.

"Yes. She is Maurice's wife and Belle's mother," Adam revealed. "She said that my curse was because of my family, the royal family and the crimes of my parents but she also gave me the opportunity to change back but I traded that opportunity," he said and Mrs. Potts looked at him confused.

"I asked that the inhabitants of the castle be turned back instead of me so that's why I still look like this but during the day I can be human," Adam said with a little hope in his voice. "Maurice wants for me to be safe even if I look like this."

"We all want for you to be safe," Mrs. Potts smiled. "You've been very brave and very selfless," she said and Adam shook his head. "You have been. Now, I want you to stay in this castle where you are safe but it seems that in your human form you want to do something else and the distance between here and there is too far so we'll have to make sure that you're safe in the village."

"I hope it isn't wrong of me to say this to you," Adam said as he slowly sat up and bowed his head before looking at Mrs. Potts with tear filled eyes. "I really would have loved it if I had been born one of your children instead."

14.2

Maurice drank his tea as he saw the human Cogsworth pacing back and forth. He looked out of the window and took a deep breath in. "I'm glad that Adam is safe," Maurice said and Cogsworth nodded.

"It is best for all of our sakes that he is here and does not look too badly harmed," he stated and Maurice shifted awkwardly as he heard that. He gave a weak smile and nodded though his opinion on that was different. Adam hadn't wanted to tell him everything but what he had heard from him was horrific. The poor boy didn't need to go through that and after the sacrifice he had made for those who had remained at the castle. Well, that part was Adam's choice on whether to tell or not.

"I'm not sure. I think that Adam is a lot stronger on the outside than he may be on the inside. I'm troubled by whether it would be in his best interest to come back with me as we both want or for him to stay here where there are strong stone walls to protect him.

"Or whether he can do both?" Cogsworth asked and Maurice shifted.

"I wasn't proposing that idea at all. I wouldn't want to impose on you and well, asking that straight out, I couldn't do that. We should be thinking about what is best for Adam instead of what we would like to have happen."

"And still that is what you would like to have happen, am I right?" Cogsworth asked and Maurice became even more tense. "It's not such a stupid thing to propose if you would like to."

"I'm not royal," Maurice replied. "I make a living by inventing things which isn't even a noble profession. I manufacture machines that are used to carry out tasks that could be done magically even. I am just concerned about Adam's safety. I feel a love and desire to protect him."

"We can arrange that you can be an inventor at this castle," Cogsworth stated and Maurice bowed his head and sighed.

"Would you?" Adam asked as he stood at the doorway of the room having collected himself and Maurice looked up and turned towards him. "Anything that you might need we'd be able to help you with but you shouldn't force yourself to…I know that Belle…you probably…" he shifted nervously and Maurice stood and walked over to him.

"Would that be imposing on you. I would certainly consider it. I want to keep ownership of my house but as far as coming here to live, would that be okay with you, with your parents," he asked and Adam's eyes widened.

"They don't care about me. They never have. It would be fine. You'd be my guests," he struggled. He slowed his breathing. No. It was too much to hope for. Soon he'd be left alone here and he wouldn't have Belle or Maurice. He just had to accept that this was his fate. He looked down, "If you wanted to try it out then you could go home if you didn't feel right being here. You'd be my equal in this castle but I won't pressure you into -"

"Let's try it," Maurice told him and Adam smiled hopefully.

14.3

Adam looked at the large empty space he had cleared in one of the barns. He had sent Maurice back with a couple of the servants and was ready to try to make him as happy and as proud as possible and that meant making sure there was room for his inventions. He hated how this might mean dragging them to somewhere far away from what they knew and the people they had become friends with. He was selfish in that regard but he just wanted to make Maurice as proud of him as possible.

He took a deep breath in before taking a step backwards. It was a stupid thing to wish but he actually had wanted a different life. He was supposed to be an elegant regal prince and all that being born with that status had brought him was pain and regret and hurt. If he hadn't acted so proud and superior when he was younger then he might have been happy far earlier than now.

He took another deep breath before sensing someone beside him and saw Chip there. "Hey," he said awkwardly as he rubbed his upper arm. He felt bad for dragging the younger boy into this mess most of all. Chip had retained his age but that might only be because he hadn't committed any wrongdoing. He was much younger than him. "Are you doing okay?"

"An inventor is going to come and live here?" Chip asked and Adam nodded slowly.

"I think that the two of you have met, his name is Maurice and he's bringing his daughter Belle. I hope that they stay for a long time but they might not," he told the former teacup and Chip smiled.

"I like Belle, she's really pretty," he stated and Adam nodded in agreement.

Maybe he was trying to be too selfish and demanding again and this really wasn't what he was aiming for. He wanted to become a new person especially when he looked human as he did now. He was getting what he wanted and there didn't seem to be a punishment for it but was he being unkind trying to force the type of life which he wanted. He needed to be kind and giving and without causing problems. He bowed his head and took a deep breath out.

"What's wrong?" Chip asked him and Adam shook his head.

"I shouldn't be relying on other people to be happy," he replied and Chip hummed.

"We all need friends though," he stated and Adam turned to him and nodded slowly with a weak smile. Who would truly want to be friends with someone like him?

End of Chapter Fourteen

Thank you for reading

Thank you to those who left a review on Chapter Thirteen

DarthLeia19, KathyMesser, LoveShipper