I apologize for how long it's taken me to update. I had a lot going on this past year, I started grad school, I moved across the country, and I was in the hospital. But I am committed to finishing this little story, with these characters I love. I need the respite visiting this world provides :)
They leaned eagerly out of the carriage windows, pointing out every stream, inn, and farm animal to one another like children. It was early in the afternoon and the sun hung high in the sky like a fruit cradled in the topmost branches of a tree. The trip to the capital was a long one, but Belle was savoring every moment of the journey. Belle was thrilled to watch the world she always dreamed to see unfold and expand all around her as she wondered at all that was in store for her, as though some unseen force was setting up an enormous canopy for a show that had not yet begun. She also loved having this time with Adam, sharing stories, kisses, and excitement with her future husband as they journeyed toward an uncertain future together.
"What do you suppose those tents are for?" the prince asked, pointing towards an encampment that burst with color and music over the horizon like flowers blooming in a field.
"You mean who are those tents for," Belle corrected, squinting towards the bouquets of tents and canopies, "That looks like a gypsy camp. I've read about them in my books."
"We should go see it!" the prince exclaimed, leaning further out of the window and motioning for the driver's attention.
"Wait," Belle said, touching Adam's shoulder, "Your father is in the carriage just ahead of us. I doubt very much that he would enjoy such a detour."
Adam pulled himself back into the carriage and crossed his arms, sulking against the purple satin that covered the walls of the carriage.
"I doubt very much that I care what he enjoys," Adam responded petulantly. Belle frowned at him slightly and raised an eyebrow. The sulky expression melted off Adam's face and was replaced by a mischievous sparkle. He took her hands in his and added, "Come Belle. Since when do we do the bidding of anyone?"
Belle smiled and fought her temptation to give in, instead saying, "Since we are trying to gain your family's favor in support of our engagement."
The sulky expression returned to Adam's handsome visage and he grunted in dissent. Belle kissed his cheek and his features softened.
"But what of all the adventures I owe you?" he asked Belle gently.
"You are taking me to Paris and Versailles," Belle responded.
"You are about to find out that Paris and Versailles are the exact opposite of an adventure," Adam told Belle, weaving his fingers through her hair, "The nobility are terribly dull. Lots of dressing up and boring conversations and trying to outdo one another and long ceremonies and pointless traditions."
"You never liked it," Belle remarked quietly, realizing this for the first time. Adam's blue eyes filled with a faraway expression. Memories played in his mind tentatively, like a music box needing to be rewound.
"No," he responded. He pulled himself back into the moment and lightly placed his forefinger under Belle's chin and raised it slightly. He explained to her, "You were not alone in wanting something more."
Belle was surprised. At times the similarities between herself and Adam caught her off guard. She scolded herself for not being able to see him, for allowing first his beastly form and now his royal status to obscure who he truly was. She steadied herself, as she so often did when disoriented, by looking deep into his eyes. He smiled gently at her, then turned to look out of the window again.
They were passing by farmland now. Rich pastures and golden fields ripe for harvest. It appeared that this had been a good season for the farmers. Everywhere the land burst forth in the sunlight, and it seemed the draft animals couldn't pull the ploughs fast enough. The hired hands worked the land methodically, their baskets overflowing. Cows and goats peppered the landscape, and the scent of the farm animals was heavy in the air.
The prince watched the animals passively, but as he took a particularly deep breath the scent hit him and he was suddenly overwhelmed by a familiar yet terrifying surge of instinct. Not long ago these animals wouldn't have been a charming part of the pastoral landscape. They would have been dinner. Images of the hunt flashed before his eyes, scenes of blood and gore that both disgusted and excited him. He pulled away from the window and shut his eyes, momentarily overcome.
"Adam?" Belle asked gently, noticing a light sheen of sweat on Adam's brow and wondering if he felt sick. The reassuring cadence of her voice helped quiet Adam's inner cacophony, as always. He opened his eyes and the sight of Belle's small hands in his own human ones harmonized his mind with his current form. Human again, he reminded himself.
"I'm just tired," he answered, not wanting to worry her. He put his arm around her and pulled her into him. She fit so perfectly in his arms, so small and so human. He wanted to be as close to her as possible, feeling, certainly not for the first time, that she was the only one strong enough to protect him from himself. She was infinitely stronger than he was. He knew this. He'd known it from the day she volunteered herself in exchange for her father's freedom.
"Do you want to sleep?" Belle asked, snuggling into him.
"No mon cherie," Adam replied, "Tell me more about what you wish to see in Paris and Versailles. Tell me everything."
Belle began excitedly recounting all of the landmarks, sites, and attractions she wanted to see. She sat up straighter in the carriage and rummaged under the seats for her books so she could read descriptions of these places to the prince. The prince listened attentively, making a mental list of everything she said. He wanted this to trip to live up to her dreams. As Belle sat on the edge of her seat from excitement while describing what she hoped to see, he smiled at how big and numerous his fiancee's dreams were. He hoped to make them all come true.
Soothed by Belle's voice, he again allowed his gaze to drift out of the window. As Belle continued talking, the prince noted they must be getting close to the capital. Farmland was becoming scarcer, the houses were getting closer together and the number of horses and carriages on the road was increasing. Belle's voice trailed off as she too began looking out of the window. They looked quietly at civilization growing thicker around them, people, noise, and buildings crowding their carriage. All at once the carriage stopped with a jolt that nearly knocked the beautiful couple off their seat. Belle took Adam's hands, suddenly nervous. One look into her fiancee's face told her he was nervous too. The carriage door opened, and the footman leaned inside.
"Your majesty," he said, "We've arrived in the capital."
Adam squeezed Belle's hands, then slowly disembarked from the carriage. He held his hand out to Belle, and she took it, cautiously climbing out of the carriage and into the streets of Paris.
She gaped at the melee around her. An endless spectacle of art, music, wares, silks, food, and chatter spun around her and she blinked, dizzy from the sheer force of it all. Bystanders in the streets and the servants who had been sent to meet them all began to kneel and curtsy, so that the crowd bobbed down around them, as though the carriage was a stone causing ripples in a pond. Belle hesitated, uncomfortable at the show of subservience directed towards herself and Adam.
Adam too stood for a moment transfixed, a look of awe and recognition shining from his cerulean eyes. He remembered. Yes, he had been a prince in the most beautiful city in the world once. As a small boy crowds of peasants and noblemen alike knelt in his wake as he passed. He shook his head to himself slightly, a wry smile playing at his lips. As though it were a single motion, both Belle and Adam's eyes drifted to one another from the fitful spectacle that flowed from the streets of Paris and swirled around them.
"I've never seen anything like this in all my life..." Belle muttered in wonder, "There's so much, it's so big, it's..."
"It's Paris," Adam supplied, beaming at the expression of wonder on Belle's face.
"It's wonderful," Belle responded, "Adam, thank you so much for bringing me here, for showing me this."
"Ah, but I intend to take you to far more thrilling destinations than Paris," Adam told Belle, reaching up to lightly cup her cheek.
"You've given me so much already," Belle began, "You don't need to..."
"Belle, do you not think I also crave adventure after being trapped for so long?" Adam asked, looking into her eyes with the mournful soulfulness that had been the beast's. Belle blinked, then nodded slowly, wondering at how the monstrous beast had transformed into the perfect man for her.
Prince Joseph and his wife disembarked from their carriage that had stopped not far behind and made their way to the lovely couple.
"Much too crowded," Prince Joseph grumbled, sneering at the people teaming around them.
"Summer is such a busy season for Paris," Adam's stepmother explained, radiant despite the long carriage ride, her golden hair and emerald eyes gleaming like precious jewels in the reverent hands of the sunny day.
"Our apartments are just here," Prince Joseph said, nodding to a well-appointed building that sprawled up the wide steps in front of them. Prince Joseph glanced at his wife and for a moment appeared to appreciate her flawless beauty as he held his arm out to her. She took it, and they turned to lead the way up the steps, Belle and Adam following behind.
"Now if you see anything in the city that you want," Adam told Belle, gesturing his arm out to the markets that rolled out beneath them, "Anything at all, simply say the word and it's yours."
Belle blushed at the prince's generosity and scanned the markets, wondering if one of the stands might contain a gadget her father would enjoy.
"You fiancée is in want of an allowance, Adam," his stepmother told him, glancing over her shoulder to look at him with a reproving smile, "It is unseemly for a lady to have to constantly ask for livres like a beggar."
Adam, attempting not to cringe at the memories the word 'beggar' brought up, glanced sideways at Belle to consider his financial obligations to her for the first time. Belle opened her mouth to protest, but Adam spoke first.
"Of course. She can have most of what ever allowance I receive," Adam paused, and reached his hand up to rub the back of his neck uncertainly, before asking "What sort of allowance do I receive?"
"What is unseemly is all this talk of money," Prince Joseph grunted, before reluctantly explaining to Adam, "You are the eldest nephew to the king, and the eldest grandson of the king that preceded him. You hold the highest rank in court outside of the king's immediate family members, meaning his wife, siblings, and children. Rest assured you have an allowance that reflects your position. In addition you enjoy a portion of the profits from your mother's lands."
"I have more than enough," Belle told Adam earnestly, "Please, don't trouble yourself."
"You shouldn't have to ask me for anything," Adam responded, "I'll arrange it so you can have your own funds."
"But Adam-" Belle protested.
"I want you to have your freedom," Adam insisted, giving her a meaningful look. She gazed back at him with earnest hazel eyes, a summer breeze toying with the whisps of hair that had come loose from her bun, her cheeks smooth and flushed pink like rose petals from the heat. As the idea that he was a wealthy man fully struck him, he thought of all he owed her. He had imprisoned her, this beautiful woman who saved him, this angel, the love of his life. He had seriously intended to leave her alone in that freezing tower amidst the rats and straw when she had first come to the castle. Had he not seen her as a tool with which he could break the spell he almost certainly would have. He was transformed, a prince again, but no power on earth could change what he did to her. Though his human form had been given back to him flawless, he remained marked by his curse in the self-loathing that had yet to leave him.
Belle left the matter for the time being, feeling uncomfortable discussing it further in the presence of Adam's parents. They climbed the steps to the large building that housed their rooms and servants hurried to open the front doors to them.
"Thank you," Belle told the servants, looking into their eyes and wondering what their names were.
"Yes, thank you," Adam added hurriedly, looking a little sheepish.
Adam's father and stepmother were approached by a servant and they separated from Belle and Adam, speaking together with this servant quietly a number of yards away. Belle looked around the receiving hall. It was a lovely building, singing with soaring ceilings and resplendent with color. It wasn't quite as grand as Adam's castle, but she supposed that was because this was a secondary residence for the nobility in the middle of the city. Wait—not as grand as Adam's castle? She panicked for a moment, thinking of the bows, the curtsies, the allowance, the castle, and her newfound life of luxury. She was ashamed at how spoiled she was becoming, and she pulled against the riptide of change engulfing her. Belle realized she had bartered her old life for this new one she would share with Adam and momentarily choked on the thought that she losing herself in the trade.
Lumiere, Babette, and Madame de la Grande Bouche approached Belle and Adam and she smiled at her friends, feeling reassured at the sight of their kind faces.
"Master, I hope you and the mademoiselle didn't find the journey too tiring?" Lumiere asked.
"Not at all," Belle answered, "It was wonderful to see so much of the country."
"I'm so glad you enjoyed it," Lumiere replied with a genuine smile, "Though I'm certain the master will provide you with many opportunities to see much more of it."
"That's the plan," Adam said.
"You'll be pleased to know we've just been informed that the king will receive you in Versailles," Prince Joseph told Adam, approaching them with his wife.
"Excellent," Adam responded, then turning to Belle to tell her encouragingly, "That's good news."
"Yes," Prince Joseph said with no hint of enthusiasm, "We'll stay for a few days in the capital to allow you time to acquire suitable clothing and toiletries. Then we'll journey to Versailles."
"Our current clothing is unsuitable?" Adam asked defensively, leaning back with eyebrows raised incredulously.
"Yes," Joseph responded, "You are going to visit the king. You need to dress accordingly."
Adam glanced at Belle as if to say 'I told you so.' Belle, recalling their conversation about how stuffy the nobility were, suppressed a smile.
"The servants will show you each to your respective quarters," Adam's father continued, his tone perpetually sounding as though he was giving orders, "We'll see you both for dinner promptly at eight."
"Master," Lumiere said, "Perhaps we should leave now to ensure you return in time for dinner?"
"We are you going?" Belle asked, looking from Lumiere to Adam with suspicion. Even Prince Joseph raised an eyebrow, seeming uncharacteristically interested.
"I have some business to attend to," Adam told Belle, taking one of her hands in both of his. Belle continued to eye him suspiciously. Adam and his secrets. What business could he possibly have so soon in Paris? Naturally she was curious, and of course she wanted to go with him. However, she was not one to be clingy, so she didn't pry.
"You'll join me for dinner?" she asked, thinking that Adam had better not leave her alone again with his parents. She did not relish the thought of sitting awkwardly in all her peasantry across from Adam's royal family, with the silver platters and fine china between them like pieces of a chessboard while each side sat calculating.
"Of course," Adam responded, leaning down to kiss Belle on the cheek.
"That's not a request," Belle whispered into his ear just before Adam pulled away.
Adam grinned and bowed, then made his way to the door with Babette, Lumiere, and Madame de la Grande Bouche. Servants stationed at the royal residence hurried up, bowing, to escort Belle to her living quarters. Before Belle allowed herself to be led away by them, she looked over her shoulder back at Adam as he walked out the doors to wonder, not for the first time, what Adam was hiding.