14
PRINCE Adam's heart pounded hard in his throat as he watched the same man who had tormented Belle in the woods a few weeks ago stalk towards him calmly and slowly, never in a rush and unaffected.
Every nerve in his body was on high alert, every cord in his body pulled tautly across his lean form. It was a terrible feeling that ate at him, finding Belle missing and not in the library where he'd suspected she would be.
Once out in the hall and trying to ignore the frantic racing of his heart, he had been stopped by Monsieur Lumiere and Mrs. Potts' son, Chip, both of whom spoke of Belle being in danger and an intruder on the grounds.
He'd stood there blinded by the feeling of this new emotion that was worming his way into his chest.
He could only think of Belle, and it was the thought of someone hurting her in her cursed Beastly form that caused him to turn his heel and head outside, not even bothering to wait for the guards. He felt the horrible sprouting of betrayal, sadness, and devastation welling within his chest that he would be too late to save her.
But it was the feeling of uncontrollable rage that Prince Adam clung to now at the thought of any soul hurting Belle.
She was a gentle woman, good and kind, and had suffered enough. It was rage that he felt now and clung to as he began to walk towards the man, meeting him halfway. He imagined killing this man.
He imagined the shock reveling in Belle's dark eyes when she realized that he would be her savior.
A deep growl left his throat as his eyes narrowed in disgust and hatred towards the hunter who had tormented Belle for far too long according to her and was even now haunting her shadow.
The Prince stalked towards Gaston and met the hunter halfway and he did not even feel his hand as it jutted out of his own accord and seized a fistful of his black leather hunting vest. He pulled the taller man forward roughly with a surprising force that surprised even the hunter and thrust his face to his.
"Where. Is. She? What have you done to Belle?" the Prince snarled. It was not a question he posed to this hunter and this man would not deny him the truth. The Prince was not about to tolerate any tricks from this hunter.
The fingers of his sword hand twitched. One wrong move or if this man even looked at him in a manner that displeased him, he would find himself locked away in his dungeons for the rest of his miserable days.
Or better yet, even worse, sent to one of the work camps to the mines where he hoped another criminal killed him.
He wanted Belle and this man was going to lead him to her or so help him, then he'd—
"You guess," the hunter called Gaston sneered, the edges of his lips curling upwards into a truly twisted and feral grin that stuffed the chills down Prince Adam's throat. His handsome face was all suspicion, but he tore his gaze from the man's menacing face and looked over his shoulder towards a figure sprawled unconscious on the ground.
The Prince was sure he had never felt so bitterly cold as his gaze lingered on Belle's form, even from this distance, he could not detect the rise and fall of her chest. For all he knew, she'd been killed.
His bones turned brittle and the blood in his veins turned to ice as the coldness of a different sort that had nothing to do with the snow that had begun to fall swept over him.
No, no, no, no, I'm imagining this….
He opened and closed his eyes shut, thinking his mind was playing tricks on him. His throat and mouth, already dry, went dryer still, and he licked his lips to moisten them and watched Belle's form intently for any signs of life.
His nostrils flared and he could smell the stench of his fear that dripped as perspiration down his temple as a bead of sweat rolled from his scalp and down the length of his neck.
A sound from in front of him snatched the Prince from his senses and his staring at Belle and forced Adam to come back to himself as he moved with lightning-fast speed, moving to pull the dagger from his belt, but it was too late.
Gaston moved too quickly for him to stop it from happening, but Prince Adam heard it, the ripping of his coat and the splitting of his kneecap. An anguished and pain-filled scream left his lips as the strength in his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground. His wide tear-filled blue eyes traveled upward and rested on the hunter's face.
Gaston's face was blank and menacing as he glared down at him as the Prince fumbled with shaking gloved hands to wrench the knife now buried in his knee out of him.
He nearly choked on the screams that were coming from the back of his throat as he finally managed to wrench the knife free and immediately covered his now bleeding knee with his hands, trying to stop the stem of blood flow from leaking. His pain-filled yelps choked back the only question he wanted to ask him.
Why? Why was he doing this? The confusion and pain must have been written all over his face as his features twisted and contorted in pain, for Gaston's voice taunted him as he spoke.
"Belle was always mine, Your Highness, I don't give a damn if you are our realm's Prince or not. I'm taking her home with me, where she belongs. She'll marry me and be with me now. No more fighting, no more running, no more of her silly cat-and-mouse games. In time, I know she will feel what I feel for her. Her curse that you caused will be undone, I will get her the help she deserves. You, you would just keep her locked away in this place, trapped behind the bars of your shining castle's gates, like a cage, like the Beast she's become, because of you," he snarled, flinging venom at him in a moment of hatred as he stalked towards him, another large hunting knife raised in his hand.
He held it up by his face and prepared to lunge.
As he watched Gaston come closer, the Prince cursed himself for being away from the castle for nearly the whole day, though he'd woken from a dream early this morning before the sun rose that left the flustered Prince sleepless the rest of the night.
He'd dreamt of Belle, she was human again in his dream, on one of his horses from the stables on a cold snowy morning. She was riding alongside him, her lovely dark hair a striking contrast against the blinding white snow and the ghostly-looking trees that were bereft of their leaves in the winter months.
He called her name twice and after the second time, Belle had turned to him with a sweet smile on her lips, her chocolate eyes glittering as she looked at him.
Their eyes locked and had a conversation all their own without either one of them needing to speak. She waved to him, her gloved hand shyly coming to rest on the small swell of her stomach.
Oh, God…
He watched as the tip of death descended on him swiftly as Gaston prepared to stab him through the heart with his knife.
…What have I done?
THE agony that split through Belle's head was nearly unbearable. A moan left her as she stirred awake, roused from her unconsciousness by the sound of a distant, muffled pain-filled yell.
It took her a few minutes to open her eyes and when she did, she was struck with the frightening realization that the sound she had heard had come from the Prince, which could only mean that Gaston had caught up to him and had hurt the man. A chill that had nothing to do with the frigid cold temperatures ripped through her and she bolted upright to her feet as a vent of adrenaline propelled her to move toward the source of the noise.
The moment she stood to her feet and lifted her head in the general direction where the noise had come from, black spots covered her vision and she felt her world spin.
Another moan left her and she breathed slowly through her nose, willing herself to remain in one piece long enough to find Adam and hopefully help the Prince. She could not let Gaston hurt anyone else if she could help it at all.
The blood drained from her face as another heart-wrenching scream tore through Belle like a shard of glass. She felt her eyes widen and pulse quicken as she broke into a run, not even sure where on the grounds she was heading.
As she ran, her heart thudded like a rock rattling in a box and she did not know what she would do when she found them.
All she was aware of was that she had to get there, fast.
Her feet felt like lead in her boots as she quickened her pace, trying to ignore the bile rising in her throat and how sick and lightheaded she felt. Her heart was in her throat as she finally came upon Gaston and the Prince.
She could only watch in horror as the Prince was on the ground, blood now pouring from a gaping wound in his leg, Gaston's knife lay scattered on the ground a few feet from the Prince's foot. Gaston was looming over the Prince with another blade in his hand. Belle's eyes flew open even wider as the man raised his arm. He meant to kill him.
Belle on several occasions had felt real fear throughout her life. When she was a little girl, she had been terrified of the dark. At seventeen, one of Maurice's inventions had backfired and caused an explosion that had caused their house to catch fire and she'd had to be pulled out by Maurice, her dress aflame.
But never before had Belle ever witnessed someone about to be killed right in front of her eyes, let alone have that person be someone she cared about. Until now. Gaston had hurt her and was nearly about to kill Gaston and was about to thrust his blade into the man's ribcage.
Belle felt something ugly and dark shift within her as she watched Gaston prepare to strike and hurt the Prince, if not outright kill him. Suddenly, she thought it did not matter that she did not have a weapon, it did not matter that Gaston could and probably would kill her himself, but she had to try.
If she didn't, both she and the Prince were as good as dead.
She could not let the Prince die right in front of her eyes, not when he was taking an effort to befriend her and was being kind to her when no one else in their village besides Papa and sometimes LeFou had.
Gaston hesitated for a moment as he raised his hand, but it was only a moment that Belle needed.
Her heart burst against her ribcage as she felt it, a drop of rage that was spreading throughout her entire body and warming her several times over. Her breaths were out of control and half-mad.
A horrible tingling burning itch began to rupture in her jaws.
The last thing Belle remembered was the low growl that was ripped from her lips, a Beastly noise, an animalistic sound of hatred as a wave of fierce protectiveness overcame her. She felt herself running towards Gaston, running to the man so fast that the bitterly cold wind slapped against her face, but she did not feel the stinging cold.
All she focused on was the rage that now burned within her as she let the Beast within herself take control. A paw jutted out and wound around Gaston's arm that was raised and she spun the hunter around to face him.
There was chaos, and there was shouting, though what was being said, Belle could not tell.
All she could hear was ringing that had started in her ears.
"Don't touch him, Gaston!" she heard herself roaring as she shoved Gaston's chest, harsh and strong, she was sure, and it was enough to send the hunter sprawling backward. He nearly fell but managed to regain his balance and straightened his gait. A flash of silver caught her eye before it disappeared out of the corner of her vision.
A part of Belle hoped it was the knife because she was not too keen on trying to subdue Gaston while he held a knife in his hands that he could easily stab her through the stomach with.
But Gaston too was strong in his way and jutted out a foot, his heel connecting with Belle's side.
She was flung off balance and winded, heaving to catch her breath and clutching at a stitch in her side as she erupted into a violent coughing fit. She was unsure of what was happening. Frantically, she spun around in time to see Gaston charging not for her, but for the Prince, a look of murder and rage in the man's colorless grey eyes.
"No!" Belle screamed, horror the only spirit left in her eyes.
In a flash of a reflex of fierce protectiveness, Belle darted forward and stood between where the Prince remained on the ground, in pain and struggling to get up, and Gaston and the deadly weapon in his hand.
She shoved the Prince backward as Prince Adam, albeit with great difficulty, finally managed to get to his feet.
Belle turned back around with a quest to defend the Prince from Gaston, but all was too late. Gaston bounded forward and buried the tip of his blade deep within her ribs. It took Belle a moment to realize that the horrifying death scream that rent the air and drowned out the sound of Adam's scream, had come from her.
Gaston's gaze was blank and menacing as he twisted the blade with all his force to ensure her incapacitation.
Belle's ghastly howl quickly turned into a choked whisper as she crumpled backward in pain.
She winced in pain but made no sound.
"No!" she could hear the Prince scream in horror as she crumpled to the ground in a heap.
Rage flashed in the Prince's wintry blue eyes as he heard the sound of scuffling cloaks and footsteps finally coming to his and Belle's aid. He could hear the voice of his father coming out of his mouth as he commanded his guards to take Gaston below to the dungeons before he killed him.
While Gaston was being led away, almost hysterical, Adam fell to his knees beside Belle's frame.
With shaking fingers, Adam gingerly rolled Belle over to face him, tears streaming down his cheeks as he saw the gushing stream of blood flowing down her side and heard her frantic quick breaths as she struggled to keep her hands over the gaping wound. Adam wasted no time in gathering Belle in his arms, as she was nearly in shock from the pain and raised a blood-covered paw to Adam's cheek. Almost as if in a dream, Belle smiled at him lovingly.
"Are you…hurt?" she managed to gasp out in a choked whisper as blood filled in her throat.
"No, Belle, I'm not, but why? Why did you...you shouldn't have had to..." he demanded, almost sounding angry with Belle as his voice cracked and broke. "Belle, please! Stay with me," he shouted.
The Prince held her close as she struggled in his arms against the pain that was beginning to ravage and spread throughout her body now that the worst of her shock passed.
Adam swore his heart nearly ceased to beat right then and there as though Belle was gravely injured, her only thought was of his safety. Her dark eyes turned glossy and swam with her tears.
Adam watched in horror as the light behind Belle's eyes was growing weaker as the seconds passed.
From somewhere behind him, he could hear Mrs. Potts and Monsieur Cogsworth shouting at him that they needed to get Belle inside and to the physician. But he could not bring himself to look away.
"Belle! Please!" He begged, "Stay with me, don't do this to me. Don't you die on me, damn you, not now…" He held Belle as close as he dared. All Belle could do was stare up into her new love's blue eyes, finding peace in their soothing depths. It was then that Adam's mind went unbidden to the words that he had not yet spoken but felt.
"I…I think that I…love you, Belle," he sobbed. "I-I do. I love you," he swore to her as if he thought the declaration alone could heal her. Belle's eyes grew distant, and an adoring little smile passed over her face as she processed his words. Her heavy eyes studied Adam, burning the man's image into her brain. If she was to die today, at least she would have the memory of the man she had grown to deeply, passionately love with all her heart.
Slowly, fatigue descended upon her. It was becoming a chore just to keep her eyes fixed on Adam's face, an effort to get in a good breath of air. She could see the terror in the stricken man's expression and watched his mouth move.
"Belle! Belle!" She could see Adam screaming her name, but she could not hear him.
She wished she could ease the worry in her handsome hero's heart. She might not have saved him, but Belle was relieved that he was still alive, that Gaston seemed to have been taken care of as she'd heard him fighting the guards tooth and nail every step of the way as the man was led down to the castle's dungeons.
She wanted to tell Adam that she had heard the words of love he had just sworn to her, and that was enough to fill every moment of her with joy, even if she stayed as this Beast as she passed away.
Just hearing his words of love would be enough.
Unable to fight any longer, Belle let her hand fall from Adam's face, leaving streaks of her blood down his cheek. She gazed up at him and felt a strange peace wallowing in her soul, always.
"Adam, I…" was all she could whisper before her eyes fluttered closed and the world went dark.
"Belle!" Adam screamed, clinging to her tightly as her eyes closed. More tears flooded his eyes, and it was with a heavy heart that he knew that Belle was fading fast, leaving this world in a very painful and wrong way.
Belle was a gift to this world and him and was fading because of that hunter's thick and sick twisted obsession with her. Throughout their time spent together, she had grown to be his light in the dark tunnels, and this light was dying.
His heart gave another painful lurch as he realized he was mourning the woman as if she were the light in his dark tunnels, that he loved her. Now that he thought he could understand his feelings, could think it, maybe, somehow, Belle would be able to hear him. He lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.
It was soft and his lips barely brushed against her cold skin, yet it was a kiss, nonetheless. It came from the bottom of his heart and Belle was the only person in his life who he thought was worth giving it to.
"I…" he began, nearly choking on the words that he forced himself to speak as the tears continued to fall, despite his best efforts not to let them fall, feeling rather unsure and hesitant. Yet, he steeled himself and forced them out.
"I love you, and if you can hear me if you're still with me, then stay with me, Belle. You've become someone that I cannot live without, and I fear life without you. Do not go far from me. Do not go where I can't follow, Belle. Please… I…I love you."
The silence that followed his desperate plea was just a split second. Only long enough to break on Adam in a cold sweat. He feared he had been too late, as nothing happened as the plea left his lips. He was suddenly hyperaware.
And then, a harrowing burning blinding white light and the explosion.