AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you so much for all the follows and favourites, I'm so happy to notice that many of you like this story! Here you go, the second chapter! :)

On her second watch- she had insisted on getting another watch at once when she had woken up from her rest- Belle was happily surprised by the news that Adam no longer had a fever.

"The situation is starting to look very good, mademoiselle," Cogsworth told Belle when she had appeared in the west wing.

"Oh, thank heavens," she replied happily, sat down on the bed and tried Adam's forehead before noticing something else relieving, "he doesn't even look as pale anymore! Thank goodness he didn't lose as much blood as he easily could have…"

"We have even been able to give him some water," Cogsworth continued, "if you ask me, there's a chance he might wake up somewhat soon."

They exchanged a hopeful smile, and Cogsworth left. Belle lay down on her stomach on the bed, and continued reading Romeo and Juliet from where she had last cut off.

In about three hours she reached the end of the book, and when she put the book aside, she glanced at Adam. She knew that if he was awake and noticed her book, he would probably make a humorous, jokingly mocking remark about her reading all that heartache and pining once again. She briefly smiled to herself for the memory of that day and sighed, hoping from the bottom of her heart he would wake up.

Suddenly the door opened with a bang and startled Belle. It was an overly excited Mrs Potts.

"Belle, your father has arrived!"

"My father? Please, send him in here!" Belle gasped, accidentally dropping the book on the floor, and sat up swiftly, "I… I just can't leave Adam. Can you please send my father in here?"

"I understand. I'll send him in here right way, dearie," she said, smiling gently, and left the room.

Belle was holding Adam's right hand in both of her own, anticipating her father's arrival eagerly. She had seen her father roughly twenty-four hours ago but she was happy that she did not have to wonder when she would see him again, or fear that he would have to spend the rest of his life in an insane asylum merely for telling the truth- an unbelievable-sounding story but still the truth.

Belle was lost in thought, looking at Adam when she noticed a person moving in the corner of her sight and she turned her head.

"My darling daughter," Maurice said, smiling, and spread his arms for Belle.

"Papa!" Belle whispered, stood up and ran into her father's embrace, "I'm so glad you came!"

"What's happened to this place? It seems somehow very different, not so… gloomy anymore? And there are no animate objects but- loads of people, and… what about the beast, what happened to him?"

Belle smiled at her father's stream of questions when she backed from the embrace.

"You probably figured out for yourself that the castle and the animate objects were under a curse when you ended up here for the first time. Turns out I was the key to the curse's undoing!"

"You… you broke the spell?"

"Yes! Or actually… we did, together," she stepped aside and gestured to Adam, "that's what became of the beast, Papa. I noticed a while ago that he had changed… he was no longer a beast inside. He had become his true, beautiful self and buried the beast he used to be. He took me to Paris, and thanks to him, I finally learned about Maman's fate. I told you about it yesterday."

Maurice had listened carefully and nodded when he remembered Belle showing him the rose rattle she and Beast had found in the old Montmartre attic the family had lived in a long time ago.

"And Papa, he does not judge me for my love for reading, or for my creativity," Belle continued and placed her hands on his shoulders, "he encourages me in everything I love to do, and he cares about me simply for who I am."

Maurice seemed still speechless. He seemed to be having a hard time trying to figure out what to say. Belle's further description of how the beast had changed sounded almost too good to be true. Belle looked at him worriedly. When he finally came up with something to say, Belle- who was now looking at Adam- resumed telling him what had happened.

"Last night… I found out he'd fallen in love with me," she said with a short, amazed laughter and continued almost in a whisper, "and I realised that I love him, too, Papa."

Maurice seemed dumbstruck by what he just heard. His daughter had fallen in love, and not with just anyone but a former ruthless beast that somehow had changed because of Belle and turned out to be a prince.

"This is a lot to wrap my head around," Maurice admitted, "who knew that my daughter would actually turn a literal beast's life around and fall in love this fast! But then again, you did inherit your mother's big heart and fearlessness, and the courage to be who you really are, no matter what anyone else says or thinks. I guess it shouldn't be such a big surprise."

Maurice cupped Belle's cheek with his hand and looked at her endearingly. A sad smiled spread on Belle's face as she held her father's hand that was on her cheek, and she looked at him with her wide, brown eyes that reminded him so much of her mother. Maurice had always been very proud of his daughter but he had a feeling that he had never been quite this proud of her- unless on the day when she had learned to read.

"So you're… you're happy here, with the beast? I mean- with the man the beast has become?" he asked awkwardly after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes, Papa. After he set me free, I'm positive that I couldn't be this happy anywhere else," Belle confirmed, and it was obvious that she meant every word she had said.

At that moment, Belle properly realised her father was really there; that she would not need to put up a brave face anymore, not for him. When she glanced at the unconscious Adam on the bed, she suddenly noticed that the huge load of unbearably painful emotion- that she had had to shut away in order to be able to act rationally at a time of need- was now becoming uncontrollable and demanded to be unleashed. She knew she needed to let it take over, so she willingly gave in to so much heartache, worry, and fear in one blink of an eye that she almost knocked Maurice and herself down when she collapsed onto him, trembling from silent sobs as she wrapped her arms around his torso. Maurice was startled by this, and worry took over him as he also wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair gently. He felt his own heart break at having to see his ever so strong, ever so brave daughter in such a vulnerable and heartbroken state.

"Belle? What…?"

Then Maurice glanced at the bed and realised that the prince lying there was unconscious, not sleeping. He had noticed it but he just had not properly paid mind to it until now.

"What has happened, Belle? Why is... why is he unconscious?" Maurice asked quietly.

Belle took a deep breath.

"Gaston..."

At first Maurice couldn't believe his ears but then he felt something ugly ignite somewhere deep within him, something he never knew he could find in himself: silent, lethally venomous fury. He backed a step and looked at his devastated daughter.

"What? Did you say Gaston? He's the reason why the prince, the man you love, is unconscious? The reason for your shaken state? He almost managed to finish the foul deed he set out to do with the mob he led here?"

"He... shot Beast three times! And when Beast transformed back into his human self, his wounds were still there and- though the bullets have been removed and the wounds cleaned, I fear more than I ever have in my whole life! Papa, I'm so afraid of losing Adam!"

Maurice wrapped his arms around Belle again and rocked her just slightly, looking at the unconscious man at the same time.

Just like Belle, he had never liked Gaston. To him, Gaston had always been just an overrated former army captain who could hardly be called a hero. It was true that Gaston was remarkably handsome and had achieved impressive victories at wars, Maurice had had to give him that, but to Maurice or Belle he had still never been a hero because they had seen that within his handsome appearances he was conceited and selfish, even arrogant, and had no real heart. Learning that Gaston had stubbornly kept wooing Belle after she had turned him down countless times, Maurice had liked him ever less because the wooing disturbed and even slightly scared Belle, who meant everything to Maurice.

Maurice had felt a weak spark of hope for Gaston when Gaston had offered to help him find Beast's castle and save Belle from the cell, and for a moment he had even appreciated Gaston. He had actually hoped that by helping him save Belle, Gaston would finally prove himself the hero everyone saw in him for whatever strange reasons. It had seemed good until Gaston had finally admitted that he had never believed Maurice in the first place, that he had agreed to come along solely in order to persuade Maurice to give him his blessing and in the end, to little surprise, had lost his mind after Maurice had told him he would never get to marry Belle.

But now Maurice had heard something that was about to send him overboard, something that made him hate Gaston more than he could ever hate anyone. Belle, his dear daughter who had always been fearless, had now been stripped of that trait and driven vulnerable with fear of losing the man she loved, all because of Gaston. Thinking about all this, Maurice started trembling with anger like never before, and he let go of Belle before placing his hands on her shoulders. With the anger flaming in his eyes, he looked more intimidating than she had ever seen him. He was determined to avenge the prince's critical state, for his daughter's sake.

"I promise you, Belle, once I get my hands on that filthy, loathsome-"

"We no longer need to worry about Gaston- he's gone, Papa," Belle said quickly and wiped fresh tears away, not crying anymore. Maurice suddenly fixed his posture and looked at her in disbelief.

"He? The fearless, mighty Gaston was scared away by the beast?" Maurice mocked, and then growled through gritted teeth, "where has that evil snake slithered, Belle? I guarantee you I will hunt him down to the end of the world if need be-"

"Calm down, Papa. He's dead. He fell into his demise when he was shooting Beast. He can't threaten or bully anyone ever again," Belle assured quietly.

"Did... the beast... kill Gaston while Gaston tried to kill him?" he asked slowly, trying to register all the information that Belle was shooting at him.

"No!" Belle exclaimed at once, "Beast would never, ever, not even at his worst, have stooped so low as to take the life of another! Stooped as low as Gaston, that is... He could have dropped Gaston to certain death but he spared Gaston's life, Papa!"

Having heard the news of Gaston's fate- a well-earned one in Maurice's opinion- Maurice's anger decreased but he still looked remarkably grim.

"So Gaston stabbed him in the back?"

Belle tried to say yes but the word got stuck in her throat and she could only nod, and then she glanced at the unconscious Adam. Her eyes filled with tears again.

"I don't know what to do if I lose him, Papa," she whispered and started sobbing against her father's shoulder.

If that foul, repulsive, loathsome son of a devil wasn't already dead, I'd kill him with my own, bare hands, Maurice vowed venomously in his mind before shaking his anger and focusing on his daughter.

"The prince will be alright," he said quietly, now looking worriedly at the prince, "I'm sure of it. We mustn't lose hope."

Maurice was holding the still sobbing Belle when Lumière came in. He gave Maurice a polite nod and received one in return before remarking that something was wrong.

"Mademoiselle, what's the matter?" he asked at once, "it's not Master, is it?"

Belle sniffed and wiped her tears.

"Nothing new, Lumière," she said, and gave him a little laugh, "don't worry, I just... I had kept quite a lot of emotion hidden, refused to feel it all, and now it all decided to flood out at once is all."

Lumière looked at Belle for a moment before he realised what Belle meant.

"Ah, yes... I've been wondering 'ow you 'ave managed to seem so calm in the midst of this grief and worry," Lumière said quietly, with no trace of his normally funny and cheery self in his voice.

"Yes... I'm more worried, more afraid than I've ever been in my life," Belle admitted to him with a trembling voice, looking at Adam, "I can't lose him."

"There, there, mademoiselle," Lumière said and stepped closer to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, "there is 'ope. You must not give it up!"

Belle gave him a sad, grateful smile and grabbed hold of Lumière's hand that was on her shoulder.

I'm just afraid of hoping for too much, in case that hope will go to waste, she thought and bit her lower lip.

"Was there something you came to tell us, Lumière?" Maurice asked, his voice friendly.

"I came to tell you there is some warm food prepared in the kitchen for you both, monsieur. I'm offering to stay 'ere while you two go eat since I've already eaten myself," he declared, and his normal self was once again present in his voice.

"Thank you very much, Lumière," Maurice smiled with gratitude, "Belle, have you had anything to eat today?"

"Yes, I did eat lunch, Papa," Belle assured, "but you are right, now I'm so hungry even the sudden outburst of emotion can't overshadow it anymore."

Belle and Maurice left Lumière to keep an eye on Adam while they had some delicious late night supper.


When Belle and Maurice left the dining room, they ran into a fussing Mrs Potts.

"Oh, I'm so glad I found you, monsieur! And you of course, my dear," she said, and gently touched Belle's cheek.

"Hello, Mrs Potts," Belle said, smiling at the endearing lady.

"There is a vacant guestroom waiting for you, monsieur. You can retire there whenever you please. There are servants and some guards in the corridors at all times, you are sure to find someone who can show you the way to your room when you wish to retire there for the night."

"Thank you very much, madame," Maurice said and nodded approvingly, "I think I will retire immediately, it is rather late already. Goodnight to you."

"Goodnight, monsieur," Mrs Potts said politely, "and goodnight, dearie. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight, Mrs Potts! Goodnight Papa," Belle said, "I will go say goodnight to Adam before I retire to my bedroom."

"Goodnight, Belle," Maurice replied and gave Belle a swift kiss on both cheeks.

Belle rushed back to the west wing and Lumière, who was currently sitting on a chair, stood up.

"Mademoiselle! You have come back here, are you not retiring to your room? It is very late," Lumière babbled.

"I know, I just thought I'd like to come here for a moment before I go to sleep," Belle explained and sat down on Adam's bed.

"That is fine with me, mademoiselle, I shall retire to my own room then," Lumière said happily, "goodnight, chérie."

"Goodnight, Lumière," Belle replied, smiling drowsily at the man.

When Lumière had left, she looked at Adam with a worried face.

"I wish days went by faster," she said to Adam, "they seem to pass so slowly at times like this. I guess tomorrow will come faster if I go get some sleep, send someone here for night watch, and see you in the morning. Sweet dreams, Adam."

She leaned in to kiss Adam's forehead- something she had only done once (while he was a beast)- before standing up and walking out the door to the corridor.

"Excuse me, sir," she said to the first guard she came across, "could you kindly send someone to the prince's suite for night watch?"

"Mais oui, mademoiselle," the smiling guard said with a nod, "I shall send someone there at once. Goodnight to you!"

"Thank you very much, sir. Goodnight!" Belle replied with gratitude and retired to the east wing to her bedroom.


Belle found herself from the middle of bottomless, blue water, with no sense of direction. The light was exactly the same wherever she looked so it was impossible to tell where the surface was. She tried to swim around in all directions for hints of surface, and it was getting harder and harder to hold breath. She started to feel rising panic when she had to admit to herself that she would drown any minute. She was using what little energy she had left to try and look for surface. Just when she was about to give up, she heard a familiar voice calling her name. It was muffled and seemed to come from somewhere far but it was just loud enough for her to make out.

Belle.

She would have screamed but she was unable to speak underwater. Her eyes widened for a moment but then she knew she had to give up and prepared herself for...

Belle.

She got startled and woke just as she thought she was dying, and she got startled again when she noticed Maurice sitting next to her, on her bed, in her room.

"Papa! Oh gods..." She looked around, the sun was already shining.

"Bad dream?" Maurice asked with a worried face.

"Yes, it was one of those underwater dreams- no light that would hint where the surface is, then at some point I finally give in to drowning and... I wake up struggling for breath!"

"I wish you had rather had a pleasant dream," Maurice said with a glum voice and stood up from the edge of Belle's bed where he had been sitting, trying to wake his daughter from an obviously bad dream.

"So do I," Belle mumbled and stretched her arms, yawning silently.

"I shall wait outside as you get dressed, then we can go to the prince's room together."

"I'd like that."

Maurice stepped outside and Belle got up. She walked to her new wardrobe- she had had to be given a new one as her previous one had turned into a human- that was full of beautiful dresses, shirts, and skirts of Madame de Garderobe's design. She placed her right hand fingers lightly on her chin and lips as she tried to figure out which dress to wear that day. She ended up picking one with a dark blue skirt, a white corset with a flower pattern on it, and a simple, dark blue shirt under the corset. When she was done, she also tied her practical big, so called pocket to the waist of her skirt. Then she stepped into her boots and quickly brushed her dark brown hair, tying it back neatly with a blue ribbon as usual before joining her father to the west wing.

When they reached the west wing corridor, they heard something that startled Belle for the third time that morning. Belle sprinted to the suite where Lumière, Cogsworth and Mrs Potts fussed worriedly around Adam.

"Mrs Potts, Lumière, what's going on?" Belle exclaimed and ran to the bed.

"Dearie, his fever is back. And his wounds need examining and clean bandages, immediately."