Hello! Firstly, I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN AGES! I feel terrible! It has been too long and I am so so so sorry! :( I'm not going to drag out this author's note, I'm just going to let you get on and read it!

I don't own Beauty and the Beast (2017), or Romeo and Juliet! (though does anyone really, because if someone does, they must be like a gazillionaire!)

"How do you do this?" Belle asked as she desperately attempted to light a fire.

"Practice." Rose answered simply. "And I suppose we all have our natural talents. I could never make something which did the laundry for me. That's very impressive.

"Thank you. But that wasn't really natural talent, that was hard work. And," she added bitterly after a pause, "Look where that's got me now."

"Ah, cheer up!" Rose clapped her on the back as she sat down and began rubbing twigs together, "Grumpiness never got anybody anywhere in this forest!"

Less than ten minutes later, Rose's twig rubbing had turned into a roaring fire. She was carefully getting plants out of the way of flames when Belle walked in, soaking wet and holding several fish in one hand.

"I see you went fishing and swimming," Rose teased.

"I'm just not a natural fisher!" Belle tried to defend herself.

"You mean you aren't a natural outdoorsman." Rose corrected her cheerily, "It doesn't matter." Rose took the fish and struck a stick through half of them, "You'd better strip and hang those up though," she gestured to Belle's wet clothes.

oOo

Balls, balls, balls. That's all royal life was at the moment. Try as he might, Adam wasn't finding himself with the ability to get out of any of them. It was funny, when he thought about it. In his pre-curse times, a ball every night would be a dream come true, now he was just desperate for it to all end.

Whilst he was pondering, Lumiere entered.

"Master," he waited until he had the prince's full attention, "I just thought I should warn you that ze dignitaries are heading this way. If you wish to avoid them you should probably exit now."

Adam nodded, "Thank you Lumiere." And, as soon as the former candelabra had left, began packing up his writing desk in a massive hurry. He then exited the library, taking care to take the least likely route possible. As a result, he had some strange looks from maids as he rushed down the servants staircases. But that did not matter. He was not going to another bloody ball.

oOo

It was midnight. Or at least around that. Belle had no track of time whatsoever in the middle of Reverie Forest. It was quite a change, really, compared with life back at the castle, where Cogsworth kept things running to the minute. Belle was pretty sure that, if he was capable of it, Cogsworth would have everyone in the castle running like clockwork.

She wondered if he was as successful at ordering the dignitaries about as he was everyone else. She thought about Ralph, and his strange habits, Sir Theodore when absorbed in a good book, Sir Albrecht when writing his letters and documents, and the flamboyant Sir Augustus, who liked tradition, but would probably be too busy admiring his own reflection to care what the lowly butler was trying to say.

It was funny, how Belle felt she knew all about these people. She hadn't spent more than two hours with them in total. Part of it was how distinctive their characters were. Looking at them, you felt like their whole characters and lives were open books, ready to read. All except that one in the village. If he was a dignitary at all. Perhaps she would ask Rose in the morning. That was the other way Belle knew so much about these strangers; Rose had met them many a time when she lived at the castle. In fact, to Belle's astonishment, she seemed to quite like them. Even Augustus.

Of course, Rose still didn't love talking about her life back at the castle, but she seemed less secretive now.

At the moment she was sleeping, a thing of great importance, as she'd made very clear to Belle from the beginning of their partnership. Belle had no clue how she could be so comfortable on the rocky floor. Belle couldn't get to sleep at all.

Defeated, she pulled on the rest of her now dry clothes. Oh, the warmth. Nothing like the now extinguished fire, but still pleasant all the same.

She then made her way towards the open exit of the cave. She could see thousands of stars in the sky. She found her mind endlessly wondering. What was Adam doing now? When would the dignitaries leave? Was her dear Papa okay?

In an attempt to calm herself down, she recited a part of the familiar prologue of her favourite book.

"From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;

Whose misadventur'd piteous overthrows

Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.

The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,

And the continuance of their parents' rage,

Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,"

When she finished, she cambered back into the cave and, with the slight added comfort of her cloak, fell into a tired sleep.

oOo

Adam could not sleep. Try as hard as he may, he could simply not drift away. It was funny how you could attempt to forget your darkest woes during the day, yet they returned and haunted you with the night.

He sighed and did the only thing he could think to do when he was tired. He went to the balcony and recited a few lines from Romeo and Juliet.

"Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,

Having some business, do entreat her eyes

To twinkle in their spheres till they return.

What if her eyes were there, they in her head?

The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,

As daylight doth a lamp."

This made him think of Belle, though now in a soft and comforting way. It was as if she was right beside him, telling him all would be okay. And somehow, he believed this. There would be a happy ending. Their story would not end as that of Romeo and Juliet.

There you go! I'm sorry that it isn't longer, I'm sorry again for the long wait (I promise I won't take so long to update next time!), and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Oh! I almost forgot!

DISNEY QUESTION OF THE DAY: What's your favourite animated non-Disney-princess movie? I don't know if this counts, but I love Anastasia!

Thank you for all the favs and follows, people! Please review if you had any thought whatsoever about this chapter, and I'll see you next update! (Which will not be in forever!) :D