"Beau, I want to show you something," Adrianna said in front of a set of closed double doors. "But first, close your eyes." When he gave her a suspicious look, she smiled widely and said, "Please? It's a surprise! Don't you like surprises?"

Beau sighed. "Alright." He shut his eyes tightly.

"Okay, now take my hand."

Beau reached his arm out and Adrianna grasped it in her huge paw. She slowly led him into the middle of the room, then released his hand.

"Can I open them now?" Beau asked.

"No, not yet. Just give me a second."

She went over to all the curtains and opened them up wide. Per her request, the servants had cleaned up the room and fixed it up to pristine condition. It looked better than it ever had before, and she hoped that Beau felt the same way.

Beau could see light from his closed eyes. "Can I open them now?" he smiled.

Adrianna took a look at the room. It looked perfect. "Yes, open them…now."

Beau's eyes opened and he was surrounded by a room full of hundreds, maybe thousands, of books. He gasped at the wonderful sight. He had never seen so many books in his entire life. The bookshop in his village was really small and could only house so many, and he had read them all. He could spend an entire lifetime in here and not even make a dent.

"This is incredible!" he breathed.

"You…you really like it?"

"It's…amazing."

"Then this whole room and everything in it belongs to you. It's a present from me to you."

"You can't be serious."

"Of course I am. I was told you like reading. I thought I'd make your stay here worth your while."

Beau smiled at her. "This is the best present anyone has ever given me. Thank you so much."

Adrianna smiled. They were headed in the right direction.

Beau agreed to finally eat a meal with her and they set out to have breakfast that morning. The servants presented them with their bowls and Beau picked up his spoon and began to eat. He looked over at Adrianna who looked like she didn't know how to eat her food.

The truth was Adrianna hadn't eaten in front of someone for the longest time and was having trouble remembering what she was supposed to do.

China nudged the spoon towards her with her little nose, and Adrianna slowly picked it up.

She attempted to eat, but the little spoon was much too small for her large paw. She fumbled around with it for a while, but was unsuccessful. She was incredibly embarrassed and knew she looked stupid in front of Beau.

"Adrianna," he said softly. She looked up to find him smiling at her in a very sincere way. He put his spoon down and held up his bowl. Adrianna smiled back at him, realizing what he was doing. She picked up her bowl and the two of them toasted to each other and sipped straight from the bowl.

Later, Beau took Adrianna outside to the courtyard to get some fresh air. He took some birdseed and fed it to the little birds flying around outside. One landed on his finger, its small talons tickling his skin.

"Hey, little guy."

The bird chirped in response, and Adrianna smiled at his gentle touch.

Beau handed her some birdseed, but the birds hopped and flew away from her awaiting paws. He noticed her dejected look and took some more birdseed that led a trail to her hands. One of the birds followed the trail and then landed in her paws and ate the food awaiting it.

The two smiled at each other happily.

Beau followed the birds over to a tree and stood behind it, out of Adrianna's line of sight. What was this he was feeling? He had never felt this way before. It was a totally new experience, and he kind of liked it. But it was so strange. Could he have feelings for this, well…Beast?

Adrianna looked after him. He looked kind of confused, like he didn't know what was going on or what he was doing. He seemed so comfortable with her now, and she with him. His eyes were showing a new emotion, but she couldn't exactly say what that emotion was.

When Beau turned back to her, he saw that she was covered in birds who were looking for more food.

Beau laughed kindly, a sound that was pure bliss to Adrianna's ears.

The birds finally flew away, and she looked at Beau proudly for having them like her when a huge ball of snow collided with her face.

She looked over at Beau to find him laughing at her surprised reaction. She smiled at him cheekily and prepared a huge snowball of her own. She prepared to throw it when she got hit with another snowball. The shock of it caused her to drop her own freshly made snowball on her own head. Beau laughed again and while he was distracted, Adrianna finally was able to nail him with a snowball of her own. The pair started laughing and more snowballs went flying.

It was the most fun Adrianna had ever had in her whole life.

The couple went inside after spending a good bit of time in the snow and sat by the fire to warm up. Beau chose a book from his new library and they sat together as he read it to Adrianna. They made it through the entire book before it got increasingly late.

"Adrianna?" Beau said as he closed the book.

"Yes?"

"You know, we never did get that dinner together." Beau grimaced as he remembered his behavior that night. Looking back on it, he probably shouldn't have been so rude.

"Yeah, I suppose not."

"Well, what's stopping us?"

"What?"

"Adrianna, would you please have dinner with me tomorrow night?"

"You mean it?"

"I certainly do."

"I would love to!"

They smiled at each other and went their separate ways to prepare for sleep. When Adrianna returned to her room, she went over to the rose. Several more petals had fallen off and only a few remained.

"Just hold on!" she whispered to the exquisite flower. "I can do this!"

Beau sat on his bed. He no longer felt like a prisoner. He felt more at home than he ever had before. And he could no longer deny that he definitely felt things for that girl.

Now both of them just had to admit it.

The next day, in preparation for that night, which could very well be the night that the spell broke, Adrianna ordered the whole castle to be dusted and cleaned.

To keep Beau busy while they did so, Adrianna took him to the library and they sat at a table and read again.

Beau specifically chose the book, Romeo and Juliet. "This is a beautiful story I read back at home. I think you'll really enjoy it!"

"I'm sure I will!"

They sat at the table as Beau read her the story and she laughed as he acted out the different characters by reading them in various voices and accents.

When they finally got to the end, Adrianna smiled. "What a beautiful, tragic love story."

"But how romantic that they were willing to go to such lengths for their love!"

"Why, Beau! I had no idea you had such a soft side!"

"I've always loved romance stories. I've always hoped to find one of my own."

Adrianna smiled, thinking to herself how his wish might just be coming true. "Will you read it again?"

"Again?" Beau laughed. "Why don't you read it to me instead?"

He handed her the book and she uncomfortably took it. She opened it up, but all the words seemed like a foreign language to her. "I can't," she said quietly.

"You mean you never learned how to read?" he asked surprised.

"Well, I learned. A very long time ago. I'm afraid too long ago."

Beau smiled at her. "Well, here, I'll help you. Just start at the beginning."

Adrianna smiled back. "Okay…" She took a look at the first lines spoken by the chorus. "Um…t-woah?"

"Two," he answered.

"Right. I knew that," she said. "Okay, um…Two…households, both alike in…dignity."

"Good!"

Butterflies flew in Adrianna's stomach at his praises. And thoughts about that night.

Thanks to all my new followers! Next chapter is the famous ballroom scene! :DDD