A/N: Symposium, by Plato, 360BCE.

Belle's studies did not end when life in the castle changed. As days passed, she continued passing her days much as she had before, reading everything she could, working her way through the library, filling her eager mind with every bit of knowledge she could absorb. Adam was as enchanted by this as he had ever been before – moreso, now, that he had begun to lay aside some of his insecurities.

He found her whispering to herself in her great armchair by the south wall of the library. Their armchair, he liked to think of it, by their wall. He came up behind her softly, so as not to disturb her.

"Love will make men dare to die for their beloved-love alone; and women as well as men. Of this, Alcestis, the daughter of Pelias, is a monument to all Hellas; for she was willing to lay down her life on behalf of her husband, when no one else would," she whispered softly, tracing the words with her slim fingers, even as she read them. Adam reached over her and placed his hands over hers as he found her place and continued.

"And so noble did this action of hers appear to the gods, as well as to men, that among the many who have done virtuously she is one of the very few to whom, in admiration of her noble action, they have granted the privilege of returning alive to earth." Belle smiled up at him softly.

"Do you think that is why Agathe returned you to me after death?" she whispered? "For love's sake? For the purity of your love?" Adam came around the chair and, lifting her up, pulled her into his lap as he took his seat, kissing her softly as he did so. The notion unsettled him for some reason he could not put a finger on.

"Now who is placing whom upon a pedestal?" he teased.

"It is not a pedestal!" she argued, placing one hand upon her hip, thrusting her bosom out becomingly as she did so. "I'm quite serious! After all, what is magic but the unexplainable? And if Alcestis was returned for such selfless love, why not you?" Adam sighed.

"Because I am not Alcestis," he said softly.

"You were never selfless in your love for me?" Belle challenged. Adam felt a lump in his throat. "When you set me free to go to my father's aid, that wasn't selfless?"

"You were already free. You hadn't been my prisoner for a long time and we both know it," he answered, stroking the curved of her neck and the soft lines of her collarbone.

"Until you'd said the words, though, I didn't fully realize it. And you could have held me back. You could have kissed me at any time. You could have told me how to break the curse and I would have tried," Adam shook his head.

"You had to love me for yourself. If I'd told you or if any of the staff had told you how to break the curse, it would not have been the same. You had to love me for yourself and for who I was, as I was. It still amazes me that you ever could."

"Evil is the vulgar lover who loves the body rather than the soul, inasmuch as he is not even stable, because he loves a thing which is in itself unstable, and therefore when the bloom of youth which he was desiring is over, he takes wing and flies away, in spite of all his words and promises; whereas the love of the noble disposition is life-long, for it becomes one with the everlasting." Belle smiled and kissed Adam's now neatly groomed and bearded jaw, stroking the short hairs with her fingers. "That sounds right. I think I like Plato."

Adam blew air out from his lips in a slightly childish gesture. "You would," he complained.

"It makes sense to me. It helps explain to me how I could love you so much then and love you so much now. Because you've been the same to me. It's your soul I love, your noble disposition. And you've always loved me for my mind, encouraged my learning, never treated me as an object," she complimented him with a smile.

After a time Adam grinned wickedly and begin to plant delicate nipping kisses along the nape of her neck, stroking his fingers through her hair and pulling it back to take deep, delectable breaths of her honey and jasmine scent.

"No, I think I must be very vulgar and ignoble, then," he murmured, teasing the back of her neck with his tongue. "For I find I love your body quite immeasurably." He smiled as the apple blossom blush returned to Belle's cheeks. Blowing soft, warm breaths below her ear, he continued. "I find that I love the soft, delicious curve of your hips and the sweet, supple flesh of your belly. I love the round, firm peaks of your breasts and the delicate, soft column of your neck." Belle moaned softly.

The clock chimed in the north side of the library, and Adam growled softly.

"But," he whispered, kissing her one last time, as he removed her from his lap. "If I do not leave now, I fear Lumiere will come in search of me, and I doubt either of us want that." Belle blinked up at him.

"Lumiere?" She questioned.

"He needs to stick me with pins and needles to finish my jacket for the wedding tomorrow." Belle's eyes widened in alarm.

"What time is it?" She gasped.

"5 o'clock in the evening," was the answer, as Adam smoothed his ruffled coat and tried to concentrate very hard on mathematics and lessons and eliminating evidence of his arousal. Belle squeaked in alarm.

"Oh, merde!" She whimpered. "Oh, Mme Garderobe will draw and quarter me! You'll have no Belle to be your bride tomorrow! I was supposed to be in my chamber an hour ago!" She flew from the library in a flurry of dust and skirts, then wheeled back as she reached the door, kissing Adam passionately on the lips. "They won't let me see you tonight. I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep well, my love!" She was gone, leaving an amused and bemused Prince in her wake.

How had he been so fortunate? He mused, fingering the book that Belle had left on the table by the chair. Perhaps he ought to read Plato for himself and see if there was an answer to be found in his pages.