This is a long chapter, if you readers have any questions, leave them in the reviews.
"You've chosen a lovely lady, my cousin." Sagittarius said as Adam closed the parlor door.
"Don't get any ideas, Sagittarius!" Adam said defensively.
"Don't worry!" Sagittarius quickly said, "I'm not, I'm just only saying."
"I'm...sorry." Adam calmly said, "It's just...Belle has been through a lot, the worse from...men."
"I do understand, cousin." Sagittarius said. "You've been through an horrible ordeal yourself."
"You have no idea." Adam said, rolling his eyes.
"Actually...I do have an idea." Sagittarius said, Adam just looked at him.
"What...do you mean by that?" he asked.
"Don't try and hide it. I know what happened to you, cursed to be a beast, correct?" That's when the color dropped from Adam's face, he couldn't believe what he had just heard out of his cousin's mouth. Sagittarius knew about the curse.
"You know?"
"Cousin, calm down before you get angry and let me explain!" Sagittarius said, Adam was trying to calm down, but how could he? He was pretty angry as he just dropped down into one of the armchairs.
"How can I...calm down...now knowing that you knew what happened to me ten years ago?" Adam said seriously, but calmly. He didn't want his temper to get the best of him, but Sagittarius could hear the hit of anger in his voice. He just didn't want to point it out. "Nothing could express how much I wanted you there! I even sent out a Christmas card out to you and you never responded!"
"That's because...I...I..." Adam could tell that Sagittarius was stalling.
"Because...?" Adam said, trying to get his cousin to speak, Sagittarius sighed as he sat down in the other armchair. He took a deep breath and said;
"Because I was dealing with a curse of my own."
Adam was just speechless, he couldn't believe what he had heard; his only cousin was placed under a curse...just like he was. Both of them were silent for a while, just so that all the information could sink in.
"H-h-h-h-how?" Adam finally asked.
"I suppose you want an explanation?" Sagittarius asked, Adam nodded 'yes', he was just too surprised to speak anything else. "Okay...well, twelve years ago, after you ran back here and didn't want anything to do with me, which I still blame myself for doing, I was hosting the annual Christmas ball that my side of the family held every year. Everyone who was invited came to the party, but...there was...a certain someone who came and wasn't on the list." Sagittarius started to sound a little angry and he held onto the arm of the chair.
"Who?" Adam asked, then he heard a small growl coming from his cousin, which...kind of surprised him.
"Kaelyn." he finally said, "Good-for-Nothing, Spoiled brat! She was the same reason that broke the wonderful family relationship you and I had."
"Huh?" Adam eyes lit up when he heard that, "What...do you mean by that?" Sagittarius looked at Adam with...regret in his indigo eyes.
"You were...at least in my opinion, too young to understand at the time, but...you do deserve an explanation." Sagittarius said, "But with me being nineteen at the time, some of the royal ladies in ranks lower than ours were trying to get my attention so I would marry them. I didn't want any of them because they were nothing but spoiled brats."
"Remind you of somebody you know?" Adam asked, he remembered being a spoiled brat when he was a kid.
"You may have been spoiled," Sagittarius said, "but you were nowhere near as bad as the women I met...especially when I met...Kaelyn. When I met her, I thought I finally found a woman that didn't care about herself all the time. She was nice to me and my servants, I...was going to ask her to marry me, but...when Aunt Lydia died, I couldn't leave you all alone in the world. You came first before anything else in my life, I wanted to make sure that you were taken care of before any of my royal duties...since I promised your mother that I would take well care of you...something I didn't do a good job with."
"That's not true!" Adam said, "You were there for me when mother passed away and the only male family that loved me! It...was me that made the bad decisions."
"You did not make bad decisions, cousin! You just did what you thought, not with you were taught. So don't be kicking or beating yourself up!" Adam tried to understand what Sagittarius said, he wanted the past to let go of him so he can move on.
"Continue...what you were saying, Sagittarius." Adam said.
"When I brought you...to my castle, I told Kaelyn that I didn't have any time to spend with her...because I had to take care of you. I thought she would understand...I was betrayed and fooled. Kaelyn became the awful woman that was hiding under that kind face, she became a real pain that wouldn't leave me alone. She came almost everyday to my castle, seeing if...you were gone and I would spend time with her, but when I found out who she really was, I didn't want anything to do with her. Whenever her father and mother came to settle royal matters, Kaelyn would latch onto my arm and wouldn't let go. I would tolerate it for a while, but she crossed the line when she said something to me that devastated me."
"What?" Adam asked, "What did she say?"
"I'm not...sure I should say it."
"Say it!" Adam urged, Sagittarius held his head in his hands.
"It happened...around the time you ran away," Sagittarius said, "she followed me into my private glass room that nobody but me goes into, if you remember."
"You always loved glass," Adam said, "I don't know why."
"Because no matter how you look at it, it never changes. It's...kind of the same reason that Aunt Lydia...liked rose and berry bushes so much, glass is very beautiful to look at, but...it can be painful to touch if you're not careful. That's why I didn't want anyone in there because I didn't want anyone to cut themselves."
"That explains a lot." Adam added.
"Yes," Sagittarius said, "but when...Kaelyn followed me in there...she started destroying some of my glass pieces that I've worked long on. I got...so angry that I picked something up and threw it at her...but...she moved out of the way and...the glass pipe hit the door."
"Which hit my left hand."
"I...didn't mean to look so mad, Adam. I really didn't, but...Kaelyn made me so angry. I know there isn't any excuse about what I did to you."
"Well...it's also my fault." Adam said, "You told me to stay away from that room and...I broke that rule. If I hadn't opened the door, this wouldn't have happened."
"I wanted to run after you and tell you I wasn't angry," Sagittarius continued, "but Kaelyn grabbed me by my neck collar and jacket, threw me into the nearby wall and said that awful thing that devastated me."
"What?" Adam asked again.
"Kaelyn said...'Why go after a brat that doesn't belong in this castle?'. Nothing could express how furious I was with her, she broke the line. I made a rule that she was no longer allowed to come onto or come near the grounds to my castle. After I did that to her, I went off to look for you. I knew that you were back here because this was the only other place you knew." Sagittarius took a deep breath before speaking again, "After you sent me away, not wanting anything to do with me, I decided to give you some time to open up to me again. I always sent letters to you, letting you know that I still loved you."
"I...know it was wrong of me to act that way to you." Adam said.
"You were still a kid and, considering what our families were like, I didn't blame you for not wanting to be anywhere near me. I sent out invitations to you, hoping that you might come and forgive me. I know it sounds wrong, but I was happy that you weren't there for the annual Christmas party I held twelve years ago, after you left."
"What did happen?" Adam asked, "I know you were trying to tell me, but you had to add some details."
"I wanted you to understand a few things first and, also...this is still hard for me to talk about. Kaelyn showed up at the party uninvited, I was pretty angry, but I couldn't show it because of all the guests. Before I noticed Kaelyn, Brimley told me that there was a young woman at the door asking for shelter. With it being Christmas, I couldn't leave her in the snow, so I invited her in. When I saw Kaelyn with some of the other guests, I pulled Brimley aside. I brought him into the foyer and...well, bit his head off, that's how angry I was. Then, out of nowhere, Kaelyn came into the room saying why I've been ignoring her. We argued that I wanted nothing to do with her. That's when she unleashed her anger out on us, she punched me in the head, enough where I was swung into the wall, and...she punched Brimley in the stomach and he fell to the floor." Adam almost...couldn't believe the fury and jealously one person could have.
"Kaelyn was going to attack me again...but the woman that I brought in from the cold got between me and Kaelyn. Kaelyn was about to punch the woman until...we both saw the woman transform. It was like something out of a fairy-tale, seeing the woman transform into a more beautiful woman with glowing pink hair wearing this deep ocean blue dress...and holding this white rose. My head was killing me from being punched in the head, but I saw how afraid Kaelyn was when the woman was talking to her."
"Do you know what she said?" Adam asked.
"The woman was...telling Kaelyn that she didn't deserve the form of a beautiful woman and that she was was going to give Kaelyn a form that matched her black heart. The white rose that was in her hand glowed a golden color, The white rose became a beam of light and shot itself at Kaelyn...but she ducked in time for it not to hit her. Instead, the beam hit the stained glass picture behind Kaelyn, bounced off the chandelier and...was going to hit Brimley. I...pushed him out of the way so that he wouldn't get hit...but...I wasn't as lucky...the beam managed to...hit me instead." Adam's eyes widen, he almost couldn't believe it.
"So...you were cursed instead of...her?" Adam asked, Sagittarius sighed and said;
"Yes, when...the beam hit me, everything went black, it was like I was knocked unconscious. When I woke up, I felt sick to my stomach and...had a massive headache. I saw that I was still in the foyer, but I was on the ground. I felt weak, I called out to Brimley, seeing if he was still there."
"Was he?"
"Yes," Sagittarius answered, "but I couldn't see him."
"You...were blind?" Adam asked.
"No, I wasn't blind, but he, and all the other servants...were invisible. I could hear, smell and touch them, but...I couldn't see any of them."
"What about you?" Adam asked, "Were you invisible or...?"
"I wish I was," Sagittarius answered as he stared at the fire in the fireplace, "when...I managed to get my strength to get up, I...saw my hands. They...were covered in black fur and, instead of nails, I had these thick black dull claws. When...I called out to Brimley, my voice had also became deeper and...there was a growl in the mix."
"What were you changed into?" Adam asked, Sagittarius closed his eyes, took a deep breath and said;
"A werewolf."
"A Werewolf?" Adam couldn't believe what he heard. True, he was turned into a beast, but...his cousin became...a werewolf? "Why didn't this woman...change you back? The spell wasn't meant for you!"
"I knew that, so did the woman, who said she was an enchantress." Sagittarius said, but when Adam heard 'enchantress', he was thinking that Rouge cursed his cousin just like how she cursed Adam.
"Did she...say anything to you or...did anything?" Adam asked.
"She told me...that she was going to do whatever she could to remove the spell off me," Sagittarius answered, "but after a few days of misery, she came back...and told me that she did whatever she could, but...she couldn't remove the spell. I had to break it in order to be free. I was angry and furious about it, but...I couldn't get angry over a mistake."
"I would've injured her if my curse was an accident," Adam said, "you have more control over your anger than I have over mine."
"At least you were able to control the beast within you, I had a harder time controlling the wolf within me." Sagittarius said, that's when Adam remembered to ask him an important question.
"How did you find out about me and my curse?" Adam asked.
"Now this part, I know you won't believe!"
"We've been through such magic, it's hard not to believe anything. So answer my question, how did you find out about me?"
"I...saw it in a dream." Sagittarius answered, "This woman in white showed me what happened to you...the night it happened...after I sent my gift to you. She told me why it was placed...it just tore me apart seeing what happened to you."
"It explains why nobody asked about my whereabouts or anything else." Adam said, "I just...don't know what to say now that you've told me what happened to you. Wait a minute, is this spell the reason why you look so young?"
"I don't just look it," Sagittarius said, "I am young. The enchantress told me that she managed to do something good for me out of this accident curse, she told me if I managed to break the spell, I...was only able to age two years."
"That's why you look so young!" Adam said, Sagittarius quickly covered his mouth because Adam said it kind of loud.
"Be careful about saying that out loud!" He said as he moved his hands away from Adam's mouth.
"Sorry," Adam said, "I was just...surprised, but...since you're your old self again, that must mean that you're free, right?"
"Yep, all because of a certain someone."
"Who?" Adam asked, that's when he saw his cousin turn a light pink. "Ohhh, it's a girl, isn't it."
"Like you, I had to find love to break the spell, the only difference is is that I didn't have to fall in love with her, she just had to love me." Sagittarius explained.
"By the way of how red your face is turning, you must really love her." Adam said, thinking about Belle.
"I do, more than I thought I would love a woman. She came to my castle because of a snowstorm. I...couldn't remember anything after that."
"What do you mean?"
"Remember when I said 'you had better control over the beast'?" Sagittarius asked, "I didn't have any control over the wolf. According to my servants, my eyes would turn red, I would growl and howl at them, destroy things and hunt like a wolf. It was...like somebody was living inside me, controlling what I was doing. It wasn't until...Sapphire came to the castle did I regain control over myself. Brimley, even though I couldn't see him, told me what had happened."
"What?" Adam asked.
"According to Brimley, she was about to leave in the morning until she found my glass room. She...took one of my glass figures and accidentally dropped it. He said I charged into the glass room and threw her in the dungeon, which I still couldn't believe that I did." Adam could tell that his cousin was filled with regret as he told him how he treated Sapphire, it started making him remember how he treated Maurice when he first came to the castle.
"But because of a promise I 'forced' on Sapphire, she stayed in the castle." Sagittarius continued speaking, "I tried to make up for what the wolf had done to her, but because she didn't know, she didn't want anything to do with me."
"When did Sapphire open up to you?"
"It wasn't until she ran off, I wasn't angry or upset about that choice, but because I was out there in the forest that surrounded my castle the night before, I ran after her."
"Why?" Adam asked.
"There was a bear out there, the very bear that Sapphire ended up running into. I pushed the bear away from Sapphire, who had knocked unconscious from falling off her horse. While I was fighting the bear, I also felt the werewolf trying to push in, trying to take over my body. I was more concentrated on making this bear stayed away from Sapphire than I was on what might be behind me. I felt a sharp pain in my right arm, I...howled in pain. I turned to see a hunter with a rifle, that's when I knew I was shot. Because of how strong I was and the presence of the hunter, the bear decided that he had enough and ran off." Sagittarius took a deep breath before continuing, "I turned back around at the hunter, that's when the werewolf took over me again. I jumped on him before he had the chance to reload his gun. I was about to kill him...until I heard Sapphire's voice. When I heard her voice, that gave me enough strength to just break his gun, not his neck. I told him never to come back, he nodded his head. I got off him and he ran off. I then collapsed to the ground."
"Did...Sapphire leave you there?" Adam asked, also remembering how he saved Belle from the wolves and he collapsed in the snow.
"No, to my surprise," Sagittarius answered, "to what she and Brimley told me, is that she put me on her horse, Snowflake, and took me back to the castle. I almost didn't want to believe it because I knew that Sapphire didn't want anything to do with me, but also she's a very skinny woman and, if you think about it, someone like her wouldn't be able to lift someone as big and heavy as me." Adam nodded his head, agreeing with him, because he couldn't believe Belle managed to put him on her horse, Phillipe.
"I was surprised that she was willing to take of me because of my wounded arm." Sagittarius added, he then took his glove off his right hand and pulled his sleeve up. Adam was shocked to see three long scars on his right arm, from his wrist to his elbow. "I got these from the bear attack, but enchantress, who said her name was Rosetta, told me it was a reminder of when everything changed...and she was right. After that attack from the bear, Sapphire opened up to me more and more everyday, she didn't care that I was a werewolf, even though I told her about me."
"You told her about yourself and the curse?" Adam asked, surprised that his cousin took such a big risk.
"Not...everything, all I told her was I was cursed to be a werewolf and told her my name, I didn't tell her I was a prince and the curse was an accident." Sagittarius said, "I told her that after I was free."
"When was that?"
"A couple days before last Christmas." Sagittarius answered, that's when Adam started remembering the horrible things he did to Belle last Christmas. He...tried to push it aside as he listened to Sagittarius, "The hunter who shot me turned out to be a family friend of Sapphire, I don't know how, but he found my castle. He was very protective of Sapphire when he saw her with me, but Sapphire managed to convince him that I wouldn't hurt him. After all that, he told Sapphire that her uncle was sick. I could tell on the look on her face that she wanted to go take care of him, but because I just found out that I was in love with her, I didn't want her to leave, but...I understood the importance of family...because I thought about what might have happened if I found out that you were sick. I let her go home, I also knew that I wasn't going to see her again. I felt...so empty without her. When a week passed, I knew that I wasn't going to be any good cooped up in the castle. I was about to go into the forest...until I thought I heard her voice."
"She came back to you." Adam basically said, Sagittarius just smiled and nodded 'yes'.
"I thought I was dreaming at first, I didn't believe it, but when she hopped off Snowflake and ran up to me, stepping on my wolf feet. That's when I knew that she was back, my heart swelled back up, it felt normal, but the happy moment didn't last long."
"What do you mean?" Adam asked.
"The brother of her hunter friend followed her back to the castle and saw me hugging her. He shouted and shot at me, I managed to dodge out of the way so that Sapphire wouldn't be shot. He then reloaded his gun and shot me in the back, Sapphire begged him to leave me alone, but he believed that I did something to her to believe that and ignored her. I charged him before he reloaded the gun, so he decided to use his gun as a club. I pounced on him like I did his brother so I could break the gun, but when I release my hand on him, he swung the gun and hit me in the head. I staggered backwards as I saw him coming towards me, but...I also saw Sapphire come between us. He was worried out of his mind because he couldn't stop his swing in time, so...I pushed her out of the way and...the gun hit me. I fell backwards in the snow, having a hard time breathing. It turned out that the ribs, that I broke when I was fighting the bear, broke again and punctured my lungs." Adam saw tears appear in his cousin's eyes, he started to remember when he was stabbed by Gaston and was dying in front of Belle.
"I'm glad you didn't die." Adam said.
"I am too, I didn't think I was going to see you or Sapphire ever again, but...she continues to surprise me. When I closed my eyes on her, I knew I was heading out. That's when she said those words...'I love you'. I wasn't expecting her to say that. That's...when I felt a change."
"You were transforming back?"
"I was," Sagittarius answered, "I still thought I was dying, but...somehow...I felt my ribs pulling back into place...and I was able to breathe again. After everything stopped, I was able to open my eyes. First thing I noticed was that I no longer had that dog snout that I had. When I didn't see that, I looked at my paws, they were hands again."
"What about Sapphire?" Adam asked, then Sagittarius put his left hand over his eyes.
"When I turned around and looked at her, she...was pretty much shocked about what she might've seen." he answered.
"Did she say anything?"
"Not at first, it wasn't until she walked up to me and...I embraced her. I didn't care if she was going to hurt me or anything, but...she didn't move. All she did was...say my name. After that, I released her and told her the truth. Sapphire didn't...say anything or show that she was confused or anything, but...the next day is when she had doubts."
"About what?" Adam asked, "She did say that she loved you, didn't she?"
"It wasn't about that part." Sagittarius said, "She was worried that we wouldn't be able to be together because she was daughter of a peasant while I was a prince. I told her that...I didn't care about our differences or if anybody didn't accept it, I wanted to be with her and...she wanted to be with me." Hearing what his cousin told Sapphire...sounded almost what Adam said to Belle the other night, the day after the broken spell. He remembered how worried Belle was about the possibility of them not being together because he was of royal birth and she was born a peasant woman. Then there was two nights ago when Adam told her that he didn't care about their differences, he wanted to be with her.
"Even though I was with Sapphire," Adam heard Sagittarius say, "I was always worried about you. I still received your letters for any needs that you needed, but when you wrote for lady's dresses, of course I was getting suspicious, but I still sent them...with a little help from Sapphire and my mother. It wasn't until I sent your recent letter asking me to come."
"Wait! Aunt Henrietta is still alive?"
"Don't look too surprised." Sagittarius said, "Mother has taken much better care of herself than father was." When Adam heard that part, he got an idea that his uncle, King Randolph, had died. He didn't want to open that wound on his cousin, so he decided to change the subject.
"Why didn't you bring Sapphire here?" Adam asked.
"Because this was between you and me and, also...Sapphire can be a very very shy woman." Sagittarius said with seriousness. "I didn't want her to always cower behind me because...I don't like seeing her so nervous or scared."
"I see," Adam said, looking at the fire, "I...wasn't expecting you to...still remember me after all this time."
"Adam, we're cousins and I plan to continue my promise I made to you and Aunt Lydia, that I would look after you and make sure that you're well taking care of."
"Well, I do have...another reason about why I wanted you here besides...seeing you." Adam admitted.
"And...what might that be?" Sagittarius asked, Adam started to feel nervous. This was when he was going to tell Sagittarius that he wanted to accept his title as 'Prince'.
"I...want to...accept my title as 'Prince' on my father's side." Adam finally said, he saw the look of surprise on his cousin's face.
"You do?" Sagittarius asked, clearly surprised about this.
"How else am I going to prove that...I'm nothing like...my father...if I don't accept his crown and change the kingdom?" Adam said.
"I...suppose you have a point about that," Sagittarius said, "I'm just...surprised that you want it...despite what...he may have done to you...that I rather not know."
"Are you...able to give it to me?"
"Oh, I can give it to you, but...there are a few things that we have to do in order for me to give to you." Sagittarius said.
"Such as what?"
"We're going to have to bring some people of the lower ranks of the royal court to see you...and bring my mother out here because I know that she'll throw a hissy fit about wanting to see her nephew...and you're going to have to prove that you don't plan to do anything like...your father had done. If we can convince them, then I...and possibly my mother, can officially give you your father's crown and your title as 'Prince'."
"All right," Adam said, "then that's what we have to do...because...Belle and I haven't gotten the chance to talk about our wedding and...we won't be able to talk about planning it until...I get the title."
"Don't worry," Sagittarius said, placing his right hand on his cousin's shoulder, "you've got me. I'll help you out with this and anything else. I intend to keep my promise to you."
"Sagittarius...thank you." Adam said, finally bulking up the courage to say it. Sagittarius just nodded his head and said;
"You're welcome. Now...shall we get out of this room and get us a bite to eat. Traveling can work up an appetite."
"You can say that again." Adam said getting out of his chair, but in the back of his head, he was thinking that he may need to have his mother pay him a visit and see if she knew anything about his cousin's accident spell. Sagittarius then got out of his chair and they left the parlor.
Sorry that this chapter was long, leave any questions you have in the reviews and I'll see about answering them.