When Lydia arrived, Adam told her what happened to Belle and what else had been going on. Lydia almost lost her temper as red, light blue and purple spikes and quills came out her hair and skin. Adam threw one of his pillows at her so that she wouldn't raise her voice enough for someone to hear, he also showed her her broken rose ring and Veronica's shattered rainbow stone. Lydia didn't know what to feel, her favorite ring shattered in pieces and her soon-to-be daughter-in-law was attacked. Lydia...tried to calm herself down before she really did lose her temper and transformed into her porcupine body.
"Mother, I need to ask you to tell Veronica what happened." Adam said.
"I'll do that," Lydia said, "I'll also get her to fix her stone and I'll fix my ring. As for you, son...try not to...rush yourself on Belle. She might be...thinking about something that some women might think about."
"Like...what? Like...what you went through?" Lydia made a sad sigh when Adam mentioned the pain she went through.
"Something similar," she said, "there...might be a chance that she'll scared."
"Of what?" Adam asked.
"If I had to make a wild guess," Lydia said, "she'll be scared that...you won't want her anymore." Adam's eyes widen, if Belle was actually thinking that, then how could she think of such a thing? Adam started to stammer, he just did not want to believe that Belle might be thinking about that!
"I actually refuse to believe that!" Adam said, almost sounding upset.
"Maybe...I should not have brought it up." Lydia said, "I think you should get to bed, son. I'll go right now and find Veronica." Lydia raised her hand, just like Rouge, and threw a purple powder to the ground. The smoke engulfed her and she disappeared.
As for Adam, he didn't know if he could sleep after such an...emotional day. He wanted to roam the castle halls, but he knew he couldn't do that because he was still in his moth form. Adam went back into his closet, pulled out a box and put it on his bed. It was the very same box that Lydia gave him, which held the dark blue robes. He decided to try to wear them to hide his true form.
Adam threw the robes over himself, it felt like trying to put a big blanket and cloak over himself. When he pulled his arms through the sleeves and his hand came out, it looked like his normal human hand. Before getting ahead of himself, Adam went back to the mirror. He was no longer in his moth form, he was back in his human form. He also looked at how he looked in the robes, he was surprised that the robes are very comfortable to wear and how well they fit him. After pulling away from the mirror, Adam left his room and started roaming around.
Adam was in his own world as he roamed the dark hallways and stairs, almost like when he was the Beast. When he was still the Beast, he would roam the halls and hide in the shadows, so that he can see and hear what's going on in his home without being seen. He would leap over banisters and run through halls and stairs so fast that no one would see him...not even Belle, back then. These days, Adam now could fly to the top of his tallest tower without the fear of falling off the roof.
Adam stopped in his tracks, he noticed that he was near his cousin's room. Adam wasn't sure if he should bother him, but he wanted to thank Sapphire for what she did to save Belle. As he made his way over, he saw the door was open and there was no light. He looked into the room, there was no one there. Adam was starting to wonder if they were still in the parlor, considering that Sagittarius was trying to hide her as he brought her back in the castle. Adam decided to try the parlor, since it was the only other place he could that the two of them might be in there.
As he was going towards the parlor, Adam continued to wonder about his cousin's fiancee. He wondered how Sapphire; a very fair and an hourglass-shaped woman, could have taken down a man who was bent on trying to take Belle? If Adam could make a guess, Sapphire couldn't be any stronger than Belle is. He decided that whatever Sapphire did to Anton, it was somehow connected to Rouge's little explanation from earlier.
When Adam got to the bottom of the stairs, he looked over at the parlor doors. He saw that the doors were closed, but there was light coming from underneath the doors. Adam approached the doors, but before he knocked on the door, he leaned against the door, hoping to hear either Sagittarius or Sapphire. At first, Adam didn't hear anything, but after a few seconds, he heard Sapphire's voice.
"Who's turn is it to feed the fire?"
"Mine." Adam heard Sagittarius' voice, that's when Adam decided to knock on the door. "Who's there?" Sagittarius quickly said.
"Calm down, cousin," Adam said, "it's just me, no one else." Adam heard the lock click and the doorknob rattled. He backed away a little as the door slowly opened, enough where Sagittarius slid out of the room and quickly closed the door, not all the way, only a small crack where the door and the seam were touching. Adam saw that he was no longer wearing his black cape, but he was wearing a sky blue shirt and pants.
"How's Belle, Adam?" Sagittarius asked.
"Don't know," Adam said, "I'm going to go check on her after I speak with Sapphire."
"What do you want to talk to her about?" Sagittarius asked nervously, it was clear to Adam that his cousin was hiding something.
"Sagittarius, it's clear that you're hiding something from me, but...even though I really want to know, I'm just here to thank her...for saving Belle and the others." Sagittarius groaned when Adam said that.
"You can do it right here, behind the door." he said, Adam rolled his eyes. He was about to say something...until Sapphire, who was still in the parlor, spoke up.
"Sagittarius," she said and then sighed, "let him in." Adam saw Sagittarius' eyes grew wide as he turned to the parlor doors.
"Honey, you can't be serious!" he said, Adam decided not to get into this.
"Sagittarius," she said, still behind the door, "you know, your servants know, even your mother knows about me. I can't hide this from your cousin, I might as well tell him." Adam could see on his cousin's face that he didn't think it was a good idea.
"Should I really argue with you about this?" Sagittarius asked.
"You're going to lose...badly." Sapphire added, Sagittarius raised his head to the ceiling and put his left hand over his eyes. He then put his head back down and slid his hand down his face.
"All right," he calmly said as he turned to Adam, "go in, Adam. Just...don't look shocked." Adam just nodded his head and opened the parlor door. When he looked in, he didn't see Sapphire.
"Sagittarius, where is she?" he asked, Sagittarius quickly ran in and saw that she was gone.
"Stinker," he said, "where did she go?"
"I'm back here!" She said as Adam and Sagittarius heard the door close and the lock click. They turned around and Adam couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him.
There was Sapphire standing there, wearing this weird white dress where it ended a little above her knees, it was like a combination of a corset and a skirt, but that wasn't what caught Adam's attention, it was her face, arms and legs. Sapphire had these black markings on her face, all originating from her eyes, only going down her neck. Adam couldn't stop looking at Sapphire's arms, hands, legs and feet, they no longer looked like human body parts. They were now made of needles, sewing needles! One large needle connected to the other, like human bones. Halfway between the shoulder and elbow and hip and knee, it looked like her human skin shrunk down and became the bottom half of a needle. The bottom half of the needle is wrapped around the hole of the other, to work as elbows and knees. For the wrists and ankles, there was a little metal base where five needles came out, like fingers and toes. Three needles were used for each finger and two needles for each toe; the needles connecting together acted like knuckles, that helped close the fingers together to make a fist. Because Sapphire had needles instead of bones and skin for her fingers and toes, they seemed much longer than usual toes and fingers. Sapphire was also standing on her feet differently because the way she was standing looked like she was on the ball of the foot instead of the whole foot. In other words, Sapphire was standing on her feet the way Adam did when he was still the Beast.
"Wow." Adam said, looking at Sapphire from her feet up to her face.
"Not quite you expected, was it?" Sapphire asked as she walked over to the sofa. As she walked, her needle toes made a scraping and clinking noise.
"No, not...really." Adam said, "I can see...why you wanted your cloak so badly." Sagittarius then went over to Sapphire and sat down next to her.
"I'm nothing like your fiancé," Sapphire said, "but I am like other women."
"I'm not trying to judge you at all!" Adam quickly said.
"I know," she said, "I'm just stating a fact. I can already see on that look on your face that you're wondering how such a thing happened to me."
"You don't have to discuss it if you don't want to." Sagittarius said.
"Doesn't she have a word of the matter, cousin?" Adam asked.
"Yes, she does," he said, "but-"
"Sagittarius," Sapphire interrupted, " for once, zip that mouth of yours. You don't have to defend me this time." Sagittarius sighed and said;
"Very well." Sapphire looked at Adam and pointed over to another sofa. He walked over and sat down.
"How long have you been this way?" Adam asked, "I mean, when I first saw you, you looked like...well..."
"A actual woman?" Sapphire said, "I did, but I wasn't always like that. My mother's family has been under a family curse ever since my great great great grandmother...or should I say my great great grandmother. Anyway, as far as I know, it started when my great great grandmother turned thirteen. The black and white cloak I always wear is a family heirloom, because my three times great grandmother made it. It was supposed to be a birthday present for her daughter, my great great grandmother. One night," Sapphire started to sniffle, "my three times great grandmother had finished the cloak. She was about to leave until...a woman came into the store. She wanted to buy some of my ancestor's fancy clothes."
"Was she a seamstress?" Adam asked.
"Yes," she answered, "it...runs in the family, as you can guess. When the woman caught sight of the cloak, she wanted to buy it. My ancestor wasn't going to give up something she made for her family, but...when she said no, the woman...grabbed the cloak and tried to pull it out of her hands. My ancestor held onto it with all her might. That's when it happened."
"The curse?" Adam asked.
"No," Sagittarius said, "the death." Adam's eyes widen when he heard 'death'.
"Your ancestor killed that woman?" Adam asked.
"No," Sapphire answered, "the other way around. My great great great grandmother was found dead in her store, cut up with some kind of knife on her face, arms, hands, legs and feet. Everyone in the village had an idea on who...because of the way she was cut. It turns out the woman that...killed my ancestor...was a witch who had killed others in order to steal from them. When the witch was brought out of her house by the village men, the women went in and found all of the items that the witch had stolen, including the cloak my ancestor made." Sapphire got up from the couch and stared at the fire, "The witch was sentenced to be burned at the stake. The witch fought hard to escape the grip of the men who were tying her to the stake. As the fire licked at her garments, the witch yelled out that we would be sorry and chanted out one last spell."
"Was she killed?" Adam asked.
"Yes," she answered, still staring at the fire, "she was never seen again, but no one was expecting what happened next. After the witch was dead and her body turned to ashes, that's when the cloak started to shine. It was acting like it had a life of its own as it rose out of the pile of stolen items. Everyone saw it rise and flew towards my great great grandmother. The cloak...grabbed her and she screamed in pain as the curse was being inflicted." Sapphire continued her family's story about the curse and how it was passed from mother to daughter as she also stared at the fire, Adam just kept his left hand over his mouth, he didn't want to say something that might bother or disturb Sapphire.
"I was the only one in the line for the curse," Sapphire continued, "My father died when mother was pregnant with me, he and my grandfather didn't care about the curse my mother's family was under, they managed to look past it. I...was the most different out of the family. My mother, her mother and her great grandmother had peach skin and blond hair. You can already see what I have. My mother died from a flu outbreak when I was twelve, my only other family was her brother, but he lived in a different town with his wife and two daughters. When I moved out there...people didn't know what to think of me, especially my aunt and cousin, Lucinda. My uncle and my other cousin, Stephanie, accepted me into the family, they always have."
"But not your aunt and Lucinda?" Adam asked.
"Nope," Sapphire said as she turned back to the men, "all they saw out of me was a servant to wait on them hand and foot. Stephanie was the one actual person I could turn to because, besides my uncle, she accepted me as family."
"Didn't your uncle say anything of the matter?" Adam asked.
"No, because I didn't tell him...and he would go away multiple times for a long time to deal with his business." she answered, "My Aunt Olivia and my cousin, Lucinda, had threaten me that they would kill me if I said anything to my uncle. If there's one thing I don't do, it's gambling with my life. I didn't want to take the chance that what they said was true. Stephanie had to hide her feelings to me when her sister and mother were around, I knew why she did. Stephanie was trying to protect me, the first time she spoke up to defend me, both of us were punished. The two of us didn't want that chance to happened again. When the curse took a hold of me when I turned thirteen, no one in the town wanted anything to do with me. My uncle knew about the family curse and he accepted me, but my aunt and Lucinda just treated me worse. The only times that I was treated like a person was when my uncle was home, I would cherish every moment I had with my uncle."
"He was the only person that loved you, Sapphire." Sagittarius said, "No one here could blame what you've been through."
"I know that, my horse, Snowflake, was my only friend...until Rizal met me."
"Who's Rizal?" Adam asked.
"Someone who...how do I explain it?" Sapphire tapped her foot, every time her foot tapped the floor, it was making that clinking sound. "He saw me getting thrown out of the house because I didn't clean the dishes. He saw my face and hands when my attention was focused on the door. He was the first man I met that didn't care about the way I looked. He was a year younger than me and he wasn't interested in me in that perspective, not that I didn't blame him, so we kept a small friendship between us. Any man that saw me called me a dead woman or a ghost." She then sighed as she sat back down on the couch, next to Sagittarius. "Two years ago, his brother, Dismal, followed Rizal and saw me. I was wearing make-up that night, so he didn't see any of my black markings. He thought I was a girl that his brother was taking a liking to."
"He got jealous," Sagittarius said, finishing for Sapphire, "when Rizal left and Sapphire was getting a bag of oats from the side of the barn, he tried to attack her."
"Snowflake heard my screams," Sapphire said, "he jumped out of his stall and charged at Dismal. He got so scared of Snowflake that he ran off, Snowflake saved my life that night, but because of what Dismal did, I didn't want to be around men for a while. Rizal understood in some perspective, but he still checked on me. I kept what happened that night to myself, Snowflake, Stephanie and Rizal, no one else. After another year of orders from my aunt and cousins, I finally had enough. I ran away at night so that they wouldn't stop me."
"Four days after she ran away," Sagittarius added, "she came to my castle."
"That's how the two of you met?" Adam asked.
"Yes," Sapphire answered, "but Sagittarius didn't know about me...until he saved my life from a bear. I was serving him some tea with some medicine in it, but because my hands were hidden in my sleeves, I couldn't pick up the cup without the big possibility of dropping it, but I felt so..."
"Embarrassed?" Adam guessed.
"I don't think there's a better way to describe it." Sapphire said.
"Sapphire was hiding herself the same way she did when you first saw her," Sagittarius said, "I begged her to show herself, she showed me her hands first, then her face. I...didn't care about the way she looked...or looks."
"I don't blame you for hiding yourself, Sapphire." Adam said, "it's hard to fit in when you don't look like others."
"The voice of experience?" Sapphire asked, Adam just nodded his head 'yes', "Sagittarius told me the same thing."
"I would like to ask you, if you were cursed to remain in that form, how come you looked...?"
"Like a normal woman when I first came here?" Sapphire said, "Well, it's because I managed to break it without even knowing it."
"When did that happen?" Adam asked.
"New Year's Eve," Sagittarius said, "we were holding a party about me marrying Sapphire. My mother and several ranks of the court came, including some people from neighboring villages and Sapphire's uncle and his family. Sapphire and I were spending time outside on the balcony, the one that had staircases that headed down to the fountain gardens, when...it happened."
"What?"
"Sapphire pushed me out of the way," Sagittarius said, "I didn't get a chance to see anything. When I turned around, Sapphire wasn't there. I heard screaming and looked over the side of the balcony."
"My cousin, Lucinda," Sapphire added, "had a knife and was coming toward us. I pushed Sagittarius out of the way and Lucinda pushed me over the balcony. We...fell into one of the fountains, Lucinda was trying to plunge the knife into my neck, I had both hands on her hand and the knife. She yelled at me, saying she was jealous and that the prince of the land didn't deserve a...a..." Sapphire started to cry, Sagittarius decided to finish for her.
"Lucinda called her a rude name when I was heading down the stairs. When I got to the fountain, I pulled Lucinda off Sapphire. That's when Lucinda was trying to say that Sapphire attacked her."
"Not trying to be rude or anything," Adam said, "but what a horrible woman."
"You can say that again," Sapphire said, "Stephanie somehow heard the screams and ran down to see Sagittarius holding Lucinda, who was still holding the knife and was telling Stephanie to attack me. Stephanie gave her sister a look of disgust at her and came and helped me out of the fountain. Lucinda was so full of rage that she kicked Sagittarius, enough where he had to release her because of the pain he was in and charged at Stephanie, saying that she was a traitor. I...pushed Stephanie out of the way...and..." Sapphire took a deep breath, "she stabbed me in the heart." Adam's eyes widen hearing that Sapphire was stabbed.
"Nothing could express what I was feeling when I saw Lucinda stab Sapphire," Sagittarius said as he stood up and went over to the fireplace. He put his hand on the mantle as he stared at the fire. "Lucinda turned at me...and smiled, she said...'now the prince won't have a monster for a wife'. Stephanie grabbed her by the shoulders, threw her against wall that held up the balcony and punched her. She punched her so hard that she was knocked unconscious."
"You were stabbed in the heart, Sapphire." Adam said, "How are you still alive?"
"Because I sacrificed my life to save Stephanie," she said, "my family curse was finally broken because I sacrificed my life for someone I loved. I was changed back to my old self...and I was brought back to life. Even though the spell was broken, it was still a part of me. I can change back and forth between forms, whenever I want to. "
"What happened to your cousin, Lucinda?" Adam asked.
"I banished her from my kingdom." Sagittarius said, "I wasn't going to take any chances."
"I don't have to worry about her anymore." Sapphire said.
"Well, I am very happy for both of you." Adam said, "Sapphire, I thank you for not only helping my cousin, but also saving Belle and her cousin from...that horrible monster."
"I didn't want Belle to suffer through the same thing I did." Sapphire said, "When...that idiot went after Belle, I wasn't going to let something like that happen. I...changed into...this and attacked him. I...cut up his face and body, but...I...couldn't kill him. I wanted to, but...I didn't want to be like Lucinda."
"You're telling me that he's still out there?" Adam asked.
"Yes," she said, "when he gave up, he was covered in his own...well, you get the idea. I also managed to break his legs because of the deep cuts I lashed on him, he wasn't going anywhere any time soon. I then ran off before he woke up."
"Good thing you did," Adam said, "Belle told me what that...monster did to her when she was growing up. She suffered so much because he refuses to leave her alone. I just...want her to feel happy and safe."
"I think that's a wonderful thought," Sapphire said, "despite what she's told you and been through."
"Sapphire, can I ask you a favor?" Adam asked.
"What kind of favor?" she asked, Adam reached under his robes and pulled out Belle's torn dress.
"Do you believe that you can fix Belle's dress?" Sapphire got up from the couch and gently took the dress out of Adam's hands. She then unfolded the dress and saw the tears on the skirt and sleeves.
"Give me a few hours to a full day," Sapphire said, "I can fix this."
"Thank you, Sapphire." Adam said, "She doesn't need to remember this."
"I just hope that she'll wake up and not be so scared." Sagittarius said, "The last thing that she needs is a panic attack."
"Well, I think I'll go up and check on her." Adam said, "Try and get some sleep."
"You too, cousin." Sagittarius said as Adam opened the door. He just quickly and gently left the parlor and closed the door.
As Adam approached the door to Belle's room, he took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. A big part of him was worried sick that Belle might be more sick and she...wouldn't wake up. He raised his hand up slowly and knocked on the door, just in case Rouge was in there.
"Who's there?" a female voice came from inside, Adam recognized it as Rouge's.
"Rouge, it's just me." Adam whispered, not taking the chance that someone might be close. The doorknob rattled a little, the lock clicked and the door opened a little.
"Come in." Rouge said, Adam walked in. He watched Rouge close the door, she didn't look like her normal self. Instead of her young enchantress look with strawberry-blond hair and apple-red eyes, Rouge looked ten years older and had black hair with hazel eyes.
"Almost didn't recognize you." Adam said, Rouge turned around at him.
"Hopefully, this disguise will allow me to be here, in case the servants see me." Rouge said.
"How's Belle?" he asked.
"There hasn't been much of a change." Rouge said as she turned to look at her, Adam did the same thing and walked over to Belle's bed. Belle had her eyes closed and the blankets covered her up to her neck. Adam watched the blankets rise and fall every time she breathed.
"I can't tell if she's sleeping or still unconscious." Adam said, staring at Belle's head, still bandaged.
"I think she's just out of it." Rouge said, "That idiot head that did this did more damage to her right arm than anywhere else on her body, despite the broken legs."
"It's take a long time for her to heal." he said.
"Well, maybe not so long." she said, Adam looked at Rouge, "I have a special medicine that I can give Belle. It will make her sleepy all the time, but it's powerful enough to heal bones more quickly."
"Can you give her a medicine that powerful?" Adam asked.
"As long as I give her one spoonful a day," Rouge said, "it should be fine." Adam just nodded his head and looked back at Belle, he noticed that she was starting to sweat.
"Belle's starting to sweat." Adam said.
"I hope she isn't catching a fever." Rogue said as she gave him a cloth, Adam took it and used it to wipe Belle's forehead. To his surprised, Belle's eyes snapped open. It didn't startle Adam, but it did startle Rouge, enough where she did a small jump and fell backwards. Belle's eyes blinked as she groaned, Adam could see that she was trying to get up.
"Belle, don't move." He said, "Both your legs and your right arm are broken." Belle's eyes widen as she whimpered. "Don't worry, you're safe now...and I'll make sure that you always will be." Adam could see the pain in Belle's eyes, she was hurt physically and emotionally.
"Ugh!" Rouge groaned, Adam looked over at her, she was getting off the floor. "I'm still young, but this body is giving me back problems."
"Maybe you should be in your real form unless the servants are here." Adam said.
"Good idea." Rouge said as she transformed back into her old self. When she did, she had her strawberry hair and apple-red eyes back. "Now I feel better."
"Rouge?" Belle whispered softly, Rouge looked over at Belle.
"Forgive me, Belle," Adam said, "I asked Rouge to take care of you."
"Belle, can you open your mouth as wide as you can?" Rouge asked, Belle opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out. Rouge looked down Belle's throat, she was a little stunned and shocked. "Oh My." she said.
"What?" Adam asked.
"Idiot held her neck and threw her against something." Rouge answered, "It explains why she's not talking normally, I might as well give her the medicine." Belle whimpered again as she brought her left hand up to her neck. Tears started to fall down the sides of her face.
"Belle, please don't cry." Adam said, wiping her tears away. "I dislike seeing you cry." Just then, Belle grabbed Adam with her left arm and pulled him close to her.
"Do you...still love me?" she asked, Adam couldn't believe what she just asked.
"I'll always love you, Belle!" Adam said, brushing Belle's few revealing bangs out of her eyes. "None of this is your fault! I'll always be there for you." Rouge had her back turned as she was making the medicine. She listened to what Adam said to Belle, she just smiled to herself.
"Well, I have the medicine ready." Rouge said, Belle just nodded 'yes'. Rouge came over and gave her the spoonful of medicine. When Belle tasted the medicine and swallowed it, she made a look of disgust. "Yes, I know it doesn't taste very well, but it does it's job." Rouge grabbed a glass of water that was next to the bed as Adam helped Belle sit up to drink it. Belle quickly grabbed the glass out of Rouge's hands and drank the water, she wanted to get rid of that awful taste.
"Must be a pretty awful taste." Adam said.
"It is," Rouge said, "but drinking with water or juice helps gets rid of the taste quicker." When Belle finished of the water, she put her glass down near her left side.
"Much better." Belle whispered, "I think I should go back to sleep."
"I think you should, too." Rouge said, "I also think his highness should go to sleep as well. All of us need our energy...when Veronica shows up, who knows what she'll do."
"Mama's necklace!" Belle whispered as she reached up to her neck.
"Don't worry, my dear," Adam said, "my mother came by, I told her what happened and she's going to fix the ring and tell your mother about the necklace and everything else."
"Thank you." Belle said as she gave a small smile.
"Belle, get some more sleep." Rouge said, "You, Adam, go to bed."
"All right." Adam said, "Good night, Belle." He kissed her forehead and left her bedroom. Adam walked towards his room, holding onto the hope that Belle will return to her brave happy self.