Adam stayed and never left the library until it was dinnertime, or at least until Sagittarius came and got him. When Sagittarius came to get his cousin, he saw the same look of sadness he saw when the two of them found out that the girls were attacked.

"Cousin," Sagittarius said, Adam looked away from his book and looked at his cousin, "it's time for dinner." Adam didn't say anything, he just closed his book and gently set it aside.

As Adam and Sagittarius walked down to the dining hall, Adam didn't say a word, neither did Sagittarius. He knew that his cousin wasn't in a talkative mood. When they joined the others, everyone was talking to each other while they ate. Adam was the only one who didn't talk...unless something was directed to him, but he really wasn't in the mood for talking. He was very disappointed that he only saw Belle at breakfast and nowhere else. Adam wondered why she was acting the way she was, he was worried that the attack did more damage than what he originally thought.

"Your highness?" Adelaide said, Adam looked over at her. "Is there something wrong? You're very quiet tonight."

"I'm...just not in the mood for talking, Archduchesse." Adam answered, Adelaide just nodded her head and went back to eating. Adam didn't say anything else after the Archduchesse spoke to him, the other ranks could also see that he wasn't in the mood for talking. After dinner, Sagittarius, Sapphire, Henrietta and the other ranks went to their rooms. Adam, on the other hand, decided to go into the kitchen and bring Belle some dinner.

When Adam went into the kitchen, Mrs. Potts, Chef Bouche and Babette were cleaning the dishes and the other kitchen utensils.

"Sire," Mrs. Potts said, "what brings you in here?"

"I came to see if Chef Bouche is willing to cook again." Adam said, "I plan to bring some dinner to Belle."

"Well, that certainly explains your reason." Chef Bouche said, "Otherwise, I would've said 'no'. I'll get on it, sire."

"You don't have to." Babette piped up with her hand near her mouth, all three looked at her.

"What do you mean, Babette?" Mrs. Potts asked.

"She...already had dinner." She answered.

"What?" Chef Bouche boomed, "When?"

"When you and Mrs. Potts stepped out to give dinner to the other servants," Babette answered. "Belle walked in on her own. I couldn't believe she was walking!"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Adam asked.

"I was going to, but Belle begged me not to." Babette said, "I told her that you would be happy to see her, but she said if I did, she would run out of the kitchen and lock herself away again." Nothing could express how shocked Adam was when he heard that.

"Continue, Babette." He said.

"I didn't argue with her after that, so I made something of my own and served it to her and she ate it here in the kitchen. She left after she was done eating. Five minutes after Belle left, Mrs. Potts and Bouche came in." Adam then put his hand over his eyes, he was shocked and very worried.

"Belle didn't say what she was going to do afterwards?" Mrs. Potts asked.

"Well, before she left, she asked me if her blue dress was cleaned." Babette answered, "I told her that the master gave it to Lady Sapphire to get it fixed. When she did, she gave it back to the master. She gave this weird look and then she left."

"What weird look?" Mrs. Potts asked.

"It was if...it was an answer she didn't want to hear or...she knew she was going to a place she didn't want to be in."

"You didn't tell her anything else?" Bouche asked.

"Besides a guess on where her blue dress could be, no."

"What did you tell her?" Mrs. Potts asked.

"I just told her that if the master still had it," Babette said, "there was a very good chance that it was in his room." When Adam heard that, he removed his hand from his eyes and bolted out of the kitchen. He knew that he did put Belle's blue dress in his room, but he was thinking that if Belle was looking for it, she would head straight there. Here was Adam's chance to talk to Belle before she takes off again.

Adam quietly walked up the stairs to his room; if Belle was there, he didn't want to give her a chance to hear him and take off. When he got to the top, he noticed that his bedroom door was partially open. Adam tiptoed over to the door, when he looked through the crack, there were clothes coming out of his closet. Adam gently closed the door behind him, softly enough where the door didn't make the clicking noise it makes when a door closes. He also gently locked the door, he didn't want to give Belle a chance to leave without an explanation.

When Adam finally looked in his closet, there was Belle rummaging through all his clothes...and there was a pile of Adam's clothes on the floor.

"Where did he put it?" she said to herself, "He probably put it in a spot where he would easily forget."

"No," Adam said, Belle jumped and turned around. "I didn't misplace it, I know where it is."

"H-h-h-how long have you been standing there?" Belle asked.

"Not long." Adam answered, he then bent down to pick up the pile of clothes Belle made.

"Don't!" Belle quickly said, Adam looked at her with surprise, "I'll pick them up, I made the mess." Adam could see that Belle was struggling with picking up the mess she made because she was trying to use her right arm.

"Belle, why don't you sit down on the bed?" Adam said, "I'll clean this up."

"NO, I'll do it!" she pushed.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but Quit being so stubborn, Belle!" Adam said, raising his voice a little. Belle backed off and dropped the clothes she was able to pick up.

"Sorry." Belle said in a soft voice.

"Belle, what's happened to you?" Adam asked, "You're acting like you want to impress me, which is something you usually don't do, and you're avoiding me like I have a disease!" Belle looked away as she gently held onto her right arm, she didn't want Adam to see the tears forming.

"I can't...tell you." She said, trying to leave, but Adam wouldn't let her. He blocked her way.

"Why not?" he asked.

"You won't believe me!" she said, still trying to leave and Adam was still blocking her way. Adam finally decided to throw his arms around her and hold her close to him. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Showing you that I'm not letting you go unless you talk to me." Adam answered. To be honest, he didn't want to go this far, but he wanted an answer. As for Belle, she knew that she wasn't going to get anywhere if she kept on avoiding Adam.

"All right," Belle sighed, "you made the point, just...let go." When Adam heard that, he released her. Belle gently grabbed her right arm.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Belle." Adam said.

"You didn't," she said, "it's just sore because I haven't been using it."

"Let's have a seat, Belle." Adam said, gently grabbing Belle's left hand. Belle let him lead her to his bed, she sat down on it with Adam sitting next to her. "What's wrong?" he asked, Belle just let her head hang.

"He's haunting me." She softly said, Adam knew exactly who she was talking about.

"I was afraid that you were going to say that." Adam said.

"I...I...I don't know what to do if he finds me again." Belle said with tears sliding down her face, "He...he...he was so so so close to...doing...it again."

"Belle, if you want me to tell you the truth, I never wanted you to leave the castle grounds...because of him."

"Then...why didn't you say anything?"

"Because...because I didn't want you to think that you were a prisoner again." Adam answered, feeling stupid. Just then, he saw Belle grab his hand.

"I would never think that you would do something like that again!" Belle said, "If you think that I would see you as selfish or cold, you're completely wrong! You...have done so much to...prove that to me, you...you don't have to do that."

"I know," Adam said, "I guess...I'm just trying to prove myself."

"Well, from that point of view, that's understandable."

"Belle, either you're hiding it or you're avoiding it...he told you something, didn't he?" Belle made a deep groan as she grabbed her chest. Adam could see that Belle was ready to break down, so he gently hugged her and held her close to him. She then cried her heart out;

"He threw Sapphire into a tree and she got stuck in the roots. He went after me and held me against a tree, I felt the bones break in my arm and legs. He...tore my skirt as he whispered...'You'll...always be mine,...no other man would want you,...you'll never...escape me.' I screamed at him and...he slapped me across my face. Sapphire finally came off of the tree and attacked him, I just fell to the ground, I couldn't keep my eyes open."

Nothing could express the rage going through Adam's body. In fact, he was so angry...that he was transforming into his moth sorcerer form. He felt the antenna coming out of his forehead, his feet starting to grow and his shoulder blades becoming his wings, Adam didn't care that it was destroying his clothes.

"Adam, you're transforming!" Belle softly said.

"I know I am." Adam said, trying to calm his temper. "I'm...very angry at the moment."

"Adam, you need to let go of me for a moment." Belle said in a very surprising voice.

"Why? What's wrong?" he asked as he released her. Belle didn't say anything, she was staring at his abdomen. She then pointed at what she was looking at. When Adam saw what Belle was pointing at, he almost yelled out in surprise, but Belle quickly jumped on him to cover his mouth, she didn't want anyone to come up and see Adam in the form he was in.

"Don't yell out like that!" Belle softly said, "Do you want somebody to see you?"

"Sorry." Adam said in a softer tone, Belle quickly got off him so he could sit up. When he did, Adam looked again at what Belle was pointing at. Another new development happened, four arms instead of two and there was a black stripe in the middle of his feet that went up his legs and went through the middle of his wings horizontally, almost like spliting his wings in half. "Oh wonderful," he said in a sarcastic tone, "first having a red stripe, then a blue stripe with pointed wings, now a black stripe and an extra set of arms. Just wonderful."

"You...don't look that bad." Belle said.

"I was originally trying to make you feel better and I just made the discovery of having four arms instead of two." Adam said, "This is almost frustrating." Belle made a soft groan as she pushed her hair back.

"Adam, there's...something I should show you." Belle said, Adam just looked at her. She reached for her spring hat...and took it off.

"What is it you have to show me?" he asked.

"You don't see them?" she asked in surprise.

"See what?"

"These antlers on my head!"

"Uh...Belle, my dear, I...don't see any antlers." Adam said, Belle dropped her hat and felt around the top of her head.

"They're gone." She said as she brought her hands down.

"I think it's best that you tell me what's going on." Adam said.

"All right," Belle sighed, "my mother came during the night of the day of the attack. It wasn't until morning did I know she was there, your mother told her what happened to me. While I was asleep, mother put this...strange mouth gag over my mouth. When you knocked on the door, I couldn't talk to you because of the gag. Mother changed her voice to match mine to get rid of you."

"That was your mother that spoke?" Adam asked, Belle nodded her head 'yes'. "Something was telling me something was wrong with you when you said to leave you alone. I couldn't believe that your mother said that."

"Neither could I, I don't know why mother put that gag over my mouth in the first place. I couldn't take it off because of a lock on it and my mother had the keys."

"How did you get it off?" Adam asked.

"When Aunt Celia made her appearance and visited you and then me." Belle answered, "When she came over last night, it was the one night where my mother had to go back to her world. She saw the gag and broke the thing. She also made these clothes for me because I've been listening to you every time you visited...and...I wanted to see you."

"I...didn't want you to think I was depending on you." He said.

"I know that," she said, "we just...needed each other. Throughout the time my mother was with me, she told me that I smelled like chocolate, which meant to her that I was becoming a sorceress. When Aunt Celia came by, she opened the curtains and I saw what I really looked like, I was turned into a white deer."

"What?" Adam asked, "Was the choice taken from you?"

"No," Belle answered, "I chose to be one."

"Why?"

"Because...I didn't want you to be the only one going through it. Also, I...I'm tired of being someone's prey and...I won't have you to protect me." Adam opened his large wings and his antenna stood straight up when heard the last part of Belle's sentence.

"What...makes you think...I wouldn't be there...to protect you?" Adam asked, trying not to sound so shocked.

"You're royalty, I'm not." Belle answered, Adam was about to say something, but Belle added something else. "The Comtesse was right; You have done so much to make me and my family happy and everything else...but...I haven't done anything for you. I'm not the woman you...fell in love with." Adam couldn't believe that Nanette got to Belle, he was so furious that...he punched a hole into the wall that his bed was against.

"Nanette...told you...that?" Adam asked in a furious voice, Belle couldn't answer. She hadn't seen Adam this furious...since she went into the West Wing against his wishes. When Adam saw the fear in Belle's face, he tried to remove any anger or fury from his face. "Sorry Belle." He said, still a little upset, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I...I know." Belle said, trying to rid the fear out of her voice. "Who's...Nanette?"

"The Comtesse, she's been making trouble ever since she got here. She almost got me in trouble...if it weren't for my aunt. I cannot believe she got to you! What exactly did she say to you?"

"She told me that...it was a good idea that you were getting married," Belle sighed as she pushed her hair back, "but it was a bad idea that you were marrying me. I don't have the rose ring you gave me to show the engagement. She said that...I should leave you and let you marry Mystique, her...daughter, I believe who she is." Adam just couldn't believe what the Comtesse told Belle, he couldn't control himself anymore. Despite the new arms, he grabbed Belle's shoulders and pulled her towards him. He hugged her very tightly; he also managed to close his wings around her as well. Belle just couldn't believe what Adam was doing; this was not like him at all.

"Belle," he said, "you have done so much for me; you don't even know it. You never gave up on me, despite my horrible temper that I lashed out on you. You were there for me when I needed you the most. You taught me that books can help you escape the real world, but the most important thing you've done for me...you taught me to love again. I thought I was never able to love someone again after my mother died on me. You gave that back to me; you are a far better woman than anyone, even Mystique."

Belle just couldn't believe what she had heard; Adam could hear her taking deep breaths.

"Adam," she said, "I need you to let me go, I can't move." Adam wasn't sure if he should, but he opened his wings and released her. When he did, Adam noticed that Belle crossed her legs together.

"Do you need the bathroom?" Adam asked, Belle nodded 'no'. "What's wrong?" Belle's face started to turn pink.

"Adam? Do you...remember what we did...the two nights before your cousin came?" When Belle asked that, Adam was feeling very embarrassed.

"Yes, I do."

"Well, I...found out why...we did it." She said, still crossing her legs.

"Meaning?" Adam asked.

"Aunt Celia...explained it to me. When you were going through...your first sorcerer transformation, your body...was giving off...pheromones that...increased my urge to...well, you know. Now, with my transformation, it's...happening again...only this time...my body is...making the pheromones...so I'm...trying to resist."

"Is...that why your legs are crossed?" he asked, Belle bit her bottom lip and nodded 'yes'.

"Aunt Celia said that I'll be suffering this for...a month...unless...we...uh...I'm not going to get into it. So...I might not be...coming out of my room for a month." Adam's eyes widen, he knew for a fact that he and Belle wouldn't be able to stay separated for a month.

"Uh...stay here...I'll be right back." He said as he went and grabbed his blue robes. Adam's body quickly went back to being a human body and he left the room. Belle was wondering what he was doing. While Adam was gone, Belle started thinking about what he said. She was going to try to keep what the Comtesse told her out of her head.

After five minutes of waiting, Adam came back. Belle noticed that he was holding something in his robes.

"You have something under there, don't you?" She asked, Adam didn't say anything. He sat down on his bed and pulled out what was under his robes, Belle saw that it was a silk nightgown. Her eyes widen as she looked back at him. "You...do realize the trouble...we would be in?" She asked.

"I would rather do this again...rather than not have you for a month." He answered, Belle's face was starting to turn pink.

"You...would do that?" She asked, Adam nodded 'yes' and smiled.

"I think both of us know that we wouldn't be able to stay separated for a month. One week alone was too much...at least for me."

"Both of us," Belle added, "all right then."

I think we can figure out what happens next. Right?