In the end, they saddled up four horses. One each for the riders and a fourth for Maurice. They'd opted not to use any of the carriages so that they could move quicker and travel more incognito.
The air outside was warm and the sun bright on their faces as they rode out of the gates and into the forest.
Adam helped Belle navigate the forest until they could find the main road that led to town. Belle enjoyed riding with him. He knew the forest extremely well and seemed intimately familiar with each branch, twig, and creature that lived there.
"You seem very familiar with these woods," Belle commented as she got a chance to ride beside him when the path widened enough for them to ride side by side.
"I spent a lot of time here," Adam said. "The castle felt so confining…" His voice trailed off, as he seemed to be lost in memory.
Belle sensed that he didn't want to speak about those times, so she didn't press him. But it did explain how he knew the forest so well.
The castle and surrounding was no longer snow covered. It had been that way during the entire enchantment, apparently. A never-ending winter. No wonder the castle grounds felt confining.
Belle didn't miss the snowy weather that surrounded the castle, thinking about the dangers that it had concealed.
"I'm glad we haven't encountered any wolves," Belle said as they found the main road that led to town.
"Me too," Adam said, with some humor. "I would have a harder time keeping them off you this time."
Belle laughed. "I would be happy to never find myself in a situation like that ever again," she said.
"That night gave me hope," Adam said, thinking about the night he'd saved her from the wolves. "That we might be able to get along after all."
Belle smiled, thinking about how she'd discovered that his grouchiness concealed a kind and caring heart. "We got off to a rough start," she said. "But many things have changed now."
"Can we start over?" Adam asked, hope in his voice.
"Of course," Belle said, smiling at him. His returning beam sent her stomach fluttering once more and she found that she could not hold his gaze.
Looking forward, she noticed the trees beginning to thin and the countryside becoming clearer and clear. "Oh, here's the edge of the forest. I can see my house!"
Belle led the way to the cottage she shared with her father on the edge of town. It wasn't hard to find as it was right off road that led from the forest to the village.
"What a cute house!" Colette exclaimed from behind them. Belle had almost forgotten that her mother was there. Inwardly, she felt a small flush of shame for paying so much attention to Adam. "Maurice knows my tastes well. Just the kind of house I always talked about moving to one day if we ever left the city."
Belle smiled at her mother. "I always thought it was so provincial," she said. "I used to imagine it was a castle."
"Well, now you can have the best of both worlds," Adam said. "You can have your cottage here and a castle. If you'd like."
Belle looked at him. There was such genuine openness in his gaze. "You'd still like for me to stay at the castle?" she asked.
"The castle is your home as long as you'd like for it to be so," he said. "And for now, it's much safer than trying to come back here."
Belle didn't know what to say to his words. They dismounted their horses. Philippe was clearly glad to be home. He neighed in happiness and immediately began to graze. Belle steered him and the other horses away from her vegetable garden. They tied the horses out of grazing distance.
If time had passed the same way here as it had when she was at Hogwarts, it had been about a week since she'd left the cottage. Already, signs of disrepair showed. Weeds had begun to sprout up, overtaking the produce in the garden. The chicken coop was a mess. The front porch and surrounding areas desperately needed a sweeping.
Belle sighed. None of that mattered though until she knew her father was safe. She led the way inside, calling, "Papa?" as she opened the door.
There was no response. Colette followed closely behind Belle and began to look around her family's home for the first time. "I recognize this," she would say, pointing out various knickknacks and items. Or she would say, "Oh, this is just like your father to do this," with both annoyance and affection in her voice.
Belle dashed upstairs to his bedroom to see if he was there. The bed was rumpled and the room clearly looked disturbed.
"It looks like he was taken," Adam said from behind Belle, startling her.
Belle had been thinking the same thing but was reluctant to admit it.
"Where would they have taken him?" she wondered aloud. "How can we rescue him?"
Colette joined them on the landing, moving slowly up the stairs. Her eyes hardened as she took in the scene. "They would have taken him somewhere secret. To use him against you," she said.
Belle felt her chest caving in. No no no no no. Not after everything she'd done to keep her father safe. Everything she'd sacrificed. She put her face in her hands, feeling absolutely overwhelmed.
"I may have a way to look for him," Adam said. "I don't know if it still works now that the enchantment is gone, but the enchantress—" he broke off and looked at Colette, "ahem, you, left me a magical mirror I could use to see the outside world."
"Oh, that's right!" Colette said. "It should still work. I can't see why it wouldn't. It worked before I cast that curse. To be honest, I kind of just wanted a safe place to keep my scrying mirror while the witch hunters were about, so I put it there."
"I thought it was there to taunt me," Adam said bitterly. "To show me everything that I was missing by being trapped in my castle."
"Well, that too," Colette said, wincing a little. "Adam, I'll atone the rest of my life for this mistake. You can't begin to know how sorry I am."
Belle put her arm around her mother's shoulders. "I'll wager you've atoned for several lifetimes worth of mistakes."
Adam studied the two of them. He noted Colette's wanness and weakened state. He nodded curtly at them, wordlessly agreeing with Belle's assessment.
"Shall we go back?" he said. "We don't know if they'll return."
"I'll take them if they do," Colette said, violence in her voice. She looked down at her hands. "Or, I would, if I had my magic."
"You don't have your magic?" Adam asked, surprised.
"No," Colette said. "He forced us to drink a potion that suppressed our magic. Then our food also was laced with magical suppressants."
"That's rich," Belle commented. "Giving you a potion to suppress your magic. Using magic to fight magic."
"They wouldn't see it that way," Colette said. "But yes, it's true. These witch-hunters came out of a group of wizards who went rogue and began hunting down their own kind. They supplied non-magical folk with instruments to be able to hunt down those who do have magic."
"We better move," Adam said, edgily. "I don't like our position."
"Let me gather some things first," Belle said, conceding that they would be safer at the castle. "I didn't get the chance to do so before and now, well, who knows when I'll be able to come back."
"Of course," Adam said. "I'll keep watch outside. Don't be long though."
Colette and Belle moved around the house, collecting various and sundry items that they thought they would need. In Maurice's bedroom, they came upon a small chest full of Colette's belongings.
"He never gave up hope," Colette said, her voice full of tears. "My jolly, sweet Maurice."
Colette took a few items from the chest and put them into the bag she was using to pack stuff.
With some fresh clothes and other essentials, Belle and Colette went back outside and met Adam. They mounted their horses and returned to the castle.