Prince Adam Bernard's Story

Prince Adam staggered up towards a wall in the undercroft near the dungeons. He was groggy, his clothes were all torn and shredded, and he was in a good deal of pain. He had spent the whole night before testing his limits as the Beast. It was exhausting, painful, and downright sickening. He had been transforming more and more throughout the weeks, and he needed to get a handle on it. However, it was difficult to do that, and keep the castle from knowing his secret. He limped his way over to the wall, and pressed the brick that opened the secret passage.

On the other side, Prince Adam found his trusty majordomo, Cogsworth. He reached a hand out to assist, but Adam gave him a look all to familiar to Cogsworth, so he backed off. "Master," he said nervously. "Lumiere has the other servants distracted. We must get you to your room in the west wing before they lose interest." He looked the prince over and added "I must say, we must also get you into different clothes. You look dreadfully out of order, your shirt in rags willy nilly, all over the place." Adam couldn't help but chuckle. Cogsworth; neat and orderly to the last. As they went through the deserted corriders he said "Tell the those in the castle that I am sick, and require a day of bed rest. That much, at least, is true. I hate having to lie to my loyal servants like this." Cogsworth shook his head, and responded, "Well, it's for the best Master. Panic would spread rapidly if the servants found out you were becoming a beast again. Not everyone is so keen to be household objects again, though I'm not sure Lumiere would mind. He did enjoy himself in that state." Cogsworth couldn't help but look over his prince again and say "I understand the uncontrolled transformations being painful, but the controlled ones?" "The controlled ones are painful in there own way." Adam responded. "Instead of the Beast breaking free, I have to force it out."

They finally arrived at his quarters, and Adam slipped in. "I'll tell Lumiere to drop the act." said Cogsworth. "Please get some rest, Master. I'm sure you will feel right as rain tommorrow." With that, Cogsworth left to the halls. "If only it were that simple, Cogsworth." Adam said to himself. He changed back into a new shirt and pants, and slipped in bed to recuperate. He looked out the window, and saw a dark storm outside, echoing the feeling in his heart. The return of the Beast only signified one thing: he was losing Belle. That alone was tearing at Adam tremendously. She was becoming more distant every day, and he didn't know what to do. Adam was too exhausted to persue this train of thought after his night as the Beast, and quickly slipped into the oblivion of sleep.

Belle
Belle and her horse, Philippe, looked down over the town of Feather Brooke from their vantage point atop a rise not far from her castle. She watched the hustle and bustle of the townspeople, she glanced over at Gaston’s tavern and a small twinge of longing clenched her belly. Belle averted her eyes quickly, Philippe snorted and stomped his front foot. “What is it, Philippe?” She asked her horse softly. Since the love stone was stolen she had been less talkative toward her long time friend because some of the magic in his eyes has died. He responds to her voice less and less these days. His face and eyes becoming more like that of a dumb beast than the loving friend she remembered. Even now, the horse sidestepped but she yanked his reigns and brought him under control quickly though his eyes did look a little wild.
A drop of water landed on her forehead and made her look up. The sky was darker than she had seen it in quite some time, if ever. Goosebumps raised the hair along her arms and she quickly lifted the hood of her cloak. The moment after she lifted her hood it was as if God dumped an endless bucket of water on them. In seconds, she and Philippe were soaked. Lightening struck the ground not far from where the pair stood. The horse whinnied loudly and bucked and for a moment Belle thought she would lose control.
Instead she whispered softly to the old horse, calming and soothing his raw nerves. “Take us home Phillipe.” She whispered and in the years following the theft of the love stone the horse would snort in response and turn them toward the direction of the castle post haste. Instead it was Belle who directed the animal and made toward her castle at a reasonable pace but the last thing she’d want to do was have the horse slip and take a tumble with her on it.
When she got to her courtyard she slid off the horse and grabbed his reigns in one smooth motion while he was still moving. She handed him over to a soaking wet stable boy and made her way up the front stairs to the entryway of her castle. What was once her prison.
She opened the door and slid in to it quickly and was met by Cogsworth. The squat, fat little man was making his way toward her at quite a clip. Belle sighed softly, pulling the string of her cloak so it slipped from her shoulders. She bundled the wet cloak into her hands and plopped it unceremoniously into Cogworth’s chest. His face contorted into a look of disgust as he held the sopping bundle away from his body. She continued to walk and Cogsworth followed her nervously. He was less annoying when he was a clock. “Madam, Prince Adam is not feeling well and is on bed rest for the rest of the day.” ‘Thank God’ she thought to herself with relief. The last thing she needed was his neediness when her thoughts were filled with Gaston. “He has asked not to be disturbed in the West Wing.” This made her pause for only a moment, her mind flashing back to the days of the Beast.
“Why? Is it forbidden?” She asked slyly. If she wasn’t soaked she would go there directly. As it was, however, “I’m retiring to my chambers.” She stated before he could stutter out an answer. She took back her old prison cell as her bed chamber. A lovely cell, yes, but a cell nonetheless. Her handmaid came in shortly after her arrival to help her undress, bathe and redress. She watched the friendly old woman with curiosity. Everyone had so much more life when they were furniture. There was no more singing, dancing or the careless abandon she felt when she first arrived. Now everything was stale, servants just going through the motions. “Do you know what ills my husband?” She asked what was once her wardrobe. “No m’lady.” Was the short lifeless response. She stared at the woman for a moment, wondering whether she was oblivious or lying. She decided on the former which meant that Adam was keeping something from the castle.

Prince Adam shivered in his sleep, as cold sweat poured down his face. In his mind, he was having quite the nightmare. Of course, nightmares had been more and more frequent for him recently, but this one was something more than that. In it, Belle was leaving the castle, paying him no heed at all. With every step she took, he became more of the Beast, and the entire castle was reverting to its old days of being his personal hell. However, just before the transformation was complete, a bright light blinded his vision, not something that normally happened in his nightmares. He stared at it in wonder, as it became the only thing he could see.

When the light faded, Adam looked at himself to see everything was gone, an empty void. He himself had turned back to his human self. "Prince Adam", he heard a strange but familiar voice call. He looked around, not seeing anyone. He finally looked to where the light came from, and gasped in awe as he recognized the figure above as the very enchantress who had transformed him into a beast that fatefull night. "You again?" he said in wonder.

The enchantress did something he never would have expected. She smiled at him. "I having been watching you since that fateful night." she said. "And I have watched you learn to be a kind and gentle soul. Know this now: The change you are undergoing now is not of your own fault. The source of this problem, however, is one you still must address." She snapped her fingers, and an image of a glowing red stone appeared. "You recognize this stone, correct?" Prince Adam, rapt with amazement through all of this, finally spoke up. "Yes, it's the love stone. It was stolen recently, right? I read the reports, but have been keeping the knowledge only with those I trust most." The enchantress nodded her head. "Yes, the love stone. It was stolen. This is the source of all of your troubles. You are not the only one affected by its disappearence. All over Ever After, couples bound together by the love stone have begun to find their relationships strained. It must be returned immediately. I would tell you where it is, but it is being concealed by a dark power that is stronger than my own."

Prince Adam spoke up again, and said "Well, what must I do then?" "You must band together with others who have been affected by this. You must work together to find the love stone, and undo what has been done. Start with your fellow royalty of the other kingdoms. Work with them to find leads to its location. One last thing: Do not trust the one called Gaston. He is implicated in this as well, though you cannot prove it yet. Now go. Do what must be done." With that, she vanished, and Adam woke up.

He woke to find trusty Mrs. Potts pouring tea for him. "Oh, Master." she said. "I heard you were ill, so I brough up some tea for you." Adam was slightly angry, as he had told everyone to leave him alone, but let it pass. Mrs. Potts meant him no ill will. "Thank you." he said. "I could use some tea. By the way, can you send for Lumiere and Cogsworth? I need to speak with them. Alone." She smiled and said "Of course Master. I will send for them immediately."

They were there in a moment. Adam had already written letters to the royals of the kingdoms of Red Rose, Feather Broke, and Beloved kingdoms, expressing his wish to meet and discuss this issue. Lumiere burst in just as he finished, declaring jovially, "Master! Good to see you feeling better! Wonderfull indeed!" Cogsworth staggered in, stating "Um, what he said Master." Adam couldn't help but smile. He never tired of Lumiere's shenanigans, but he couldn't stand on ceremony now. He handed the letters to Cogsworth, saying "I need you to send these to the corresponding royalty of each kingdom. I may have a way to reverse what is happening. Keep it hush hush, though." Lumiere smiled and said "Of course Master! I am an expert at discretion!" Cogsworth couldn't help but smirk and mutter "Sure you are, Lumiere. Sure you are." Adam waved them off and said, "That will be all. Thank you." The two of his favorite servants left to do there work, and Adam returned to his bed to rest.

Belle

Her bath was refreshing. She felt like a new woman once all the mud and grim of the horse was scrubbed off of her. She dressed herself in clothes that were unusual for her before she snapped out of her day dream that was life in this castle. The skirt was a shorter than what was fashionable and her neckline plunged down until it almost reached her navel. She looked in the mirror, admiring the beauty in front of her. Her hair was up but stray curls fell in ringlets down over her shoulder. Tonight she was going back to Feather Brooke. She needed a few drinks in her. And more than a little part of her hoped to see Gaston. Just thinking his name sent a shudder of excitement into her belly. But for now, she would go to her husband.

A devilish smile crept over her features when she imagined what his face would look like when he saw the way she was dressed. Would his face flush with embarrassment? She knew what a prude he could be. Or would his eyes flash with longing only to change to disappointment when she denied him? She felt the goosebumps rise along her flesh when she imagined his tight lipped rage when he learned she was planning to go into town dressed like this. She couldn’t wait any longer, her excitement at his anger was too much.

With a giggle she strode from her room, passing servants who were giving her side long glances but no one dared utter a word to her. She’d been setting them straight for a while now. She was tired of them offering advice to her. They had no business opening their mouths unless they were spoken to. She passed Cogsworth on the way to the West Wing. He opened his mouth to say something to stop her but nothing came out except wordless stutters. She made it up the stairs and rounded the bend until she came to the large doorway. She raised her gloved hand to knock but thought better of it and opened it silently, creeping in as it opened.

She walked along the four poster bed until she saw her once beloved. He looked quite peaceful when he was sleeping and also quite handsome. She felt a twinge of love in her chest and quickly stamped it out. This was the monster that imprisoned her and nearly killed her father. He kept her in this prison on the pretense of his love, but he could never love anything. He didn’t deserve her love. “Good Morning, Darling.” She said with a mock tenderness that was so sharp she was surprised it came out of her.