Summary: Y/N was once an employee at Prince Adamâs castle along with being his childhood friend but she doesnât remember. Caught up in the curse, she ends up in Villeneuve where she stands out. But circumstances arrive and she somehow returns to the place she once called home, and a beast she once thought a friend.
A multi-chapter fan fiction. MASTERLISTÂ
Author's Note: I'm so sorry that this took so long. I can only hope that this lives up to your expectations. I have to say I'm proud of this chapter very proud. Things are going somewhere, they're actually speeding forward. Just another note that requests currently are CLOSED. I need to catch up on the ones I've got. Tags and asks are OPEN. Thanks for your support and I once again apologise for the wait.
Chapter 18: An Important Question
It had been a week since you had given Adam the painting and everyone in the castle was relieved. Admittedly, no one knew what had occurred between the two of you. All they did know was that you had finally had a bath, changed your clothes and actually slept in your own bed. After you and Adam had embraced you talked for hours. You told him of your family, what you could remember at least, whilst he told you a bit more about his mother. You couldn't help but feel jealous when he mentioned his childhood friend and being the nosy person that you were you prodded and poked till you were satisfied with the amount of information you had on them. In all honesty the only reason you were satisfied was because you found out they weren't around for the curse, meaning she had forgotten completely about the castle.Â
"So what is she then?" You asked after hearing the story behind his fear of horses.Â
"Well, everyone in the castle got transformed somehow into an inanimate object so I just wondered if I've met her? Is she a feather duster, like the other maids?"Â
Adam seemed to stare at you with a pained expression and his eyes briefly skim over you and landed on your hand. He lingered on it before looking away.Â
"She's not anything." He sighed.Â
"What!" You said a little too loud. "I mean, why not?"Â
"As I got older, we grew further and further apart. It was my fault really. She tried to talk to me as before but I'd push her away thinking I was more important than her due to my status. I was wrong." He looked pained as he spoke. "She left before the curse was set. The last time I saw her she was disassembling a china doll and seeing how it worked. I was teasing her over being unladylike." He smiled at the memory. "She proved my point by insulting me but I deserved it." He was staring at you now, a perplexing look on his face. You couldn't help but stare back but you knew you were pushing the box of innocent questioning so you tried to cover for yourself.Â
"Well there goes my idea of questioning her for embarrassing stories."Â
He laughed out loud at your suggestion before simmering down rather rapidly.Â
"You don't need her for that. I'm sure many staff will gladly tell you stories about me."Â
You smiled at him in relief, glad that you hadn't seemed too nosey.Â
"I wonder what she's doing now." You said without realising. He stared at you, almost lovingly.Â
"Oh I have a pretty good idea." He whispered fondly. He was looking at you as he spoke and his gaze lingered on you for a while. It was then that you suddenly realised how you looked. You yelped rather loudly, (to which he laughed at) and jumped up off the bed, (which made him laugh even more).Â
"Oh god! What must I look like?" You exclaimed.Â
"Like someone who hasn't bathed in days nor slept in weeks." He said in between chuckles. It earned him a playful smack on the arm.Â
"That was not the correct response, Mr Porcupine wannabe!" You jested back. His smile faltered, only for both of you to burst out with laughter once again. You wiped down your dress as best you could, eliminating none of the thousands of wrinkles. You stood there slightly awkwardly before asking sheepishly, "So, I'll see you at dinner today?"Â
"You will." He answered firmly before giving you a small shove towards the doors of the corridor. You were briefly confused before he gestured to your outfit.Â
"Oh yeah." You nodded at him before skipping out of the room where you then went and prepared for dinner, (Madame Garderobe was appalled at your appearance but she managed to clean you up along with informing the staff of your return. Somehow).Â
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After both of your self-imposed exiles, your normal routine resumed. A walk around the grounds, reading in the library and then a couple of hours each to yourselves, which normally involved painting or hanging out with staff for you and a nap or walk with Phillipe for Adam. Admittedly the first day after you had both emerged was spent in the library. You had eaten breakfast with the staff, Chip interrogating you over your whereabouts for the last week. You'd been happily answering his questions when you'd heard one of the feather dusters make a snide comment about how awful you'd looked during the week. You had snapped at them, as you knew that these were also the maids who had made rather rude comments about your china hand.Â
"I apologise for caring about someone more than I care about my appearance. But obviously you don't know what that is like so can you please leave me and Chip to our conversation." The maid immediately flew off with a loud huff and you instantly regretted the action but the lack of sleep had finally caught up to you. You felt guilty until you turned back to Chip to see him grinning from ear to ear.Â
"Can you do that more often?" He asked. "She always makes fun of my Chip too."Â
You gave him a wink as an answer before you dived back into the conversation.Â
You made your way up to the library later than usual after lunch, as you had been distracted by Lumière who was dancing around the kitchen performing a wonderful dance and song number about him being human again; somehow roping in all the staff bar Cogsworth who was sulking in the corner. You had heard shuffling and a loud bang from within the library which caused you to rush in. You were met with Adam on the floor covered in a pile of books. You giggled at the site before you noticed the mess that was surrounding you. Books and papers were thrown over every surface you could see and that included the floor. You looked at the desk to see several plates and dishes with half eaten sandwiches.
âOh dear God!â You exclaimed, as Adam huffed and pushed himself up from the floor. âDid I, did I make all this mess! Oh Iâm so sorry. Iâll clear it up I swear, I justâŚâ Adam raised his paw and you stopped talking, looking down at your feet.
âHey, itâs fine. You didnât see all of my room earlier. It wasnât pretty.â He said soothingly. You looked up and you saw that he was smiling down at you.
âIâll⌠um⌠just start clearing this up.â You mumbled before turning towards the desk and began stacking all of the plates on top of one another. You were about to pick them up when a large arm blocked them from your reach. You looked towards Adam when he picked up the huge stack of crockery.
âIâll take these down. You get started on the books. Youâve spent more time in here than me. You probably know more about this library than I do.â You give him a large toothy grin. âGo. Iâll be back to help in a few moments to help.â He pushed his way through the door as you turned on your heel to face the desk. You sighed. You really had made a mess.
You and Adam then spent the remainder of the day and the early hours of the morning, clearing up the library. You had figured out a system in which you sorted out the books into the piles and then you directed Adam to which shelf they went on and heâd go and put them where you had instructed. He made few mistakes, which you were impressed by. The only time you stopped working was when Mrs Potts burst into the library at dinner time. You and Adam had jumped a mile in the air, thankfully neither one of you had books in your hand, otherwise theyâd have been all over the floor.
âOh thank goodness!â Mrs Potts exclaimed whilst you and Adam looked at each other confused. âWeâd thought youâd gone back into hibernation as neither one of you decided to eat lunch today.â She gave you both the disappointed mother look, whilst you and Adam glanced at each other, looking the very picture of scolded children.
âSorry Mrs Potts. We were just tidying up my mess.â You said sheepishly.
âWeâll be down in a minute.â Adam promised. You nodded at his statement. Mrs Potts nodded and wheeled herself back out of the library but not before giving both of you a five minute warning for dinner. When both of the doors had stopped swinging you both looked at each other before descending into a large fit of giggles.
Wiping a tear from your eye, you looked up at Adam, âWe should probably go so we donât worry them anymore than we already have.â Adam merely nodded and you headed down to dinner together, laughing all the way down.
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You woke up the next morning with a stiff neck. As you opened your eyes you saw that you were covered in a blanket with a book on the floor by your feet in a now pristine library by the fire. You looked over to the clock on the mantelpiece above the fire. It was two in the afternoon. You sat bolt upright and almost screamed when you heard a grumble next to you. You turned to see Adam slowly awaking from his slumber. You jumped of the couch you had apparently both fallen asleep on. Sadly you did it too quickly and got your feet tangled in the blanket (which was also draped over him) and you came crashing to the ground, somehow pulling Adam down off the couch. Thankfully he didnât land on you but he did manage to fall onto the table, whose leg came out from under it. You both looked at each other with sleep filled eyes and you hastily pushed yourself up onto your feet. You thought back to the previous night (or more accurately that morning), and you remembered that both of you had collapsed onto the couch after finishing the library. You had both been wide awake despite it being almost five in the morning. You had read a collection of poems, waiting for sunrise; which when it came was breath taking as the sun reflected off all of the snow and frost. You werenât quite sure at which point youâd fallen asleep, whether it was you or him first but what you were most concerned about was how it made you feel. You felt confused as to why you felt warm and fuzzy inside. You realised that you were staring at him, a blush appearing on your cheeks. He was staring too, a large smile on his face, despite being tangled up in a blanket on top of a broken table.
âIâll fix it I swear!â You exclaimed as Adam began pushing himself up.
âItâs fine.â He said as his arms are outstretched as if to reach out to comfort you. You backed away slowly, a blush still invading your cheeks whilst your arms clap behind your back.
âUm⌠Iâm going toâŚ. Umâ You mentally slapped youâd never been this bad at speaking before. Before you thought about anything you found your legs taking you in the direction of the doors. You practically ran to your room, hoping a bath would make you feel better. It didnât.
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The next day, you had yet to speak to Adam. Youâd avoided him. You had taken the broken table away from the library and into the workshop you had found with Chip during the first week of being in the castle. Youâd fixed it within an hour but you used it as an excuse to not come to dinner or your usual library reading in the morning. So by the afternoon you presumed Adam would be out with Phillipe. You, therefore, grabbed a canvas from a storage room in the servantsâ quarters and decided to paint the ballroom. You sat opposite the glass doors you had put so much effort into, where the sun was streaming in through creating a kaleidoscope of patterns all around the ballroom. Maestro Cadenza had tried to walk around to behind you but you directed him back to the side of the doors. That was how you had ended up singing several folk songs whilst Cadenza played them all with his teeth. You had nearly finished in record time according to your watch which read five in the afternoon. You had made good work in four hours. You were snapped out of your revere by a low voice from behind you.
âIt really is beautiful.â
You turned to see Adam smiling down at you.
âThe painting or the room itself?â You questioned.
âBoth.â He replied. âBoth were from your brain so both are beautiful.â You blush deeply before whispering a small thank you. You turn back to your painting whilst Adam just continues to watch
âItâs a shame that itâll probably never be used for its true purpose.â You say as you add a few more highlights and humming a little song (Cadenza had stopped playing almost an hour before, falling curse to his wifeâs affliction; sleep). Â
âWell why couldnât it?â Adam asked and you immediately stopped humming to look at him. Was he doing what you thought he was? Adam himself was a little shocked at the word that had spilled out from his mouth.
âAre⌠Are you asking⌠but Iâm really not that good⌠I justâŚâ You stuttered out before Adam raised his paw to stop you from talking.
âWould you care to join me for a dance here this evening?â He asked. Your mouth opened and closed by itself. How on earth could you possibly answer that question? Youâd never been asked to dance with someone before. Most people, bar Gaston, avoided you in the village, you had no idea what the decorum was, how to even do a waltz. All you knew were small folk dances and that was only from watching other couples doing it. This was probably a bad idea.
âYes.â You breathed out without even realising. Â
âIâll meet you at the staircase at nine then.â Adam said whilst smiling and staring at you. You locked eyes for a while before he seemed to pale, despite his thick fur. With that, he hastily walked (it was rather more like a sprint) out of the ballroom. Moments later you heard a loud booming voice coming from the west side of the castle shouting for Lumière. You felt a blush spread across your face as you looked down at your hands in your lap. You smiled to yourself as you picked up all your supplies and painting. It wasnât finished but you didnât care. You had a dance to get ready for.
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