Title: Once Upon A Time

Author: Madame Lazla

Rating: PG-13 - M

Warnings: Positively dripping in SLASH (yaoi; mann gegan mann; homo-love – whatever you like to call it); bondage; blood play and accidental traces of OOC. DON'T LIKE DON'T READ! O.O

Fandom: Beauty and the Best

Pairing: Prince Adam/Gaston, Prince/Belle (Only for, like, two minutes)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the people, creatures or scene settings in the story. That is all Disney. I only own the pervertedness.

Summary: The most interesting stories begin with "Happily Ever After". Post-Transformation.

Once Upon a Time…Belle Left

Prince Adam was having trouble finding his princess amongst the crowd of well-wishers in the reception hall. The painfully shiny chandeliers lit up every face, skirt and boot of foreign merchants, dignitaries and royals; but no hair was tan enough, no lips pink enough and no eyes as enchanting as that of his new bride.

Where could she possibly be? His internal conundrum hidden behind a dazzling smile that left many a woman speechless. Some men too. As he swirled and slid through servants and guests alike, something caught his peripheral vision.

Standing within the foot-high mirror was a living statue of a man. Tall and muscular, he almost seemed to burst through the white and gold tuxedo that set off his honey-coloured ponytail and fair complexion rather nicely. But looks were deceiving: generously full lips hid sharp canines and there was something about his azure eyes and the pale bruises beneath them that spoke of a dark history. Signs that he was never quite human, and would never be again.

Expressive eyebrows wrinkled. As soon as they were done here, he'd ask Lumière to cover this mirror up too. He hated the things. But first order was to find his love.

She wasn't in the gardens, though he found a few lovers there. He couldn't find her in the atrium, nor in her bedroom (though he hadn't actually gone in out of courtesy). He had nearly convinced himself to personally inspect the drainpipes when the thought hit him. How stupid of him! How hadn't he gone there first?!

True to form, he found her in the library. She sat on the window ledge, her white gown sliding over her exposed knees and pooling on the floor below. A strand of hair fell free from her elaborate bun and swung in the air in front of her face. In proper fashion, she was reading a book: a faded blue cover. The only thing she loved more than him was that book that she had read thousands of times, but never seemed to be bored with.

Normally, as she read, she would have an expression of pure content, but now, as her fingers darted along the pages, she was frowning. An equally beautiful vision, but seeing her in such grief made the prince's heart ache.

"Belle," he said plainly, stepping into her line of vision. She looked up, startled, before gracing him with a smile.

"Adam," the name sounded stilted – and almost unwelcome – from her mouth. It wasn't her fault, for just a day ago he had been known to her as Beast; more animal than man. It was the Beast that she came to love and was doubtless still trying to find her old sweetheart in this new body. Filled with a deep tenderness, Adam rushed to her as she rushed to him and the pair pulled each other into an embrace. Adam used his hands to feel her waist with human flesh; Belle using hers to feel his new hair and hairless back. It was a brief reconnection of bodies, a re-acquaintance of their hearts and minds. Adam placed a soft kiss into her hair. It smelt like strawberries.

He felt her tremor against him and realised, sadly, that she was shaking as she desperately clung to him. He hurt more when he heard her stifle a sob.

"Belle? Mon amour*, what's wrong?"

She shook her head against his chest, refusing to look into his eyes, "I love you, Beast. I love you!"

Something about her tone made the prince's heart sink. He no longer used the name Beast anymore – he was trying to rebuild his life as a human, trying to erase those ten years of painful solitude. Belle knew this, supported his rehabilitation, so the fact she had reverted to his old name…

"…But this isn't what you want, is it," he said it softly so it did not sound like he was accusing her. And how could he blame her? She was young, lively and adventurous – it was not her time to settle down. She hadn't spent lonely years, pining for commitment and family like he had. It occurred to him for the first time since he'd change that he was too caught up in their young romance that he had forced her into marriage; that the only reason she said "I do" was because she didn't want to break his heart.

She seemed to cry harder at his tone, "I – I tried, Beast, I tried! I love you, I love you so much…but I – I can't do this I –"

"Shh," Adam rubbed small circles into her back to calm her down. There was a dull pain in his chest, but what mattered most to him was her suffering. He had to make a choice now: have the love of his life, forced into a life of marital servitude, or…

"Belle, listen to me," he held her tighter, committing her feel, her smell, to memory, "I want you to go upstairs and grab a cloak."

"A-Adam?"

"Take whatever you need. Cogsworth will have a horse ready for you, but you need to leave quickly –"

"Are you…?"

"– before I change my mind," Prince Adam used his thumb and forefinger to gently lift her face, she lowered her eyes as he brushed away the tears. He needed to see her eyes, so he'd remember them when he'd undoubtedly regret this decision.

"Belle, please, look at me. I beg you."

Green moss gazed into blue skies with a sad freedom in them. It was almost as if they were reliving their first separation but the former Beast knew that this time, she would not come back for him. Her bottom lip trembled as fresh tears spilled down her heart-shaped face. She placed a soft kiss on the corner of her lover's mouth.

"Je t'aimerais toujours."**

Adam fought the urge to run madly after her, drag her back by her long veil. He bit his bottom lip as a single tear slid over his cheeks to rest on his pronounced chin.

"Belle…"

She turned abruptly, her skirts swishing at her movement. She looked panicked, almost as if she expected him to go back on his word. He threw her a pathetically tragic smile.

"No matter where you go, you'll always have a place here. With me."

She mirrored his smile, both aware that it would never be the same, even if she did return. With no other words to share, Adam helplessly watched Belle pick up her skirts and practically fly from the library. His eyes lingered on the spot she had been, long after she was no longer there. He could still hear the orchestra playing for the loud wedding guests, but he felt too weak, too strained to see them now. The past few minutes would be too fresh and raw on his face, laid out for all.

His head mechanically turned to the window where she had been sitting. On the pane, looking rather lonely too was her faded book. Nothing in all his years had looked so priceless.

He kept himself together long enough to touch it. The moment his fingers brushed against the bound leather, he collapsed into a heap of broken sobs.

He loved her. Too much to keep her to himself. Too much to allow himself happiness.

*Mon amour = my love

**Je t'aimerais toujours = I will love you forever/ I will always love you