Black Magic ▸ Prince Adam

IX

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THE CASTLE SEEMED much nicer since Celeste's realization. While the mood was happier just before she realized the Beast was Prince Adam, there was still tension in the air. Now that no one had to watch what they said around Celeste, essentially every enchantment in the castle gladly spoke to the girl. And, despite the start that the two had, Celeste and the Beast were almost attached at the hip. Even when eating meals, they didn't sit across from each other at the massive table anymore; ever since the Prince sat next to her one evening, being next to each other became the norm.

Much of their time was spent in the library. At first Celeste wanted Adam in the room with her strictly for his strength. It was so much easier for her to pick books off the high shelves and hand them to him rather than having to climb up and down the ladder constantly. When they weren't in the library, sleeping, or eating, they were outside keeping Betsy company. Celeste felt bad for keeping the horse from LeFou. She definitely hadn't expected to be gone more than a day, let alone weeks.

While the brunette was enjoying her time at the castle, part of her missed Villenevue. She missed spending her mornings in the church with Pere Robert. She missed going to Belle and Maurice's home with her mother, and spending her afternoons daydreaming with her friend about one day leaving the village and traveling together. She missed LeFou, the person she always went to when she was in a particularly bad mood because he always had a way of making her laugh. She even missed Gaston and his annoying schemes to get Belle to fall in love with him. When she really thought of it, Celeste wasn't sure if she would go back to the village if that meant leaving her friends at the castle. She quite enjoyed seeing how things changed from day to day.

The Prince appeared to have the biggest change of all. He had been spending much more time outside, whether Celeste was in his presence or not. That was almost shocking to everyone that had known him. Before Celeste, Prince Adam rarely left the West Wing, let alone the castle.

Meeting in the library had become routine for Celeste and the Prince. However, by midafternoon, the girl began to wonder where he was. She decided then to take a break from reading and look for him to make sure he was alright. Though Adam had been in a better mood lately, it wasn't completely unusual for Celeste to find him in his room and wishing he was human again.

After searching the entire castle, Celeste went outside. She ignored the freezing weather after seeing the Prince sitting on a bench in the garden reading. If Adam noticed her presence, he didn't acknowledge it.

"What are you reading?" Celeste questioned before standing next to him, a smile on her face.

From the look on his face, the Prince hadn't noticed Celeste. "Nothing," he said quickly as he almost threw the book out of view.

"Guinevere and Lancelot," she said before taking a seat next to Adam on the bench.

"King Arthur and the round table," he stated. "Swords, fighting..." He trailed off, trying to think of any other action in the book.

The smile on Celeste's face became a smug one. "Still, it's a romance."

"Felt like a change," was all the Prince responded with.

It was silent for a few moments after that, neither of them knowing what to say. The silence was almost awkward, and Celeste was trying to think of anything to say to keep that from happening.

Luckily, laughter from the castle got their attention. Celeste smiled at the sound, knowing that the servants were having fun, but when she turned her attention to the Prince, he was frowning.

As if sensing the question Celeste was about to ask, Adam spoke. "When I took my dinner before you came, whenever I heard their laughter I would pretend that I was eating with them."