A huff came over his lips, even an amused laugh. Yes, Adamw as amused. To hear someone thought talking to the king would be the same as talking to him. Sure, some of them felt like there was no difference, in fact that Adam was even worse than the king. But the truth was, no one was as worse as the king himself. He was the devil, living under the roof of the palace. He was the monster, not him. “Let’s just say that he’s a way different in private than he’s acting in public.” that was enough to tell her. Otherwise he would end up in trouble.
“It is. Just like any other ball.” he shrugged. Right now, nothing mattered more to him than the moment with her. And how this night would eventually turn out. Walking beside her, he held out his hand for her to start the little tour he offered her. “Take my hand, and follow me. Are you ready to see something breath taking?” he asked with a little smile.
Belle raised a brow at his words. She wanted to question how he was different, but it was best to keep her curiosity to herself. If he wanted to tell her then he would. She did wonder if that was how his personality that she has heard about came to be, because of his father. Not that he was bad right now, maybe it was just people talking just like people talked about her. Judging a book by its cover, she should’ve known better.
“Then you should be at the ball.” She giggled, before shaking her head a little. “I guess I would be tired of it with a ball being thrown for myself over and over again. Especially to find a bride.” Then it hit her, was he hoping for that in her? She hoped not. She looked down at his hand and then back up into his eyes. She was unsure of what to do, but she gently placed her hand into his. “And what would that be?” She questioned. “I can’t imagine something more breathtaking than that ballroom.”
Adam reached out his hand for her. “It’s a real pleasure to meet you Belle.” he spoke, taking her hand in his and giving her a small kiss to it. Thatw as something Adam rarely did, no usually he wouldn’t even bother to give someone his hand. But Belle had something that made him curious. and maybe she would even be worth his time. But by the way she was talking, Adam could tell that she was clearly not interested in talking to him. And that was something he couldn’t understand. Everyone liked to talk to him, especially the ladies. “Well, I guess it’s good practise for you then to talk to me. And let me tell you, talking to me is much easier than the king.” he stated, a light chuckle escpaing his lips. Yes, that was something he was serious about. If people thought he was already worse, hell they had never talked to his father.
Hsi gaze wandered around, seeing the ladies smiling, waving and swooning over him. But Adam didn’t care for that. No, his attention laid all on Belle. “How about we get away from here so these people won’t stare at us any longer?” he asked her. “How about a little tour through the palace. There are a view spots that are worth seeing.” he offered her.
Belle gave him a soft smile as he kissed her hand. She wasn’t sure how to respond to the kiss. She never really saw the prince greet anyone like that, and really she did not want to be one of the few. “The king is worse to talk to?” She questioned. “I would imagine it would be the same. I mean, you are both royalty and there’s certain ways us commoners need to act around you, and it’s not often you are in the presence of royalty.” She was rambling, so she quickly stopped.
She stayed there with her head down, not looking at the prince. She had never been in in a palace before, and receiving a tour would be nice. “Isn’t this ball for you though?” She questioned. Why did she have to be so difficult? Of course she wanted to see the palace. She shook her head at herself before looking up at him. “But I would love a tour of the palace. Can’t say I’ve ever been in one before, and this may just be my only time.” She said before standing up and straightening out the skirt of her dress.
Adam was surprised that she didn’t even look up at him while talking. But maybe she was only too busy finding the food for herself. Which could be quite hard by the variety they had. And then, the mysterious girl looked up and recognized it was the prince she was talking to. It brought a little smile to his lips. “Your father, well he did a great job there.” he said. Of course, Adam couldn’t talk for himself there. His mother was long dead to show him how to dance and his father, he hired people to do so. Mostly it was Madame de Garderobe who taught him how to dance. But Adam couldn#t shake off the feeling that she wasn’t interested in talking to him. And that made him even more curious. Whens he decided to go over to a table, Adam was quickly following her. Maybe he looked like a little puppy, following her around wherever she went. But when Adam found interest in someone, he wouldn’t give in so easily.
“It is, yes.” he said. As soon as he arrived at her table, commoners were getting up, bowing down and doing a curtsy before leaving space for him to sit down. And that’s when he send off the others as well. So he could be alone with her. “I don’t think I’ve properly introduced myself to you. Adam Delacour.” he said with his charming smile. Maybe he was only making time here. Making the attempt to get to know her before this night could turn out nicely for both of them.
Belle continued walking off when she looked back a little and saw that the prince was following her. Why was he following her? It wasn’t like she showed any interest in talking to him. When she finally got to her spot at the table she noticed how everyone else quickly stood up and did their little greeting before leaving Belle alone with the prince. She wished they didn’t leave. She wasn’t one to talk to someone that she absolutely knew she couldn’t stand them.
“I know who you are.” Belle replied. She felt silly by just saying that. “Sorry, I am not one to come here. I don’t really know how to interact at a royal ball.” She apologized. “I am Belle. Belle DesRosiers.” She introduced before looking down at her food. She wasn’t sure if she could even eat, especially with the prince just there in her presence. She stood quiet for a moment hoping that he would just leave. Instead, he just stayed. Belle looked over at him before glancing around and seeing all the females were staring. She never did well with people staring at her. “People are staring.” She stated before looking back at him. “I think you have a few more females waiting their turn with you.”
A grateful smile spread about the blonde’s lips, and she offered a nod in thanks. “Variety is always a good thing to have. Especially when brand new flavors come into the mix,” she mused with a giggle; her eyes peered up in thought before she quickly nodded her head. “It is! So now I think it’s official, oatmeal cookies are now breakfast cookies.” Another giggle passed her lips, following Belle down the corridors with a slight skip in her step. “It’s all amazing. I think Pascal’s accustomed to royal life more than he ever thought possible,” she joked. “Do you need any help with the coffee?”
“I am glad you agree. If anyone comes in and sees us then we will just make the argument of we are eating oatmeal cookies, and if we are forced to eat an actual breakfast item then we will just get oatmeal and load it up with sugar.” She said with a nod, but she knew no one would argue with her over what she ate. The only one who held more power over her was Adam, and he wouldn’t care. Not that she viewed them all as holding more power over others, but when it came down to cookies… that’s a whole different story. “That is very cute.” She grinned, “I don’t think I will ever get used to this life. I try not to. I try to keep everything as normal as possible.” She said, shaking her head at Rapunzel’s question. “Oh I think I got it. I used to make it all the time for my father!” It wasn’t that hard, all she had to do was put the grounds in and press the button. “It should be done in about ten minutes. Then you will feel more energized.”
Rapunzel’s lips curled into another light smile, eyebrows quirking in thought before peering over toward her friend. Eventually, she stood up and walked over to the painting, standing next to Belle as she took another look at it - now that she wasn’t half asleep. “You know… I think you’re right. Nothing in art is meant to be perfect,” she agreed with a nod of her head before following. “So what kind of cookies are they? Specialty breakfast cookies?”
“It’s just perfect the way you painted it.” Belle quickly reminded so that Rapunzel wouldn’t be too hard on herself. “I think she made a few different types, she always makes chocolate chip, but she made sugar cookies and oatmeal cookies.” Belle couldn’t help but to laugh a little at the oatmeal cookies. “I guess we found what the good breakfast cookie would be. Oatmeal is a breakfast food, right?” She giggled as the two continued making their way down the halls of the castle and into the kitchen. Luckily for them Mrs. Potts wasn’t in the kitchen so Belle was able to sneak a couple of cookies onto a plate before walking over to the coffee pot and started to make some for Rapunzel. “So how is everything back home for you?” Belle questioned as she grabbed a cookie and took a big bite from one.
“I’ll be sure to steer clear of Cogsworth. I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble in your own home - I don’t think I’d ever hear the end of it then,” she chuckled again. “I suppose that’s good to hear, at least. Thank goodness, but I’ll check the sheets just in case they were wiped off during the night,” she added with another smile. Rapunzel turned to look, watching as Belle made her way to admire the painting, biting down on her lip in anticipation. “You think so?” Her face brightened, and she smiled a little wider. “I know it was done rather late, I was afraid I got sloppy. —Cookies and coffee. That sounds like the perfect breakfast. If it’s allowed.”
Belle couldn’t help but to giggle. “I think I’ve gotten in trouble in my own home a few times from Cogsworth, now that is pretty pathetic on my end.” She grinned. Here she was the queen of the palace and Cogsworth would still get upset at her over the little things. “I mean I don’t know much about painting, but don’t be so hard on yourself. If you think you messed up, that’s the whole beauty of art. It’s just being creative, not perfect, right?” She questioned as she started to make her way towards the door. “Of course it’s allowed! A few cookies wont hurt us for the morning! Now come!” She waved.
Rapunzel offered her friend an appreciative smile. “I won’t overdue it, either. I promise, I just need to wake myself up some.” And she knew that if she overdid it with the coffee, Belle might not invite her to stay again. And she didn’t want that. “I know, I don’t know how Tex deals with it sometimes. And sometimes, I get paint on my cheeks or my arm because I’m so tired, and I don’t even realize it,” she added with a chuckle. That was more common than not, and she wasn’t really embarrassed about that. “Yeah, the trees are a little messed up. But that’s it, so far.”
“Well, if you overdue it. It will be Cogsworth who will have a word with me about our guests.” Belle teased. She loved Cogsworth but he was always so uptight about everything! “Well, the good thing is… I don’t see any paint on your arm or cheeks this morning. So you are good here.” She grinned. Belle walked up to the painting, so far it was beautiful. “The trees look perfect.” She said as she looked at every little detail. “This is very beautiful, Rapunzel.” She complimented before finally turning to look over at her friend. “Now, shall we go get some coffee? I think Mrs. Potts baked some cookies last night, so maybe we can have some cookies for breakfast?” She grinned.
Rapunzel tucked her hair behind her hear now, pouting her lips in the way a dog would beg for food. “Just a little bit?” Asking for decaf would be silly, it would defeat the purpose of asking for coffee. She just needed a little pick-me up. “Not exactly. I was hit with a bit of inspiration last night, I couldn’t quite stop myself from painting.”
Belle sighed, “Alright. I will let Mrs. Potts know that our guest wants some coffee.” She gave Rapunzel a little smile, how could she saw no to her pouting? “I know how that is. I always get myself all caught up with reading so late. Sometimes it drives Adam crazy.” She giggled as she looked around and saw the canvas in the corner of the room. “Is that the new painting?” She questioned.
