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Adam made one last quick glance in the mirror to check if everything seemed to be in place before heading out of his chambers, towards the main entrance. Belle had told him in the morning, as they were sitting at their breakfast table, that they were going out tonight but she refused to tell him where, the only hint being that he had to dress nicely but not too nicely.
He couldn't help being curious and slightly suspicious even but merely spending an evening outside the castle's grounds with Belle was enough for him, no matter where exactly they were going.
As he reached the main entrance Belle was already waiting for him, engrossed in a quite giggly conversation with Mrs. Potts. He coughed slightly to draw attention to himself and the ladies turned to him, their faces beaming with a smile that for some reason had a mischievous feel to it but Belle had already taken his hand before he could question it. "I was already thinking you'd chicken out" she said teasingly and Adam only scoffed in response.
"Have a lovely evening you two." Mrs. Potts said warmly, gave Adam's shoulder a little pat and then turned away to leave but not before giving Belle a quick wink. He noticed and wanted to question but had no time to do so since Belle was already dragging him out into the chilly air and into the carriage that was already prepared for them.
"You look lovely." he said, breaking the silence of the first two minutes of the drive. Belle was wearing a long, skyblue gown that hugged the frame of her upper body tightly but was soft and floofy from the waist down. It was simple but nice and not overly fancy. Her hair was up in a bun and a braid was delicately woven over her head. She looked gorgeus but then again she could wear a potato sack and still look positively radiant, Adam thought.
"Thank you." Belle's face lit up with a smile "You look not so bad yourself."
"So where are we going now exactly? I think it's about time you told me." Adam inquired, finally wanting to know the truth. Belle smiled -slightly mischievously, again- and made a slightly dramatic pause before finally revealing it. "We're going to the theater."
"Oh!" Adam puzzled at the reveal of such a mundane place. With all the secrecy surrounding the evening, he half expected their destination would be something far more extravagant than a trip to the theater. Nevertheless, he still felt his stomach fill up with exitement. In his childhood he never really visited the theater often, the actors would usually stop by the palace themselves to perform. His father didn't really enjoy the plays and acting profession in general, saying that the art of pretending to be someone else was for savages who could only wish for a better life, but had to support the craft nevertheless in order to gain much needed popularity. Adam enjoyed seeing plays that he read performed live but had to hold back his excitement in front of his father but now that he was with Belle, he felt completely relaxed and the excitement took over him.
"Which play are we seeing?" he beamed. Belle sighed slightly, making another dramatic pause and Adam should've seen it coming.
"Romeo & Juliet."
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Of freaking course. He should've seen that coming as soon as she said they'd be going to the theater with that mischievous smile on her lips. She knew exactly how much he disliked the play and it still angered her that after her numerous rants, he was still standing by his opinion. But she's relentless, even more so than him it seemed.
He groaned and sunk into the wall of his carriage, closing his eyes for a second to calm his frustration.
"Listen Adam, it's a beautiful play. If reading it didn't convince you of that, then i'm sure seeing it performed live by a group of professional actors will. It's going to be fun." she said, her face lighting up with a huge smile.
Looking up to see her features glow with excitement, softened Adam's slightly grim expression. He couldn't be angry at her for long, even if he tried especially since she seemed to be so thrilled about this whole thing. He let out a sigh before inevitably giving in.
"Fine."
**
They arrived about forty-five minutes later, at a neighbour village that was slightly bigger than Villeneuve and stepped out in front of the theater, where a huge group of people was already queued up at the entrance. As they made their way closer, Belle saw some people notice them and whisper about them to their colleagues. This didn't discourage her as she grabbed Adam's hand tightly and joined the line. She would have to get used to that, he was the crown prince after all but she liked pretending that he wasn't and that they were just as common as everyone else.
The theater seemed smaller than the first time she had been here with her father all those years ago. He took her to see a christmas play when she was eight and then again four years later, to see A Midsummer Night's Dream. She remembered being completely in awe of the sheer size of it, of the fact that over a hundred people could fit into it and see the play at the same time. Now it suddenly didn't seem as huge anymore and Belle wondered if that was because she was bigger or because she has suddenly become used to massive spaces since she lived in the palace.
She led Adam into their places in the fourth row and they sat down. She was quite happy with their positioning since they weren't too much in the front and their necks would ache after a few minutes but also not too much in the back that they would have to shift every few seconds so they could see over everyone's heads. She let out a content sigh before turning to Adam.
He was still trying to be a bit grumpy but failing since she could tell that he was a bit excited. If it wasn't for Romeo & Juliet, it was for the fact that he was outside amongst people and just that he was happy because of that was enough for Belle. The only thing she needed now was for the play to be good and turn him to her side.
"What? What is it?" he said as he noticed her gazing up at him.
"Nothing. I'm just glad you said yes to this."
"Well, I didn't exactly have a choice, did I?"
Belle laughed proudly at her achievement. She had been planning this for quite a while, with the help of Mrs. Potts who found this incredibly amusing and Cogsworth's protests that perhaps this wasn't a very good idea.
"I hate that you're making me go through this."
"No you don't."
"I do."
Belle rolled her eyes and Adam chuckled, nudging her shoulder playfully. He just wouldn't leave her alone, that was certain.
"Do you think Juliet is going to be played by a pre-pubescent boy?" Adam pondered with a smile, referring to the fact that in Shakespeare's times all of the female characters were portrayed by young men. "Because if it is, then i'm just going to get up and leave."
"Would you stop already!" Belle hissed and slapped his thigh, causing him to erupt in laughter. He loved teasing her and seeing her get so upset over these things but he had never tipped over the edge and actually insulted her. She didn't think he ever would but Belle would sometimes pretend that he had so that he would get scared and in return get upset when he realised that she was now toying with him.
The lights began to dim and the chatter in the room was dying down. Belle shifted in her seat excitingly and before the play started quickly whispered to Adam: "You're going to love this." but before he could protest, the chorus already began reciting the prologue.
To her extreme pleasure, the play was turning out to be brilliant. Every single one of the actors, embodied their character beautifully in every aspect and exactly like Belle had imagined. Especially the actors who played Romeo and Juliet - who couldn't have been much older than herself- were so good in their movement, speech and chemistry that Belle sometimes caught herself thinking that this wasn't even a play but real life.
During the play, she was so immersed that she completely forgot to glance at Adam occasionally to see his reaction. She only took his his hand gently during the infamous balcony scene, lacing her fingers with his and reminding herself that she had her very own Romeo now, sitting by her side.
The whole of Act V, left her breathless with all the angst, fear and death that was vibrating off the stage. She felt her eyes swell with tears when Juliet woke up to the sight of Romeo lying dead next to her and covered her mouth in shock, as if she didn't know what was about to happen next.
As soon as Prince Escalus uttered his last line, the theater erupted in a booming applause and Belle finally began to breathe properly, feeling slightly dizzy from the variety of emotions she experienced in the last two hours.
Whilst clapping, she finally looked over at Adam and couldn't believe her eyes.
His eyes too, were glossy with tears, his face coloured in a slight shade of pink. He let out an almost inaudible sob and when he noticed that Belle was watching him, he quickly composed himself and wiped the tears away groaning. "Oh, stop."
Belle laughed wholeheartedly at the sight, a surge of pride filling her body. She had done it.
When the actors who played the young lovers stepped on stage to recieve their applause, both Adam and Belle stood up at the same time, cheering loudly for the young actors. The theater was clapping for a good five minutes without stopping before the curtain finally fell and the play was over.
Adam had not said a word as the two made their way out of the theater, towards their carriage that had been parked a few streets away due to lack of space around the building. Belle guessed that he didn't want to say anything because he was slightly ashamed of himself but she surely would never make him forget.
"And...?" she asked, leaning into him as they walked slightly hand in hand.
"It was terrible, as expected" he grumbled.
"Oh shut up, I saw you sobbing like a newborn baby!" she teased, pushing him away. This time, he didn't argue with her seeing it as a lost cause since she did see him crying.
He smiled and rolled his eyes, giving in. "It was great, you were right. Phenomenal."
"Is that all you have to say about it?" she eyed him quizzically.
"No but I'm too shaken right now to put my thoughts into coherent sentences. That death scene was too much."
Somehow, that answer was enough for Belle to prove that he did in fact love it and she couldn't help but giggle at his slightly flushed face.
He made a step towards her and cupped her cheeks with his hands. Belle placed her hands on his hips as she waited for him to say what he was about to.
"Thank you for this. I have an inkling that you're always right about everything in the end."
"Well, I am." she said playfully, as if to brag and Adam chuckled before leaning down and placing a soft kiss on her lips. Belle was sure she would remember this as one of her fondest moments.
They gazed at each other lovingly for a few seconds before Belle let go of the embrace and pulled her prince towards their carriage. She wouldn't leave him alone about the play for days afterwards, asking him to tell her every single little detail of the play that he liked. After a while he finally stopped pretending he despised the play (he still only did it, just to frustrate her) and enjoyed the endless debates the pair ended up having about it.
The cherry on top of this whole experience was that a few days after, Belle woke up in his arms in one of the library's chairs after having once again dozed off together as they were reading books in front of the fire. She turned slightly, hoping she wouldn't wake him and she spotted the title of the book he had been reading.
Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare.