𝐈𝐓 𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐓 like her heart stopped the second his eyes closed. She'd just gotten him back, she couldn't lose him now.

Tears streamed down the sides of her face as she cradled his head. She closed her eyes tight and buried her face into his chest, whispering a distant wish. "Please, come back to me."

She gasped and took a step back as the emotional pain she felt turned physical. She clutched a hand to her chest, noticing the bright green glow coming from within. Said glow spread through her veins and contrasted the black shade of her arms and hands.

She could feel the power that had previously been locked away with her magic course through her veins. Although she had no idea what she was doing, instinct took over. She pressed her hands against his hands once more and his chest glowed with the contact.

She gasped and pulled her hands away for a brief second, terrified by the feeling of her own life draining away. However, she didn't let her doubt linger for long. She was willing to give everything for him.

She pressed her hands against his wound and tilted her chin toward the sky as an attempt to conceal the pain from her thoughts. Instead, she focused on the pain she'd feel if she truly lost him forever.

She could feel his heart beating, but it was weak. He wouldn't survive if she stopped now, but if she kept going, she would be the one failing to survive. It felt like it should've been an easy choice, and she didn't back down, but she also wasn't ready to die without living... but then she thought of the past few months. She might not have traveled the world, but her time with Adam had been an adventure to say the least. Not every moment was pleasant, but she wouldn't change a single one for all the time in the world.

A single tear slipped down the side of her face, creating another streak beside those dried from earlier. She watched as his eyelashes fluttered as he gained consciousness, but felt as her own grew heavier.

Her hands slipped from his chest. Her own body weight felt immovable as she laid against his chest, feeling the slow rise and listening to the faint sound of his heart. Relief only came when his hand wrapped around her, pulling her closer as he tried to sit up.

"Celine?" His voice sounded dry, not because he'd been dead for long, but as if he'd been shouting for hours on end after she'd left... which was ultimately the truth. Although confused, acquiring more questions with each passing second, he didn't ask any of them. Instead, he looked the girl over, noticing that the black shade had spread down to her bare legs and up into the left side of her face. Whatever glimpse of pale skin was left appeared ashen and the emerald hue of her eyes had lost the glisten.

Panic mounted his chest as he slowly realized the consequences of the events that had happened. He'd been shot, more than once, lethally. There was no way he should have still been alive. But as he pushed the fur from his chest away from the wounds, only a pair of light scars remained that proved the truth. Even those had started to heal though.

"You used magic," Adam noted the obvious, unable to decide the proper reaction. His emotions were all battling one another for dominance, but fear of pushing her away again was certainly at the forefront. "You knew it would kill you and yet... why?"

"I couldn't just let you die?" Celine's voice was labored. Even though Adam could detect the smile in her eyes, her face twisted with discomfort.

"You weren't supposed to come back." Adam's eyes glistened. "I didn't want this... I could deal with the curse just knowing you were safe."

"I promised to help," Celine reminded him. "I couldn't just let you die."

"Why not?" Adam asked, a lump forming in his throat. "I don't deserve it. I made peace with the bed I made. It's not yours to lie in."

"Everyone deserves love," Celine contradicted. It was growing harder to speak with each passing second. "Love isn't just a word... it's action and I choose to help carry your burden."

Adam felt as if his heart was going to burst. He didn't quite understand what she was implying... that or he couldn't bring himself to accept it. He snapped out of his thoughts and caught her head as her eyes began to roll back into her head. "Don't leave me."

Weakly, she lifted a hand to caress his face. "I love you."

Her body slumped as she went limp, but he caught her hand and held it against his cheek a moment longer as if that would change anything.

The castle staff had gathered behind them, sorrowfully watching the tender scene unfold.

He knew she was gone when the faint green glow of her veins subsided into a charcoal black. He gently brushed a stray piece of hair from her face to preserve his last image of her. The way her dress fell around her on the cobblestones looked like a pair of wings, broken from a long fall. Afterall, she'd fallen from grace trying to help him, and he'd failed to catch her.

He leaned forward, pressing his head against her, whispering in her ear, the words meant for no one else to hear. "You taught me love, and I shall love you for evermore."

Within the decrepit confines of the west wing, the final petal fell from the stalk of the rose. The last effects of the spell were enacted as the pink sparks faded from existence. One-by-one, each member of the castle staff reverted into the household object they resembled, unable to move or speak. For the first time in his life, he was truly alone...

Or so he thought. Footsteps from behind forced him to warily turn his head. Although she had aged, he recognized the enchantress without delay. Her daughter looked so much like her it was impossible to deny her identity.

Althea's eyes hardened at the sight of the cursed prince, but a crestfallen look replaced the first as she laid eyes on her daughter. The enchantress slowly approached, kneeling down beside the two whose fates had been intertwined from the beginning and only set in stone by herself.

Adam had more than a dozen words in mind for her, none of which good, but he ignored his wrath and pride and pleaded with the one being he knew powerful enough to change anything. "Can you help her?"

A wistful smile befell Althea as she wiped away the tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "Unfortunately, I cannot."

"You cast the curse," Adam protested. "Surely, you can do something."

Althea shook her head. "A curse like this requires sacrifice..."

She was interrupted by a spark of light. One was followed by another then a dozen until it was raining beams of light. Adam looked toward Althea accusingly, but she shook her head to imply it wasn't her doing. It was like the sky was full of shooting stars, falling like angels from the heavens.

Fog rose from the ground, shrouding both Celine and the beast in a smoke too thick to see through. Althea quickly backed away, fearful of what was to come next, assuming it was the next stage of the curse.

The beast was lifted into the air as Celine was laid against the ground. As his cloak wrapped around him, the feather hem of her dress rustled. A cloud of light enveloped him as green sparks rained down on her. Beneath the cloak, the beast's monstrous form shifted, changing claws into fingers and hind legs into a pair of feet. Although it was subtle, her chest rose and fell with breath. Finally, a strong wind blew across his face, melting the fur away to reveal the true form of the young prince. He gradually descended back to the ground just as Celine gained consciousness.

Both parties gasped in surprise before looking at one another skeptically. Adam was the first to speak, taking Celine hand to gently help her back onto her feet. "Celine..."

"It's you." It was two words, but she didn't doubt for a second that the man before her was Adam. It only took a glimpse into his sapphire eyes for a lifetime of memories to flash before her own. "It's really you."

The two embraced, laughing as he lifted her from the ground and swung her around in a large circle. Although elated beyond words, Adam still didn't understand. "How..."

"If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken," Althea quoted the conditions of the curse that she'd cast so long ago, stunned by the human prince and her living little angel. "You really love him... don't you?"

Celine looked up into those sapphire eyes, unable to conceal the truth. She nodded her head as a smile graced her face. "More than life itself."

Althea released a short chuckle, shaking her head before sighing. "Will this make you happy?"

Celine didn't hesitate to answer. "Without a doubt."

Althea gently nodded her head. "Then who am I to stand in your way?"

Celine released a delighted laugh before throwing her arms around his neck. He was caught off-guard at first, but made up for the moment by wrapping his arms around her waist not even a second after. She pressed her lips against his, running her fingers through his hair.

A display of sparks and light exploded around them breaking the rest of the curse. The gloom surrounding the castle dissipated, revealing a clear sky. The castle grounds themselves were also transformed as the gargoyles changed into cherubs and the thorns covering the ground blossomed into a breathtaking garden. Even the castle staff returned to their original human forms.

Adam laughed with joy as his gaze moved to each member of the staff before he embraced them. "Lumiere! Cogsworth! Oh, Mrs. Potts! Look at us!"

"Mama!" Chip called out as he ran into Mrs. Potts arms. "Mama, I'm a real boy!"

"Oh my goodness!" Mrs. Potts exclaimed, laughing as she fell back onto the ground, knocked off her feet as Chip leapt into her arms.

"It is a miracle!" Lumiere cheered. "You have saved us, mademoiselle. I knew she was the one!"

Adam lifted Celine's hand to his mouth and tenderly kissed the back of it. He seemed to agree with the former candelabra's statement. "She's saved us from more than just the curse, my friends. She's saved our lives... and you saved my heart."

The final line of his statement was whispered in her ear so that only she could hear. A rosy color painted her cheeks as she forecasted her gaze toward the ground. Movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention.

Beneath the balcony, the high emotions of the angry mob had stilled and the crowd returned, suddenly remembering a time when the castle gates were open to high society. It truly seemed like everything had turned around as the curse had been broken while the magic had been restored. Celine could only hope that the moment of utter delight would last forever.