Forever After

Belle's P.O.V.
"So how's the Beast?" Cinderella asked.
"Adam," I corrected her.
"Yes. Fine. How's Adam?"
"He's, well, Adam. He's quiet, keeps to himself. I wish he would forgive himself and forget the whole thing ever happened."
"You know it's not that easy. He spent how long as the Beast?"
"About forty, from what we can figure."
"Thats a long time. And to see what happened to his staff, it must be difficult."
"You're right. Just you know, the staff has been nothing but supportive. People make mistakes, he's only human. And he's changed. It's not like he just went back to the way he was."
"You're point is?" Cinderella raised an eyebrow.
"That the only person who hasn't forgiven him is himself." I said. I stared longingly at the castle in the distance. It looked serene, the mountain scape, the Palace built into it. The river that carved the canyon we were above. I sighed, wishing Adam was there with me. He was busy helping the townspeople clean up from the recent flooding.
"So how are you?" Cinderella asked.
"Well, I basically go to the village for a week, and spend about two with Adam."
"Has he proposed?"
"Proposed what?" I asked.
"Marriage," Cinderlla asked.
"Well, no. Not yet." I hadn't thought about it before.
"You've got to be kidding. You've been in quote on quote love for two years, yet he hasn't proposed?" She asked. "I know it's hard to hear, but what if you're just his ticket to humanity?"