"It's over, beast! Belle is mine!" Gaston yelled. The heavy down pour of the rain nearly drowned out his voice. Beast glared at him with murderous, animal intent. He picked up Gaston by the neck, holding him out over the edge with the real threat of dropping him into the abyss.

Gaston's eyes widened with fear as he struggled against the beast's mighty grip.

"Please, let me go," he pleaded. "I'll do anything. Anything!"

As much as Beast wanted to toss him, thoughts of Belle and her never ending kindness stopped him. Even if he never sees her again, he still wants to be the man she sees in him. The man she deserves to be with. He pulled Gaston back from the edge, forcing him to look him straight in the eye.

"Get out." Beast commanded in a low voice. He dropped Gaston to the ground.

"Beast!" a familiar, warm voice called out from above.

Beast looked up to see the woman he fell in love with. He climbed up the side of the castle to the balcony where Belle stood, waiting. For him. When he reached the balcony, Belle took a few steps back so he could join her. He happily complied. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he stared at her. She smiled, her brown eyes lighting up at the sight of him. With little hesitation, he lifted his paw to cup Belle's cheek.

"You came back." he said in soft disbelief.

Belle closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, the smile still on her face. She opened her eyes again to stare into Beast's blue eyes. It was quiet around them, despite the rain and thunder. Beast ran his clawed hand through her hair. Belle relished the feeling. It reminded her of the night he let her go, and all the other small, intimate moments they shared together. It reminded her of home, warmth and love.

The moment was cut short by a painful roar emanating from Beast. His body arched in response to the knife in his back. Belle stared out in horror, shock freezing her whole body. Beast took a few steps back until he gripped the railing. Lightning flashed through the sky, revealing the crazed and murderous silhouette of Gaston. He stood on the railing and. He jumped on to the balcony and pushed Beast over the edge. Belle ran to try and save him, but was stopped by Gaston's tight grip around her torso.

"No! Beast!" she cried out, trying to loosen herself from Gaston. He tightened his grip and squeezed the life out of her.

The beast fell, disappearing into the rain. Belle called out for the Beast until her voice grew hoarse. She continued to struggle against Gaston. Eventually, she stopped struggling, too tired to fight anymore. She looked over the balcony, then back at the Enchanted Rose. It still had one petal left. She stared up to the sky.

"I love you." Belle whispered, thinking of her Beast. She felt water run down her face. Whether it was rain or her own tears, she didn't know. Maybe it was both.

Gaston gave a low, evil chuckle and turned Belle around to face him. She glared at him through the rain and tears. Even though she felt drained, she still tried to muster up the strength to fight.

"I told him you were mine." Gaston said with smile.

Despite her resolve to continue to fight back, she couldn't. Gaston took that away when he killed Beast. He won. Belle dropped her head in defeat. She allowed Gaston to lead her back inside the West Wing. She looked down to see the enchanted servants of the castle. Their faces mirroring her own despair.

She looked back one last time, and she saw a flash of light off in the distance. Belle thought it was lightning, but the light glowed lower, under the bridge it seemed. She mentally shrugged it off, thinking it was just a trick of her grieving mind.

Gaston led them out of the room. He began to tell her his plans for the future.

Belle didn't care.

All she felt was emptiness.

Following the two humans, the servants left the room, making a small funeral procession.

As the door closed, the last petal fell.

{One Year Later}

"...and then he cried out like the wild animal he was! I pushed him off of the balcony and ended all the misery he has caused. And that's how I saved everyone." Gaston told their guests. They all cheered, raising their glasses in victory and congratulations.

He had finished telling his guests how he saved their village and his beloved wife from a horrible beast. It was a story often repeated whenever the opportunity rose, which was often.

For Belle, it felt like the knife that had killed her True Love, her Beast. It cut through the same place in her heart, never being able to heal. Every time Gaston told the untrue tale, or if she even thought about it, the wound would just get bigger and leave a raw, open hole in her chest.

Despite the dead feeling inside her, she left on her practiced smile and the fake glow of admiration and love for the husband she felt only hatred for.

That was the only strong feeling she had left.

Hatred.

Gaston lumbered drunkenly towards her. It took all her energy not to cringe away from him. He threw a heavy arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. She stiffened, but not enough for him to notice. He always did this when he felt the need to prove his claim over her. While Belle played the dutiful, loyal "Madame Gaston", Gaston rarely believed her. She knew he wasn't smart enough to know that her heart still belonged to another. His ideas were more along the lines that every man lusted for her now that she was his.

Gaston bent down, and whispered the familiar, bone-chilling phrase: "You will always be mine."

She took a deep breath and gave him a shallow nod. As long as she made some sort of response he usually dropped the subject.

The party wore on for what seemed like years. Belle began to grow weary of the boring chatter and playing the gracious hostess. She doesn't care for these people, and them her.

All Belle wanted to do was escape into the library and read every single book that was in there. Luckily, Gaston thought that most of the keys were lost after he rampaged the castle. Cogsworth had actually hidden them in her room. Her former room.

The small gathering eventually left. As soon as they were gone and Gaston was asleep with another drink in his hand, Belle slipped away into the West Wing.

Gaston was going to destroy the room after he claimed the Enchanted Castle, but Belle was able to convince him to just seal it off. But only if the still-enchanted servants agreed to be sealed off within. They agreed. He then destroyed the key (one of the few keys Cogsworth couldn't hide). Yet, Belle managed to get another one made before he did so.

At every chance she could get, she would sneak off and visit her old friends. It was the only comfort she had left.

When Belle reached the West Wing, she looked over her shoulder to make sure LeFou or any of Gaston's other cronies weren't following her. She turned the key and quietly slipped inside the room.

"Belle!" Lumiere and Cogsworth exclaimed as soon as he saw her. She gave the clock and the candle a small, genuine smile.

"I'm sorry it took longer than usual to visit. He barely let me out of his sight." Belle explained, kneeling down.

"It's quite alright, child, we understand the risk." Mrs. Potts said cheerily. If Mrs. Potts could be counted on for anything, it was to lift everyone's spirits when everything seems bleak.

Once Belle had caught up with everyone, they split off into smaller groups to chat amongst themselves. She sat by the door, getting lost in her thoughts. Her eyes stared blankly at the portrait on the wall.

Chip hopped over to her and into her lap. He stared up at her with overwhelming curiosity.

"Belle, when do you think we'll be free?" he asked.

Belle snapped out of her reverie and the room grew quiet. No one said anything. Mrs. Potts was ready to scold her son until Belle lifted her hand.

"Oh, Chip. . ." she started to say. She sighed before speaking. "I don't know. The only way for you all to be human again is all gone. The rose no longer blooms. And Beast-"

Belle started to cry. Everyone was ready to crowd around her, until Mrs. Potts shook her head, warning them not to. Instead, they bent their heads and bodies in sympathtic sorrow.

While the castle laid in depressing darkness, the forest - before a dark, lifeless place - stirred with the arrival of a stranger. A man with regality and piercing blue eyes. Those eyes focused on the castle, a plan hiding behind them.