Belle struggled out from under the rubble of her basement and helped her father out after her. She could still see the men of the village as they marched through the town to the castle where the beast was. They took her mirror, she realized, and fumed silently. She bade her father to stay home and before he had a chance to argue with her, she was off, riding on Phillipe to the castle, to warn the Beast. She had seen his despair in the mirror. She saw the weakness and apathy of deep hopelessness in his eyes and she knew he wouldn't stand a chance against all of those men. The horse, sensing her panic and worry, broke into a gallop and sped through the forest. They cut their own trail, avoiding the paths the men would surely be following. They skirted a clearing in which the sounds of axe blows echoed. They were making a battering ram.

As Belle reached the castle gates she could hear the tramping of the men behind her and once inside, she locked the gate behind her. She knew it wouldn't deter them much, but it might give them pause. She rushed to the door and slammed against it. It flew open, scattering a few mobile household objects.

"They're coming!" She shouted frantically in passing, "The entire village is coming. They're here to kill the beast!" The sound of the gate slamming open gave speed to her feet as she shot across the room and down a hall, colliding with a suit of armor. It crashed to the floor, tripping her in her headlong flight to the west wing. She found herself sprawled on the floor at the base of the twin staircases. She felt the pounding of boots through the floor underneath her aching head.

Several pieces of furniture rushed past her to join the fray that had already begun at the breached castle doors. Still screaming for the Beast, she began to don the fallen armor, hoping to give him some time to come back to his senses. It seemed the army of furniture was holding its own, but Gaston pushed through. He stopped quickly at the sight of an armored figure standing in front of him. It was wearing a helmet and so was unrecognizable. Could this be the Beast? Gaston had always imagined it being taller, as Maurice had said. So the old man really was crazy. This was no Beast, just a man.

"So, you have come to fight me, Beast?" Gaston shouted, drawing an arrow back on its string. Belle stood stock still, wondering at his exclamation.

"This will be your last fight! Belle is MINE!" He shouted and loosed the arrow. It struck Belle in the shoulder, but only scraped her skin, as the armor was much too big for her and left lots of room. As it was, it still hurt, but not enough to make her cry out. Instead, an intense anger welled up in her stubborn body. She hefted a battle axe and moved forward. She knew not what she intended to do once she reached her newfound worst enemy, but she hoped that at any minute, the Beast would come roaring down those stairs and make short work of this horrid man.

The next arrow pierced more deeply, as it hit a less protected place, just underneath her ribs. She grunted in pain, but still refused to cry out. It's not very deep. It's not very deep. She told herself, trying to steel her nerves. The pain only sufficed to fuel her anger. She resumed her relentless trudge forward but every breath came faster and more painfully. Gaston did not have time to ready another arrow when the battle axe came swinging at his head. He scrambled backwards. Is this creature invincible? He quickly loosed another arrow, moving backwards as he did to gain more time. This one glanced off of the pursuer's helmet, creating a dent and no more.

Where is the Beast? Belle wondered frantically. The fight was getting more and more intense and perhaps the wound in her side was deeper than she had thought. She swung again at the man, who dodged to pick up an axe of his own. They swung at each other at the same time. The axe heads collided and shattered to pieces. Gaston wrung out his stinging hands, a hideous grimace on his face. His armored adversary apparently fared worse, as the figure stepped back, shaken. Gaston's grimace turned to an evil sneer as he pulled out a dagger and leapt toward the figure.

Belle could barely lift her shocked arms, but the sight of Gaston wielding a knife gave extra strength to her arms and she brought a gauntleted hand smashing into his face. The cleft in his chin got a little bigger as a result and the man fell to the ground, spitting out a few shattered teeth. Belle stumbled over him, only to receive a slash across the legs as a result. She struck out at him with an arm as he tried to regain his feet. Dazed, he fell back to the ground, the dagger sliding away from him on the stones. Belle seized it and jumped onto the man, holding the dagger just above his neck.

Belle tried to make her voice as deep as possible. "Leave here," She growled, trying to imitate the Beast's voice, "And never return." She stood and backed away. Her voice had been magnified by the helmet and deepened. The hate in her voice was also amplified and Gaston turned tail and ran. It was such a pity that he ran the wrong way out from the gate, got lost in the woods, and was promptly eaten by wolves. Belle had much more pressing matters.

She pulled the heavy helmet off of her head and let it drop to the stones with a clatter. A trail of blood marked where she had walked. She let the rest of the armor drop from her body as she staggered toward the stairs. What has become of the Beast? Certainly he heard me call? Oh, I hope nobody has harmed him. She struggled up the stairs, her arms and legs aching from the beating they had taken. She tripped and stumbled over broken furniture on her path to the west wing, one hand clutching her bleeding side, the other reaching out for balance.

"Beast!" She called, "Beast?" She staggered into the room with the rose and cast about with her eyes for her friend.

"Who is it?" An angry voice answered.

"Beast," She said harshly, disappointment evident in her tone. "Don't you recognize my voice?" There was a pause. She still could not see him.

"Belle?" He said finally. She saw him then. He was on the balcony, looking back to her through the rain. "You came back!" He exclaimed, and rushed back to her. His thoughts were in a turmoil. He thought for sure she had gone for good, and perhaps even sent these men here to kill him. He was waiting for some warrior or another to come in and slay him. He could only hope that it would be quick and painless. But this… he hadn't expected.

"Of course I came back." She exclaimed, her voice softening not only from relief at seeing her friend alive and well, but from her rapidly weakening condition. He obviously hadn't seen her wounds yet. "Did you think I wouldn't?" The Beast didn't know how to respond to this, so silence fell upon them. Beast noticed the silence. There were no sounds of battle as there had been before, and nobody calling out to him presumably to draw him out and to slay him.

"What happened?" He asked finally. Belle opened her mouth to speak, but a wave of dizziness brought her to her knees. She knew she must be bleeding out.

"Beast…" She mumbled, losing consciousness. "Please help me…"

"What's wrong?" He asked, voice full of concern as he dropped to his knees beside her. She didn't respond beyond moving her bloodied hand away from the wound in her side. Realization dawned in the eyes of the Beast, but Belle did not see it. She swayed and would have fallen if the Beast hadn't gripped her by the shoulders and laid her down. His hand came away blood-stained. A look of panic passed over his face as Belle's eyes fluttered weakly.

"Belle!" He almost shouted. "No!" He was bending over her now, on his knees, beside the table that held a single enchanted rose with a single enchanted petal.

"I'm glad you're okay." She said weakly. "I was worried."

"Please don't leave me." Beast implored, tears beginning to form in his blue eyes.

"I'm sorry I left you…" the girl said, her brown eyes going out of focus. "I had to help… my father…"

"It's okay, it's okay, "the Beast muttered. "Mrs. Potts! Lumiere! Cogsworth!" He shouted, then turned back to the girl.

"Why did you come back?" He asked gently.

"I thought… they would… kill you. …I care about you… Beast. I… love you." She gasped finally. Her eyes closed and her head lolled to one side. She stopped breathing. The tears began to fall. The beast lowered his forehead to her still face, tears falling on her bloody shoulder.

"I love you too, Belle." He said, his voice husky with tears and sadness. At that moment, her heart stopped beating.

Lumiere, Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts arrived in time to see her die. The beast could only stare down at her face, still beautiful even in death. His sorrow was overwhelming. He felt as though the breath had been knocked out of him and for a few seconds he sat there in shock. He hadn't the strength even to roar his pain. He collapsed next to her small body and cried, his whole body shaking.

Lights erupted around them and the glass over the rose shattered. The enchantress erupted from the midst of the naked rose and looked down at the furious and sad Beast. Before he could say a word or even swipe at his tormentor, she pointed her wand at him and he transformed into a man and his servants into people themselves. At first delighted with his new old form, he smiled, but his smile died when he looked down. Belle still lay on the floor, dead.

"What is the meaning of this?" He roared finally.

"The spell is broken oh once cursed prince," She said. "You learned to love and to love in return."

"What good is life as a man if my only reason to live is gone?" He howled, reverting to his beast-like habits.

"There is an option." She said simply, and waited for the Beast to hold still before she continued.

"The girl can live again, if you and all of your staff wish to change back into your previous forms." The beast whirled around to gaze upon his three closest servants. Mrs. Potts was looking at herself almost in disgust. She couldn't believe how old she looked! Lumiere and Cogsworth also stared at each other in similar fashion. The unspoken was said when the Beast uttered a single word.

"Deal."