Hello! Thank you for opening my fan fiction! I am looking to give a twist on the 2017 version of Beauty and the Beast and I hope everyone enjoy's it! A BIG thank you to my beta Bride of Thranduil and her stories that have inspired me!


Belle woke up to the first few rays of dawn seeping into her bedroom. Sitting up in bed, she stretched her arms and legs in preparation for the day's work ahead of her. For a moment, she listened for the usual sounds of her father tinkering with his music boxes at his makeshift workbench, but was welcomed with the beautiful music of silence. It was something she had learned to appreciate. As she got up to go search for her father, Belle remembered that he had left yesterday for the fair to sell his creations. He was hoping to find a financer to help him create a larger business out of his life's passion.

Seeing that she had a few free days ahead of her, Belle piled up the laundry into her new washing invention along with a copy of Romeo & Juliet and began making her way to the town square to finish her chores so she could have the rest of the day to herself.

Along the way she passed several villagers and greeted them each with a smile. She gave each child a small wave. When they returned her greeting with a confused look Belle sighed and continued her journey to the washing well. She knew that people thought she was different and she credited that to her intelligence to a degree. She refused to allow the norms that came with a small village and small-minded people to change her passion for reading and imagining far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells and princes in disguise.

As Belle began setting up the washing machine she threw in a handful of rose petals and a bar of soap to clean even faster. With a small nudge to the donkey she borrowed from a fellow villager, Belle sat back and watched her invention come to life, innovating the way that women could be doing their laundry, compared to way they performed the task every day.

Belle sat back against the short stone wall, pleased with herself, and opened her book to begin reading where she left off,

"'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;

Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.

What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,

Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part

Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!

What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself."

A small smile crept across Belle's lips as she finished Juliet's monologue to Romeo. She yearned for a relationship where titles and statuses were not involved. She wanted to live happily with someone because they cared for her because of who she was, not her father or how much land was associated with their union in her dowry – in her case her husband wouldn't receive much at all.

The headmaster was passing through the square when he heard the immaculate spoken word of Shakespeare being recited. He began searching for the source in order to find the boy of his that well deserved impeccable marks the next day of class. As he reached the washing well he found the source and audibly gasped when he found Belle sitting on the floor reading the text he had heard not too far away. Belle turned towards the source of the sound and was shocked that the Headmaster was standing in front of her.

The Headmaster, seein it was Belle, immediately changed his attitude towards his discovery and glared at her.

"What on earth are you doing? Reading another book? Isn't one enough?" He immediately grabbed the book and began searching through its contents.

"It doesn't even have any pictures? How on earth are you reading this?" The Headmaster inquired. No one in his class of boys had begun such advanced material and yet a girl above all things was farther along than his own class – and he was the most esteemed teacher in the village.

"One doesn't need pictures in order to appreciate a well-versed story, Monsieur Headmaster," Belle replied coolly, due to the attitude the man in front of her was projecting. Belle could handle being the subject of gossip around the village, but when a supposedly well-respected person treated her in such a way to her face, she drew the line quite clearly.

With a grunt as his sole response, Belle watched as the Headmaster tossed her book into the mud nearby and walked off towards a group of boys loitering nearby. Belle immediately grabbed the book off the ground and began cleaning it with a cloth she pulled from the pocket on her dress. Once the mud was off the cover and binding Belle replaced it back in her pocket and threw the now dirty cloth into the washing machine that was almost finished churning the clothes. Unfortunately, it was never allowed to finish its job because the Headmaster soon returned with several strong men and they overturned all of its contents onto the ground, furthering her torment by spitting on the pile as well.

Belle could feel tears begin to sting her eyes, but she refused to give the men in front of her the satisfaction of seeing how their actions affected her. Several more townspeople, seeing the scene unfold before them, came towards Belle and the Headmaster as they stood nose to nose glaring at each other. The villagers soon began to side with the Headmaster, slinging slurs and crude words towards Belle for being cruel to the Headmaster and plotting to take his place to teach their children.

Belle, hearing the accusations, tried to diffuse the tension and anger radiating from the crowd forming in front of her.

"Please, no! I meant no harm! I don't want to take anyone's job in the village! I was just doing my laundry!"

Unbeknownst to Belle, LeFou witnessed the entire scene and knew that he needed to do something immediately before things got out of control. He ran all the way through the village until he arrived at the local tavern and threw the doors open. Everyone inside immediately looked towards the new arrival, but LeFou didn't care about any of those people. His goal was the one farthest in the back, staring at the gun laid across the mantle above the large fireplace. He carefully made his way to the target and cleared his throat in order to not startle his friend.

"Am I catching you at a bad time?" LeFou asked cautiously. When Gaston's mind drifted back to the war, there was no telling how he would react to being interrupted, depending on what he was remembering. LeFou had once clapped Gaston on the back without realizing his friend was thinking back to his time in the army and received a punch in the gut without any warning. It warranted a rare apology from Gaston, but also a strict warning to never try to ambush him like that again.

Gaston, hearing his friend in the background sighed and rubbed his eyes before turning to face him. No matter the village's small size, there was always something that needed Gaston's attention. At first he enjoyed the fact that everyone always needed him, but there came a point where even Gaston needed some time to himself. Still, he never wanted anyone to think that they couldn't ask him for help. He could do anything that needed doing.

"What is it, LeFou?" Gaston finally asked, preparing himself for another farmer needing help pushing a cart through the mud.

"A certain damsel is in distress," LeFou replied. This caused a smile to creep across Gaston's face as he realized that this was a perfect opportunity to show the damsel just how much he could help her.

"Ah, it's hero time," Gaston exclaimed as he jumped up and threw on his coat. He ran outside, jumped on his horse and raced towards the sound of the growing commotion.

As soon as Gaston arrived at the washing well he saw Belle and the Headmaster glaring at each other, obviously arguing about something important. Seeing that his mere presence wasn't enough to disperse the crowd, he raised his gun and fired a warning shot into the sky. People immediately jumped at the loud sound and moved out of Gaston's way, staring at him as he passed by. Once Gaston reached the front of the crowd near Belle and the Headmaster, he immediately turned and glared at everyone.

"This is not how good people behave! Everyone go home," Gaston used the authoritative voice he had acquired from his time as a military captain. When everyone continued looking at Belle and the Headmaster, he took one step forward and glared at the crowd again.

"Now." Gaston demanded and this time around it seemed that everyone knew how serious he was and immediately went back to their unfinished chores. Realizing that everything wasn't as tense anymore, Gaston leaned over to LeFou and whispered,

"I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm pretty sure I just fixed it." Earning a nod from LeFou, Gaston watched as Belle picked up the basket of clothing and rolled her eyes towards him as she made her journey back home. Gaston knew he needed to make sure Belle understood why the crowd acted the way they did and began following her, despite LeFou's failed attempts to warn him not to pursue her today.

Once Gaston eventually caught up to Belle on his horse, he jumped off and began walking next to her.

"Belle! I heard you had trouble with the Headmaster. He never liked me either," Gaston told her as he followed in step towards their destination. He held his hands out gesturing to the basket of clothes and Belle reluctantly handed them over. She was secretly grateful she didn't have to carry them anymore, for her arms were growing sore. As Gaston carried the basket, he looked towards Belle and began talking again.

"Can I give you a little advice about the villagers?" Gaston asked. Belle gave an absentminded nod and he took a deep breath to try to explain to her the fragile situation that was the village of Villeneuve.

"They're never going to trust the kind of change that you're trying to bring," Gaston began his speech about the village he had grown up in, where people carried on the same traditions year after year. He knew firsthand what was expected of women and men in their village. He knew that Belle was not like all the other women he had met and that was half the reason he fell so hard for her.

"All I wanted was to read a book," Belle interjected, obviously offended that the villagers had the audacity to say the things they did all because she could read. She was angered by how people couldn't see that what she did didn't harm anything except their pride.

"The only people that you should concern yourself with reading well enough…are your future sons." Gaston tried to say as lightly as possible. Men in the village were expected to read fluently for when they had to go to market or read maps to travel. Gaston himself was taught to read fluently by the age of seven and he was the first in his class to be able to finish a book all by himself, making him even more of an idol for his peers.

"I don't believe I'm ready to have children. I am not even married yet Gaston," Belle began, worrying about what it would mean for her when had children one day. Would she be expected to give up reading entirely to take care of them? Or would she still be able to read, but only in the guise of teaching her future sons? She had never been particularly against the idea of being married and having children one day, but she wanted so much more adventure before settling down.

"Do you know what happens to spinsters in this village after their fathers die? They beg for scraps, like poor Agathe. This is our world, Belle. For simple folk like us, it doesn't get any better." Gaston tried to be as sensitive as possible when explaining their delicate situation to Belle. He wanted her to understand that she needed someone in her life, not just to be be married off, but to ensure that she lived the way that she deserved – in a nice home, taken care of and surrounded by love.

"What do you suggest then, Gaston? Whom shall I settle down with to provide for me?" Belle stopped in the middle of the road seeing where Gaston was headed with this discussion. She could only assume he would say –

"I could take care of you, Belle. I have changed a lot since we first met. I promise." Belle watched as Gaston declared this to her. She watched for any sense of lies beneath the surface, but she couldn't tell if he was just saying this to have her or if he really did change. People could change, couldn't they? Belle felt confused and a little claustrophobic as she sensed how Gaston was to her now. She could smell the slight hint of his cologne and feel just how tall he really was.

"I'm sorry, Gaston, but I just don't deserve you!" Belle said, trying not to hurt his feelings. She struggled to resolve her confused feelings towards the man that she adamantly swore off being in any form of a relationship with and immediately rushed the ten feet back inside her home. Gaston gaped with his mouth open, still holding her basket of laundry. He waited for a few minutes to see if she would come out again to reclaim her property, but she never did. He set it on top of the stairs to her front door, plucking a rose and placing it on top of the clothes. It was the closest to an apology he could manage right now.

As Gaston trotted back home on his horse, he never realized that Belle was watching the entire thing, struggling with her feelings. Should she be angry at him for insinuating that they could get married or should she be angry at herself for treating him as such when his tone was never angry? She slid down against the door and began to think about all the day's events. What would her father say?