The knock was slow and menacing. Not the friendly sort that she was so accustomed to, and not shy like her beast was prone to. No, this knock sounded like death was at the door. Belle bid her father and Chip to stay inside and out of sight, unsure of the fate that rested beyond the door.
The young maiden went to the entrance and opened the portal hesitantly.
There stood a strange man; long white hair, and an equally large nose.
"Hello?" Asked the maiden. "Can I help you?"
"I've come to collect your father."
"My father?"
"Don't worry, Mademoiselle, we'll take good care of him." He turned slightly and revealed the carriage waiting.
Belle was outraged and pulled the door open fully. "My father is not crazy!" She stepped forward, her fists clenched at her sides.
"He was raving like a lunatic! We all heard him, didn't we?!" Lefou accused, then rallied up the crowd.
The gathered mob shouted back with jeers and howls.
Gaston glanced on from the background.
"No!" Belle defended in vain. "I won't let you!"
"Belle?" Maurice's timid voice came from inside.
"Maurice!" Lefou taunted. "Tell us again old man! How big was the beast?"
"He was—He was— He— He was enormous! I'd say eight—no! More like Ten feet—…"
Lefou and the crowd broke into uproarious laughter. "Well! You don't get much crazier then that!"
Maurice descended the stairs and approached the crowd with open arms. "It's true I tell you!"
Two men in the mob grabbed the old gentleman bye the arms and began to pull him away. "Get him out of here!"
"Get go of me!" He protested as they led him to the cart.
Monsieur D'Arque smirked as he joined his crew, but Belle grabbed his shoulder. "No! You can't do this!"
He shrugged her off without a word.
"Poor Belle," Gaston pitied. "It's a shame about your father."
If there was ever a time Belle needed that sliceable of a man, it was now. Her desperation manifested as she grabbed his shirt collar and pleaded, "You know he's not crazy Gaston!"
"Hmmm…I might be able to clear up this little misunderstanding…" He idly scratched his cheek, the picture of innocence. "If…"
"If what?"
"If you marry me."
Words couldn't describe her disgust. "What?" she gasped out.
"One little word Belle, that's all it takes." He purred, pulling her closer.
She shoved away from him. "Never!"
Angrily he sneered. "Have it your way!"
"Belle!" Maurice called.
It was safe to say that Belle was one of the smartest people in their little village. The daughter of an accomplished inventor…and all the books she went through in a day, she mind was sharpened and quick. In a matter of seconds, a series of plans had run through her head. Some wouldn't work. The first, was to use the mirror the Beast had given her to show him to everyone. To prove that her father wasn't crazy. But she quickly nixed that idea when she saw the crazed look in Gaston's eye. She had heard his hunting stories, she would not send her beloved beast to his death. The next plan though…
"Papa!" She called to him. "Trust me! Everything will be alright!"
"Belle!" He called one last time, before the men lifted him and threw him into the carriage.
The sound of the clanging door was the last thing Belle heard before running into her home.
Inside, she saw Chip still sitting on the bed. "Belle, what's going on? Where's your dad?"
"Oh Chip…Something terrible has happened. We need to go back to the castle, as soon as we can!" She spoke as she gathered a few supplies, and then put on her cloak.
"But we just got here!" The teacup protested.
"Come on!" The girl grabbed him and carefully put him in her bag. "Are you alright in there?"
"Yep!"
She shouldered the bag quickly then emerged outside. The mob was heading into the woods, the crowd and carriage being illuminated by the many torches. The road ahead forked, and the way to the asylum would be to the left, while the desolate road to the castle was on the left. If she was careful, she'd slip past them undetected.
Calmly and quietly, she untethered her horse. "Come on Philippe, lets go."
—
Back at the castle, the Beast stared solemnly out to the forest. The night had been so perfect, so wonderful, but it couldn't last forever. He was not angry at Maurice or Belle. He did not curse fate or God above. He didn't even blame himself. He was just disconsolate. What was there to life if Belle was gone? The curse was almost up, only a single shriveled petal remained, and he surmised it would fall by the end of the night.
If the night ever ended.
He never heard the horse clomping down the trail or the gate creaking. He was too lost in his own thoughts to ever imagine Belle returning to him.
But then, his door creaked open. Cogsworth was breathless as he spoke, "Master! She's returned!"
The beast was suddenly at attention. "What?"
"Belle, she—…" but the clock was unable to finish his sentence as the Beast rushed passed him in a gust of fur. He thundered down the halls, racing on all fours. The armor and decor trembled at his speed, but he did not notice.
When he finally reached the staircase, his heart pounded rapidly. "Belle!" He called, not attempting to hide his smile.
"Beast!" She cried back. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck as she reached him. "My dear Beast!"
He embraced her, lifting her off the floor and cradling her in his arms. "Belle…"
"Beast, I need you." She looked up from her place at his neck. Her eyes were sparkling with tears.
"What's wrong?" He feared.
"I need your help. The town, Gaston…they've taken my father! They're going to lock him away! Please! Help me!"
Beast was suddenly angry. Once upon a time, he too had locked up the old man. But he had changed since then, and as far as he knew, Maurice hadn't warranted incarceration. "Hang on to me," the prince said, as he hoisted her onto his back. "Tell me everything on the way."
—
If there was something Gaston really loved, it was the thrill of the hunt. The cornering, the chasing, and the final shot that rendered the beast lifeless. There was something about seeing a wild, living creature, succumb to his desire. Maybe that's what irritated him about Belle so much. She was like a fleeting deer and no matter how many shots he took, she always evaded him.
Until now.
Her father had always been her weak spot. Even if she didn't marry him, he would have the satisfaction of ridding the town of the loon. Even if she did agree to marry him, which would happen sooner or later, he would make sure to 'take care' of her old man. You know, husbandly duties and all.
For now, he would bask in the glory of this new trophy. Anything could be caught for a price.
As the crowd ambled along, the hollering settled down into a dull murmur among them. There was no need for anger, the prize was caught. Every once in a while, Maurice would plead out with a faint, "Please let me out," and "where's my daughter? Where's Belle?" at which the nearest guard would call back, "Shaddup!"
It wasn't as if Maurice would ever accuse his daughter of deserting him, but he did feel rather hopeless. Who wouldn't? Still, he kept his eyes peeled for his daughter riding in on her horse.
In the distance the sound of paws were heard, trampling on the sod. Only the acute hearing of the hunter picked it up. Gaston reached behind him and grabbed the handle of his knife, but didn't unsheathe it. Monsieur D'Arque noticed the movement.
"What is it? Wolves?"
"I'm not sure. Sounds bigger, like a bear."
"Will you be able to take care of it? You didn't bring your gun."
"I wouldn't worry about it. Bears are more scared of humans then we are of them. With a group this big, there's no way it'll get near us." Still, as he spoke, the trampling became louder. The murmuring crowd grew louder and concerned. Gaston withdrew his knife and waited.
But just as the creatures steps were upon them, all fell silent, save for the cracking of the torches.
"The creature must have seen me and fled!" Gaston boasted.
The crowd was not so sure as the was a rustling in the bushes. Gaston swiveled around in haste, his knife at the ready.
Belle emerged from the brush, calm and quiet.
The crowd started to murmur again.
"Belle! It's not safe for you out here! Go home!" Gaston shouted. Secretly, he was afraid of her ruining his plan.
Maurice heard the commotion and cried out, "Belle!? Is that my Belle?"
The young woman stood in front of the crowd, waiting. Her face was stony, full of disappointment and a hint of pity. She seemed ghostly, like she was visiting from another world. Gaston swallowed rather hard when she didn't respond to him, or even her father.
"My father is not crazy," she spoke crisply. "And I can prove it." As if on cue, a terrifying roar broke out rumbled across the trees. Several of the townsfolk trembled and shrieked in fear.
"You'll protect us, won't you Gaston?"
"Of course!" Though there was a noticeable tremble in his voice.
At that moment, there was a loud 'Thump thump' of paws against the ground. The beast emerged from the trees, it's claws leaving marks in the bark. His profile was halfway illuminated in the night from the moon. His teeth protruded like thorns on a rose. He stood directly behind Belle, and rose up on his hind legs.
Gaston pointed his knife at the Beast. "Get back! Foul creature!" He spread his legs, ready to leap at him. "Belle! Get away from it! It'll kill you!"
Beast put one paw on her shoulder, pulling her back towards him. "She's not the one in danger," Beast growled.
The crowd shuffled together in terror, muttering silent fears.
"Leave now, Monster!" Gaston shouted, now sizing up the beast. "You have no business here!"
"It became my business when you hurt Belle." There was a fire in his voice. "She is my everything, my one and all, and you hurt her!" The last words vibrated in his growl.
Gaston swallowed, "Now Beast, we didn't mean anything malicious by it. We were protecting her! Her father is crazy!"
"You're a liar!" He stepped forward. "You blackmailed her, to try to get her to marry you!" Then he leaned in close, standing almost nose to nose with the villain. "And I'm not a figment of his imagination, am I?"
Gaston, being a hunter of many beasts, had faced death many times. It had no sting, held no threat to destroy, held no fear. Only the thrill of adrenaline which had become his drug. But at this moment, there was no thrill, no buzz of ecstasy; only the shear nauseous, sinking feeling of fear.
"Oh god…" the man whispered.
Beast grabbed the hunter and lived him into the air, effortlessly, with one hand. "Belle and her father are now under my protection. If you seek her out, you will only find me. I will stalk you in the night, I will haunt your nightmares, and I will make you suffer as she has suffered."
"Put me down. P-Put me down! Please, don't hurt me! I'll do anything! Anything!"
With his gentle soul, Beast put the hunter down. "All I ask, is that you leave Belle alone. Live your life, but leave her out of it."
There was a murmur among the people as the beast waded into the crowd. Fear, and a little bit of curiosity, was in their eyes. He went to the back of the carriage and easily ripped the door of the hinges. He reached a hand out.
"Maurice…in the past, I wronged you. Belle showed me how much of a beast I truly was. I'm…I'm sorry…and I want to make it up to you."
Maurice saw the sincerity in the creatures sad blue eyes, and clasped his hand. With a smirk, he responded, "you've proved yourself."
Monsieur D'Arque snorted. "You fool, Gaston. The money you paid to me will cover the damage to my carriage."
There was a subdued gasp in the mob and the realization came over them. Gaston bribed the asylum keeping to take away Maurice.
Suddenly, Maurice doubled over in frantic coughing.
"Papa!" Belle ran to her father and threw her arms around him. "Oh papa…"
"You came for me…"
"I promised everything was going to be okay…" she sniffed.
"Oh Belle…"
"Everything is going to be fine, Papa. Beast will take care of us."
During this emotional moment, Gaston once again seized his knife in his fist and plunged it into the Beast's side. The creature let out a horrifying scream of pain.
"Fear not, my friends! Soon the beast will be slain, and we will be free of his terror!"
Beast fell to the ground in agony.
"What are you doing?!" Belle screamed. "He's not a monster!"
"How can you be so blind?!" He looked up to the mob, which looked confused. "The beast will make off with your children!
He'll come after them in the night! He said so!"
"No!"
"I say we kill him when we have the chance!"
"No! Please!" Belle argued back, stepping between the Beast and Gaston. She turned to the crowd. "He'd never hurt anyone. Please, I know he looks vicious, but he's really kind and gentle." Then she looked to him. "He's my friend."
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you had feelings for this monster…" The hunter sneered.
"He's no monster Gaston, you are!"
Gaston's nose flared in anger. His eyebrows creased.
"I've tried to be polite to you. But you just didn't get it! I don't love you! I can't love you! You don't care about my wants, my dreams. You only see me as a trophy to be won! But I'm not a trophy!" She pointed her finger at him. "I am no some prize to be won! And the Beast knows it! He listens to me, he talks with me, not at me! He cares about me, and only wants to be with me! He loves me! And I love him!"
She had said it. What she had only admitted to herself earlier this evening, she had spoke aloud.
Gaston was stunned. He was gorgeous, rich, and successful, and yet, she wanted this— this—!
His train of thought froze when a streak of light fell out of the sky and landed out the ground in front of him. Many more fell like rain and covered the ground in shimmering magic. Thick white fog rolled in from the trees and enveloped the Beast. He rose into the air, his body twisting and turning.
Belle and the crowd looked on in awe. Gaston dropped his knife.
The wind rushed through the area and rustled the Beast's clothing and hair, wrapping his cloak around him. His arms reached out, exposing his fur and claws. But light shown from his fingertips, his paws melting away to human hands. His feet morphed from a wolf's hind legs to normal feet. The wound at his side glowed and closed. Finally, his downcast face was windswept, and he turned his neck. His bristly brown fur blew into soft, strawberry blonde hair. The chiseled jaw and high cheek bones of a roman statue bleed through rough fur, leading the way for tender lips, a noble nose, and a proud brow.
The transformed man was lowered onto the ground, the gathered mob watching is curiosity and confusion. Belle stood close to him, frightened. Her beast had disappeared.
Slowly, trying not to strain his sore muscles, the prince stood and looked at his hands. He touched his face and then turned to look at the girl he loved. His intense stare was still the same.
"Belle?" He asked in his long forgotten voice. "It's me…" He put his hands on his chest and pleaded with her. Those sky blue eyes bored into hers.
She reached out a caressed his face. "It is you!"
"So there is no Beast!" Shouted Gaston, ruining the moment. "It was just a man in an elaborate costume!" He held his arms out to the crowd. "Not only are they both crazy, they got someone in on the act!"
The man who was once the beast urged Belle to stay behind him, then stepped towards the hunter. "Who are you to make such accusations?"
"I am Gaston! The man of Belle's dreams."
The prince was shorter, now that he was a human, but he was still taller then Gaston. "You are the man of her nightmares."
"And who are you?" Gaston replied, snippily.
"My name is Adam. I am a Prince from the castle to the north."
"The abandoned, haunted castle in the woods?" Someone asked.
"Yes. I was cursed for my garish behavior. I was turned into a beast, but if I could learn to love and be loved in return before the last petal falls on an enchanted rose, I would return to my human form. The last petal was going to fall tonight." He put a hand on Belle's back and looked at her in adoration. "But Belle saved me."
Gaston huffed, "You really expect us to believe that?"
"Are you done yet?" someone shouted back. "You're a coward Gaston!"
"Who said that?"
The baker stepped forward. "I did. I used to think you were the bravest man alive. But bribery? Lying? And you stabbed the poor man when his back was turned…"
"He wasn't— the beast— I was only trying to—…"
"Protect us?" Someone else called out. "You lied. And it was obvious he wasn't going to hurt us." A woman made her way through the crowd and stood by the baker. "You made us all look like fools."
"Just let Belle be happy!"
"Yeah!"
"Let them alone!"
"Coward!"
"Liar!"
Humiliated and angry, Gaston turned away and ran into the woods.
While the crowd cheered the slaying of the true beast. Adam pulled Belle closer and held her.
"So…Adam…" She tested the name on her tongue.
"What do you think?"
"I prefer it over Beast."
He smiled and gently swept her hair behind her ear. "It feels wonderful to touch you without the fear of hurting you."
"Oh darling…" she whispered.
Adam leaned in and tilted his head. Belle slipped her arms around his neck and met his lips with eagerness. True loves kiss was sweet and warm. When they pulled away, they only saw each other.
"It's better than I could ever imagine. There are no words to describe this feeling."
"Somethings can't be experienced through books." Adam smiled.
"I just lived a fairytale."
"And we'll live happily ever after. I promise."
"Now wait just a minute!" Maurice shouted, grabbing the Prince by the arm.
Adam looked mortified, and swallowed hard. "Yes sir?"
Maurice stared at him firmly before breaking into a smile. "You take care of her now, you understand?"
Adam sighed in relief. "Oh, I will sir! For the rest of my life. Though, I would be honored if you were to come and life with us at my castle. Belle loves you so much, and I can't bear to see her miss you. Besides, I need to get to know you more."
The inventor places his hands and his hips and laughed. "That sounds splendid! Of course I'll need time to pack up my tools and inventions…" He scratched his chin.
"Fine, fine. All in good time. I'll have servants come and help you first thing in the morning."
The clopping of horse hooves came from the path. Two men were riding, a skinny brown haired twig, and a portly man with a pencil mustache.
"Belle! Have you seen the master?" Lumiere called, hopping off the horse. His traveling companion had a more difficult time getting down. "The spell has been broken! We're all human! We're—!" He stopped when he saw the tall, handsome man with an arm around Belle's waist.
"Master?"
"Lumiere! Cogsworth!" He went to them and pulled them tightly into hugs, slightly choking Cogsworth in the process. "Look at us! This is a miracle!"
Cogsworth wormed his way out of the still strong man's grasp, and straightened his collar. "Ahem, your presence is needed at the castle."
"Oh let the boy celebrate!" Lumiere poked his friend. "He's been a beast for ten years."
"It's alright Lumiere," Adam interjected. "Let's go back." He turned to the gathered crowd. "In fact, let us all go back! To assure you I bare no ill will, we will have a ball to celebrate!"
"Master please, allow us time to plan this! There's the food, and we need to clean the ballroom—…"
"Wonderful idea master! They can be our guests!"
"Lead the way, Lumiere." Adam smiled.
With his hand in Belle's, the beauty and the beast made their way back to the castle to join with friends and family. The curse was over, and happiness reigned over the castle and the village beyond.
Except for Gaston, who would be a hermit in the woods. He married a very pretty deaf girl, who would never have to listen to his rantings. She was infertile, so she never had any children. And she was allergic to fur. Gaston worked day in and out in his cornfield, trading the produce for food at the castle. Up until he died, he had nightmares of the beast.