"Are you going to miss our life in Paris?"
Belle glances at her father who is sitting across from her in the carriage, before she softly shakes her head. Her father doesn't know how she counted the days until they left the city. But there are more things her father doesn't know about. After two weeks on the road together, Belle and Maurice are out of topics to converse about.
"You're not going to miss your friends?" he questions Belle further.
"Papa, we spoke about this before. This is what maman wanted for us."
Belle knows her father wants to talk more about maman, but she can't. Not yet. It hurts Belle too much to think about her mother who was always so lively and full of new ideas. When she closes her eyes, she can picture her mother in the garden of their old house with a bright smile on her face, her eyes sparkling. They are moving to Alsace to make her dream reality; that should be enough for now. Maurice doesn't seem to get that. Longingly, Belle stares out of the window. Their surroundings change every couple of miles and Belle fantasizes about the people who might live here. The weather is incredible and they are almost at their new home, although the last few miles seem to take almost as long as their entire journey. The carriage seems to move slower and slower by the minute.
"How much miles do we have to go?" Belle asks concerned. Maurice checks the large map which hasn't left his side since the beginning of their journey. The expression on his face doesn't predict any good. Before she can stop him, Maurice opens the door of the carriage and gestures the horseman to stop. The carriage slowly comes to a halt. Belle decides to get some fresh air while she can. Once outside, she notices how her father arguments with the horseman. She doesn't want to be forced to pick a side, but knows her father has enough experience traveling to know if and where they took a wrong turn. The sun is shining brightly and she takes place on the side of the road, in the soft grass. She closes her eyes, tries to ignore the sounds of the argument and thinks about the last book she read. Belle hopes there is a library in Alsace; otherwise she will be forced to keep reading Romeo & Juliet over and over again. Not that rereading Romeo & Juliet would be so awful - she absolutely loved the story about the star-crossed lovers when she first read about it. Belle knows the story isn't realistic, but the love at first sight in the story made her yearn for something she never had before. Suddenly there's a loud blast and Belle immediately opens her eyes to see where the sound came from. Quickly she moves into the direction of her father and the horseman who put their discussion on hold to investigate what's going on.
"Was that a gunshot?" Belle asks her father. She can hear some laughter coming from the same direction.
The horseman nods and walks into the direction of the forest. Before he is close, two men come strolling out of the forest, into the direction of the carriage. Belle glances at them curiously. The couple looks like a comedian act; one of them is large and muscular while the other man is lumpy and just as some of the dwarfs in Belle's beloved fairy tales. The larger man immediately catches Belle's eye and he smiles a toothy smile. She can feel how her cheeks start to burn. Then he turns to speak to her father and Belle tries to study him as subtle as she can. He has powerful arms which look extremely good in the red tunic he is wearing; his large hands are covered in leather gloves made from the same material as his boots. His belt contains several animal skins, probably some rabbits he killed off just this morning. Belle has to admit to herself that she feels attracted to him. In the city all men looked the same; dressed in dark colours and moderate styles. No man dared to stand out. He probably knows she is staring at him, because the smug smile on his face grows by the second. Belle averts her eyes and tries to concentrate on the conversation between the four men. She is standing too far away to hear the conversation properly, so she walks back to her place in the sun. She closes her eyes and tries to keep her thoughts away from the handsome stranger.
After some time, Belle hears someone walking towards her. She opens her eyes, blinks against the sun and suddenly the large man is standing in front of her. Her heart skips a beat and blood rushes to her cheeks immediately.
"Bonjour mademoiselle," he booms in a deep, rich voice. He grabs her hand and plants a kiss on it. Belle is tongue-tied by this gesture and doesn't dare to look him in the eye. The man laughs boisterously. "Nobody impresses beautiful ladies like Gaston."
As soon as he speaks, her speechlessness is over. Belle lifts her eyebrow and frowns at him.
"Who is Gaston?"
He is speechless for a short moment, but he gets his act together rather quick.
"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I usually don't have to. Where I come from everybody knows, and worships, me. Gaston LeGume is my name, mademoiselle." Belle nods at this. "My name is Belle," she introduces herself curtly.
"A beautiful name for a beautiful lady," he sighs and Belle has to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing. The whole situation seems to come out of a cheap romance novel compared to Romeo & Juliet.
"Are you a huntsman?" Belle asks him curiously. She never met a hunter before; only writers, poets and professors. Gaston's face immediately lights up.
"Yes, I am. I've been hunting since I was just a little garçon," he tells her, pride clear in his voice. "My father took me with him and he learned me everything. He was the best hunter of Alsace. Now I'm the best." Gaston gestures towards the pelts. "Just this morning I shot three rabbits and I was tracking down a deer when I heard your father and the horseman arguing."
Belle is fascinated by everything the hunter tells her. She read about a huntsman in the fairy tale of Snow White, which was completely different from meeting one. Behind Gaston's back Belle sees how her father gets back into the carriage and when he catches her eye, Gaston takes her hand and leads her back to the carriage. The little man seems to be waiting for Gaston, but Gaston doesn't pay any attention to him.
"I will make sure you get safely to your new home, Belle."
He salutes and Belle takes her place by the window again. She can see how Gaston moves swiftly onto his horse and drives away with an imposing posture. Maurice starts babbling the second the carriage is moving again.
"We are so lucky to run into monsieur LeGume and his companion. They will escort us to our new home. The horseman won't admit it to me, but I'm hundred percent sure he took a wrong turn just outside of Conmar. Just when we were so close! Can you believe it?" Maurice is silent for a moment and Belle studies Gaston from her window. Her father notices this directly and says: "What a fine gentlemen, that Gaston. He is so kind. I can live with a son-in-law like him." Maurice chuckles.
"I highly doubt it, papa," Belle mumbles, evading the question. She tries to picture a life as Gaston's wife, but she can barely paint the picture in her mind. They only met fifteen minutes ago after all.
They spend the remainder of their journey in silence. Belle notices how her father fidgets nervously with the map in his hands and she starts to feel unnerved as well. Maurice bought the house through one of his acquaintances and even though they heard good stories about it, there is always the possibility that they were deceived.
"We're almost there," Gaston calls loudly and Belle's heart starts to beat heavily in her chest. They cross a small bridge and then Belle sees the house for the first time. It's even more beautiful than she ever imagined it to be. Maman would have loved this house! The orange bricks are slanting and there is a weather vane on the roof. In her enthusiasm, Belle is hanging partly out of the carriage window and she smiles broadly at her father, who now catches a first glance of the house as well. They smile happily to each other.
"There we are, Belle," Maurice whispers while he wipes a sole tear from his cheek. Belle knows it was hard for him to leave the house in which he had been so happy with her mother; she hopes this house will mean a new beginning for the both of them.
The carriage stops and Belle jumps out immediately. With a broad smile still plastered on her face she takes in her surroundings. When a lonely chicken walks in her direction, she laughs out loud. Yes, she is sure maman would have loved it here. Belle is totally unaware of Gaston who is watching her with a soft look in his icy blue eyes. After a short while she opens the garden gate and starts to explore the gardens. As soon as she is in front of the house again, she sees that her father opened the front door. Gaston and his companion are helping her father and the horseman to empty the carriage. Belle is lifting one of her own suitcases out of the carriage when Gaston suddenly stands behind her. "Belle, let the men do all the heavy lifting. Nobody lifts as Gaston," he comments with a wink. He grabs the suitcases out of her arms and adds two more before he goes back inside. Overwhelmed Belle looks around. She tries to shake it off and enters her new home for the first time. Belle was concerned about buying a fully decorated house, but bringing own furniture was just too expensive. It looks like she had nothing to worry about; it is everything they could have wished for; the interior of the cottage is warm and cozy and the furniture looks perfectly fine. With some minor changes, Belle is sure she will feel at home here.
It takes the four men till sundown to completely unload the carriage. In the meanwhile, Belle starts cleaning the living room. The house has been empty for two years and its abandonment left layers of dust in all the rooms. She can hear through the open windows that Gaston and his companion are ready to leave. Maurice keeps thanking the two men for their help and invites them over for dinner when they are fully settled. Gaston takes this invitation enthusiastically and in his turn invites Maurice for drinks in the tavern. Belle smiles a soft smile; it was nice of Gaston to invite her father. It's the perfect place to make some new friends.
Short after she hears footsteps in the kitchen. Belle looks up, expecting to see her father, but it's Gaston who approaches her. He puts an arm around her shoulder and presses her tightly against him. Belle feels his heavy, muscular body lean into her and she feels slightly uncomfortable.
"Belle," he exclaims, "it was an honor to meet you today. How do you feel about coming to the tavern with me tomorrow? I can show you all my hunting trophies. They are very impressive if I may say so myself. I could tell you the most incredible stories!"
Belle tries to shrug off his heavy arm, while studying the look on his face. Her instinct is to keep her distance from this man no matter how handsome and impressive he looks, but maybe coming to the tavern will be the perfect occasion for her to meet some new people. Besides, she is still fascinated by the fact that he's a hunter - a real one. When she comes, she wants it to be on her terms though. Quickly she makes up an answer she knows he will fall for.
"That would be very nice, Gaston. But I have to go to the market first and there is so much to clean at home. It's very important to me to get the house decent before I go and make appointments outside the house. How can we have guests when the house isn't clean? But maybe I will see you when I go to the market tomorrow?"
Gaston is visibly impressed with my answer and he nods approvingly.
"You are totally right, Belle. And it'll be a good practice for when you get married," he tells me, his eyes serious.
He kisses her hand again before he walks towards to front door. Belle is stunned by his response and has to make an effort to keep her face expressionless. The opinions and ideas of Gaston are very old-fashioned. She hopes not everyone in Alsace will reason like that. Belle shakes her head softly; it's hard for her to comprehend. Her parents have raised her freely. There was no such thing as traditional gender roles in their household; even Maurice cooks two of three times a week and he loves making dinner. Thankfully Gaston is really leaving now; he moves onto his horse, waves one last time and rides into the direction of the village centre. His companion chuckles nervously, throws himself onto his horse and lurches after Gaston. Belle shakes her head while she watches the two men. Belle was grateful for all the help – otherwise she might have been sleeping in an old, unkempt tavern tonight - but there's something that feels a bit off. She wonders what the rest of the townspeople will be like.
Belle walks up to Maurice, who is standing in the garden, and embraces him in a deep hug. There is so much she wants to say to him, but it's too much to put into words; she is glad she is in Alsace with her father, making her mothers last dream reality while, on the other hand, it makes her miss her mother even more than usual. The absence of her mother still feels like a physical pain, like an organ ripped from her body. Maurice glances up to his daughters face and he knows enough. He can see both sadness and worry and excitement in her eyes.
"Everything will be fine, Belle. We are home now."