I've recently become obsessed with Disney Genderbend. Like I once spent 45 minutes straight just looking up pictures. After reading a genderbend fanfiction for Frozen and The Little Mermaid, I wanted to write one. Beauty and the Beast didn't have a lot, so I wrote that one. I will be updating this story every two days. There are nine chapters total. Please, please, please, PLEASE give me your feedback! Let's face it, I'm not a guy and could only characterize the guys in this story so much. If anything sounds weird or doesn't make sense or anything at all, PLEASE tell me and I will go and fix it, even if it means having to change some of the plot. Okay, done with this super long author's note! Enjoy the story and review!
It was just another ordinary day in France. The flowers were in bloom, the sun was high in the sky, and the town was just waking up and going about their daily lives.
As Beau left his house to go into town, he could already tell that this day was like the thousands of others before it. It's not that he wasn't unhappy with his life, it's just that he wanted more than to live every day the exact same way. He was tired of the monotony!
Beau was no stranger to the little village. Everyone knew exactly who he was, and it wasn't because, true to his name, he was rather handsome. He had long brown hair that he tied back with a blue ribbon. He wore a white undershirt with a sleeveless blue vest overtop of it and light blue slacks on. He was well-built and had a handsome face and an overall kind demeanor about him.
But his looks were not why he was well-known. Because he longed for a life outside the village, he was usually regarded as odd by the townsfolk. He wasn't into the usual activities like hunting, looking for a wife, or showing off his talents. He could usually be found reading all sorts of different books in all sorts of different places. Beau loved to read more than anything in the world. He dreamed of visiting places like the ones he read in his storybooks and falling in love with a woman who loved him for who he was. In fact, he spent so much time daydreaming, he was rarely aware of the looks everyone in town gave him.
Beau left his quaint little home and headed to the bookshop in order to return his most recent book, Romeo and Juliet. What a tragic tale it was.
"Ah, hello, Beau!" the kind old bookkeeper greeted him. "Lovely to see you again!"
"Hello, miss!" Beau said. "I've come to return the book I've borrowed."
"You've finished it already?"
"I couldn't put it down! What a sad story of two lovers!"
"It is that! I'm afraid we haven't gotten anything new since you were here yesterday," the woman laughed.
Beau laughed with her. "That's okay! I guess I'll just borrow this one!" Beau took a book off one of the shelves and gave it to her to check out for him.
"This one again? Why, this is the third time you've wanted to borrow it!"
"I just love it so much! It's filled with romance, adventure, and magic!"
"Beau, why don't you just take it home with you and keep it?"
"Oh, no, I couldn't…"
"No, no I insist! It's the least I can do for you!"
"Oh, thank you so much!"
Beau immediately began reading the book once again as he started his return home. He was so enveloped in the beautiful story that he didn't notice all of the stares he was getting.
He sat at the edge of the fountain and sighed. "My favorite part. The guy meets the girl and has no idea that he's going to fall in love with her!"
Beau continued reading and was close to home when he passed the person he did not want to see.
"Hello, Beau."
"Bonjour, Gabriella," he answered as he tried to walk past her, but she coyly took his book from him. "Gabriella, may I have my book back?"
"How can you read this? Where are the pictures?"
"Some people use their imagination." Gabriella continued looking at his book, flipping through the pages. "A trait you sorely lack," he added under his breath.
Gabriella was determined to marry him. She had very long black hair that was usually pinned up in a half up, half down hairstyle. She was always wearing a red dress that made her stand out in any and every crowd. That's how she was, always looking for attention. She was the daughter of a rich merchant and was used to getting exactly what she wanted. And at that moment in time, she wanted Beau as her husband. He knew she only liked him for his looks and that their marriage would advance her social status. Beau wanted to marry for love, like the couples in his stories. He was a sucker for a good romance story.
Gabriella giggled. "Oh, Beau, you should get your head out of the clouds and focus on what's really important." She smiled and took his arm as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Me."
Beau uncomfortably slid out of her grasp, unwilling to have her touch him.
She pouted. "Everyone's saying how you should find a woman soon or you'll never make a decent living. It's not good for you to read all the time. You should be hunting with the others."
"Gabriella, I don't want to hunt. I love reading. Perhaps it's time for a change."
"Why don't we go down back to my house and I can show you all of my dresses. I need to know which ones will make me stand out the most in the event I have a formal dinner to go to."
Beau grimaced. That sounded awful. "Maybe some other time," he told her.
"Aw, why not?" she pouted. He hated it when she did that. She just assumed that if she gave a little sad face, people would just do her bidding. The sad part was that it usually worked.
"I can't. I have to get home and help my mother."
Gabriella's little sidekick laughed and Beau finally noticed her presence. She was really short, only coming up to the middle of his chest. Unlike Gabriella, she was clumsy and basically followed her around like a little pet.
"That fool, Marguerite! She needs all the help she can get!"
"Don't talk about my mother that way," Beau growled.
"Yeah, Leah!" Gabriella scolded, slapping her on the arm. "Don't talk about his mother that way!"
"My mother's not crazy! She's as smart as they come!"
No sooner had the words left his lips when an explosion came from his house. It wasn't an unusual sight, but nevertheless, Beau ran up to his home to make sure she was alright.
Gabriella stared after him. What Gabriella wanted, Gabriella got.
"Mother!" Beau called, coughing from all the smoke. "Mother, are you alright?"
The smell of burning food filled the entire house. "That's it! I'm giving up!" the old woman yelled, throwing her kitchen utensils on the counter. "I am done trying to do this!"
Beau smiled. "You always say that."
"No, I mean it this time. I have tried a million times and I just cannot get this recipe right! I'll just never get it right!"
"Yes, you will! And you'll win first prize in the baking contest tomorrow at the fair!"
His mother smiled at him. "You really believe so?"
"Of course I do. I always have."
"Well, I guess one more try won't hurt."
Beau helped her clean the stove and then proceeded to hand her the ingredients she requested. Once she put it in the stove, all they could do was wait and hope it didn't explode like the many before it.
"Mother," Beau said as they waited for it to cook. "Do you think I'm odd?"
"Of course not, why would you think that?"
"Well, I just don't feel like I fit in here. There's no one who really shares any of my interests, and people talk about me. Just because I spend my time reading instead of hunting."
"Well, what about Gabriella? She's a pretty little thing."
"Oh, she's pretty. And stuck up, rude, conceited. She's definitely not my type."
"Don't worry, son. I'm sure that there is someone out there for you. Maybe you just haven't found her yet. All you need is a little time."
Beau smiled. His mother always knew exactly what to say.
After a good time, the room filled with a wonderful smell.
"You smell that, Mother?"
"It's a good sign!"
When it was time to take the dish out, Beau grabbed her cooking gloves and carefully took it out of the stove. After it cooled, Marguerite handed Beau a spoon. "Go ahead and taste it. And be honest!"
Beau took a little of the dish and brought the spoon to his lips. His taste buds danced for joy as soon as it came in contact with his tongue. "Mother, this is the best thing I have ever tasted in my entire life!"
"Really?" She grabbed a spoon of her own and tasted her concoction. "Oh, you're right!"
"Mother, you did it! You really did it!" He hugged his mother in happiness. "I knew you could!"
"Hitch up, Phoenix, sweetheart! I'm going to the fair!"
Beau helped her make her dish again, then wrapped it up nicely for safe travels.
Marguerite got their horse, Phoenix, hitched up to the cart, and filled the cart with her dish and necessary supplies she would need for her travels.
"Good-bye, Mother!" Beau called as she departed. "Be careful!"
"Good-bye, Beau! Wish me luck!"
Beau watched his mother leave and returned back inside to finish his book. He had to admit that he was worried about her being out there alone, but she was tough and could handle almost everything that was thrown her way.
The next day, Beau was happily sitting in his cottage, hoping everything was okay with Marguerite. He was totally engrossed in the story and almost didn't hear the knock on the door. He put down his book, and went to the door. He looked through the peephole, and to his dismay, found that Gabriella was there.
Beau groaned, not willing to have to put up with her, but opened the door, afraid to face the consequences of doing the opposite.
"Hello, Gabriella!" he said as he put on a completely fake face for her.
"Hello, Beau," she smiled. There was something off. She wasn't wearing her usual red dress, but a long white one. Gabriella never wore white dresses, so this probably wasn't a good sign. "Today is a very special day for the both of us!"
"Oh, really? What's today?"
Gabriella giggled. "There are so many boys out there who would love to be in your shoes right now. This is the day—" Gabriella paused in front of the mirror and fixed her hair for a second. When she was satisfied with her appearance, (though Beau was pretty sure she looked the exact same), she resumed, "This is the day all of our dreams come true."
"I don't think you know anything about my dreams, Gabriella." Beau was starting to piece together why she was wearing a white dress, and he wasn't going to be too happy if he was right.
"No, I do. Picture this, why don't you? I'm sitting in front of a fire. My husband is massaging my feet. We have children on the floor playing in front of us with the puppies. We'll have maybe six or seven."
"Puppies?" Beau asked. Was he really having this conversation?
"No, of course not! Little boys and girls just like you and me!"
Beau picked up his book off the table and placed it on the shelf. He suddenly had lost his interest in reading the story now.
"And do you know who that lovely husband will be?" Gabriella giggled.
"Uh, I…I don't know."
She laughed in a way she thought was cute. "You, Beau!"
He was right. This was her idea of a proposal. And she was wearing a wedding dress. She expected him to marry her right this minute. Why couldn't she realize that he didn't want to marry her? "Um, wow, I'm flattered, Gabriella. I don't know what to say."
"Easy. Just say 'yes'!" Beau backed up against the door, and Gabriella came up to him, pinning him against it. "Please?" she said with those eyes that turned everyone else into a puddle. "We can be together forever!"
"You know, I…I really just don't deserve someone as beautiful as you!" Beau opened the door behind him and Gabriella went tumbling out into a huge mud puddle.
Her dress ruined, Gabriella let out an absolute fit. "You will marry me, Beau! I will have you as my husband!"
"Uh, how'd it go?" Leah asked.
Gabriella shoved her onto the ground and stormed off, a trail of icky mud following behind her.
"Touchy," Leah snorted.
