Gaston pounded on LeFou's door. His friend answered looking alarmed.
"Gaston...what…"
"Come on, LeFou! Belle's father is lost in the forest. We're going to help her find him. It's hero time, but this time I won't muck it up."
Gaston practically sprinted back to his cart. LeFou jumped into the back and Gaston snapped the reins. It had taken him far too long to get back to his place, ready the horse and cart, grab his rifle, and fetch LeFou. Belle was as headstrong as she was beautiful. He was sure he would return to her house to find her and the horse gone.
As they rounded the corner, he was relieved to see her standing in the street holding her horse's reins, waiting for him. He jumped down from the cart.
"I'll ride Philippe, he knows the way. You follow us."
"No, Belle." He didn't want her on the horse, he wanted her right next to him in the cart where he could best protect her. "We won't be able to keep up with you if he's running free and we're in the cart. We'll hitch him to it, he can lead us that way."
She was fidgeting terribly and he knew she was about to protest. He placed his hands gently on her upper arms. "I know you're afraid, but trust me, I know that forest. This is the best way."
Her lip began to tremble, but she nodded. Gaston tethered his own horse to the back of the cart and hitched Belle's to the front. They both climbed in and were off, as fast as they could go in the cart.
Belle sat twisting and twisting her skirts in her hands. Gaston tried to think of something comforting to say to her.
"We'll find him, Belle. I won't rest till we do."
"Gaston knows this forest better than anyone," LeFou said from behind them. "He can find your father."
Belle nodded, but continued to twist her skirts. She shuddered as they entered the forest. Gaston wanted to take her hand in his, but knew she'd only pull away.
After some time they came upon Maurice's overturned cart. The man himself was nowhere to be seen. Gaston studied the ground around the cart. His heart dropped when he saw the tracks, a man's bootprints followed by the unmistakable prints of wolves. Even LeFou could recognize wolf prints. Gaston gave him a look of warning. LeFou nodded and mimed that he wouldn't say anything. Belle had been retrieving her father's contraption and placing it in Gaston's cart. She nearly stepped into the line of tracks.
"Belle, no, stay behind me."
She flashed him an angry look and opened her mouth to argue.
"There are tracks here," he gestured before she could start berating him. "I can follow them if...if…"
"If I don't spoil them," she finished for him.
Gaston nodded and Belle moved to stand behind him. She grabbed the torch from it's rung on the cart, and Gaston lit it. The light was starting to fade.
"LeFou, stay with the horses."
Gaston and Belle followed the tracks deeper into the forest. Gaston was hoping that Belle was not about to see her father's mangled body when they came upon a derelict stone building. The walls were covered with vines and moss. Many of the roof tiles were missing, and most of those that remained were cracked. A small, crumbling chimney poked out of the roof.
"What is it?" Belle breathed.
"Most likely it was built by an avid hunter as a place to stay during extended hunting trips."
They moved around the small building until they found a thick, wooden door. Gaston tried to push it open, but it wouldn't budge. He put his shoulder against it and pushed with all his might, slowly the heavy door swung inward on creaking hinges.
A huddled mass lay in the corner of the one room building, covered in mouldy, moth-eaten blankets.
"Papa!" Belle exclaimed.
She dashed around Gaston and knelt by her father. It was Maurice alright. His face was pale and covered in a thin sheen of sweat. He stirred faintly as Belle reached out to touch him. She pressed her small hand against his cheeks and forehead.
"He's burning up!"
Gaston handed her the torch. "Stay with him. I'll go and fetch the cart."
Belle knelt on the earthen floor murmuring to Papa. He could not open his eyes or answer her, but he moaned and grimaced. She looked at the small fireplace and thought of trying to coax a fire out of the damp wood, but knew it would be no use. The minutes ticked by slowly as she waited for Gaston to return.
Belle heard a snuffling and growling at the door and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She turned to find an enormous wolf staring at her from the doorway. Terror seized her. She jumped up, placing herself more firmly between the wolf and her father. She brandished the torch and screamed as though the creature could understand her.
"Don't come any closer!"
The wolf's gray hair bristled along it's back, it's lips were pulled back in a snarl to reveal long, sharp teeth. It took no notice of her torch. Belle could tell that it was on the verge of an attack. The wolf lunged at her, and she swung the torch with all her might. She caught it in the muzzle and one sharp fang grazed the back of her hand. She cried out, but turned to face the wolf again. It jumped at her once more, but this time a gunshot rang out and the wolf fell dead at her feet.
Belle looked up from its body in time to see Gaston lowering his gun. A sob escaped from her throat. She was so thankful now that she had waited for him. It had been torture standing there, holding Philippe's reins, and watching for him to return. She had nearly left several times, but she knew waiting for Gaston would give her the best chance of finding her father. She probably would never have found him, and they both would have ended up dead if she hadn't. Gaston handed his rifle to LeFou, moved forward, took the torch from her, and placed it in a rung on the wall. Then he wrapped her in his arms.
"It's alright. It's over now. You were so brave."
Belle was too overcome to push him away. Instead she placed her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. She didn't care who he was just now, he had saved her. She couldn't help but notice how strong and steady his arms felt around her and how perfectly they seemed to fit together with her head tucked just under his chin. Then she remembered her father and banished the disconcerting thoughts without further analysis.
She rushed back to Papa's side. "He's very ill. We have to get him home."
Gaston lifted Maurice as though it were nothing and carried him to the cart. He placed him in the back and tucked the filthy blankets up tighter around him. LeFou climbed carefully in beside him. Gaston offered Belle his hand to help her. Normally she would have scoffed; she didn't need help to climb into a cart after all. Instead she placed her hand in his and allowed him to guide her into the front seat. He climbed in beside her and snapped the reins.
The journey back to the village seemed to take an eternity. Belle kept glancing back at her father to ensure he was still breathing.
"Once we get back, I'll run and fetch the doctor," LeFou assured her. "Gaston can help you get him inside and stay with you until we get there."
Gaston nodded at this.
"Thank you both so much," Belle replied.
Gaston reached over and squeezed her hand gently. She was tempted to pull it away, but he released it on his own.
"It's nothing, Belle, It's what anyone would have done."
A/N: Wow! Thank you all so much for the encouraging reviews, follows, and faves! To answer one guest reviewer's question, yes, the characters are based on the 2017 movie. :)
