And so they waited. Finally the door to the West Wing opened. The Beast stepped out in front of the door, greeted by the sight of a man with black hair and...spare biceps...definitely spare biceps...aiming a crossbow at him. The Beast stood still, watching. He watched very closely to know just when Gaston would let loose the arrow, and stepped out of the line of fire at just the right second. The arrow flew through the air and glass shattered. The Beast looked in horror as his rose fell to the floor, the arrow sticking out of what remained of the flower head. But it didn't matter since he'd let go of his chance to break the spell anyway. Plus there was no time to dwell. Taking advantage of Gaston's moment of confusion at the Beast side stepping just in time, the Beast swiped hard with a paw, knocking the bow out of Gaston's hands. He grabbed the bow off the floor and snapped it in two, rendering it useless. He then grabbed Gaston by the shoulders and pushed him to the floor. Seeing the mirror tucked in the hunter's belt, he grabbed it and set it aside. Gaston reached into a pocket and pulled out his dagger. The Beast grabbed the wrist attached to the fist that grasped the knife. His free forepaw pushed down on Gaston's chest just enough to keep him firmly pinned to the floor. He straddled the legs of his foe and sat on them to keep Gaston from kicking, being careful not to crush the legs under his weight.
"Drop it," the Beast growled.
Gaston tried to break his wrist free of the massive paw, but the Beast held firm.
"I don't want to hurt you," the Beast said. Actually part of him did, but the gentle side to him was larger. "Don't make me. Just drop the knife."
Gaston was in quite an unfamiliar predicament. He'd hunted wild beasts. He knew how to bring them down. He had laid bears low before. He knew the likely moves a wild creature would make. But never had he seen one behave quite like this. Creatures did not simply wait and step aside just as he was releasing the arrow. Creatures did not then knock the bow from him and then snap it in half. And creatures certainly did not grab the wrist whose hand held a weapon, pin the hunter to the ground, and demand that said weapon be dropped. Creatures who pinned one to the ground wasted no time in going in for the kill. Yet this one had him pinned down but said he didn't want to hurt him? For once in his life, Gaston was unsure what to do. But he refused to let on.
"And suppose I don't," he said defiantly. "Then what?"
"I don't think either one of us wants to go down that road," the Beast said gruffly. "But if you don't drop that knife then we'll have to and you'll be finding out."
Gaston just struggled. The Beast allowed a bit more of his weight to sink down on his opponent. His paw tightened around Gaston's wrist, and he allowed the tips of his claws to make contact with Gaston's skin, enough to be uncomfortable but not penetrating the skin.
"Do you want to test me further?" the Beast asked. "I can hurt you. I have you in a vulnerable position. I can do you a lot of damage. I could even kill you if I wanted to. But I would rather resolve this without anybody getting hurt. But if I have to pick between me getting hurt or you getting hurt it's gonna be you."
"Weakling!" Gaston taunted. "You say you don't want to hurt me but you're just a coward. Or too 'kind and gentle' perhaps?"
The Beast growled, baring his teeth.
"Do I look like a coward?" he said harshly. "I faced your crossbow, risking not dodging the arrow in time. I then destroyed it and quickly wrestled you into your current predicament. And I am kind and gentle which is why I want this to end without anyone getting hurt. I suppose Belle told you that right? Yet you riled your town into thinking I was a danger? Am I now hearing you backtrack on that?"
"How do you know what Belle said?" Gaston asked, starting to think maybe he was in over his head but too stubborn to admit it.
"I know things," the Beast growled, not revealing Chip as his source. "I know Belle showed me in the mirror to prove her father's sanity when you tried to have him thrown into the asylum to blackmail her to marry you. I know you threw her and her father into the cellar so they couldn't warn me. I'm not happy with what you've done to her."
"I did nothing to her," Gaston said defiantly. You know nothing of what you speak!"
"Yes you did!" came an angry child voice. Chip hopped off the shelf and over to his master's side. "I saw you! I went home with Belle and saw the whole thing! I hid in the crowd so I could warn the Master because you locked Belle up! You're nothing but a big meanie!"
Great. Chip just had to stick his nose...er...handle...into the situation. The surprise caused the Beast to loosen his grip slightly on Gaston's wrist, but feeling his opponant trying to move caused him to tighten his grip once more.
"Chip!" the Beast barked. "What did your mother tell you about doing what you're told and not doing what you're not?"
"Oops," the little teacup said sheepishly. "Sorry Master."
Chip hopped out of the way and the Beast glared at Gaston.
"I'm still waiting for you to drop your knife," he said with a no-nonsense edge to his voice.
"Were you in love with her Beast?" Gaston unwisely taunted. "Did you honestly think she'd want you when she had someone like me?"
"She may not want me," the Beast said. As his anger grew, his grip tightened a bit more so his claws were closer to perforating Gaston's wrist. "That is her choice! I'm not going to blackmail her into it. want someone other than me but I know her well enough to know she wouldn't want someone who treats her as you do!"
"But she is the most beautiful girl in town!" Gaston said. "That makes her the best! And I deserve the best! And no one says no to Gaston! When that girl turned down my proposal when I had the whole town gathered in front of her house for our wedding, I knew I couldn't rest until I had her as my wife! I'll show her!"
The Beast could hardly believe his ears. This man was so sure of himself that he organized the wedding before proposing? He had such a big ego! And now he talked of Belle as if she was some object to claim. Some prize to win. Some prey to bring down. This made the Beast very, very angry. He barely realized his grip on Gaston's wrist was tightening to where the claws did start to penetrate the skin as he let a loud roar loose right in the face of the man pinned underneath him. He also pushed a bit harder on the chest with his other paw.
"Please," Gaston started begging. "Press harder and you won't let me breathe. Let me go! I'll do anything!"
"DROP! THAT! KNIFE!" the Beast yelled,
Gaston finally complied. Just then, Cogsworth, who nobody knew had entered the room, stepped forward and grabbed the dagger and threw it behind a large dresser so the intruder could not easily recover it should he get free. The Beast immediately let the wrist go, pulled Gaston to a sitting position, and wrapped his left arm around Gaston's torso, binding both the man's arms to it. With his free paw, he thoroughly searched the hunter, throwing arrows and another knife aside which Cogsworth, and Lumiere who also now appeared hid as well. Once Gaston was fully disarmed, the Beast positioned him so that he was sitting in front of the Beast, with the Beast's bear-like arms restraining Gaston's upper body to his chest. He sat like this as he considered his next move.
"Master," Cogsworth said. "The mob has fled a few minutes ago. Those we sent to the village should be getting there about now so Belle and her father should be free by the time the other villagers get home. Looks like you have things under control with this fellow, but is there anything we can do to help?"
"Just wait for me here," the Beast said. "I don't want to do this, but I'm going to have to put him in the dungeon. I can't let him go free until I know Belle and her father are safe. As distasteful as locking someone in the dungeon has become to me I see little choice. At least he'll get a taste of his own medicine, locking Belle and her father in their cellar."
As he carried the struggling Gaston to the tower, he considered the irony of what he had said. Just months ago he had locked Maurice in the tower dungeon. And when Belle took his place, well he didn't exactly lock her in the tower but surely would have had Lumiere not suggested otherwise. Who was he to give someone else a taste of their own medicine when he deserved a taste of it himself?
But he had changed. He now was repulsed that he had ever thought that locking an innocent person in the dungeon had even the remotest semblance of acceptability. Heck, it bothered him that he was fixing to toss Gaston in the clink, and Gaston was hardly innocent. Yet he knew he could not just let Gaston go without making sure he could not harm Belle or her father. So he shoved Gaston into a cell and locked him in. He looked at the punctures on Gaston's wrist.
"I didn't want it to go that far," he said. "I wish you'd just dropped the knife the first time. I will send someone to clean the wounds."
Without another word, he made sure the door was securely locked, turned around, and headed back to the West Wing. There he saw Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts and Chip staring at the fallen rose, all petals detached from the stem.
"The arrow hit the rose when I dodged," he said, sure his staff was wondering.
"Well I guess it's official," Cogsworth said. "Not that we didn't know it would be soon enough anyway. Too bad to see it happen this way."
"What matters now is Belle and her father," Beast said solemnly. He took the mirror he'd recovered from Gaston's person. "Show me Belle please."
After the initial green glow subsided, the scene before the Beast made him smile. Philippe was carrying Belle and Maurice as fast as he could through the forest. Alongside ran the sentient carriage, no doubt with some of the servants inside.
"She's coming back," he said, placing the mirror on the table that was once home to the rose. "She and her father are on the way. They've been released from the cellar by whoever you sent. At least now Gaston won't be able to hurt them anymore." He then remembered something. "Mrs. Potts, I was able to subdue him for the most part without injury, except there are some puncture wounds on his right wrist from my claws. I don't think they're deep, but would you see that the wounds are properly attended?"
"Right away sir," the teapot said, before hopping out of the room.
"How long will you hold him Master?" Lumiere asked.
"I don't know," the Beast said wearily. "Since Belle changed how I treat people the idea of keeping a prisoner, especially in the tower, is not sitting well with me. But what he did...and how he talked about Belle as if she were an object put here for his pleasure...I don't know if she or her father will be safe if he goes free."
"Could they both live here?" Lumiere asked. "He can then be sent home and Belle and her father would be safe at the castle."
"Of course they can stay," the Beast said without hesitation. "I hope they will, but it is their choice. I will not rob them of their freedom again."
"Even if they stay how safe are they?" Cogsworth asked. "He can lead the mob to storm the castle again."
"I doubt the other villagers will be too keen to come back here," Lumiere said. "I don't think an onslaught of angry household appliances was what they were expecting or something they'd be anxious to face again."
"And I don't think Gaston is going to want to come up against me again anytime soon," the Beast said slowly. "I think I made it clear I'm the wrong guy to get on the bad side of. But I'll need to learn as much as I can about him from Belle and her father. Something tells me he's the wrong guy to underestimate."