Belle awakens to find herself in her bed, alone in her room. Looking down at the bandage around her arm, she recounts the previous night, remembering how Gaston saved her life. Gaston of all people. He seemed so kind and gentle yesterday. Belle wonders. He's always acted so arrogant, so selfish, so… not for me. But… maybe I judged him too quickly? I didn't see him as anything but conceited, rude, and brainless. She sits up and hears someone knocking on her door.
"Come in," Belle calls, noticing her book was moved from the shelf downstairs to her nightstand next to her bed. In comes her father with a cup of tea and a wet cloth, softly smiling to see his daughter feeling better. "Papa!" Belle smiles and runs to hug him. "Oh Papa, are you alright?"
Maurice pulls away so he can look at her. "I'm alright, Belle. How did you escape from that horrible monster?"
"He…" Belle didn't know how to put it. "He told me to leave."
"Thank God you got out of there," Maurice lifts his hand to feel her forehead. "Your fever has calmed down, thank God. If it weren't for Gaston… Oh I can't even think of that!" He exclaims, hugging his daughter again.
Belle smiles in her father's arms, happy to be home with him. "Papa… Does Gaston seem odd to you?"
"Why whatever do you mean, Belle?" Maurice asks her, pulling away.
"He was kind to me yesterday. It's not like him."
"Well I'm sure he does have a kinder side."
"But Papa, while you were gone for your trip, he stormed into the house, practically ordering me to marry him! He didn't even ask me to, he just boasted about on how in his vision that I would be his little wife."
"Maybe finding you out in those woods brought on a protective side of him?" Belle can tell that her father easily sees the best in people.
"I don't know… It doesn't feel right," Belle sighs as she sits down on her bed. "I mean, I'm grateful, of course, but I thought I knew him as someone completely different."
"People can surprise you. I know your mother did," Maurice gives a soft smile as he combs a piece of his daughter's dark hair behind her ear, kissing her forehead. "The baker in town kindly dropped off a baguette for us earlier, so I'm going to get you some. The whole town knows about the wolf attack and they're very worried about you." Maurice leaves her room, heading down the stairs to cut the bread and slice the cheese.
Belle knows that the whole town thinks she's crazy and weird for liking to read instead of conforming to the norm of the town. They don't care about me; they just care about their new gossip.
Gaston sits in his tavern, admiring the framed picture of himself above the fireplace. While sipping his beer, LeFou goes on about how Gaston was such a hero for saving Belle's life in the woods.
"…No one saves beautiful girls like Gaston!" He and the rest of the tavern sing in glee. "And his marriage we soon will be celebrating, my what a guy! Gaston!" Everyone cheers except for the Bimbettes, who are all crying in the back of the tavern.
Gaston stands from his chair, lifting his hands to calm them all down. "Thank you, thank you all," Gaston grins, loving the attention and praise. Sitting back down and gulping down his beer, Gaston relaxes while the people in the tavern go back to their business. "LeFou! I had a thought."
"A thought?" Inquires LeFou, Gaston's sidekick, but mostly his lackey. "You don't have many of those, Gaston."
"I know that," Gaston's voice turns serious. "I saved Belle, but what if that doesn't change anything? What if she still refuses to marry me?"
"Well that is a thought…" LeFou pauses, taking a sip of his beer. "Did you ever think of actually taking an interest in her likes? Y'know that she likes to read, so why don't ya asking her about what's so important with reading those books of hers?"
Gaston stops to process what LeFou just said to him, rubbing his chin. Then Gaston stands up quickly as if he had an epiphany. "LeFou! What if I just take an interest in her books? You know that I'm no good with relationships, maybe the reason why is because I never asked the girls about themselves?" Gaston pauses. "This all makes sense now. I will go see her now and she will fall for me instantly!" Gaston smiles and pulls on his coat, leaving the tavern.
Maurice hears a knock at the front door and he looks through his concoction to see Gaston's bright blue eyes. He opens the door, welcoming him inside. "Oh, Gaston, please do come in! I just made some tea, would you like a cup?"
"Thank you," Gaston takes a cup, taking a sip of the tea. "Is Belle awake?"
"Oh yes she is, if you would like to, you can bring her up some bread and cheese," Maurice hands him a plate and Gaston starts up the stairs.
Gaston knocks on the door, remembering how on the day of the proposal, she didn't take kindly to him barging into her house uninvited. Belle opens the door and Gaston peers down at her. "I'm glad to see you're up and about," Gaston gives a dashing smile and walks into her room, setting down the plate of bread and cheese on Belle's nightstand next to her book. Gaston notices the stains of mud on the blue book, remembering that he tossed it right into the mud and placed his muddy shoes on top of it. Gaston glances over to Belle to see that she still looks incredibly beautiful even though she's not entirely healed. "Belle, do you know that you are the most beautiful girl in town?" Belle looks over to Gaston, about to roll her eyes until he adds, "I'm sorry I ruined your book." Her eyes widen to hear an actual apology from him. He apologized? This is not Gaston. He hasn't said anything narcissistic or egotistical. He owned up to something that he did and he's ready to face consequences. Why have I never seen this side before?
"I… I accept your apology, Gaston," Belle breathes, looking up at him. He looks so… Innocent. So gentle. He was always so selfish and harsh before now, did the attack truly change him or bring out a new side?
"What is your story about?" Gaston asks her as he sits on her bed.
"My what?" Belle doesn't believe what he's asking her.
"The story in your book. I know there aren't any pictures, but I'm willing to use my… My…" Gaston trailed off, stuck on the word.
"Your imagination?" Belle picks up her favorite book, wiping off some of the dried mud from the cover.
"Yes! My ee-mag-inashun," Gaston sounds out.
"Well," Belle sits at the edge of her bed. "This story is called Sleeping Beauty. It's about a princess that meets the prince disguised as a peasant. There's sword-fighting, magic spells, and a happy ending." She smiles just thinking about the story.
"Sword-fighting? That sounds like my kind of book," Gaston is actually intrigued by the story. He actually wants to hear what happens with the princess and how they all get their happy ending. "You shall read - I mean, could you read some of it to me?"
Belle is astounded by Gaston's interest in her story. She's still catching remnants of his rude self, but she doesn't seem to mind this gentler Gaston.
Let me know what you guys think! Thank you for your reviews already, they are very helpful! I hope you enjoy, feel free to give me your opinions! I'm starting college in a few days, so I'm going to do my best to post the next chapter soon. Thank you for reading :)