"Papa! We must do something!" The afflicted girl urged her father.
"What can we do, Belle? What can we do against a mob?" Maurice replied in a sorry tone.
"You've invented so many things! You must have something to stop that collective madness!" She pleaded.
She had come back to save her father for the second time in her life. But she didn't want to have someone else sent away to that spooky asylum! Not even Gaston or LeFou! And she could hardly trade her life against theirs now, could she? After the hunter's 'who should I kill first' show, no one would let her. And would it even calm their ardor if they did? Belle was more than sure it wouldn't.
"Wait. I think I have something." The old man dashed to his house along with his daughter who looked forward to take off her bulky dress.
"I'll take ALL of you! Come on! Come at me!" LeFou loudly induced the violent mob. Blood dripped off his lips, his nose was smashed in a crimson puddle and he could barely open his right eye now. He staggered.
"LeFou…" Gaston yearned to scream but only whispered.
"Enough! Enough of this madness!" A voice in the back ordered.
The villagers turned back. It was Père Robert.
"What's the problem?" Tom asked.
"We're just punishing the guys who led us to almost send poor Maurice and Belle in an asylum!" Dick added.
"Yeah! Weren't you the first to defend old Maurice, mister vicar?" One of the triplets reminded.
"None of this violence is necessary! These men have to go to prison! Not in an asylum!" The priest claimed.
"Well what's the difference?" The tavern bartender uttered.
"And it's our right to tell these two fuckers we've had enough of their bullshit!" Tom claimed.
"And being taken for idiots!" The eggs saleswoman added.
"Just recite the Bible and bugger off!"
"You think a low shit like you can tell us what to do?"
"Or teach our children?" The withered headmaster mocked the clergyman. He knew; everyone knew given his position Père Robert should have been the teacher of the village children. Yet he was denied as such because of his skin color.
The whole mob, except Stanley, Gaston and LeFou burst into a loud creepy laugh.
Belle, Maurice, please. Come back quickly. Père Robert prayed. For he knew if they didn't, he would soon become no better than that spiteful mob. Salvation came as an unexpected sound. Gloomy wolves' cries filled up the whole village.
"Oh my God, wolves!"
"Oh no, wolves!"
"Quick, let's go home!"
The villagers quickly scatter away in screams and yells. The horses harnessed to the carriage soon freaked out too, loudly neighed and started to scamper off. The gloomy D'Arque ran after them; frightened as well. LeFou swiftly turned back.
"Gaston!" He shrieked out.
He hurried to catch his captain's ankles, pulled on them and finally threw him out of the carriage. Not without a small blow on the hunter's skull when the latter's head hit on the floor.
"Ow!"
"Gaston! You're ok?"
The humiliated captain was about to slap his friend, scold him and tell him how it was his fault if the hunter was almost sent to that cursed asylum but he prevented his hand from any abuse when he noticed how LeFou's face already was awfully injured. His nose and lips spluttered in blood, his right eye all black and shut, bruises on his jaw and his forehead… The worst was that LeFou was smiling, not giving a damn at all about his wounds.
"LeFou!" He abruptly sat up and caught his friend's soft shoulders. "Who did…! I know who did this to you. Tom! Dick! Where are you, rotten sons of bitches?" He roared, spitting out the 'b' of 'bitches'. "Come back here and fight like proper men, you lousy cowards!" He yelled all his veins out.
"Gaston, it's ok!" LeFou faintly shook his head, keeping on smiling.
That bright, heartwarming smile.
"Ok? OK? Can't you see how you're looking like right now?"
"Well, technically… no, I can't."
And he kept his precious sass too!
"Tom! Dick! Clotilde! Everyone! Everyone of that fucking full of assholes village!" Gaston roared again. "I'll kill you! Do you hear me? I'll fucking kill every single fucker of you! And burn down all of your filthy houses to ashes!"
"Gaston, no! Calm down!" LeFou gripped on the white ruffle.
"Then I'll go piss on your graves!" Gaston raged. A bit of drool was even dripping out of his mouth.
"Just fucking calm down, for God's sake!" LeFou screeched out as he sharply pulled on the ruffle to make Gaston face him.
The hunter's face was deep red, trembling with rage, covered in throbbing veins ready to explode at any moment.
"But… but LeFou!..." He panted through his teeth. "Look… look what they've done to you!"
"It can be fixed. The most important is that you're safe now." A bright, pure smile appeared on LeFou's face again.
"LeFou…" Gaston's lips quivered with something else than sheer anger.
"LeFou!" A young courtier in tears hurried to the black-eyed tavern singer as he pulled off his scarf.
A furious hunter bluntly glared at him.
"Don't you touch him, you plaid bastard!" Gaston growled. "Make another step forward and I'll bite off your balls!"
Stanley flinched.
"Gaston, no!" LeFou cupped the captain's face and turned it back in front of his own. "He defended me! He wasn't part of… that mess!" He assured.
"I… I just wanted to give you this." The benevolent musketeer handed out his scarf. "To wipe you face."
"Oh. Thank you, Stanley." The surprised entertainer took it.
All while LeFou was wiping off the blood on in face, the hunter was thinking.
"They were all agreeing with me. Why did they suddenly change their minds? It makes no sense. I wonder… if it's not that Beast's work."
Stanley's worried look shifted for a fierce, heinous glare.
"It had already enchanted Belle… why not a whole village? Black magic can be powerful…"
"Are you fucking KIDDING ME?" The hunter's former follower punched him hard in the face. His punch was tougher than Gaston expected.
"Gaston!" LeFou screamed.
"They've made what they did because of YOU, Mister Paragon! Because you wanted to lock them up and kill them all, even LeFou, if it meant you could have your imaginary war and marry Belle, you insane… Beast!" Stanley exploded.
LeFou thought he looked exactly like Gaston now.
"What did you say, you low shit?" The raging captain began to stand up.
"No, Gaston stop!" His friend caught his broad shoulders. "Gaston, the Beast never existed! It was all Maurice's imagination!"
"What? But what about Belle? And her cursed mirror?"
"It merely was one of Maurice's inventions! For Belle!" LeFou explained.
"Why did he go raving about a real Beast then? Why did Belle also thought it was real?" Gaston insisted.
"Oh come on! Think a bit, my love! The poor old guy just was exhausted! The fair is far from here! And Belle said the Beast was real just so you release him!"
"That's just common sense, you rabid wolf." Stanley added.
"I'll fucking tear you into shreds…!" Gaston tried to stand up again.
"That's enough! Stop!" LeFou slapped him.
Both Stanley and LeFou gasped.
