Tale as Old as Time

"How was your evening with the Favres?" Celeste asked as Rosie joined her and Stephan in the living room.

"Very nice, Celeste," Rosie replied. "Bertrand and Dori made me feel very welcome in their home, which I loved. It's so warm and cozy."

Celeste chuckled, "Dori's responsible for that. She's quite the interior decorator. You should have seen the house before she and Bertrand got married. Such a typical bachelor pad. She did wonders with that place."

"She did a remarkable job then," Rosie answered. "It's so inviting and it's a perfect house to raise a family in. Reminds me of my friend's childhood home. If it's anything like Ian's was, then Roy's a lucky boy. Not to change the subject, but, Stephan," she turned to him. "Will you tell me the tale of the princess? After tonight's events, I'm even more intrigued about it now."

"Certainly, Rosie," he told her, curious about what had transpired. Even Celeste had an inquisitive look on her face. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened over at the Favres?"

Rosie just shook her head and replied, "Beau happened!"

"Beau? I thought Dori just invited you for dinner tonight, Rosie," Celeste inquired, a puzzled look on her face.

"She did," Rosie explained to her hosts. "But Beau crashed the dinner uninvited and proceeded to take over the conversation. It took Dori telling him that it wasn't all about him, for me to get a word in edge wise. He never knows when to call it quits, does he?"

"Unfortunately, not really, but none of his peers call him on it except Dori. She's the rare exception. As for the older generation, we really pay him no mind," Stephan replied. "But enough about Beau – this doesn't have anything to do with him. Please continue on, Rosie."

"Well, in a way it does. The way he reacted to some of our conversations made me want to learn about the story of Belle. When Dori mentioned that the majority of the families here in Molyneaux could trace their roots to the original families, I noticed that he tensed up a little bit." Rosie noticed that Celeste and Stephan glanced at each other quickly, but continued on, "But it wasn't until I mentioned the name of Jean-Claude DeVincent -"

"Jean-Claude DeVincent?" Stephan and Celeste gasped in unison. Rosie looked at them, knowing that she would again have to tell the tale of how she knew him.

"Pardon me, Rosie, but how is it you know that name?" Stephan asked.

"It's simple really. I dated him when I was over here as a foreign exchange student." Rosie turned to Celeste and told her, "Remember during the tea, I spoke about a Frenchman who broke my heart. Well, that Frenchman was Mssr. Jean-Claude DeVincent."

There was stunned silence when she finished. Both Stephan and Celeste were speechless, trying to comprehend what they had heard.

After a few seconds, Stephan finally spoke up, " My dear, if you were romantically involved with Jean-Claude, then you are more deeply connected to the tale than I thought and have every right to hear it."

"Before you do tell Rosie the tale, Stephan, I believe that there's something else that Rosie should be aware of," Celeste told her husband.

Rosie was curious. What was Celeste referring to?

She turned to Rosie, and sympathetically told her, "It's only fair to let you know that there is a slight possibility that you might see Jean-Claude again-"

"WHAT?" Rosie half-yelled, startled to hear this.

This was not what she wanted to hear. In fact that had been the last thing she had wanted to hear. It was hard enough just to talk about him, but to see him again when she was still not over what he had done to her heart, Rosie wasn't sure if she could handle seeing that…that…two-timing good for nothing lying cheating son of a….

"Rosie?" Celeste asked, interrupting her thoughts. She had become concerned when the expression on Rosie's face grew stormy. "Is everything all right?"

"I'm just thinking of the past," Rosie told her. She shook off the way she was feeling, grateful to be focusing on her hosts. "Forgive me my state of mind, Celeste and Stephan. It's just that I'm a little despondent when it comes to my love life. It's a long story that happened five years ago and what it comes down to is that I'm still not over him. So the thought of seeing my ex again is not exactly great news." She sighed, and ran her hand through her hair, saying, "Truthfully, I don't know if I'll ever get over him." She looked at them, gave them a small smile and said, "But don't mind me. Please continue on, Stephan."

"Oh, Rosie, I didn't realize that you still had feelings for him," Celeste told her. "If I had known that would have upset you, I would have never said anything to you. I just thought that you would like to know that there's a small chance you might see him again. He and his staff sometime visit Molyneaux in late spring or early summer."

"It's all right, Celeste. After all you didn't know," Rosie assured her. "I actually appreciate the forewarning. In fact I'm glad you told me. I can only imagine what my reaction would be – not a very pretty one, I might add – if we were meet on the street."

"A wise judgement, " Stephan said, nodding his head. "But Jean-Claude rarely appears in Molyneaux when he stays at his ancestral residence. His household staff are the ones who we really deal with the most and welcome when they come to Molyneaux-"

"His household staff?" Rosie interrupted. "You mean Henri, Mrs. Potter, Montgomery -or Monty- and Cheri? Do they still work for him?"

"Ah, so you do know them!" Stephan exclaimed. "Yes, all four are still under service to the DeVincent household."

Well, that was SOME consolation, she thought. If she had to see that double-dealing creep again, at least she would also get to see his servants, whom she'd become fond of. She did look forward to seeing them again.

"Who could forget those four!" Rosie smiled. "I got to know them when I was invited to Jean-Claude's parents' home. They were very welcoming, especially Mrs. Potter, and I became very fond of all of them. That was the biggest downside when I ended the relationship- not seeing them again. I really miss them, especially Henri and Monty's bickering, so it will be good to see them again at least, if it should happen. But now, tell me about the tale surrounding the princess…"

"Certainly, but before I do. I'm curious about one thing, though. How did Beau react when you mentioned that name?" Stephan inquired. "Not too well, I gather."

"Not too well is an understatement," Rosie answered. "I've never seen anyone get that angry over a name so quickly – well, besides my dad, Ian, Brad, and myself. In fact Beau almost bent his fork in half, he was that agitated about it. Why?" she asked, when she saw Stephan nodding his head knowingly.

"There's a reason for that, Rosie. Basically, Jean-Claude's ancestor, Prince Christophe DeVincent, and Beau's ancestor, Gaston Laroche, were rivals for Belle's affections, and Gaston did not come out the winner – much to Beau's, and the rest of the Laroches', everlasting chagrin. Which is why he hates that name. But I'm getting ahead of myself here," Stephan chuckled. "I'd better start this tale with Christophe's birth because that's the origin of this whole story.

"Well, it all began when the prince was born about two and half centuries ago. The king and queen rejoiced because they had a son. It was a happy time for all when the birth of the prince was announced," Stephan told Rosie.

In turn she grinned, captivated by this real life fairy tale and eagerly awaited the next segment, not expecting what she heard.

Stephan continued on with the tale: "But alas the celebration did not last long, for the queen died that very evening, and soon the king followed her, devastated by his loss and dying of a broken heart. The servants raised the infant prince after his uncle refused to, deeming it not his place, but that of the household staff. The three who were mainly responsible were Lumiere, the head valet, Cogsworth, the majordomo, and Mrs. Potts, the housekeeper. And so they raised him, catering to his every whim and humoring him all through his infancy and childhood and early adolescence. This resulted in the prince becoming very selfish, spoiled, and believing he was the center of the universe. After all, who was going to correct him? Certainly not the servants who could face imprisonment or banishment or even death, if they dared to disagree with him.

"This continued on until one fateful winter's evening, when a beggar woman came to the castle only wanting shelter and offering a rose in exchange. The prince turned away the old woman twice, even disregarding a warning from her. After the second time he shunned her, the woman's true identity was revealed as a powerful enchantress. Seeing this Christophe quickly begged for forgiveness, but the damage had already been done. And as a fitting punishment, the prince was placed under a spell and turned into a ferocious and hideous beast. The servants also suffered the same fate and were turned into objects. At first, it seemed they were to destined to stay that way for eternity, but it was revealed that if a young woman fell in love with the Beast – and he with her – before the last petal fell from the rose, then the enchantment would be lifted - "

"Wait a minute! Did this really happen?" Rosie suddenly interrupted Stephan. She looked at him skeptically and continued on, saying, "Or are you pulling my leg? I mean humans don't normally turn into a beast and enchanted objects just like that." She snapped her fingers. "Are you sure about this?"

Stephan chuckled at her, and replied, "I know it sounds farfetched, Rosie, but take my word on it, this really and truly happened. And as for how I know this, I will tell you at the conclusion of this story. You have my word on that.

"Now where was I? Ah yes, the Prince had been transformed and was given the conditions to the spell, along with an enchanted mirror, but alas, the Beast hid himself away from the world and no travelers came to the castle. The years passed and soon the Beast became more despondent and withdrew even more, as the time grew shorter. It wasn't until Belle showed up looking for her father, that everyone in the castle became hopeful that she could break the spell-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you again, Stephan, but I'm confused," Rosie told him. "If no one ever came to the castle, why was Belle's father there? You said no one ever came to the castle."

"Forgive me, Rosie, I'm getting ahead of myself! I tend to do that when it comes to this tale." Stephan said to her. "It's not very often that I get to tell this story. You are probably wondering how Belle and her father came to the castle and what events lead them there? Let me see if I can recall this correctly…

"A year earlier Belle and her father, Maurice had arrived in Molyneaux. Right off the bat, both were deemed as strange and oddities – Maurice for being an inventor and Belle, for just simply reading. I don't have to tell you that it was considered inappropriate for a woman to read back then. So Belle, because of her hobby, was lonely in the village, having no company except that of her father – and one very persistent and unwanted suitor, who went by the name of Gaston Laroche, the most popular man in the little village.

"You see, the moment Gaston spotted Belle when she arrived and was introduced to her, he was determined to have her for his wife, being that she was the most beautiful girl in the village and he was the most handsome man. So he pursued her relentlessly, but Belle had other ideas – she wanted adventure and romance far away from this little village – and did everything she could to let Gaston know that she was not interested in him or in becoming his wife.

"One day when Maurice was away, traveling to a fair to test out his latest invention, Gaston came calling and proposed to her, certain that she would be his wife, but to his surprise, Belle turned him down. This only made him more determined to marry her, but Belle wasn't concerned with that just yet. For not too soon after that, Maurice's horse returned home riderless, much to her dismay.

"Determined to find out where her father was, she found herself in front of a huge castle, the very same one that Maurice had encountered, and entered this same castle, and discovered that the master of the castle – a beast - had imprisoned her father because he had trespassed. Maurice, on his way to the fair, had gotten lost and wandered into the castle, hoping to find shelter, but found himself in a living nightmare. In exchange for Maurice's freedom, Belle agreed to take his place, and the Beast let Maurice go.

"And so began the relationship between the Beast and Belle. Not a very good start, I'm afraid. But while the Beast viewed Belle as a prisoner, the servants welcomed Belle, and always hoped that she might come to care for the Beast and finally be able to break the spell that they had been under for so long. It was the servants, mostly Lumiere and Mrs. Potts, who gave her comfort and helped her to make the best of a bad situation.

"After a few mishaps and misunderstandings, over time – and the servants' assistance - Belle and the Beast's feelings began to change and they started getting closer and closer to each other. With Belle's help, the Beast became more genteel and more civilized. As the days passed, the staff watched with eagerness, always hopeful that the two would fall in love and the enchantment lifted.

"It was on one such evening, after dinner and dancing, that the Beast tried to confess his feelings for Belle, but could not after he saw how much she missed her father. He let her see the mirror and Belle realized that her father was not well. Despite knowing what would not happen if he released her, the Beast was touched and let Belle go free, much to the dismay of the servants.

"Belle hurried to save her father and soon after they arrived home, they were greeted by a mob there to take Maurice away because he was considered crazy – a plot thought up by Gaston. Gaston told Belle maliciously that she had a choice: Marry him, or see her father locked away in a madhouse for the rest of his life.

Belle refused him again and in turn revealed that there was a Beast. In doing so she inadvertently revealed that she had feelings for the Beast.

"Incensed at this latest rejection, Gaston whipped up the mob into a frenzy and they headed towards the castle with the intention of killing the Beast. It was a race against time for Belle and Maurice as they tried to warn the Beast of the impending danger.

"But when they arrived, it seemed like it was too late. For although the servants had defeated the mob in a fierce battle, Gaston was about to kill the Beast, who was despondent over losing Belle, and taunted him cruelly. However when Beast saw her, he was renewed and fought off Gaston with the tide turning in favor of the Beast. At one point, the Beast had the upper hand and was about to kill him, when Gaston begged for mercy. He let him go and was about to be reunited with Belle, when Gaston stabbed the Beast in the back, which caused Gaston to fall to his apparent death.

"The two were finally alone, but it was not under happy circumstances, alas. For when Gaston stabbed the Beast, it was a mortal wound and the Beast died. Belle was heartbroken and tearfully told him that she loved him, just before the last petal fell from the rose. The servants, who had quietly witnessed all this, were crushed, for the Beast lay dead before them and the spell had not been broken. They were cursed to be objects for all eternity.

"All seemed hopeless until a miracle occurred! Before their eyes and Belle's unbelieving ones, the Beast was transformed into a human again. After a few moments passed before Belle realized that the man who stood before her was her beloved Beast, everyone was returned to their human forms. The enchantment had been finally lifted and all rejoiced."

"Oh, how romantic! It's like a fairy tale come true," Rosie sighed, enraptured by the whole story. Stephan smiled at this. She then inquired, "What happened to them then and what about Gaston? And how is it that you know all this?"

"Wait a minute, Rosie! You're going a mile a second! I can only respond to one query at a time!" Stephan told her.

Rosie grinned sheepishly. Stephan laughed. "To answer your questions, Belle and Christophe were married soon after that and lived in relative peace for the remainder of their days along with their three children and faithful servants and their families. With Belle by his side, Christophe was a very benevolent ruler and was highly respected until the day he died. When they both passed on – Christophe first, then Belle later - there was great mourning throughout the kingdom over the great losses.

"As for Gaston, he survived the fall, but he never returned to Molyneaux again. For woodsmen discovered him on the bank of a river – he had landed in the river and unconscious had been swept downstream a good distance from Molyneaux. Then he was taken to the closest village, where he fell in love with and married the local beauty, the town's doctor's eldest daughter, who had nursed him back to health. At first because of the severity of injuries, it was thought he would not survive, but it being Gaston, he not only recovered, but also regained his full strength.

"Gaston and his bride went on to produce a fine family – I believe they ended up with seven sons – and Gaston became of the town's most popular and influential citizens, just as he had been back in Molyneaux. Despite all this, he did not fully recover from the humiliation of losing Belle, and often brooded about it – especially when it was announced through the countryside that the prince had returned and chosen a bride, who turned out to be Belle, of all people. He kept it to himself until the day he died and no one dared question him about it – not even his own wife.

"In fact there is another legend regarding this story. It is said that when Gaston died he swore on his deathbed that his spirit would never rest until a descendant of his married one of Belle's descendants. And so he has for almost two centuries. There have been countless sightings of his ghost walking the streets of Molyneaux throughout the years.

"As for the villagers of Molyneaux, they mourned Gaston, because he never came back from that raid on the castle. He was given a hero's farewell, because they believed that he had died in the process of killing the Beast. Three generations passed on before a Laroche returned to Molyneaux. It was then revealed that Gaston had survived the fall. There were questions about why Gaston had not returned to the little village, but the great-grandson of Gaston only revealed that Gaston had fallen in love with a beauty from the village and had chosen to stay there. The truth is that Gaston was so humiliated by his failure, that he felt like he could never show his face in Molyneaux ever again – especially when Christophe ended up marrying Belle – therefore he didn't.

"So as you can see there's a very good reason why Beau acted the way he did tonight and why he doesn't want the whole story told," Stephan told Rosie, shaking his head all the while. She looked at him quizzically, trying to understand what Stephan was telling her. Seeing this Stephan explained, "Remember Andre's response on the first night you came to the village? How nervous they were in the tavern when I mentioned the story?" Rosie nodded. "There's a reason for that. The Laroches are very powerful people and this to them is considered a dark secret, a stain on their image. And since no one here wants to provoke the Laroches and get on their bad side, this tale is rarely ever told or talked about. Or if it is, they just mention how great Gaston was and how incredibly brave he was and how foolish Belle was not to see that."

Rosie just stared at Stephan for a few moments and then said disbelievingly, "They care that much about the fact that their ancestor got rejected?"

Stephan shrugged and replied, "And defeated. But that's the Laroche family for you in a nutshell. They've always been obsessed with family pride and reputation. Been that way ever since Gaston was a small boy. He learned his ways from his father, Auguste Laroche, and unfortunately that trait has been passed down through countless generations. Frankly if there was a humble Laroche descendant, I'd be surprised."

Rosie pondered something, and then with an anxious look, asked Stephan, "Then how is it that you know all this and do the Laroches know you know this? And if so, aren't you worried about it?"

Stephan smiled, "I appreciate your concern, Rosie, but don't worry about this old timer. The reason I know all this is because I also happen to be Molyneaux's historian, as well as the owner of the bookstore. And yes, the Laroches do know that I know this." Rosie's eyes went wide. Stephan chuckled, and told her, "However there's no need to be afraid for me, Rosie. After all, I've known this tale for many a year, and no harm's come to this old coot yet. Like I said that they're big on image. Their standing would suffer if it were known that any Laroche threatened a well-respected citizen, such as myself. Besides the Laroches somewhat fear me because I do know the complete story and don't want it told, and therefore don't threaten me for that reason."

"Then what is the version that Molyneaux knows?" Rosie asked.

"That Belle didn't want Gaston, but there's no mention of her rejecting him at all. As far as everyone here knows, the story is Gaston killed the Beast because the town thought he was a danger. Gaston fell off the tower in the process and was proclaimed a hero to this village. As for Belle, she caught Christophe's eye, who returned after a lengthy absence, and married him since Gaston had died. As far as they knew, Christophe had nothing to do with the Beast. Always the focus is on Gaston and his heroic exploits, never on Belle. And for over two centuries it has been that way."

"All this is amazing! So tell me how is it that you know all this information?" Rosie inquired, intrigued. "I mean, how do you know all the different sides of the story? I don't mean to seem rude, but if you've lived here all your life, then how could you know all the perspectives – especially Gaston's, if he didn't return to the village?"

"A very astute question, and not at all rude, Rosie," Stephan remarked. "It's really all a combination of a quite few things. First for Christophe's perspective, a descendant of mine – by the name of Webster – was a servant in the castle and he recorded the events along with a few other servants. As for Gaston's side, that's part of Molyneaux's history. The Laroches are one on the premiere families here. As for the legend of the ghost and Gaston's deathbed vow, there is a reason why I know this particular fact. There is a journal that one of his servants kept at the time of his death, which I have. I acquired it many years ago. Plus there have been many accounts of the ghost throughout the centuries. I have those as well.

"Finally there's Belle's point of view. She ended up writing her memoirs and presented one copy to the kindly bookseller, which has been passed down for years and is now in my possession. When you have time or if you have time you can read them if you wish," Stephan chuckled. "I keep all three here in our house in a safe location to keep them protected as they are important documents dealing with Molyneaux's history."

"I'd love to, Stephan. They all sound fascinating, especially Belle's," Rosie replied. She paused and considered something for a moment, then asked, "Is the fact that I look like Belle the only reason that Beau's attracted to me, because his ancestor didn't win Belle's heart? Maybe it's just a coincidence that I look like her. I may not be even related to her at all."

Stephan spoke up, "Rosie, I'll admit that it might be part of the reason, but I won't say it's the main factor in Beau's decision to pursue you. After all you are a lovely young woman in your own right, if I may so, and he must have fallen under your charms." Rosie blushed at the compliments. "As for Belle, you must be in someway connected to her. There's no other explanation because your resemblance to her is so remarkable. I don't know how you couldn't not be a descendant of hers. Have you had your family tree ever researched?"

Rosie answered, "No not completely, but my dad recently retired, and he started getting into genealogy and our family history." Stephan nodded. "He's not gotten very far, just to my great-grandparents. But he did tell me that there is a possibility that some of our ancestors are from around here."

"So you being related to Belle is not out of the question, then." Stephan told her.

"It would be very interesting to find out that I was related to royalty," Rosie replied. "In fact, I think that I'll see if Dad has been able to find out any more information about our family tree before I turn in. Good night to you both, Stephan and Celeste."

"Goodnight to you, Rosie," they replied.

Rosie smiled and then headed down the hallway to her room. As she did, her thoughts turned to the story she had heard and all the information she had learned.

Hopefully Beau won't be that persistent when it comes to me, she thought. I'm attracted to him, it's true. But I have no intention of starting a relationship with him or anybody for that matter. The faster I can make him understand that the better.

Rosie felt better as she entered her room, but she couldn't silence the voice in her head that said, You're just foolin' yourself, Reed, if you think you're not going to get involved with him. You know what will happen simply because he is incredibly handsome! It's always the same old story. You know it and I know it. So just face facts and deal with the inevitable.

Rosie tried to ignore this, but she knew in her heart that the voice was right, and groaned as the truth hit her hard. Why me? she thought to herself as she sat down and turned on her computer, hoping to get her mind on anything else than what she had been thinking.

A/N - Yes, I'm back and I've FINALLY updated after all this time! Woo-hooo! Here's a lesson that everyone can learn from: Never tell yourself that a chapter will be easy to write and you'll have it up in no time, cause it most likelywon't be and will backfire on you.

Starting now, I am NOT making any promises on my future chapters. Let's just say that they'll be up when they're up. LOL! ;) As for the reason, it took me so long to finish this chapter...I bought a house this summer, and was busy with that, as well as having lots of company. I'm in my house now, so the chapters will be up faster now.

Okay, let's get serious now. Hope everyone enjoys this chapter and likes it, too! As for responding to the reviewers from last chapter, I'm just going to say thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Oh, and it was a blast to write! My apologies on keeping people waiting for this chapter (you all know who you are!).Hope you think it was worth the wait.

Finally, special thanks to TrudiRose for betaing my story and offering suggestions, as well as the rest of the BatB crew. You all rock:)