All right, all right, all right, people. Whew! Can't believe it has finally reached this point! Warning: this is where things are going to take a serious turn in the story! Remember, this is according to the movie storyline. In the chapters to follow, we're going to see just how much Gaston's relationship with his sister does or doesn't mean to him. All she's ever wanted from him is for him to do what's right. And her real name means "God is my oath." Things are going to go down a much different road now, so be prepared!
By the way, thank you for the very prompt reviews on the last one! I enjoyed them so much. Thank you! Well, here we go!
"If a wise man contends with a foolish man, whether the fool rages or laughs, there is no peace." Proverbs 29:9
"Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble, is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint." Proverbs 25:19
Lissa was grateful for the lull in the excitement, but it was short-lived as a frightened voice was heard rushing into the tavern. Everybody looked: it was Maurice! But he was hardly recognizable. His hair was frazzled in a disorderly mess, he was shaking, and he looked very sickly and so scared. He was panting heavily. "Help! Help me!" He wailed. "Somebody, please help!" Lissa gasped. What in the world had happened to him? He'd looked so healthy and happy only yesterday morning. Something was wrong!
"Maurice?" Lissa breathed with concern. Had something happened to Belle?
"Easy, easy. Whoa, slow down, Maurice. Take a breath." The tavern keeper tried to calm him.
"No, no, no. You...you don't understand." Maurice panted, trembling. "It's Belle! He's got Belle...locked in a dungeon!" At this, Gaston sat up straighter.
"Who's got her?"
"A beast. A horrid, monstrous beast!" Maurice exclaimed.
"Eh..." One of the customers rolled his eyes.
"Oh, please." Another shook his head.
"No, it-it's true." Maurice said shakily. "H-his castle is hidden in the woods. It's already winter there."
"Crazy old Maurice."
"That's a good one."
"Crazy old Maurice, Crazy old Maurice..."
"I always knew he was loony, but this..." Someone else laughed.
"Hey, stop it! Leave him alone." Lissa hissed at the scoffers, very turned off by their remarks. How could they be so mean? Maurice was a kind man, and someone she held very dear. What had happened to him to put him in such a hysterical, manic state? Lissa didn't understand the whole situation, but she saw the hurt look and fear in her dear friend's eyes as the people he thought were his friends made fun of him. "Calm down, Maurice. Are you sure?" Lissa asked softly. She wasn't sure exactly if he was delirious right now or not, but it bothered her to see her old friend in so much distress, and especially when everyone else was scoffing at him. She had never seen him this way and it was at the very least startling. Maurice stared at her hurtfully.
"Yes! Yes, I am!" He cried. "I saw the beast myself! He's holding my daughter for a prisoner. I saw him with my own eyes! You believe me, don't you, Lissa?" Maurice begged, practically pleading with her, the one friend he felt he had left in the room.
Lissa gripped his trembling hands, trying to calm him."I believe that you wouldn't barge in here begging for help if something wasn't very wrong." She told him truthfully. Then she glared at the others. "What kind of friends are you? You should be helping him and find out what's going on instead of picking on him!" But the people only laughed at her, adding to Maurice's dismay. Lissa felt her face grow hot. "Bigots", she muttered under her breath.
"Listen to me! The beast is real. This isn't funny." Maurice cried, his eyes fear-filled like a caged animal. "My daughter's life is in danger! Why do you laugh? It's not a joke! Will nobody help me?" He frantically glanced around the room, looking for someone to do something.
"I'll help you, Maurice." Gaston said, standing up.
"You will?" Lefou asked skeptically.
"Lissa's right. Everyone, stop making fun of this man at once." Gaston said, walking to him. Lissa sighed with relief...at first. At last, a voice the people would listen to.
"Thank you, Captain!" Maurice gasped in enormous relief. If there was anyone he could trust to help him save Belle, it was Gaston.
"Don't thank me, Maurice." Gaston smiled widely. "Lead us to the Beast!" Maurice relaxed, thankful that someone cared to help him save his daughter. Gaston turned and gave Lefou a certain look.
"Oh!" Lefou nodded in comprehension. He knew what Gaston was up to.
Lissa stared up suspiciously at Gaston. Something about that look didn't settle well with her, no matter how many times in the past that she'd seen it. Under normal circumstances, she would've been extremely proud of him for helping Maurice when no one else would, and at first, she had been. But sadly, of late she'd been led to doubt her brother's 'noble' motives by his actions. She really wanted to believe him, but that look he'd just given just seemed too smug. "What are you doing?" She quietly asked her big brother.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Gaston shrugged casually. "I'm helping the old man. Would you expect any less?"
How should I know? Lissa thought to herself.
"Come, Lefou. Let's be off." Gaston ordered. Lefou began to follow him. Lissa stood up.
"I'm going with you." She said. She wanted to make sure Gaston was in earnest about this.
"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea." Lefou gaped at her in surprise. Gaston put his hand on her shoulder.
"No. You stay here." Gaston smiled. "Believe me, you'll be much safer."
"You sure you're really trying to just help Maurice?" Lissa asked.
"Oh, Lissa." Gaston sighed with a chuckle. "You know me. I know what I'm doing. Just trust me, huh?" He patted her shoulder then left. Lissa watched unhappily. Gaston's decision should've put her at ease, but for some unexplained reason, it didn't.
"I don't like it." She whispered to herself, unable to shake off the sickly feeling in the pit of her stomach. "There's something odd about this."
Gaston was getting flustered. He was planning a big, heroic rescue of Belle, then she would marry him, and everything would go the way he wanted. But things weren't going the way he wanted. Maurice kept talking about the strangest things: talking teacups, magic, music playing by itself, winter in June. Gaston was pretty fed up with it. This wasn't the outstanding rescue he'd had in mind.
"There!" Maurice pointed out. "That's the tree! I'm sure of it. It was downed by lightning at the time." He hopped out of the carriage and hurried over to it. "But...now it's upright again, by some...magic, of some sort. So, that means...the road is that way. Wait, no. It's...that way! No...I...pfft." Maurice shook his head, not sure exactly how to explain himself.
"You really wanna marry into this family?" Lefou whispered to Gaston, who sat there perplexed and exasperated.
"The road is straight that way. I'm sure of it!" Maurice exclaimed. "Yes, now that I remember. I do remember. This way. We have to go this way!" Gaston dismounted and approached the older man.
"I'm tired of playing this game of yours." He said with a huff. "Where is Belle?"
"I told you. The beast took her..." Maurice answered him again.
"There is no such thing as beasts. Or magic," Gaston rolled his eyes. "Or talking teacups. But, there are wolves, frostbite, and starvation!" His fuse was quickly running south.
"Deep breaths, Gaston. Deep breaths." Lefou said from the carriage.
"Now, why don't we just go back to Villeneuve, where Belle is probably at home cooking up a lovely dinner."
Maurice frowned. "You think I've made all of this up?" He asked in a disappointed voice. "If you never believed me, then why did you offer to help?"
"Because I want to marry your daughter!" Gaston growled impatiently. Maurice stared blankly at him. Gaston took a breath and tried to lower his voice. "Now, let's go home." And he turned back.
"Belle is not at home!" Maurice told him for the hundredth time in the passed few hours. "She is with the..." But at that moment, Gaston was upon him, angrily clenching his coat collar and leaning right in his face.
"You say 'beast' one more time...I WILL FEED YOU TO THE WOLVES!" Gaston screamed.
"Gaston! Stop it!" Lefou called from behind and gripped his arms, turning him around, making him let go of Maurice. "Breathe." Gaston was huffing and puffing with his jaw narrowed, and his eyes white hot in outrage. "Think happy thoughts." Lefou smiled. "Go back to the war. Blood, explosions, countless widows..."
"Widows," Gaston sighed in relief and began to calm down. Maurice stared at the pair. He'd known Gaston all his life, but apparently, he hadn't known him as well as he thought he had. This guy live with a nonnegotiable agenda, possessed a violent temper when he didn't get what he wanted, and now it was clear that he would never cherish Belle. He'd been with other women before, and by his reaction to Lefou's suggestion, it was clear that Gaston looked to women for pleasure, not love. Once one was used up, he'd just move onto the next one!
"Yes. That's it. That's it." Lefou encouraged Gaston, glad his friend had calmed down. They both looked at Maurice and smiled. Maurice raised his eyebrows and took a step back, for his own safety.
"Maurice," Gaston smiled widely, "Please forgive me, you old bean. Now that's no way to speak to my future father-in-law, is it?"
Maurice gaped. "Future father-in-law?"
"Yeah." Gaston nodded.
"You will NEVER marry my daughter." Maurice told him calmly. All went eerily silent. Gaston was no longer smiling. Lefou bit his lip, afraid of how his friend was going to react. He knew it wouldn't be good, and he was right! Gaston snapped. He slugged Maurice right in the face! Maurice fell to the ground unconscious. Gaston smirked, feeling better for having blown off some steam, but Lefou hung back uncomfortably.
"I saw that coming." Lefou gulped. He wished he hadn't seen what had just happened, but he did. Gaston just stood there for a minute, weighing his options. Then he picked up Maurice and slung him over his shoulder. He grabbed some rope from the cart, then dropped Maurice roughly on the ground and set him up against the trunk of a tree.
"W-what are you doing?" Lefou asked, afraid to find out.
"Solving our problem. Nobody says no to Gaston! And certainly not some feeble old loon and who thinks I'm weak. Belle does not deserve a fine specimen like me, and I am not going to let Maurice push me around!" Gaston huffed, and started wrapping a coil of rope around Maurice, intending to tie him up against the tree. But Gaston froze and his blood ran cold when he heard galloping hoof-beats rushing straight at them. Gaston stood up erect and pulled out his pistol, readying it if necessary. Lefou shivered with guilty fear. A rider on a horse came to an abrupt halt and quickly dismounted. The small figure vigorously marched through the shadows to Gaston. Then a face appeared in the light. Gaston was flabbergasted and his eyes widened: it was Lissa! She eyed him angrily but said nothing. She looked at him, then down at Maurice, then back up at her big brother. He may be the one calling the shots here, but she was very ticked.
To be continued...
"Now who has the detonator?!" -Amanda Bentley in Diagnosis Murder
"A violent man entices his neighbor, and leads him in a way that is not good." Proverbs 16:29
"Fasten your seat-belts, folks. It's gonna be a bumpy ride."
"A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished." Proverbs 22:3
"Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul." Proverbs 22:24, 25