"Aladdin, go," Gaston said, not taking his eyes off of Meg.

"No. I told you I'd fight by your side and I will."

Now Gaston looked at him. "She will kill you to get to me and I don't want that. Besides, Jasmine needs you." Gaston pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Aladdin. "This is the location of The Huntress."

Aladdin slumped in defeat. He put a hand on Gaston's shoulder and Gaston nodded at him in reassurance. Aladdin headed after the others, without looking back at Meg.

Once they were alone, Meg sheathed her sword. She kept her knife in hand, though. "You gave me this," she said, holding it up.

"I remember."

"I wasn't a very good fighter, so you taught me how to throw knives." She cocked her head to the side. "Is it irony that I'm now going to to use it to kill you or poetic justice?"

"One dance, Meg."

Meg furrowed her brow. "Excuse me?"

"Give me one last dance like that night at the ball. Then you can do whatever you want to me." He held his hand out to her.

"You're out of your mind."

"You can't grant a dead man his final wish?" He sounded like he was mocking her, but his face remained serious.

"No. You may not have been holding the knife, but you're still responsible for Hercules' death."

"We both know that's not true."

"The hell it isn't!" she hissed. "Helga told you she was going to come after me and you let her." Meg's voice broke on the word let and tears brimmed her eyes.

Gaston took her free hand and pulled her towards him. He put her hand on his shoulder, then pressed his hand against her lower back and pulled her against him. Meg held her knife at her side. She could kill him at any moment and he knew it. But, he continued to hold her close to him and slowly started moving to the non-existent music.

They were both covered in blood and surrounded by dead bodies; Meg wondered if Gaston thought this was romantic. He likely did. As long as she's known him, he's been turned on by blood. She knew he couldn't have always been like this; what happened to make him become this savage brute?

"How did you become so obsessed with carnage?" Meg asked him.

"I'm not going to confess my sins to you, Megara." Gaston dipped her, and planted a firm kiss on her neck before pulling her back up.

"Stop it." She held the knife against his throat.

Gaston gently took hold of her wrist and moved her hand away from him. "Not yet."

Meg narrowed her eyes at him. "What?"

"You don't get to kill me until you believe me."

"About what?"

"You know what."

Meg thought for a moment. "About when you said you loved me?"

Gaston nodded once.

"I don't think you're capable of loving anyone other than yourself."

Gaston spun her. When he brought her back in, she once again pressed the knife to his throat.

"Why did you kiss me back?" Gaston asked.

Meg glared at him. "I was caught up in the moment. That was all."

"Like you are right now? It would have been easy for you to kill me at any point during this dance, but you haven't." He stopped the dance and pulled her even closer to him. "You may not love me back, Meg, but you don't hate me, either."

Meg parted her lips to respond. Instead, Gaston kissed her. It was nothing like their kiss back in the brig. It was more like their second kiss, right before they slept together. Anguished and yearning; both wanting it, but knowing it was forbidden. All at once, everything Meg had felt that night they were together came rushing back, tormenting her. She kissed him back, lowering her knife.

No. She had to stop this. Whatever physical feelings she had for Gaston were nothing compared to the love she had for Hercules. Her husband. The man who was killed because of Gaston.

Gaston broke the kiss briefly and whispered, "Meg, I love you." His lips brushed over hers as he spoke, causing her heart to race. He then captured her mouth with his again.

Meg slid her hand up his neck. She pressed her fingertips against the base of his skull and caressed his cheek with her thumb. She then stabbed him through the abdomen with his own knife.

They both froze.

The moment Meg felt his blood spill over her hand, she regretted what she had done. She let go of the knife and backed away from him. Gaston wrapped his hand around the handle of the knife.

"No, don't," Meg said. "You'll bleed out faster if you pull the knife out."

"I know." Gaston pulled out the knife and put it in her hand. He frowned when their eyes met. "Are you crying?"

Was she? Meg brought her hand up to her eye and realized that she had, in fact, started crying after stabbing him.

"What's wrong?" Gaston asked. "You got what you wanted: I'm going to die alone out here."

Meg tried to swallow around the lump that had formed in her throat. What the hell was wrong with her? He was right: she was finally getting what she's wanted for years. But, now that it was happening, she wasn't so sure Gaston's death was what she truly wanted. She didn't know why; he certainly had it coming. Most would argue he deserved a death worse than this.

But, all Meg could think about was the Gaston who had been her best friend and protected her.

Meg swore in frustration as she sheathed her knife. "We have to get you back to the castle."

"What are talking about?"

"Surely you have a royal doctor or... someone who can fix this."

"You want to save my life? I don't understand."

"Me neither."

X X X

Meg somehow managed to get Gaston back to the castle in time. A doctor came immediately to stitch him up.

Gaston told everybody Helga and her crew attacked him after killing his mother and Meg saved his life. No one asked him for details; they simply accepted what he said. And they all hailed Meg as a hero for saving their prince.

Meg didn't stay, though. As soon as the doctor came to see Gaston, she left. Aladdin came to the castle shortly afterwards and Gaston guessed Meg sent him. He was glad he was there. While the doctor was working on him, Gaston came up with a plan. After talking with Aladdin, Gaston asked to speak to Jasmine alone.

Jasmine was understandably hesitant about being alone with Gaston in his room. She stood tensely by the door. Aladdin waited out in the hall in case she needed him.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you that night, back on the ship," Gaston started.

Jasmine nodded, but didn't say anything.

Gaston continued, "I have a proposition for you."

Jasmine frowned. "What kind of proposition?"

"One that I think might benefit both of us."

"All right..."

"I don't want to be king," Gaston told her. "I want to go back to sailing on my ship. However, with my mother's death, I have no choice now but to take the throne. This is where I think we can help each other. If you and I married, you would be queen of Corona. I'll help you and teach you everything you need to know, then when you're ready, I'll fake my death. You will become the sole ruler of the kingdom and I can leave on my ship." Jasmine gaped at him. He quickly added, "We won't have to consummate the marriage. No one will know whether or not we did it, anyway."

Jasmine was quiet for a long time while she presumably contemplated what Gaston offered.

"On a personal level, I think this is a really bad idea," Jasmine finally said. "However, our marriage would bring peace between our kingdoms."

"Jasmine, even though I don't want to be king, I do still care about my kingdom. I never had to worry about it when my mother was queen; now that she's gone, I do. I will sign a peace treaty between Corona and Agrabah even if you don't marry me. Don't do this unless you want to. I'm not going to leave my people in the hands of someone who won't do right by them."

"Gaston, you don't even know me. How can you trust me to be the sole ruler of your kingdom?"

"Aladdin trusts you and that's good enough for me," Gaston replied. "Besides, I've been to Agrabah. Your people love you as much as they loved your mother. I know you'll be just as good of a queen as she was."

Jasmine blinked at him. "I think that's the highest compliment anyone has ever given me."

"I mean it," Gaston told her. "But, listen: there's a catch. Once I fake my death, you won't be able to be with Aladdin for-"

"For a year, I know," Jasmine told him.

Gaston raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You know?"

Jasmine nodded. "Of course. I've spent a lot of time learning everything I can about Agrabah's allies and enemies. I know quite a bit about Corona's laws and customs; as well as who your allies and enemies are." She sighed. "I don't know everything, though. Even if I agreed to this, I don't know enough to rule on my own."

"I'll help you. I'll stay as long as you need me and won't leave until after you're sure you're ready."

"If I don't agree to this, what happens to Corona?"

"Don't worry about that. I don't want you to feel pressured or obligated to do this."

Jasmine was still hesitant. "Does Aladdin know about this?"

"Yes."

"And what did he say?"

"That it's up to you."

Jasmine sighed. "It could work, I suppose. It would certainly help Agrabah in many ways."

"It would help Corona, as well," Gaston said. "A peace treaty between Corona and Agrabah alone would not guarantee the kingdoms to be allied; our marriage would. We would be strengthening both kingdoms. But, I know you left your royal life to be with Aladdin and I would understand if this isn't something you're willing to do."

"You're right," Jasmine told him. "I gave up being queen so I could be with Aladdin and doing this would put me back in that same situation."

"Only for a year or so," Gaston pointed out. "After that, you can marry Aladdin and make him your king. Besides, I'm certain we can find something for him to do in the castle in the meantime, so he'd still be around."

"If that's what he wanted."

"Why wouldn't he? We could get him an honest, respectable job and he could be close to you."

Jasmine shrugged. "He might want to leave with you."

"He won't leave you," Gaston said. "Either way, take some time to think about this and let me know."

"I've already decided, Gaston," she told him. "What you're offering allows me to be with Aladdin and leave behind the pirate life. I'll do it. But, I have one condition."

"Which is?"

"When we go to Agrabah to tell my father of our engagement, I want to bring my tiger, Rajah, back to Corona with us."

"Is that all?"

"What do you mean?"

"That's all you want in return?"

Jasmine nodded.

"Then consider it done."