Welcome back! Special thanks to those have reviewed. Mustard Lady, your review really cracked me up. And I totally agree that he is a complete idiot. This took a bit longer to post due to work, next chapter will be uploaded faster.

Chapter 6

"What problem?" Maurice hoped it wasn't about turning the servants back.

"Gaston, despite me having removed every trace of last nights events on the road, he managed to find his way here. He's currently prowling the gate and surrounding walls for a weak spot, I have no doubt he'll find his way in eventually.

Where are Belle and Beast?" Agathe hurriedly explained. They had to come up with a plan, because she sensed the problems the hunter could bring.

"They're most probably still in the servants quarters. Beast wanted to...clean..." Maurice finished uncomfortably.

Agathe looked surprised, "He wanted to clean? Why on earth would he want to do that?" She knew people could do strange things while grieving, but this was very odd.

Maurice cleared his throat, "Yes, some of the servants had some last wishes... Mrs. Potts wanted her and Chip together is his old room."

This statement was followed with absolute silence. Maurice felt rather uncomfortable speaking about this with the person who had caused this misery, Agathe on the other hand was proud of Beast. He was showing such compassion for the fate of the servants, a fate she would do her best to reverse.

"Let's find them, before Gaston becomes even more of a nuisance. Though he'll be very busy for now," Agathe couldn't suppress a smirk here. While she wouldn't let the wolves actually kill someone, she could give them a good chase. Benevolent she might be, but she was still a lady. He'd regret calling her a 'filthy hag' and several other unpleasant names during the past years.

Making their way to the servants quarters they heard voices heading their way.

"...proud of you. You have to stop putting all this blame with yourself. You might have made a mistake years ago, but so did Agathe while enchanting everybody as she did. On the inside I'm as broken up as you are, but staying positive is all I can do to keep level-headed. We need to find a way to help them, will you help me to think of a way to free them?" Belle asked Beast. It was all she could think about, it's what kept her going without falling apart.

Agathe and Maurice stepped a bit back, something important was happening before their eyes. They could see how Beast was regaining his composure, his hopelessness turning into determination.

Not wanting to eavesdrop too much Agathe decided to interrupt the moment.

"Beast, we have a problem heading this way. We need to prepare before Gaston gets here, for now I have him distracted by the wolves, but that won't last forever." She moved in the direction of the West Wing, it being Beast's private area she had made the most devastation to the castle happen here. Side effect being it was nearly a maze and more difficult to walk through if you didn't know the way. Also it had a pretty clear view of the entrance and they could see Gaston coming ahead of time from there.

Outside of the castle however Gaston was having a very bad day, first that monstrosity of a gate blocked his way. Checking the walls he was met by four angry wolves that were still chasing him, he had shot and killed one though. Still that left him with three wolves, he reloaded his bow with his last arrow and made a blind shot behind him. He heard a yelp and knew he had hit one, he glanced back quickly and saw that all the wolves had left. He must have hit the leader, as much as he wanted to get in that castle, he needed to take a small rest first. Those wolves were the strangest he had ever seen, they had managed to get close a few times, but all they had done was snap at his feet. Never actually doing any damage, he did manage to keep the castle in sight during the chase and he slowly headed back.

The group had gathered in the West Wing. Beast and Belle sat on the bed, Maurice grabbed a chair and Agathe stood by de table on the balcony. She took a glance at the bell jar and saw the still floating stem, dead and crumpled petals underneath.

"How long do you think before he gets here?" Belle asked Agathe.

"The wolves are giving him a good chase for now, but he already killed one of them. And eventhough he is on the run, he's keeping close to the castle. He must be the most obnoxious man I've ever come across."

Beast was pondering those words, he didn't want to meet that Gaston figure. If he was the most obnoxious person the enchantress had ever seen, his old self included. Then there was the treatment of Maurice at his hands. No he definitely did not want to meet this Gaston.

Maurice shivered at the thought, the ruthlessness he witnessed in his previous two encounters with the man had been horrifying and he had no wish for a repeat.

Agathe suddenly turned around. "He's past the wolves and heading back in this direction."

Belle got up and walked to the balcony, hoping to see something...or rather hoping she saw nothing. Nothing was good, that meant Gaston hasn't gotten passed the gate yet.

They heard a bang and looked behind them. Beast had left, what was he doing? Belle grabbed the mirror once more asking for Beast. He was heading up to the towers, why was he going there, Belle wondered.

"He shouldn't go off on his own, we need to stay together." Maurice added, "I have to admit he stands the best chance against Gaston in a fight, though I wish I could protect you better Belle."

Belle asked the mirror for Gaston and saw he was closing in on the surrounding walls again.

"We need to come up with some sort of plan, he won't stop until he gets what he wants. Any ideas?" Belle asked.

High up in the tower Beast stood watch, he could see a greater distance from here and he vaguely saw a speck of red in the distance. That must be him, he thought. No matter what, he would keep him away from Belle. Knowing he had tried to kill Maurice and have him committed when that failed, this man could not be underestimated. He could see the man reaching the walls and move along it, searching for a way to get over it. Suddenly he saw him move faster and going up in one of the trees that stood near the walls. He rushed down, time was up.

Gaston was finally back at the wall, he saw a group of trees that stood close to the wall and inspected the braches. They would be able to hold him, he had found his way in.

Beast had just reached the entrance hall, he made sure to stand in the shadows. Carefully glancing out a window, he saw no trace of Gaston. Years of stalking the castle had made him very knowledgeable about the best hiding spots. If he didn't want to, nobody would see him, but that wasn't his goal this time. He would make sure Gaston would get a very clear view of him. Every second he could keep him here, was one second he wouldn't find Belle.

On the balcony they saw Gaston approaching, Belle quickly requested the mirror to show Beast. The mirror shifted to Beast lurking in the shadows of the entrance hall.

"He's going to fight him, we have to stop this before he gets hurt or killed!" Belle was panicking now and looked around the room for possible weapons. She returned the mirror to the table and the dead rose caught her eye. She was drawn to it for some reason, it was dead. So why would she pay so much attention to it? The cursed rose that brought nothing but misery at all coming near it.

A cursed rose...

No curse could be reversed without conditions being met...but what if...

"Agathe, how angry are you with Gaston?" Belle gave a slight smirk. If this worked...

Agathe turned to face Belle, "Enough, what are you thinking of?"

"Could you cast a new curse and connect it to the old one?"

"I suppose it's possible, but a curse is never pleasant. They're meant to teach someone a lesson and when not broken, you've seen what that results into. Also this has never been done before, so I can't predict how much can be tied in." Agathe warned. "Besides if I had seen even a single redeeming quality in him I would have cursed him years ago. Though I'm not very concerned about his wellbeing, a curse is meant for all in the vicinity."

"Meaning it would mean all of us, including me and my father."

Maurice paled at the thought, "We're not turning into furniture, are we?"

"No, it can be relatively harmless, but still unpleasant nonetheless. And you want to use it to help break the other one I presume," Agathe answered.

"If at all possible," Belle could only hope it could be done.

A loud roar made the decision for them.