Thank you all so much for the encouraging reviews. Darth Becky 726 I'm not naming the Beast for now, that will be done at some point. But I'm also reading this out loud to my 3 and 5 year old, and they would find the name confusing.

I love how this chapter turned out and you'll love it just as much as me.

Chapter 12

It was early morning and a lone figure watched over the two fallen figures on the ground, horse grazing a little further. She raised her hand to move them up in the air and walked towards the castle, the two bodies following her.

Belle had woken up and saw the empty bed across from hers, by the looks of it, Beast hadn't come back to sleep. She was slightly worried though, perhaps she had been too hard on Beast. Still she had expected better from him. Gaston had looked absolutely terrified, not much unlike her after her trespassing in the West Wing.

She caught herself take another quick glance at the rose. This curse had brought her a new level of understanding Beast. Whether it was when entering, leaving or passing by, she always took a quick glance at the rose. Beast must have done that as well during those lonely years before she came, so much that in the end it had obsessed him and she was slowly becoming more entranced by the rose every time she looked.

Though she had never commented upon it, she knew what that bundle on the floor must have been. The bed had a clear view of the rose, but the nest that was on the floor before Beast had moved the other bed there was out of sight, it had been a way to avoid looking at it. An attempt to deny it's existence made by Beast during a despairing time.

She left the room, sighing when she caught herself once more.

She stood at the top of the stairs of the entrance hall when the front door opened. Expecting to see Beast, she couldn't hide her surprise upon seeing Agathe.

"Agathe? Why are you here? Is something wrong? It isn't papa is it?"

Agathe gave a gentle smile, "No, he's alright, nothing to worry about. Before I erased his memory of you, he told me to tell you that even though he might not remember, he'd still miss you with all of his heart and he couldn't wait until you would be reunited once more." Here she decided to pause after seeing the tears that streamed down Belle's face.

Her tears kept coming and she didn't want to hold them back either. Too much had been held back these last few weeks and this was more than she could take. All she wanted now was for Beast to hold her, tell her all would be fine. But he wasn't here either, why did she have to yell at him as she did. She was grieving for the loss of her father even though she knew it was temporary. Her Beast was grieving not even knowing if it would be reversed. Now she understood his rage of the day before, to see the only man who could help bringing their friends back, sitting on one of them like he didn't care.

Agathe looked worried, Belle had stopped crying a few moments ago and now she started all over again. Perhaps this has been too much for Belle and she should have insisted on her leaving before casting another curse on this land, like Beast had begged her to do. Then she remembered how Belle had shaken her head with a loving smile, she wouldn't have wanted to be separated from Beast. Yet something was off about her, maybe it had something to do with the two still hovering outside. Her barrier would drain those trying to cross it from their energy and put them to sleep for a few hours. They should wake up by noon, but it would be best to put them in their beds before that.

"Belle, calm down. All will be well, but something happened which caused me to come here." She stated carefully, best to warn her before she showed the men to her.

Belle looked up, "You didn't come to just tell me about papa? Something else had happened for you to come here?" Tears were gone, replaced by worry and she tried to steel herself for more bad news. Nothing could have prepared her for what she was about to see however.

Agathe walked in further and the two bodies came into Belle's view.

"No, no, no, tell me they're alright! They have to be!" Tears have cleared the way for panic and she started to struggle to keep her breathing under control.

Agathe saw Belle fall to the ground and quickly caught the distraught woman before she hit the floor. "They're fine, they're just sleeping. They were at the edge of the barrier, going there doesn't do any permanent damage, but I only caught a small part of what happened. When the barrier is breached I see and hear what happens there. I saw Gaston on Philippe trying to escape and heard Beast desperately calling his name trying to stop him. Gaston lost consciousness first and Beast tried to drag himself to him before succumbing himself." Agathe explained, though she did have her own questions what had prompted Gaston to escape. But she had to admit that even blind the man was remarkably cunning to have made it that far. "Where would you like me to put them, they'll sleep for some time. But I imagine you'd like to keep an eye on them.

"The master bedroom in the West Wing, there are two beds in there now." It would be easier to have them in one room for now, though Beast would hate to see Gaston in his most private domain.

The walk there was quick and uneventful, Agathe took the lead and Belle walked on the end, behind the hovering form of Beast. She contemplated what must have happened, somehow Beast had noticed Gaston escaping and went in pursuit, hoping to stop him. This showed that he really did regret his actions and tried to correct his mistakes but it was too late and they were both caught.

All too soon they had arrived and walked into the master bedroom of the West Wing.

When she told Agathe to put Beast in her bed, she once again saw the rose and was getting frustrated with herself.

Gaston was put in Beast's bed and Agathe and Belle took a seat on a few chairs in the room so they could keep a lookout, should they awake.

"Belle, do you know why Gaston decided to try to escape?"

"Yesterday he found Gaston sitting on Froufrou. Gaston didn't know any better and thought he was sitting on a bench. Beast however became enraged and threw him off and roared, accidentally injuring Gaston in the process. You should have seen the look on Gaston's face, I've never seen him so scared." She had felt sorry for him, he had been punished for something he had no control over. "Later I confronted Beast and gave him an earful and told him to leave me alone for a while. I went to bed and didn't see him until now."

"They should be waking up fairly soon, but explain to them not to go anywhere near the barrier again." She didn't want a repeat.

"Did this effect the curse in any way?" Belle asked.

Agathe smiled, "No, everything is the same as it was. But how are you dealing with all of this? I was getting slightly worried downstairs when you started to cry so much. Are you regretting putting yourself under this curse? I wish I could have spared you, but curses are tricky and require a solid base. One is an area in which it is contained, and all living organisms present when cast have to be included."

"So Philippe is also included?"

"Yes, the magic is like a mist clouding an area and if it touches something that it doesn't recognise while it settles, it will cause certain side effects on that person or animal."

"Side effects?"

"Yes, this could mean different things, disorientation is a relatively harmless one, but insanity is also a possibility. By putting a piece of the magic within a person or animal, you become immune to these effects. But all the magic is tied to the rose and is spread from there. Therefore more than one spell can be cast in an area, but due to it all being tied to the same base it becomes one."

Now Belle started to understand some of it. The rose was used again since it was the base for the first curse. And though Gaston's curse and that of her and Beast were different ones they are both connected to the rose, giving them the same magical aura.

Still she had a few questions remaining, "That must mean that the curses of us and Gaston can be broken separately, doesn't it? But why wasn't I effected when I first arrived here, I mean there clearly was magic present."

"Very good, it is possible to break them separately, though you and Beast are also separate. His transformation is tied into Gaston's part. As for your first arrival, the magic had already settled, that only takes a few hours, after which it is safe for outsiders to come. But giving Gaston's conniving and manipulative nature I have to make sure nobody comes here. Not even your father should he accidentally mention anything, his temporary memory loss was settled within the confines of his house and I locked the doors so no one would be able to enter. It would have been harder for him to remember you and not being able to see you. But it would have been too dangerous for him to come here, should Gaston try anything."

Belle could believe that, he would have used her father for leverage, when given the chance. Though he did seem to have made some slight changes lately.

Hearing a groan coming from one of the beds Belle turned her head around. "Agathe, Beast is waking up!" she turned to look at Agathe, but saw she had already left.

"Beast, can you hear me? It's me, Belle."

"Belle?" He softly repeated. He slowly opened his eyes and saw he was back in the bedroom, Belle by his side. "How did I get here? Last I remember was chasing Gaston who tried to escape. I'm sorry Belle, I really tried, but I felt so weak as I neared the gate. Is he alright? How did you find us and get us here?"

"I didn't, Agathe brought you both back early this morning."

"Both? Where is Gaston?" He looked around and noticed he was in his old bed, now Belle's bed. "Why am I in your bed instead of mine?"

Belle pointed at the other bed, "Because Gaston is in yours. I wanted to keep watch over both of you."

"You put him in my bed?"

"Would you have preferred it, if I had put him in mine?" She raised her eyebrow and looked him in the eye.

His jaw dropping open, he decided that no, he would not have preferred that. "Fine, you've made your point. I would not have enjoyed the thought of another man in your bed unconscious or not."

Belle giggled at the sour look on Beast's face. But then she gasped in surprise, "You said his name! Twice now, does that mean you're more accepting of him now?"

"I guess I am, I owe it to him to show some respect after what I did. And his name is the best place to start. I did some thinking before I saw him leaving and I've decided to not let my dislike cloud my judgement anymore. Everything I said and did was based solely on my dislike, not even giving the man a chance. And he can try to rile me up by insulting me all he wants, he has every right after yesterday, I will not let it control me again," he vowed to Belle.

Belle saw the sincere look in his eyes and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "I'm so proud of you, not just for this. I've been doing some thinking this morning and I understand why you reacted as you did. Though it still doesn't mean it was the right thing to do." She moved onto the bed and leaned against Beast. "Also I hate that rose, I keep looking at it, I can't help myself."

Beast chuckled at hearing that, "I understand the sentiment, that blasted flower has been taunting me for years. At one point I covered it with a blanket and not even an hour later I pulled it off again, it won't let us ignore it. It's there to remind us that we only have a certain time before it is too late and tries to compels us to work on the curse. In that regard Gaston's blindness is a blessing in disguise."

Hearing a groan across from him he sighed. Speaking of...

He woke up with a pounding headache, he remembered feeling tired and weak. Falling when the was thrown off by the horse and then nothing. It was what they had warned him about, not being able to leave. He didn't want to believe it and he was always right, except this time it seemed. Wait, the Beast he tried to reach him call his name. Was he chasing him to attack again or to help him, he didn't know. Slowly he opened his eyes with a groan. He felt that he was lying on a mattress, someone must have put him in bed.

"Hello? Someone there?" He pushed himself up a bit.

Belle rushed to the other bed, giving an apologetic look to Beast, who only nodded in response.

"Gaston, are you alright?" She didn't like the foggy look on his face.

He gave a nod in return, he felt fine except for a headache. He blankly stared ahead and silently said, "I'm really trapped here. I'll always be blind and those who are here hate me," the end was nearly whispered.

Belle gasped, she was close enough to hear him and couldn't hold it in. Finally Gaston understood that he couldn't leave, but what was more surprising was the other half of his sentence. He truly believed that they hated him and he sounded so alone when he whispered that part. Belle gave a silent tear at the heartbreak in the man's voice. No, she didn't hate or loath him, not anymore. The last shred of hope he had cherished was torn away from him and it had left him broken.

Seeing the small tear that streamed down his face was all she could take and she embraced him. Whispering three words in his ear, hoping it would give him some piece of mind, that he wouldn't be alone.

Gaston heard her words and hold on to her tight, "Thank you Belle."

Beast could see what happened opposite from him. The man had many faults, but this had broken him. He was proud of Belle, standing by the side of the man who has wronged her and her father is so many ways. He would help her stand by him he resolved, she wouldn't have to do that on her own. He did hope Gaston would let him come near after yesterday, but he would give him space if he needed it.

Suddenly he got blinded, Belle was shining with a bright light and he held his breath. He didn't know what was happening, but it felt warm and good.

Then he remembered her soft whisper in Gaston's ear, even he had to strain his sensitive ears, but he did hear it.

"I forgive you."