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Chapter 28
Gaston and LeFou returned to the tavern after their meeting with Monsieur Potts, hopefully his wife and son had seen what happened.
"There you are, we've been waiting for you." Belle greeted Gaston. "We would like to finish rearranging your room, Adam said the kitchen was finished."
"Yes he did," Gaston fished his key out of his pocket and walked towards the stairs. The other three followed him upstairs into his room. Once inside LeFou opened the closet door and turned to Adam, "So, Gaston told me you were a Beast of some kind."
Adam looked up, "Yes, cursed for having no love in my heart. What did he tell you about what happened to him?"
"He said that he had been cursed to learn a lesson by an enchantress. I still can't quite believe it, even though that rose is floating in the air. You'd think that after all the times he lied, hearing the truth for once would be great, but now I partially wonder if a lie wouldn't have been better." LeFou explained, he looked to Adam, "Did he really ask the enchantress to return the curse? I mean he said he did, but why would he do that. He said it was to help you and your servants, but he hardly even knows you, no offense."
Adam smiled to LeFou, "He did, but there is more to it than knowing who they were. The day before he arrived my curse had become permanent, I was to remain in my beastly form for all time. Strange as it my sound to you, the thought didn't even bother me anymore. The curse had turned the servants into the objects that I had treated them as, they still had their lives in a way but when the curse became permanent, they essentially died." Seeing the shocked and horrified face of LeFou he continued, "Like I said being trapped in that beastly form wasn't the worst. I did meet the requirements just not in time and Gaston feels some of the blame befalls on him. When he send Maurice to the asylum, Belle and I found out and rescued him. Sadly this was the reason time fell short, when he had found out he started to punish himself for it. He refused to eat a proper meal, eating only enough to stay alive and let himself suffer some more. After a few weeks I decided to intervene and locked him up in one of the cells in the tower."
"You locked him up in a cell? I thought you wanted to help him?"
"I did it to help him, he felt he was the only one to blame, I wanted to teach him he wasn't, after all it was my own past cruelty that caused them to be cursed in the first place. Belle told him he had to learn this when she spoke to him right after I tossed him in there, when she walked out, I locked myself in there with him. I told him in no uncertain terms that I would be receiving the same punishment he was inflicting upon himself. If he refused to eat, I wouldn't eat either." Adam sighed, "In the end he stopped punishing himself over it, but he still feels some of the blame."
LeFou looked at his friend who was busy with Belle to see if everything was rearranged accordingly. "I understand. It truly changed him for the better, I just have trouble making sense of it all."
Adam nodded, "That is perfectly understandable."
Belle had finished setting the room, Gaston would have no trouble finding anything now. She and Gaston joined in on the conversation.
"I also don't want to be tempted to fall back in to my old habits." Gaston added. "In a way I actually like being blind, there is no pressure or expectations to worry about. The only thing that I do miss is hunting."
LeFou gaped, "You want to stay blind?"
Gaston just shrugged, "I don't know, like I said except for the comments it isn't so bad. Besides it doesn't really matter, I will have to see again to lift the curse."
"But is it what you want?" Belle asked. "You say you'll have to and that is true, but if you had the choice?"
"I don't know, I remember being able to see again after I lifted it and it was...disappointing in a way. I spend seven months in the dark, you'd think getting your sight back would be great. Except I looked around and didn't recognise anything, I had to close my eyes to find my way around." He explained. "I was lost in a castle I had no trouble finding my way in just a minute before."
Adam nodded, "I understand, I was rather confused the first few minutes. The balance was completely different and felt wrong, I did get used to it though. You could always try it and if you truly want to go back all you have to do is ask Agathe to take it away again."
"Agathe? The one you called a filthy hag, that Agathe? She's the enchantress?" LeFou stared at Gaston wide eyed.
"I had hoped to keep that hidden a while longer."
Realising LeFou hadn't known that part yet, Adam apologised, "I'm sorry, I thought you knew. But yes it is her, or at least one of her forms. I have seen three forms, the ugly crone when she tested me, her true enchantress form, which Gaston had the displeasure to see when he was first cursed and as the Agathe you know."
LeFou cleared his throat, "She doesn't have any plans for me does she? I mean I haven't been the nicest either to her."
"No, you have a good heart. There is no lesson for you to learn." Agathe told him.
LeFou struggled to get away, "Y-You..."
"Yes me, I thought I'd visit now that you know. Wouldn't want this reaction in the middle of the street, do we?"
"Good job Gaston, they saw it in the mirror and have spread the news that you are making progress."
"Good to hear," He answered. "We were a little early, we also have the baker in full support."
Agathe smiled, "His two daughters will like that."
"You know who has relatives and who don't?" Adam interrupted.
"Would it matter if you knew? Would you leave the rest with no memories or would you still try to win them all over?"
"It's better not knowing, otherwise we might be tempted to just go for those that have families." Belle said.
Agathe nodded, "You would spend more time on those and that would be unfair to the others."
"Best if we don't know." Adam agreed. "Though it still irks me that I never paid any interest and now have no idea myself."
"Now that Monsieur LeFou is used to me, why don't we all go down. Perhaps there are others who would like to express their sympathy." Agathe suggested.
"Yes, we need to celebrate our first success." Gaston stood up and walked in front, the group following him.
Walking down, they heard the laughter at the bar. Descending first Gaston didn't see the men that confronted him on his first day back. They stood by the stairs and one held out his arm to grab Gaston's leg.
Gaston yelped as he lost his balance and tumbled down, he lay still at the bottom. He tried to catch his breath and shook his dazed head. Hearing running sounds coming from the stairs and shouts from his friends he held out his arm for them to help him up.
The tavern had turned quiet, then one of the men responsible started laughing. "I see now how you found it funny when you dropped me, never had a better time."
"That was not funny Sebastian!" A woman's voice was heard. He recognised the voice from earlier in the street.
"Come on Eliana, let the men be men." Another woman's voice called. So the woman was called Eliana, he didn't recognise the name, maybe a traveller, still he appreciated her. "Be quiet both of you, I agree with Eliana, this was uncalled for!" Soon the tavern burst out with deafening voices, everyone sharing their opinion.
He was being guided to a seat where they looked for injuries, a small trickle of blood was forming on his forehead.
"Here." The woman that had spoken up handed over her handkerchief. "To stop the bleeding."
"Thank you very much." Adam spoke. "You are very kind."
"You're welcome, I have to go." She quickly left before they could comment.
"That was surprising." LeFou remarked after watching what happened. "The crowd kicked the men out who did this."
The group looked around and saw many concerned faces looking, "He's fine, give him some privacy." Adam said.
Satisfied the crowd started to talk again with the occasional glances.
"I want to go back to my room, I want to be alone." Gaston moved to stand up, but was pushed back down. "Let me go."
"No first calm down, have a drink."
"I don't want to calm down, I want to go back up." Pushing away the arm that held him down, he stood up and pushed his way through the crowd.
"Gaston!" Belle called.
LeFou stopped her from following. "Leave him for a moment. I know him well enough to know he what he wants."
Agathe nodded, "Give him a moment, he's doing fine for now. I'll visit him if necessary."
Gaston sat in his room fuming, he had it with those men. He was trying to help them, albeit they didn't know it. He tried thinking of the servants that depended on him, but any thought of the castle only made him want to return there. Would they understand or be angry if he gave up? There was nothing he could do about it now, he would sleep on it and could decide tomorrow.