Welcome back! Now let's see who jumped out.

Mustard Lady, he can be sweet when he wants to. Eloise might have had a point about Gaston not finding it. Remember he hasn't been there for at least eight months and could easily screw up the order of landmarks if he can't see them.

Banzi, thanks for your review, the answer is below.

Child of Dreams, Uh, oh indeed.

ImagineATale, definitely some progress has been made, and I think everyone has one place they have to relax. Gaston included, though in his case, he could also study the habits of the animals coming there, making him a better hunter. Why scare them away?

PumpkinHallow4814, glad to see you liked it so much! Hopefully I won't disappoint you with this chapter, but I doubt it.

Chapter 36

The wagon was brought to a quick halt after the man had jumped in front of it.

The girls startled at the sight of the man, who looked to definitely have seen better days. Festering wounds all over the body, it made the man rather unpleasant to look at. Yet something was familiar about him.

The man limped their way, "Gaston, it took me days to get back, but here I am. Now undo whatever that witch did to me!"

Sebastian! Gaston would recognize that voice anywhere. How did he get back here? Agathe said she had dumped him somewhere else.

"Witch? What are you going on about, Sebastian?"

Gasping at the name, the girls took a good look at the man and slowly they did recognize him.

"What happened to him?" Eloise shrieked.

Limping forward Sebastian pointed at Gaston. "He knows, sending that witch after me!"

"I did no such thing!" He really hadn't Gaston thought, Agathe had decided to curse him, he hadn't heard until after it had happened. "Where did you get that idea?"

The denials were started to enrage Sebastian. "I know you put her up to it, she told me I should learn not to harm those that are powerless to defend themselves!" He reached behind his back and pulled out a pistol.

The sisters screamed as the angry man pointed his weapon their way.

Gaston was still oblivious to this fact, until he heard the telltale sound of the hammer being pulled back. Not wanting to risk any of the others getting hurt, he held up a hand. "Sebastian, wait! Let me get down and we'll talk further, no need to scare the ladies."

"All right," came a grumbled reply.

Slowly Gaston climbed out of the cart, "Belle, listen to me. Take the cart and go past the hill, bring the girls to safety."

"Have you gone mad? I can't leave you here with him!" Belle hissed back.

Gaston shook his head. "I know you aren't afraid, but you have three others who are. Take them away from here."

Belle looked at the three sisters and saw terrified eyes staring at her, pleading to do as he said. Though Eliana looked like she'd rather stay close to Gaston. Belle nodded and Gaston stepped off, "Now go, I'll be fine, I hope."

Reluctantly she did as he said, but looked back to see him standing there alone with the dangerous man.

"We can't leave him there! We have to get him!" Eliana screamed.

Eloise looked at her sister. "Have you gone mad? That man would kill us all!"

"But Gaston…" Eliana sobbed. "I don't want to lose him…"

Elise held her sister and gave Eloise a scathing look, warning her not to say a word.

On the field the two man stood opposite each other.

"Now call that witch and have her undo what she did!" Sebastian shouted angrily.

"Just out of curiosity," Gaston started, "what conditions did she set for you to break the curse?" Agathe hadn't told him much, except for what she had done. He really did want to know.

Sebastian laughed, "You admit sending her!"

"I did no such thing, I just wondered what conditions she set. When she took my sight, she gave me a whole list. One cursed man to another, what did she tell you?"

He wasn't easily shocked, but this did. Gaston was cursed by the same witch? "You're lying! You did sent her, she told me you were her favorite!"

"Favorite what? I doubt person, project perhaps? Like I said, I didn't send her." Gaston sighed, "All I know is that to lift the curse, you have to do as she said. In the beginning I was just like you, angry and in denial of my situation. I tried running away, which ended badly, but after that I accepted what had happened and decided to work on it. Perhaps I can help you there? I was cursed eight months ago, I had Belle and Adam helping me cope with the eternal darkness I suddenly found myself in."

"You can't help me, I kept hurting you, why would you?"

Gaston heard the man starting to lose his composure. "Because I know how you feel, we have something in common, something unpleasant." Remembering the time he spend with Adam in that cell, he thought back to the moment he had decided to let him in. "Someone that I had tried to hurt badly, he forgave me for all the pain I had caused. I didn't understand how he could have, but now I do. Sure you caused me misery and pain, but whatever it is you are suffering from, you need to accept to be able to move on. If you accepting it means, you need my forgiveness, you can have it. But don't let this become your life."

Sebastian was now deep in thought, he remembered being thrown into the cell after that last fateful attack. Sitting there in the filth on the floor, until a golden light made him crawl to the other side.

"Hurting those that cannot defend themselves… You have hurt my favorite too many times Sebastian."

The voice had sounded cold and uncaring to him, but he couldn't stop himself from replying. "Least he deserved, he good use a good beating after all he did."

"What he did, you now do. And will become. His arrogant ways, cost him friendships he could have had, as you will lose yours. A leper will be shunned by all those that are close to him. His ways led to him losing his sight, as leprosy will rob you of yours."

A cold feeling crept up as hid bones started to hurt and his eyes were blinded by a sudden onslaught of light as he found himself out of his cell, in the middle of nowhere.

"Mutual understanding and forgiveness will cure you. But beware, if you reach his fate and lose your sight you will be too late."

He shuddered at the memory, it didn't take long for the first wounds to show and it went downhill fast from there. Though it didn't stop him from getting back here for some revenge.

Now he learned that, not only Gaston hadn't send the witch, but he had had the displeasure of feeling her wrath himself. He understood…

Unlike the pain of the first time, he felt a soothing sensation as his wounds closed. He looked in wonder as slowly he returned to health. He noticed Gaston was oblivious to all this, not surprisingly as he couldn't see.

Gaston was wondering what was going on in Sebastian's head, he hadn't said anything for a few minutes now. "Are you all right?" He heard his question be met with laughter and grew confused. What was going on with him?

"Mutual understanding and forgiveness." Sebastian muttered. "I didn't know what that meant, but…"

"But what?" Gaston asked, "you need to be a bit more precise."

"The curse, it's gone."

Gaston blinked, "Really?" Although judging by the happiness in the man's voice it was true. "Well if that was all, I'm sure I can go."

"Wait, please, I want to apologize. I shouldn't have kept attacking you. Is there anything I can do to help you with your curse?"

Gaston shrugged. "Not really, but you could point me in the right direction where they went. I'll walk that way and hopefully find them. I doubt they have gone far."

Sebastian turned Gaston into the right direction of where he had seen them disappear from sight. "Just keep walking forward, you should be able to find them."

Taking a few steps forward, Gaston hoped he could trust him to have been honest about where to go. He thought of Eliana and how worried she must be for him, for a moment he had thought Sebastian was going to kill him. Luckily he didn't.

He stopped walking for a moment. "Sebastian?"

"Yes?

"Will you returning to the village?" Gaston asked.

"No, my reputation is ruined there, I'm going to start over somewhere else. I think it will do me some good."

Gaston smiled. "Good luck then, though I would advice you to behave, should she keep an eye on you."

"Don't worry I will, once was enough."

Gaston continued walking into the direction Sebastian had pointed him, he just hoped not to bump into any tress or shrubbery as he tried to make his way up the hill towards the girls. They must be worried sick about him. As he made his way up he called for them, hoping they could hear him. It would save him a lot of trouble is they could turn the cart around and come his way.

In the cart Eliana was getting impatient. "I don't care what you say, I'm going to get him." She quickly jumped out before her sisters or Belle could stop her.

"Stay here." Belle told the other two, who quickly nodded their agreement.

"Eliana wait!" Belle called after her.

Eliana turned around, "I can't leave him, we both know about that enchantress Sebastian spoke of."

"Yes, we do. But Gaston is telling the truth, he didn't send her. She came to him afterwards and told him, mainly to inform him that Sebastian doesn't have family in the castle. Otherwise Gaston would have felt like he failed somehow." Belle told her.

Eliana stopped. "The enchantress knows if I have family? Who is she? I want to ask her, I need to know! It hurts, knowing this secret, but wondering if I don't have someone waiting myself." She paused. "It hurt so much, that I…"

Belle grabbed her arm to turn her around. "What did you do?"

"When Gaston asked me to get the supplies from his room, I took Elise with me to help carry everything. I-I showed her the rose. I told her everything, I thought since she has been nice it couldn't hurt." Eliana started to cry at her confession.

"Shhh…" Belle tried to calm her. "It's alright, if she's been accepting she has nothing to worry about, but you need to be careful, what if she tells Eloise, it could ruin her chances." Belle sighed. "I can't tell you who she is, that is for her to perhaps share with you one day, but I'll ask her for you." Seeing the excited look in Eliana's eyes she continued, "but no promises she'll tell me."

"Thank you…" Eliana said.

Belle smiled. "Now let's find Gaston shall we."

The two girls reached the top of the hill and looked down into the valley, they didn't see anyone. Though the lack in body was somewhat encouraging, for all they knew Sebastian could have shot Gaston as soon as they had left.

Looking around, Eliana got excited, she saw Gaston walking up a hill. He wasn't far off in direction from where they were. "Gaston!" She yelled and ran as fast as she could towards him. Calling his name over and over.

Still going uphill, Gaston wondered how much longer until he had reached the top. Vaguely he heard his name being called, it sounded like Eliana. He turned into the direction of the voice and called her in return.

The girls saw him turning their way and Belle stopped to let Eliana be the one to go get him.

When she finally reached him, she flung her arms around him, determined to never leave him like that again.

"Don't do that again, please promise me!"

"I promise, besides he is leaving for another village." Gaston informed her.

She looked up, "He's not coming back? He'll leave you alone?"

Gaston just held her and nodded. "He is, shall we return to Belle and your sisters, I'm sure they are worried."

She first led him back to Belle who had been watching them from a distance, she was relieved he was unharmed.

Eliana quickly continued her way to her sisters, she wanted to show them that everything was alright.

"Eliana! You're back!" Elise called relieved. "I was getting worried."

"She isn't the only one back." Eloise added, pointing at Gaston.

When they returned they all welcomed him. "How did you get away?" Elise asked.

Gaston shrugged, "I talked to him, eventually he let me go and pointed me in the right direction. At least I hoped he did at the time. Now let's get back to Villeneuve, it is starting to get dark and I wanted to be back before, not wanting to worry your mother."

The rest of the ride back was uneventful and they were back a little after dark. Belle drove the cart to the square where Gaston and the sisters got off.

"Thank you Belle, you fill them in on what happened with Sebastian?"

"Of course, you just take them home." Belle suggested.

Gaston nodded, "I will, I think all in all it went rather well today. It could have been worse…"

"Don't remind me," Belle began, "I don't know what I would have done if he had shot you."

"I'm not talking about that, what if there weren't any deer? That would have been a real shame."

"Is he serious?" Eloise asked.

The girls stood there gaping, he had to be joking.

"Shall we go ladies?" Gaston held out his arm for Eliana to take, but he frowned when something didn't feel right. "Who is holding me? I know it isn't Eliana."

The girls giggled, "How did you know?"

"I just do. Who was it?"

Elise laughed, "It was me, we thought we could have some fun fooling you."

Gaston laughed. "Tell me next time and I'll play along."

Eliana took over from her sister and they all laughed while they headed for their home.