-Gaston-

As soon as he was sure he had escaped the Beast's clutches, Gaston decided that no single man could take on the monster alone.

He began his retreat, hell bent on gathering dozens of men to come with him to storm the Beast's castle, but when the night fell quickly and the forest became alive with horrific sounds and stray movements right and left, Gaston found a small hollowed out log and spent his night stuffed into it for his own safety.

"If the Beast had not taken my sword, I would be walking brazenly through the forest without any fear," He thought to himself as he lay in the tight space.

When morning barely peaked Gaston dragged himself out of the fallen log and traveled until he came into the nearest town.

When he broke through the tree line, he was finally able to relax. The sight of civilization was a welcome one. The city had put up a wall with a small pathway that stood as an entery to a quaint town.

Upon his approach, the guard on patrol took one look at him and lowered his sword.

"Two in one shift. You have got to be kidding me!" He said to himself before half heartedly raising his sword, "State your name and business!" The man said and Gaston smiled.

"It is I Prince Gaston Legume, I have just come from battling the King of Beasts and I am weary." Gaston said, and it had exactly the reaction that he was looking for.

The guards sword dropped and his mouth opened in amazement.

"It was you then? You were the one who rescued Belle?"

Gaston frowned, turning his head back towards the forest and then back to the guard with exhaustion. "I tried my best, but I'm afraid my best was not good enough, I fought the beast with all I had, I even buried my sword into it's chest and delivered it a great wound, but the Beast is a bloody thirsty monster, and I barely escaped with my life." He said, leaning haggardly against the guard. His back was still sore from sleeping in a cramped space all night.

The guard began leading him into the bulk of the city. "No your highness, you may not think you succeeded, but you must have injured the beast well enough because Belle returned last night! You saved her and the entire town owes you a great debt of gratitude!"

Gaston froze in place his mind left behind three paces back when the guard had given him the news.

"You're saying the maiden returned home safely last night?" Gaston asked slowly.

The guard nodded enthusiastically, "Yes I reunited her with her father myself. I will taking you to the Lord's manor immediately, he will want to thank you personally for the service you've done!"

Gaston's shock was no act, and an idea struck him that overwhelmed him with triumph. He'd planned on lying to coerce his way into a hunting party, but things seemed to have miraculously worked in his favor. He wrapped the guard in a sudden hug, overcome with the rapture of his plotting.

"Thank you! You will never know how relieved I am that she made it home safely!" Gaston said, and then he let the guard lead him to the Lord's manor as he detailed out his plan with a relieved smile.

-The Beast-

Consciousness came slowly. He could hear Polly and Vandy fighting before his eyes were willing to open and his thoughts turned to Belle and then he forced his eyes open to keep from dwelling on painful memories.

He turned his neck to look at where Polly and Vandy were sitting, leaning on each other and sharing a snack. They were too distracted by some oddball argument that they were having that they didn't even notice him staring.

"Good morning." He said, and their conversation stopped and they both shot up to their feet and jolted towards him.

Vandy moved to the other side of the bed to check his wounds and Polly began firing off every questions she had probably been saving as she waited.

"How do you feel? Are you hungry? Are you cold? Would you like some water?"

"Polly hush now!" Vandy said. "Let the poor boy answer one question before you ask the next one!"

"How long have I been out?" He asked Vandy.

"Just through the day and into the night."

"There's not been any news?"

Vandy shook his head, "The Blood moon is gone in 5 days. They're probably preparing for their last final rally before it's gone, but it's been quiet all night."

There was an ominous silence in the room after that. There was always one last push where the wolfmen came with desperation to take the throne. They could strike at any moment and here he was in bed.

"I have to get up." He said, Polly held him down the same time Vandy stepped back to give him room.

"You will not be getting up!" She said, and when he persisted she shoved him down harder and he shrank back in pain.

"Don't you dare! I just spent all day and all night in that chair in and out of fits of sleep wondering when I was going to wake up and find you dead. You will not be getting up!"

The Beast turned to Vandy who shrugged.

"Don't look to him! I told you that you will be staying here, at least for the rest of the day and through a good breakfast tomorrow!" She demanded and The beast slunk down, unsure if he really was lying down because his effort at standing exhausted him, or if it really was Polly's speech.

"Good! I am going to step out now and get you some things and if I come back and you are out of this bed I will quit immediately. You know I will!" Polly said, moving quickly out of the room.

"She is right. Give it till the morning, and you'll have some of your strength back by then." Vandy said.

The beast nodded, he only realized they were right when even his pride was too tired to fight.

"Vandy, I need you to do one thing for me before you retire for the night."

"what is it?"

"I need you to close down the east wing."

Vandy stepped closer and put his hands on the side of the bed next to the Beast.

"She will not be returning then sir?"

"No." the beast said, the words were bitter leaving his mouth. "She will not be. I also want you to go through the castle and I want everything that reminds you of her to locked up with her rooms." The beast rattled of a short list including the decorative rapier she had taken off the wall and the chair in the garden that was her favorite.

"It will be done." He said and then Vandy took his leave which allowed for the beast to wallow in his misery alone. He was finally at last grateful that the curse prohibited him from leaving the forest boundaries otherwise his thoughts would drive him mad until he stormed her village and took her back, which was exactly why she had to leave. It was the only place she was safe from him.

-Belle-

Belle had fallen asleep on that hill and she wasn't likely to ever have voluntarily came down, but she was woken up by her father yelling her name. She yawned and stretched lazily until she heard the sound of his footsteps running unevenly straight towards her.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her up on her feet and she found herself disoriented when he picked her up and spun around once or twice with her in his arms.

"Belle, you Minx! You kept it all a secret did you? You let me believe that someone could actually befriend a Beast?"

He nearly begun to spin with her again, but she fought against him and won. Standing on the ground, she didn't know if she was more disoriented by the spinning or his confusing words and demeanor.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, trying to catch her breath.

"What am I talking about? I'm talking about my daughter who acts as though being rescued by the prince is just an every day common occurrence!" She had never heard her father happy before. Not even when she was chosen to be the beast king's sacrifice he did not reach these levels of buoyancy. He began nearly dragging her down the hill making it to where she barely got her questions out.

"What Prince are you talking about?" She asked.

That got a good laugh out of her father. "What Prince? Exactly how many prince's saved you from the Beast King?" he asked and for the rest of the trip down the hill Belle mainly relived her last few days in the castle trying to recall any mention of a prince, but she was still lost.

When they walked through the door Belle was intent on sitting her father down and making him explain to her in excruciating detail as to what exactly he was talking about, but when they got home her father led her past the open room and into her fathers bedroom.

"Here feel this." He said, pushing fabric into her hand. It was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. It was the most expensive thing she'd ever come close to.

"What is this?" She asked her father.

"It's a dress. It was a gift from Lord MonteVerde. There is a feast being thrown in your honor tonight along with the Prince. He probably wants to get on your good side for when you outrank him. Can you believe that, and once you're a princess that'll make me a Princess' father which means I'll outrank the old bastard too!" Her father was to near dancing levels of joy.

Belle felt like she had woken up in someone else's life.

"What Prince am I supposed to be marrying?"

"Well the proposal is sure to come, but I'm of course talking about Prince Gaston, your savior."

Belle didn't respond, but her father doesn't seem to care. He was enraptured in his delusional reality. This was all probably some sort of miscommunication. He probably rescued some other girl from some other monster.

It will be a shame when he realizes that it she wasn't the one he saved.