"Excuse me, sir." Gaston paused as a woman walked up to him. She was too old for him, he noted with disappointment. And not much of a sight either, with her curly dark hair and large nose.

"Are you going to that place?" He was pulled out of his thoughts by her voice. She gestured to a shack down the path. Gaston could vaguely hear sounds of people inside, and, squinting, see the words The Snuggly Duckling on the sign. It seemed a lot like the tavern he frequented.

"I might," he replied. "It seems like a good sort of place for a party, doesn't it?" In truth, his real mission was finding Belle, but it wouldn't hurt to stop for a minute. And who knows, she might have been inside.

He had suggested all the villagers separate to find her after she hadn't returned to the village. Her father hadn't, either, but Gaston wasn't too concerned about him. In fact, he wasn't even too concerned about Belle, after her humiliating refusal. He wondered why he had ever been into her.

Still, he had a reputation to uphold, and he wasn't one to let a young lady perish. So he had called a search party made of a decent portion of the villagers and insisted they split up to find her. He hadn't even let LeFou tag along with him, annoyed by his constant chattering and fawning. Gaston hoped he found her first. Maybe he'd rescue her from danger, and she'd be so grateful to him she'd reconsider her rejection of marriage. Either way, he'd be hailed as a hero. Well, more than he already was.

"I suppose so." The woman's eyes narrowed menacingly at the place, betraying her words. Then she turned back to him, a clearly forced smile on her face. "Listen, I have a favor to ask of you. If that'd be okay with you, sir?"

Gaston hesitated. He really didn't have time to dawdle. For a party and a drink, maybe, but not for an old woman's errands. Still, he supposed he should at least ask about it in case there was some kind of reward.

"What kind of favor?"

"You see, I'm trying to find my daughter," she explained, looking distressed at the thought of her. "She's run away, you see." Gaston was alarmed to see tears well up in her eyes. "Sorry, sorry," she apologised as she wiped them away, sniffing. "I was ever so distressed when I found out she wasn't home. I couldn't stop imagining the worst things had happened to her. And now, I can't even find her."

Gaston pitied her. Losing a child must be one of the worst things to happen to someone. Maybe not quite as bad as being publicly rejected and humiliated after setting up a whole wedding for the girl you love, but close.

He swung a strong arm around her shoulders, and she didn't react. Gaston supposed she was too caught up in her grief. "Don't worry, madam. You'll find her." He paused. "You know, it's funny. I'm looking for someone too."

She looked up at him, her despondent expression replaced with a curious one. "Oh? Who's that?"

"My... fiancé," he lied. Well, she would've been, if she had just said yes. "She didn't return home, so I arranged a search party to look for her."

"That's very noble of you," she complimented. "If only I had a search party." She looked despondent again. "Where is everyone else, if you don't mind me asking?"

"We split up," replied Gaston. "I thought it'd be easier to find her that way." That, and he didn't want to share his victory when he found her with anyone.

The woman ducked and removed herself from under his arm. "Well, we seem to have something in common," she said. "What's your name?"

"Gaston."

"Why don't we help each other look for our missing person?" she suggested. Gaston noticed she hadn't said her own name.

Gaston considered the offer. This old woman wouldn't take any credit if he found Belle. She only seemed to care for her daughter. She wasn't even part of the village, or at least, Gaston didn't think so. And they did have something in common.

"Very well," he replied. "What does your daughter look like?"