Gaston scrambled to his feet as soon as the fireworks were over and discovered that the Beast had somehow disguised himself as a person. "How did you do that?" he asked suspiciously.

The Prince laughed, showing all his teeth. It was not a friendly laugh.

"All right: It's an improvement," Gaston allowed, "But it doesn't matter. I'm still better looking than you. I'm still married to Belle. And unless you creep straight back into the forest you came from... I'm still going to end you right here."

The beast-person didn't react in the slightest, too busy staring out over Gaston's shoulder looking stupefied. Maybe it doesn't understand French, Gaston thought. But it'll understand this... He drew back his bowstring and aimed for the heart.

A crash and a scream stopped him just before he let go of the arrow. "Gaston, no!" shouted someone behind him.

It was Belle, of course, and as she bungled through the forest towards him (how on earth had he not heard her coming before now?) he considered just shooting anyway...

But then, he knew, she would cry and there would be another fight and he could look forward to poisonous mushroom soup for the rest of his life. Better to explain things to her first, so that she didn't get confused. This creature had showed up with the wolves last night and almost killed him, and now it was trying to pass itself off as an actual person so as to lure Belle back to its lair. Surely she would understand that?

He looked over his shoulder, and winced a little - his wife was a mess. After the run through the forest, her dress was torn halfway off one shoulder, leaves stuck to her everywhere, and pieces of her hair had escaped to curl down her neck. He wasn't sure why exactly his rival was so enraptured with her at the moment. "Gaston, stop it," she said again, more quietly. "Please."

Before he could do anything, the Prince recovered first from the distraction and pounced, tackling Gaston to the ground.

His bow was knocked from his hand, so Gaston fought to hold his enemy off with one arm so that he could reach for his knife.

They rolled til the Prince was on top. "You stabbed me," he growled, banging Gaston's wrist against the ground until the knife went flying. "In the back!"

The Prince had been eating carrion all day and his breath showed it. Shouting in Gaston's face produced an more dramatic result than hitting him - the hunter turned his head sideways and groaned as though he might be sick. "In the back" the Prince repeated, landing another punch. He had never been much of a scrapper but it wasn't too hard to get the hang of bashing on someone you were sitting on top of.

But Gaston was a fighter, and though he had been surprised he got himself together quickly. He knocked the third punch aside, snatching the Prince's wrist, and wiped his mouth. "Yes, I stabbed you in the back. Because I knew," he snarled upwards, "That given the chance you'd do the same to me! And I was right!" He surged up and threw the Prince off him, then slammed him against a tree and held him there. "You brought those things down on us last night, didn't you! You kidnap our lunatics, you hassle our women, and-" he ran his tongue out to check, "You just gave me a bloody lip. I've had about enough." The Prince didn't argue with him. "Handsome or not you'll always be a monster," he said quietly. It was a line he had stolen from Belle... he certainly didn't believe it and wasn't even really sure what it meant, but it seemed to do the job: the creature's feelings looked hurt. Time to make it worse. "Now, if you'll excuse me, my wife was trying to tell me something."

He closed one hand around the Prince's throat to keep him still, then turned to look back at her. "Yes, Belle?" he asked sweetly.

The Prince, of course, was sufficiently provoked to snarl and thrash himself loose. They started fighting again, diving to the ground on top of each other and throwing punches at anything that seemed to be moving. Finally the Prince got Gaston down on his belly, and pinned him there a moment by kneeling on his injured back. Belle gasped, "Beast- stop it, he-"

More annoyed with her than with his opponent, Gaston surged up and freed himself, snapping, "Stay out of it, Belle - I don't need your help." He got to his feet and, just to be nasty, added: "Although it's terribly kind of you to show him where your loyalties lie... clear up any confusion he might be having; you know how the lower species can't think like-"

The Prince shut him up by charging again. Gaston ducked his flailing arms easily, picked him up over his head, and prepared to throw him against a tree.

Belle grabbed at his arm. "Gaston, no-"

While Gaston sighed and looked down at her, the Prince twisted so wildly as to become unmanagable. Gaston dropped him flat on his back.

He lay dazed a moment, and then the first thing he said was: "Belle, please - I should fight my own battles."

"This is pitiful," Gaston complained, watching him stagger to his feet. "At least before you would have been a challenge..."

"I'll show you challenge," the Prince growled, and dove for him again.

Belle backed away so as not to be accidentally knocked out, but still wouldn't keep quiet. "Stop it!" she called over their gasps and grunts. "Someone is going to get seriously hurt!"

"Someone meaning you!" Gaston shouted breathlessly. "You're not taking her!"

"Well you can't- oomph- keep her locked up with you!"

"-Uhn- No, that's- ah- that's your job, isn't it!"

Belle stood there fuming and wished she had a net or a lasso or something to hold them still with. "They're both impossible," she muttered. "Someone has to do something!"

And then she jumped - someone was laughing, just beside her.

She turned and was face to face with the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. "I fully agree with you, Belle. Let's see if I can't sort them out, shall we?"

Belle was going to sputter "Who- what-" but then she saw that the woman was holding what was obviously a magic wand, and she couldn't manage to say even that much.

TBC.

Sorry to everyone who wanted to see the Beast kick Gaston's ass all by himself. I just think that after being brought up as a spoiled little princeling, and then getting to be humongous and beastly for a bunch of years, it's just not likely that the guy would be good at human-to-human combat.

Review! We're almost done...