*Warning: Scenes of violence, loss of humanity, horror elements, and death
CHAPTER RATED M
P.S. I feel you guys are ready for this chapter. I am 51% sure you're ready.
Since the chapters I've written so far are light and fluffy, I'll put "x.x.x" when the chapter turns dark, just in case some of you want to stop reading :) Because there IS a part in here that I really want you guys to read!
Have fun(ish)!
Summary: Belle escaped the castle before 'Be Our Guest', therefore, the curse was never broken and the Enchantress was never revealed. If the beast received no mercy in the end, what's to stop Belle and her growing family from receiving any different?
Number of years married: 9 months
~:~ This is sorcery! ~:~
Belle kept her nose down and busied herself at the market, looking at jams and breads. She tried to mind her own business every time she ventured into town, but it seemed that since becoming the wife of the most handsome man in the village - or a boorish and brainless man as Papa thoughtfully reminded her - and living (at the moment) eighteen miles from the rest of the people still gave them cause to gossip.
"Have you heard?" a woman said in a hushed voice.
Others flocked toward her and Belle minded her own, only perking up when she caught a certain phrase.
"... robbed Lilith and Tom of everything they had. Thieves, in the countryside." Her voice held contempt and Belle could tell they were watching her. With hunting season nearing an end, Gaston and her had been spending time out in the country at his lodge. "Perhaps their next move will be miles from Villeneuve."
She knew their comment was aimed at her. But she straightened as if she didn't hear them and wished them a good day before she left.
The gossipers conversation stayed with Belle most of the evening, to the point she decided to go to her husband for help - without actually stating said help - on the matter. "Gaston," she started, leaning over his shoulder to watch him clean his pistols.
He grunted.
"What say I take you up on your offer? To teach me how to shoot… a gun."
He stopped his work and looked at her. "Really?"
"I've thought about it and I suppose it wouldn't hurt to learn." Oh she thought about it, and if those robbers were real, she didn't want to be helpless.
The air was too calm...
Gaston had been out all afternoon, said it was a fine day for one last hunt. He had kissed her, told her he loved her, and bid her goodbye before heading for the forest not a half a mile away with his rifle slung across his back. She had told him to stay safe and those four words she should say in return - like every wife tells their husband - tingled on her lips but she couldn't bring herself to speak for though he made her heart flutter, she still did not feel it in her soul.
An odd feeling settled over her and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She hoped nothing had happened to him-
She looked to the town which was a clump of trees in the distance. She could vaguely make out the bridge that crossed the river and led into the village. A small smile tugged at her lips - out of all the towns across the French countryside, her father had chosen that one.
And hadn't he, she would have never met and eventually married Gaston.. and she most certainly would have never found herself smitten with their little love growing inside her.
It had been five weeks ago...
The axe came down on the unsuspecting block of wood, instantly halving it.
Belle winced at the loud noise as she exited the house. She wiped her hands on her apron and carefully made her way to the back where Gaston had set up another block. She cleared her throat and he turned his head when the block had been cut.
"Supper's ready," she recited, a bit wobbly.
He gave a nod, his eyes raking over her in vague confusion. He set the axe against the house and followed her inside.
She was extremely conscious of his presence behind her. She had practiced this for the past few hours. She was ready to tell him that she had missed her regularly monthly bleeds starting six weeks ago.
Butterflies filled her stomach and nerves crawled up her throat, threatening her to be sick.
The sound of the door closing behind Gaston made her jump. She tried to correct herself before he asked, before his question tempted her to run.
But then she had to remind herself: she had married the man, surely he would know that this is the next course of nature they must take. Surely he would be alright with her news-
Her hip hit the corner of the table and she stumbled a bit.
"You okay?" he asked for this was unlike her.
She nodded, not trusting her voice. She went into the kitchen while he rinsed his hands - she had taught him proper table manners shortly after their first day as husband and wife.
She heard his boots return back to the dining room and she took a deep breath.
Everything was going to be fine.
She gripped the pot of stew in her hand and carried it to the table. She didn't look up but could tell he was standing on the other side. She waited for him to sit - she was still used to prematurely serving Papa and then having him spill when he accidentally bumped the table.
He sat then watched her fill his bowl. His eyes were at her wrist then her fingers, where they seemed to uncontrollably shake. A question was on his tongue and the splatter of stew hitting the tabletop and jumping inches had him asking it, "Are you alright?"
She nodded again, so much less convincing than before. She set the pot down. "I'm sorry," she said about the spill. "I'll clean it-"
He caught her wrist.
She blinked from her haze of nerves. His grip was gentle. "Gaston-"
His grey eyes were serious. He was gravely concerned. He had only just made her his wife less than a year ago - if something was bothering her, surely he could fix it and make her happy again. "What is it?" he asked, his brow creased and his mouth in a loose frown. He turned in his chair and tugged her closer until she was standing right beside him.
She bit her lip and looked away. "I-" She swallowed and took a shaky breath. Her brown eyes met his. "I-I'm with child."
She carefully watched him-
A wide grin broke out on his face a split second before his arm retracted quickly and she fell onto his lap. Her cry of surprise was muffled as his lips hungrily collided with hers.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and felt herself smile widely - he wasn't angry, he wasn't upset, he was happy! And that's all she ever hoped for.
She let out a content laugh and he grinned.
He pulled back and his hands went to her back and knees. Then he stood.
"But supper-"
He held her securely in his arms. "Leave it," he growled seductively in her ear. Her face heated and she caught his lips again.
"My first son!" he exclaimed, placing her on the bed then hovering over her.
"Or girl-" she objected, her hands fiddling with the drawstring of his shirt.
He chuckled arrogantly and shucked off his waistcoat. "Oh, Belle, don't be ridiculous- Gaston genes only make sons!"
She shook her head at the memory and busied herself in grooming the front yard. Though she and Gaston only stayed at the lodge for a few months out of the year, she still wanted the lodge to be presentable in their absence.
It was a good-sized lodge placed on top of a hill, with the forest to the side at its base, and it would have been worth quite a lot had Gaston not personally known the previous owner. Certainly with some more tidying up, she wouldn't be against to visiting the lodge more often. It was quiet, peaceful, secluded, not one village gossiper in sight!
And as Gaston pointed out nearly every day in one form or another... It is a big enough lodge, Belle, for more than just the two of us! Even more than one child! We could fill it with six or seven strapping young lads, like me! We could move from the village and make a life out here! I can teach the boys-
She sent him a hard look.
"- and the girls to fight and hunt! You can teach them how to read and write!"
In a few years perhaps, but she wasn't ready to leave her father just yet.
"I can extend the house- build an extra room on the side- he can live here with us-"
She shook her head. She couldn't quite imagine the three of them getting along under one roof. It would work out in the beginning but if she and Gaston were butting heads every so often, she knew her husband would be fighting for dominance of his own household.
"No, Papa will have to learn to live on his own." She chewed her lip then. He had been thoughtful. "But thank you, Gaston."
Her fingers shook and the shovel fell from her grip. She jumped at the noise when it hit the ground. The peaceful serenity this place provided shattered at the sound of a broken and echoed howl.
It had come from the direction of the town.
x.x.x
She knew the villagers could not defend themselves quickly should a wild animal wreak havoc - that had been Gaston's doing.
She remembered clearly when a rabid wolf charged the square:
The villagers scrambled for shelter with a few men reaching for their pitchforks but never venturing more than a few meters from their front doors. She had just left the library when the ruckus broke out. She watched the wolf charge with bared and watery teeth at anyone that was left. From the other side of the square, she saw Gaston mount the fountain and aim his rifle, shooting the rabid animal in the back. The town cheered, and by that point, Belle had rolled her eyes and continued home.
But whatever had plagued them this time would surely not be so bold as to run eighteen miles to them. She went on about her business.
She kept working. The thought of the roar she heard replaying in the back of her mind. It and the conversation she heard of those thieves started to nag at her nerves-
She set the shovel against the lodge and went inside and into the bedroom. She pulled out the chest underneath and found Gaston's spare pistol and round of bullets. She shoved it into her dress pocket and went back to her work outside.
That made her feel a bit better.
The countryside had been quiet in the near hour that followed to the point where she almost had forgotten that little noise from the town. But she would never forget the deep, reverberating roar that shook the ground.
She remembered that awful sound...
Gaston stood stock-still behind a tree, his rifle aimed between its branches. His breath was silent but his determination was loud. He had been tracking the single deer for hours and finally he had caught up to it. He waited for the precise moment - when the creature had turned itself away, when he had a clear shot of the liver.
His finger quivered over the trigger. He didn't have time for mistakes. This was his last day hunting for the next several months, not until next year most likely. He needed to hit this unsuspecting creature. He needed to haul it home where he could please Belle with his exquisite kill that only an experienced hunter like himself was capable of. He needed to-
The deer bolted and he cursed.
He hadn't made a sound, what could have- The hairs on his neck stood straight as his ears took in the throaty echo of a maddening roar. He lowered his rifle and turned his head. It sounded similar to a bear but not quite. It also sounded in the direction of the lodge.
But he knew the animals of the forest hardly ventured from the comfort of their bounds. The bears had moved on months ago, he had made sure most had left the area before suggesting to Belle that they spend time out in the country.
He couldn't have missed a large group, could he?
He looked to the sky between the trees. Sunset. He had said he'd be at the treeline by sunset. With a grunt, he started for the edge of the forest. His ears still listening intently for any other unnatural sounds.
Belle swallowed.
It had been at least a year since she heard that awful sound- it couldn't be. But the roar was unmistakable.
It was the same roar that demanded to know who she was, that dragged her father from the dungeons while she took his place, that none too lightly wanted her to join him for dinner-
Her rapid heartbeat filled her ears. She thought he hadn't noticed or not cared at all about her absence... If he had, she imagined he would have been after her sooner. Why now? Why did he choose to chase her now?
She rested her hand over her abdomen and looked the treeline of the woods where Gaston had said he'd be toward sunset. She was well aware she should abandon the lodge and find him, the man who was experienced at hunting, at pulling the trigger of a gun with the intent to kill. But her feet didn't budge.
It had been her to rescue her father, not him. It had been her who stood defiant against that beast, not him. It had been her who had escaped that enchanted castle. She would face the consequences of her actions alone.
She had faced this monster once, she could do it again.
She saw the beast's form- his...
His clothes were nothing but shreds that managed to still cling on. He wore no cape.
His paws were large and meaty and lined with sharp jagged claws, ready to slice her head clean off. His teeth were bared and yellow- He had servants at that enchanted castle, but it seemed nothing was kept up as he charged up the hill, to the lodge, to her.
Her feet stumbled and carried her away from the lodge - she didn't want the beast ripping it apart.
The ground shook even more and she vaguely became aware she should have gotten Gaston for it sounded like the creature wasn't going to stop.
Her breath hitched as it finally came into view. Her heart pulsed her skin and she could see his eyes-
Black, beady, inhuman.
Uncaring, unfeeling, beastly.
Her fingers shoved a bullet into the pistol and she raised her arms.
This wasn't the same beast that had imprisoned her father and then her- It was, but he was no longer human inside.
And it was going to kill her.
Her finger twitched and the bullet flew across the air, grazing its shoulder. It roared in protest and she reloaded in haste while her feet stumbled away.
Gaston stood in the shadow of a tree, his eyes trained in the growing darkness of the forest. He watched for movement, for anything that would be the excuse for the unexplained fear that gripped at his gut. He wasn't used to such feelings and the sooner the reason showed itself, the better-
His head swiveled to the direction of the lodge.
A monstrous roar pierced his ears.
His heart jumped into his throat- then a single gunshot sounded. He took off without a second thought.
Belle ran a bit more. Then she turned and raised her arms again, firing.
The creature - seemingly pulled by her overwhelming scent, one that she left in the castle, one that surely it picked up after his humanity abandoned him - lunged.
It nearly caught her skirts but she managed out of the way in time. The pistol skidded from her grip and it rounded on its hind paws, running for her again. She reloaded and staggered to her feet, stumbling backwards. She raised her arm, her finger about to pull the trigger-
A louder gunshot distracted her and she turned to see Gaston lower his rifle.
A breath she didn't know she had been holding in left her.
The beast had been struck in the chest and it let out another roar.
Gaston dashed to her and pulled her behind him then raised his rifle again. His shoulders were tense and his body was rigid. His upper lip curled in rage as he took in the sight of the ugly beast.
He would not move.
He had fought beasts of another kind during the war and that was to protect his unit. Now, he would protect his wife and unborn son from being slaughtered by this monster.
But the beast did not charge like Belle predicted. Instead, it took note of another scent - another person standing in its way. It stood unnervingly still with a disturbingly calm determination. Its piercing eyes were black and glaring angrily at the two.
Gaston fired again - the bullet entered its chest and should have struck its heart.
There would be no mercy for this creature that nearly stopped him from having Belle as his wife.
But he had missed.
And was unprepared.
A strong arm swiveled, claws - outstretched and daunting - dove for his head.
He ducked out of the way, bringing Belle down with him and pushing her aside. But he wasn't fast enough - he let out a grunt of pain.
"Gaston!" he heard her cry.
He shrugged off the deepening scarlet of his sleeve and reloaded his rifle. Belle was a safe distance away, still on the ground and gun in hand. He aimed for the beast's chest again. This time he would not miss-
Another shot sounded.
The beast fell back dead, a bullet lodged in its skull.
He panted and lowered his rifle. Belle was at him in a matter of seconds. She shoved the pistol into his hands and then her own clutched at the lapels of his jacket. Her knuckles turned white as she tightened her grip on him, making sure he was really there and still standing.
His grey eyes met her troubled face and creasing brow. "Did you-" He couldn't bring himself to finish the question.
She nodded and unfurled her hand, hovering it over the slashes that went through the material of his jacket, the slashes on his arm that were seeping blood-
He caught her fingers and inspected her for injuries. Finding none, he stepped back and looked down at the creature - his demeanor glazed over with amazement.
"Exquisite hide," he muttered in awe of the carcass. He stooped beside it and ran his fingers through its fur and continued to be amazed at every angle of the dead beast. "A rug or to hang on our wall?"
He looked up at Belle, waiting for her to answer his question. She shook her head. "No…"
He pursed his lips and hummed. "But it's a prize."
Just when she thought he could be heroic and protective of his family without getting muddled in the need for some sort of trophy, she was wrong. She couldn't look at that beast and feel the same as he.
She shook her head again. "Please, Gaston." Her tone was tired and pleading.
She waited for him to ignore her and carry it toward the lodge. She waited for him to prepare the head to hang with the other buck antlers' he kept on the wall. She waited for him to scoff and say she would come to her senses about that beast and that she would soon see it as a prize like he.
She waited.
Then maybe she should wait before assuming any certain behavior on him. Maybe he could change that much.
He stood and looked at it for a long while.
"Gaston?" she dared in questioning.
"Can I at least take the horns?" he asked, half of his mouth curved into a sort of smile as he tried for her approval again.
Though her head shook, she knew he would keep trying. So she relented. "If you must, but I cannot bear to see it."
Wrote it once. Meant to upload three days ago. Then read it. Edited twice. Meant to upload yesterday. Then passed out from HP marathon at a friend's house. Read it once more. Edited once more. Finally thought it was perfect! :)
I have to thank my good friend for his wise expertise on my crazy epiphany for the subject of this chapter. That, and I would also like to let you know he does NOT ship Belle/Gaston and was not at all pleased to hear the real reason I asked for his opinion xD
Also inspired by longlivetheEvilQueen
