A/N: Written by me and Wrestlemaniac829.

Morning dawned over the La'Belle farm. Frederick was wide awake and getting dressed. Today was the day that he would meet his wife-to-be and her family, he already knew Gaston and regretted it. While he was looking for his socks in his drawer, he noticed a piece of paper laying at the bottom. he pulled it out and stared at it. It was a crayon drawing of a young girl that he had drawn some time ago. Frederick sighed as he looked at the picture.

Just then, his maid, Hildegarde, came into the room. "Master Frederick?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Frederick turned around to see Hildegarde standing by the door. She was a rather lanky woman with curly red hair that matched the color on her cheeks. She wasn't a tall woman but she was close around Frederick's height. She glanced at Frederick for the moment, her eyes never looking away from the piece of paper held in Frederick's hands.

"Good morning, Hildegarde," he said.

"What is that piece of paper in your hands, sir?"

It was only then that Frederick noticed that he still held the drawing in his hand. For a moment, he didn't say a word but rather looked back at the piece of art held in his hands. Then, he let loose a slight chuckle.

"You caught me."

Frederick then showed Hildegarde the drawing. As she looked, He explained the meaning behind the sketch drawing.

"I drew this picture of this girl I met. It was around ten years ago, I was just walking through the woods one morning when I saw her. She had this cut on her leg; I decided to help her out. So I wrapped a bandage around it."

Hildegarde looked closely at the drawing, noticing that the girl had a slender face, dark brown hair, blue eyes and rose red lips. Hildegarde smiled. "She looks very pretty."

"Indeed," Frederick replied, then let loose a sigh. "I remember it all so well: We laughed and played together in the woods, but in all that time I never asked what her name was. So then I suggested that we'd meet again in the woods with the hopes that I would ask her then. The next day, I went into the woods to see her just as we promised. I was to give her this picture I drew for her as a present. But when I arrived... She wasn't there. So I waited and waited… But I never saw her again."

After that last sentence, a tear almost formed in his eye as Frederick finished the tale.

Hildegarde patted his shoulder. "You loved her, didn't you?" she asked.

"Honestly Hilda, I don't really know how I felt," Frederick replied. "It's been ten years, ten 'long' years, and to this day, I still don't know what happened to her."

Hildegarde turned Frederick's head to look at her, till they both saw each other eye-to-eye.

"If I may suggest sir, I think it's best to leave the past behind. It's better to keep your mind on the present and move on to embrace the future. Otherwise, if all you think about is the past, your life will be as lazy as a barnacle on a sea rock."

"When you're right, you are right," Frederick replied with a smile. "Well, best be ready I suppose. The Le'Roux family's expecting me today. I would hate to keep them waiting."

"Indeed not, sir," Hildegarde answered. She miles and leaves the room, as Frederick grabs for his coat hanging by the door.

Sometime later, Frederick had just arrived at the Le'Roux Family manor, as he stood before the first-class complex. It was quite a walk for him to reach the house without the carriage, the Manor was practically on the other side of the town. Once he reached the house, he stood there in awe at the sight of it.

'I hope Jean-Luc's right,' Frederick thought. 'That Gaston is the only mean one in the family.'

With a deep breath, he knocked on the door to the manor. The door opened and Frederick was quickly greeted by Gaston an older gentleman. For a moment, Frederick could've sworn that this gentleman looked just like Gaston. With the exception of his gray hair and looked all the more distinguished than Gaston. He wore a blue frock coat over a shirt with full sleeves, gathered at the wrist and dropped shoulder. He also wore knee-length breeches of matching colors with a full-front opening and wore brown boots. It took Frederick a moment to recognize that this was Gaston's father.

"Freddy," said Gaston. "You made it." He then pointed at the older man. "This is my father, Gustov Le'Roux. "

"Well hello," said Mr. Le'Roux. "It's a pleasure. Welcome to our home."

"Thank you, Mr. Le'Roux," said Frederick. "But I thought the groom wasn't allowed to see the bride until the wedding."

Gaston chuckled and said, "Well, we decided not to wait." He then grabbed Fred's collar. "If that isn't a problem with you."

"Gaston!" said Mr. Le'Roux. "That is certainly no way to treat a new member of our family. Either you treat Mr. La'Belle with respect, or else!"

Gaston sighed and let go of Frederick. "Yes, father." He then walked out of the room, leaving Frederick alone with his father.

Frederick breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mr. Le'Roux," he said.

"Please," Mr. Le'Roux chuckled. "Call me dad. After all, you're going to be my son-in-law in a few days."

"Yes sir."

"Speaking of which, where are your parents."

"Oh, they're in Paris visiting some old friends."

Mr. Le'Roux nodded. "Well, make yourself comfortable. My daughter will be down in a minute." He then walked off, leaving Frederick alone in the living room.

Frederick sat down on a small chair with pillows and waited. He thought about how the marriage would help his family, but he also thought about the girl he told Hildegarde about. He did have feelings for her, but wasn't sure to tell anyone, even his new wife.

"Mr. La'Belle?" asked a small voice.

Frederick sat up and saw a young woman wearing a cream-colored wedding dress of sorts with a black neck-band around her petite neck. She also had long black hair and green eyes.

"You must be Gabriella," he said.

"I am," said the girl.

Frederick smiled sheepishly. "That's a…lovely dress you're wearing."

"Thank you, Mr. La'Belle," Gabriella replied. "It's nothing fancy. Just a hand-me-down from my mother."

"Please, call me Frederick." Frederick adjusted his collar. "I mean, after all, we are to be m-m-m-…m-m-"

"Married?" Gabriella finished. "Oh yes, of course." She then noticed that Frederick's collar was loose. "I notice that your collar is loose. Did my brother bully you?"

Frederick sighed. "Yes… He did."

"I understand," Gabriella smiled. "My brother can be a real pain in the neck sometimes… A lot actually. But pay my brother no mind, it's just in his nature to be… Well, a bit of a brute."

"Brute? He's a real gorilla if you ask me."

Gabriella actually laughed at that little comment, though it came out as more of a soft giggle than a real laugh.

"Yes indeed," Gabriella sighed. "Frederick, I was wondering… Would you like to go on a walk with me?"

"Um…" Frederick gulped nervously. "Sure."

Upon leaving the Le'Roux manor, Frederick and Gabriella took a walk into the woods. It was right along the outskirts of the village and at this hour, they had no worries of encountering any wildlife. For during the day, most animals tended to avoid people at all costs. Being in the woods at this hour gave Frederick a sense of peace. As if all his troubles seemed to fade in this calm atmosphere.

"I must admit, it's nice out today," Frederick spoke quietly.

"It is, " answered Gabriella, smiling. "Winter is my favorite time of year. The sound of leaves crunching as you tread upon them, the brisk wind blowing through your hair, and pretty soon, the whole ground will be covered in a beautiful blanket of snow. It's almost like waking up and seeing a completely different world."

As Frederick listened to her speak, he soon started to develop some interest. Here Frederick assumed that Gabriella would be just like Gaston, never considering the possibility that perhaps there was something unique about this girl. The way Gabriella described his home during the winter, it was like every word that was spoken came from the mind of a poet. He felt the paper in his pocket and began to think it over. Then, he took his hand out of the pocket and simply shook his head.

'Hildegarde is right,' Frederick thought. 'Maybe it's time to let go of the past and embrace the future.' Frederick looked back to Gabriella. "Gabriella?"

"Yes, Frederick?" Gabriella asked.

Frederick takes a deep breath and decides to take advantage of this moment. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you. I…"

All of a sudden, just as Frederick was finally about to speak, a loud neigh caused the two to turn. Rushing through the trees, a loose horse ran through in a state of panic. It kept running until the horse stopped and reared just inches from both Gabriella and Frederick. Judging from the looks of the horse, it looked as if something scared the wits out of this proud creature.

Gabriella gasped. "Where did this horse come from? she asked.

Frederick noticed a broken harness hanging off it's back. He strolled toward the horse, calming the creature down with a small pat around the nose. That was when he noticed his family emblem embedded on the rears.

"It's one of my family's coach horses!" Frederick said. "This was hooked up to the coach that was taking them to Paris. But this horse wouldn't just abandon the coach, unless… Unless something went wrong!"

"Oh my!" Gabriella looked worried. "You think they could be hurt?"

Frederick looked from Gabriella then back to the horse, back and forth. If Frederick's parents were hurt, he wouldn't know what to do. It would take hours for the whole village to look for them and who knows how far they went. Still, Frederick looked up with a serious expression.

"I have to find them!" Frederick quickly unhooked the broken harness and hopped onto the horse's back.

Gabriella walked up to Frederick and held his hand. "Be careful, Frederick," She said, worryingly.

"Don't worry about me, Gabriella," Frederick said assuredly. "This isn't goodbye. I'll find my parents and I will come back. I promise."

Frederick gave a kick to the horse and he rode off deep into the woods, as Gabriella looked on from where she stood. Riding deeper and deeper through the forest, Frederick had some measure of doubt whether he'd find his parents or not. All he could do was hope and pray for their safety. But still and all, no matter what it took and no matter what Frederick would have to do, he would not return home until he found them.