A/N: This chapter was written by me and Wrestlemaniac829.
Sometime later, back at the village, a single flame lit a round table of the empty tavern, where Gaston sat by as if waiting for someone. Suddenly, the door to the tavern creaked open, a light shined by the table, and Gaston turned with a smile as the visitor approached. A thinly old man, seemingly frail and yet had a rather intimidating presence especially with the hideous gleam in his eyes. It was the man known by many as Monsieur D'Arque, owner of the infamous insane asylum "The Maison De'Loon'. He slowly approached Gaston, his steps creaking along the wooded floor. Soon as he neared his seat, he sat himself down and the two stare eye-to-eye.
"Monsieur D'Arque," Gaston spoke. "I'm very pleased you could come."
"I don't usually leave the asylum in the middle of the night," D'Arque replied, twiddling his fingers. "But you said you'd make it worth my while."
Gaston nodded his head, he knew all too well that D'Arque would not simply do what he'd ask without a price. D'Arque watched as Gaston pulled out a sack from under the table and tossed the bag in front of him. With his long, lengthy fingers, he picked up a piece of gold among the many inside. Scraping it along his chin, he turned back to Gaston.
"I'm listening."
"It's like this," Gaston explained. "My sister, Gabriella, is engaged to the school teacher, Frederick. He disappeared sometime ago… But I believe he's been hiding out on us, not wanting to go through with the wedding. I'm thinking he needs a little…persuasion."
"How do you mean?"
"His parents were at my father's house a few nights ago, raving about a beast in a castle holding him prisoner. But we don't buy it, not by a long shot. It has come to my attention that the parents know something that we don't and frankly, I find it the whole thing an act to keep their son away from the wedding."
"The La'Belle's are harmless."
"That's not the point!" Gaston shouted, slamming his fist. "The point is Freddy would do 'anything' to keep his parents from being locked up. And I mean any…thing."
After hearing Gaston's explanation, D'Arque sits in silence for a moment contemplating the proposal. On one hand, he would be committing an obvious innocent couple as opposed to the many scum of the earth he kept in cages. But, on the other hand, business was going rather slow back at the asylum. And it's not like they'd be in there for long, just until their son decides to go through with the marriage. He thought it over carefully.
D'Aque sat silent for a moment before he finally said, "So you want me to throw his parents in the asylum, unless he changes his mind and marries Gabriella?" D'Arque asked.
Gaston responded with a nod.
"Oh, that is despicable. I love it!"
Back at the Le'Roux mansion, Gabriella sat silently on her bed. So many thoughts raced in that young woman's head, most of which about Frederick. His last words before he disappeared were that he made a promise he would come back with his parents. His parents did return, from what she heard, but Frederick was not with them and she was concerned of the possibility that Frederick would actually run out on her. But it wasn't like him to break a promise… So what else could've happened? Where was Frederick?
The door opened and Gabriella turned around as a figure approached her. It was her father, Mr. Le'Roux, coming into the room looking concerned for his daughter.
"Father?" She asked.
"Is something wrong, Gabriella?" Mr. Le'Roux asked.
"I'm so worried about Frederick." Gabriella answered, staring out the window. "What if he's hurt? What if he's out there and he needs our help?"
Mr. Le'Roux took a deep breath, as if he knew that Gabriella would ask him that question. He emerged closer into the room, sitting himself on the bed next to his daughter. He gently laid a hand on her shoulder and did his best to assure Gabriellla that all would be well.
"Don't worry, daughter. We will find Frederick, I promise. Why, Gaston has gone out into town looking for people to help out. As soon as we find him, the wedding will commence as scheduled."
Slowly, Gabriella turned to her father, a single tear slowly fell down her face.
"Father, I can't imagine why Frederick would be gone this long. He wouldn't just tell me a promise and not go through with it… So something must've happened to him, I know it."
"Shh. There, there, Gabriella," Mr. Le'Roux calmed her, laying her head on his shoulders. "Everything's going to be all right, you'll see."
"Frederick is a good man, a kind and caring person. I can't imagine who would try to hurt him, much less imprison him. If anything happens to him, I'll-"
Suddenly, Gabriella was interrupted by a knock at the door. The action caught Mr. Le'Roux's attention, stepping up from the bed to go to the door.
"Sorry Gabriella, I have to go. We'll discuss this later."
Without another word, Mr. Le'Roux exited the room and left Gabriella to sit by her bed and stare out the window watching the winter snow. Meanwhile, Mr. Le'Roux marched down the stairs approaching the front door. He answered the door, opening it wide, to see Gaston, standing at his door step, with three dirty-looking men standing close behind him. Mr. Le'Roux had no idea what to make of this.
"Gaston, who are these men?"
"These are the hunters you asked for, father," Gaston replied. "They've come all this way to aid in our search for Frederick. Allow me to introduce them to you."
He then went over to each of the men one at a time. He first pointed to a tall man wearing a tri-cornered hat, a black moustache, and wore a brown scruffy coat. In his left hand, he firmly held a blunderbuss, which he polished with a filthy cloth gripped in his right hand.
"This is Hans Gerehrkugel, from Germany."
"Gutenabend, Monsieur Le'Roux," the German hunter spoke.
Secondly, Gaston pointed to the man next to Hans. This one wearing a green cloak and a large black hat atop his head. He held a very large knife in his right hand, which he used as a toothpick picking at something stuck between his teeth all the while giving Mr. Le'Roux a rather dirty look.
"That is Angus McCloud, from Scotland."
Clearing his throat, Gaston then approached the final man of the trio, the largest of all of them. This physically opposing figure had a long black beard, as black as his own patch of hair, garbed in a large red coat and matching tri-cornered hat. In his right hand, he twirled a sickle round and round with ease barely even flinching his fingers.
"And this is Wolfe Styortsky, from Russia. Three of the best, if not the greatest, hunters in all of Europe. They agree to find our Freddy, dead-or-alive."
Mr. Le'Roux gulped at the sight of the vicious looking hunters. He realized that he just asked Gaston to find some men to help them with their search. But never did he think his own son would turn to men like this.
"Son, are you sure this is all necessary?" He asked. "I mean it's just a groom we're looking for, not a wild animal."
"Believe me father, these are desperate times." Gaston replied with a chuckle. "And desperate times call for desperate measures. If you want a wedding, you must have a groom, whether he wants to or not. Besides, Gabriella's happiness matters the most, doesn't it?"
Mr. Le'Roux thought this over for a moment. He knew for certain that this was going a bit along the deep-end than what he had in mind, but his son did make a point. All he had ever wanted in his whole life was for his only daughter to be happy. She deserved to have a loving husband, he knew the moment he met Frederick that he fit the image perfectly. And yet, here these men were attempting to the young man like an animal rather than seeing the humanity of the situation. Still, Mr. Le'Roux knew there were no other options and time was running out. With a sigh, he gave in.
"Yes, I do."
Gaston smiled, with an eerie sort of smile, as if his own father had fallen into the trap. Whatever Gaston was planning, it was all coming together so far.
"Excellent."