So in this chapter, you get to meet the new 'beau'! Yes, he may be like Belle, but rest assured, he has his own personality as well. There is also a song that he sings, called 'A Life I Want To Lead,' which I wrote myself, so I've done my best to make it rhyme considering I'm not naturally a songwriter, and there are new villagers as well.

Reviews are most welcome!

I don't own Beauty and the Beast.

In the years since the second enchantment was placed on the castle, no one, from the village to the court in Versailles, had seen the royal family nor had learnt of their fate.

Rumours had swirled around the village that they had gone travelling around France and the princess had been sent to a boarding school in Paris to finish her education; that they had drowned in a shipwreck en route to England; that they had been killed in a carriage accident; that a vicious animal entered the castle and slaughtered the king and queen and was holding the princess captive or that they had succumbed to a deadly disease.

Most of the rumours bordered on reasonable to ridiculous and it was hard to tell which was which.

The village boys, while out hunting, said that they saw what they believed to be a beast lurking in the forest hunting down animals and dragging their carcasses back to some forsaken place, but had been too afraid to approach it, so they exaggerated heavily in their story.

Being the simple-minded people they were, the villagers soon became paranoid and they avoided going into the forest by any means necessary and used the so-called 'beast' as a way to scare their children into obedience and not to go out of the village

'Don't wander into the forest or the Beast will get you and you will never come home again!'

In spite of the rumours, the villagers had actually hoped that the royal family was still alive. In honour of them, the wonderful things they had done for the village and to keep their memory alive, they lit the rose-shaped candles on the princess's birthday, as they had always done and every October twenty-third (the day they disappeared), they lit another pink rose-shaped candle for the princess, a blue one for the king and a gold one for the queen, to remember them and as a sign of hope that one day, they would return to the kingdom.

But life had to go on and for the villagers that was exactly what happened. Men and women did their work, boys hunted, fished, drank in the tavern, chased and flirted with girls and trained for and competed in the Gaston Games, an annual one-day sporting event in the village with the sports that Gaston had been famous for and girls went shopping, flirted and teased the boys and gossiped among themselves.

Every day was the same in the small village and had been for generations. But, as was the case with Belle, someone was about to change it again.

Just outside the village, in a meadow near the river and mountains, a young man was lying on a rug in the grass, quietly looking at a mathematics book while writing down sums in a journal, concentrating hard on his work, only stopping to dip his quill in the ink well near him.

His name was Leon Dupont, who was nineteen years old and had lived in the village his whole life with his widowed mother. He was handsome, with long, light brown hair which he wore in a ponytail and chocolate-brown eyes. He was well-built with some muscles on his arms, considering that he didn't take part in any sports, but did wood chopping for his mother, which contributed to his build. He wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a blue vest, dark brown trousers and mahogany boots.

Leon was also very intelligent, spending his few leisure moments reading, when he had finished his studies for the day. On a nice day, he usually went into the meadow to read and study, for quiet away from the hustle and bustle of the village, but not too far although he didn't believe the rumours, being the stubborn person he was and defied them. What had made him unique from other villagers was that he was self-educated.

From a young age, he had taught himself how to read, write, mathematics, science, history, geography, art, French, English, Spanish, Latin and German. Whatever money he had earned from doing chores around the house and working during the summer at the bookshop, which was now named La Librairie de la Reine Belle, in honour of the queen, he would spend on the text books, art supplies and science equipment he needed and any books which took his fancy, and not on beer or hunting gear.

Reading was a great love of his and he preferred it over the activities the boys his age did and sitting around looking handsome for girls. It wasn't unusual to see him engrossed in a book as he walked through the village, oblivious to the whispers, stares and talk about him.

His most favourite books were fairy tales, which one would consider odd for a boy his age to like, but Leon didn't care for one's opinions when it came to reading and books unless they were positive ones.

Looking at his books, Leon often dreamed of the adventure, romance and excitement they portrayed to him and more often than not, he dreamed of leaving the village and the provincial life he led, going on adventures, finding romance and true love and travelling to far away places, having learnt foreign languages and wanting to put them to use and he certainly wasn't going to find it in a simple little village. He wanted much more than that.

The reason he wanted to escape, was that he was well-known in the village and it wasn't all for the right reasons.

It was true that he was regarded as the most handsome boy in the village, but his love for reading, his self-education, non-conformity, his disinterest in finding a girl to marry, his devotion to his mother and lack of a father figure made him the subject of ridicule, mockery, rejection and butt of jokes.

Many considered him odd and felt he was too good for them, due to being able to read and write more than his own name.

Leon was not popular with his peers and didn't have any friends, as they teased, mocked, bullied, rejected him and called him names. One of those was 'Duplonk', which was a play on his last name and what they always referred to him, not bothering to call him by his proper name, and sadly, that was the kinder name they used.

'Hey, Duplonk, get your nose out of that book!'

'Hey, Duplonk, how many pigs have you kissed today?'

The latter was a reference to a humiliating incident that happened to Leon last year, where he was tricked by Violette, the daughter of Laura, one of the Bimbettes into going on a date with her (so she could humiliate him) and she made him close his eyes before he kissed her and when he did so, he opened his eyes and, to his horror and embarrassment, he was not kissing Violette, but Cecile, the village pig in front of everyone, which he was laughed at mercilessly for days and one villager commented that

'I don't know who should be more embarrassed, Duplonk or the pig?'

Although most had forgotten about it, the boys and girls still brought it up, accompanied by oinking noises and another nickname for him-'Swinekisser', but Leon ignored them, carrying on with his reading.

Despite this, many pestered him about finding a wife and settling down into marriage, but Leon, not having entirely ruled it out in spite of his humiliating incident, only wanted to marry for love, someone who loved him for who he was, not because of his looks and vice versa and he was too devoted to his mother to leave her just yet as he had promised his father that he would look after her, if anything were to happen to him, to which the villagers scoffed at.

With what had happened to him, it was no wonder that Leon wanted to escape, as he felt he had never fitted in the village, in spite of having spent his whole life there, but didn't fit the mold of what was expected of him, to be the 'ideal young man' and it was suffocating him.

Although he didn't know it yet, destiny was about to be laid out for him and he would have an adventure, far more than he expected.

It was midday when Leon had finished the sums he was doing and he saw it as a perfect time to have a bite to eat and read his latest book, or re-read it, as he had loved it so much. It had been payment for his work in the bookshop over the summer- 'a modern twist on a tale as old as time,' the owner, Monsieur Livre had said at the time.

Digging into his bag, which he carried with him and contained his books and money pouch, which reminded him that he needed to buy a new science text-book that he had saved up for and the royal family candles, for today was the tenth anniversary of their disappearance, when he went into town later that day, he found the book and his lunch which his mother made.

Standing next to him was his horse, Sabine. She was a sandy-coloured mare with an auburn mane and tail.

For a mare, she was very strong and brave, not easily frightened and had good instincts when it came to danger. She could sense when her masters and complete strangers were in trouble and needed help and if they were heading somewhere dangerous, she would steer whoever was riding her to a safer way, refusing to move if the rider insisted on going the dangerous way.

She was also Leon's best and only friend and he confided in her when he was sad, scared, lonely or needed someone, other than his mother, to talk to and she listened and borne his problems patiently, as any horse would.

When his father died after being accidentally shot by a competitor during the shooting event of the Gaston Games, who missed the target, it had been Sabine's mane he had cried into when he first heard the news through a villager who had looked after him, when his mother tended to his father's side, shedding the tears that no one could see.

Leon had never understood why his father, who had hated the Games, saying that 'why on earth would anyone compete in an event dedicated to a boorish buffoon?' chose that day of days to be a spectator there.

He had known that while friends came and went and turned on each other, Sabine would always be there for him.

It was having a horse as his best friend that added to the many things that made up his reputation of being odd, as it seemed he preferred the company of animals than people, but it was hardly surprising, since he had no real friends.

Sabine, having gone to the river for a drink, trotted back to where Leon was sitting and nickered against him. Usually that was a sign of affection, but Leon knew it also meant that she wanted food, having spotted the oats and carrots in his bag.

'Okay, Sabine, I'll get your oats,' said Leon, pouring out a handful in his palm, which she chomped hungrily. With Sabine taken care of, he ate the sweet meat sandwiches, apple and nuts for lunch, while reading his book.

After a few chapters, he stopped and stared dreamily out into the meadow, the river, mountains and forest, wondering what was out there and thinking about leaving the village.

'One day, Sabine,' he said to her, ' I'll leave this village and go on adventures, live a life full of excitement, find romance and true love like in my books, where I can be myself and not be teased, ridiculed, the butt of people's jokes or be tied down in a loveless marriage. I want more than this provincial life and I hope to find someone who understands me and shares my beliefs.'

Sabine whinnied and snorted at hearing what Leon said, as if to say, 'That's ridiculous!'

'Shows how much you know!' said Leon, hurt, 'I thought that you would be more supportive! Then again, it does sound ridiculous, but I want to make it happen,' he sighed heavily.

Hearing the sad tone in her master's voice, Sabine had a change of heart and whinnied softly, nuzzling against Leon, not only because she understood and comforted him, but hoping that she would get a carrot as a reward.

'Aw, thanks girl, I knew you'd understand,' said Leon, nuzzling her, sensing that she wanted something in return, 'Here's your carrot,' grabbing one from his bag and giving it to Sabine, who munched it happily. Leon then picked up his book and resumed his reading.

'Look, this is an exciting part of my book!' he then said, showing it to Sabine, who snorted in response, as if to say, 'How many times have you read this book, three?'

'Yes, this is the third time I've read it, but it's just so good!' Leon said, eagerly showing the horse the page he was reading, 'This is where he meets the princess, but he won't know it's her until the end! Who knows, maybe I might have an adventure like that.'

Leon then felt like singing, for some reason, as he had something deep down he wanted to get out of him, to let the world know his desires and dreams and being in a meadow, with no one around but Sabine, it seemed a perfect place to do so. As he got up from where he was sitting, he cleared his throat and started to sing

For isn't that how it starts?

A passion, a dream?

Wishful thinking on my part?

Something that I've thought of

That is deep within my heart?

I dream of a life where I don't need

To fulfil the expectations of a little town

They expect me to be a great hunter and fisher

A winner of the Gaston Games

And find myself a wife

But they just don't understand

That I want so much more than this provincial life

Leon may have taught himself many things, but singing well wasn't one of them. It wasn't that he sounded horrible, it didn't sound like a proper singer's voice. He made a mental note to learn how to sing better and was grateful he was in the meadow.

Sabine took offence at this and whinnied, also eager to move again and go back to the stall at home.

'All right, Sabine, we'll get going,' said Leon, clipping her lead to her halter, while gathering up his things in his bag and mounting her, 'I need to get that science text-book from the bookshop and pick up the royal family candles and yes, I'm aware that I'm not the best singer, but this comes from within.'

As he rode Sabine home, he sang again

For that's a life I want to lead

Living in a village is not for me

I want adventure, excitement, just to be

Who I want to be

Going to far away places I've never been

You may think it's all a dream

But I can make it real

If I believe

In the life I want to lead

Leon soon arrived back at his cottage and placed Sabine in her stall, removing her saddle, halter and lead, as she took a few laps of water and a few bites of her food, as he nuzzled her.

'See you later, girl,' he said, as Sabine whinnied and Leon then made his way towards the village to do his errands, walking down the path that led from the cottage to the village, still singing

Nothing ever changes in this town

Same ideas, same meaningless existence

I don't feel like I fit in, they see me as odd

Don't fit the mold, not what a young man should be

Just because I love to read and taught myself

Everything I need to know

By now, Leon had arrived at the village and, anticipating the stares he was about to receive, he took out his book and read it, as he walked through the streets, through children, playing jump rope, marbles, boys fighting one another and girls playing hopscotch.

He patted a little girl on the head one-handed as she looked at him, while taking no notice, as he usually did, of the villagers, who upon seeing him, stopped what they were doing and looked at him and they too sang

Look, there he is!

The boy who's not like the others

Never part of any crowd

His head is always in the clouds

Always has his nose in a book

Doesn't even give you a look

When you say hello

In the village square under a large statue of Gaston, four young men called 'The Muscular Men' (so-called for their muscular figures and tough exterior) who idolised and dressed like Gaston, claimed to be tough, brave skilled hunters and fishers and hung out under the statue where they leered at, flirted, called out to and behaved obnoxiously at any girls that passed by them (when they weren't out hunting and drinking in the tavern) and were part of the bullying of Leon; along with other boys also sang about him

Thinks he's too good for the likes of us

He's not the same

Just because he can write more than his own name

The villagers sang again

The boy's dazed and distracted

It's plain for all to see

This isn't where he wants to be

Not one of us, that's for sure

For him, girls aren't a lure

It's strange to be nearly twenty

And not have a bride by his side

Doesn't he even want a wife?

Violette, the girl who had humiliated Leon, was pumping water for the tavern where she worked as a barmaid, along with her cousins, Bridgette and Annette. Even though they were cousins, they behaved and dressed as if they were triplets, since there was only a year among them and they were very close.

They wore the same dress and apron (Bridgette, the eldest and daughter of Claudia, wore pink; Violette wore lavender and Annette, the youngest and daughter of Paula, wore light blue), had long, blonde hair with a head band that matched their dresses and blue eyes.

Seeing Leon, Violette sang

Did we mention he once kissed a pig?

Little Cecile, she was lucky

To receive a kiss from him!

At the mention of her name, Cecile, who was rolling in mud, oinked.

'But Violette, dear, you made him do it!' Bridgette and Annette reminded their cousin, 'Even though he was supposed to kiss you!'

'As a joke!' Violette said, defensively.

Along with the Bimbette cousins (their nickname), other village girls joined in the song

Even though he is so odd

We can't help but admit

That's he's so handsome, we'll give him that!

But it's such a pity that Leon doesn't do

What the other boys do!

As if on cue, the Muscular Men and the boys sang again

He doesn't like to hunt, he doesn't like to fish

Doesn't compete in the Games, doesn't even drink

He never dresses like our great idol Gaston

Not into chasing girls, doesn't seem interested

Too devoted to his mother, we think

Just wants to be a good son

And his best friend is his horse

Isn't that strange?

Leon was now near the bookshop, as the villagers finished singing

That Leon, he sure is a funny boy!

A handsome but funny boy!

We'll never understand the way he is

As his head is fully of silly dreams

Which give him lots of glee

That funny boy!

The fading sign, La Librairie de la Reine Belle, outside the bookshop greeted Leon, as he approached the door. His hand about to open it, he glanced at the villagers, gathered around looking at him, and sang one last line

They may think it's all a dream

But I can make it real

If I believe

In the life I want to lead

He then entered the bookshop, the bell on the door signalling his arrival. The villagers watched him go in and once he disappeared from their view, they resumed what they were doing earlier.

In case you were wondering, La librairie de la Reine Belle, translates to 'Queen Belle's Bookshop' in French. I thought it would be proper that Belle's favourite place in the village should be named after her.