In the village, something was different. The first thing Gaston noticed barreled towards him and grabbed his hand.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTMCRHvHeWx
‘You’re back!’ Lefou shouted, jumping up and down. He almost looked the same as usual, except his arms were swollen with muscles that made his jacket appear uncomfortably tight. ‘Where have you been? Was crazy old Maurice telling the truth?’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4sjUXsciBd
The two were standing in the middle of the street, in front of the water fountain. Onlookers surrounded them, cheering on Gaston’s homecoming.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqLmgesV9d
‘I’ve… spent some time with a beast. Lefou, you look… different!’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqU2el3shH
‘I eat five dozen eggs every morning, just like you always said to!’ Lefou’s face carried the hopes and dreams of thousands of children on Christmas Eve, with Gaston being the present.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZMz7EiDRy
Gaston ignored him, looking around for Belle. As expected, she was strolling home with a book in her hand. He strode towards her, restitching the overconfident masculinity that the Beast had unknowingly unravelled.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0rV4NWNl3
‘You’re welcome,’ he said, leaning down towards her. At first, she scowled, but then her memories pushed context to the front of her mind.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6smyP98AT
‘Thank you. Maurice is safe and well.’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEYXcDoMvd
‘So, where do you want the wed-’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9wvlkrT0o
‘I simply couldn’t say yes.’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYX77vFv8S7
‘You-’ Gaston raised a hand but stopped himself. Belle had already dodged him at this point, now standing a few steps away from him. He lowered his hand and sighed.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nymQpsJdl
He tried to look into her eyes but he could barely see through the image of the Beast’s eyes. The Beast’s pools of nocturnal skies, vast and strange and yet the most painfully human things Gaston had ever witnessed. As he attempted to gaze at Belle, a question, the most dangerous of all thoughts, inserted itself into his brain.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPUwEd1lmv
Did he ever love her?
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuoTbaEEila
This thought sent Gaston stumbling backwards, his vision blurry like he had just drunk five jugs of ale one after the other. He barely noticed himself tripping over his heels until a big arm cushioned his fall. He whipped his head towards his saviour and was greeted by Lefou’s confident expression. It was a look so unexpected from Lefou, yet Gaston somehow found it familiar.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2h1idjqfej
‘You’re losing your touch, Gaston! I think you need a rest. Or did that beast put a curse on you?’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsoJqI4nueZ
‘The Beast would never…’ he didn’t finish that sentence but it was enough information for Lefou to knit his brows. Gaston gulped. ‘He’s too kind.’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBVODoMZ6B
Lefou helped him up. ‘Kind? But isn’t he a hideous-’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI9mRTjgUMF
‘Oh, he is completely hideous. He is covered with fur and has horns on his head that are all bent. He’s got sharp claws…’ Gaston remembered the Beast awkwardly trying to not break a bow. ‘... and sharp teeth that stick out of his mouth…’ He recalled messily eating together with him. ‘... but his eyes…’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5slexdlJvP
His heart felt like a magnet in a compass. It was pulled away from this poor provincial town towards that dark but beautiful castle. The sensation overwhelmed him, forcing him to grip his shirt as if reaching for his heart. He momentarily forgot to breathe. Lefou looked at him with suspicion, followed by anger. Gaston shut his eyes. ‘H-his eyes are black and lifeless.’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4J9x5R77j
‘See?’ Lefou asked the crowd that had gathered around them. ‘This ugly monster attacked Maurice, then Gaston! What do you think he will do with your children?’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcy3yaS0hH
A choir of gasps bounced between the buildings in the town. Gaston almost protested but kept his mouth shut and his head low, holding onto the last morsel of his pride between his clenched teeth.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUwgult43s
‘I say we kill the Beast!’ Lefou declared. The crowd chanted a chorus of ‘Yeah!’s before rushing to their homes to pick up torches and pitchforks.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9yXYqemCk
Gaston grabbed Lefou’s arm. ‘You… you can’t-’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwZRSKi1HO
Lefou took his hand and gave it a gentle rub, gazing into his eyes with that same look he gave the day Maurice’s horse was found. Now Gaston was finally starting to recognise it.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmgB8JDRN5B
‘It’s okay, Gaston. I’ll protect you.’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7UyIijKnW
A chill ran down Gaston’s spine. How long had Lefou been looking at him like that?
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRYDrmuVGWy
Gaston jerked his hand away, eyes wide with terror. After seeing this reaction, Lefou’s fiery glare matched the lit torches behind him.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC6aOr0qjAz
A line of flames bounced up and down and around the town. Lefou ran to the front of the line to lead the way.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46YXkqAqTB
Only a few people stayed in the village, including Maurice, Gaston and Belle.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmH8fZaJYbK
Gaston turned to Belle. ‘You’re not going?’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8lbrkRt4w
Belle cast her eyes downward. ‘I’m not one to do a witch hunt.’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡis7k72BL04
‘Could you help me-’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHrFMUHk6E
Belle shook her head. ‘He still hurt my Father. I can’t forgive him. I’m sorry, but you’re on your own.’ Despite saying this, she looked up in curiosity. ‘What are you planning to do?’
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGtRakhnhl
Gaston didn’t answer, which was itself an answer. He simply looked up towards the castle, just barely able to see the tip of the tallest tower over the trees.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa6E3iLlyqO
He headed home, picking up all the daggers he could find in his bedroom. He searched the entire house but couldn’t find a single gun. Lefou’s confident smirk entered his mind.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLvJWxL1YL
‘That good-for-nothing-!’ He took a deep breath. Think, Gaston, think!
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHJ9jxpTdG
He figured breaking into Lefou’s house would be easy. He may have gone soft hanging around the Beast, but he surely hadn’t become that much of a softie.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkrdTVqdr4k
He was correct. One kick to Lefou’s door was enough to get in. He found his guns hidden all around his room: in the tiny wardrobe, inside his chest of drawers, beneath his pillow (much to Gaston’s discomfort). Also under the pillow were a few arrows. A bow was under the bed.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2BHY0hiOv9
On his way out, he pushed away a thought that had slithered into his mind.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Nf0AUTYDY
Who was he going to have to shoot?
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1upgB0D9L
Before he could even reckon with the implications of this, the Beast’s oceanic eyes burst through his mind’s walls, flattening any doubt under the weight of their beauty. He grit his teeth as the description of the Beast he had given to Lefou repeated in his mind.
361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtd7klJF1o
He shoved the guns into the same satchel that housed his daggers and ran to his horse, leaping onto it and tapping it with the riding crop to get it galloping.361Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVRnWutEIIT
