The Dreamer and the Hunter - A Beauty and the Beast Story

Revealed

"I was pretty great back there, wasn't I?" Gaston boasted as he and Belle made their way back to the cottage.

She smiled. "Yes, even I'll admit that you were. And you know the reason why?" She turned to face him with a warm smile. "Because you did something for someone other than yourself. Feels good, doesn't it."

He grinned at her obvious admiration of him for it. "It was like being back in battle! See Belle, we're both fighters! That's what makes us such a perfect match!"

Perfect match. This leapt out at her but she tried not to read too much into it. However, this was Gaston... And he hadn't said 'friends'.

Maybe now was a good time to bring up what had been on her mind lately. "Gaston?"

"Yes."

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something..."

"Oh?"

"I just want to make sure I'm not giving you the wrong idea-"

Oh finally! She was finally realizing what foolishness this whole 'friends' act was and was going to confess her true feelings for him. Gaston beamed. They would finally be married.

"Oh Belle-" He stopped walking. "I'm sure you think I have it all but there is something that I am missing."

"I can't imagine," she said, humouring him, not sure where this comment of his came from.

"You," he said, smiling widely. Now she looked up at him in confusion. "A wife!" he cried, clarifying. "You as my wife."

This startled her enough to cause her to draw to a halt. She stared at him. "E-excuse me?"

"You know-" His arm snaked around her shoulders and this time it wasn't the gentle kind from the other day, but the possessive kind. "You're not really living until you see yourself in someone else's eyes." Here he was, back to his old, exaggerated self all of the sudden.

Belle slipped away from his arm, taking a large step back. "A-and you can see yourself in mine?"

"Oh yes. Just as you see yourself in mine I'm sure." He took a step towards her, she in turn taking another back. They repeated this a few times silently, the incredibly happy look falling from his face in confusion. Then he smiled again. "Come now Belle, how long are you going to keep a man waiting?"

"I-I'm sorry, I-I think you are mistaken-" She turned away for a moment, her whole body flaming. No, this couldn't really be happening, again, could it? Not after everything they had been through, how far they had come... And she had just been thinking about how much he had changed... "Think about it-"

"I have been thinking about it since the first moment I saw you."

She sighed. "Gaston, we could never make each other happy, we want different things in life. I'm never going to marry you Gaston, I'm sorry. I thought I made myself clear." Not clear enough though, it would obviously seem.

She could tell right away that this angered him greatly, but he tried to keep this contained. "Belle, if you know what's good for you you will marry me."

"If I know what's good for me I'll follow my heart," she retorted.

He scoffed. "Because that's done you so much good! You want to end up like that filthy hag Agathe-"

"Don't talk about her like that! If you had even a shred of decency you would look past her outer appearance and see that she is a lovely woman. But no, you are far too vain! You'd better be careful or you'll end up just like the beast!" she said, recalling Agathe's story.

Gaston of course didn't understand this context and his angered look fell for a moment as he scoffed and laughed at her comparison. "You're comparing me to that creature, that monster?"

"He's not the monster Gaston, you are!"

A crowd of people had gathered, giving the two lots of space, however they were still watching the scene unravel. And the amount of spectators was only growing.

Gaston forced a smile. "Come now Belle." He smoothed down the front of his coat. "We don't want to make a scene now, do we?" he said through gritted teeth.

"You want a scene Gaston, I'll give you a scene!" she continued to shout. "But that's what you like isn't it? You just love being the centre of attention." She spoke mockingly.

He shot an icy glance towards their audience who immediately continued on and left. Then with that he stepped forward and grabbed her by the arms, trying to move their argument away from the centre of town and to someplace less crowded.

"Get off me!" she was saying, squirming to try and free herself from his iron grip. When finally she managed to wrench one arm free she drew back her hand, aiming to strike him. She never got the chance to however, for he caught her wrist, stopping it before her hand could make contact with his cheek.

"You should feel very fortunate and very lucky. Not every man would be so accepting of your - tendencies."

She gasped. "My 'tendencies'?" She scoffed. "And because you are so accepting of them yourself."

"You agreed to be friends-"

"Yes, friends. Had I known all you wanted was me to marry you I would have never agreed in the first place!" She scoffed. "What, do you think I will fall at your feet swooning like every other girl in town?"

"No, and that's why I like you! You didn't make a fool out of yourself to get my attention."

"Darn right," she huffed. Her hands were curling into tight fists at her sides. "If you think I was avoiding you and ignoring your advancements as encouragement-" She sighed, trying to contain herself and not become too frustrated. That was becoming increasingly difficult. "I thought that I was making myself clear, but clearly not, so allow me to do so now. I apologize if I have misled you but I just do not feel the same way. You are mistaken sir. And you think that no other man in all the world will want to marry me? That if I do not marry you I will be doomed to be a spinster? Well I would certainly rather be a spinster than your wife-"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?!" She was cut off abruptly by his shout. He seized her by the arms, rage blazing in his blue eyes.

Her expression immediately softened. "Gaston - please - you're hurting me-"

He then realized what he was doing and he let go, his rage seeming to simmer down a little. Then, cursing, he stormed off without so much as even a glance back.

(Oh no! They were so close! I have a feeling that that's not the direction most of you thought this was going... Please don't hate me! I think we saw it coming eventually, it was bound to happen... They definitely look angry with each other in the picture! And the reference may have felt a little out of place, but I love when she says 'he's not the monster Gaston, you are!' so I had to add it! And some of the dialogue in this scene was inspired by a deleted scene from the movie I saw which is hilarious :) Thanks for reading!)