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

A Hunting We Will Go!

Early the next morning Gaston rode up to the cottage. He donned his usual red leather coat. With him he had his quiver of arrows, his crossbow, and his rifles.

He dismounted his horse and went to go knock. The door opened moments later and there stood Belle. He stared.

She was wearing her usual blue dress only something was different - the skirt, one side was hitched, and underneath loose-fitting trousers. On her feet, instead of her usual simple black shoes, she wore ankle boots and socks. He could see part of her bare legs! It was very bold of her, and he had to admit he found it extremely attractive.

"Is something wrong?" she said in answer to his expression of obvious shock.

"What are you wearing?" the words burst out of his mouth.

She smiled proudly. "I hitched my skirt, I thought it would make riding and walking through the forest easier. Besides, I could just hear you: 'You can't hunt in a dress, you can't track in that dress...'" She changed her voice to imitate him. "So I made some adjustments."

He smiled. "I see."

Maurice saw them off. "Have a good time," he said. "And Captain, I trust my daughter is in good hands?"

"The best Maurice," Gaston assured him.

Belle mounted Phillipe's saddle. As it was still early morning it was a little chilly out, so she fastened a cloak around her neck before they headed out. She waved goodbye to her father and they headed off.

Gaston and his horse led the way out of town and towards the forest. As they rode he looked over at Belle, who had a large smile on her face, which seemed to grow as they neared the woods.

"Excited?" he asked.

She nodded. "Very?"

"Scared?"

She gave him a look. "No."

"Well don't worry, I'll be there to protect you."

"And what makes you think I need protecting?" Her eyes, just as yesterday, challenged him to say something, something she knew she wouldn't like. Only now, unlike then, his mouth opened and closed, leaving him speechless. "W-well, I am the one with the weapons," he mumbled. She laughed at his weak response.

But it was a genuine laugh, even if it was at him. He'd gotten a real, genuine laugh out of Belle and he hadn't even been trying. He smiled to himself at the accomplishment.

"Besides, it's an adventure," she said, her smile seeming to grow.

Pretty soon they were swallowed by the trees. The atmosphere around them darkened as the sun was partially blocked by the trees, casting shadows over everything.

A few minutes later he signaled for them to stop and dismount. After jumping down from his own horse he turned to help Belle down from Phillipe, only to find her already down from the saddle.

"I ride Phillipe all the time," she said to his look of obvious disappointment. "I know how to get down from the saddle on my own."

"Just trying to be the gentleman," he said and gestured for her to follow him on foot. She rolled her eyes.

"Now," he began, speaking softly. "The key to tracking and hunting is to keep quiet and alert. And ready, always ready." He withdrew his pistol from its holster at his belt.

Her eyes grew wide at the weapon suddenly in his hand, looking alarmed. "Gaston, you're not going to - kill anything are you?"

"Well that is what hunting is."

"No I know I just don't want to witness it."

"Fine. But I wasn't planning on it today anyways, just tracking, trying to figure out what is up with the animals in the area lately. But good to be prepared all the same." He waved the pistol in the air and gestured for her to follow him.

She did. She followed close behind him as he stepped slowly and carefully through the trees and bushes, carving his own path, the one they had been following left behind. This was the quietest she had ever seen him. He was so concentrated, so focused. She found herself admiring him in this seemingly unusual state.

"Do you think we'll see any animals?" she whispered.

"We might, although it's hard to say, for they've been scarce in the area of late."

"So you've said. Must have something to do with those rumours going around." To this he scoffed. "You know the ones? About the beast."

"Yes, some magical creature that can vanish without a trace," he mocked. He shook his head. "It's just some silly story that someone has cooked up to try and make things interesting."

"Hmm, see, perhaps I'm not the only one who's bored with this provincial life."

They continued on. As they walked Gaston kept checking over his shoulder to make sure Belle hadn't fallen behind. He had to admit the hitched skirt had been a clever idea, for she kept up with him no problem as they wove through the trees, over logs and around bushes, through the thicket, as well as despite being much smaller than him thus with shorter legs. Actually her small size was good for tracking, he realized, easy to stay hidden and she made quiet movements. He was bigger and therefore it was harder to hide, and he had to stay focused on keeping quiet, whereas she was just naturally so.

They went the rest of the morning without seeing any wildlife, besides a few birds fluttering through the trees. They went back to their horses and Gaston led them to a clearing where they sat and ate the lunch Belle had packed for them. Afterwards they continued on, Gaston once again in the lead through the trees. After a while of walking he knelt down before a patch of dirt and brushed away some twigs and leaves.

"See." He gestured for Belle to kneel down with him. She did so, not caring the least about getting the front of her dress dirty. He smiled at this. "Here are some deer tracks, but as you can see they're rather worn away, so they're quite old." He sighed and stood. This wasn't looking promising for game to hunt. What was going on? Sure there had been instances where there were fewer animals in the area, but never as bad as this. It was strange, that was for sure.

That was the closest they got to seeing any deer, or any other animals. Belle however, didn't seem very disappointed, but instead very cheerful, eagerly listening to everything he said, looking around her almost in awe. It was then that he realized how little she left the village, whereas he did all the time to come out hunting. To her, this was all new and exciting, while he took it for granted.

They stayed out for a couple more hours before heading back. Evening was settling over town.

"Ah, how was it?" Maurice asked when they arrived back at the cottage.

"Oh Papa, it was wonderful!" Belle cried as she leapt down from Phillipe's saddle.

Her father chuckled. "You can tell me all about it."

She turned to Gaston. "Thank you Gaston. I had a lovely time." Then she added, "I hope we can do it again sometime."

It was all he could do to keep himself from beaming. She had suggested going hunting again! "I hope so as well."

"Will you join us for dinner Captain?" asked Maurice. "No doubt you're hungry after a long day of hunting."

"Thank you, but I am expected back at the tavern. No doubt Madame LeBlanc has my dinner waiting for me and the boys are expecting another story. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Gaston, and thank you again."

(I chose that GIF because he was wearing his hunting clothes and had his weapons :) also, the eyebrow raise he does! You can tell Luke had a lot of fun playing this character! Thanks for reading!)