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

"His 'Little Wife' - UGH!"

Can you imagine, me! The wife of that boorish, brainless...

Oh the very nerve of that man! To think that she would marry him, and in such circumstances, even at all! She barely knew him.  And to think that he had arranged a whole wedding to take place before he had even proposed to her, under the assumption that she would just accept - the very thought of it made Belle's insides boil with anger.  Yes, she barely knew Gaston, but she knew enough.  And now any consideration she may have had about getting to know him such as her father had suggested had been cast away, not that she cared. In fact she was glad.

The very thought of being Madame Gaston, doting on him, playing 'his little wife', and having four or five or more sons  - he'd said children, but she knew he meant sons, who could go hunting with him, carry on his name, and who would no doubt turn out to be exactly like him.  If that was to be her future she would much rather remain alone for the rest of her life with the comfort and company of her books. 

            Oh why did life sound so much better in them! Why couldn't it be that exciting and romantic in real life? If Gaston's 'proposal' was what was considered romantic here - it only emphasized Belle's earlier thought. She had seen how most of the other village ladies acted around Gaston, all so smitten by him, but none such as bad as the triplets.  They were always following him around, fawning and gushing over him, so clingy.  Is that what he expected of her? If so, his idea of her was very wrong.  She hoped she did not give off that impression.

            One thing was for certain: she would much rather be the odd girl of the village than Gaston's wife.

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Belle had been planning on going into town later that day but after the events of that morning she felt better remaining alone in the safety of her home. 

Later that afternoon, towards evening, she was surprised by a knock at the door.  She was almost worried to answer, however, looking through the spyglass invention, she found that it was Père Robert.

"Belle." He gave her a nod and small smile when she opened the door.  "I just came to check on you, and to apologize for this morning - I want you to know that I was against it, but being the only one in the village able to conduct a wedding ceremony-"

"Thank you." Belle nodded.   "And you shouldn't be the one to apologize." She thanked him again for checking in on her and he returned to the chapel.

Belle anxiously awaited the next day and her father's return.  Should she tell him? Yes, she should, but she didn't know how.  As much as she wanted to tell her father about Gaston's proposal and how unsettled it made her feel, she also just wanted to avoid it and forget the whole topic altogether.  So she decided to keep silent about it.

The next morning while she tidied the cottage up for her father's return, there came another knock at the door.  Looking through the spyglass Belle saw an unfamiliar woman standing on the porch. 

"Hello my dear." The middle-aged woman gave her a smile when she opened the door.  "We haven't officially met, I am Madame LeBlanc, I work in the tavern."

Oh yes, now that she said so Belle did recognize her, though she hadn't seen her very often. Most likely too busy serving Gaston and his friends.  "Hello Madame. How can I help you?"

"Oh, I just wanted to come by and check to see how you were doing after yesterday," the woman said.  Her voice and personality were warm and motherly, Belle noticed right away.  "You poor thing, you looked so startled and confused."

Belle had to admit she was surprised.  "Oh, well yes, I was.  But I'm alright, thank you.  Just a little embarrassed."

The woman nodded.  "I understand.  Now I know it really should be Gaston apologizing, but I'm afraid that is rather unlikely.  Some of us tried to tell him to not go through with that ridiculous plot of his, but he's so stubborn, has been since he was just a boy.  He's used to getting what he wants when he wants it.  His father's spoiled him ruthlessly as a child, but disciplined him just as much." She shook her head.  "Listen to me, rambling on." 

"He certainly is that," Belle agreed.  "You've known him a long time then?"

"Oh yes dear, since he was just a child.  He's been kind enough to let me work at his tavern."

"I see." Gaston kind? Belle found this hard to believe, now more than ever.  However, she did find her curiosity brewing - she hadn't heard anything much about Gaston's childhood. 

"Yes, but anyways, I do hope you weren't too upset.  You did the right thing standing up to him like you did."

"Thank you Madame, and it was very thoughtful of you to come check on me."

As the woman left, Belle had to admit she was a little surprised at the generosity of both her and Père Robert, people she barely knew.  She appreciated it though, them coming to apologize on Gaston's behalf -  no doubt he wouldn't be coming around to apologize, but that was fine.  She didn't want him to, in fact, she wanted to avoid him at all costs. However, she guessed that in a village this small that would prove rather difficult.

This town certainly was full of surprises.  Belle looked up at the clock.  Papa should be back soon.

(I loved how they added the 'UGH!" to the song it was so great! And I'm not sure why but the pictures and GIFs I added to the starts of each chapter have been disappearing, sorry about that I'll try to figure it out! Thanks for reading!)