Stone Cold | Gaston | Luke Evans

1

3 YEARS LATER...

The wind rushed through her hair as her horse galloped on. Eventually she arrived at a quaint village. She hopped off her horse and walked down the narrow streets. She approached a group of three girls. They looked her up and down curiously, almost with a hint of jealousy.

"Excuse me, I was looking for a place to stay," she said, smiling.

The girls looked at her and walked away.

"How rude!" She exclaimed.

She wandered on through the night, alone on the streets.

"Pardon me miss, you appear to be lost," a short and slightly chubby man said.

"Actually, I am," the girl replied.

"I don't suppose you need a place to stay?" The man asked.

"A place to stay would be lovely, thank you...um?"

"LeFou," he answered.

"Thank you, LeFou," she smiled.

She followed LeFou to a tavern. When she walked in, she could feel dozens of pairs of eyes on her.

"This lady here," LeFou paused and turned to look up at her.

"Claire," She answered.

"Claire here, needs a room to sleep in tonight. Got any available?"

"Well, it's your lucky night. I have just one left," the bartender said.

"Follow me miss."

Claire followed him through the back of the tavern. The entire walls were decorated with antlers. Above the fireplace, there was a painting of a man in a red jacket and a sword. Below it said Gaston The Hunter.

"Who's Gaston?" Claire asked.

The man scowled slightly, "No one you should worry about. Feel free to come back out and join us for a drink if you'd like," the bartender said changing the topic.

Claire nodded. She opened the door to a small room and set her bag down on the bed. On a table next to the bed, was a vase of red roses. She leaned over to take in the sweet aroma. After that, Claire closed the door behind her and walked back out into the tavern. She could hear people whispering.

"She looks like Belle, don't you think?"

"I can't remember the last time we've had a traveler this pretty."

Claire sat down next to LeFou.

"What brings you to this town?" LeFou asked.

"I'm only passing through. Probably going to stay a night or two, but it was war. It broke out in my city. I had to flee," Claire responded.

"Well, I'm very sorry to hear that."

"Than-"

The doors of the tavern swung open. Everyone got silent.

"Oh dear," LeFou muttered.

Loud footsteps approached. People started murmuring and she could feel them talking about her.

"Oh, my, would you look at the time! A traveler like you needs to get a lot of rest," LeFou said whisking Claire away.

"What? No, wait! What was going on?"

LeFou opened her door and gently pushed her inside.

"Good night, Claire," he said slamming the door in her face.

Claire stared at the door for a moment, stunned and confused. She made her way over to her bed and fell into a peaceful sleep.