In the village, something was different. The first thing Gaston noticed barreled towards him and grabbed his hand.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUT5k2FuG4R
‘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?’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjOyPo6DeE
The two were standing in the middle of the street, in front of the water fountain. Onlookers surrounded them, cheering on Gaston’s homecoming.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7WezClf9v
‘I’ve… spent some time with a beast. Lefou, you look… different!’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdRVmJRCGj
‘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.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrLbMb2B3h
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.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc219JvUquF
‘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.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5YEUkNwPx5
‘Thank you. Maurice is safe and well.’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeXDjeah3l6
‘So, where do you want the wed-’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PpjrMriUI
‘I simply couldn’t say yes.’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglVFxRhGd1
‘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.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPEeVjOGUx
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.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOt1UEMIdgZ
Did he ever love her?
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnsIOpiVk6
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.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYODy4gLjbj
‘You’re losing your touch, Gaston! I think you need a rest. Or did that beast put a curse on you?’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuJt0jKBPq
‘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.’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5HUqHYUEsx
Lefou helped him up. ‘Kind? But isn’t he a hideous-’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyWhIguDIJ
‘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…’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9yXb3hTp6N
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.’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxMQ4lwyHk
‘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?’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqgOx6gY10
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.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvGvvXRXYF
‘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.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlnoDwFcfhS
Gaston grabbed Lefou’s arm. ‘You… you can’t-’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKsyWbW324
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.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUkf2QreTe
‘It’s okay, Gaston. I’ll protect you.’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtniy7t8Es
A chill ran down Gaston’s spine. How long had Lefou been looking at him like that?
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRYkQDL2KSd
Gaston jerked his hand away, eyes wide with terror. After seeing this reaction, Lefou’s fiery glare matched the lit torches behind him.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZUCVNwPn6
A line of flames bounced up and down and around the town. Lefou ran to the front of the line to lead the way.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwOTnnw16AQ
Only a few people stayed in the village, including Maurice, Gaston and Belle.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCelrUQI980
Gaston turned to Belle. ‘You’re not going?’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcYKF1Ltvl
Belle cast her eyes downward. ‘I’m not one to do a witch hunt.’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBoWJYQKqmR
‘Could you help me-’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyBwgqrB4T
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?’
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjoXbk28PN
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.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwfzyY3ZXIW
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.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4Dn9Ct3Mm
‘That good-for-nothing-!’ He took a deep breath. Think, Gaston, think!
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQj7ZXkxink
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.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4r6uIBjbUw
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.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYR8ZrTK1C2
On his way out, he pushed away a thought that had slithered into his mind.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzotvstesbq
Who was he going to have to shoot?
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGdS1OUoBp
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.
458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEY985ngBhH
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.458Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXLT3uMbDM
然後按「加至主畫面」