Chapter Text
-Vanderwall-
Waiting felt torturous until they heard the front doors thrown open. The children clung even closer together and Belle froze completely. They were all waiting for confirmation of what they all already knew deep inside. It was not the King Beast who just stormed in.
Muffled yelling reached through the walls and Anette tried to hush all the children as everyone stirred in fear. It was humans. He saw as Belle recognized the muted sylables and her face became panicked.
"Right. We need to leave right now." Vandy said quietly.
"I thought you said that it was dangerous outside." Belle whispered back.
"Yes, it is."
He crossed the room and opened the door for all of them. They could find somewhere to hide out until everything had settled. The King Beast was somewhere and he would restore order, but until then he needed to make sure that no one died.
He ushered out Polly and then the kids. Everyone else followed and he nearly had Belle through the door before she stopped short.
"We really do need to leave now." Vandy begged. Whoever was marching through the castle and destroying things were getting closer and closer, but when Vandy saw recognition in Belle's eyes, he knew that he couldn't convince her to leave.
"It's my father." She whispered and Vandy let out a string of curses.
"Vanderwall!" Polly hissed from outside.
Vandy was torn between two groups. He looked back to the staff and sighed. He shut the door and stormed towards one of the errand boys, Chip.
"Get everyone safely to the forest. If you can make it to the faerie grove you will all be safe there. Can you do this for me Chip?" Vandy asked. Chip nodded with wide eyes and turned to Polly who smiled at him.
They would do fine without him, but if Vandy let anything hppen to Belle he'd never forgive himself and neither would the King.
Vandy walked back through the door and Belle was already gone. She had left the door open and Vandy left and followed the sound of voices.
He didn't catch up to her in time. He turned a corner and froze. It was nearly a handful of humans, and Belle was in the center of them.
-Maurice-
"Belle! Where are you!" He called again.
His voice was starting to shake at the strain of yelling, but the further they went into the King Beast's castle, the more anxiety he felt.
"Be-" He was cut off by a hand on his shoulder.
"If you yell one more time I will cut your head off Maurice." The Prince said with his sword raised menacingly.
"I am sorry you majesty."
"Don't be sorry, get behind me and shut up." The Prince said, jerking him back by his collar.
Their little skirmish was interupted by movement stepping around the corner.
It was Belle.
His disagreement with the prince went forgotten as he ran towards her and wrapped her in a hug, picking her up off the ground and spinning her around.
"Father, you're here!" She said after he set her down.
"Yes, we came to rescue you."
She stepped closer towards him and turned to the Prince, "Who else came with you?" She asked.
The Prince stepped forward and seized her hand, pulling it to his lips. He felt Belle freeze and she pulled away from him.
"Gaston." She said with hostility.
"Yes, it's me, my dear betrothed." He said.
"The Prince is the one who made your rescue possible." Maurice explained. If he could just get his daughter to see how devoted the Prince was, surely she would lose all her predjudices against him.
"Where is Adam?" She asked.
"Who?" Maurice asked.
"Adam, The Beast. Where is the King Beast?" She demanded, her voice raising.
Gaston laughed and Maurice stood perplexed. Why would his daughter have a pet name for the King of Beasts?
"He's dead. I killed him." Gaston said, wrapping his arm around Belle's waist.
She fought against him and Maurice took a step back, not quite sure if he knew what was happening. He had no idea why the Prince would lie about vanquishing the beast. The Beast was most likely dead, but not by the hand of the Prince.
"He's not dead." Belle said, "You couldn't have killed him. You're too weak." She said, spitting in his face.
Before Maurice could intercede, Gaston slapped his daughter, sending her soundly to the ground.
"You can't do this!" Maurice said, stepping over his daughter, trying to stop the Prince's fury.
"I can do what I like! I am the new King of Beasts!" Gaston roared and punched Maurice soundly on the jaw. Maurice fell backwards and struggled to get up but he was kicked away from his daughter.
"I never wanted you for a wife anyways." Gaston said, closing in on his daughter. He grabbed her and pulled her up with one hand and Maurice pulled himself up again but Gaston kicked him in the head.
"Stay down you crazy old man." He said. and Maurice was kneeling, his head bleeding as he watched helplessly as Gaston forced a kiss on his daugther.He pulled away savagely and Belle was full of curses and insults.
"Stop it." Maurice said, unable to watch the scene. "Please!"
Gaston just laughed. "It's just like I thought. You taste like the monsters that you've so grown to love. No man will ever want a woman who has been defiled by a beast." Gaston laughed again and just when Maurice thought he was going to hit her again,he was stopped suddenly.
"Unhand the girl." A voice shouted. Maurice sat up to fully see who had rescued his daughter, and when he saw it he lurched backwards instinctively.
He stood nearly as tall as Gaston and his face was permanantly disfigured. He was dressed finely in a three piece suit and there were horns that protruded out of his forhead and circled around his head like a halo.
"Oh look, it's another monster. One of my new subjects. Leave me be creature. I am your king."
The creature laughed and drew out two long knives that where as white as bone. "You are no King, You are not even worthy of my blade."
Maurice saw as Gaston evaluated the opponent and then tossed Belle aside roughly and drew his sword.
"You will accept my reign or you will die with the rest of them." He said, and then without waiting for a response, he charged like a bull.
Maurice ignored the fight and rushed to his daughters side.
"Belle! Are you alright?" He asked urgently.
She stood up instantly ready for action. He had to fight to hold his daughter back from charging into a situation she couldn't possibly understand.
"I need to do something. He's my friend."
"The monster?" Maurice asked, incrudulously.
Belle pushed him away. "They aren't monsters!" She yelled and Maurice held up his hands in defense, taking a deep breath.
Either his daughter was crazy, or confused, but Maurice wasn't going to let her down again.
"Stay here I'll help the- er- thing." He said shakily and stood up. He had an unused dagger on a sheath at his side and danced around the edge of their fighting looking for a good place to jump in, but he didn't get the opportunity.
-Gaston-
There was no winning this fight. He was stronger and had a far superior weapon, but he was still no match. No matter, fighting honorably never won anyone anything.
He planned on using Belle as a sheild whenever his offense opened a moment to wheel around and grab her, but he didn't get the opportunity.
The doors at the very end of the hall burst open so violently that they both shattered into two pieces and scattered away from the door frame.
The fighting stopped and The devilish monster who had stepped in for his daughter earlier smiled evily and stopped fighting. He stepped back until he was standing right next to Maurice acting as a shield for Belle.
Maurice had a helpless look on his face as he kept his daughter in check behind him and even Belle looked as though she knew exactly who walked through those doors.
It was the King of Beasts.
He was covered in blood so thick that it had looked like he had bathed in it. He stalked towards Gaston who slicked his hair back and smiled. He was out of breath and exhausted, but here was the King Beast nearly dead, and delivered to him on a silver platter. As the Beast moved it looked broken and pained he was missing a considerable chunk from his arm and his breath was ragged. Gaston was surprised he was moving at all.
The Beast looked into his eyes and saw nothing else. There was a short cry from behind him as Maurice and the other monster tried to pull Belle out of the room. Gaston looked back quickly and held his sword to the Beast who was still watching old man Maurice struggle with his stubborn daughter.
His breathing accelerated and the King Beast across from him gave a blood-curdling roar and then his wings outstretched giving him extra momentum in a last ditch leap towards Gaston. Gaston saw him coming and smiled. He held his position and steadied his stance with his sword outstretched. A King would come victorious out of this, and Gaston has never lost anything before.
He had to use two hands to stabalize his weapon as his sword went straight into the Beast King's heart. The Beast hit him with force and the combined momentum and weight of the beast knocked Gaston onto his back. His victory was mafe apparant immediately. There was no more fight left in the Beast. Gaston laughed. He was crushed by the Beasts massive body and war torn and tired, but he did it. He was the one to finally kill the Beast King.
He struggled to pull himself out from under the Beast, and when he managed to crawl out he was covered in the blood of his great foe. Gaston fell to his knees as the exhaution came over him. He let the exhaution over take him and he slumped into his sword, letting his body rest against it.
His struggle was over. He had done it.
He sent a small prayer of thanks to his family Gods and felt even heavier than before. 'Even a King would need a rest from a battle like he had just fought' He told himself as he slumped down, laying on the ground next to the Beast who was still wheezing out his last breaths.
Gaston laughed aloud, hoping that the Beast could hear his laughter. He hoped it haunted his last moments. Gaston reached down and pulled at the leather that held his breast plate in place. When his undid the leather he struggle to get the armor off, but it wouldn't budge.
He picked up his head to finish getting it off, but when he saw his chest, he slowly lowered his head again.
There were deep puncture wounds that had moulded the plate to his skin. He didn't remember getting the wounds, he didn't feel them now, but they must have been from the Beast's claws. Good. They would be the perfect battle scars when he recovered. He thought to himself as his conciousness drifted away.