A pack of wolves surrounded Gaston. After leaping off the horse, he cracked his knuckles, grinning from ear to ear. Finally, some easier- uh, more worthy opponents.
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He threw some wolves into the snow, butted others’ heads together and kicked the rest. They were defeated in seconds.
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And then more came. And more. There was a seemingly neverending supply of wolves. Gaston’s breaths grew heavier and his moves more sluggish. He tripped over the snow and fell into it, the other wolves pouncing on him and biting into his back.
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Failure joined the cold in the invasion of Gaston’s body. He closed his eyes. This was it, huh? All those eggs he ate were for nothing.
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A roar shook the trees, sending birds flying off them. The Beast effortlessly pulled off every one of them until one tore some skin off its arm. It kicked the rest away and they scampered back into the forest. Gaston looked up at his saviour and a seed of warmth was planted in his chest.
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Gaston forced himself to stand up, now in such a weakened state that he had to hold onto the Beast’s unharmed arm like a stair rail. Neither had the strength to hop onto the horse’s back. The two trudged through the snow back to the castle, holding each other up. Despite the cold, Gaston’s entire body was set aflame with embarrassment.
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Inside the castle, Gaston frantically looked around to find something to deal with their injuries.
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‘Uh, what do we do?’ He had never had to deal with injuries like these. He was much too strong for that.
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The Beast snapped its beefy fingers and some servants came to his side. ‘Get me a towel and some warm water.’ Gaston frowned, even more embarrassed than before. Once the items arrived, the Beast ordered him to turn his back towards him. Gaston groaned but obliged.
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The wet towel against his back sent a searing pain through Gaston’s nerves. ‘Could you do that any harder?’ he snapped.
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‘It’s what you get for running away!’
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Gaston couldn’t come up with a witty retort for that. Still, the Beast softened his grasp on the towel. It remained painful, but Gaston could bear it.
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The fireplace flickered, sending cosy light throughout the room. The silence between the two men somehow wasn’t uncomfortable. If anything, it almost put Gaston at ease.
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Once the Beast was done, Gaston snatched the cloth and applied it to the Beast’s arm. The Beast hissed in pain.
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‘Not so great now, is it?’ Gaston asked with a laugh. The Beast grumbled something Gaston couldn’t understand. Gaston bit his lip as he played a game of tug of war in his head. He took a deep breath. ‘Thanks. For saving me. Not that I needed it! I’m as large as a barge. You just happen to be worth two barges.’
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The Beast chuckled. ‘I see.’ His laughter massaged Gaston’s ears. They looked up at each other and gazed into each other’s eyes. The Beast’s eyes somehow seemed even more human than when Gaston first looked into them. He was still ugly, no question, but he wasn’t nearly as hard to look at now.
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Gaston coughed and swung his head away, the Beast simultaneously doing the same thing. What was he doing? They hobbled silently back to their rooms.
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The next few days were spent by Gaston holed up in his room, bored to the point of deliriousness but reluctant to run into the Beast’s eyes- er, the Beast. He used this time to work out, lifting various servants like dumbbells. Madame de la Grande Bouche was rather pleased to be lifted. Gaston only left the room to eat and ask other servants to help him with weight training.
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One night on his way to the kitchen to get some eggs, he found the Beast sitting alone by the fire and, feeling something strange tugging at his heartstrings, wordlessly sat next to him. Between their chairs was a wooden table with an assumedly non-living full cup of tea and a picture book.
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‘Finally, a book worth reading,’ Gaston eventually said. The Beast raised an eyebrow, his arms tense. He was about to shout at the other man for insulting him when Gaston elaborated. ‘I don’t get why they make books without pictures these days. How can you possibly enjoy a book when you don’t have any drawings to show you what the characters look like?’
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The Beast had to laugh at that. The sound reverberated through Gaston’s body. ‘Well, I… do want to learn how to read.’ He held his head in shame.
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‘Huh, I thought having a castle came with free reading lessons.’
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‘I had started learning, but… things changed, and I never got the chance to finish.’
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He was unsure why but seeing the Beast look so down in the dumps greatly disturbed Gaston. He clenched his fists.
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‘Well, I don’t know how to read myself, but I’m sure we can figure something out. Just…’ Gaston twirled his hand in front of him with a slight bow, still seated. ‘... Try and read it in front of me.403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzltgLOAgze
