Space Fairy Tales: Beauty and the Beast

Madame Gaston?

Our table was in the center of the restaurant and beautifully decorated, with a white tablecloth and a candle and a red rose at the center. Gaston pulled out the chair for me to sit. As soon as we were seated, the host scurried away, as if worried Gaston would pull out his phaser again.

"So, Belle," Gaston said, loudly. I saw a few people from nearby tables glance over at us. "What do you think?"

"It's lovely," I said. Then, a little disconcerted by the way he was beaming at me, I opened the menu in front of me and started scanning. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him do the same.

The menu featured the delicacies of most every species in the Federation, from the calouian shellfish of the Shwol to the the roast bilon found on Proxima IX. I was still reading the menu with interest when I heard Gaston hail the waiter. He stuck his hand out and waved a Konacki female over, not very politely.

"My date and I will have the orbital roast, one pint of your best ale for me, and a glass of elderberry wine for this beauty," he said, handing her his menu and looking at me with a dashing smile. The waitress jotted down the order and reached for my menu.

"Actually," I said, frowning slightly, "I was thinking of getting the periast stew." At this, the waitress's fox-like ears dropped a little and she withdrew her hand, looking from me to Gaston nervously.

"Another time," he told me, reaching over and plucking the menu from my hand. "The oribtal roast is absolutely the best thing on the menu--you'll enjoy it much better than the stew." He handed my menu to the waitress, who took it with a furtive glance at me.

I lowered my eyebrows at Gaston, frowning, but he only smiled, waving the waitress away with his hand without looking at her. I scowled a little, but forced myself to take a deep breath. I folded my hands in my lap and tried to smile at Gaston. "Well, if--" I started.

But Gaston had started speaking at the same time. "You look beautiful tonight, Belle," he said, smiling warmly at me. "You are an absolutely stunning young woman."

I tilted my head to the side. "Do you tell that to all the women you date?"

He scoffed a little, but he was still smiling. "Contrary to what you might have heard, Belle, I do not go on dates with many women." He paused as a human waiter arrived with the drinks, taking a swig of the drink before returning his gaze to me. "I don't settle, and I've had my eye on you for a while."

A little uncomfortable, I took a sip of the wine to buy me some time. How was I supposed to interpret such a statement? I wasn't even sure how I felt about Gaston having his "eye on me" for a while. I'd had no idea before Ada proposed the date. Was I really so oblivious? And why me?

The latter, at least, was a question I thought I could ask. "Why me?"

"My dear Belle," he said, leaning forward a bit and seizing my hand. "Haven't you been listening to me?" he asked, staring at me with those bright blue eyes. I blushed a little, unwillingly. "You are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

This was somehow less than what I'd wanted to hear, and I gently twisted my hand out of his and folded them in my lap. I tried to smile at him so he wouldn't be offended. "You flatter me, Gaston," I said, a little wryly.

He only beamed at me.

To avoid any more awkwardness, I encouraged Gaston to tell me more about the Rouges. He told me that the warriors were generally male, and that they rode these animals that looked a little like enormous versions of the mountain goats found on Earth. They were dark grey, he said, and could move just as quickly over the rocky mountains of Condan as they could through the plains.