Disclaimer: The Beauty and the Beast characters belong to Disney. The original characters are mine.

Author's note: To new readers, welcome! To previous readers, welcome back! As promised, this is the sequel to my story "Picture This." If you haven't read that, just know that it's an AU story in which Gaston and Belle started out just like in the movie, but then things happened differently, and Gaston learned some lessons and got nicer, and Belle's perspective changed too, and they ended up falling in love and getting married.

Also know that there is no Beast here: in this alternate universe, the prince had a good childhood, and never became "spoiled, selfish and unkind," and was never cursed. He grew up to be a wise and good king, and fell in love with a princess and married her, and never met Belle. He didn't appear in "Picture This," but he and the castle inhabitants WILL figure in this story...but not for a while, probably chapter 8 or 9.

Okay, on with the story!

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On a sunny day at the end of September, in a one-room schoolhouse in the tiny village of Molyneaux, 45 children of varying ages sat attentively listening to their teacher. Previous generations of village children had suffered through school as a boring waste of time, but this group was luckier. Their teacher, Belle Avenant, was warm, friendly, and enthusiastic, especially about books and reading. She had such a talent for bringing stories and characters to life that even the most reluctant learners had to admit that school wasn't so bad after all.

Right now, Belle was saying "Now, it's time for a writing assignment." Some of the children looked interested, but others groaned. Belle laughed. "Come on, it's not that bad," she said, smiling. "This will be fun! I want you to write about what you love to do most in the world – your very favorite thing. Okay?" The complainers seemed mollified by that – if they had to write, at least it was on a topic that interested them. Belle always tried her best to make learning as enjoyable as possible.

A hand immediately went up. It belonged to Liliane, the youngest of Belle's own four children, who had just turned five. Lili was a sweet little girl with a sunny personality. With her honey-colored silken hair and sky-blue eyes, she always made Belle think of summer. This was her first year in school.

"I can't write yet," Lili said. "I only know a few letters. What should I do?"

"I'll help you, Lili," offered Denis, the six-year-old boy sitting next to her. He was the younger son of Gaston's friend LeFou, and he and Lili often played together. "I've been in school a whole year already! I can show you how to write!"

Belle smiled. "That's very kind and thoughtful of you, Denis, but I'd rather you work on your own writing. Besides, if you take over teaching the other children, I'll be out of a job!" The children laughed. Belle went on, "Lili, why don't you draw a picture? And then if you want, you can write something at the top as best you can."

Lili beamed. "I can do that!" Eagerly she sat back down and set to work, her brow furrowed in deep concentration.

Soon the scratching of quills was the only sound in the room. Belle looked over the classroom. Her two oldest children, 14-year-old Alain and 11-year-old Georges, were both writing diligently. Alain had black hair and brown eyes, Georges had brown hair and brown eyes, but they had both inherited their father's handsome looks.

Belle knew that Alain would complete the assignment without any problem. He was an ambitious, responsible boy who always applied himself to any task. He believed that if a thing was worth doing, it was worth doing well. Georges was a more imaginative, dreamy child – he took after Belle that way. But right now he was writing eagerly, because writing was his favorite activity next to reading. He loved the beauty and flow of words. Belle looked forward to reading their essays.

As Belle's eye moved over the room, her gaze landed on her third child, age nine. Her given name was Mireille, but she had always been known as Mimi. Bored and restless, she was staring out the window, ignoring the paper and quill in front of her. Her long black hair was tied back in a ponytail, and her piercing blue eyes – so like her father's – looked longingly at the sunny day outside. She was an active, athletic, outdoorsy child, and hated to sit still for long.

Belle walked over to her. "Mimi," she chided gently. "Please do your work now."

"But writing is so boring!" Mimi complained. "Do I have to?"

"Writing is important, Mimi. What if you need to write a list of things to buy, or things you need to do? Or write a note or a letter to someone?" Belle pointed out. "It also gives you a way to express yourself, and get your thoughts down on paper." Mimi looked unconvinced. "Come on, Mimi," Belle said encouragingly. "You can write about anything you want!"

Mimi scowled. "But I don't want to write about anything!" she said stubbornly.

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, but you still have to do it," Belle said firmly.

"Fine," Mimi said, slumping in her chair. She took her quill and unenthusiastically scratched out a sentence. Then she went back to looking out the window.

It was almost 10:30, time for the brief daily recess. "All right, class, hand in your essays, and you can go play outside," Belle said. "Liliane, would you like to collect the papers?" The little girl beamed, thrilled to be given such an important responsibility. Drawing herself up to her full diminutive height, she walked among the rows of students, taking their papers, and gave them to her mother as the other children filed outside.

"Look at my picture!" she said eagerly, pointing at the scribbles she'd made. "This is a beautiful girl, and these are flowers, and this is a rainbow and a sun, and this is the handsome prince! He's coming to fall in love with the girl and take her to his castle and make her a princess! And this says 'princess' here." She pointed to the top, where she'd written "PRNS."

"That's a lovely picture, Lili," Belle said, smiling at the subject matter. Lili seemed to love fairy tales as much as her mother did.

"I wish that would happen to me!" Lili said. "If I was a princess, I would be pretty and dance all the time!" She twirled around with her hands above her head.

Belle laughed. "Well, you're pretty now, and you already dance a lot of the time!" she pointed out. "It's a very nice picture, Lili. And thank you for bringing me the essays. Do you want to go out and play now?"

"Okay!" Lili ran outside, where the other children were playing.

Belle watched her go, then sat down to read over the essays. Alain's was written in neat, small handwriting. "What I like most is to take things apart to see how they work, then put them back together. I like to fix things that are broken. My grandfather is a famous inventor, and he always shows me what he's working on, and teaches me how everything works. When I grow up, I want to own a shop where people bring me things that are broken and I can fix them."

She smiled. Dear Alain had somehow managed to inherit all the positive traits of his relatives without the negatives. Like his father, he was ambitious and determined; if he wanted something, he persevered until he achieved it. Yet unlike Gaston, Alain was unfailingly patient, practical and even-tempered. He never plunged impulsively into things. He sized up the situation, figured out the best way to achieve his goals, and then worked hard, step by step, to get them. He stood up for himself when necessary, but he wasn't aggressive or a bully.

Alain had also inherited his mother's keen intelligence, and his grandfather's talent and interest in building contraptions and understanding how things worked. He was a whiz at fixing things that were broken. But he didn't have Maurice's eccentricity, or Belle's tendency to daydream.

He wasn't as interested in fairy tales or imagination as his siblings; he was too practical and focused on the real world for that. But that was all right. Belle didn't expect all her children to share her own interests. Alain was a smart, responsible boy with his feet on the ground, and Belle knew that he would be successful at whatever he decided to do.

She turned to Georges' essay. "My favorite activity is reading. Books are magical: they can take you to other places and give you wonderful adventures. If it's an especially good book, the words just seem to flow, and they sound so beautiful. The words create amazing pictures in your mind and make you feel like you're actually there in the story. I like to write stories and poems too – I hope I can make them as good as the books I read!"

Belle smiled fondly. Since becoming the village schoolteacher 16 years earlier, she had made a point of trying to instill her own love of books in her students. As a result, many of the town's children and young adults liked reading. But Georges was special. He loved books, so much so that he read constantly, and tried to write stories and poems of his own. He loved to discuss books in depth with Belle, and this created a special bond between them. Even when he was doing his chores, Belle would often see him daydreaming, and she knew that his mind was off in whatever story he was currently reading. He reminded her so much of herself as a child.

She put Georges' essay aside and picked up Mimi's paper. She had written only one sentence: "I lik horsis." Belle sighed, feeling frustrated. Mimi had so much potential, and she had many admirable qualities: she was brave and spirited and independent, and had a strong sense of herself. But she had no interest at all in reading and writing. If only she weren't so headstrong and rebellious, and focused more on her schoolwork… She was smart enough, and Belle knew she could do well in school if she would just make the effort, but she just didn't seem to care! Horseback riding and athletic activities were all fine and good, but Belle wished she could make her daughter understand that school was important too.

She looked at the sentence again. It was almost impossible to get Mimi to write anything at all; asking her to spell correctly was probably a lost cause. But as her mother and teacher, Belle had to try. She crossed out the sentence and wrote "I like horses" over it, then put it aside and went on to the other students' essays.

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When her mother had told the class they could go outside, Mimi was the first one out the door. She burst through the doorway and immediately raced at full speed across the meadow behind the school, reveling in the sensation of freedom and the wind in her face. It felt so good to be outside after being cooped up in the stuffy, dull schoolhouse, being told to sit still and concentrate on her work.

Lili went to play "Ring Around the Rosy" with Denis and two other young children, while Alain and some of the older boys went to toss a ball around. Georges was about to sit under a tree and read – he was at an exciting part of his current book, and couldn't wait to see what would happen next – but Henri, LeFou's older son, called to him. "Georges, come on! Aren't you going to play ball with us?"

"Yeah, come on!" added another boy.

Georges hesitated. He was eager to read his book…but his friends wanted him to play with them, and they would be disappointed if he refused. Georges liked to make people happy; he never wanted to disappoint anyone. He could always read when he got home, he decided. "Coming!" he called back, and ran over to join them.

Mimi ran around the meadow several times, swift as a young deer, working off her excess energy. Then she loped over to see what the young boys her age were doing. They were talking with a new kid, a dark-haired, burly boy named Luc, who had just moved to the village the day before.

"Yeah, I am pretty strong," Luc was saying. "I bet I can beat anyone here at arm wrestling!"

"Oh, yeah? I bet I can beat you!" Mimi said eagerly. She loved any kind of physical contest.

Luc stared at her. "You?" he scoffed. "Girls can't arm wrestle!"

"Yes, they can!" Mimi said, offended.

"No, they can't," Luc insisted firmly. He looked derisively at the other boys. "You guys let girls play with you?" he sneered.

The boys looked at each other. "Mimi's all right," said a boy named Eriq, shrugging. He was the son of Belle's friend Monique, and had spent much of his childhood playing with Mimi and her brothers. "She's not like a regular girl."

Luc spat on the ground. "Well, I don't play with any dumb girls," he announced. He looked at Mimi scornfully. "So stop being a pest, and leave us boys alone. Run along and play with the other girls. Go make some daisy chains or something." He snickered and turned away.

Mimi's fists clenched. "I'll bet you I can beat you in arm wrestling! Or are you too chicken to find out?" The boys all perked up at the challenge. They watched with interest to see what would happen.

Luc stopped. "I'm not afraid of any dumb girl!"

"So prove it!" Mimi challenged.

"Fine. I will," Luc sneered. "But don't start crying like a baby when I beat you!" He looked around, and noticed a tree stump nearby. "There. That'll do."

Mimi nodded. They knelt on opposite sides of the stump. Other kids saw what was happening and gathered around with interest to watch too. They all exchanged knowing looks. Luc was the new kid; he didn't know that Mimi wasn't just some weak little girl. But on the other hand, Luc looked pretty strong too. They were curious to see what the outcome would be. Soon there was a small crowd around the two contestants.

Luc saw the audience and grinned. "This girl thinks she can beat me! I'm gonna show her that boys are the best!" he said to the newcomers.

"We'll see about that!" Mimi said, glaring at him.

They each put one elbow on the stump, and clasped hands. "One, two, three – GO!" said Eriq.

Mimi started pushing against Luc's grip. He was a lot stronger than she had expected. Despite her efforts, he slowly began to push her hand toward the stump. She glanced at him, and saw him smirking at her. "Told ya so! Boys are always better than girls," he taunted.

Mimi got angry. Oh, she'd show him! She bit her lip in determination, pushing back with every bit of strength she had in her. Gradually, her hand began to come up. Gritting her teeth, her hair damp with sweat, Mimi kept pushing his hand down inexorably, fighting for every inch, until, finally, it touched the stump.

"I win!" she crowed, jumping up, thrilled with her victory.

Luc scowled. "No, you didn't! You cheated!" There was no way on earth he was going to admit that a girl had beaten him. It was too humiliating.

Mimi stared at him in disbelief, outraged at the sheer injustice of it. "I did not!"

"Yes, you did!" Luc lied. "You picked your elbow up. You knew you could never beat me, so you cheated. Like I said, you're just a stupid girl." Seeing that she was upset, he grinned. "What are you gonna do now, start crying like a baby?" he taunted, expecting her to burst into tears.

Enraged, Mimi hauled off and punched him in the nose as hard as she could. Stunned, Luc staggered back, his hand flying to his nose. "You're crazy!" he yelled. "I'm gonna tell the teacher!" He ran toward the schoolhouse, followed eagerly by the other children, who were enjoying the excitement.

Alain and Georges came running up. When they'd heard the angry voices, they had immediately left their game and hurried over, but were too late to intervene. Alain shook his head. "Ah, Mimi – getting in trouble again?"

Mimi crossed her arms defiantly. "It was his fault."

"Yeah, it always is," Alain said. He patted his sister's shoulder. "Come on, sis, let's go inside. I'm sure Ma's gonna want to talk to you."

Inside the schoolhouse, all the kids were talking at once. "Mimi hit Luc!" "Punched him right in the nose!"

"Oh, dear," Belle said. "Are you all right, Luc?" She dipped a rag in a bucket of cold water and held it to his nose for a minute or two.

"That girl is crazy!" Luc announced.

"You started it!" Mimi protested. She turned to her mother. "He was teasing me! First he said girls were dumb and couldn't play…then he said I cheated, but I didn't!"

Belle held up her hands. "Enough. I'm not going to allow any fighting at my school, period. Mimi, hitting is not acceptable. Apologize to Luc."

Mimi stared at her. "Do I have to?"

"Yes."

Mimi stuck out her lower lip. "Fine. I'm sorry," she mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"All right," Belle said. "And after school, you're going to write 'I will not hit people' 10 times. Now sit down." Mimi sat down glumly.

Luc snickered. Belle turned to him. "And Luc, I want you to apologize to Mimi for teasing her."

Luc was outraged. "I won't!"

Belle looked at him sternly. "Yes, you will," she said, quietly but authoritatively.

Luc backed down. "Sorry for teasing you," he said ungraciously.

"Thank you," Belle said. "Luc, Mimi's getting the punishment because hitting is a more serious offense than teasing. But teasing is not acceptable in my school either. Now, if your nose is feeling better, you can sit down." Luc did.

Belle turned to the class. "Now, all of you: listen to me." Her voice was serious as she looked around the room. "Fighting and name-calling are not the best ways to solve problems. If you don't like what someone is doing, talk to the person. Try to understand his or her point of view, and try to work it out peacefully. Treat people the way you would like to be treated: with kindness and respect. You're all intelligent people, and I know you can do it. Okay?"

They nodded.

"Good," Belle said. Seeing the tension in the room, she smiled and added in a lighter tone, "Now, it's time for math. Who wants to play a math game?" The children perked up and raised their hands. "Great! Eriq, will you please get the dominoes and the counters?"

"Sure, Madame Avenant," Eriq replied, going to get the supplies. The children eagerly got ready to play the game, and Belle smiled, pleased at their enthusiasm.

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When school was over, Belle said to Alain and Georges, "Would you bring Lili home and watch her for a few minutes? I need to take Luc home and tell his mother what happened. Mimi will come with me."

"Sure, Ma," Alain said.

"Come on, Lili," Georges said, taking his little sister's hand.

"Thanks, boys," Belle said. "Come on, Luc, Mimi." The two children followed her, making faces at each other behind her back.

At Luc's house, Belle knocked on the door. Luc's mother, a fussy, pinched-looking woman, answered it.

"Good afternoon, Madame Grognon," Belle said. "I'm Belle Avenant, the village schoolmistress. I'm afraid there was a bit of an incident today. Luc got punched in the nose." She gestured the boy to come forward. "I'm very sorry about that – it happened at recess when the children were playing outside."

"Oh, dear!" said Madame Grognon. "My poor Luc! And on your first day at school!" She looked at her son worriedly. "Are you all right, dearest?"

"Yeah, Ma," Luc said indifferently.

Madame Grognon shook her head and looked sternly at Belle. "I know boys will be boys, but still, you really should keep better control of your pupils, Madame Avenant!"

"As I said, it happened at recess," Belle said. "But again, I do sincerely apologize that this happened. I was very upset about it myself. I explained to all the children that fighting will not be tolerated, and my Mimi's being punished for it." She gestured at Mimi, who stood by, pouting defiantly.

Madame Grognon's eyes widened in disbelief. "A girl punched my Luc in the nose?" Her brows drew together disapprovingly and she glared at Mimi, leaning forward to loom over her. "Little girl, you should be ashamed of yourself, acting like a common ruffian! Little girls should be sweet and modest at all times!" She was growing red with outrage. "What is this world coming to? A little girl punching people! Why, I've never heard of such a thing in all my born days!"

Belle stepped in front of Mimi protectively. "As I said, she's already been reprimanded," Belle said firmly. She wasn't about to have a total stranger scolding her child. "And I must also tell you, it wasn't unprovoked. Luc was teasing her. I realize that doesn't justify hitting, but even so, Luc wasn't completely innocent in all of this."

Madame Grognon shook her head impatiently. "Oh, for heaven's sake! So a boy was teasing a girl. That's what boys do! It's hardly anything to get upset over."

"I think it is," Belle protested. "I feel that it's important for all the children – girls and boys – to learn to treat each other with kindness and respect. That's what I'm trying to teach them."

"Well, you're not doing a very good job with this one, are you?" Madame Grognon sneered, pointing at Mimi.

Belle gritted her teeth, trying to keep a lid on her own anger. "Mimi lost her temper, but she's a good girl, and I will not allow you to insult her," she said firmly. "Besides, I don't think being rude sets a very good example for the children, do you?"

Madame Grognon sniffed and looked Belle up and down with a critical eye. "I must say, I don't at all approve of the idea of a woman schoolteacher," she said stiffly. "It's a recipe for trouble, if you ask me. Men are the ones who should do all the thinking and learning – they have the knowledge to teach the children, and they can keep order in the classroom, too. Women are meant to take care of home and family. I can't imaginewhat the town council here was thinking when they put a woman in charge of the school! And a married woman with children, no less!" She shook her head. "I can tell you, I was quite scandalized when I heard that! I can't begin to imagine what your poor husband must go through, with a wife who's off teaching school instead of home taking care of her family where she belongs. No wonder your children are running wild!"

"My children are not 'running wild,'" Belle snapped. She was seething, though she was trying very hard to stay civilized. "And I'm fortunate enough to have a husband who is proud to have a wife who is intelligent and has a mind of her own. As for the town council, they very wisely decided to choose the person best suited for the job, regardless of whether it was a man or woman. I think they are to be commended for that."

"Well, that's a matter of opinion," Madame Grognon sniffed.

Incensed, Belle decided she'd better leave before she said something she'd regret. "Be that as it may, that's the way it is," she said firmly. "And now, I need to get home. Again, I apologize for what happened to Luc, and I'll do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't happen again. And I'd appreciate it if you'd talk to him about not teasing other children. Good day." With that, she turned and left, pulling Mimi along with her.

"The nerve of that woman!" Belle muttered under her breath when they were out of earshot.

"You see?" Mimi insisted. "And Luc is just like her! That's why I hit him!"

Belle paused a moment to figure out what to say. She could certainly sympathize with Mimi's anger now, especially after dealing with Luc's mother, but she didn't want Mimi to think that that meant fighting was now acceptable. The last thing she needed was a repeat of today's performance. She decided to set a good example in the hope that her daughter would learn from it. "Luc's mother did make me very angry," she began. "But did you see how I handled it, Mimi? As angry as I was, I stayed calm. I didn't hit her."

"Maybe you should have," Mimi muttered.

Belle suppressed a smile. "It's tempting, but no," she said. "Look, Mimi, it's okay to get angry – everyone does. But you just can't go around hitting people. You have to learn to control your temper."

"But Mama, Luc was being mean to me! I had to hit him!" Mimi protested. "He said I'm a stupid girl, and he wouldn't let me play! And he said girls can't do any of the things boys can do. And then when I beat him at arm wrestling, he said I cheated! And I didn't!"

Belle put her arm around her daughter. "That was a mean thing to say, and I don't blame you at all for being mad. I'd be mad too! But that didn't give you the right to punch him."

"You just don't know what it's like!" Mimi complained. "Everyone likes you! No one ever teases you or tells you that you can't do something!"

"You think so?" Belle said, raising an eyebrow. "I'll tell you something. When I first came to this village, all the people here thought that girls shouldn't read – that it was a very strange thing for a girl to do. I remember one day, your f-…" She broke off and amended quickly, "I mean… a boy I knew pulled my book right out of my hand and threw it in the mud! He told me that girls shouldn't read, or even think. I was so mad!"

Mimi looked interested. "Yeah? What did you do?"

Belle thought back. "Well…uh…I picked up my book and cleaned it off," she admitted. Maybe this hadn't been the best example to pick, she realized ruefully.

Mimi was disappointed. "That's all? Didn't you tell him you were mad?"

"Well…I told him he was primeval," Belle offered.

"What did he say?" Mimi asked.

"He didn't know what it meant," Belle said sheepishly.

Mimi looked disgusted. "So, he threw your book in the mud and said something mean to you, and you didn't do anything? Just acted polite?" She shook her head. "You know what I would have done? I'd have yelled 'GIVE ME MY BOOK BACK, YOU BIG APE!' And then kicked him in the shin!"

Belle had to laugh. "I'm sure you would have," she said in amusement. She smiled. "Listen, Mimi. I actually think you're right: I should have spoken up right then and there and told him straight out that I didn't like what he was doing. Later on, I did, and it made a big difference in how he treated me." She knelt in front of Mimi and looked her in the eyes. "Believe me, I'm glad that you stand up for yourself and don't let people push you around. I'm very proud of you for that. Just try to stand up for yourself with words, not fists. All right?"

"All right," Mimi said reluctantly.

"Good," Belle said, standing up. She patted her daughter's shoulder reassuringly. "Now, let's go home and have lunch." She put her arm around Mimi, and they headed for home.