Gaston was at a loss. Seeing his beloved Rose cry hurt him worse than the bad memories that had been haunting him since he saw that monster slither out of the portal! He wanted to assure her that everything would be alright, but he couldn't talk. He was afraid he'd burst into tears himself if he tried! Instead, he held her close, his head turned to one side in an attempt to hide the tears in his eyes. But when she spoke. he knew she'd already seen and he silently berated himself for making her feel worse. "Oh, ma belle, there's no need to be sorry," he whispered. "You never have to hide your feelings around me, no matter what effect it has on me." It was something that had been demanded of him all his life; there was no way he could expect the same of her!

He reached up to dry her tears, but she was already doing that herself, so he brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face instead. A fresh pang of sadness gripped his heart at her next words. He knew she would never willingly leave him, but she couldn't promise something like that. There was no telling what the future held for them. Eleanore had once promised him the same thing, and look what happened to her! He nodded in reply, too overwhelmed with emotion to speak, and managed a faltering smile.

Gaston was glad he'd decided to sit down to tell this story. He was reliving the darkest days of his past, and it took a lot out of him. He was sure he would've fainted if he'd tried to remain standing, and he didn't want Rose to see him like that and worry. He felt her hand on his leg and rested a hand atop hers. the touch comforted him a little, but he shook his head sadly at her words. "Not quite everything..." he said. He knew she wanted to understand, but there was one key detail she was missing.

Alright, the moment of truth. There was no backing out now... He swallowed hard and set his jaw, willing himself not to break down sobbing like the only other time he'd told this story. "It was five years ago... there was an incident at Beaubatons," he began. He didn't know how far the news of the dragon attack had spread at the time. Maybe she already knew which incident he was referring to, but just in case... "The Creatures professor thought it would be a brilliant idea to teach a lesson with an actual dragon..." his voice dripped with venom as his thoughts turned to the arrogant man who'd caused his lost love's death.

"Ellie was his assistant... she was so excited for the lesson, but everything went wrong. The dragon escaped, and..." He sniffled. "... she died protecting her students." His voice trailed off in a half-stifled sob. At some point during the story, the tears he'd been fighting back finally spilled from his eyes, but he hadn't felt them falling until just now. He wiped his eyes with the hand that wasn't holding Rose's, desperately trying to regain his composure, but there was no stopping now. All he could do was allow himself to cry quietly as he waited for Rose's reaction.