Beauty and the Beast (Hariana)

Chapter 1

Ariana opened the front door of her cottage. Taking in the picture-perfect pastoral scene in front of her, she sighed. Morning in the small village of Villeneuve began the same way each day. At least it had for as long as Ariana had lived there.

The sun would rise slowly over the horizon; its rays turning the fields that surrounded the village more green or gold or white, depending on the season. Then the rays would move along until they touched the whitewashed sides of Ariana's cottage, which stood right on the homes of the village, before finally illuminating the thatched roofs of the homes and shops that made up the village itself. By the time that happened, the villagers themselves would be stirring preparing for the day. Inside their homes, men would sit down for their morning meals while the women readied the children or finished stirring the porridge. The village would be hushed, as though still shaking off sleep.

Then the clock on the church would strike eight.

And just like that, the village would come alive.

Ariana had watched it happen hundreds of times. Yet this morning, like every morning, it still amazed her as she stared down at the little town, full of the same people going about their daily routines. Narrowing her warm brown eyes, she sighed at the mundanity of it all. She often wondered what it would be like to wake up differently.

Ariana shook her head. It did her no good to wonder or wish. This was life as she'd always known it, the life she had shared with her mama ever since they had moved from Paris many years earlier. It was a waste of time to dwell on the past or the book clutched in her hand—a new adventure to find. Straightening her shoulders, Ariana pulled the door closed behind her and set off into town.

Ariana:

Little town, it's a quiet village
Every day like the one before
Little town, full of little people
Waking up to say

Within minutes, Ariana was making her way down the cobblestoned main street. As she passed other villagers, she nodded distantly. While she had lived in the village most of her life, she still felt like a stranger there. It, like so many in the rural French countryside, was isolated. Most of the people Ariana passed on her way had been born there and most would spend the rest of their lives there. To them, the village was the world. And outsiders were viewed with caution.

Ariana:

There goes the baker with his tray, like always
The same old bread and rolls to sell
Every morning just the same
Since the morning that we came
To this poor, provincial town

Ariana wasn't sure that even if she was born in the village she wouldn't still have been treated as an outsider. She really didn't have much in common with most of the others. And if she was being honest, she tended to enjoy reading more than idle small talk—traveling to distant lands and having wondrous adventures, even if only in the pages of her favorite books.

Townspeople:

Look there she goes, that girl is strange, no question
Dazed and distracted, can't you tell?
Never part of any crowd
'Cause her head's up on some cloud
No denying she's a funny girl that Belle
Bonjour! Good day! How is your family?
Bonjour! Good day! How is your wife?
I need six eggs! That's too expensive!

Weaving her way through the street, she listened as the rest of the villagers greeted each other. She felt a pang of loneliness watching them talk to one another. They all seemed perfectly content with the monotony of their morning routines. No one seemed to share her desire for something new and exciting, for something more.

Ariana:

There must be more than this provincial life!