Beauty and the .EXE

Chapter One: Maddie

In a small village, a town is awoken by the sound of a cockerel and the rising sun. The front door of a cosy cottage opens to reveal Maddie, a pure beauty blessed with intelligent, fiercely inquisitive eyes. With book in hand, she takes a deep breath of morning air and gazes toward the church which peeks above the village rooftops. She's out to run some errands for her father and return the book she borrowed from the local library.

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

The bell tolls for Eight. On the last chime, the town seemed to come to life with the people who lived there. Bakers, barbers, salesmen, washers, and young boys off to school. Everyone bids Maddie and the town a good morning as Maddie makes her way through town.

'There goes the baker with his tray like always. The same old bread and rolls to sell,' Still, Maddie paid for a loaf of bread and put it in the pouch she had on her dress while the baker looked offended at what Maddie had to say about his baking, 'Every morning just the same since the morning that we came to this poor provincial town-'

"Good morning, Maddie!" a potter called to the young woman.

Jean scratches his head, trying to remember something. He searches his cart which is loaded with pottery.

"Good morning, Monsieur Jean," Maddie greeted before noticing that Jean seemed lost, "Have you lost something again?"

"I believe I have. Problem is, I can't remember what," Maddie laughed, "Well, I'm sure it will come to me."

Maddie fed Jean's mule an apple before making her leave.

"Where are you off to?" Jean asked her.

"To return this book to Pere Robert," Maddie told him, "It's about two android lovers in Detriot."

"Sounds boring."

Maddie ignores the comment and passes by a group of schoolboys ready to learn.

'Look there she goes. That girl is strange, no question,' all the boys said slowly walking up the stairs to the school.

The Headmaster ushers them in impatiently, 'Dazed and distracted, can't you tell?'

As the boys scramble into school, Maddie steps on the stones over the duck pond over to women and children doing their laundry.

'Never part of any crowd cause her head's up on some cloud,' the Washerwomen said as Maddie walked by.

'No denying she's a funny girl that Maddie,' some young girls said moving their laundry before Maddie could step on them.

At a stall, a farmer flirts with a pretty woman running a fish stall.

'Bonjour, good day, how is your family?' The farmer asked smiling.

'Bonjour, good day, how is your wife?' The woman asked, reminding him that they were both married.

The husband suddenly pops up with a giant fish making the farmer back off back to his stall where an old woman is looking to buy something.

'I need six eggs,' The farmer shows her the price, 'That's too expensive.'

'There must be more than this provincial life,' Maddie said walking into the library.

Inside, library owner Pere Robert was cleaning the dust off the windows as Maddie walks in. He looks down, happy to see her again.

"Well! If it isn't the only bookworm in town," Pere said smiling and coming down from his ladder, "So where did you run off to this week?"