Heroes of Disney #1: Rise of the Firebird

Ch. 29: Belle

I woke up with a massive headache.

Well, "woke up" is an understatement. I was barely conscious. Groggy. My head hurt. That too, is an understatement. My head felt like it was going to explode.

I tried to sit up, but black and purple dots began dancing in front of my eyes. I immediately lied down again.

"Oww...." I groaned, holding my forehead. I felt some kind of cloth, and realized that my head wound I had gotten had been wrapped up. How kind.

I stared at the darkened ceiling for a few minutes, contemplating, trying to remember exactly what happened before I got knocked out. There were shadows. Dr. Faciliar. Spring screaming. Me falling. I couldn't place all of it in order. I shook my head. It was too much to think about right now. I'm sure it would all come back to me eventually.

I decided to brave getting up again and began to rise, a lot slower this time. My head throbbed a bit, but otherwise I was fine. I sat up and swung my legs over the gritty white sheeted bed till I could touch the ground. For the first time, I checked my surroundings.

I was in a cell. That much was obvious. It was about the size of the average household bathroom, rectangular in shape. The cell bars were only a few feet away from me. To my right sat a toilet. To my left stood a wall. I could hardly see anything except for a bit in front of me. Whatever was outside the cell was pitch black.

I stood up rather shakily and walked up to the cell door. I shook it a bit, rattling the entire cell wall.

"They won't open. I've tried."

"Waahhhh!" I spun around to face my attacker. No one but me and a roach.

"Who's there?" I called out into the darkness.

"Jamie, it's me. Belle." The voice responded.

I was bewildered. "Belle? From Beauty and the Beast?"

Suddenly, a light clicked on in front of me, blinding me temporarily.

"Geez, put that out. That's bright."

"Sorry." The flashlight shined out of my eyes, but still stayed on, pointed in a different direction.

When I was able to look, I saw a woman who stood in a cage opposite the hall to mine, which was pretty much a mirror image of the one I occupied. She wore a tattered orangeish/yellowish dress. Normally it would have looked beautiful, but right now it was covered in dirt, and ripped in several places. Belle's hair, usually tied in a tight bun on her head, was falling everywhere. But other than that she looked like the same Belle everyone knew. Except for the ghostly, sick look on her face.

"Are you alright?" she asked me.

I nodded. "A little bit woozy, but I'm ok. Where are we?"

"Were inside my husband's castle. In the dungeon."

I thought for a minute. "This castle has a dungeon?"

"Yeah. Every castle in this world does. It's just never shown on film."

"How did you end up here?"

Belle shuffled her feet, not meeting my eyes. "I suppose I should start from the beginning."

An awkward silence fell between us as I waited for her to continue her story.

"Well?"

"Jamie, I have a confession."

I stared at her. "What do you mean? We've never even met. And how do you know my name?"

Belle, still holding the flashlight, shuffled her feet. "Jamie, I'm your girlfriend."