~Two~

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I am wide awake even before Gabrielle shakes my shoulder to rouse me.

My other eleven sisters will sleep in today. It is barely eight o'clock but Gabrielle takes forever to get ready, and it is my duty to help her do so. We eat a small bowl of porridge each and make no conversation, my mother woke to make the porridge but has gone back to bed to get some more sleep and my father is already out to milk our three cows Bessie, Bertha and Bathilda. I then proceed to help my sister bathe.

I washed her long ginger hair, brushed it out and braided it into a long plaits around her head. I did up her corset and helped her into the family gown, it is pink with white lace edging and it is the most expensive dress in the house. Whomever is trying to appease a man wears that dress to town nearly everyday to meet with him and to mingle in society.

Today, I do up my own corset, which is particularly difficult and I accidently pull it slightly tighter than I do normally and a corset can only be undone by someone else and as my sister is already looking perfect in her clothes cannot come a help me, I leave it and put on my green dress with the gold stars. I braide my hair back so it cascades down my back.

Our father is back from milking the cows and takes us into town on our horse drawn cart that contains a large portion of the vegetables that we grow which he will sell today in return for cloth and soap and will be bartered for meat and will be traded for money.

My sister fans herself with the family lace fan. She pushes out her pouty pink lips and bats her eyelashes over her cold and unfeeling blue eyes. We climb off the cart, me, for some reason somewhat falling off ungracefully which isn't like me, splattering mud up the side of the cart onto a few carottes. I blush and mutter an apology to my father.

"They won't sell if they are dirty Belle, go clean them at the tap." My father sighs, frustrated with me.

I take the 4 carrots which only have a tiny amount of mud on them to the tap. It is near the bar and despite the fact that is only morning is already rowdy it's drinking songs. A man is slumped near the tap, a mug of ale in his hand, snoring. I sneak past him to wash the carrots but I must stand with my behind rather close so his face and I'm embarrassed.

I reassure myself, telling my hands to stop shaking, telling them to calm down because he won't wake up, hes drunk and dead to the world until his stomach grumbles and demands that he spends his last penny on another mug of beer. I have heard about me like him, I have heard the disapprovemnt on my mothers voice when she talks about them. I know to avoid men like him. I have cleaned the first carrot when he beginns stirring. I hurry, scrubbing the second carrot with my palm. My behind is so close to his face, I can feel his breath ruffling the skirt there, my breathing hitches, I won't be able to finish washing it in time.

"Ohhhhh, hello love. What a lovely goodmorning" he purrs. I let out a small squeak. I tremble in terror and my mouth fills with the taste of bile. His sleazy voice swims through the air to stroke my face.

"No sir sorry, I just needed the water, your mistaken" I say, my voice shaking only slightly when I turn to face him, trying to look stern and not frightened like I am.

"My my my, aren't you a beauty, can't be older than sixteen. What d'ya say, wanna earn a bit on the side?" He smirks in a seductive way but I can't help but feel horrified, he could be handsome if he wasn't so disgusting.

His hand slips around my back to grab my bottom, pulling me down onto his lap. I scream, I'm terrified, his calloused hands stroke my back and pull my hair back to expose my neck, he kisses it, his rotten teeth nipping at the skin there.

"Stop! Stop! Help! Get him off me" i scream desperately, hot tears run down my face and I'm shaking so much u can't think. I try to shove him off me but he is too strong.

Suddenly I'm wrenched upward by the back of the collar of my dress and pulled very high up. I can't see cause the tears blur my vision. When I finally wipe the tears away, I realise I'm on a horse, a beautiful white horse. I shake a recoil into the arms of the person who pulled me off the man and begin crying again. I hear shouting but I'm not in my right mind and i can't make out what they are saying. The feeling of the mans hands on me still lingers and it feels like my body is trying to shake it off, why else would i be shaking this hard?

The horse gallops away and I finally look up to see who heard my screams.
He is handsome. Short blonde hair, dead straight with sparkly blue eyes that give him the appearance that he is still a child who takes pleasure in simple games like hide and seek or hiding parents tools. We stop at an inn and he jumps off the horse, holding his hand out to me to help me down. I take it, I'm still shaking and normally I would be able to dismount properly but I can't, not now.

"Who are you sir?" I whisper my head bowed as I wipe my tears away.

"You don't know me? Hahaha, oh I love the Compass, the ignorance is hilarious, not that I blame you for it." He throws his head back and laughs merrily, the light glinting off his perfect white teeth, I almost gasp at his handsomeness. And then I actually do gasp.

"Prince Cedric, my Lord!" I drop to my knee and push my head down, eyes wide, cheeks red. I didn't even notice he was the Prince of the West, how right he is, us Compas folk being so ignorant.

"Oh no no no, no need for that." He complains.

"I like not being recognised, it's much more fun like that, I get to prance around like a commoner, I get to enjoy life, not a suffocated version of it in a castle. And besides, should the stone that sits at the mountains top think itself more important than one at the base?" He smiles and offers his hand to me to stand up.

"Please, show me your town." He smiles persuasively once more.

"I will do as you command me Prince Cedric" I murmur.

"Cedric and you?" He pulls me up and brushes off my dress for me.

"Belle" our eyes meet and I think I feel sparks fly, or is that just me and my fairytales.
Either way, it looks like my wish might come true.

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