The Feathers Fly (Book One): A Batb Fanfic

A Quiet Village

Babette woke at the break of dawn. It had just become natural to her. When you work as a maid, it's wake up early to prepare breakfast, go off to clean Her Majestique's bedroom, do some light dusting in the hallways, prepare lunch, have some alone time with Lumiere...

She sighed. It was going to be a lot harder to forget about Lumiere than she thought. And in only two weeks? It seemed nearly impossible. She made her way into the quaint kitchen, looking for something to eat. Finding nothing, she knew that she'd have to venture into the supposedly odd town to get some food. Until then, though, she would clean.

Grabbing a towel, she made quick work of dusting the table and the books sitting atop it. She organized the bookshelf by color and smiled at the quick work. Her next work was to mop the floor. She twirled around in her maid's dress, dancing with the mop and humming a tune.

Gaston always had an uneventful time hunting. He worked in the early morning, spent the afternoon napping, and enjoyed the nightlife in his pub. He had to take some time off hunting after the runthrough with that beast. The Beast dropped him off the side of the castle, but Gaston was caught on a lower level of the castle and returned with major wounds but nonetheless his life. The event changed him. Made him more appreciative and considerate towards women. And this one happened to catch his eye.

He never expected to see a girl back in that cottage. At first he thought it was his first love, Belle, but after taking a closer look he realized that he had never seen this beautiful, cheerful woman. She twirled around with the utmost joy, her dress fanning out with each spin. A dress which hugged her curves well and accentuated every part of her body in the most graceful, yet conservative manner. He didn't want to scare the poor girl, so he left after catching sight of her beauty. Yet he hoped he would be able to see her again.

Babette looked at work with a great sense of accomplishment. She could do so much when given the opportunity to. Her face glowing with pride, she decide to venture into the quiet village.

The village was not so quiet today however. They hustled at the sight of a new girl: a girl who changed their everyday routine and made every citizen stop and think. Not only did they question the girl, but also admire her. A woman with such opulence and beauty, dressed so strange. After buying a loaf of bread she worked her way over to an egg seller, who seemed to be talking to a large man.

He was so tall and burly, at least from behind. He had a bright red shirt and tall brown boots and carried himself with such a confidence that it shook her for a brief moment. Regaining her posture, she traveled over to the pair.

"The usual please, Peggy," he requested. The lady happily handed him five cartons of eggs, leaving Babette in slight shock. So this was the leader of the town obviously.

"Bonjour," Babette started, "may I please have an egg?"

The lady looked at her, surprised by a new character in town, and laughed. "I'm afraid we're all out for the day. Sorry miss."

Slightly defeated, Babette made her way over to the water well to get enough for her to drink and use to mop the dining room for the day. Leaning down to meet the pump, she made a few subtle attempts to get water, but the rusty lever would not budge. Dejectedly looking at the empty bucket, she gave it one last try and miraculously overflowed the spicket with water.

Turning to her side, she noticed the burly man standing next to her. It became quite obvious at that moment that he helped her with the spout. She sweetly clasped her hands together. "Thank you," she gratified softly.

"Anything for such a beautiful woman. I'm Gaston," he greeted, holding his hand out in gesture.

"Babette," she responded, and nearly curtsied, so used to greeting royalty, but quickly caught on, giving her hand to shake. It had been so long since she was outside of the castle that the regular manners seemed strange and unfamiliar to her.

In a swift move he brought her hand to his lips and delicately kissed it. "It's such a pleasure to see someone new in the village. Where are you from, if you don't mind me asking?"

Babette bit her lip, afraid to give away her true place of residence. The town was not entirely fond of the Castle or the King and Queen for that matter. "A gathering not more than half a day's travel from here," she retorted, making her way over to grab her water bucket.

The man quickly followed her. "I heard, Miss, that I took the last of your eggs. Please," he offered up a carton to her, "I could not live in satisfaction knowing I've let a lovely maiden go hungry. I normally eat five dozen a day, but four will be sufficient. I insist."

The flush on Babette's face was rather noticeable. "Well thank you Monsieur. That's very kind of you." Grabbing the bucket of water, and arranging the loaf and carton in her arms, she was nearly on her way. That was until...

"Please, let me help you," Gaston pushed again, sweetly taking the bucket from her arms. Babette would have refused if the task hadn't seemed so possible to achieve by herself. So the stranger accompanied her back to her small cottage.

"So, what is a pretty girl like you living here by yourself? And in this cottage? It used to be the cottage of..."

"Oui, the Queen. She's rather a big deal where I come from, and I'm acting as a maid in tidying the house for her father's stay. And I'd rather not talk about the alone part. I was... hurt by someone and wish to forget about it for the upcoming fortnight," she confessed, approaching the building.

Standing at the door, Gaston lured her slightly closer, "well, I own a tavern down in the town. What do you say you come visit tonight? I'd be more than honored to have such a beauty by my side."

"Well, alright. I might as well try and make some friends while I'm here."

"Perfect!" he grinned, setting down the bucket of water on the steps. "I'll see you later, Babette Le Beau." He did not leave before taking her hand up to his lips again, then parted half heartedly.

"No men," She told herself, but this guy was different. Charming, handsome, considerate, and very romantic. She groaned at her pettiness and dreaded how the next few weeks would continue.