Beauty and the Arrogant

Chapter Two

Beauty and the Beast

With snow the roads and fields are white.

The Village was as it always was – plain and bleak and constant. Women were wearing similar dresses, the drunk men were drinking the same liquor in the same place, and the stores sold the same products over and over again. The Village was quiet and peaceful.

And Belle was going to change that.

Belle smirked as she strolled around. She placed her hands behind her back as she peered over at a table filled with shiny jewels. There were many different colored gems and crystals sprawled all over the stand. She stuck her nose up and left, making sure to kick one of the table's legs and let the jewelry fall to the floor. The woman behind the stand yelped and picked up her creations, clutching them in her chest. She stared after the young girl in confusion.

Many people passed her, greeting her with smiles and hellos, but Belle sneered at them and didn't say anything back. Some even tried to stop and talk to her, but she pushed passed them. She laughed at their confused and hurt faces. And she'd make sure to tip over everything that was in her way – products and people alike.

She was sitting on the edge of the fountain in center of town when Gaston crept up behind her with a book in his hand. He smiled at her, his eyes wide and excited. She looked up over and frowned. He ignored it and raised Aladdin in her face.

"I read Aladdin all through the night and finished it just this morning. My stance still remains on it being a cliché, but I do believe you now that it is a splendid book. I was really rooting for Jasmine and Aladdin throughout the whole book. He is madly in love with her. That's something I know a whole lot about," he said, playing with the ancient pages. "Thank you so much for the recommendation. Any more that I should read?"

Belle stared at him with disgust. She turned her nose. "Do not speak to me about . . . books. I have no interest in them or you, so if you would kindly leave that would be greatly appreciated." Her rotated her body away from him so that she wouldn't be able to see him. She regretted not seeing his reaction.

Behind her, he let out a small and quiet whimper. The sound of his shuffling feet filled her ears and he left, leaving nothing but the disturbed dirt behind. She laid down on the ledge of the water fountain and played with the water to her right. The cool air played with her hair, and the smell of fresh bread filled her nostrils. Her stomach growled, and she began following the sweet scent of flour, water, and yeast.

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Maurice was in the process of pulling his mask down on his face when a knock rang on his door. He placed his metallic mask on the ground farthest from the fire and calmly strolled to his front door. Another knock boomed through this house again, even louder than the first.

He opened the door with a huge smile on his face. "Hello, how may I help you?"

There were a group of angry villagers standing on his porch. Their eyebrows were raised and their faces were a bright red. He could hear all their breaths from where he was standing. With a confused look, he asked, "Did something happen? Did your forks break? Oh, dear, I knew I should've let it stay in the fire longer. I'm sorry for that. I will – "

Gaston pushed his way to the front of the crowd and said, "It's not that – er, sir. Your forks and spoons and knives work perfectly fine, and we thank you for that, but it's – well, it's Belle."