Chapter One
“Goodbye, Papa,” I held back tears as I hugged my father, “Be careful. The woods are dangerous.” “Be careful?” he exclaimed, “Woods? Dangerous? Who are you and what did you do with my daughter? Where is the girl named after her mother, Elle, because they both were the most beautiful women I’d ever laid eyes on? Where did you hide Belle, who always shared her adventurous spirit with her mother? What happened to the little girl who would always beg me to let her play in those woods, and when she turned thirteen I let her, only to find she’d disappeared? Will the whole town have to search for her once again, as they did many years ago, many hours after dark, because she’d ‘accidentally’ fallen asleep, high up in a tree?” “Yes, Papa, but they’ll never find Belle, for she’ll be off on some great adventure, never to look back!!” I declared, turning to look away, towards the distant horizon. Papa smiled, that playful, fatherly twinkle dancing in his eye. “You’re just like your mother. She always wanted some fantastic adventure, yet whenever I went somewhere, she’d worry just as you are now.” He lifted my chin so I had to look him in the eye. “I’ll be all right, Belle. I know these woodland trails like the back of my hand.” “I know, Papa,” I sighed, “But I can’t help but worry.”
YOU ARE READING
Vous L'aimez?
RomanceA twist on the classic fairy tale, Belle's father goes missing. She finds him in an enchanted castle, whose master is a hideous beast. After being taken prisoner, a side to the beast begins to appear that Belle would never dream of. "I thought about...
