Morning in a Small Provincial Town

by Rosepixie

A series of very short stories about characters from Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast in the morning. There is very little plot, but it is safe to assume that the stories all take place on the same morning, so small connections may become evident. I have no current plans to expand any of these, but may continue to add more of them over time.

1. Belle

Belle stretched her arms and opened her eyes. Above her head was the high pink satin canopy of the ornate bed she slept in. She was nestled among soft, plush pillows. It struck her how amazing it still was that the room she slept in was so very fancy. When she had agreed to stay in the castle, she had expected to be locked in a dungeon cell, waking up on a bed of straw every morning. Instead, she could go almost anywhere she wanted and was treated like a princess by the unusual castle staff.

Yesterday the Beast had shown her the most amazing library. She probably would have stayed there all night reading if Mrs. Potts hadn't come and shooed her to bed. Even so, she had managed to stay up most of the night reading by candlelight the book that she had brought back to her room.

Belle looked around the room, aglow with the morning sun shining through the high windows. The tall wardrobe was dozing in a corner and Belle decided that she didn't want to wake her up. All of her dresses were tucked away inside the wardrobe, but a blue dressing gown was draped across the foot of the bed. As quietly as she could, Belle slipped out of the giant bed and threw the silken dressing gown on over her nightshift. She ran her fingers through her hair to straighten it some without the bother of actually using the coral comb that rested on the vanity. Then she grabbed the book off of her bedside table and tucked it under her arm.

Easing the door open as quietly as possible, she peeked around at the corridor. It was blessedly empty. She padded out in her bare feet and shut the door as quietly as possible behind her. With a big smile, Belle hugged the book to her chest and hurried towards the library. She slipped into the massive room and found that it was, thankfully, empty. She hurried to return the book she carried to its place on the shelves and claimed another one that she was eager to read.

The fire hadn't fully gone out from the night before, so it was easy to stir it up again. She added a little new wood and soon had a cheery flame to sit before. Then Belle curled up into one of the big chairs placed near the fireplace and tucked her bare feet up under her to keep them warm. She opened the new book across her lap and eagerly began to read.

It was over an hour later when one of the maids found her and fetched Mrs. Potts to shoo her back to her room for a proper dress and some breakfast, but by that point, she was well into the new book and happy as can be.