Belle was very bright for her age, her papa always told her so. At five years old, she could already read children's tales all by herself, and she even understood most of the words! It didn't matter that Gaston and all of the other children made fun of her for carrying books around instead of dolls, Belle enjoyed reading and she refused to let anyone make her feel bad about doing something she loved. She even loved her stories when they made her feel afraid, like tonight.

Nanny had told Belle to go to bed hours ago, and Belle was a good girl, so of course she did as she was told. Nanny never said she had to go to sleep. Earlier in the evening, she had overheard (not eavesdropped, because eavesdropping is rude and unladylike) her favorite guard, Percival talking about a book of horrors that used to make him fear going to bed at night. Of course, at the age of five, Belle was a big girl, she was the bravest young lady in the land according to her papa, and the most curious too! She absolutely had to find out what the great guard Percival found so frightening. She stayed up until she was finished reading the tale.

Looking back, Belle thought, it may not have been the best idea.

As she was reading, she hadn't thought it was very frightening. She thought it silly the Percy had been so afraid. After she turned out the light however, she realized exactly why he had been so scared. With the candlelight, she could see into all the crevices in her room, but when she snuffed it out, she suddenly became aware of all the shadows. She'd never noticed how easy it would be for someone, or something to hide in her room before. Now, it was all she could think of.

A loud bang made Belle squeak. The monsters from her story were here! But, surely someone would come to saver her! Her nanny's room was only across the hall, and the guards patrolled the entire castle throughout the night. But what if nanny did not hear the noise? After all, the doors were very heavy, and nanny was always saying she was getting old and her hearing wasn't what it used to be. And the guards, they could be patrolling the opposite side of the castle. They might not find her in time to defeat the monster! She was filled with dread and could not help the tears that slipped from her eyes.

No! She would not so this! She would not be the damsel in distress, if no one was coming to save her, she would simply have to save herself that was all. With that thought, Belle took a deep breath and reached for the book on her nightstand, it was a big, heavy book, surely it would be enough to defeat a monster with.

Belle slowly crept out of her bed and prepared to strike. She had heard the noise coming from the corner of the room, so at least the monster would have nowhere to run. Walking now with a newly found confidence, she raised her book over her head and just as she was about to strike-

"Meow."

Belle froze, blinked twice and then laughed.

"Leo, is that you? What are you doing here? Papa says you're supposed to stay in the kitchens! Silly, kitty." Belle giggled as Leo the cat jumped into the moonlight shining in from the window. The cat purred as he rubbed up against Belle's leg. Belle smiled and held the cat close to her.

"That was very brave of you, my dear." Her father said the next morning as she recounted her encounter with Leo, the fake monster.

"No, it wasn't. It was only Little Leo, not a real monster, Papa." Belle said with a frown.

"But you didn't know that at the time, did you, precious?" Papa asked.

"No, but why should that change anything?"

"Because Belle, when you did think it was a monster, you were willing to face it even though you were afraid. Doing something, even when it scares you is the very definition of bravery!"

"I didn't feel very brave when I first heard the monster-I mean cat. But then, I thought about how the only way to save myself would be to face it and then I felt brave."

"You did the brave thing, and bravery followed, my sweet." Sir Maurice smiled at his daughter, not knowing that one day, that very saying would be ringing in his daughter's mind as she stepped forward to save her village.