Chapter 7

Ring! Ring! Ring!

The telephone on the nightstand beside the light blue bed rang with a shrill voice. The girl on the bed turned away from the phone, trying to continue her sleep. But, the phone kept on ringing, so the girl sat up and answered it with a very groggy voice.

"Bonjour?", Belle said.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle," a lady said, in French, on the other end. "I am calling to wake you up, like you asked."

"Excuse me?", asked Belle, who clearly didn't know what was going on. She got up off the bed and started to pace, the phone's cord stretching to an incredible length. Belle realized that she was speaking in French, and that she could understand everything that the lady was saying. How, she thought to herself, can I understand and talk in a language that I hadn't even heard of before?

"You asked for a wake-up call at this time, last night," the lady answered.

"Oh, I must have forgotten," said Belle, improvising. "Désolé. Merci beaucoup, madame."

The lady on the phone said, "De rien," before hanging up. Belle put the phone back on the receiver, and sat on the bed, very confused. Just from the conversation with the lady on the phone, Belle could tell she was in a hotel. But, she thought, how do I know what a hotel is? How do I know what a phone is? She shook her head, glancing down at the ground, noticing a pair of black shoes. Hmm… she thought, picking them up and making her way towards a long mirror on the other side of the medium-sized room.

"Wow," Belle said to herself, blinking her hazel eyes. She was not wearing her dress anymore. Instead, she had on a sun-yellow sweater and black leggings. Belle put on the shoes, completing her outfit. Not too shabby.

Searching around the room for anything else that might give her a clue to where she was, Belle noticed a stack of books and maps on the creamy white dresser beside the mirror. She sifted through them, reading the titles to herself. All the titles were in French, but she could read them with ease.

"Normandy Explained, How To Make Your Way In A Small Town, Arromanches-les-Bains: A Guide To The Magnificent Site of Mulberry B, Map of the D-Day Beaches, The Alliance That Saved The Earth," Belle read to herself. "This is so confusing."

The princess kept sorting through an abundance of maps and books, all of them more or less about the same subject: a small town called Arromanches-les-Bains, in a place called Normandy, in a country called France, on a planet called Earth. Belle, who was entranced by any kind of book, sat down on the ground and began to read through the enormous one called Normandy Explained.

"Normandy, a region in northern France, is home to a rich culture. Their distinct food, their buildings, and their history with World War II all come together to create a unique Norman experience," Belle read aloud to herself. "In Normandy Explained, we will introduce you to the basics of Norman culture, as well as educate you in the history of this diverse region."

...

Belle, after hours of reading, closed the newly finished book and placed it back on the dresser. From the publication, she had learnt that she was on a planet called Earth, and that Arromanches-les-Bains was a very small tourist town with wonderful people, and was located on a beach that was involved with some war.

When me and my friends got sucked into that blackhole, we must have ended up on this strange planet, Belle contemplated. The question is, though, how did that happen, and where are my friends?