Authoress's Note: Hullo! Sorry it's been while...but here's the next chappie...

Thanx to: Mary F. Sunshine (I hope you're still insane), Nathronoelei (gracias), and AquariusDragon (many thanx)

Well, that's it, folks! Keep reviewing, and you too might see your name featured at the beginning of a chapter! Bye-bye now!

Peace and love in the meantime!

~Jenny the chica~







Five


The trip, journey, travel, call it whatever you may, was quite uneventful. It was rather long and hard, but it was safe and nothing important or terribly interesting occurred during the time.

They finally reached Alain's lands after around four months after they had set out. Henri had been able to send a letter ahead, and the quintet received a warm welcome from everyone.

Robert was now sixteen, and Geoffrey fourteen. Both looked much older, and so did the four children, some not children anymore, that had traveled.

Rose and her family, after staying up long into the night, even though they had arrived relatively early in the day, settled into bed and slept comfortably and soundly, for no one can sleep well in noisy inns, no matter how comfortable they may be, for the first time in months.


~*~*~*~*~*~


Six years passed from here. Alain was able to find Henri a job, as well as Jacques and Bernard. Henri worked in a store in the nearby village, for Alain owned land in the forest outside it, and Jacques and Bernard worked for Alain in the grain fields that he owned on the other side of the village.

Sylvie and Rose helped their aunt around the house. Since Sylvie had already been managing at their old house, she knew what she was doing, and between her and Colette, there was not much for Rose to do.

Colette gave Rose different odd jobs to do, oftentimes errands and such, and one day, she asked Rose to help her in the garden. Rose nodded happily, glad to be able to help, and followed her aunt outside.

And in that sunny afternoon in the first early fall that she was in the country, Rose found her passion. From then on, her permanent "job" around the house was taking care of the garden, and she spent all her spare time there. She was out there as soon as she could see what she was doing, and oftentimes her father had to come out and manually pick her up and carry her inside so she would eat dinner.

All her dresses had two brown circles in the skirt from where her knees pinned it against the dirt, and brown streaks were also quite evident. Colette laughed at first, but then had to tell Rose that not all dresses are "garden dresses."

And so Rose grew, from ten, since she had had a birthday on the journey, to eleven, and so on until she reached the hallowed age of sixteen, when things began to finally happen.




A/N: Sorry it's soooo short...I just had to connect the first part with the main part (y'know, when everything actually HAPPENS to her...this is still a Beauty and the Beast retelling, y'know!)

But please review! =o) And...I'll c-ya next chapter! Tootles!