Years passed and a village sprang up near the castle that had no memory of the royal family even existing. Life carried on for these people the same way day after day, and nobody dared break the pattern. There was no real reason to break it after all. Everyone was content living in their small little world until the day that a young merchant and his six children moved into town.
Most of the family settled into the lull of everyday life just like the rest of the town. The eldest daughters, Kenna and Juliette spent their days chasing after handsome young men in hopes to be married to them. The three boys named Christen, Sebastien, and Jacques were often in the local tavern, gambling away and usually winning it all back. Michel, the merchant himself, often went on trips to the market to sell his products and make agreements with the other merchants. The only one who seemed discontent in the village was Michel's youngest daughter, Beauty.
Beauty was not like the rest of her family, caught up in the monetary things of the world. She would much rather spend her time reading books or even travelling the world when she was given the chance. The idea of corsets and jewels and balls made her feel almost uncomfortable for she did not believe such things led to a truly happy life. The thing that bothered her above all else was the attentions of a young man in the town named Gaston. Gaston was always trying to get her to marry him, while her sisters looked on jealously.
"Why should she get noticed by him when he hardly looks at us?" Kenna and Juliette would wonder. No matter what they did or how much they tried to impress the gentleman, he was always looking past them and straight at Beauty. She was the one he wanted, and he would have no one else.
That day, as always, Beauty was quietly wandering through town, making her way to the small library. It wasn't filled with much, but it was her favorite place in the world to go to because she could travel without even moving from her chair. She could be wherever and whoever she wanted to be.
Along the way, she gasped as she suddenly found herself face first with Gaston. She rolled her eyes in annoyance, trying to walk around him when he suddenly took the book she held in her hands.
"Gaston, give that book back to me. It belongs as much to you as I do, which is not at all." She said firmly, crossing her arms over her thin frame.
"Ah my dear, sweet Beauty, you shouldn't be filling your head with such silly things as words and sentences. It's just not right." He smirked, wrapping a strong arm around her. "You should be spending more time with people."
"Like you?" She snapped, frowning up at him. "Gaston, if I wanted to spend my time with people like you, I would be out in the woods with the wolves. Goodbye."
She quickly swiped the book from his hands and darted toward the library, keeping her face to the ground. It bothered her that she had to be like that around him, but fighting his advances had only gotten harder as time went on. He was /insistent/ on having her for his bride, and would take no other answer but yes.
Once safely inside the library, she smiled as she saw the young book keeper, Aleron. He was her secret, the one thing in her life that her family could not take from her. She'd never be allowed to marry him, as the wicked conditions of the town would not allow dark skin and light skin to mix.
She quickly ran into his arms, setting the book down on a table behind him.
"Aleron, he grows more insistent by the day, and I don't know what to do about him." Beauty whispered, her hand gently cupping his cheek.
"Don't worry my dear sparrow. Gaston will never take you from me." He replied with a sad look in his eyes as he held her tight. As much as he wanted to believe he could be happy with her, he knew that his chances were slim. In this world, if he were to be caught with her, he would be killed and her prospects would be ruined. Someday, he'd have to give her up.