Chapter 1: Life in a Provincial Town
Alsace, France; 1769
One beautiful autumn morning, there was a peaceful village in the countryside of Lorraine-Alsace, France. In one small humble cottage with a water wheel, that was not too far from the village by a walk, two young girls in their late teens stepped out from the cottage and walked along the path.
One woman holding a basket with a book had fair skin, hazel eyes, rosy cheeks, and her long brown hair was tied in a low ponytail with a sky blue ribbon. Her dress was sky blue as was her ribbon, a white blouse with long sleeves, a white apron tied around her waist, and brown ballet flats.
Next to her holding her arm was a teenage girl with wavy strawberry blonde hair, fair skin, freckles on her cheeks, and aqua blue eyes hidden behind a pair of black-lensed glasses. She wore a white shirt, a purple bodice and skirt, a tan apron, a purple headband with a bow, and dark blue ballet flats. The strawberry blonde's name was Odette. The girls were making their way to the little town as the girl in blue, known as Belle began to sing;
(Belle):
"Little town, it's a quiet village"
(Odette):
"Everyday like the one before,"
(Belle):
"Little town, full of little people,"
(Odette):
Waking up to say…."
As the girls entered the town, several of the villagers opened their windows, and greeted them in a friendly manner.
"Bonjour! Bonjour! Bonjour! Bonjour! Bonjour!"
The girls smiled at the villagers greeting them and they continued to walk through the town. The villagers were going through their morning routines of the day. They saw the baker carrying a tray of baked goods. A peasant woman came out from her house to pick up a loaf of bread, with a shilling. A peasant man was pushing a cart filled with pumpkins and said, "good morning."
(Belle):
"There goes the baker with his tray like always,
The same old bread and rolls to sell,"
(Odette):
"Every morning just the same,
Since the morning that we came,"
(Both girls):
To this poor provincial town."
"Good morning Belle and Odette," the baker said.
"Good morning monsieur," Belle greeted politely. She guided Odette over to the bakery to chat with the baker.
"Where are you two off to?"
"The book shop," said Belle, pulling out her book from her basket, "Odette and I just finished the most wonderful story about a beanstalk, and an ogre…"
"That's nice," the baker said, not interested about Belle and Odette's love for reading. Then he shouted in the bakery, "Marie! The baguettes! Hurry up!"
Belle shrugged and continued on her way. Odette gave a quiet sigh, and wrapped her arm around her sister's arm. As the girls walked, the townspeople began to gossip about them.
"Look there she goes, that girl is strange no question
Dazed and distracted, can't you tell?
Never part of any crowd!
'Cause her head's upon some cloud!
No denying, she's a funny girl, that Belle!"
Then Belle and Odette hitched a ride on a passing wagon pulled by a horse. They heard the wagon driver greeting a young maiden. The wagon passed by the butchers, where an attractive woman picked up a bone with a large amount of meat. The butcher found himself romantically attracted to her, but his plain wife with a glare on her face, crossed her arms and hit her husband on the head with a rolling pin. A stressed out mother was trying to get some eggs with many babies fussing in her arms, and her older children pulling her skirts for attention.
(Cart driver):
"Bonjour!"
(Young maiden):
"Good day!"
(Cart driver):
"How is your family?"
(The woman):
"Bonjour!"
(The butcher):
"Good day!"
(The woman):
"How is your wife?"
(Stressed Out Mother):
"I need six eggs!"
(Clay Pot Seller):
"That's too expensive!"
(Belle and Odette):
"There must be more than this provincial life!"
Soon the girls leaped off the wagon and entered the bookshop. The bell rang and the bookseller greeted the girls as he smiled, "Ah Belle and Odette."
The bookseller was a friendly man who supported Belle's love for reading. He also taught Odette how to read in braille, due to being partially blind. Ever since they moved to the village, the bookseller was the only true friend to Belle, Odette, and their father, Maurice.
"Good morning. We've come to return the books we borrowed," Belle said, handing the books back to the bookseller.
"Finished already?" the bookseller asked, taking Belle and Odette's books.
"These books were fantastic!" the strawberry blonde added.
"Oh Odette and I couldn't put them down," the brunette said as she climbed up the bookshelf ladder. "Have you got anything new?"
"Not since yesterday," the bookseller chuckled as he placed the book back on the shelf.
Odette sighed in disappointment. She hoped maybe there would be new books in her favorite place, but alas there were fewer writers in the villages. Odette hoped that maybe one day, she would become a writer and write about adventures and fantasy.
"Oh that's all right," said the brunette as she looked cautiously at each book. "I'll borrow… this one!" She picked up a dark blue book and handed it over to the bookseller.
"That one?" The bookseller asked, with surprise. "But you've read it twice!"
"Well, it's my favorite!" Belle replied excitedly, sliding along the bookshelf ladder, as if she were flying. "Far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise!"
"If you like it all that much it's yours," the middle aged man said, as he handed the book to Belle.
"But sir!"
"I insist! Here Odette," he pulled out a green-covered book that not only had words, but risen dots. "It has all of your favorite stories on Greek Mythology!"
"You really didn't have to…" the strawberry blonde added.
"Please take them, you and your sister deserve to have these books," he said, guiding the girls to the doorway.
"Well, thank you. Thank you very much!" Belle said, smiling gratefully.
"Merci monsieur," Odette replied. "Have a lovely day."
The sisters left the bookshop and made their way around the village, Belle began to read her book and Odette wrapped her arm around her friends. Despite not being liked by the villagers, they did have a few admirers. A trio of men watched the brunette and strawberry blonde walk away, as they jumped over a rope by a group of children, and Belle lightly petted a little girl's head. One woman was pouring a bucket of water down a drain from her apartment window. Odette used her free hand to push a hanging sign to avoid getting her and her sister wet.
(Trio of Men):
"Look there she goes that girl is so peculiar
I wonder if she's feeling well?"
(Women):
"With a dreamy, far-off look"
(Men):
"And her nose stuck in a book"
(All):
"What a puzzle to the rest of us is Belle!"
Belle and Odette made their way to a fountain and they sat down to read Belle's book. A flock of sheep passed by, and two of them came by to sit with the maidens. Odette's hand reached over to one sheep to pet its' the soft fleece. As Belle showed the sheep a picture of a young man meeting a young maiden, the other sheep took a nibble on one of the page corners.
(Belle):
"Oh, isn't this amazing?
It's my fav'rite part because, you'll see
Here's where she meets Prince Charming
But she won't discover that it's him, 'til chapter three!"
Once the sheep herder came by to chase away the sheep, Belle and Odette went their way through town as more people continued to gossip. Especially a female customer at a beauty parlor was trying on some hats and brushed her orange curled hair. Then she pulled off a hat to reveal that she was bald, and placed on another hat. Much to the hairdresser's horror, but he remained composed as he too agreed with the lady.
(A lady):
"Now it's no wonder that her name means, 'beauty'
Her looks have got no parallel!"
(Hairdresser):
"But behind that fair façade,
I'm afraid she's rather odd
Very different from the rest of us"
Belle and Odette walked over a cart, as some villagers were emptying sacks of flour. The brunette had her nose in her book, and as she stepped off the cart, the other side went up and hit a villager underneath his chin and fell down.
(Townspeople):
"She's nothing like the rest us,
Yes, different from the rest of us is Belle!"
Up in the sky, a flock of geese were flying high. Suddenly, there was a gunshot and one of the geese fell from the sky and landed on the ground! Then, a very short man ran out on the streets and held out a sack to catch the bird. The dead goose landed next to him, but he grabbed it and placed it in his sack. He hurried back to the source of the gunshot. It was a tall and muscular man with fair skin, black hair, and blue eyes dressed in hunting clothes: consisting of a red shirt, black pants, brown boots, and yellow gloves held a large blunderbuss gun.
"Wow! You didn't miss a shot Gaston! You're the greatest hunter in the world!"
"I know," Gaston said, blowing off the smoke from his blunderbuss.
"No beast alive stands a chance against you!" Lefou said, following Gaston as he carried the fur pelts. "And no girl for that matter!"
"It's true Lefou," Gaston agreed, lifting up the short man in his arm. "And I've got my sights set on that one!"
The man pointed over to Belle, where she and Odette stopped by to talk to a woman.
"Huh? The inventor's daughter?" Lefou asked.
"She's the one!" Gaston said, boastfully. "The lucky girl I'm going to marry!"
"But she…"
"The most beautiful girl in town."
"I know, but…" Lefou's sentence was cut off when Gaston dropped his gun and it fell on the short man's head. The dark-haired man continued as he picked up his stooge, "And that makes her the best! And don't I deserve the best?"
"Well, of course! I mean you do…" Lefou stammered and pointed out to the strawberry blonde. "But what about her sister?"
Gaston gave the girl in purple a look and shrugged his shoulders, "Well, if things come to worse, I might try Odette. But if I do marry Belle, I'll make her sister a servant for us. But for now, Belle's the one for me."
He dropped his stooge, and looked at his reflection in a hanging pot and sang in his baritone voice;
(Gaston):
"Right from the moment when I met her, saw her
I said she's gorgeous and I fell
Here in town there's only she
Who is beautiful as me,
So I'm making plans to woo and marry Belle!"
While Gaston was distracted with his reflection, Belle and Odette bid goodbye to the friendly woman and made their way through town. Lefou noticed them walking past, and managed to get Gaston to notice and he followed after them.
A trio of girls with blonde hair and green eyes (triplets to be exact) named Claudette, Laurette, and Paulette wearing dresses of red, amber, and green were at the water pump filling a bucket of water. The Bimbettes were fawning over their crush. Lefou came by to flirt with them, but the triplets accidentally ended up squirting water on him, much to his dismay.
(The Bimbettes):
"Look there he goes
Isn't he dreamy?
Monsieur Gaston
Oh, he's so cute!
Be still my heart
I'm hardly breathing
He's such a tall, strong and handsome brute!"
The Bimbettes fainted as Gaston attempted to make his way to Belle and Odette. The crowd of people grew bigger and bigger, making it impossible for him to reach the girls. Most of the villagers were talking, arguing, and going through their day.
(Man 1):
"Bonjour!"
(Gaston):
"Pardon!"
(Man 2):
"Good day!"
(Man 3):
"Mais oui!"
(Woman 1):
"You call this bacon?"
(Woman 2):
"What lovely grapes!"
(Man 4):
"Some cheese, one pound!"
(Woman 3):
"Ten yards!:
(Gaston):
"'cuse me!"
(Cheese merchant):
"I'll get the knife."
(Gaston):
"Please let me through!"
(Woman 4):
"This bread! It's stale!"
(Man 5):
"Those fish! They smell!"
(Baker):
"Madame's mistaken."
(Townspeople):
"Well, maybe so! Good morning! Oh, good morning!"
Belle and Odette both spun around in the atrium, holding their books, and were ready to head back home.
(Belle and Odette):
"There must be more than this provincial life!"
(Gaston):
"Just watch I'm going to make Belle my wife!"
The townspeople gather together, blocking Gaston's way and continued singing about Belle. They ignored the raven-haired man's presence and pretended that he wasn't around. Gaston looked over the crowd of people, came up with an idea to surprise both of the girls. He entered an empty house, ran up the stairs, exited a window, and hurried over the roof. He planned to surprise them when the timing was perfect.
(Townspeople):
"Look there she goes that girl is strange, but special
A most peculiar mademoiselle!
It's a pity and a sin,
She doesn't quite fit in.
But she really is a funny girl,
A beauty, but a funny girl,
She really is a funny girl,
That Belle!
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
Bonjour!"
Belle and Odette looked back to see the townspeople looking at them. Once the townspeople people finished their last note, they all went back to their business. The girls shrugged their shoulders and went back to their books.
Boy, I didn't realize how long of a chapter the opening song in the movie was! But on the bright side, we got to meet Belle and my OC, Odette! Especially Gaston, Lefou, the Bimbettes, and the villagers.
In case you were wondering why I set the year of "Beauty and the Beast" in 1769, I did some research and read that the movie is set in the 1700s before the French Revolution started and I suspected that Belle stayed in the Beast's Castle for a few months (probably in March or April), until breaking the curse. Let me know what you think and feedback is always welcomed!