Belle is a maid living in service of a handsome prince who she falls madly in love with. Jealous of all the other women and angry at his refusal to notice her she curses him and turns him into a hideous beast. For years they remain together in the c...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Where is Maurie and Fabienne?" Amelie asks as she walks around the table placing a knife, fork, and spoon next to each of our plates.
"Late, as per usual," Miss Potts snaps as she slowly walks around the table and resets the cutlery because Amelie didn't do it up to her standards.
"Do you think they'll join us tonight?" Charles asks.
"Probably not," I say.
Shifting in my seat I think back on the last three days. Maurie and Fabienne have had streaks in the past where they ignore all of us but that's mostly because they're too lost in a bubble of their love to notice us. But this... this is different. Yes, they are whispering to each other in dark passageways but they quickly stop when they notice any of us... especially me. I know they're hiding something. Something big or else they wouldn't be going through so much trouble to keep their conversations private.
As soon as the table is set to her standards, Miss Potts rushes to the kitchen and wheels out the trays of food. The warm aromas waft through the air, and we all smile as she dishes out some of her famous beef ragu and what Maurie likes to call 'the grey stuff'. I don't trust it, but he claims it's delicious.
We follow our usual routine by saying a silent prayer and then start eating. Charles and Miss Potts engage in a quiet and polite conversation, and Amelie hums one of her old songs while she mindlessly plays with her food; meanwhile, I try to wrack my brain as to what Maurie and Fabienne are hiding from us. I'm so focused that I don't register that the room has fallen silent and all eyes are trained on the doorway behind me.
"Starting dinner without me, now that's just rude," Belle says sarcastically.
Using the reflection on the back of my spoon I watch as she crosses her arms over her chest and slowly walks to her seat at the other end of the table. Her hips sway back and forth as she does so and she sends a deliberate wink in my direction. I roll my eyes and continue eating my food without sparing her another thought, or at least I try to.
Belle has never been one to be quiet when it comes to her anger. If she's angry she wants anyone and anything to know she's angry. For example, right now as I try to eat my dinner and ignore her she purposefully makes sure each of her movements is loud and causes a disruption: when she sits she drags her chair, as she dishes up her portion of food she scrapes the spoon against the bottom of the dish, and when she starts eating she makes loud and dramatic sounds of enjoyment. For quite some time none of us say a word knowing better than to push her anger further. It's a challenging task, especially for Miss Potts who looks like she will explode.
"There appears to be two residents missing. Do tell, where are those little love birds?" she asks.
Miss Potts turns to her, "We're not sure, but you know how those two are they just can't keep their hands to themselves."
Belle laughs and she lifts her glass of wine to her lips. "And the Lord knows how you tried to convince them to do that. Keep their hands to themselves I mean."
