A Baker (Beauty and the Beast)

The Past

Belle awoke to see a mouse scurry across the floorboard and into the wall. She looked at her surroundings and pulled herself up. Her back ached. That had never happened in the past. She had become too familiar with luxury. It wouldn't take long to correct her weakness but it still didn't help her sore back.

The old lady was no where to be seen though her sack still rested at the end of the bed. Belle opened the door, greeting the boy who was just passing with his father.

"It's going to be a nice day," the father commented as Belle nodded.

"I should hope so after the rain last night," Belle agreed. "Did you get caught out in it?"

"Aye," the boy jumped in. "Our canvas got blown away."

"The winds were strong," Belle remarked, hopping down the stairs with a sense of freedom she'd forgotten she possessed.

She skidded down the last couple of stairs, to a round of applause from an elderly gentleman on a nearby table. Belle pretended to bow towards him with a grin on her face. "I heard you play many moons ago."

"You did?" Belle asked, moving closer towards the merchant. "What brought you so far?"

"We were chartered to bring a shipment of roses to Langsheen." the merchant revealed.

"It was a fool's mission from the start," the mercenary beside him stated. "Everyone knows the Prince is of an indecisive nature."

"Perhaps but it paid well," the merchant muttered. "The King will pay me for my troubles."

"The Prince wanted roses?" the landlady questioned, refilling their mugs of beer. "Whatever for?"

"No one knows," the mercenary stated. "Word is in town that the Prince is engaged to a commoner."

"It's nothing but nonsense," the landlady declared. "Everyone knows how the Prince is. I heard he sleeps with a different woman each night."

"He doesn't," the merchant interrupted. "He's never shown interest in another woman before, not until now. His father was almost despairing."

"I heard she was beautiful," a man from the next table declared, joining the discussion. "Beautiful like nothing you've ever seen before."

"Wasn't she killed?" somebody else called from the other side of the room. "By a knight no less."

"I heard she was carried out by the Prince himself," another interrupted.

"I thought she fell into the arms of another commoner," someone decided.

"No one's ever seen her though. She doesn't attend state functions."

"Some people have," the merchant interrupted. "One of the dukes was lucky enough to lay eyes on her and be introduced. He's full of nothing but praise for her."

"What of the servants?" the landlady questioned. "They must have said something."

"Naught," the mercenary stated. "They won't say a word against her. Not one soul can get a bad word from their lips about her."

"The Prince himself is full of her praises," a figure from the door stated, standing up and moving towards their ensemble. Belle met his eyes and thanked her lucky stars she hadn't seen him before. "As is the King. Preparations for their marriage are underway in town."

"They are?" Belle asked. "I thought the girl was dead."

"Dead?" the stranger questioned. The voices raised, splitting into separate conversations. Belle slipped away to the wall where the old lady was sitting. She slipped onto the bench, greeting her.