Belle means Beauty

"Oh, hurry up!" I snapped at my lady in waiting, Eleanor, who was tightening the back of my dress and fussing with the skirts. When I turned and saw the look of hurt on her face, I immediately felt guilty.  

"I'm sorry, Eleanor, it's just that I'm so nervous about Prince Malcolm's visit," I sighed.  

"Don't worry, everything will be fine!" she exclaimed brightly.  

"May I look now?" I asked. In response, she spun me around to face the mirror in the vanity. Oh! I breathed. The light peach dress draped nicely around my small waist and twirled out into a large, gorgeously embroidered skirt. The color set off my ivory skin and cascading golden curls beautifully. My hair was my only pretty feature, so it had been carefully arranged just so around my face. But as Eleanor leaned over into the mirror with me, I couldn't help but compare our faces. My own lips were pale and thin, nose a little long and narrow, my small blue eyes slightly close set and framed by thin blonde eyebrows. In contrast, Eleanor's heart shaped face, warm brown eyes, and full lips drew all the attention away from me, the princess. I felt a pang of jealousy, but quickly pushed it back down.  

"Thank you, Eleanor," I said, "My hair looks lovely." She beamed, the smile lighting up her beautiful face in a way that mine never would. Suddenly, a servant arrived in the doorway.  

"Prince Malcolm has arrived," she announced.  

"Come on!" Eleanor yelped, grabbing my arm and nearly dragging me down the stairs and through the whole ground floor of the castle. We reached the front entrance just in time to watch from the window as the driver scurried around to the side of the gilded carriage and opened the door. A handsome young prince with light brown waves and blue eyes stepped out, followed by another servant. One of our servants led him inside the grand double doors of the castle and into the drawing room, where we waited. He looked at the two of us smiling side by side and, turning to Eleanor, bowed deeply.  

"Greetings, fair princess." he said in a deep, rich voice. I audibly sighed and Eleanor was just beginning to blush scarlet as he stood up. However, this wasn't the first time this exact scenario had occurred, so she handled it perfectly.  

"Prince Malcolm," she began, "May I present Princess Belle." she nodded in my direction. With an obvious look of surprise on his face, he turned to me, taking in my plain features, eyes finally settling on the small crown on my head, which he had apparently not noticed before.  

"Oh, I see," he said at last. We then proceeded to stand there awkwardly, looking at each other, until Eleanor broke the silence.  

"Will you take some tea?" she asked sweetly.

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Looking down at my plate, I continued to push my food around with my fork. When I looked up, I saw that the scene before me was exactly the same as 20 minutes earlier. Father was engaged in deep conversation with a few of the lords from court, my mother was twittering away about the latest gossip with her ladies in waiting, and Prince Malcolm was still rambunctiously flirting with Eleanor across the table. Although he was seated next to me, he continued to pay absolutely no attention to the plain princess beside him and instead bestowed it on Eleanor. He finally gave up, realizing that she was going to keep ignoring him, and settled on simply gazing dreamily across the table at her. Ugh, I thought, I've had enough!  

"You're meal is getting cold, Prince Malcolm. Perhaps you should stop staring at my lady in waiting and eat it," I stated rudely. The startled prince and everyone else in the room turned to stare. 

"Excuse me," I said, rising and turning from the table. I ran all the way up the stairs, slamming the door and then collapsing on my bed, sobbing. I cried for a few minutes until the door creaked open and Eleanor's face popped in.  

"Belle?" she called softly. I sat up in a fury. 

"You!" I shrieked, "You're the one that causes this! Almost every time!" 

"Belle, I-" she began in a whisper. 

"I don't want to hear it!" I cut her off, "Always the same. Nobody can resist the beautiful lady in waiting after they meet the ugly princess!" tears streamed down her face as she turned for the door.  

"Wait! Eleanor!" I said quietly, "I'm so sorry, you know I am, it's just that-" I burst into tears. She gently sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed my back while I cried, and after she left, I lay in bed thinking. If only I were beautiful. Everything would be different.