Cherry in Beauty and the Beast

chapter 2: Off to the Fair

Cherry and Belle continued to walk together, but suddenly a man jumped down from a roof in front of the two of them. He had on a blood-red short sleeved shirt with golden gloves, his black hair in a ponytail, black pants and brown boots.

"Hello Belle," he greeted.

"Bonjour Gaston." Belle glanced, though she didn't seem interested in his company. As she walked away with Cherry, Gaston snatched Belle's book, making Belle uneasy and disturbed. "Gaston, may I have my book back, please?"

"How can you read this?" Gaston asked as he flipped through the pictures in annoyance. "There's no pictures!"

"Well, some people use their imagination." Belle crossed her arms.

"Imaginaaaaation." Cherry spread her hands together.

"Belle, it's about time you got your head out of those books and paid attention to more important things." Gaston threw Belle's book aside into the mud and Belle bent over to pick it up. "Like me."

Blonde triplets wearing green, orange and red sighed in the corner, making Cherry roll her eyes. Belle ignored that and got her book up, cleaning it up before she put it back in her basket.

"The whole town's talking about it," Gaston said as he glanced at Cherry. "It's not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting ideas... Thinking? You should put on a nice clean dress little lady and get back in the kitchen where you belong."

"Gaston, you are positively primeval." Belle said as she put away her book and walked over to Cherry.

"Why thank you, Belle." Gaston smirked. He then placed an arm around her shoulders, taking the book from her once again. "Hey, what do you say you and me take a walk over to the tavern and look at my trophies?"

"Maybe some other time," Belle replied.

"What's wrong with her?" the green triplet asked.

"She's crazy!" the red triplet replied.

"He's gorgeous." the orange triplet said, batting her eyelashes.

"Pardon me, Mr. Gaston," Cherry piped up, walking to the adults with her hands in her pockets. "I'm pretty sure Belle is pretty busy at the moment."

"I'm afraid she's right, Gaston." Belle backed away in agreement. "I have to get home and help my father. Goodbye!"

A short, pudgy, not-too bright man laughed at that. "That crazy old loon! He needs all the help he can get!"

Gaston laughed with LeFou.

"Don't talk about my father that way!" Belle snarled.

"Yeah!" Gaston scowled at his sidekick. "Don't talk about her father that way!" Gaston bonked LeFou on the head.

"My father is not crazy!" Belle hissed, putting her book away. "He's a genius!"

Suddenly, there was a rumble on the ground and an explosion was heard in a far off distance. Belle took Cherry's hand and led her to the source of the noise while Gaston and LeFou continued to laugh. Belle opened the cellar door. She got in and there was smoke all around, making her and Cherry cough. "Papa?" Belle coughed a little.

There was a barrel in the middle of the floor and inside revealed a short, tubby man with snow-white hair, a snub nose and overalls with some goggles over his head. Since Belle called him 'papa' she could safely assume this man was Belle's father. He muttered as he got out of the barrel.

"Are you alright, Papa?" Belle walked over to him.

"I'm about ready to give up on this old hunk of junk." Maurice said as he walked over to the machine and kicked it.

"You always say that." Belle shook her head with a smile.

"I mean it this time!" Maurice snapped. "I'll never get this bone-headed contraption to work!"

"Yes you will," Belle said with faith. "And you'll win first prize at the fair tomorrow. And become a world-famous inventor."

"You really believe that?"

"I always have."

"Well, what're we waiting for? I'll have this thing fixed in no time!" Maurice walked over to slid under his machine when he noticed the 10-year-old girl with Belle. "Say, who's your friend?"

"I'm Cherry, I just moved here and my parents suggested I'd go out and make friends." Cherry replied.

"Ah Cerise, that's a lovely name." Maurice said as Belle handed him a tool.

"No, my name's Cherry, not Cerise." Cherry sounded confused.

"You must not be French, Cerise is French for Cherry."

"Oh, I see." Cherry smiled.

"You like it here so far?"

"Yeah, I got a new friend who shares my love for reading." Cherry looked up at Belle with a smile.

"Yeah, I got a new book." Belle put her basket down, then looked down at her father. "Papa, do you think I'm odd?"

"My daughter, odd?" Maurice came from under the machine and had goggles on his eyes, making his eyes look cartoonish. "Where would you get an idea like that?"

"Oh, I don't know. It's just that I'm not sure I fit in here," Belle sighed. "Besides you and Cherry there's no one I can really talk to."

"Well, what about that Gaston fellow?" Maurice asked as he fixed his invention. "He's a handsome fellow."

"He's handsome alright. And rude and conceited." Belle slumped into a chair. "Oh Papa, he's not for me."

"You totally deserve better, Belle. He's a total beast!" Cherry played with one of the patches on her raggedy clothing.

"Where did you get that dress, Cerise?" Belle asked.

"Before we moved here, our old house perished in a fire, this was all I had left." Cherry sighed.

"I can get you something nicer to wear if you'd like." Belle smiled.

"Thanks Belle." Cherry smiled.

"I think that's done," Belle's father said as he got up from under the machine, pulling the goggles off. "Now, let's give it a try." He pulled on a lever and the machine started to go on. Maurice flinched a little, as if expecting to get hit by some wood. The machine was chopping wood like it was supposed to. The chopped wood flew over to the wood pile.

"It works!" Cherry cheered.

"It does?" Maurice looked, then ducked down as wood flew over his head, then smiled delightfully. "It does!"

"You did it!" Belle hugged her father. "You really did it!"

"Hitch up Philippe, Belle. I'm off to the fair!" Maurice chanted, but then a log hit him in the head. After Maurice came to, he was on a brown horse with a platinum blonde mane, Belle and Maurice's horse, Philippe.

"Goodbye Papa!" Belle called out as Maurice rode off.

"Good luck, sir!" Cherry added.

"Goodbye you two!" Maurice called back. "And take care while I'm gone!"