1 (1-1) Beauty and the Beast

"Wake up," a soft voice whispered as a hand gently shook your shoulders.

You open your eyes sleepily as your youngest sister's face enters your vision. Belle? You sit up and rub your eyes. The oil in the lamp has burned half gone, but the entrance to the cottage door still holds no sign of your father.

You stand up and look at Belle, "Should I go fetch more oil? How much longer do you think it'll be before father returns?"

Belle shakes her head, "I don't know." She looks at the oil lamp, "We may need more oil."

You nod your head, "I'll go fetch some more."

You walk towards the kitchen, but as you pass the cottage door, you hear a distant thudding of hooves. Hoping that it's your father, you quickly call Belle and open the front door.

Fulfilling your expectations, your father rides to a stop before the stables next to the cottage. However, in the dim moonlight, you can see that his dismounting movement is hesitant, and his face is sunken and troubled.

"Father! You're back," you call to him. He raises his head and looks at you with a heavy expression before locking the horse inside the stables. Your father walks towards the cottage.

"Inside the house," your father ushers. "I have something to tell you."

You back away from the door to let your father in, listening to whatever he has to say. 

"The meeting did not end well." He shut the door.

You and Belle share a look of understanding.

Your father is a businessman operating on the spice trade. Your family had recently received a bulk order from a high-class customer, buying over sixty cargos of spice from South Astea. Seeing this as a chance to expand the family business and fortunes, your father spent the majority of his savings on ordering the spices.

Only to end with the ship crashing in the Iris Ocean and all spices lost.

Hearing the news, the customer canceled the order, and your family was left with little savings and unpayable loans.

Your life took a rapid twist as your family resorted to working a farm on the borders of Etheria, near the parameters of the Ethereal Forest.

Until yesterday.

Yesterday, near dusk, your father received a message from the city that the ship had been found, and there is a possibility the cargos have been recovered as well. Both Belle and your older sister Arianne had been ecstatic upon hearing the news, but both your father and you hung your heads.

Your father verbalized your concerns, "What is the use of recovering the cargos? The spices would all be wet and ruined!"

Hearing that, your suspicions became confirmed, and although having already guessed the outcome, the small orb of hope drifted farther away.

But your father had to try. It was your family's last hope. And so here you are, waiting with your sister until your father came back from the meeting today.

Father took off the satchel draped across his chest and unhinged the button. From within, your father carefully pulls out a lovely red rose. You widen your eyes at the alluring color of the petals.

Father hands the rose to Belle and looks at you apologetically, "I was not able to afford to buy what you and Arianne had asked."

You stare at him with a dazed expression before soon remembering. Before he set out this morning, your father had asked each of you three siblings what you wanted from the market.

You requested a drawing pad and charcoal, your sister Arianne had wanted new jewelry, and Belle wanted a rose. That must be what your father is referring to and what this rose is for.

But hearing that the meeting concluded fruitlessly, you feel guilty for having asked him to buy anything at all. "It's alright, Father. I understand," you reply.

Father nods his head, then looks at Belle with a sigh, "But this rose came at a greater cost than what both Coraline and Arianne's requests would have cost."

This time, Belle widens her eyes as well.

"After the conclusion of the meeting and being informed that our spices have been ruined beyond rescue, I was on my way home and became lost in the woods." Father continued, "While wandering, I stumbled upon an empty castle in the deep forest. The gates were not locked, so I entered the castle. Now you see, girls, I traveled into town early in the morning, riding for hours, participated in a meeting that lasted for hours, only to return empty-handed, riding for another set of hours. I had not eaten anything the entire day, and I was exhausted. I didn't expect there to be any food in the abandoned castle, but I was overcome with fatigue. And you wouldn't believe this, girls," Father paused and looked at you two.

"There was a feast in the dining hall! Multiple plates of delicacies lay before my eyes, steaming with freshness. And not a single human in sight. I was dubious. This feast is fit for a king! I called into the empty hall, asking if anyone was present, but silence was my response. I wandered out of the room, despite my gnawing hunger, and looked around the castle. There was no one visible. Unable to withstand my hunger any longer, I returned to the dining hall and took a seat. Calling into the air one last time, I began my meal. At that moment, I really believed I was blessed by some benevolent fairy who had provided me shelter and food. 

"However, this illusion shattered when I stumbled into the palace gardens. The assortment of flowers captivated me instantly, and my feet, as if cursed with magic, took me deeper still into the garden. I wandered until I arrived in a small, unnoticeable corner, and there, I saw the most beautiful bush of violently red roses. 

"The color was vividly surreal, and in my momentary daze, I recalled Isabelle's wish. And I cut a rose," Father's expression that had mirrored his dreamlike descriptions now suddenly fell, and a dark shadow blanket over his eyes. You unconsciously held your breath.

"But before I could put it in my satchel, a beast pounced at me from behind."

Belle gasps.

Your father shakes his head, "The beast held me in his grasps and claimed that he was the owner of the castle. He was the one who served me dinner and treated me as an honored guest. However, he claimed that I had forsaken his generosity by taking his rose, his most precious possession. Thus," Father continued slowly, "after hearing that I have three daughters, he struck a bargain with me.

"He said that he would give me three days to convince one of my daughters to proceed to the castle, in exchange for my life. The daughter must leave according to her own will, or else, I would be taken hostage. The beast claimed to find me personally if I forfeited my promise."

The air silenced.

You have a rising bad feeling and look to Belle. You see her looking to the ground, her drooping hair blocking her expression, but you can see her hands held tightly around the rose.

At last, she opened her mouth, "Father, I'll go."

Hearing her declaration, you stared in astonishment. Belle is the only friend that you have, and she is also the youngest of you three sisters. You can't let her go into danger alone!

But then again, are you willing to put yourself into danger by going with her?

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You offer to go with Belle. (Go to chapter 1-2)

You don't say anything. (Go to chapter 1-3)