It had been three days with little to no help from the police. They had certainly done their job. The area was combed again and again, but when they found a torn piece of papa's shirt. Well they wrote it off as a wild animal attack. Devin was taken to a therapist and hadn't come back to see belle again. Belle counted that as a small blessing.

And yet she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to the story than what the police had decided. After three days she could sit around no longer.

Belle dressed quickly. A light blue shirt, dark denim jeans, And her dark brown leather jacket. Finally she pulled on and laced up her dark brown hunting boots, deciding last minute to tuck in a hunting knife. She braided her hair in a french braid and locked up the house. She made her way to the car and numbly noted her father's gun was still in the back seat. Swallowing down the lump that suddenly appeared in her throat, she deftly backed the car out of the driveway.

It took an hour for belle to reach the hunting grounds... but it seemed much less to her because of what it meant. She had no intention of coming home again without her papa. She followed the tire tracks deep into the woods. Luckily for her the mud seemed to have captured the footprints of her father and Devin. -Belle got out of the vehicle and searched the forest floor.- Unluckily for her, it also captured the footprints of the many policemen and detectives that swarmed the place. Belle had no clue which trail to follow. She looked around the forest floor. Surely there must be someway to figure this out!

"And just what are you doing on my property?!" An old, frail voice growled. 

Belle whipped her head around to meet the old woman's glare.

"I'm terribly sorry. I didn't see any sign!" She exclaimed. 

The woman walked past Belle and knocked on a tin sign about a foot or so away from her.

"Oh, Well I beg your pardon but my mind was elsewhere." Belle replied.

"You with the police girl?" The old woman croaked.

"Well, no."

"You got a warrant?" She screeched angrily. 

"No... but you see ma'am my father went missing in these woods only three days ago..."

"Lotsa' people go missing in these woods. The animals round here are fearsome... Bears the size of horses and all sortsa' feral things. Raccoons and panthers and...

"Demon dogs?"

The woman spun back to her, her eyes wide.

"What's your name girl?"

"Belle."

"Hmm. Why don't you step inside, it smells like rain." The woman replied limping quickly towards an old cabin that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. 

"Really? There's not a cloud in the sky!" Belle objected.

Thunder sounded and belle stepped inside just as the rain started to pour.

"Would you like some tea?" The woman asked, her grey eyes brightening.

"Tea would be lovely thanks." Belle smiled.

The woman hobbled into the kitchen and belle heard the clanking of teacups.

Belle took the opportunity to look at the curious decorations the woman had collected.

There were seashells and strange stones, and jars that glowed. Animal skulls and strange knives... but there was only one photograph on any of the walls. A young man, in his 20s with sparkling green eyes and a smile as warm as the sun. He had dark curly hair that stuck up in odd places, and a dimple in each cheek. The only strange thing about the man was the crown on his head. It was pitch black. Belle came to the conclusion that it must have been found and somebody thought it would make a good photo. Belle went to look more closely at the background...

"Are you quite finished snoopin' through my things?" The old woman crackled in Belle's ear.

Belle jumped a good five inches off the ground.

"I'm terribly sorry." She replied eyes wide. 

"You'd think that a person who lives in these woods would like their privacy!"

"I really am sorry." Belle placated.

"Nah... its alright. Believe it or not I do remember what it was like to be young and curious." The woman's eyes got misty, as she sat down in an old rocking chair and stared off into space.

"That man, is he your son?" Belle asked tentatively.

The woman suddenly pitched forward onto her knees letting out a wretched coughing/crying noise.

"Are you alright?!" Belle exclaimed. 

The woman finally sat up, tears streaming down her cheeks, but to Belle's surprise the woman was merely laughing.

"Oh wow I don't think I've heard somethin' that funny in 65 years!!" The woman finally calmed down from her laughing fit and settled back into her chair again. "Let me tell you a story girlie..." The woman's voice was almost reverent now. 

"~A wealthy merchant falls into penury after his ships founder at sea. He moves his family to the countryside to live a more frugal lifestyle. His six daughters and six sons resent the loss of their comfortable life, their social engagements, and their many admirers. His youngest daughter, Beauty, is the only one to make the best of the circumstances, throwing herself into the daily upkeep of the home in order to keep the family clean and fed. Her older sisters, who are less beautiful and less dutiful, resent her, and they mock her for contenting herself with menial work.

Then, the merchant receives a welcome surprise: One of his ships, thought to be lost at sea, has come safely to harbor with its full cargo. His children think their fortune will surely be restored. When he sets out for the city to deal with his freight, he takes with him requests from his sons and daughters for expensive clothes and other gifts. Only Beauty is hesitant to ask for a gift, and finally asks that he bring her a single red rose.~ A familiar story is it not?"

"Why yes, that's beauty and the beast isn't it?" Belle smiled.

"Oh good, you know the original story. That'll save a lot of time." The woman smiled, showing what few teeth she had left. 

"Where are you going with this?" Belle asked.

"Tea first."

The woman hobbled off and quickly returned with a tea cart.

"Sugar, creme?"

"Thank you."

"Now where were we?"

"Fairy-tales..." Belle smiled indulgently. 

"Ah, no... prophecy... yes."

The woman clapped her hands and the tea cart vanished!

Belle blinked rapidly.

"You see we couldn't let Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont tell everything... We couldn't worry our Belles like that so we may have bent the truth a little."

Belle sat her untouched tea on the table beside her.

"Did... did you see that?!"

"Oh... well I do suppose I should tell you... I was the enchantress who cursed that beast!"

Suddenly a very bright light shone into the room and belle had to shut her eyes.

When she opened her eyes her jaw dropped.

The little old woman had changed into a brilliantly beautiful fairy. Her gossamer gown floated around her and her eyes sparkled an otherworldly purple. Her hair was still white but such a white! It was so white it was hard to look at, it fairly glowed. Her wings draped over the sides of the chair and the woman smiled as she took a sip of her tea.

"No." Belle gasped. 

"What?"

"Nope."

"I'm sorry?" The farie asked.

Belle jumped out of her chair and ran for the door. She booked it through the rain to her car.

"Come back in!" She shouted to Belle. 

"No no no no no...." Belle scrambled for her keys.

"Oh! You're going to be soaked with rain! Come now! Come into my house. I will curse you if you don't come back!!!"

"Nope I'm getting out of here... I don't know what you drugged me with..."

"Seriously?!" The fairy rolled her beautiful eyes. 

The woman clapped her hands and Belle's car disappeared.

"You have got to be kidding me! That was a rental!!!" Belle shouted.

"Just hear me out. You want to save your father right?"

"Well yeah!" Belle sputtered.

"Then all you have to do is get him back."

"What do you mean, you know where he is?!"

"Yes... he is in Nodnot."

"I beg your pardon?"

"It is where I come from. Before I was banished."

"Will you take me to him?" Belle asked.

"What?"

"Will you take me to my father?"

"Yes but if you go there you won't return!" The fairy warned. 

"What makes you say that?" Belle asked. 

"If you do return you will be the first."

"Explain yourself."

"There have been countless Belle's throughout history, and none of them have tamed the beast."

Belle was quiet for a moment. Then she replied contemplatively. 

"Then I'll be the first. I must rescue my papa!"