Beauty and The Beasley

Chapter 1

The castle halls buzzed with activity as many servants moved back and forth, up and down the stairs, in and out of corridors; doing their very best to make sure decorations touched every nook and cranny of the castle.

The curtains were fetchingly draped to allow every bit of sunlight in. The dining room was also equally adorned with all kinds of delicacies for the evening. The floors were mopped to perfection such that one's reflection was impossibly vivid when they looked down.

There was not a single room with a trace of dust or dirt as it was made a point to clean the entire castle until marbles seemed a disgrace.

A young lady hustled up the servants, ordering them in her feathery tone of voice to see to it that the grounds were clear of any leaves as many guests were to be present at the grand celebration.

"You, go tend to the horses and make sure to muck out the stables."

"Cut those vegetables in bits."

"There's not enough wood in the fireplace."

"Those frames are not set right."

"Place the table this way."

"Forks to the right, knives to the left."

Voices boomed all around the castle as everyone tried insanely hard to put things in order.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the East Wing the lady of the house, Belle was engaged in a conversation with her daughter, Antoinette.

"How are the preparations coming along?" Belle asked, picking up a large book to set it in the right spot on the shelf.

Her brown hair had turned a slight grey at the roots but nothing else gave away the fact that she had aged. She wore a simple white gown. There was a white ribbon around her held up ponytail. One might have mistaken her for a simple servant but the silver crown resting in middle of her hair made the difference very clear.

"It has been so loud down there that coming up here feels so. . . incongruous." Antoinette replied.

Belle grimaced.

"What? You are not the only one that has been reading, mother!" Antoinette defended.

"I am sure very soon we will have our own book club." A new voice added from behind.

"Papa!" Antoinette cried going over to hug her father who had been away for a long time.

King Adam had traveled far North for an exclusive kingly meeting with a strange ruler who, over the years, had constantly made threats concerning the shared border with Adam's kingdom. Miraculously, he had reached out saying he had thought of a peaceful way to form a strong alliance - one that would undoubtedly prevent future disputes.

Adam and Belle had ruled their kingdom peacefully for nearly thirty years and had been blessed in between with a daughter whom they named Antoinette.

Antoinette had too much of her mother's looks and was mistaken many times for a young Belle while growing up. She even had a passion for reading like her mother but chose her royal duties over digging through the library.

Antoinette had grown up and fallen in love with a local Frenchman named François. Of course, Belle and King Adam wasted no time in giving their blessings to the pair as François was the epitome of every thing good on earth and loved their daughter dearly as well.

The young couple welcomed their first son and heir to the throne - Frances Adam Jnr, three years after their union.

Now, sixteen years later, Frances was to be publicly named heir to the throne and of course, celebrated for turning sixteen hence the preparations.