The Perks of Being Belle

before: checking for the tattoo

Hello guys! Welcome to the Perks of Being Belle! Since my other story (breaking the cinderella rules) is almost over, i think it's good for me to introduce you to another retell of a disney tale. This time it's Beauty and the Beast. The one thing that I learned about Beauty and the Beast is: the fiercest beast can be tamed. So, here we have a story with two protagonists: Arabelle and LIam! ;) I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. It isn't much. More thrilling things to come. And btw, more killers here! :D I promise this story will have a better flow/plot and more coherent than breaking the cinderella rules. Hope you like it! :D dedicated to the person who made me start breaking the cinderella rules :)

Chapter 1—Before: Checking For The Tattoo

Belle

The history of the world had never failed to impress me. I looked at a world map differently, with a different perspective. Instead of just seeing the lines and black text on the continents, I saw something hidden deeper: adventure. Shades of greenish and brownish color of the world map blended together. The puzzle-like continents tell a story. In my spare time, I would locate the Seven Wonders of the World on the map.

At first, the hobby did sound weird. After all, most teenage girls at my age would be busy with going to parties and picking clothes in the mall, or maybe even flirting with a guy. Instead, I kept myself occupied with a history book on my lap and a cup of coffee during my spare time. My eyes would brighten up as I scan down the pictures of places around the world.

I am an adventurer, and I was never ashamed of that. As an adventurer, I enrolled myself in AP History and had enjoyed most of its classes. But for this particular day, my head was spinning as Mrs. Farrell continued to talk about the history of our country. She continued to talk as I rested my head on the table.

Get ahold of yourself, Arabelle! You can’t sleep in your favorite subject!

My eyelashes fluttered, and I broke into a huge yawn. From the front of class, Mrs. Farrell raised an eyebrow at me, making me sit up straighter, before focusing back into the lesson. I gripped my pencil and lazily wrote more notes, before giving up and starting to doodle. Today’s class was not very interesting.

“I can see you’re all falling asleep,” Mrs. Farrell, our AP History teacher, said. She sighed and finally turned off her presentation. The whole class exhaled in relief, and we all closed our history books.

One kid in the back of the class raised his hand. Mrs. Farrell nodded at him before he spoke. “Mrs. Farrell, I didn’t know the history of our country was so boring. Is there even anything interesting about our country’s past? I want something thrilling!” he whined. The whole class laughed, but we all knew that a part of us agreed with him.

Mrs. Farrell smiled at him. “Well, if you want something thrilling in our country, would you like to know about the killings that once happened?”

He furrowed his forehead. “Killings? Our country is peaceful!” he argued.

Our teacher winked at him. “It wasn’t like that before. A few decades ago, three generations before you all, there were massive killings happening around the country. Sometimes, a person would disappear completely without a trace and returned bleeding after being tortured. Another time, a house could be on fire without a reasonable reason and burn the entire family living inside. Many people died. Politicians were chased around and murdered.”

That story woke me up from sleepiness. In fact, I was gaping at my teacher, wanting her to tell me more. There was finally something interesting that happened in our country, interesting yet terrifying.