InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "We still kill the old way."

Belle (la_belle_) wrote in spinningcompass,
@ 2018-09-11 16:29:00

Entry tags:

!open, belle, ~mark darcy

Who: Belle (cameo) and Open!
Where: Random corridor on the station, nowhere dangerous.
What: Arrival.
Warnings: None.

Belle couldn't put the book she was reading down. The king and his loyal servant reminded her so much of Adam and Lumière. And the evil one siding with the villain - only to have a change of heart at the end? That had so many parallels to LeFou. She picked up the book and carried it with her as she walked down the corridor, noting several passages of text that she wanted to show Adam.

As she made her way through the castle, she noticed the light getting brighter, more than the candles should allow. Her footsteps sounded as if she was stepping on metal, rather than carpet. She slowly looked up from the book and stared wide eyed at the place she found herself in, wondering if the book she'd been reading was magic or if there was a new curse.

She heard someone nearby and called out. "Bonjour! Qui est là?"

(Post a new comment)

markdarcy
2018-09-11 09:54 pm UTC (link)

Mark knew that there had been a lot of new arrivals, he'd heard some of the commotion over the network. None of it seemed to directly affect him so far, but he was aware of it.

He'd actually been on his way to the food court, partly to have tea, mostly to talk to Isabel- and then someone called out in French, and it struck him as slightly odd. Ah - of course - another newcomer. He turned the corner, seeking them out, and then he gave a warm smile as he found the young lady.

"Hello... I'm Mark Darcy," he greeted her in accented French. "Are you okay?" God, he was going to be shit at this.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

la_belle_
2018-09-11 11:04 pm UTC (link)

Belle looked at the stranger curiously. It was not anyone she recognized from the castle or the village. When he spoke, there was an English accent. He was a very long way from home. Or she was.

"My name is Belle. I'm not hurt." She replied. She could not say she was okay when some strange magic had separated her from Adam. "I do not know where I am or how I got here."

She decided since he was so kind as to speak her mother tongue, she'd try his. "Do you prefer English?" Fortunately, she had learned some English so she could read more books.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

markdarcy
2018-09-13 07:12 pm UTC (link)

How had Isabel done it? He tried to think back to his own arrival, the questions he'd had and how they had been explained to him. He was sure he looked as concerned as she did, and that really wasn't a good start.

"I'm glad you are not hurt," he said after a moment. Now for the next part. "You... this is... we're in the... universe..." Apparently he didn't know the French word for 'space station'. Christ, he hoped she knew the English for it.

He chuckled and then nodded. Was there anyone French on the station? He wasn't sure, he'd have to check for her. "Do you know what a space station is?" he asked. She certainly didn't look like she was from some sort of star wars world or a distant future, but one could never tell and it would save him babbling needlessly if she did.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

la_belle_
2018-09-13 09:05 pm UTC (link)

Belle felt even more confused by the answer. Everyone and everything was in the universe. Wasn't it? She gave him a puzzled look and hoped he'd be more specific.

"A space station?" She shook her head. She'd never come across such that term in any of her books. "No. What kind of station is it? Is it a place? Or a position, like a princess or a farm girl?" Languages could be such fun, but not when she was lost. Right now, it was simply confusing. She couldn't connect the idea of space and station to each other at all.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

markdarcy
2018-09-14 02:47 pm UTC (link)

No, of course she didn't know what a space station was. That would be far too helpful.

"It's a place, very far from Earth, out among the stars," he tried, keeping it a little more simple. "As for how you got here, I'm sorry but I don't know. I arrived the same way you did. There are many other people here who have had the same experience. We come from all different places, and different... years..."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	la_belle_ 2018-09-14 08:05 pm UTC (link)
	"Among the stars?" Belle repeated in utter surprise. It was as if she'd stumbled in one of most incredible adventure stories. "This must be a very powerful magic. I was just in my castle." At least she knew that magic was real and that spells could be broken. She simply had to get home to Adam. "Maybe we've been cursed. Are any of the people here enchantresses?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

markdarcy
2018-09-16 06:09 am UTC (link)

Mark nodded, both knowing it sounded insane but glad that it seemed to make more sense to her that way. He hadn't considered it magic himself, but he could understand why it would seem that way. Then again, with everything Amelia had explained, magic was as good an explanation as anything.

"Yes...well.. I don't know about cursed," he struggled to explain. "There is a little girl called Amelia. It's not her fault, I don't think she has a great deal of control over her own magic. I've spoken to her, and she isn't... I don't know, bad," he said, wanting to get that in there. It would be awful if people started taking their anger and confusion out on a lonely child. "But she brought us here. She has books. She told me that every person has their own book that details every tiny little thing about them. She reads their book, and it brings them here."

Of course, this could either make a lot of sense to Belle, if she was from a world where she knew of magic and enchantment, or he could sound like a psychopath, if she had only been being metaphorical.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

la_belle_
2018-09-17 09:40 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, the poor girl. Does she not have someone to teach her to use her magic?" Belle had a great deal of sympathy for children, especially girls who were denied education or denied control over their own lives. She had tried to teach the girls in her village to read, when the other villagers would permit. And she hoped to give them more options in life. None of them should be forced to marry their Gastons.

"We had a magic book in the castle. Instead of bringing people to us, it could take us places." She'd gone to Paris, to learn the truth about her past. Adam had said the book could take them anywhere. Never would she have thought to ask it to bring her to the stars. "If a book has every detail about me, it must have my husband, Adam. Perhaps he has been brought here too."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

markdarcy
2018-09-17 10:18 pm UTC (link)

"No, she's quite alone," he explained, glad that she seemed to understand the magic explanation more than the space one. It helped, they could talk in those terms and it would make explaining things a little easier. "She said that she's been alone for... I think it was about six years. She's ten years old, and doesn't seem to age," he added.

He nodded along with her explanation of the magic book - and he was surprised to find that he found this entirely plausible now. A few weeks ago he'd have thought she was utterly crazy. "It must be quite similar magic," he decided.

Adam... Adam... he was sure that there was an Adam in the phone contact list. He remembered it because it was near the top of the list and just a first name. Most people had both.

"Perhaps.." he agreed. He pulled out the phone, holding it out to show her the screen. "I don't know if you have these in your world? It's a way of communicating with everyone on the station. Here is a list of their names... and yes, there is an Adam. It might not be your Adam, but we can ask him."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

la_belle_
2018-09-18 06:38 pm UTC (link)

"I knew a little boy, Chip, who didn't age for years." Belle commented. "There was an entire castle full of people cursed with him and his mother. I can't imagine what it would be like for a girl on her own." It was very sad indeed. Strange that she could go her entire life without magic, and then suddenly encounter so much of it. This little girl must be an enchantress too.

She looked at the device and shook her head. It was so tiny for being able to communicate with others. "No, I've never seen anything like that before. The list came up so quickly. You didn't even have to wind it up or ask for it." Not even her father's inventions, or the magic mirror, were so small and powerful. It was very peculiar. She would have had a million questions, if she wasn't so focused on Adam. "Yes, please let's find out."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

markdarcy
2018-09-18 08:37 pm UTC (link)

The more Belle talked, the more it sounded like she would adapt quite well to this place. The technology would be strange to her, but he knew there were at least a couple of people from the 19th Century, so she wouldn't be entirely out of place.

"You can seek her out. I'm sure she would appreciate someone checking on her, seeing how she is," he suggested. He wanted to look out for the little girl, but Belle would be a better confidante for her than he would.

Her reaction to the phone was kind of adorable, and he couldn't help but chuckle softly as he touched Adam's name and made the call. He was giving her a lot of gestures, nodding and giving her a thumbs up as Adam confirmed that he did know her.

"See you soon, Adam," he finished the call, and then gave Belle a broad smile. "Let's go and find your husband, then."

(Reply to this) (Parent)