Chapter 3

"Can you stop touching everything!?" The maid who Belle discovers her name is Rose halfway down here, snaps at her.

She scowls but keeps her hand down, 'everything' is an overreach isn't it?

She just touched a few beautiful artifacts, and it's not her fault really.... the whole space is like museum in real time, Belle wishes she could take pictures to take back home.

If she goes back home.

"I'm coming." She replies, steps hurried to meet up with Rose who's now leading her into the massive kitchen.

They reach the entrance, and her mouth drops.

The kitchen is enormous, far bigger than any kitchen she's ever seen, with long rows of wooden tables arranged in rows, knifes being sharpened in corner, and in another vegetables are being sliced.

And the noise, heavens, it is like everybody is talking at the same time, loud and overwhelming.

Servants rush back and forth, carrying trays, some tasting foods, others shouting orders. The air is hot, mingled with the sweet scent of of roasted meat, fresh bread, herbs, and something baking in the ovens.

Her stomach gives a loud growl.

Seriously? Now

But it's not even like it's her fault...She didn't even get to eat her dinner before being flung over the roof by her 'supposed' fiancee.

Rose shoots her a warning look at the sound, before leading her inside quickly, where she soon realizes that Rose is not the only maiden that doesn't like her.

A few younger maids shoot her looks too, a few even rolling their eyes.

What mess had Isabella created before?

Belle sighs and looks away from them, letting Rose lead her down past the kitchen, past the stark of plates, down toward the back where another barely noticeable hallway stood.

This one barely had any artifacts, just ugly marbles that led down to the...to the maiden's quarters.

Belle had never been the condescending type by any means, she'd been raised for love people of all classes.

But this? This is a complete shithole.

It was sad to see how the royals treated their staffs, leaving them to leave in a place where sooth and mold lay everywhere, and the air thick with sweat.

Was this... her new life now?

She tries not to anger Rose even more, but she can't help slapping a wet palm over her nose even as she's led deeper into the quarters.

Finally, they arrive at a slight bigger room, and Rose pushes the door open to reveal a surprisingly neat and quiet room.

There's two matty bends in the middle, and a small wooden table lined with scented oils and other toiletries women used.

In a corner was a small cupboard, which Rose pulls it open to fish out another clean dress for Belle.

"Here, take this." She pushes the cloth into Belle's hand with too much force. "Wear it and come back out. We have a lot of work to do." 

Rose doesn't wait before slamming the door shut behind her, leaving Belle alone and confused in the small room.

Once alone, she lets out a long breath she didn't even know she'd been holding.

Okay... Is the fuck was happening here?

How did she get here?

Does she even look like herself?

How can she go back?

And most importantly, where is she,  what year is this?!

She tries to search, for a book, a map, anything. But the room is almost spotless, with only the absolutely necessary items present.

It all feels like a dream.

There is no way this is real, right?.

But her toe, it still hurts, still throbs...the one she grazed against the edge of the building.

So, this was real. But how?

She's about to give up searching, when she finds a small piece of glass hidden behind a stark of books.

She tries to catch her reflection, but she can't really see much.

Her eyes are still brown though. But she looks a little more..  a little more rough.

Okay so Isabella looked exactly like her?

An ancestor maybe? She'd watched a lot of movies like these before, but she didn't think it could happen in real life.

Now she was here, she had to find a way to go back into the prince's bath.

She needed to go home as maybe this was her chance to finally get her revenge on James and Anna.

She quickly puts on the spare maiden's dress, amazed by how it seemed to be a perfect size, before she packs her hair into a bun...mimicking the look of the other maidens.

She finds an extra pair of sandals by the door, slips into it, then pours some scented oil into her skin.

A long deep breath, and she pushed the door open and storms out, tracing her way back into the rowdy kitchen.

She barely steps in before she's almost hit by someone carrying a tray of oil, then she slips on something, holding unto the wall to avoid tripping over the vegetables being cut.

The chefs scowls at her.

She's embarrassed, face red, but she keeps her head down until she finds Rose again.

"I-whatt do I do?"

Rose just ignores her and walks away, leaving her to stand idle in the other side of the room. Where she's assured she can't cause anymore trouble for anyone again.

But luck is not on her side, because barely a minute later, another older maiden sees her standing there and scolds her.

"Make yourself busy!" She snaps, "go deliver this tray to the Prince before he finishes his bath."

She tries to argue, to tell her she's the last person the Prince would probably want to see right now, but the maiden just tosses a tray of what Belle assumes are the sweets, and trotts off.

She shoots Rose a 'help me' look, but the maiden purposely avoids eye contact and disappears into another room. 

What the friggin hell is going on?

At last she has to go back to the Prince, as she's left with no choice. Belle forces her legs to move away from the kitchen and toward the hallways.

She looses her way a few times, of course, because she's alone and confused in the massive building after all. But a few minutes later, she sees familiar artifacts and follows them until she reaches the huge familiar wooden door.

She takes in a long breath, rehearses what she has to say in hopes that the Prince doesn't chop her head off this time around...

But as she's about to knock, she notices the door is slightly open, and a rhythmic squelching sounds catches her attention.

Her eyes widens as she looks through the crack....