adventure!belle saves Bae
Admittedly, searching out the old ogre that was said to live in the deeper part of the forest had not been one of Baelfire's best ideas. Everyone knew ogres were not to be played with, especially ancient, crabby ones that had been separated from their tribes for at least fifty years or so. The village left the ogre alone and he left them alone--an uneasy peace.
But after all the wonderful stories Belle told about taming dragons and flying griffins, Baelfire couldn't help but be inspired. He wanted to be like Belle, to be a hero, to see all the wonders she did. But the nearest magical creature was in fact the old ogre, so one early morning, Bae set off in search of it.
Hours later, he realized his mistake. Ogres were intensely territorial, and this one did not appreciate an interloper on his hunting grounds.
The ogre had Bae treed like a skunk fleeing a hunter, and Baelfire was seriously regretting venturing into the forest. He was going to starve to death--ogres were notoriously stubborn and Baelfire had no doubt that this particular cantankerous creature was going to sit below his tree and wait for Baelfire's limp body to fall, and have himself a lovely meal.
Baelfire came to the unhappy realization that adventure stories were a lot easier to read about than to live out.
Before he could consider any more depressing thoughts, he heard a sharp whistle below. The ogre turned his head from the tree with a brief expression of confusion on its stupid face, when a large rock came sailing overhead, landing squarely in the middle of its forehead. The ogre blinked in further bewilderment before falling face first into the ground, unconscious.
"You all right?" A familiar voice called and Baelfire watched with delight as Belle emerged from the thicket.
"Yes!" He said eagerly. "Thanks for saving me!" He scrambled down the tree, his face falling when he saw Belle look disapproving.
"What on earth were you doing bothering this ogre?" Belle wanted to know. "He wasn't hurting anyone."
"Well, he did chase after me," Baelfire pointed out. "Made mention of making me into stew. Or so I gathered from the grunts."
Belle rolled her eyes. "Only because you trespassed," She scolded. "An ogre can't help what it is. You should know better, Bae. I'm disappointed in you."
Disappointing Belle unthinkable. He felt like a foolish child. Hanging his head, he muttered, "I'm sorry...I just wanted--I just wanted to be like you."
Belle's expression softened. "Looking for trouble is hardly like me--" She stopped herself. "Well, I guess that's not true. But you should find a better role model. Come on, then. Let's get you back to your papa."
