Belle stood on the balcony outside her room, unwilling to return inside even now that it was dark. Tomorrow she would be turning eighteen years old and her father had announced a feast which would be attended by all the knights and many more noblemen of their small country.
Belle dreaded the new day already.
What she feared most of all, was that she would have to face Sir Gaston again. He was several years older than her and had been remarking to the other knights for ages how he would one day marry her. Belle hoped that that day would never come, for there was nobody in the world she disliked more than him.
She had asked her father if he would take her out to see the ocean, or to go horse-riding in the forest instead - but he had refused. Because she was the only heir to the throne, she wasn't allowed anything, and the countryside was far too dangerous for a princess like her, so she remained inside, reading and staring out the window as though she was a bird in a cage.
As she saw a shooting star in the distance, she whispered: "I just wish I could leave this all behind..."
She had hardly finished the sentence, or she noticed a blue light in the starlit sky, approaching her fast. As it got closer, she noticed that it was a small fairy, and she stared at it with open mouth.
"Good evening, Belle," the fairy greeted her.
Belle blinked a few times, before she quickly curtsied it and said: "Good evening!"
"I could not help but overhear your wish. I understand your desire to leave, but I would also like to remind you that there is nobility that is struck by a fate far worse than yours."
Belle gulped. She wasn't so sure about that though. So many stories of lucky princesses reached her ears: Snow White, Cinderella... they were happily married. She wasn't even allowed to go to their parties, because her father did not want her to travel so far!
"To prove it, I offer you a magic ring. It will do as you wish; it will enable you to leave this all behind - but it will also show you how there are some that have it worse than you do. But it does not have to be permanent. If you take off the ring, you will be transported back here."
Belle nodded, speechless by the offer, but intrigued to say the least. She would very much like to see this other place - maybe then she would be happier in her father's castle when she returned.
The fairy waved her wand and the next moment, a ring appeared on the balcony. Belle lifted it and smiled. It was a golden ring and a beautiful rose was carved in it.
"All you need to do, is put it on," the Blue Fairy informed her and she nodded again.
"Thank you," she said gratefully, moving the ring over her finger and the next moment, the world around her turned black. When the light returned in front of her eyes, however, she noticed that she was falling, and she screamed before she hit the ground, bumping her head on the impact and before she could look around to see where she had landed, the world around her turned black again.