A Beneficial Arrangement, Part 15 (final part)ioaniteMarch 28 2013, 21:45:52 UTC
“Hurry up, Émile!” Mirelle called out, clapping a hand to her hat as a gust of wind flew past, “We don’t want to arrive too late for the market to close!”
Émile came over to the wagon, a touch of red in his cheek. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I was just saying goodbye to Claudine.”
“I knew you were sweet on her!” Mirelle teased, pinching her brother’s arm, “Perhaps we should have invited her along.”
“Children…” Belle admonished gently, climbing into the wagon and gathering up the reins, “Let’s not start off this trip by bickering. There will be plenty of time for that in the coming months, after all.”
“Sorry, Maman,” Mirelle said, climbing into the back of the wagon, “It’s nerves.”
Émile sat beside his mother. “Do you want me to take the reins?”
“I can manage,” Belle assured him, “Besides, I feel I owe it to the horses to guide them over the familiar terrain one last time. Now, are we sure we’ve got everything? Trunks?”
“All five of them.” Mirelle acknowledged.
“Necessary Papers?”
“Right here.”
“Books?”
Mirelle laughed. “Yes. And even if we had left some behind, I don’t think it would have mattered much.”
“And have we said goodbye to everyone?”
“Yes,” Émile said, “I even made sure to put flowers on Papa and Grandpapa’s graves.”
“Me too.” Mirelle said. Belle smiled, for she had done the same thing herself. “Then I think we’re ready.” She clicked to the horses and they set off, moving at a slightly slower pace due to the weight of the cart.
It had all been arranged. The bookstore had been sold to a nice young man who was the son of the schoolteacher, who promised to take good care of it. When they got into the city, they would sell the horses and cart for a fair price, and spend a night at the inn. The next day, they would board a carriage bound for the nearest port. They had already booked passage on a ship headed towards Greece, although they weren’t sure that would be their final destination. It all depended what caught their eyes. The books were there to pass the time, and also to use for trade if it came to that.
As the horses reached the outskirts of town, Belle took one last look at the town she’d spent her whole life in up to now. She knew she’d miss it, and she wasn’t sure if she’d ever come back to it. But the great wide somewhere she’d once dreamed of was calling out to her louder than ever, and she would be a fool if she didn’t answer back. With a smile and nod, she turned her eyes back to the road, looking forward to the moment when her eyes lit on unfamiliar ground.
Re: A Beneficial Arrangement, Part 15 (final part)little_elfieMarch 29 2013, 01:45:20 UTC
Oh wow, I was thinking of this prompt just the other day, always hoped someone would fill it and I couldn't be happier with your take on it. Such a lovely, poignant piece! Kudos!
Re: A Beneficial Arrangement, Part 15 (final part)ioaniteDecember 31 2013, 14:58:04 UTC
I know it's been a few months since you posted this, but I finally got an Ao3 account and uploaded all my Disney fills. I'm there under the same username. I tried to PM you about it but wasn't able to. I really hope you see this.
Re: A Beneficial Arrangement, Part 15 (final part)ioaniteJanuary 6 2014, 10:34:46 UTC
(Last time mods, sorry!)
Just a heads up, I decided I was going to break up the "disney fic fills" collection into individual stories to make it easier for fans to find the exact story they were looking for, so you'll probably have to change your bookmarks. Sorry about that, I was so excited about getting an Ao3 account I wasn't really sure how to post everything.
Re: A Beneficial Arrangement, Part 15 (final part)nailsmokeJanuary 6 2014, 20:41:59 UTC
It's no trouble. I actually prefer when people separate their stories like that. Nothing more annoying than searching by a fandom + tag only to find yourself at a multi-part 'these are all my tumblr fills!' kind of post, where the tag may not match up to the fandom. Can't tell you how many times that's happened to me. So I'm in full support of you separating things out. It makes things a lot easier for the browsing types like me. <3
Émile came over to the wagon, a touch of red in his cheek. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I was just saying goodbye to Claudine.”
“I knew you were sweet on her!” Mirelle teased, pinching her brother’s arm, “Perhaps we should have invited her along.”
“Children…” Belle admonished gently, climbing into the wagon and gathering up the reins, “Let’s not start off this trip by bickering. There will be plenty of time for that in the coming months, after all.”
“Sorry, Maman,” Mirelle said, climbing into the back of the wagon, “It’s nerves.”
Émile sat beside his mother. “Do you want me to take the reins?”
“I can manage,” Belle assured him, “Besides, I feel I owe it to the horses to guide them over the familiar terrain one last time. Now, are we sure we’ve got everything? Trunks?”
“All five of them.” Mirelle acknowledged.
“Necessary Papers?”
“Right here.”
“Books?”
Mirelle laughed. “Yes. And even if we had left some behind, I don’t think it would have mattered much.”
“And have we said goodbye to everyone?”
“Yes,” Émile said, “I even made sure to put flowers on Papa and Grandpapa’s graves.”
“Me too.” Mirelle said. Belle smiled, for she had done the same thing herself. “Then I think we’re ready.” She clicked to the horses and they set off, moving at a slightly slower pace due to the weight of the cart.
It had all been arranged. The bookstore had been sold to a nice young man who was the son of the schoolteacher, who promised to take good care of it. When they got into the city, they would sell the horses and cart for a fair price, and spend a night at the inn. The next day, they would board a carriage bound for the nearest port. They had already booked passage on a ship headed towards Greece, although they weren’t sure that would be their final destination. It all depended what caught their eyes. The books were there to pass the time, and also to use for trade if it came to that.
As the horses reached the outskirts of town, Belle took one last look at the town she’d spent her whole life in up to now. She knew she’d miss it, and she wasn’t sure if she’d ever come back to it. But the great wide somewhere she’d once dreamed of was calling out to her louder than ever, and she would be a fool if she didn’t answer back. With a smile and nod, she turned her eyes back to the road, looking forward to the moment when her eyes lit on unfamiliar ground.
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Thank you for the compliments!
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Thank you once again for your interest in my fic!
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Just a heads up, I decided I was going to break up the "disney fic fills" collection into individual stories to make it easier for fans to find the exact story they were looking for, so you'll probably have to change your bookmarks. Sorry about that, I was so excited about getting an Ao3 account I wasn't really sure how to post everything.
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