She Missed Her Royal Engagement to Save a poor Old Woman… Then Her Father Disowned Her!

Chapter 2

On her very first morning in Nana Wren’s cottage, Belle discovered she did not know how to light a stove.

Nana — the name felt right, she decided, small and warm, the way the old woman was small and warm — watched with her arms folded as Belle struck two pieces of flint together for what felt like the twentieth time. Nothing happened. Nothing happened again.

“I think the stove dislikes me,” Belle said.

“The stove doesn’t know you’re a lady.”

On the twenty-third attempt, a tiny spark caught, and Belle leaned forward to celebrate — and a puff of smoke burst into her face, dusting the tip of her nose with soot. Nana laughed so hard she had to grip the table. When Belle caught her own reflection in the kettle, she laughed too, a cracked, surprised sound she hadn’t made in days. It was the first genuine laugh she had shared since leaving the castle.