Escape

That night, Madame called a soldier to her house. Ray saw the soldier enter the house but figured Madame was just reporting her husband’s disappearance. But then he saw the soldier start to come towards the barn; Ray knew the soldier was coming to arrest the twins. Quickly he locked the door to the barn and started packing their things.

“Daisy,” he yelled and Daisy looked down from the loft where they slept. “A soldier is coming to arrest us. We have to go!” Daisy didn’t question him, having suspected that Madame would tell a story that the twins had killed their father. Both of the twins knew that Madame was convinced that they had been trying to kill her for the last two years. So Daisy quickly put their things into a few bags and left the things they didn’t need or couldn’t sell.

The soldier who was coming to arrest them wasn’t entirely sure why he was doing this. He had known the twins before their mother died and knew how much they loved their father. But he was under the witch’s spell and continued to walk towards the barn that the twins had been exiled to.

The soldier knocked on the door and tried to open it but it was locked. “Open up,” he yelled but no one answered. He simply figured they weren’t there and went back to tell the Madame. In fact, the twins were no longer there and were running through the empty fields and towards the forest.

The forest behind their land had been rumored to be haunted for centuries. The belief was so strongly rooted in everyone’s mind that no one questioned it and only the bravest of hunters entered it willingly. Ray had entered the forest many times though and while he believed it was haunted he also believed the spirits would not harm the fleeing twins. Daisy trusted Ray so they followed the path into the dark forest even as Madame Hule was telling the soldier to go find them and kill them.

Later the soldier reported back that the twins had entered the forest but he refused to chase after them. Madame sent him away and in her anger put a small curse upon his family. His daughter, born the next year, would prick her finger and fall into a deep sleep. It was a common curse back then but very effective.

Hearing that they had gone to the forest, Madame knew just what to do. Before she could perform the curse she heard a scream from the next room. Madame ran to check on her daughter who had just realized the twins were missing. At one year old, the poor girl only knew that she had not seen a kind face in a very long time and the sight of her mother only upset her further. Madame did not understand this though and tried to reassure Belle.

“Hush darling,” she soothed. “Mommy is going to take care of those dreadful twins, don’t worry about that.” Belle was hardly reassured and only wailed louder. Frustrated, Madame put her down to sleep and left the room. Needing silence to perform her curse, Madame went to the barn. She saw how the twin’s belongings were strewn about as if they left in a hurry. Her frustration at the soldier’s incompetence reached a peak and she sat down on an abandoned mattress and pulled out her purse.