"WOD" - Chapter Four

Chapter Four

            Rania knew they were close to the village when they heard the villagers singing the ‘Belle’ song. “There she is,” she pointed to one part of the street where there was a girl of great beauty with hazel eyes, full pink lips, rosy cheeks, and long brown hair tied back in a low ponytail, adorned with a blue ribbon. She was dressed in a medium-length cerulean-blue sleeveless dress with a white, long puffy-sleeved shirt and a puffy collar underneath, a white apron around her waist, a white petticoat, and dark brown ballet flats.

            “Ahh, yes!” Riff beamed. “The princess of this realm!”

            “She looks kinda like you, Rania,” Craig observed, tugging at his coat collar.

            “Aww! You really think so, sweetie?” Rania was touched by his observation. It wasn’t until she glanced Craig’s way that she noticed him sweltering in his winter attire and became worried. “Craig, are you alright?!”

            Craig huffed. “Yeah, it’s just…really hot! Wasn’t it freezing not a sec ago?”

            Rania helped him out of his coat. “Yeah, that’s the thing about a cursed forest – it totally messes with the climate.”

            “Wait…that forest was cursed?!” Craig panicked for a moment.

            “Bonjour,” a young woman greeted the trio. They were surprised to discover that it was Belle. “I haven’t seen you three in the village before.”

            “We’re just stopping by,” Rania said with a friendly smile. Having a bit of fun, she glimpsed into the woven basket Belle was carrying and asked, “Is that a book I see in there? What’s it about?”

            “Oh, it’s the most wonderful story!” Belle said with excitement. “It’s about a beanstalk and an ogre and…”

            “Hey, I’ve read that one,” Riff interrupted.

            His claim captured Belle’s interest. “You have?”

            “Yeah,” Riff said. “I especially love the part where Ishmael and the whale battled it out at sea!”

            Belle cringed. “What?”

            Rania palmed her face in embarrassment. “That’s Moby Dick, dude,” she whispered to Riff. “And it was Ahab, not Ishmael.”

            “I…should be going,” Belle awkwardly excused herself, walking away at a pace quick enough to put much distance between her and the strange visitors.

            Frankly, Rania couldn’t blame her. “Riff,” she addressed their new friend. “Where exactly do you come from, man?”

            “Hmm.” The Imago had to think it over for a second. “Ya know, I’m not quite sure. I never even thought about it, before you asked.”

            “You don’t know where you came from?” Craig queried with a raised eyebrow. “Not even your parents?”

            Riff shook his head. “Nope. I don’t even know my aunt…or if I had one.”

            “Curious,” Rania muttered. She then spotted the village tavern near their spot. “How ‘bout we talk some more over a drink? Craig, I bet all that sweatin’ made you thirsty, eh?”

            “It sure did,” Craig said. “I could really go for a tall glass of…”

            “Milk,” Rania interjected. “That was what you were gonna say, right?”

            He stiffened at the strict, parental gaze she gave him. “Uh, yeeeeeah,” he drew out his reply, not as discreetly as he wanted.

            Rania chuckled and gave him a caring hug. “C’mon. Let’s go wet our whistles.”

            “But I thought we were getting drinks,” Riff scratched the top of his bowler hat in confusion.

            Rania felt as if she was talking to a Time Lord, with Riff’s lack of understanding simple Earth idioms. “No, Riff, it’s just an expression – we are getting drinks.”

            “Ohhhhh!” He finally comprehended.

            Together, the trio went into the village tavern. They were greeted with the stale aroma of alcohol in the air, which made Rania worried of the possibility Craig would get intoxicated from it. She found herself praying to whatever Disney parallel of God that existed in this realm that this tavern did in fact serve milk.

            “As a matter of fact, we do – goat milk,” the bartender verified.

            Craig groaned. “Aw, c’mon!”

            Served in a sparkling clean tin mug, Craig took his goat milk to the table where he, Rania, and Riff were sitting. Rania had herself some wine, while Riff had ordered some beer. After one long gulp of the alcoholic beverage, Riff had a bizarre reaction – literal steam came out of his ears!

            “That’s some strong stuff!” He wheezed.

            Rania and Craig were both surprised and amused, witnessing the uncanny reaction. “You O.K., Riff?” Rania asked.

            “Yeah,” said Riff, coughing. “I just never knew root beer had such a kick!”

            “Uh…you ordered straight beer,” Rania told him.

            Riff curiously glimpsed into his half-full mug. “Huh,” he uttered. “I figured…”

            “Hello, Belle!” The trio heard a boisterous, masculine voice coming in their direction. “I figured one day you’d come in here – to see me, no doubt. Funny, you’re usually wasting your time in that dreary bookstore.”

            Gaston. The Disney Villain had mistaken Rania for Belle.

            I guess Craig wasn’t the only one to notice the resemblance.

            She also heard LeFou, Gaston’s snide sidekick. “What’s she wearing?” he asked in regards to Rania’s turtleneck and jeans – something the real Belle would never have worn.

            “Ohhh, crap,” Rania whispered, pulling some locks of her hair over one side of her face to hide it from Gaston and LeFou. In desperation, she beckoned Riff, “Stall these fellas, will ya?”

            Riff winked and nodded. “You got it.” Removing himself from their table, Riff addressed Gaston and LeFou, “Greetings and salutations, gentlemen!” He tipped his bowler hat to them. “My name is Riff, and I—”

            “Outta the way, stranger!” Gaston stormed.

            “Yeah, outta the way, buddy!” LeFou parroted for no other reason than to mimic Gaston’s rough demeanor.

            “I’ve had my sights set on that girl for a very long time,” Gaston gestured Rania’s way. “I don’t know who you are, but either you step aside or I’ll have to get very unpleasant with you!”

            Riff held his hands up in protest. “No need for violence, sir. How about a magic trick instead?” He proceeded to do a simple thumb removal trick.

            “GAH!” LeFou cried, his simple mind believing the trick was legitimate, cowering behind Gaston. “H-H-How did he d-d-do that?!?!”

            Gaston’s patience was wearing thin. “Last chance!” He threatened Riff.

            Riff ceased his ingenuous trick, just as he was distracted by one feature of Gaston’s face. Hovering his own close to it, he exclaimed, “Wow! That is one freakishly large chin you have! Kinda looks like a giant butt, in fact.” Rania and Craig burst with laughter – some of Craig’s goat milk even came out his nose.

            “THAT’S IT!” Infuriated, Gaston punched Riff right across the face.

            The powerful punch scrambled the Imago’s facial features – his mouth was where his nose should have been, his nose was on his forehead, and his eyes were where his mouth should have been.

            Now both Gaston and LeFou were frightened. The pair ran out of the tavern, screaming.

            Much as Rania wanted to avoid Gaston’s attention, this was a little more than she asked for. “I think we’ve overstayed our welcome here, boys,” she told Craig and Riff, the latter rearranging his face as if it were a Mr. Potato Head toy. “Let’s get back to the TARDIS.”

            Unfortunately, as she discovered upon their return to her ship, the TARDIS was still recharging. With night fast approaching in the realm, there was no other choice but for the trio to sleep in the ship and wait until morning, when the TARDIS would be fully charged (hopefully).

            However, Rania and Craig were the only ones who slept.

            Riff was physically incapable of doing so.

            As such, the Tinkerer of Gallifrey and the Stump Kid from the Creek were the only ones to be awakened by the cloister bell, the following morning. They rushed out of their bedrooms and joined Riff in the console room. “That sound is very loud!” The Imago shouted over the noise. “What does it mean?!”

            Switching the bell off, Rania told Riff, “It means a rift has been detected.”

            “It’s detecting me?” Riff gasped in concern. “Did I do something wrong?”

            “No, not a ‘Riff’ like you, Riff,” Rania clarified. “A rift – with a ‘T’.”

            “Where is it?” Craig asked.

            Rania looked over the readouts on the console monitor. “It says that it’s coming from Belle’s village.”

            Following on this, the trio returned there and made a baffling find:

            A bronzed statue of Gaston and LeFou now standing in front of the tavern.

            “That wasn’t there yesterday,” Craig noted.

            “No, it certainly wasn’t,” Rania concurred, frowning with suspicion.

            Adding to her skepticism was the presence of Maurice in the village, when he should have been trapped in the Beast’s castle by then. Between these two new changes to the Beauty and the Beast world, Rania feared that a divergence had occurred, possibly endangering the world itself.