The main turning point is when Belle accidentally destroys the enchanted rose. There’s a lot more context for Belle and Maurice’s position in the village, as well as Belle’s upbringing.

“Present” chapters are basically the beginning of the animated Disney movie, except more detailed. It shows their courting, marriage, Belle’s birth, and what ultimately separated the genuinely loving family. In “past” chapters, readers discover the love story of Belle’s parents, Maurice and Rosalind.

Part one and two depict both the past and the present. Belle and the Beast must do everything they can to uncover the secrets of the past and conjure their own happy ending.Īs Old as Time is split into three parts. Fate is a fickle mistress, and magic always comes back on itself. Despite their initial enmity, they manage to work together, desperately digging into the past in order to find some hope for the future.Īs they learn more, Belle and the Beast realize that they might be bound by more than coincidence. Unfortunately, she has no knowledge of her mother, and the Beast also has little knowledge of the circumstances that caused him to be cursed. With her mother as the caster, and herself as instigator of the rose’s destruction, which accelerates the spell, Belle devotes herself to breaking the curse completely. Suddenly, Belle knows that the sorceress that cursed the Beast was her own mother.

The magical backlash swirls in her mind, drowning her in visions. In her determined explorations, Belle’s curiosity causes her to destroy the enchanted rose that anchors the Beast’s curse. ĭiscovering the castle is enchanted doesn’t deter her. Unfortunately, the Beast isn’t the only obstacle with whom she must contend. Enslaved to a creature so horrendous it didn’t even allow her to bid adieu to the only parent she’s ever known, Belle is determined to escape. Her father has disappeared, and she has to venture on an unknown path with a terrified animal as her only companion.Įventually, she finds her missing father, but must trade her own life to save him from a monstrous beast. Unexpectedly, an adventure charges right up to Belle, nipping at the heels of their family’s horse but it’s far more bleak than Belle expected. Her papa is too attached to the home to which his wife might one day return. Regrettably, Belle’s dream is unlikely to come true. Exchanging her provincial town and judgmental neighbors for a place filled with culture and wonder seems like the key to happiness. While Belle knows her papa is all she needs, her heart yearns for adventure. He never shames Belle for her curiosity or quick mind, instead he encourages her to see the wonder in the world. Belle and her papa, Maurice, get along just fine. Belle’s mother abandoned their family so long ago that Belle has no memories of her but it only takes two people to make a home.

As Old as Time by Liz Braswell