Belle's Adventure

Welcome to Belle's Adventure! In this game, you are playing Belle, a young, intelligent woman in the early 1800s France who dreams of adventure. You are very close with your father, who is an inventor. You respect him to the highest degree, and believe he is the smartest man alive, but the town doesn't necessarily agree. You two are outcasts of the town, both striving for intellectual gain above all else in the Romantic era where emotions had a higher value than intellect, but this doesn't phase you as long as you are always learning. Your goal is to educate yourself to the best of your abilities despite the fact the town doesn't support your intellectual gains. Be aware that this is your primary goal despite other temptations that may arise, and that other goals may pop up along the way. Never lose sight of your intellect and desire of knowledge. Click [[here]] when you're ready to advance.

You wake up with the sunrise, and it's a beautiful day. You head outside, saying goodbye to your father working on his latest invention, and walk toward the nearby shops. You have the entire day ahead of you, with nothing precisely on the agenda. What store do you decide to enter? >>[[pastry shop]] >>[[bookstore]] >>[[boutique]]

You enter the pastry shop, excited to devour a nice croissant before the rest of the town awakes. The rest of your day is uneventful, and so was the next day, and the next, and the next. You ultimately die without a hint of adventure. The end. (What did you forget?) >>[[Restart]]

You enter the bookstore, excited to open your mind to the newest adventures. You spend the morning reading in the store, making the owner laugh as you devour book after book. Before you realize it, it's high noon, and you have yet to eat. You reluctantly leave the store, with promises to come back in the afternoon. On your way to the boulangerie for a nice sandwich, you run into the local heartthrob Gaston. He's by all accounts physically attractive, and quite rich. He says, "Hello Belle!" in a loud booming voice, attracting the attention of everyone on the block. "What do you say to coming home to me instead of that father of yours? You and I are a match made in heaven, dearest Belle." >>[["I say yes! Where should we go?"]] >>[[ignore him]]

You enter the boutique, excited to try on the latest fashionable dress. The rest of your day is uneventful, and so was the next day, and the next, and the next. You ultimately die without a hint of adventure. The end. (What did you forget?) >>[[Restart]]

You respond with a smile, "I say yes! Where should we go?" Gaston smiles, pleased with your response. "Why Belle, why don't we head to my vacation home right now! I can have the most tasty dinner made for us and we can have the most lovely date!" The rest of your day is uneventful, and so was the next day and the next. You ultimately die without a hint of adventure. The end. (What did you forget?) >>[[Restart]]

You ignore him, sidestepping his large stature to enter the shop. He's not known to be a quitter, and this demeanor becomes evident today when he continues to follow you with his advances. Pick-up line after pick-up line, you hold strong in your denial, responding with some witty comments that he isn't too fond of. "Belle, sweetheart, all I want is you!" Gaston said. "You have the hearts of every girl in this town, go find one of them." "Why would I want to when the most beautiful girl in town is standing right before me? It's only a matter of time before you choose me over that stupid little father of yours. Think of everything I have to offer you dearest Belle!" It's getting to be late, and you're tired. You had a plan to meet with your father to work on his invention this afternoon, but you'd been so caught up in Gaston's act that you are late. You ponder the idea of going with Gaston, just so he would stop. Maybe one date wouldn't be so bad after all? Maybe he would have enough money for you to buy any books you wanted? Or maybe you were just desperate for an adventure, so much so that you would do anything for a change of scenery. Where do you choose to go this afternoon? >>[[with Gaston]] >>[[home, to your father]]

"Okay Gaston," you say, with a bit of reluctance. You know it may not be the best option, but the promise of Gaston finally stopping pestering you is enough for you to try. "Perfect! I'm glad I've finally convinced you! Let's go to dinner tonight, dearest Belle." You agree, and see him for dinner. Upon giving him a chance, you realize that Gaston may not be so bad after all. You never see your father again, and you find yourself living a suitable life. You have many kids, and never get out of the small town, but you have access to all of the books you'd ever wanted. You ultimately die without a hint of adventure. The end. >>[[Restart]]

You turn away from Gaston, angry at his choice of words. "Don't you dare insult my father! He is the smartest man you'll ever meet and you will never compare. Maybe if you took a moment to consider what I'm interested in, you'd understand that we are not compatible in the slightest!" You storm out of the store, sandwich all but forgotten, and head back to your house. Opening your front door, you find your father seated at the table, slaving over a small tinker toy. The table is covered in spare parts like gears and rods, which is a familiar sight. You smile to yourself, knowing you made the right choice. Your father looks up to see you in the doorway, and a smile grows on his face. "Daughter! I'm so glad you're home!" "I'm sorry I'm late papa, Gaston was bothering me today, like he always does." Your father knowingly nods. "What are we working on today papa?" "I was just trying to fix up this toy for little Louis next door. Do you think you could finish this up while I take a nap?" >>[[Yes]] >>[[No, I'd rather go back out to meet Gaston]]

"Of course I can papa! You've been working hard all day, why don't you head to sleep. I'll finish this up for you." Your father smiles weakly, the social interaction having taken the energy out of him with the fragility of old age. You continue to work on the invention, finishing it in what seems to be no time at all. It's late afternoon now, and you figure you still have time to drop it off by little Louis's house before supper. Do you: >>[[head for Louis's now, leaving your father asleep]] >>[[awaken your father before heading to Louis's]]

"No papa," you say, surprising even yourself. "I'm going to be out tonight, I just wanted to come and say hello." Your father looks surprise, but ultimately nods you away. You head out the door, and out onto the mainstreet. You hear Gaston before you see him, seeing him surrounded by most women of the town. You walk up to him, and he says to you, "Oh Belle! Have you reconsidered my offer?" You say, with a bit of reluctance, "Yes, Gaston," You know it may not be the best option, but the promise of Gaston finally stopping pestering you is enough for you to try. "Perfect! I'm glad I've finally convinced you! Let's go to dinner tonight, dearest Belle." You agree, and see him for dinner. Upon giving him a chance, you realize that Gaston may not be so bad after all. You never see your father again, and you find yourself living a suitable life. You have many kids, and never get out of the small town, but you have access to all of the books you'd ever wanted. You ultimately die without a hint of adventure. The end. >>[[Restart]]

You head to little Louis's, figuring that your father would be better off asleep. You drop off the toy, spending time with little Louis and his mother before heading back home. When you reach the house, you find the door slightly ajar. This confuses you, and you enter the room to find the table cleared of all of the spare parts from earlier. You head upstairs to awaken your father for dinner, only to find your father dead, with marks on his neck. You run in hysterics to your neighbor. They alert the police, and they come to your aid. Unfortunately, because of your family's reputation in the town, the death is attributed to natural causes. The police don't believe the pieces of evidence pointing to foul play, and there's ultimately nothing to be done. You live the rest of your life in constant fear, and complete sadness. You were already isolated from the town, but now you find yourself barely leaving the house. You ultimately die without a hint of adventure. The end. >>[[Restart]]

You decide to wake your father before you leave. Your front lock hasn't been working, and you find yourself worried that something may happen to him while you're gone. You have a funny feeling in your stomach, like something bad might happen, but you attribute it to your weird day, giving it no extra thought. Your father is sound asleep, and you are forced to reconsider. Your father often struggles to sleep, and in his old age you wonder if you should just let him sleep. >>[[wake your father]] >>[[leave your father asleep]]

You don't often get bad feelings, and despite everything you feel that waking your father is the right thing to do. You gently nudge his side, telling him where you're off to and that you'll be back as soon as you can. You grab the toy and run over to little Louis's, speaking to his mother for a while, before heading back to your house. You start to walk up to the door, before realizing it was slightly ajar. The pit in your stomach grows, and you can't shake the feeling from earlier. You run inside, and you notice the table is empty. You dart up the stairs to your father's bedroom, expecting the worst. To your utter surprise, Gaston is in your father's room, strangling your father. "You stupid old man! You are what stands between me and my beautiful Belle!" You grab the closest item in your reach (a lamp) and poise it above your head. "Gaston, you get out of here now or else!" He hadn't noticed your presence before, and upon hearing your voice immediately drops his hands and turns toward you with utter obsession. "Oh Belle, I'm so crazy about you. I promise we can work things out. Just come with me, and no one will get hurt! I needed you to see how much I loved you!" You pause to consider everything that's happened, still in a frenzied state. You are concerned for your father's life, and you wonder if you should just surrender to Gaston's will. It seems clear that he'll never stop, unless you do what he asks. You consider telling the police, but you run the risk of not being believed due to your status in the village. >>[[go with Gaston]] >>[[fight]] >>[[run for help]]

"Okay Gaston! Okay. I'll go with you," You lower the lamp, and take a deep breath. With your father's life on the line, you decide that ultimately going with Gaston was the only way out of this alive. "Perfect! I'm glad I've finally convinced you! Let's go to dinner tonight, dearest Belle." You agree, and see him for dinner. Upon giving him a chance, you realize that Gaston may not be so bad after all, when he isn't crazed. You never see your father again but are assured in his safety, and you find yourself living a suitable life. You have many kids, and never get out of the small town, but you have access to all of the books you'd ever wanted. You got the adventure you wanted, but at what cost? The end. >>[[Restart]]

Before you know it, you find yourself swinging the lamp directly at Gaston, knocking him unconscious. You run for help, finding your neighbor who alerts the police. The police conduct an investigation, and Gaston confesses to everything in a last attempt at winning your love, putting him behind bars for life. Your father is shaken up from the incident, and both of you are on guard constantly. While there was undeniable evidence that Gaston was guilty, the town still had trouble trusting you over their perfect Gaston. You got the adventure you wanted, but at what cost? The end. >>[[Restart]]

You drop the lamp, running for help. You find your neighbor, who alerted the police. By the time you got back to the house, your father lay dead, and Gaston gone without a trace. Despite the marks on your father's neck, the police found there wasn't sufficient evidence to convict Gaston. Unfortunately, because of your family's reputation in the town, the death is attributed to natural causes, with the investigation dropped. You live the rest of your life in constant fear, and complete sadness. You were already isolated from the town, but now you find yourself barely leaving the house. You got the adventure you wanted, but at what cost? The end. >>[[Restart]]