Author's Note: First I wanna say I'm so sorry for the late updates. On March 13th, my cat Hannibal passed away. He had heart failure, and we had to take him to the vet to be put down. He was around 17 years old. If that wasn't enough, I got a nasty sinus infection, and couldn't even breathe. Even though I'm better, my top lip is so RAW from blowing my nose its insane. I went to see 2017 Beauty and the Beast on the 18th, and I fell in LOVE with it, and got the idea for this. ALSO, HUGE head's up! Since Red String is SO long, I decided to edit the 50th chapter, and end it. It went on for 50 chapters, and as much as I love it, I really needed to end it. But there will be many more Eremika fanfics to come, including this one.

It was a cold night. A violent, deadly blizzard raged on through the forest. But a warm light broke through the storm. A light from the windows of a marvelous castle.

The castle sat alone in the middle of the forest. There was music, and dancing and laughter inside. The entrance hall was filled with people dancing, and music playing.

Sitting near the band was a small Shiba Inu dog, resting on a fancy pillow. Despite the celebration and excitement, the prince of the castle sat bored on his throne.

Wearing a tan long sleeved shirt and dark pants, the dark brown haired teenager frowned, seeming almost annoyed with the party honoring his birthday.

His green eyes glanced up towards the stairs, as if wanting to escape it.

Suddenly, the castle doors flung open and a burst of cold wind and snow flew in. People gasped, as the music stopped, and candles were blown out from the wind, darkening the room.

"What is this?", the prince sneered as he got up. "Let us handle it, Prince Eren!", a man insisted, but the prince ignored his servant, approaching the hooded figure standing in the doorway.

"Who are you?", he demanded, agitated.

"Please sir...I offer you a rose in exchange from the bitter cold", the old hag offered, holding a red rose.

The prince scoffed, even mildly amused.

"What makes you honestly think I'd let an old peasant into my castle?", he asked. The old hag did not reply.

"Armin, have her removed", Eren demanded. "Yes sir...", right before the blonde guy could, the old hag glared at them.

In a burst of light, her cloak fell off, and she suddenly appeared as a beautiful woman.

The prince's eyes grew wide, taking several steps back with the people. "An enchantress!", Armin exclaimed.

There was another burst of light, and suddenly an explosion in the entrance hall. Several people were thrown back. And then...they were transformed into household objects.

Armin became a candle stick, another servant became a clock, and another a teapott. The dog became a foot rest.

They all starred in horror, as something else stood in their prince's place. A large monster stood to its feet. It looked human, but it stood 15 meters tall, with pointed ears, and hideous teeth, and a heavily muscled body.

His eyes remained the only same part, his hair a bit long. He clenched his fists, and roared loudly, as it echoed across the land.

"Until you can learn to love someone other than yourself, you shall forever remain...a beast", the Enchantress spoke.

The Enchantress wiped the memories of the kingdom's people, and enchanted the red rose. When the last petal falls, the prince shall remain a beast forever.

Five Years Later...

It was a beautiful morning in the small town. Women hurried to the markets, while children hurried to school. Men handled horses, while the elderly did laundry and gossiped.

One small home sat closer to a hill, and the door opened. A young girl stepped out. She had beautiful pale skin, dark blue eyes, and short but feminine black hair.

She ran her hand through her black hair, feeling the wind breezing through it.

She smiled, and hurried off to the church. "There she goes, that girl is strange...", a woman whispered.

"She's always reading", another mentioned. "Nothing normal about it", the other stated.

"She's beautiful yes, but what she has in looks she lacks in sense", another woman whispered.

Mikasa ignored the whispers and gossip, as she entered the small church. "Good morning, Mikasa!", the pastor greeted kindly.

Aside from her father, the pastor was the only person in the village who showed kindness towards Mikasa.

"Good morning, have you got any new books in?", asked Mikasa curiously, as she approached the small shelf of limited books.

"I'm afraid not. After all you're the only one interested in them", the pastor replied.

"That's all right, I'll burrow this one again", Mikasa took Romeo and Juliet off the shelf.

After she left the church, she walked through the village reading the book. She stopped in front of the stables, petting her father's horse. The brown horse nuzzled her hand affectionately.

"Philippe, do you think I'm strange?", Mikasa asked softly. The horse nuzzled her again.

"Well you ARE talking to a horse, but that doesn't blind me of your beauty", a voice came. Mikasa groaned annoyed, and looked to see Jean approaching her.

He dismounted his black horse, walking over.

"Mikasa, why don't you have dinner with me tonight?", he offered. Mikasa frowned at him, unimpressed. She rolled her eyes, and tucked her book under her arm, walking off.

"Ouch!", Marco commented, Jean's friend. "Hate to break the obvious to ya buddy, but she's not into you", Marco said.

"Now Marco, it's the ones who play hard to get that are always the sweetest prey", Jean pointed out.

A group of random girls swooned over Jean, but he ignored them.

"I will make Mikasa my wife, it will just take some effort is all", Jean boasted, as he got on his horse.

Mikasa returned home, and as she entered she saw her father was working on a music box, sitting at the table. Mikasa held her book to her chest, looking down.

"Father...", she approached the table. "Oh, welcome back Mikasa", her father smiled, as he concentrated.

"Father do you think I'm odd?", asked Mikasa, sitting beside him. "Odd? My daughter? Who said such a thing?", her father asked worriedly.

Mikasa shrugged. "I am a little odd, father. I read a lot, I talk to the horses, and I even am much physically stronger than the other women", she pointed out.

"Nonsense. Those villagers are the odd ones", her father insisted. He got up, and went to drag a large heavy crate over full of tools.

Seeing him struggle, Mikasa lifted it up with ease, and set it on the table. The table creaked from how heavy the crate was.

"Thank you my dear", her father said. Mikasa was always quite strong, despite only being a 135 lb 19 year old girl.

Mikasa sat back down. "Please...tell me one more thing about her", she suddenly said. Her father hesitated, a grim look in his eyes.

Mikasa's mother had died when Mikasa was just a baby. Her father never told her how she died. All Mikasa knew was that her father loved her mother very much, and grieved for her every day.

"Your mother was stubborn. Just like you", her father smiled.

That afternoon, her father got onto the carriage, their horse hooked up to it. "I'll be back in three days from the market", he stated.

"Be careful", Mikasa said. "I always am", her father assured. Mikasa nodded, she petted Philippe, and stood back. The horse neighed, and began trotting away, pulling the carriage.

Mikasa walked back towards the house, when she heard another horse neigh. She glanced behind her, seeing Jean riding his horse toward her.

Mikasa frowned, annoyed. Jean was known for being full of himself. He was also rude, and obsessed with hunting.

"Mikasa, wonderful day, isn't it?", Jean asked, dismounting his horse. "Not much different from any other day here, Jean", Mikasa replied coolly.

"That's what I love about you Mikasa, you're smarter than all the other girls", Jean grinned.

"Jean, don't you have some poor defenseless animal to go kill?", Mikasa asked coldly.

"Mikasa, I'm heartbroken!", Jean exclaimed. "Especially since I came to you with a very important question", he added.

"And what would that be?", asked Mikasa, annoyed.

"Marry me Mikasa!", Jean proposed. Mikasa turned finally to look at him. "Have you lost your mind?", she asked him.

"Not at all! My mind's never been clearer than it has today! We'll even get a nice place for your uh...mildly deranged father", Jean added.

Mikasa glared. "Are you being serious?", she asked him. "Yes I am", Jean replied, leaning closer to her.

They looked into each other's eyes, and Jean felt excitement.

But just as he was expecting a kiss, Mikasa suddenly kneed him hard in the balls. "OW!", Jean collapsed onto his knees, grimacing in pain.

"That was for calling my father crazy. I would NEVER marry you, Jean", Mikasa growled. She turned, and entered her home, slamming the door shut.

"Well, forget her! Come on Jean, she's not worth it", Marco said. "Quiet Marco! I will have Mikasa as my wife...", Jean growled.

Deep in the woods, Philippe walked through pulling the carriage. "Hurry along Philippe, we want to get there before dark", Mr. Ackerman urged the horse.

He checked his map again, and saw the turn up ahead. "Hurry along", he said, as the horse went a bit faster.

Just as they were about to take the turn, a crash of lightening came from the sky. Philippe neighed fearfully, standing on her hind legs, as the lightening struck a large tree.

"Easy, Philippe! Easy girl!", Mr. Ackerman pulled the reins back, trying to calm the horse.

The tree collapsed, blocking their path. Mr. Ackerman saw where the tree was standing, there was a hidden path. Philippe counted her hoof, on edge.

"We got no choice, let's go", he urged the horse down the hidden path.

As they walked down the unknown dark path, the air turned cold. Freezing in fact, and snow was seen. "Snow in June...?", Mr. Ackerman noticed, alarmed.

The horse neighed anxiously, but continued forward. Snow covered the ground, and snowflakes fell gently.

It was as if they entered a whole new world. Philippe suddenly haulted, snorting. "What's wrong, girl?", asked Mr. Ackerman.

They suddenly heard a loud, echoing howl. Mr. Ackerman looked up on the hill, and his eyes grew wide in horror.

A white wolf stood on the snowy hill, but it was large. Larger than any normal wolf. The size of a grizzly bear.

The wolf snarled, as others appeared. The horse neighed, and suddenly galloped. "Hurry Philippe!", Mr. Ackerman yelled fearfully.

The wolves chased them, and in the clearing they saw a gate. The horse went through it, and as soon as they did the wolves stopped.

Their paws skidded in the snow, but didn't dare cross the gate. They snarled, angrily, but then ran off back into the woods.

"That was close...I never knew wolves could grow that big", Mr. Ackerman stated, exhaling in relief. Philippe slowed down, panting.

Mr. Ackerman looked ahead of him, and his heart sunk. They were standing in the snowy courtyard of a large castle.

The castle was dark, and the towers touched the sky.

Mr. Ackerman got off the carriage, and untied Philippe from it. Hoping to get warmed up inside, Mr. Ackerman approached the front doors.

Just as he touched the door handle, a loud violent roar echoed. Philippe stood on her hind legs, neighing fearfully. The horse galloped away, frightened.

Mr. Ackerman turned to look, and he fell back, seeing the silhouette of a large monster. At first glance, the shadowy figure looked like a man, but it was much too large to be a man.

It snarled, its eyes glowing green as it towered over him.

"W-Wait please...!", Mr. Ackerman began, but the beast leaned down. It grabbed Mr. Ackerman with its large hand.

At the village, Mikasa sat on the grassy hill reading her book. She ran her hand through her black hair again, focused on her book.

She heard an urgent neigh in the distance. She glanced up, and to her shock it was Philippe. But the brown horse was not pulling a carriage.

"Philippe?!", Mikasa cried, getting to her feet. The horse was neighing urgently, covered in snow. Mikasa hurried over to her horse, and gripped the bridle.

"Philippe! What happened? Where's father?!", she asked fearfully, knowing something had to be wrong. The horse was extremely distressed.

Not wasting any time, Mikasa saddled the horse, and got on. "Take me to him", she ordered. The horse galloped towards the woods as Mikasa rode her.

Within no time, they were on the hidden path. Mikasa saw the castle ahead. She gripped the horse's reins, as they ran through the gate.

Not even thinking about the strange weather, Mikasa only worried for her father, her only remaining family.

She dismounted Philippe, and approached the front doors.

She took a deep breath, and then pushed them open. "Father?", she asked, her voice echoed throughout the empty castle.

She stepped inside. The entrance hall was dark, and it was cold inside. Like no one even lived here. It seemed abandoned.

"Look...a girl", a voice whispered. "What a beauty!", the voice exclaimed. "Quiet, you talking wax!", another voice snapped.

Mikasa's head turned sharply toward the direction of what she could have sworn was a voice.

"Who said that?", she demanded. But all she saw was a table with a candle and a clock. She must have been hearing things.

She lit the candle, lifting it up to see.

She walked slowly up the staircase. It was just as dark upstairs, if not darker. Again, no one. But she remained cautious.

As she walked up another flight of stairs, she suddenly heard a sound. Coughing. "Father!", Mikasa recognized his voice, and followed the direction of the noise.

It led her to a dungeon room. "Mikasa!", Mr. Ackerman cried, seeing her hurry in. He was in a prison cell.

"Father! What happened to you?!", cried Mikasa as she hurried to the bars, setting the candlestick down. "No time to explain, you must get out of here Mikasa!", her father demanded urgently.

"What?! I have to get you out of here!", Mikasa cried.

"NO! Mikasa, you have to LEAVE! Before he comes back...!", her father said urgently.

Suddenly, the entire room shook. Dust fell from the ceiling and walls. A low snarl was heard from the darkness, as the room continued to shake.

Mikasa looked into the darkness, but she only saw a large pair of green glowing eyes.

"Who are you?!", a monstrous angry voice snarled from the darkness.

"I've come for my father!", Mikasa replied, bravely. "He is MY prisoner now", the voice growled.

"Then let me take his place!", Mikasa requested. "Mikasa, NO!", her father yelled fearfully.

"I already lost your mother, I won't lose you too!", her father yelled urgently. "Father, I'm stronger than you!", Mikasa said back.

The creature hidden in the darkness growled loudly. Mikasa could feel hot air from just the monster breathing normally. It blew through her black hair.

"You would take his place?", the voice asked, sounding surprised...even confused.

"Of course...he's my father", Mikasa replied.

"You must understand...you will remain my prisoner forever", the hidden creature growled. Mikasa gripped her father's hand through the bars.

She focused hard, but couldn't see the creature in the darkness. There was a skylight in the room.

It was the brightest room she's seen yet in this castle.

"Come into the light...", she said. The creature hesitated. When suddenly the room shook again. Mikasa staggered back from how much the room shook as the beast walked forward.

Emerging out of the darkness was a large face. It looked human at first glance, but it had pointed ears, horrid teeth, and long brown hair.

Because the beast was so large, it was on its hands and knees to fit in the dungeon without his head hitting the ceiling.

It looked like an animal walking like that. It's glowing green eyes starred right into Mikasa's dark blue eyes, glaring.

Mikasa's heart sunk at the beast, she even gasped.

But the beast's eyes stopped glowing, and looked quite human. "Mikasa, no!", her father yelled fearfully.

Mikasa swallowed hard, taking deep breaths. "I'll take his place", she said. The beast growled lowly, and opened the cell door. Mikasa hurried in, embracing her father.

"Don't do this, Mikasa!", her father pleaded.

"I'll escape...I promise", Mikasa assured him, she threw him out of the cell, and closed herself in.

The beast snarled, and grabbed her father. Her father easily fit in the beast's fist, as he carried him out.