Beauty and the Beast

Authors Note: I've always loved Beauty and the Beast. Just the thought of love being able to prevail over appearance still gives me comfort. I was also enchanted with the fact that Beauty wasn't a princess, but a normal village girl who had her nose in the books. So I've decided to write my own version of this fairy tale.

*Prelude*

Once, in an age without time, there was a vast kingdom. The royal family consisted of a king, queen and a young prince. His name was Prince Conan. The King and Queen, though good and fair rulers did not succeed at raising their son. They were very busy with diplomatic affairs and all matter of things concerning running a kingdom. So the young Conan was left to the care of castle servants. He learned a good deal of history and philosophy, but he was never taught values, or pity, or love. His parents were not with him often enough to show any real affection for the boy, and none of the servants actually cared for Conan. As he grew, he proved to be the very best at jousting and swordplay, so he was knighted at the very young age of 14. That year between his fourteenth and fifteenth year, his parents decided to let him prove himself able to care for the country, while they went off to visit another kingdom for the year. They concluded that since he was such a wonderful scholar

and knight, that he would prove to be an able and just ruler. But it was not so.

The Story Begins

So the young Prince Conan was left to his own will in that country. For the first few weeks, the people of that country did not notice any change in the way things were handled, and were content that they would have another ruler and good as the last. But, a month after Prince Conan had taken over, things began to happen. Signs were posted in every village. These signs proclaimed the new laws set in motion by Prince Conan. Some laws actually showed some thought, such as the one banning children from entering the forests after 5 o'clock, but others were terrible, made to satisfy Conan's own greed. He imposed taxes to pay for tournaments, held large feasts for the noble men, but made the villagers provide the food for them. He even began forcing some people to work for him in the castle to satisfy his need for servants at all times. That year was a hard one indeed for the people under Conan's rule, and some decided to do something about it.

In the village of Bryden Lwyd, the people knew something had to be done. This town was the closest to the royal castle, and so took many of Conan's hardest blows. They bore it with dignity and grace however, until the greatest evil of all came to them. Prince Conan declared that many of his soldiers were in need of a wife, and that any unmarried peasant woman they chose would have to consent to be their wife. Since Bryden Lwyd was closest, its young maidens became the first object of this terrible proclamation. The leaders of the village called a meeting to decide what had to be done. Many men were there, all shouting their opinions.

"Conan must be stopped!" A father of one of the unlucky girls shouted.

"Indeed he must! But what can we do?"

"We can do nothing. Only Aisling can help us."

"But how can we convince her? She only helps in times of great peril,"

"And what do you call this Lewis? This is a time of great peril!"

"Who will travel to her home to ask of her?"

"I shall." The father who had spoken before now offered to find the enchantress Aisling.

"Do you know the way?"

"I shall find her."

"Good luck to you man."

And so, the brave man set off to find Aisling, the enchantress. He had a vague idea of which direction to go, and whenever the road went off in many directions, something inside him told him the correct one to take. So he walked on for many miles for many days. His road was hard, and he often lost hope of finding the elusive Aisling. But soon, the rood led him out of the forest he had been in for many days, and ahead of him stood a large mountain, and atop of it was a palace, which he knew belonged to Aisling the moment he saw it. He struggled all through that night to climb that terrible mountain, and as dawn's first light crept over, he reached the top. He walked wearily up to the great doors, and as he put his hand onto them, they opened without any trouble. In the center of the grand hall stood Aisling. She was tall and graceful, and though no age showed clearly in her face, you could tell that she was wise.

"Welcome."

"Thank you."

"Why have you come?"

"I have a great favor to ask of you on behalf of all the young maidens in my country."

"The plague of Conan."

"Indeed, you know of it?"

"I have been watching it with great displeasure or some time, and now that you have come, I will do something about it."

"Thank you!"

"Go home now. I believe you will find the road is less tiring when you leave here."

"Thank you!"

So the man went home, content with the knowledge that his daughter's grievance would be justly punished. And he was right.

On Prince Conan's fifteenth birthday, there was great celebration. All the soldiers who had selected a woman to be their wife were to be married that day, after a great feast and tournament. The castle was decorated with every sort of expensive thing imaginable, all bought with tax money of course. The feast promised to be the best yet, and the tournament had all the greatest knights of the land. After the tournament, in which Conan took great joy, the entire party of noblemen, knights, soldiers, noble women, and wives to be, went back to the castle for their feast in the great hall. A few minutes after they had sat down, and the feast was just beginning, a servant came up to Conan.

"Yes?"

"There is an old woman at the door milord, and she says she wishes to partake in your feast in exchange for a rose." Conan scoffed.

"A rose? Tell her to leave. Actually, I am in a good mood, so tell her she can go to the kitchen and get a loaf of bread there."

"Yes milord." Conan went back to talking with his guests and eating the delicious food that had been taken from the people. A few minutes later, the servant came back.

"What is it now?"

"Milord, the old woman says that she will not leave. She wishes to partake in the feast still, in exchange for a rose."

"Abominable woman! Take me to her." The servant led Conan to the woman. She was standing on the steps of the castle, dressed in rags with a blanket draped over her shoulders.

"What do you want hag? I have offered to give you bread in my kitchen. Do not trouble me further, I have a feast and weddings to go to."

"I wish to partake-"

"Yes, I know. You wish to partake in the feast in exchange for a rose. Can you see my gardens down there? I have more roses than I care for! Now leave, before I use force." Suddenly, the old woman stood straighter, her shriveled features removed to reveal a beautiful face. Her rags had changed to a beautiful gown and Prince Conan realized his mistake.

"Prince Conan, I am Aisling, the enchantress."

"I am sorry for my rudeness. If you still wish to join my feast-"

"Be quite! Prince Conan, you have become a monster to this country. You have become so evil, that you would not offer such a small thing as a place at a feast for an old woman. But this is not your most grievous act! Oh no, there is one far worse. You have given young women to men that they do not love, forsaking their feeling for your and your soldier's pleasure. And since you cannot seem to understand the concept of love, around that shall my curse be based." Prince Conan's usually handsome face turned white.

"Curse?" he gasped.

"As of now, you shall become on the outside what you are on the inside. A beast. And so you shall remain until you love a girl, and she loves you despite your hideous form. If this does not happen before your twenty-first birthday, you will be doomed to life as a beast. This rose, which you refused before, shall be your clock. When the last petal falls, you will know that there is no hope or time left." She pointed a finger at him, and in an instant he changed from a handsome young man into the most hideous creature imaginable. He yelled in horror but it came out as a roar. The servant was backed up against the wall in terror. Aisling gently said to him,

"It's all right. Go tell the guests to leave. Make sure they leave through a different entrance." The servant left.

"Now, Prince Conan, there will be a spell laid over this castle. You will be left here alone except for a few servants. These aren't your old servants. These are servants crafted from the magic of this very spell, to be your only company while the enchantment lasts, be it for the next six years, or the rest of your pathetic, miserable life. Good luck, though you don't deserve it." She disappeared in a flash of white light. Prince Conan, or the Beast, fell onto the steps of the cursed castle.

When the king and queen returned, they found all in disarray. It appeared that on the night of their son's birthday, Aisling had appeared and cursed their son. The royal castle was also under the enchantment, as all could see. Though it had once been beautiful, decked out in white marble and statues everywhere, it was now dark, and forbidding. The King and Queen immediately accepted the fact that their son was doomed, because as everyone knows, an enchantress never lays a big curse like this unless there is a reason, and because enchantments are impossible to undo by ordinary means. They moved their court to the other part of their kingdom and started over. A year later, they had a daughter, so the royal line was preserved, and they removed their destroyed son from memory and records.

And so it has been, these five years. The Beast has been living in the enchanted castle, awaiting the day a maiden would come, or the last petal on the rose would fall.