(DISCALIMER: All content of this story belongs to their respectful owners.)

1. Antonio
…For who could ever learn to love a beast...

Fairytales usually start off with the silly retellings of an old folk legend. Something of a poor and helpless character that is endanger, followed by the person reading the old legend getting them wrapped into the story by surprise. Then the reader becomes the legend's hero and the legend ends finally finishes with that whole 'once upon a time' and 'they lived happily ever after' charade. The difference for our protagonist was he knew about the story of the Beast. It wasn't something hidden from the rest of the world or known as just a story. It was a fact that someone in the woods just outside of their small little village had been turned into a horrible creature. The other difference was that… well… there was no one in need of saving- at first. The Beast was a cold, heartless monster that only had one goal: stay alone in the castle away from the villagers and do whatever it was that Beast did until it died.

The protagonist of this particular story has a name, as all of us do- no matter how one receives it. Normally, in stories such as these, the secret hero's name is supposed to be revealed at the end of the tale. But for the sake of effectiveness, his name shall be revealed: Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo, a twenty-one year old man who lives with his mother Elmira on the outskirts of their small village. He's often described as a walking ball of sunshine; a man with very little worries and always has a smile plastered to his face, no matter what the weather.

Today is no different: Antonio waving goodbye to a shop keeper as he walked out of their door with a basket of bread in hand. Malachite eyes glittered jovially as the tanned male walked the dusty streets of his Spanish town. A yawn escaped his lips every once in awhile, maybe a hand ran through his ear short chocolate curls. He looked like a normal man in all honesty. However, that didn't dismiss the awkward noises and shuffles of breaths as he walked along back to his own home, surely more rumors being spread about the man.

The sweet smell of basil and fresh garden herbs wrapped around him as Antonio opened the door to the cottage, a noise of satisfaction fleeting from the man's lips, shutting the door behind him. "Volví, madre!" Antonio called, setting the basket down on a table and glanced around for the source of life in his house. "Hola, sweet boy…" A tired voice called back to him.

Antonio turned his head to see a woman, much older than he was with graying hair sprouting from the bun of faded bark brown hair and sunken green eyes that had long lost its youth. Still, he smiled, walking up and hugging her. "How are the plants doing, mami?"

"The plants are doing fine, Antonio. Just like yesterday and the day before." She sighed, with a tired smile on her face, walking away from her son to a large fire place at the end of the room with a pot where a bubbling red mixture laid inside. Oh! Tomato sauce- his favorite! Despite his happiness about the tomatoes being in their dinner, Antonio couldn't help but still frown at his mother's tone and her actions. Antonio knelt down next to her as she started to stir the mixture. "You sound sad…" He opened his mouth to continue but his mother shoved a spoon in front of his face. "Stir." She dryly stated, slowly pushing up from the floor and shifting to the other side of the room to end up grabbing Antonio's loaf of bread he picked up at the market and start cutting it into slices.

Antonio frowned to himself but continued to stir the pot as he was asked and before long, deemed it stirred well enough and poured what men years later would call gazpacho onto the bread crusts. The brunet briefly noted that meat had been added to the plate. Elmira sat down in silence across from her son as he sat the large pot in the corner to be washed later and began to eat his own food. The silence became overbearing for Antonio. "Are you sure you're well enough, madre? I know you're supposed to leave town tomorrow but you don't have to go! I can go for you-"

"Antonio, I'll be alright." The middle aged widow smiled back to him, waving her hand in dismissal. "You don't have to worry about your old mother all the time, sweet boy. I just have to take a trip to the town over and I'll be back tomorrow."

"Si, madre…" The brunet shoved a cooled piece of tomato bread into his mouth and stared at Elmira for a long while, contemplating his next words. "It's just… I know you've been really lonely since dad died and…-"

Antonio wished the words had just receded back into his throat as he watched his mother's already dead eyes go dark and she stared back at her son. Guilt swelling up in his chest, Antonio tackled his mother and held her tight. "L-Lo siento, madre!" He nuzzled the woman's neck. "I didn't mean to bring it up! I just want to make sure you're okay and-"

"Antonio, shhhh…" Green eyes blinked as a withered hand began to rub gentle circles into his back, surprised to get this reaction from his mother. He remembered how much crying she did the day his father left their world for good. Antonio had only been ten when he came from the barn after feeding their livestock only to find his mother in tears and clutching his father's hand.

Antonio glanced to the side briefly as his mother pulled away from him. His untouched lute laid dust covered in the corner.

"I won't say I'm not lonely, Antonio, but I don't want you spending your whole life here taking care of me." His mother's soft voice broke their silence and the twenty one year old sighed as he was childishly kissed on his forehead. He smiled to himself. There were some things you can't just get away from, child or not.

"Sé que, madre…" The brunet sighed as he pulled away from himself and sat down in his chair to go and start eating once more. "It's just that I don't think I'm cut out for the simpleton life…" A load groan passed his lips. "No girl likes me here anyways and I don't think I could just spend my life doing the same thing over and over again and settling down with some woman!"

Antonio was graced with a snort from his mother and turned to see her malachite eyes alight with bemusement. "You should really rethink that Antonio. Destiny works in odds ways." An even rarer smile graced his mother's lips as she continued to pick at her small meal. Antonio paused to stare at her for a moment, head tilted in puzzlement and he shook his head, continuing their little altercation.

"But no girl even likes me!" A slice of tomato made it past the man's tongue and slowly into his stomach. "They all think I'm an idiot or that… I'd be no good in bed and that I'm too carefree to be able to hold up a marriage…" Antonio's face turned solemn and his mother sighed to herself, reaching over the table to pat her son's head. "Madre…" He frowned and looked up at her. "I just don't know why they won't give me a chance…I'm a kind person, right? It's odd that so many girls complain about their marriages because their husbands don't love them but when I try and be caring to another girl, I come off as some sort of disease no one wants to be around."

His mother cleared her throat, now finishing her food and went over to their basin to wash off the porcelain. "The offer still stands if you want to come with me, sweet boy. You might find the girl of your dreams at the next town over."

Antonio glanced at his mother and shook his head. "I want to madre but I need to take care of the house while you're gone. This is why I wish I could go to town and pick up things myself and you stay here!" He stood up with his barely finished plate and began polishing off the remains of the fruit and bread. "It would just be smarter…"

Elmira almost glared at her son, sighing to herself and setting the plates up to be used for their next meal. "Antonio- I really need to do this on my own. I need to get out of the house for awhile, alright?" She hugged her son for a fleeting moment before gesturing for the boy to follow her. "Now come and help me saddle Philippe, niño."

The brunet made a pout towards his mother but begrudgingly helped his mother out of the house and to the stables. He wasn't a child anymore… And he didn't act like one, did he? Their only stable horse, a brown colt immediately came out of his stall to greet them. After helping his mother get herself onto the surpringly tall animal, Antonio placed a bag full of food, a map and an oil lantern onto Philippe's saddle. "You sure you don't want me to go instead?" He asked his mother one more time and earned a frown and a shake of the head from Elmira. "Alright…" He frowned and kissed her cheek. "Come back safely, por favor? Te qiuero."

"Lo prometo, Antonio. Tambien te qiuero."

The sound of retreating hoof beats had never seemed so far away in all of Antonio's life.

…

Long hours passed, earning Elmira and Philippe a warm glow of the Spaniard's lantern as dark clouds and the moon's shadow loomed overhead. Dead tired eyes glanced upwards, sighing and continuing to walk the colt into a trot. "Just a little further, Philippe…" The elder smiled and patted the colt's flanks, much to the animal's delight. "I would say we should be at the village after one more turn and we can get you into a stall and out of the cold."

A snort of approval came from the barn beast and Elmira smiled warmly. It seemed easier to go about talking to her horse than her own son.

Elmira frowned at herself as the thought of her son crossed her mind. She worried about that boy in all honesty, as she should. Her son wasn't showing signs of finding a woman in his life or even showing signs of being able to take care of himself. He could go out of his way for someone else's safety and sacrifice his own happiness and would do anything for someone else if it meant their lives were better.

Elmira sadly looked amongst the trees. She was mostly worried about how her son would take care of himself when… she passed on. The thought struck a chord in Elmira's body as she wrapped her cloak tighter around her body.

The thoughts of her son dropped dead when she felt Philippe stiffen underneath his saddle and a large howl in the distance. "…Oh Dios." She immediately ushered cooing words to the colt but it was already startled and it began to take off in the other direction. "P-Philippe!" Elmira ordered, trying to regain a grip on her young horse but it was too late and her back met the unwelcoming ground as the beast stormed off in the other direction. "Philippe!" She screamed again, her voice going hoarse and the thirty-six year old woman went into a coughing fit on the ground.

The cold of the night was easier to bear when her horse was around her and, now that she noticed, her lantern still had oil in it. In the dim light of the night, Elmira saw with great sorrow that her lantern had broken when Philippe stormed off. Another cough escape the widow's lips and she weakly got herself off, brushing herself off and glanced around. She couldn't even see anymore. There were no sign posts, she didn't have a map and she couldn't see a clear path.

All that was for her viewing pleasure were large, withered trees and small streams of blue light coming from the moon.

"This cannot be happening…"

As if the world was mocking her- which it very well seemed like it at this point- more howls carried themselves through the trees, sounding closer. Dread swelled up in the Spaniard's stomach and to her horror, she saw patches of gray and black fur in the moonlight. It didn't even matter where she was going anymore; she had to get out of there.

Elmira raced through the woods as fast as her old bones could carry her without the occasional tripping on stone or a branch. If she was thinking coherently, she would've wondered how her cloak was able to fly behind her without getting caught by the wicked plants around her. Breath flew by her lips in short gasps as the beasts behind her quickly began to race after her.

The world gave Elmira a glimmer of hope however when the forest began to clear and the brunette was greeted with the full light of the moon. Jovially, the widow began to pick up her pace to the point where her bones ached and found herself at the edge of a small but steep cliff face. Elmira briefly noted that there was some sort of structure in the distance but more howls made the woman disdain the thought and make her way down the jagged rocks. As she hit the ground, her heart fluttered with relief to hear the faint scuffling of nails in the dirt. They were leaving…

Elmira sat on the ground weakly, stopped to catch her breath. After about five minutes of breathing, the Spaniard got herself back up again and stared wide eyed at the building before her.

Normally, Elmira would've gladly ran up to the castle and asked for any means of help but a thought occurred to her. Something was off about the castle. Voices of other villagers in their small town rang in her head about a castle in the woods but for the life of her, she could not remember the reason why.

Elmira sighed. She'd have to find somewhere else to stay in this weather…

Cold flakes landed amongst the brunette's nose and she blinked only to stare at the sky. Oh Dios… It was snowing. That wasn't going to help her if she was going to survive the night in the woods. Elmira wrapped her cloak tighter around her shivering body and began to walk away from the wrought iron gates in front of the old castle but was faced with even more horror when a loud growling came into her path.

The wolves hadn't retreated away. They only went down the other side of the cliff.

Faced with only once option, Elmira dove for the gates, managing to get the rusty lock around it to break and slammed it shut behind her. The beasts barked, yowling and pressing their bodies against the metal to try and break forth to attack the woman from behind. Her boots clung to the ground, trying to force the beasts from getting past her wall of defense. Please give up, mutts… She mentally prayed. Please!

Long moments passed at the dogs were still trying their hardest to get to the middle-aged woman. The brunette was faced with no other option. Letting go of the metal, she raced off towards the doors of the castle and threw them open before locking the wood behind her, safe and sound at last.

Her breathy gasps and the loud thumps of the door from the wolves filled the foyer of the castle as Elmira fought to catch her breath. Her lungs were on fire and her bones ached with a dull passion. Sweat began to trickle down her back, warm air finally circulating to her body. The thuds and thumps eventually began to die down and the woman finally got back up on her feet, stumbling about the castle.

It was so dark and it seemed even darker now than the forest. The only light of hope, literally, was the fact that several lit candlesticks lined the walls. "Hello?" Elmira called hoarsely. "Is anyone still here?"

"Go away! You're not welcome here!"

Elmira was snapped out of her state of trying to find her way around and immediately began to search around for the source of the voice. It sounded like it was coming from above her but… She looked overhead and only found the makings of a chandelier. The only other idea was that it was coming from all sides but that was just so incredibly ridiculous…

Fear settled into the back of the young woman's throat and she stopped her walking in order to see if she could beckon back the voice so she could find out. "P-Por favor, señor… Wherever you are…" Elmira gulped and looked around again. "T-There are wolves outside of your castle and I can't fight them off t-to get safely out… I don't have a horse or a lantern and it's highly u-unlikely I'll be able to find any other place to stay in this h-hour of the night… Can't you find it in your heart to let me stay here for the night? I d-don't care where it is so long as I have a roof on my head…"

There was a pregnant pause, a very unsettling one but eventually the voice resounded again, "Fine. You want to stay here?"

Elmira noted the fact that despite the husk around the male's voice, he sounded fairly young. She nodded to herself only to realize the man couldn't see her. "Si. I would…"

"Go upstairs to your left and down that hall; the last door on your left." The voice answered again and Elmira was left with the sound of footsteps.

The woman sighed relief, happy she somehow convinced someone she couldn't even see to let her blindly stay in their castle. If she hadn't been so tired and sore, Elmira would've honestly been more suspicious but the poor woman was in too much of a feebleminded state that she directly took a stairwell in front of her to her left like the voice told her to and took another left. She was greeted with another stairwell. In befuddlement, she slowly climbed her way up and was greeted with a bunch of stone walls, several different doors and one window carved in the stone of the parapet leading outside. "Que?..." She stared around to herself, still trying to process what seemed so off about the room she was in.

"Welcome."

Malachite eyes widened, letting out a yelp of being startled and turned slightly on her heel to see a shadowed figure standing at the stairwell. Before however she could make anything out, the figure stepped into a small ray of moonlight coming in from the cracks in the ceiling and her eyes widened it horror, only making out the color of red wine and two, what she assumed to be, eyes staring at her. "You said you didn't care correct?"

Elmira screamed as she was picked up by the back of her dress by claws and was thrown into one of the nearby rooms, feeling hay cushion her fall, the sound of a lock and receding footsteps from the bars at the bottom of the doors. Elmira's eyes were widened in terror as she watched through her only viewing box and she was left alone in the castle tower. Tears began to well up in her eyes and she sobbed. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have no realized it sooner?

She was sitting in the castle of the notorious Prince Lovino who had turned into a vicious and haggard beast after turning away and old woman to the cold. It turned out the woman was actually an enchanted fairy in disguise who saw there was no love in his heart; only selfishness and anger. He was left in the castle for the rest of his life until he died of old age and no one dared go after the beast because everyone feared him. It was even rumored that the beast had killed all of his old servants in anguish, leaving him all alone all those years.

Sobs wracked all parts of her body at the brunette criedagainst the stone of the walls. So this was how she was going to die, wasn't it? She was going to starve to death or be mutilated in some sick way. She was never going to see her sweet boy Antonio again and he was going to be left all alone, never knowing what happened to his poor mother.

Swollen green eyes stared at the top of the stone ceiling as her last words of the night bounced off the walls, "L-Lo s-siento E-Esta-b-ban… L-Lo s-sient-to s-sweet b-boy… I… I'm… I-I'm so sorry!"

The poor woman exhausted herself to sleep that night, crying too much for her mind and heart to take.

(A/N: Hi everybody! So the root of this new story was because I find it positively astounding how many people haven't written it where Lovino is the beast. I've seen several where Antonio is the beast and it just… unless it's conquistador!Spain/mentally unstable!Spain then it just doesn't work! I mean- the Beast from Beauty and the Beast was a selfish brat who was so spoiled he didn't have goodness is his heart and it makes more sense if you have Lovino be the prince! Yes- Spain still tops in this story but that's not the point. The point is you should always go with what personality fits- not what roles.

Reviews are very much appreciated and because I want to include a lot of things in this I would really like to see what you guys want to see happen in this one because I don't want to stay to the old, over-used Disney plot. O uO Also: Fanfiction won't let me but the realy title of this is supposed to be 'The Tomato Bastard and the Lovi' xD Enjoy and toodles everyone~)