Chapter 1

We all grow up hearing fairy tales and we all know the story of "Beauty & the Beast", well this story has all ways been in my family because it is the story of my great, great, great grandparents. What you do not know is that the spell that was on my great, great, great granddad was not gone. See the wizard was mad that his spell had been broken and came back to put a new spell on my family. Just like before the spell did not take hold right away, and it was on all of us not just one and this time women could be turned in to a beast if our heart was not as pure as we thought then we would become a beast. This is my story and I am a beast.

Today is my 19th birthday and I must take the "TEST". My three older siblings are here, all three of them have passed the "TEST". They all believe I will too, but I am not as sure as they are I am scared. Emmett is the oldest and is 28 and is married to a Lady Rose with two kids Grace and Jasper, Eragon is next at 25 and is married to a Lady Anna, who is with child, and Alice is next at 22 and is about to marry a Lord Jackson. If I fail then I will become a beast and Alice will not be able to marry and if Eragon and Anna will not have the child, that is if they stay with me. If I fail, they will have to state if they will stay or not. If they stay, they will become invisible and be that way until I am freed and that may not be for two hundred years or so. Many say I am like my great granddad and he was a beast for so long he aged from 19 to 39, one year for every ten years as a beast. I will be tested in an hour right now I am sitting in my tea room looking out at the woods that only appear on the 19th birthday of someone in my family they are normally gardens.

"Isabella, I found you at last. You need to get ready for the test in an hour! You know Lord Casey will be here later today for the engagement party," said Alice. I do not wish to marry Lord Casey but it was my father's wish for me to marry his friend's son when I turned 20. "Alice what if I fail what will you do? Will you leave so you can marry or will you stay and suffer with me? I do not want to let anyone down by failing this test." I tell her, she is looking at me with a face that tells me she does not believe I will fail. "You will not fail dear Isabella; you are as sweet as honey and as innocent as a breeze. So there is no way for you to fail. But just so, you know I have spoken with Jackson and we will stay. We can wait for a bit before we get married. You are so pure and good that if you fail then tons of young men will come to try to free you. It does not hurt that you are very beautiful too."

She is sweet but I do not think they would come to save me. "I am not as sure as you but I believe you." I tell her, she just pulls me out of my tearoom of blue walls and silks to my room next door. It is a room for a princess it has a huge canopy bed with dark blue silk comforter, blue silk drapes pulled back right now tied in with violet silk. The carpet is blue with a hint of violet. Alice is looking for a riding gown for the test. "Here this one is just right for this day." She says holding out a blue silk riding gown with white lace and a sheer scarf, it is one of my favorites. She helps me into the dress then we go back into the tearoom. "Isabella, are you afraid you will fail because of your temper?" Alice asks me. "Yes, Alice I am afraid of failing because of my temper. You know I cannot control it not one bit. I know you and Eragon have tempers as well but the two of you can control your tempers. I just do not know if mine is going to make it to where I fail or not." I can see she is just realizing the chance of my temper being my downfall. Eragon walked in to my tearoom.

"How are you doing Isabella? Evening Alice, I see you have her dressed. Isabella I have come to let you know that if you fail Anna and I will leave so that the child can be born. I wish we could stay but with her being well with child we cannot stay." He looks sad as he said this so I know he would stay if he could. We use to be close but Anna does not like me for some unknown reason. I have tried to be friendly with her but it just made it worse so I stopped. "I also wish to wish you luck Isabella." After he said this, he turned and left the room.

"Do not worry Isabella, you will pass. Emmett and Rose have talked to me and let me know that they will stay here with the children if you did fail." Alice tells me this to try to cheer me up but it mad at the wizard that put this spell on my family, but I am thankful for my family being so supportive of me even if I mess up at times. She walked out after saying that and I am on my own.

"It is time to go down My Lady," said my maid Leah. I am not sure if I would go down if it were not for her. "Thank you Leah. I pray I am ready for whatever happens weather I pass or fail." I see she is not shocked at this. "I think you should know that except your brother Eragon's servants, we will all stay with you if you pass or fail." She looks sure of what she says so I believe her. There are five families working as servants under my family's control if you can call it control that is. I am so lucky to have a family and servants that love me so much they would become invisible or objects around the palace if I fail. I wish that it were just the two families that work here at the main palace of my family that would stay so that my family would not suffer with me during the time I am a beast. I have not told them this because they would be upset that I would ask them to leave because they might think I did not want them around me. There is one other thing I have not told them and it is I do not want to marry Lord Casey, see he has a bad temper and has been known to hit women if they angered him so I am afraid to marry him.

As we walk down the hall to the main entrance, I cannot even begin to think of a way to thank all of them if I fail and if I am ever freed that is. As we enter the stairway to the main entrance, I see my family, I wish more than ever that my mother, and father was here. My mother died when I was five giving birth to our little brother Mikael, he did not make it he died two weeks later. Father died three years ago, he had been sick for a few years and passed in the night. Alice and I have lived here since by ourselves except for the servants that is. I really prey that I pass because my great granddad was here for 200 years.

"Let's go." Emmett said smiling at Rose. They are a shocking couple he is tall and built with brown curly hair and eyes, while she is tall and slim with long blond hair with bright blue eyes. Their twins are shocking in looks to Grace is following in Rose's build with Emmett's hair and Rose's eyes; Jasper is following Emmett in build with Rose's hair and Rose's hair and Emmett's eyes. You would never know they were twins if you saw them and did not know what their parents looked like; they are only six years old and they are so great they play well with the young kids of the servants, even though they are royalty. Eragon is tall and built, not as big as Emmett, with black hair and blue eyes. Anna is tall and skinny, not as tall or as slim as Rose is. "Yes. Can we get this over with I want to eat soon and before the food gets cold." Anna is getting grumpy. "Anna, honey, please understand this cannot be rushed." Eragon said. "I know it can seem like it is taking forever Anna. Just be calm and it will go faster," said Alice. Alice is only 5' and has black hair with blue eyes. Her fiancée Jackson is tall and built but still slim he is Rose's cousin, he has blonde hair and dark blue eyes.

Looking at them, I feel bad that I know if I fail, they will stay with me. I will not see Eragon, Anna, or even the child that has not been born yet. We go out to the garden, mount our horses, and set out. We are almost to the woods now; I canter ahead so that they cannot see my face. I just know it is not one I want them to see. I reach the edge of the woods and stop so that my family could catch up to me. When they caught up, I looked at them and saw that all of them were a little scared at being this close to the woods. I make my horse go forward and enter the woods and then there I a quake and my horse rears up and I fall off and start to change into a beast. My family starts to state if they will stay or go and I hang my head in shame.

So here, I am watching Eragon, Anna and some of the servants leave from my tearoom. "Isabella, please do not worry. You are still you even if you look different it does not change who you are." Alice tells me. "Alice face it because of me you cannot get married till the spell is broken, and there is no telling how long it will take." I wish they had left so that they could have gotten married.