A/N: Back at it again! I really enjoyed writing my The Little Mermaid AU, and since I have a three-day weekend, I took a shot at writing another fairy tale AU, this time Beauty and the Beast. I'm going to make this one a little closer to the Disney film, but I've still made changes according to the characters and set this in a more vaguely industrial age. I hope you enjoy!

Some say you can hear anguished cries in the castle. They say they are the spirits of the king and queen, who departed the world so many years ago.

Others would argue the castle has been abandoned for years, and that it is an old wives' tale told to warn children not to wander too far into the forest.

The truth, however, was buried so long ago that nobody thought to uncover it - or cared. It told of the princes, the elder of which was meant to take the throne after the sudden deaths of their beloved parents. It told of the wounded old woman who sought refuge in their grand castle and their benevolence, offering her healing and a safe haven in midst of the blizzard.

The old woman soon revealed herself as an enchantress who found their generosity most useful. She took every advantage of it, manipulating the princes and their servants to meet her every need and desire. The younger prince, who longed for escape from this, slipped poison in her drink one night in hopes of sickening her enough to regain control of their lives and their kingdom.

The enchantress with her magic was not afflicted, of course, but she had certainly known what the young prince had done. As punishment, she lay a curse on all those residing in the castle, particularly the soon-to-be king for failing to properly bring up his brother and subjects. She raised a forest as a barrier between the world and the castle. With him, she left an enchanted mirror and her most cherished rose. To break the curse and be free to reign his kingdom, the elder prince was prompted to bring someone into the castle to fall in love with him before the rose wilted and the last petal fell.

This would not have been a difficult task had the enchantress not transformed him into a hideous monster, sure to frighten anyone who dared to look. After all, she thought with a smirk before she left, who could ever love a beast?

...

GoGo Tomago would never leave the cottage if she had the choice. Alas, her baker of an aunt seemed to need groceries quite frequently. Furthermore, the library was on the other side of town. Of course, her name wasn't really GoGo Tomago and her aunt wasn't really her aunt. "Tomago" had come from someone mishearing her surname (Tanaka), while the villagers had seemed to coin the nickname "GoGo" from the way she rushed back and forth between the library, the market, and her home.

The woman she called Aunt Cass had taken her in as a ward after her parents had been lost in a fire. Neither were too comfortable at the prospect of Cassandra being a mother, so "Aunt Cass" worked just fine. Not that GoGo spoke too frequently, anyway. She hadn't since the fire.

To avoid smalltalk and awkward greetings with the other villagers, she would bury her nose deep into her book as she strode down the cobbled path, pretending she couldn't hear the fleeting whispers and gossip of the town.

"Look, there she goes!"

"That girl is strange, no question!"

If it wasn't constant reading and walking, it was the silence. (Most of the villagers thought she was mute for a while.) If not the silence, then the dyed streak in her hair on which Aunt Cass insisted on changing the color every month or so - just another one of her quirks. If not the streak, her short stature or the fifty pounds of groceries hauled on her tiny shoulders or rude demeanor. Either way, every hushed criticism was the same.

"Look, there she goes, that girl is so peculiar."

"I wonder if she's feeling well!"

Distantly she thought she heard a loud bang and looked to the source. Grey smoke lifted into the sky, indicating Alistair Krei was on one of his hunting expeditions again. GoGo scoffed and continued along her way. It was only a few moments later that she felt the book snatched out of her hands and her eyes met a leering man with slicked hair and a rifle slung on his back.

"Good morning to you, little lady," he greeted in an oily voice. When GoGo merely responded with a blank stare, he began flipping through the book. "Hrrm. Technological Advancements Throughout The Ages."

Muscles tensing, GoGo pressed on her tiptoes and swiped the book back, safely tucking it under her arm and unapologetically glaring at Krei.

"Touchy today, aren't we? I do hope you've rethought my offer - "

"No," GoGo said firmly, glancing over his shoulder for her aunt's bakery just down the street.

"No? Goodness, girl, you're wasting an opportunity! I've seen the work you put out, the innovative ideas flying out of your head a mile a minute! In such an industrial age, it'd be such a waste of a talent to not work for my factory - "

"I don't care." Leave Aunt Cass? Slave away for someone else for the rest of her life? Never.

"Now, GoGo, surely you don't want to babysit your loony aunt forever."

GoGo felt her stomach churning, and without a moment's thought she grabbed her book and raised her arms as high as she possibly could, whacking him in the head. She had just enough time to scurry back to the bakery while Krei moaned and clutched his head as onlookers tut-tutted and scowled in disapproval of the foolish girl.

...

The little maiden had to shove her way through several customers who shouted, "Hey, watch it!" in frustration, but she was still infuriated by that tycoon's behavior and wasn't in a mood to apologize.

"Hey, sweetie," Aunt Cass greeted, pulling fresh buns from the oven. "Got those groceries I asked you for?"

GoGo dumped the bags on the counter where other loaves and pastries rested and dusted off her black dress.

"Uh-oh. What's wrong now?"

"What isn't wrong with that ward of yours?" grunted a middle aged man, taking some sourdough bread. "Perfectly marriageable age and all she does is stick to her books! Speaks not a word!"

"I'd watch what you were saying if I were you," Aunt Cass cautioned, narrowing her eyes at him.

"She's pretty enough is what I'm saying," he retorted as he started for the door. "Shame to waste it."

The door slammed, hitting the bell above it. When the last of the ringing stopped, GoGo slumped on the stool by the stove and kettle, book dangling in her hand.

"You've read that book twice," the baker remarked, propping up an arm on the counter. "And I'm pretty sure I saw an overdue book on your desk."

Her ward shrugged.

"I'm surprised they don't just hand ownership of the library to you by now. Are you even done with half the ones you've borrowed?"

"Just finished yesterday," she mumbled, tracing squiggles in the crumbs.

Aunt Cass sighed. "Krei giving you a hard time?"

GoGo flicked one of the crumbs in response.

"Working for his factory doesn't sound too terrible, you know. Sounds perfect for you." She knocked on the oven. "Would've cost a fortune to buy a new one if you hadn't fixed the ol' girl up.

"But that's not what I want!" GoGo blurted. "What am I supposed to do? Machine maintenance? Give him complete reigns on all my ideas? That's stupid! I want more than this provincial life, Aunt Cass! I have to leave this dump - " She stopped herself, watching her aunt's expression. "I didn't mean it that way."

Her aunt only smiled fondly and mussed her hair. "I didn't raise you to keep you cooped up here forever, you know." She reached for one of the sweet rolls on display and tossed it to GoGo, who stared at it. "Eat! I know how much you like 'em."

GoGo juggled it between her hands awkwardly before popping it in her mouth. She then brushed the bread crumbs off the counter and into the bucket of leftover or burnt food meant for the pigs.

"I have some more ideas on building passenger-carrying machines," GoGo mumbled, "if you'd like to see."

Aunt Cass took her ward's hand and patted gently. "I'd love that."