Adam stared down at his hands. They and his new body were the epitome of the word monstrous. His hands were now the large, rough paws with sharp talons like that of some terrifying beast he had heard stories as a child of to scare him from straying into dangerous situations. Around him lay the shattered and broken remnants of his once handsome bedroom. Across from him was the crooked and now shredded portrait of himself. He had prided himself on his good looks that kept him superior to all of his people. Before this night, he had been, in his mind, a promising young prince that any lady in the court would have been dying to marry in just a few short years.
His parents were both dead. His mother had died giving birth to him so he only had a few paintings and stories from his servants and father to give him an idea of what she was like. His father had passed three years ago from an illness he had picked up from a hunting journey. His father had been strong yet caring king. He spent most nights sitting by the fireplace reviewing letters about the kingdom while Adam played at his feet. Occasionally, he would read some of the letters aloud and ask Adam what he would do in the matter. Adam had taken each of these as a test and would answer very seriously, which is why his father had often commented that he would one day be a great king. Since his father's death, Adam knew he had to step up as a future master and show no signs for anyone to pity him as some helpless orphan. He ruled his castle with little patience for mistakes; his servants were under his rule and to obey his wishes. His advisors and tudors had been shaping him to be ready to accept the power of his kingdom in full once he married. They believed that his subjects were less likely to accept immediate change in commandments from such a young prince, so soon after his father's death. By issuing few changes in political practice now, it would dissuade any who would try to take the power that had been destined to be his from birth. Once he was married to someone who could give him his own future heir, he could shape his kingdom into a better and stronger force and he would be his kingdom's symbol of power.
That future was now over. How could he find any female that would even consider letting him "earn her love". As his former self, he had everything to offer: He was handsome, powerful, rich, and had anything and everything he could ever want. Now, he was a beast; to anyone he would just appear as a feral fiend to be hated and feared. What does his curse even mean? What does loving another romantically really entail and what could some girl offer him to make her deserve his love? He supposed he liked his subjects and servants; they gave him everything he asked and obeyed his every order. The only person he had really ever felt strongly about had been his father, but that was as a father and loyal son. He couldn't imagine feeling even close to that strongly to another girl his age. The girls he had met in his life had really fallen into two categories, bland and obedient or dim-witted and poor, with the former always being the kind he envisioned one day marrying. He had always viewed marrying to be a necessary part of becoming a king and, in the end, the person he married would really only be someone else to give him what he needed and wanted. Now he needed to actually fall in love with a girl if he ever wanted to regain what he had lost.
He blamed that witch of an enchantress. How could he have known of her power and beauty from the initial old woman that had appeared at his castle's entrance? He knew he had been right to send her away. Now he made the logical argument in his head. She was a stranger and hadn't he always been told to be wary of strangers? Although at the time, he had initially sent her away because of wrinkled, misshapen features, but really, even that should had been a good reason, right? She could have had some disease and it could have spread through the entire castle, maybe even to him. The enchantress had made a mistake in changing him for his defensive action. It was also a punishment to his subjects by taking him away from them. Who would lead his kingdom now? He couldn't go out like this and be any kind of positive symbol to his subjects. The most he could do would be to send out messages to his advisors around his kingdom so they could implement his decisions. As long as he was like this, he would have to keep the plan of the practices of his father's rule. This was not to time to instigate a new order with him so naturally repulsive. There was now no need for his tudors. What was the point in him learning when he was like this? Anyway, he had always viewed learning as a pain to him. It was really just an opportunity for others to try to be superior to him as his teachers. He knew enough to rule anyway, anything more would just be a distraction from his true quest.
Following his transformation, there had been a great commotion all around his castle as all of his servants had been changed into objects. Adam saw this as another source of the enchantress' injustice. Like him, the servants had done nothing wrong and yet they had been changed just as he was. However he had already seen some advantage and logic to the transformations of the servants. As objects, they would never be able to leave him and would now literally act as objects of his disposal. When they had seen his transformation, most had been terrified and ran for cover. Mrs. Potts had been the only one to still see him as the prince he had been and began bringing order back to the castle while helping the other's cope with their changes. Adam really thought the servants had a better result; at least they were recognizable as normal objects, but he was something else, something mysterious and disturbing.
Adam glanced over at the glowing rose he had placed under glass on a small table before he had begun his raged rampage in his room. Currently, that table was the only truly whole thing in that room. He needed to keep that rose safe at all cost; it was now the embodiment of his curse and his only source for salvation. If he ever managed to find someone to "love", then he would need that rose. He couldn't let anyone else touch it. No one but him really knew how vital that rose was and if they touched it, something could go wrong. Then, no matter what he did, he would be trapped in this form with no escape. Right now, the rose was blooming with a faint pink glow emanating from it and giving the only light in the dark room, but he knew in ten years it would wither along with his chance of being human again. Ten short years to find a girl to love him. Adam looked away disgusted; the odds at finding real love as a human were miniscule, as this thing, the curse was really a mocking joke to torment him over the next ten years. Next to Adam, was the magical mirror that supposedly would show him anything he wanted. So far, he had only taken one horrified glance at himself through it and hadn't touched it since. Although, really this had been the only real gift the enchantress had given him. As a monster, he couldn't actually go out into the world; he would have to isolate himself in the safety of his castle. This would give him the opportunity to see how his kingdom was. The rose and the mirror were now his only treasured possessions and would be until either the curse was broken or the ten years were over and then nothing would matter to him.
Adam sat in despair for most of the night letting these thoughts build in his head. After a few hours, he heard a timid knock at his door and Mrs. Potts voice call.
"Young master Adam? Do you need anything or something to eat?"
Adam gave a harsh laugh. He walked on all fours to the door and opened it, "How can you even call me by my name anymore? Look at me!" He yelled to the now porcelain Mrs. Potts as he gestured to himself.
Mrs. Potts offered a comforting smile, even though she was obviously scared whether by his appearance or his anger, "It'll be alright. Once we find a young maiden that completes you this will all melt away and everything will be as it should be."
"Who can complete this?" Adam asked again looking down at his paw of a hand.
"Young master Adam, you mustn't lose faith…" Mrs. Potts tried to begin as Adam interrupted her while shaking his head.
"Adam…My father always said that meant 'Man' and my mother gave it to me to show I would one day be a great man all would know…it's a cruel joke now. Leave me. Tell everyone to just leave me alone now!" Adam growled angrily as he slammed the door shut. He stomped over to the remnants of his bed and sat down. For a few minutes following he could still see the round shadow obscuring the light under his door before eventually he heard the clinking as Mrs. Potts made her way back down the hall. She couldn't understand his pain.
He would never be a man again. The future prince named Adam he had been was dead and all that remained was a beast. That was what he was now just a…
Beast.