a/n: CORRUPTING YOUR CHILDHOOD. PLEASE STAND BY. Oho, ladies and gents, I've done it again. I've successfully combined Final Fantasy with Disney's Beauty and the Beast; FangxLight edition. I warn you readers, the prologue, in true Disney fashion, begins with those famous words "Once" and "upon" and "time"
You have been warned…although; the story won't be Disney-cliched. Without further adieu…
Prologue:
In the Lowerworld of Gran Pulse, a land estranged to Cocoon, a young empress lived in a grand temple. Although she had everything her heart desired, the empress was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter's night, an old beggar from a neighboring village came to the gates of the temple and offered her the gift of eternal life in exchange for shelter and food. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the empress sneered at the gift and turned the old beggar away, but she warned her not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. The empress dismissed her a second time, yet when she did, the old beggar's ugliness faded away to reveal a beautiful goddess. Enraged, the goddess branded her with the mark of the hated l'Cie, and said to the empress, "You have disgraced yourself, and for that, you must suffer the consequences. But I am not heartless," The Goddess formed a crystal shard from the petals of a nearby rosebush and offered it to the young woman. "You have been given a Focus to complete. Find a girl in need, nurture her and protect her. From nurturing, friendship will grow, and from friendship, love."
The empress asked of her fate if she should fail, to which the Goddess replied, "Fail, and you live eternity as a Hellish monster."
The Empress, desperate to remain human, begged the goddess to forgive her, but it was too late, as the goddess had seen that the empress had no love in her soul. The Goddess, as punishment, transformed the empress into a hideous beast, and placed a powerful spell over the temple, and all who lived there.
The Empress, ashamed of her monstrous form, locked herself inside her temple, with only the shard of crystal to show her the outside world. The mark given by the goddess was feared, and would continue to grow until the empress' twenty-first birthday. If she could learn to love, and earn love in return by the opening of the eye, then the mark would vanish and her Focus would be complete. If not, she would be doomed to becoming Cie'th for all time. As the years passed, she fell into despair, and lost all hope, for who could ever love a beast?