Hey, folks. So, I've had this idea in mind for a while and finally decided to write it down: a beauty and the beast AU. Why, you may ask? Because a. Hugh Jackman was in the original Australian broadway cast as Gaston, and b. It really works well with the characters. Lionel and Beast both start out only caring for themselves (though the former is less aggressive than the latter) and Adelina and Belle both yearn for adventure, something far more grand than the life they currently live. If that doesn't scream a perfect fit, then I don't know what does.
Also, as for the crossover thing: since there aren't a lot of supporting characters for Missing Link, I've had to make due with other laika characters for the servants and some cameos from other stopmotion films for the villagers, while I'm using an OC as Adelina's father. Oh, and the songs are kept in too along with a few additions from the broadway show.
With that out of the way, let the fairytale begin!
Once upon a time, within a far off place in England, there lived a handsome investigator of mythical creatures in a magnificent mansion. Coming from a well-off background and having traveled around the world many times, he had everything his heart desired – things a person could only dream of having. He had several assistants and valets, including his loyal partner Susan whom he had met on one of his explorations in the Pacific Northwest, many maps to various hidden, extravagant lands and many more artifacts, trinkets and other pieces gathered from his travels… and yet, despite being surrounded by these riches, the man was prideful and selfish, not caring about anyone else but himself.
But then, on a bitter winter's evening after the stroke of one, there was a knock on the two mansion doors. The man went to go open the doors and see for himself who this unexpected visitor was, finding a lone elderly beggar standing at the doorstep. His nose wrinkled up in disgust at the sight of her. Her faded brown hair was tangled and filthy, her skin was crinkled and chapped, one of her eyes was shut while the other was wide open and her cloak was ragged and torn.
"Pardon me, good sir," she croaked. "I do not come here asking for much, just a bit of hospitality… I apologize for disturbing you, but it is terribly cold out here." She pulled out a rose, which seemed to shine a little. "If you would be so kind as to let me in, then I will pay you with this rose in exchange for shelter."
"A rose?" He glanced at the rose for a moment, before looking back at her. Repulsed by her ugly appearance, he waved her off dismissively. "I have no use for a flower, now begone from my sight."
"Please, sir, do not be fooled by a mere appearance," she warned him. "Beauty is not found by simply looking at someone, it is found within. It lies within the heart."
"What could you possibly know about true beauty?" he scoffed, then motioned for her to leave once more. "I've said this before, and I will not say it again: leave now, or I will be forced to escort you off this land myself."
Upon being dismissed again, the beggar's ugliness melted away to reveal a young girl of eleven years with long hair, pale blue eyes and a long dress. Her entire body was surrounded by a golden glow, making her look as though she were a ghost. This was a sight that he had read of and heard in tales when he was a small lad, but never thought he'd see: a witch, a woman with supernatural powers. His face grew more pale than it already was at this. He fell to his knees, bringing his hands together as the young witch drew closer with her glow.
"Forgive me, young miss," he pleaded for her forgiveness. "I did not know that–"
"It's too late, Sir Frost!" she interrupted him. "You have been deceived by your own cold heart, and as punishment: a curse upon your house and all within it! Until you have found one to love you as you are, you shall forever remain… a beast."
A loud cry of pain tore out of his throat as he felt his body transform. His suit nearly ripped from how larger he grew, black fur pouring out of the small tears in his clothes.
The other residents within the mansion were transformed soon after, losing their humanity as they were swiftly turned into nothing but walking, talking creatures. The once glorious mansion lost its shine, turning into a dark and desolate place.
Ashamed of his grotesque form, the man hid himself away in his mansion, with only a magic mirror that the witch had gifted to him as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, working as an hourglass of sorts. If he could learn to love another and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken… if not, he would be doomed to remain a monstrous beast for all time.
As days bled into months and months became years, the creature who had once searched the world for fantastical beasts fell into a great despair and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love a beast?
—
The sun rose up into the sky, shining down and castings its rays of light upon the world below it. Roosters crowed loudly, signaling that it was time to get up and start the new day.
The front door of a cozy little house opened, revealing a young woman in a fancy purple dress by the name of Adelina. She was a pure beauty blessed with chestnut brown skin, jade green eyes, intelligence and more. Holding a small basket with a book and map in it, she breathed in the fresh morning air and began her walk into town, ready to begin her morning routine.
A couple of years ago, she and her father – Félix – had moved from their home in Puebla, Mexico to a small town in England for a fresh new start, to help with the inventor's career. She thought coming to this small town would be a new adventure for her, but instead she found that the town was only diverse in appearance and that in reality, everyone here went by the same routine each and every day. The merchants and businessmen sold their goods, men and women traded gossip, children played around the streets when there wasn't any school– there was nothing new or exciting as everyone just simply did the same thing over and over again.
It didn't help that most of the townsfolk found her odd either, because while they did consider her pretty, they found her odd for her taste in maps, books and adventure. In their eyes, adventure was mostly men and women didn't bother with it as they were meant to be either wives, mothers, seamstresses, cooks, teachers, opera singers– everything but a headstrong, thrill-seeking adventurer who loved maps and books about escapades.
But that was who Adelina was. Ever since she was a little girl, she wanted to be a part of something much greater than the provincial life planned for her. She dreamed of adventure, of exploring far-off places and creating new maps, of journeying through the world and making new discoveries– of being just like the heroes from the stories she'd read as a child. At her very heart, at her core, she was an adventurer through and through.
The only one who seemed to understand her was her father, who had indulged in her fantasies when she was a small girl, buying her maps and allowing her to have her own fun little 'journeys' in their old hometown… then again, the townspeople also thought he was rather odd for his inventions. Perhaps it was this reason that he out of all the people in town understood how she felt, so she didn't let the townspeople's words get to her. Instead, she held onto the hope that one day, her father's inventions would get them somewhere, somewhere far from this town. Maybe then, her adventure would begin at long last.
But until that day came, she would have to make due with the small adventures she had within the country and accommodate to the daily routine she was restricted to, so she kept her head up and crossed the bridge, into the provincial village.
Little town, it's a quiet village
Every day, like the one before
Little town, full of little people,
Waking up to say…
As if on cue, the villagers all opened their windows, stepped out of their homes and exchanged their morning greetings.
Bonjour!
Good morn'!
Ohayō!
Good morning!
G'day!
Adelina weaved between the villagers, her eyes focused on a Japanese man pushing a cart with trays of desserts and sweets such as mochi, taiyaki, daifuku and castella.
There goes the baker with his tray like always,
The same old food goes out to sell
Every morning, just the same,
Since the morning that we came
To this poor provincial town…
"Ohayō gozaimasu, Adelina," the baker, Hashi, greeted her in his native tongue, giving the traditional bow of the head. He wasn't someone to shy away from as he was a kind fellow, though sometimes he seemed more interested in the stories she could tell rather than her actual day.
Adelina jumped over to the bakery. "Buenos días, Hashi," she returned the greeting, bowing her head.
"Where are you off to?" he asked her.
"Professor Watanabe's," she replied, holding up the items from her basket. Remembering the book she had read made her go off on an eager rambling about it, "I just finished the most wonderful story, about a man who explores the world within a single day and–"
"Sounds very nice," Hashi interrupted her suddenly. "How about you continue your little story later, by the fountain? I know the kids will love it, and I do too but right now, I've got a couple of orders to take." He looked over his shoulders and bellowed to his wife, "Minae, the melonpans! Hurry up!"
Adelina rolled her eyes and would have continued her stroll, had it not been for a voice piping up, saying, "Sounds like a nice story."
She looked around and saw the local blacksmith standing nearby, leaning on some wood. "Oh, hola, Hanzo."
"Konnichiwa to you too, Adelina," Hanzo returned the greeting. He then scratched his head, trying to remember something. He went digging through his robe's pockets, searching for whatever item might have slipped from his hold.
"Have you lost something again?" she asked, noticing how he dug through his clothes.
"I think so," he replied, sounding unsure. "I don't know what though… there's these flashes in my head and for a second, it feels like I used to have something much greater in my life, but…" He shook his head. "I can't remember what exactly." He gave a hopeful smile. "But I'm sure I'll remember one day. Anyway, have a good day."
"You too." Adelina smiled, then went on with her stroll towards Watanabe's place.
She passed by two aristocratic women dressed in all black, who looked at her with disdain and wasted no time in voicing their contempt for her odd behavior.
Look there she goes,
That girl is strange, no question
Dazed and distracted, can't you tell?
The wife of the town's mayor, Cynthia, watched as the young woman walked on by, also noting her oddity.
Never part of any crowd
At his post, Deputy Wayne could also see the odd woman from afar and made his own comment on her.
'Cause her head's up on some cloud
Some villagers just watched her and scratched their heads in puzzlement at how different she was.
No denying she's a funny girl,
That Adelina!
Adelina hitched a ride on the back of a moving wagon, being driven by a tall albino man in a tuxedo.
Seeing a girl in pink with blonde hair pass by, he greeted her.
Bonjour!
The girl returned the greeting.
Good day!
The driver then went on to ask:
How is your family?
Adelina looked over and saw a young pianist talk to a woman in faded red dress, who looked oddly similar to him.
Bonjour!
Good day!
How is your wife?
As if on cue, the young man's wife came in, giving her husband a deathly stare.
Nearby the pianist were two local retired burlesque actresses, Ms. Spink and Ms. Forcible, who were trying to buy something from the market, but were arguing over prices.
We need six eggs!
But they're so expensive!
Adelina looked around, thankful to see that she was at her destination. She quickly hopped off the back of the cart, to Watanabe's little store.
There must be more than this provincial life
She entered the store, met by the warm smile of its owner, Professor Watanabe. "Ah, Adelina," he said with a bow of his head, having just straightened a couple of books near the window.
"Buenos días," she replied, giving him courtesy. "I've come to return the book I've borrowed, as well as the map." She brought the book and map out of her basket, handing them over to him.
"Finished with them already?" he asked, surprised as he took them. "My, you waste no time in reading." He put them back on a shelf nearby. "So, where did you run off to this week?"
"A small town in Wales," Adelina answered. "It was such a fun little adventure… I didn't want to come back." Her irises lit up for a moment, before she asked, "Do you have any maps that might take me to a new place?"
"Gomen nasai, but I'm afraid not," Professor Watanabe replied with a shake of his head. "But you may reuse any of the old ones, if you'd like."
Adelina nodded and went to scanning the shelves, finding a blue book with a map serving as a bookmark in its middle. She recognized it as she had read it a while ago, deciding to pick it up again. Why anyone would want to give it up would forever boggle her mind. "I'll borrow these, then," she decided.
Professor Watanabe adjusted the black square frames of his glasses. "That map and book? But you've gone through those twice!"
"Oh, they're my favorites!" Adelina gushed. "A young Mexican boy from a small village joins a girl from the future, the spirit on an old Conquistador, an alebrije and a sorceress' daughter in traveling around the world to defeat an evil deity, while discovering many legendary creatures in the process- and a map listing all of those fantastical destinations! Oh, what I'd give to live in that world…"
He pressed the book back into her hands. "If you like them that much, then they're yours."
She was startled by this. "But señor, you can't – I can't just–"
"I insist."
"Well, gracias," she thanked him as she exited the shop. "Muchas gracias!" Eyes focused on the map and book, she walked down the path towards a fountain, passing by mayor Lord Portley-Rind and his colleagues.
Look, there she goes,
That girl is so peculiar
I wonder if she's feeling well
A few more men and women watched as she walked by, deflecting the water rushing down from an above pipe with her hand.
With a dreamy, far-off look,
And her nose stuck in that map and book!
What a puzzle to the rest of us is Adelina!
Adelina sat down at the edge of a fountain and began to read the book, the basket and map still balanced in the crook of her arm. She went on to her favorite part of the book, where Leo San Juan and his companions went to fight a fire-breathing monster attacking a town within America: the Jersey Devil.
Oh, isn't this amazing?
This is my favorite part because, you'll see…
Here's where they defeat the Leeds Devil,
Then they move onto to the Mart in Germany, in chapter three!
She placed the book on her lap, then took the map and looking through the various locations listed on it – Russia, Italy, Japan, China, Greece, Scandinavia – to see where exactly her next adventure would be. After thinking long and hard about the kinds of myths found in each country, she finally decided to mark down Russia, for the tale of the vodnik fascinated her. Once her father and her were out of this town, her adventure would begin in Russia.
Adelina looked up at the sun and realized just how long she had been out. Her father was probably back at home, waiting for her help with his latest invention. Gathering her book, map and basket, she stood up and started to head back home.
In the window of a building nearby, an aristocratic woman in lavender with wacky red hair saw her go on by and smiled slightly, having seen her at the fountain.
Now, it's no wonder that her name means nobility
Her personality shines so very well
An inventor in a green shirt and his dog caught her gaze, and the former added in his own two scents.
But behind that fair facade,
I'm afraid she's rather odd
A few of their neighbors pitched in as well, just as she came on by.
Very different from the rest of us,
She's nothing like the rest of us,
Yes, different from the rest of us is Adelina!
—
In the far side of town stood a fine estate, and inside was a group of men gathered by a red chair near a window.
In the chair sat a man aged sixty-eight who was looking out the window, watching the townspeople go about doing their daily business. He was not just your average man, though– he was Lord Piggot-Dunceby, the leader of the society of great men as well as a very highly respected figure within town. He could care less for a good chunk of the folks though, for being the leader of his own society put him high above the rest.
Piggot-Dunceby snapped his fingers. "Mr. Collick, bring me my tea!" he called for his servant.
"Yes, m'lord, coming right away!" his manservant called back, quickly bringing him a saucer with a cup of tea. "Black tea, just the way you like it, sir."
Piggot-Dunceby took the saucer, lifting the cup to his lips to take a sip of tea. As he drank, his eyes wandered off to the faint form of a young woman with a map in her hand. His lips curled into a grin as he then stood up. "I believe now is the good time for a morning stroll," he announced. "Mr. Collick, fetch me my musket."
"Yes, my lord!" Mr. Collick nodded, going to fetch the musket.
Once he had his musket, Lord Piggot-Dunceby left his estate, setting out into town with Mr. Collick trailing behind him. He ignored the gasps from the townsfolk as he was more focused on tracking down something, or rather someone.
He only stopped when he heard some honking, looking up to see a flock of geese flying overhead. He took his musket, aimed it and shot at one of the geese, hitting his target. "Bulls-eye!"
Mr. Collick ran out and tried to catch the prize, only for it to fall into the hands of a short bounty hunter, Willard Stenk, who was an acquaintance of Dunceby's.
"Not bad," the short man commented, holding up the goose's corpse to look it over. "You really are the head of the society of great men."
"I know," replied Lord Piggot-Dunceby, soaking in the praise which boosted his ego.
"No beast out there can stand a chance against you," Stenk went on, to which Mr. Collick nodded. "And no woman either, for that matter."
"You couldn't be more correct about that, Stenk," Piggot-Dunceby said with a smirk, then pointed to a certain young woman. "And would you look over there? My future maid."
Normally, he thought most women to be useless little lambs whose only purpose was to obey men, but Adelina… she was such a strange specimen, with how she preferred to do things outside of what was intended for her– particularly her interest in exploring. Her venturesome spirit would've steered him away, had it not been for the fact that she was very into maps… maps that led to places with creatures that had yet to be discovered. Her knowledge of traveling was his main key– his ticket to becoming the greatest man within the village, more greater than the mayor himself.
Stenk and Collick's gazes followed, and they both gaped at the lord's odd choice. "Th- the inventor's daughter?" Collick sputtered.
"Adelina is the only woman in this village with keen expertise in maps," Piggot-Dunceby went on. "That is what makes her the perfect pawn in my plan– see, if I have her as a maid, she would have to take me to all those places in her beloved map under my command. The discovery of those supposed creatures from her little stories will put me in such a high position in the eyes of the townspeople, even higher than Lord Portley-Rind!"
"But wouldn't it be her discovery?" Stenk pointed out.
"Besides, she's so eccentric and audacious," Mr. Collick added. "And you're of high class…"
"It wouldn't be her discovery, because no one in their right mind would believe a lowly maiden," Lord Piggot-Dunceby said as he looked at Stenk. "Much less a brown one." He looked to Mr. Collick. "And while she may be beneath me, I will not pass the opportunity to achieve an even higher status. Don't I deserve a higher status, gentlemen?"
"W-well, of- of course," Mr. Collick stammered.
"I mean, you do," Stenk agreed hesitantly. "But–"
But Piggot-Dunceby interrupted them both, his eyes set on his next target for a moment, before shifting down to his reflection in a small puddle of water.
Right from the moment when I met her, saw her,
I said she's perfect for my plan
Here in town, there's only she
Who has the key to boost me,
So I'm making plans to control Adelina
He was about to go over to her when he saw that she was already leaving town, so he followed after her. As he walked by, three ditzy women – dressed in green, pink and yellow respectively – watched him, swooning over him.
Look, there he goes,
Isn't he dreamy?
Monsieur Dunceby,
Oh, he's so cute!
Be still my heart,
I'm hardly breathing
He's such a tall, dark, strong and handsome brute!
Unfortunately for Piggot-Dunceby, he made his move at the very moment where everyone would be out on the streets as the market's business boomed at that particular hour.
Adelina easily walked through the crowd by dodging some people, while Dunceby had trouble making his way through as people kept barging in front of him.
Bonjour!
Pardon!
Good day!
Mais oui!
You call this bacon?
What lovely grapes!
Some cheese!
Ten yards!
One pound
Excuse me!
I'll get the knife!
Please let me through!
This bread!
Those fish!
It's stale!
They smell!
Madame's mistaken!
Adelina's yearning for adventure burned deep within her chest as she looked around town, seeing just how dull life was here. Oh, how she wished she had wings like a bird so she could just fly away, far from this boring life.
There must be more than this provincial life!
Seeing that the villagers had made a clear path, Piggot-Dunceby puffed his chest out proudly, loudly declaring…
Just watch, I'm going to make that girl mine!
But then, the townsfolk gathered around Dunceby, surrounding him as they sang about the most peculiar girl to set foot in their town.
Look, there she goes,
The girl is strange but special
A most peculiar madame!
It's a pity and a sin,
That she doesn't quite fit in
'Cause she really is a funny girl,
A beauty but a funny girl,
She really is a funny girl,
That Adelina!
Feeling like everyone's eyes were on her, Adelina turned around, only for the townsfolk to go back to doing their business. She shrugged and continued for home, but was cut off as someone snatched her book and map away from her.
And that's it for this first chapter! Took me two days to write since it was hard getting the song to work, but I managed in the end. It's pretty long though and I didn't have a lot of time to look over for any spelling or grammatical errors, so I apologize if there's any. If I see any, I'll try fixing them when I get the chance later.
Anyway, hope you guys liked it so far, and don't hesitate in leaving a comment to let me know what your thoughts are! Feedback is always appreciated.