Hello all! This is my first Fairy Tail story and I'm really excited about it. Gajeel and Levy are my favorite pairing; I think that they are just too cute for each other. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite movies and I always thought about how they mirrored them and I've had this idea in my head for a while so I finally decided to get it out into a story! I hope you all enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, Beauty and the Beast, or any of its character. Simply using them as inspiration!
"How did I get myself into such a mess…" Levy McGarden sighed as she slid down the wall onto the floor. Tears began to flood to her large, brown eyes as she began to think of all the things that she would dearly miss about her old life. Never again would she visit the quaint, little bookstore run by Max where her curiosity, imagination, and thirst for adventure bloomed. Never again would she feel the cool marble on her legs and the light spritz of crystal clear water on the backs of her arms as she sat at the edge of the town's fountain, too engaged into whatever story she was currently reading to notice her surroundings. More importantly, never again would she see her Papa. They were all they had in this world and although he was a bit outlandish, Levy loved him with all her heart. Levy stood up and harshly brushed away the tears streaking down her face. "No. I cannot sit here and cry. I made this decision all on my own and now I must live with the consequences".
Our story first starts at a vast, grandiose castle deep in the forest. There resided a young prince named Gajeel Redfox. Although he was as strong as iron and dearly handsome, his heart might as well been made of steel for he was selfish, unfriendly, and overall unpleasant to be around. He had whatever his young heart desired, but it never seemed to be enough. Though his magnificent palace was filled with treasures from faraway lands and lavish riches, it was void of warmth and love. One night in particular was quite frigid, and it was a night that Prince Gajeel would never forget for as long as his life would carry on. The snow fell with great intensity and the wind howled like a rabid wolf on this night as a dark, cloaked figure approached the gates of Prince Gajeel's castle.
"Please Prince, shelter me for the night. I am but a poor, old woman with no place to go and the weather is awfully dreadful tonight". The woman unsheathed herself to show the prince her appearance. Prince Gajeel grimaced at the grotesque sight in front of him; the woman's skin was filled with deep-set wrinkles and a few small boils with unsightly crow's feet framing her small red eyes. Her pale pink hair was pulled up into a high bun on the top of her head with a few strands falling to the front of her face.
"As I am just an impoverished beggar, I am afraid I can bestow no reward upon you for your kindness. I do, however, posses this that I can give to you," The old woman smiled to reveal a few missing teeth as she reached into her bag to pull out a flower. "See here, I know it is not much, but this is not just any old flower! This is a gray rose, unlike any other of its kind. See how it gleams like new steel?! In all of my years of wandering I have yet to come across another flower as magnificent as the one in my possession. I am willing to part with it if you would shelter me for just tonight. Please Prince, it is just too bitter out here for me to survive".
Prince Gajeel busted out a hardy laugh at the woman's plea. "Yeah right, get lost you old hag! I don't got a place for you here! Especially if all you have to offer me is some damn useless plant! Now get outta here! I'm sick of looking at your ugly ass!" Gajeel swatted the outstretched rose from the old woman's hand and knocked it to the ground.
"You should not be deceived by appearances, young prince, for true beauty lies within us" the old woman smiled as she picked the steel-colored rose off the ground.
"I said get out of here you disgusting hag! We have no room for the likes of you here" Prince Gajeel spat at the old beggar. The old woman brushed the hair out of her face as she said,
"I see. It is clear to me now that there is no love in your heart". As she spoke, a gleaming light began to radiate from the woman. Her ragged appearance began to melt away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. Just like magic all her wrinkles vanished, her posture straightened up and her pink hair fell out of its plain bun to become vibrant and flowing. Taken aback by what he had seen in front of him, Prince Gajeel looked into the woman's large red eyes and pleaded for her forgiveness.
"I am so sorry ma'am, I did not know your true form!" Gajeel pleaded and begged, but the woman just brushed him off.
"It is too late for any apology young prince," she began, "For I have seen the true nature of your heart: cold and hard, just like the iron of this gate that I wandered through. You may be handsome on the outside, but true beauty is nowhere to be found in the likes of you. You must face punishment for what you have done; hopefully you will learn your lesson before it is too late".
"Wh-what?!" Prince Gajeel stumbled back. "What do you mean punishment?!" As he stumbled back into his castle, the now young woman pulled out a long, golden wand decorated with a large crescent at the tip.
"As your punishment, I will strip away your good looks and replace them with the appearance of a monstrous beast. This spell will also affect your lavish castle; the outside will be encased in iron and all those living in the castle will be turned into objects," the old woman explained as she began to wave her hand.
"You have to be kidding me!" Prince Gajeel exclaimed as he slammed his fist into the stone-clad wall of castle.
"I am not kidding my child. However, there is one way to break this curse. I will give to you this gray rose that will continue to bloom until your 21st year. If you can learn to love someone and have them love you in return before the last petal falls, then this spell will be broken and you will be freed. However, if you fail to accomplish this, then you will stay in this beastly form for the rest of your life". The woman warned the young prince as she turned to leave the castle.
"Wait lady! There's gotta be some other way!" Prince Gajeel exclaimed as he went to grab the departing woman, only to be stunned by seeing that his hand had turned into a paw. He screamed and grabbed his hand as his horrid transformation into a chimera-like creature continued. His arms grew into those similar of a bear, his legs sprouted into those of a wolf, his thick black hair expanded into a long mane that ran down his back along with a tail to match, and the horns of a buffalo rose from either side of his forehead. Terrified by what was happening to him, Prince Gajeel screamed and ran into his once beautiful castle that was now becoming a dark, dreary metal-covered citadel. Once inside he ran through the castle, calling for the help of his servants to which he received no answer but heard multiple screams throughout the entire place. "What have I done?!" Prince Gajeel wailed as he ran up the stairs to the west wing. Not knowing what to do or where to go, he sprinted into his study where he saw the gray rose that the old woman had tried to give him sitting on the table in front of the balcony, encased in a glass vase alongside a mysterious hand mirror. Prince Gajeel's eyes widened as he focused on the flower before roaring as he started to destroy the room. In a fit of panic, fear, and rage he slashed every portrait in the room with his newfound claws, smashed all the furniture with his godly strength and reduced the place to mere shambles.
"That's it; it's all over. My life is over. I'm done. I'll suffer like this forever," Prince Gajeel panted as he fell to the floor. He decided then that he would conceal himself away from the world in his new iron fortress for eternity, spending the rest of his days as a hideous beast locked away in solitude. As the years began to pass, Prince Gajeel fell deeper and deeper into a never-ending pool of despair and misery. He had not even a glimmer of hope left inside him, for who could ever learn to love a beast?
Woohoo! First chapter done! I hope you all enjoyed it! I tried hard to make everything plausible. My goal is to stick to the major scenes and plot of the movie but change it a bit to fit Fairy Tail better. It's been a while since I've been active on FanFiction or really even read any to be honest so I'm anxious about getting back into it.
Also, I feel like I couldn't NOT pick Porlyusica to be the old woman haha! This just goes to show why she hates humans. Next chapter introduces little Levy in the little town of Magnolia! Also, we will introduce the Fairy Tail equivalent to the lovely Gaston; any guesses on who will be playing Gaston?! (seriously though, there's only one person I can think of who would be Gaston...). What about LaFou? Lumiere? Cogsworth? Mrs. Potts? You'll have to read and see! Thanks so much for taking the time to read my story! I'd love to hear what you think or read your comments so please feel free to review or like, follow, etc. Thanks again!