Beauty and the Beast – A Jori Story
Once upon a time in a far away land, a young princess lived in a shinning castle. Although she had everything her heart desired, the princess was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered her a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the princess sneered at the gift and turned her away. But she warned her not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when she dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The princess tried to apologize but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in her heart. And as punishment she transformed her into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there. Ashamed of her monstrous form, the beast concealed herself inside her castle. A magic mirror is her only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until her 21st year. If she could learn to love another, and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, she would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years past, she fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?
Just over the river and through the woods from the Princess' castle was a humble little town. The people were poor but happy. In this town lived a girl name Victoria, although she was known by the townspeople as Tori. She was the most beautiful girl in town. Every boy gushed at her appearance. Her personality; however, was another matter.
Tori, quite unlike the other girls in town, was smart. She was quick witted, loved music, and was unafraid to speak her mind. This, in such a small town, was a quality to be frowned upon when found in young women. Well, if the townspeople didn't like Tori, it was only fair that Tori not like them in return. Tori's dream was to get away. She wanted adventure, to escape the ever more boring daily lives of the simpleton townspeople.
There was one boy in town, who was particularly interested in Tori's beauty. He was the heartthrob of all the girls in town. He'd won countless hunting awards, he was strong, and he was dashingly handsome. His name was Ryder Daniels.
One day, Ryder was in the town square aiming at a flock of pheasants as they flew by. Of course, if anyone else were to hunt in the middle of town, they'd be scolded. However, since in was Ryder, none of the town authorities gave as much as a sideways glance as Ryder fired miscellaneous shots at the birds with his highly polished hunting rifle. In fact, a few of the saloon girls, who frequently followed Ryder around, sighing at every little thing he said or did, had come out to watch him shoot down the innocent fowl.
It was on this sunny, autumn day that Ryder happened to spot the girl he'd been hoping to see. Tori had just waked out of the music shop on the opposite side of the square, her nose buried deep into a music book of some sort. Ryder had his sights set on Tori. He planned to marry her. Their wedding would be the talk of the town, the event of the year. She'd become his perfect little housewife, they'd have a hunting lodge on the outskirts of town, and they'd have four or five boys running around the house. Being the over confident oaf he was, Ryder strapped his hunting rifle to his back and sauntered over to the girl.
"Hello, Tori," said Ryder, flashing Tori a toothy grin that usually had women drooling at his feet.
"Bonjour, Monsieur Daniels," replied Tori, still walking away and still quite consumed by what she was reading. Ryder, naturally disliking people's full attention being on anything besides him, snatched up the book. He turned it this way and that and flipped through the pages.
"How can you read this? There aren't any pictures? Just some dots and lines," asked a puzzled Ryder.
"They're music notes," said Tori, getting quite annoyed by Ryder, "Now Ryder, may I have my book back?" Ryder chuckled as tossed it over his shoulder in Tori's general direction. Tori missed the catch and her brand new book landed right smack in the middle of a big puddle of mud. Tori furrowed her brow in frustration. She picked up the book and started cleaning in on her the apron that covered her pale blue dress.
"If you'll excuse me, Monsieur Daniels, I really ought to be getting back to my father," said Tori patiently. Ryder let her go with a dismissive nod, content with how their exchange had gone. He was more than confident that Tori wanted him as she jogged to her father's cottage on the edge of town.
"What's wrong with her?" asked one of the three saloon girls who'd been watching Tori and Ryder with jealousy.
"She's crazy!" said another.
"He's gorgeous," sighed the third.