A/N: I saw a pic that had a 'Beauty and The Beast' theme to it. I couldn't stop thinking about it. So here's a short ditty on my version of this story. It'll be terrible, i assure you.

Prologue :

The Enchantress Tsuru

The castle atop of Flower Hill was massive – it spread over the hilltop in a foreboding mixture of uneven towers, walls, and windows with bright pink trim. The small valley was ruled by a ferocious man that rendered the entire countryside into complete compliance with his power, and devoted family. Not only did he take advantage of the land's resources with nearby mines, a thick logging forest – rumored to be enchanted – and nearby river for smuggling purposes, but he also taxed the hardworking people of their earnings.

Power was heavy in his hands, and while the townspeople could not escape, they prospered as best as they could. Their resentment grew until one dark and stormy night, they all agreed that enough was enough. In secret, they gathered together to come up with a plan to overthrow him. But in the end, all they could do was pray for a miracle.

Two nights later, their miracle arrived in the form of an old gentleman that staggered up to the castle. With pelting rain and flashing lighting in the sky, he appeared at the heavy wood doors, knocking with as much strength as he could muster. The manservant let him in with careful ushering, guards shifting around restlessly as they took in the sight of the tall man in a black cloak, looking ominous in the faint candlelight. He carried a basket at his side, and the manservant led the way from the door to the main hallway, where he indicated for the man to wait while he retrieved the master.

In this castle, along with the young master and his friends, resided a gaggle of children, adopted from the harsh living areas of the town outside. All of them were either abandoned or forgotten by their real families, and had found a home in the castle, all of them spoiled rotten thanks to the young master. One of them was awake at this hour, looking up from his books in the nearby library. At the sound of voices in the Great Hall, he wandered in that direction to see what the commotion was about.

As the young master made his way downstairs, yawning noisily, wearing a fuchsia feather robe and slippers, the old man looked at him with a frown. The young master took one look at him and drew back with a startled gasp.

"Ugh, kill it with fire," he complained. "Why are you dripping on my zebra skin rugs?"

The old man glowered at him, then reached into his basket. He withdrew a mirror, looking at himself with examination before glaring daggers at the young master. "You bastard. This is how you greet me? While I'm in this state?"

Momentarily blinded from the light reflecting off the glass, the young master lowered his arm and said, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be up - ?"

"I was just in town. It has come to my attention that you've driven all townspeople into the corner, forcing them to make grave decisions."

Befuddled, the young master stared at him as he put the mirror away. "Well, that's just how it works. I mean, this is an obvious dictatorship, and I am a mighty lord. Human beings in a mob, and what's a mob to a king? What's a king to a god? Out of all of these, I am obviously a god."

Corazon rolled his eyes. "Because of your way of thinking, I have been summoned..."

Doflamingo sighed heavily, head tilted back with exasperation. The child from earlier drew closer to stand behind him in order to better see what was happening, the guards moving around anxiously.

"…to force you to repent for your actions."

"Right," the young master muttered, shaking his head. "Cora, go back to bed. You're sleepwalking again."

"Not this time, Doffy."

Doflamingo looked on with an unimpressed expression as his younger brother reached for something else inside his basket. Once Corazon withdrew his trembling fist, he stepped back in alarm, the guards shuffling around nervously, alerted to the tension.

"For your crimes - !"

"Wait a minute - !"

" – Glitter Bomb!"

The guards gasped as Doflamingo jumped out of the way, brilliant speckles of glitter flying everywhere, hitting the kid full force. He cried out with dismay, sputtering as glitter fluttered down to the stone floors, flickering in the candlelight. The guards relaxed, much eye rolling occurring as Corazon looked at the boy with consternation.

Heaving with exertion, Doflamingo glared at him. He whipped his robe about, feathers fluttering around him. "If that had hit me, I'd be so pissed. I'd hate to find glitter in my secret crevices."

"Well, some old broad gave it to me in town, I thought it would be funny," Corazon said with a shrug. "Anyway, people are pissed at you, and they're talking about rebelling against you for all your shitty crimes."

"Damn them," Doflamingo muttered, looking down at the kid that growled at Corazon, covered in glitter. "Law. What are you doing out of bed?"

"I was reading," Law snapped at him, flicking out his arms. "Damn you. Cora. I can feel glitter everywhere. Idiot!"

Corazon wiped his hand on his cloak, pulling his hood down. His makeup was smeared, hair hanging over his eyes, and he straightened to full height, back popping. "It was meant for Doffy. Oh, and I'm supposed to say, 'As punishment for your crimes, you will transform into a beast, for which the spell will only break by true love's first kiss.'"

"HAH!" Doflamingo laughed. "What sort of stupid spell is that? I can find true love in an instant!"

"How many dates have you had so far?"

"…Shit."

"HAH!" Corazon looked at him with a smirk. "You'd only fall in love with yourself."

Doflamingo gave him a puzzled look. "What's wrong with that? I'm beautiful. I'd have some trouble kissing myself, through, I admit."

Corazon trailed off from his reply as he realized that Law was changing right in front of their eyes. First, from his hair emerged a pair of spotted curled horns, ears shifting from the sides of his head to narrowing outward, flopping doglike, behind his horns; his forehead shifted out and over beastly narrowed eyes; nose and mouth shifted outward, pointed and narrow, teeth shifting around with popping noises. Over his human skin pushed out black fur; his back lifted up and hunched, shoulders broadening to accommodate longer arms; his hands shifted into paws, claws curling out and down. From his backside emerged a thick tail, heavily furred. His legs shifted, knees breaking and reforming, doglike, underneath him. He uttered childish cries of fear until his voice deepened slightly, tonal with a heavier rumble.

Corazon screamed, long and high pitched, dropping his basket. The guards cried out in horror, and Doflamingo gaped, mouth wide open.

The little beast looked at his hands, examined his legs, and screeched long and loud. "CORA! YOU BASTARD!"

"AHHHH!"

"And you tried doing this to me?" Doflamingo cried, pointing at him.

Corazon upended his basket, the mirror shattering on the floor, along with his cigarettes, his matches, some other odds and ends he'd picked up from town. Before he could say or do anything, the remaining glitter around them began to lift. Already stunned over what had happened to Law, all of them watched as glitter pulled up from the floor and began to swirl around, forming a showy mist of neon colors and sparkling stars. It all shot upward, causing everyone to cry out once more, mist building over the entire castle like a thick fog.

Minutes later, after the mist dissipated, the castle was silent.

Law stood there, eyes wide. The deathly still silence was utterly terrifying. It took him some minutes to adjust to his new vision – black and white, his vision slightly skewered with his newly set eyes, but his other senses on a higher working level. He took a cautious step forward, unsure of the foreboding sensation around him. There were piles of clothes were the guards once stood, as well as Corazon's hooded cape, Doflamingo's feathered robe and slippers. But no sign of any man.

He then heard slight coughing, a grumble from the side.

"Cora?" he called tentatively, wincing at the sound of his voice.

"I'm here!" Corazon replied, very nearby. "…Hey, where are you? Law?"

"Cora? Where?" Law called out, looking around anxiously, not seeing the man or his brother.

"What's the big idea? Literally? Why are you suddenly ten feet tall?" Doflamingo shouted out from his side, Law looking in that direction. He didn't see the man anywhere, but the candlelight reflected off something shiny. He looked down, eyes widening with horror. "What? What's wrong?"

"Law? Law! AGH! WHAT IS THAT THING? IT'S MOVING!"

"WHAT? WHAT IS THAT? WHY IS IT MOVING?"

"Oh, no!" Law cried with horror, watching the brothers identify each other, both of them shouting out with horror, looking at each other. "CORA! DOFFY?"

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A JOKE!"

"Who was this old woman?" Doflamingo snarled.

"Some old lady!" Corazon cried in a panic. "Law! Law! Go find her!"

"That will be unnecessary."

The three of them whirled around, looking at the front door as it opened and closed. The woman stood there as she removed her wet hood, looking down at them victoriously. Her wizened features glowed, her hair glittering with some rain drops. Standing rigid and proud, she surveyed what she could of the Great Hall before looking down at the three visible to her. She then performed a double take as she realized that she was looking at a very small beast.

"Doflamingo?" she asked cautiously, looking skeptical.

"NO! OLD BAT! DIE!"

"Oh, my…oh…Corazon, you were supposed to hit your brother!" she admonished sharply.

"I tried! That wasn't ordinary glitter, was it?"

With a sigh, she said, "No, idiot, it was a very powerful spell. The townspeople paid me, Tsuru, grandly for it. But I found myself in the tavern for too long, and was too drunk to follow through with it. I had to rely on you."

"Damn them! I should've raised their taxes, so that they had no extra money to spend on things like these!" Doflamingo growled, causing her attention to go his way.

"Well, well, well! Isn't this fitting?" Tsuru laughed, hands on her narrow hips. "Your new shape suits you!"

"Change us back!" Law cried, taking the steps necessary to grab her cloak. "Change us back, now!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. There is only one way to undo the spell," she said gently. "Unfortunately, I had thought Corazon would hit his brother, not…one of the children. Oh well. Which one are you, kid?"

"I'm Law."

"All of your kids are just as spoiled as you are, right?" she asked Doflamingo, glaring down at him. "All of them with vile reputations, spoiled rotten – going through the town with their antics! Don't think I didn't see the church riddled with their graffiti, and heard the tales of woe from the townspeople regarding their sticky fingers in the market place. This will work just as well."

"You can't do this! Witch!" Doflamingo cried. "Change us back, now!"

She placed a hand over her mouth, burping delicately. "I'm sorry, but what's done is done. It is what it is. Look, the only way the spell can be broken is if, hmm, let's see, let's do a little rearranging. Law, how old are you?"

"Ten."

"Alright, then, listen carefully, you three…after his twenty-second birthday, the spell will be broken if he finds someone to fall in love with him, and he with them. I'm only saying 'them' because it has to be true love – I don't give a shit if it's a female or male, because it's pretty liberal around here."

"I don't want to fall in love!" Law cried, large tears falling from his eyes. "How am I supposed to rule the world with Doffy if I have a wife?"

"That's my boy!" Doflamingo said with pride.

"I didn't agree to this. But whatever. Falling in love would be a wonderful thing! You can do it!" Corazon said encouragingly.

"I just had a pretty young thing on my lap that made me fall in love with her, tonight, so I'm widening the spectrum. Originally, I'd planned on killing you all, but because of my rose tinted glasses, I'm feeling a little adventurous," Tsuru said, holding out her hands. She then produced with a flourish from her cape a single black rose. Tightly budded, it glimmered briefly in her grasp.

"Law, don't be scared," Corazon said gently. "I'm sure we can figure this out."

Law looked at him, then kicked him, causing the older woman to step back with a startled gasp. "This is all your fault! Old woman! I had nothing to do with this! Change me back! Or at least switch me with Doffy!"

"Can't do it. It's set. Anyway, this flower will bloom after your twenty-second birthday, and you have until it dies to find true love. I say twenty-second, because it's important to sow all your oats until then, make a good husband to somebody worthy," she said with a squint. "I wasn't ready to settle down until a good time afterward, so I figure this is a good range. Get out all your playboy wiles out before then, okay?"

"What if I don't? Because I'm a fucking beast?"

"Tut, tut, such language! Then all of you will die, and no one will miss you," she said firmly.

"…Well, that's it. It's over with," Doflamingo decided. "Because there's no woman alive that will fall in love with a damn dog."

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Law shouted at him. "If the townspeople didn't hate you so much, this wouldn't have happened in the first place!"

"Oh, ho ho hoho!" she laughed, releasing the flower. In a shower of glitter, it disappeared. "You'd be surprised. People are willing to try anything, once. In my day, I - ! Well, let's just say you remind me of someone from my past. Despite his appearance as a beast, I would've allowed him entrance to the back door – "

"STOP! He's only ten!" Corazon cried in horror.

"You're right, you're right. Well. You've got twelve years to adjust. I suggest you use it wisely. Oh, and before I forget – you'll be able to leave the castle grounds, but none of you will be able to leave the valley. I'm not that heartless. Now, I'm running back to the tavern – that little lass left me breathless the first time, and I'm ready for round five! Ho hohohohoho!"

She disappeared in a flurry of glitter and neon colored smoke, leaving all of them with stunned expressions.

Law looked at the brothers, then gave a loud wail, running away from them. "I hate both of you!"

"This is 100% your fault," Doflamingo said to Corazon.

"No, it's yours, because the townspeople wanted to storm the castle with pitchforks and fire. I essentially saved all of us."

Doflamingo turned away from him, narrowing his eyes. "I wonder what everyone else looks like…"

And so, the castle atop of Flower Hill, under the curse of Tsuru, deteriorated. The townspeople were shocked that Doflamingo was no longer there – it as if the entire family had disappeared into thin air. They thanked Tsuru, but she left them with a warning: "Do not enter beyond those gates – for the castle is haunted."

"Then how about we blow it up?" one of the townspeople suggested, all of them murmuring in agreement.

"No, you idiots! Leave it! As a reminder to all of you – there once lived a family powerful enough to destroy the lot of you, so let it sit there, proud and beautiful, to show proof that you escaped sure death. Let it warn others of their power – if anyone else should take the spot Doflamingo vacated, not to follow his lead and force all of you to band together to conspire to kill them."

At all their blank expressions, Tsuru 'tch'd', and turned and walked away. The baker looked at the locksmith and muttered, "What a nut."

"Let's burn it down!"

"Blow it up!"

"That way, no one rules over us! We can make our own bad decisions!"

"Yeah!"

So the townspeople banded together, loading their wagons and horses with enough TNT to blow up the entire castle. But something happened. All around the outside stone walls, large vines began pulling up from the grounds, spiraling upward. Thorns emerged from these vines, and glistened as they curled over the walls, creating a powerful fence that made it nearly impossible to penetrate. Disappointed, the townspeople retreated.

For years after that, many of them shared stories of hearing awful noises coming from the castle – roaring of a beast, screams, shouts, disembodied voices, loud, obnoxious laughter, so it became clear to the townspeople that it was, indeed, haunted. The spirits of the family that once lived there, ruling over the valley, still lingered inside the castle walls. From time to time, they'd see moving lights in the windows, hearing movement from behind the walls of vine and stone, and were certain that things rustled in the enchanted forest surrounding it.

This alone terrified most of the people into moving out of the valley. Tsuru visited from time to time, but only because she'd fallen in love with one of the tavern wenches, and when that romance failed, she disappeared for years.

Legend had it that there was a beast living in the castle, and that it was Doflamingo. This encouraged hunters from all over the region to try their best at scaling the walls and entering the castle grounds, and this was where the rumors of the haunted castle intensified. They were discouraged by flying objects that hit them from out of nowhere, and voices called out to them with worry, or rage. They sometimes caught sight of the beast that lived in the castle, peering down at them from one of the windows, or slinking away from their sight – it was a ghastly thing to behold, because the thing was large, walked like a wolf, and growled at them viciously as it disappeared out of sight. No one had a good look at it, but from combined sightings, artists were able to render the creature's appearance that circulated throughout the town.

So more legends were formed to scare misbehaving children into behaving.

As the years past, the roars grew stronger and louder, and sometimes during those dark and stormy nights, the noises would ring out over the village, audible over the thunder. The worry that the beast was no longer confined to the castle began to grow when townspeople noticed that the enchanted forest seemed to talk louder than usual. Things began missing from the town – small things that made people wonder if they were only imagining it.

But in spite of this, people began to notice that the vines that once hugged the stone walls were dying – thorns lost their strength, and unknown blossoms bloomed that encouraged the admiration of local women. The enchanted forest didn't seem so haunted, and this encouraged brave townspeople to venture up to the castle once more, emboldened by dares to steal off with flowers from the vines to present to their crush or lady loves in town.

Little did they know, it was only because the black rose had started to bloom.

This was the year the beast had finally turned twenty-two.