A/N: It's the amazing GothicDancer's birthday today, and for a treat I decided to give her a gift fic. She requested some Fritz/Prussia, but in a fairy tale form. I did my best and honestly this was lots of fun to write XD And check out her stuff if you can, it's awesome. Or at least thank her for posting some awesome Fritz/Prussia stuff and therefore inspiring me to post my own as well, so she's actually one of the reasons "Dip Your Feather Wisely" exists.
Once upon a time there lived young prince, who lived in a large castle that was in the middle of a forest. He had no parents and kept his castle to himself, aside from a few servants and his friends. He was a very handsome and cheerful prince, but he was also prideful and arrogant, calling himself the "Most Awesome Prince in the World." The prince spent most of his days hunting and feasting with his friends, all without a single care.
One night, during a magnificent banquet that the prince was hosting, a large storm blew in. Thunder shook the walls and rain pounded the windows, and outside the trees were tossed back and forth by the wind. The prince and his companions were not bothered by the storm and ignored it, but during the middle of the feast, a poor straggler came knocking at the front doors, begging to be let in. The prince ordered the man to be brought to him, and the man asked if the prince could spare him a room for the night so he could take shelter from the storm. Furious, the prince threw him back out. "I shall not have beggars in my castle, dripping water all over my awesome floors!" he shouted at the man as he stood back out in the rain. "Especially not you, because your eyebrows look silly! Begone with you!"
When he heard this the beggar grew very angry. He threw off his hood and proclaimed that he was a powerful wizard, and that he would lay a curse on the prince for his rudeness and arrogance. It also didn't help that he had made fun of his eyebrows, for the wizard was very sensitive about them. He drew a wand out of his pocket and cast a spell over the castle, and in a blaze of light the prince was suddenly transformed into a hideous beast, and all of his friends and servants turned into furniture! Then he muttered another spell, and a beautiful rose grew out of the earth, with petals that glowed softly even though it was pitch black outside. "This rose shall hold this curse over you forever, unless you manage to break the spell," the wizard said to the prince. "If you try to dig this rose up or pick it, then it will wither and die, and you shall all die with it. If this rose dies, then you will as well. The spell will be broken if, and only if, you fall in love with someone, and they love you in return despite your monstrous form."
Then he turned and vanished. He probably Apparated, being a wizard and all.
The prince bewailed his fortune, and he stayed like this for many years, locked in his own castle and a recluse from the outside world. Let us shift our view though, to look at another important character in this story. Far away from the castle there was a small village, just like any of your typical country towns. In this town lived a poor widower who was a mother of two children, their names being Wilhelmine and Frederick. The mother had once been the wife of a rich merchant, but he had died at sea when almost all of his ships had run aground and sunk, leaving them with hardly any money.
They lived poorly for a long time, but they were not angry about their lot in life. Wilhelmine was timid and shy, but she knew how to work and put herself to good use. Frederick was a musician and often played the flute in return for money, but he also loved to read, and was one of the smartest people in the village. He had many smart friends who would loan him money, and for a while he kept the family sustained this way.
However, one day a letter arrived, saying that one of her husband's ships had survived and was docked in the city. The family was overjoyed because they thought that the ship was filled with money from the goods it traded, and even though her husband was dead the money would still go to the mother. She decided to go to the port, even though it would take a few days of riding to get there. The mother confidently asked her children if they wanted her to buy anything for them with the money; Wilhelmine asked for a set of new dresses for her to wear, but Frederick pondered over his answer for a long time.
"I would like a rose," Frederick said at last.
His mother and Wilhelmine both gave him equally puzzled looks. "Why?" Wilhelmine asked him. "Roses aren't that expensive, Frederick. Think about what mother could buy in the city! She could get you a new flute, I know you've been complaining about yours recently."
"I know," Frederick replied with a warm smile. "But roses don't grow around here, and sometimes this town looks so boring and colorless. I have a friend who knows how to take care of flowers, and if we can bring him a rose then he can grow many more! You could even start a rose-selling business, given enough time." He laughed as he said that, and the others laughed with him.
His mother shook her head, but agreed to it, and left the next day.
The mother traveled for a few days and eventually came to the city, but she was horrified to discover that the ship had no money at all. It had escaped the fate of the others, but pirates had attacked it and stole everything they had. Heartbroken, the mother wept, wondering what she was supposed to tell her children. She left the city on the very same day she arrived, almost sick with grief.
But because she left the city too late, night quickly came upon the land and she had no place to sleep, the nearest village being too far away. Even though it was dark she continued to wander, and she was soon hopelessly lost. She could hear wolves howling in the distance and she was terrified that they would find her and eat both her and her horse. She pushed her horse into a gallop to flee from the predators, which at one point seemed all around her, when she suddenly stumbled upon a castle that was right in the middle of the forest. The wolves could not seem to follow her past the castle's gates, for some odd reason, and prowled outside, watching her. There was an open stable by the side of the castle, and when she led the horse inside she found it filled with oats and hay, which her famished steed began to eat heartily.
She left the horse in the stable and, hoping that she would be spared a place to stay, the mother went up to the front door and knocked. No one answered her. She knocked again and got the same reply, and her curiosity got the better of her and she opened the door anyway. Inside the castle was empty, but the lights were lit everywhere.
The mother stepped inside and began to explore the castle, curious and slightly fearful. She passed many rooms, all of them empty, but in one she saw a table laden with food and a roaring fireplace, all with a giant bed in the corner. There was a note on the table, and when she read it, it simply told her to help herself to the food and sleep peacefully. She was a little frightened, but she happily ate the delicious meal that had been cooked for her and soon fell asleep.
She had planned to leave the castle the next day, and as she was going down the front path to leave she spotted a rosebush growing beside the path. A single rose grew on it, and it was the most beautiful rose she had laid eyes upon; it seemed to almost glow in the light. Remembering her promise to Frederick, she reached out and was about to pick the rose when she heard a terrible roar and a large and terrifying beast suddenly sprang out of the castle and ran towards her. She took one look at him and screamed, seeing a monster with snow white fur and eyes that were as red as blood.
"So this is how you repay my kindness?" The beast demanded. "Trying to pick my rose from my own garden? I let you sleep in my castle and eat and food, and now you turn around and try to my most prized possession!" He was very angry with her and declared that she had to now live in his castle for the rest of her life as punishment.
Terrified, the mother wept as she tried to explain that she did not know that picking the rose would make him so angry. She had simply wanted to give it to her beloved son, who had so kindly asked her for one. The beast's anger cooled as he listened to her story, and he was touched at the caring and thoughtfulness of the mother, a sort of kindness that no one had ever shown him in a long time. Hearing her pleas, he decided to let her go back to her children, but she had to return in a few days, or send her son in her place. The mother begged him to change his mind, but the beast would not, and he sent her on her way, both with another rose and a chest full of beautiful dresses for Wilhelmine as a show of his kindess.
Her children were delighted when she returned, but Frederick could tell that something was troubling her. He asked her if anything bad had happened, and she tried to avoid his questions. However Frederick was a very shrewd lad, and after a long while he finally pried the secret out of her. He was shocked to hear of the castle and the beast and of the command the beast had given his mother. He gladly offered to go in her place instead.
"No, you cannot!" his mother exclaimed, more tears in her eyes.
Frederick shook his head. "I must," he said soberly. "It would break my heart to know that my dearest mother is locked up inside of a castle with some sort of monster. It would be much better for me to go instead, for I am made of sterner stuff, and I'm not as easy to boss around as he might think." He bent down and kissed her head, but she could see the sadness written on his face as well.
He would not hear any objections, and the very next day he borrowed a horse from his friend and rode off. He arrived at the castle a few days later and found it much like his mother had: empty, but with signs of habitation. Frederick, even more curious than his mother, soon went exploring, and almost immediately he discovered that much of the furniture was bewitched. They introduced themselves and said that they used to be people, but a curse had turned them all into furniture and other household objects. But when Frederick asked him what they had been cursed for, they would not say.
Later that day he met the beast himself, and to his surprise the beast introduced himself as Gilbert. Despite what his mother had told him, he found the beast to be rather calm and charming, most unlike the enraged savage that his mother had described. Gilbert offered to give him a tour of the castle, saying that he might as well get to know it since he was supposed to stay there forever. Frederick did not like the idea at all, but he did not say anything just yet.
But much to his delight, he discovered that the castle was very beautiful and filled with things to please him. His favorites were the library and music rooms, and he spent most of his time in those rooms. Sometimes Gilbert followed him and watched him silently, and other times Frederick was left alone. Every night when they sat down to the dinner Gilbert would talk to him then, asking about his life and his family and what he liked. Many times Gilbert would ask Frederick if he thought that he was ugly and a monster. Frederick readily answered his questions, but no matter how many times he asked in return he could never get Gilbert to tell him why he was there and what was his story.
"Would you mind if I sat here with you?" Gilbert asked as he came into the dining room. He always asked that, every single time.
At first it had made Frederick wary, but ever since his first few nights almost all of his fears of his beastly host were almost completely gone. "If you so wish," he said.
"No, no," Gilbert replied with a weary, sad sigh. "You are the only master here, and I am your servant. If my presence is bothersome then you only need to bid me to leave, and I will gladly withdraw."
Frederick shook his head, trying not to look amused. He was always told that he was the master of the castle, even though he had only been there for a few days. "Please, sit," he said graciously, glad for whatever company was offered to him.
"Thank you," Gilbert said, seating himself in a large chair that barely fit his frame. "But tell me, Frederick, do you not think of me as hideous? Why would you want to spend your time in my presence?"
The musician paused for a moment over his wine, contemplating his answer. "It is true that your appearance is quite frightening," he said at last. "But I believe that you are very good –natured and kind. That matters to me more than anything."
"If you say so," Gilbert said with another sigh. "But then, besides my ugliness, I have no sense; I know very well, that I am a poor, silly, stupid creature."
"Don't say that," Frederick admonished him. "Foolish people hardly know of their own faults, and they certainly don't strive to hide or correct them, as you endeavor to do."
Gilbert was silent for a long moment when he said that. Frederick thought that he saw something pass over his features, like a glimmer of hope, before it was gone. "Eat," he said shortly. "And try to amuse yourself in whatever way you can. Everything in this palace is yours, and to see you unhappy in any way would torment me so."
Frederick wondered why he would say that, but did not question him and gladly did what the beast asked.
All of his desires were seen to, and after a while he even found friends among the enchanted furniture and ornaments. They all introduced themselves, and he found them as friendly and outgoing as his own friends back at home, but they quarreled all the time. Most of the time it was amusing, and other times he had to step in lest they seriously injure each other, for he was not quite sure if a broken teapot or clock would result in the death of the person as well.
Certainly many others would have thought of him as mad for considering household objects his friends, and for a while Frederick did as well, but he came to accept that they were all just as human as he was. He would read to them, since hardly any of them had suitable hands to hold a book with, and occasionally played his flute for their amusement. In return they showed him everything about the castle and all of its secret enchantments, including a mirror that could look into the outside world. The latter made Frederick very happy, since he could see his family reflected in the mirror's surface.
Frederick still felt lonely sometimes, being the only human in the castle. During empty days he would miss his home and family and even though he found his current life most agreeable, he yearned for his freedom. He would often play his flute to keep his mind off of his depression, and he found endless pieces of music to play in the unused music rooms. One day, however, Gilbert interrupted him while he was playing.
The music paused in mid-note, Frederick's breath stopping as he felt something behind him. He turned and noticed Gilbert standing behind him, scuffing his foot awkwardly on the floor. "Sorry," he murmured contritely, gently closing the door behind him. "I heard you playing and… I thought that I would come listen." Despite his fierce appearance, Frederick had been in his presence long enough to tell when he was truly sorry.
"It's alright," Frederick told him, smiling warmly. He swore that he could see Gilbert smile back. He was far too expressive to be some sort of monster lurking in an evil castle. "It's been a while since I've had an audience." He remembered playing for Wilhelmine and his friends back home, but nowadays his songs were only heard by his own ears and the furniture.
That one statement seemed to banish the rest of Gilbert's fears, and the beast all but threw himself onto one of the couches. His form was far too big to fit into the chairs, so he often sat on the couches or the floor. Frederick laughed at his enthusiasm and turned back to his music, starting from where he had left off. The spiraling notes danced along the air, caressing the ears with the flute's soothing voice and the room vanished completely for a while, all attention focused solely on the music and the strange world that it created on its own. Frederick watched him from the corner of his eye, noticing how Gilbert stretched himself along the couch and seemed to actually purr in contentment. He didn't think that was possible.
Gilbert clapped when the song came to an end, his paws making an odd thumping noise. "That was awesome," he said, sounding as excited as a child at a fair.
The musician blushed with pleasure. "Thank you," he said, giving him a small bow. "Awesome" was apparently the highest compliment that Gilbert could ever give, or at least that was what the candelabra named Francis had told him.
Gilbert's snowy fur rippled in a silvery wave as he sat up. "Can I ask you to play something?" he asked almost hesitantly, his enlarged fangs biting his lip in a very human gesture.
"Of course," Frederick replied.
In a flash Gilbert had leaped to his feet and was bouncing across the room. He immediately went for a desk and pulled a sheet of music out of one of the drawers. "Here," he said, handling it carefully so that his claws would not pierce the old paper. "It's something my mother used to sing to me when I was little."
The ink was faded, but the music was still legible. After a moment of reading, Frederick lifted the flute up to his lips and began to play.
After that day, Gilbert often came to Frederick to hear him play, and Frederick began enjoying his company more and more. Their talks became a friendly banter between the two of them, and soon they were as close to each other as any two friends could possibly be. On lonely days Frederick would roam the castle, searching for Gilbert and then begging him to listen to his music when he found him. Gilbert would often find him old and complicated songs to play, and he loved mastering them and watching Gilbert laugh in delight as he heard the familiar tunes once more.
Months passed this way, and Frederick began to yearn for his home again. He loved spending his time with Gilbert and exploring the castle and reading, but he wanted to visit his family, if only for a little while. He told this to Gilbert, earnestly begging him to let him leave so that he could at least see them. Gilbert tried to mollify him, leading him to the mirror that could look upon the outside world, but Frederick had long since grown tired of the mirror.
Finally, Gilbert sighed and said, "I know that you miss your mother and sister dearly. It makes you unhappy, and I would rather die than see you unhappy. You may go back."
The sorrow in his voice struck deep into Frederick's heart. "I promise that I will come back," he said, laying his hand on Gilbert's arm in a comforting manner. He was not afraid to touch him, or to gaze into his face. His silly fears had been banished a long time ago.
"Will you?" Gilbert asked hopefully. When Frederick nodded, his cheerfulness returned. "Promise me that you will come back within in a week."
"I will," Frederick said.
Gilbert managed a smile, and even though it still pained him greatly to see Frederick go, he still let him. But he had given him two gifts to take with him: another enchanted mirror that would allow him to see the castle, and a ring that would immediately return him to the castle if he turned it three times around his finger. Frederick bade him farewell and reasserted his promise, and then rode away on the fine horse that had also been given to him.
He soon arrived at his old town, and his mother and sister shrieked in delight when they saw him, alive and quite unharmed. Frederick thought that he might die of joy seeing them again and embraced them wholeheartedly, laughing all the while and feeling more lighthearted than he had in months. Soon his return spread across the town, and his old friends came to see him and gawk. He was dressed in fine clothes that only a nobleman could come by, and he had a beautiful new flute made of the finest ebony, ivory, and silver. Naturally they were quite curious as to where he had gotten them from, and questioned him insistently about it. Fearing that the simple townsfolk would be frightened of Gilbert, Frederick refused to say how he had gotten his possessions.
Aside from the questions, Frederick spent a wonderful week in with his family and old friends, enjoying himself immensely and catching up on news about what had happened in his absence. The end of the week seemed to approach much too quickly for him, but he remembered his promise to Gilbert and he was determined to keep it. Even though he had been away from the castle for a very short time, he found himself missing his dear Gilbert, and more than once wished to himself that Gilbert didn't have such a monstrous appearance so that he might join him. When they learned that Frederick had to go, his friends begged him to stay. They were quite confident that in a few days they could get the truth out of Frederick, and one of his closest friends, Voltaire, even used onions to makes his eyes tear up as he begged Frederick not to go.
Eventually he agreed to stay for a little while longer, but he was going to go back. His friends all agreed, but to their great annoyance they still could not pry the secret from him. On the tenth day that he had left, Frederick began to grow extremely worried, for he felt quite bad about breaking his promise to Gilbert. He knew that Gilbert valued his company more than anything, and he found himself longing for the castle as the hours went by. Finally he could stand it no longer and he decided to take a peek into the mirror he had been given and see what was happening at the castle. He was utterly horrified to see Gilbert in the mirror, his body stretched out upon the front path, lying right next to his glowing rose, whose petals were slowly falling off one by one. He could tell that Gilbert was dying, and he heard the beast wailing in his last breath at how ungrateful Frederick was, and how he had been such a fool for ever falling in love with him.
His words brought a wave a guilt into Frederick's heart, and he immediately put the mirror away and turned the ring around his finger three times, desperate to get back the castle.
He gasped as he disappeared in a flash of light, a momentary dizziness coming over him. When his eyes cleared he found himself standing right in the middle of the math path to the gardens. He turned around and immediately noticed Gilbert lying on the ground, his fur dirty and unkempt, and much thinner than the last time Frederick had seen him. "Gilbert!" he yelled, running over to him and dropping to his knees beside him. For one terrible moment he thought that he had arrived too late and Gilbert had just died, but moments later he discovered that Gilbert was still breathing. "Gilbert, wake up!" he cried, reaching out and shaking him by the shoulder.
Gilbert's body lolled uselessly. "Oh no," Frederick whispered, feeling himself trembling. "Please don't be dead, oh Gilbert please, I'm so sorry." He knew that he would never forgive himself if Gilbert died, and he simply could not imagine a life without him. He was far too good of a friend to die because of some stupid mistake.
…Friend? No, he was much more than a friend. He… he absolutely had to be alive. In a panic, Frederick grabbed his water canteen and poured its contents past Gilbert's lips. The beast coughed suddenly and his eyes, dull and glazed, flickered open. They widened when they saw him. "I thought you had left me," he whispered in shock, as if he could not believe that he was there. "I thought that… you enjoyed being with your family more than me, and had left me alone here." He turned away. "I didn't want to eat, knowing that I had let you grow so close to me, and then you abandoned me for being such a horrible monster and keeping you here."
Frederick shook his head, reaching out to run his fingers through Gilbert's fur. "No, never," he said, tears rolling down his face. "I love you far too much to leave you."
Gilbert sat up a little. "What?" he asked in shock.
"You heard me right," Frederick said, knowing the truth now. "I love you." As soon as he said this, his tears dripped down from his face and onto Gilbert, and a brilliant flash of light suddenly lit the entire courtyard. He covered his eyes from the light, and when he took his hand away he was astonished to see a man now lying on the ground in front of him. A very handsome man, no less.
The man looked just as surprised as Frederick felt, and he raised his hands to his face, touching his flesh as if to convince himself that it was real. "It's been broken," he said, a smile of pure joy coming over his face. "It's been broken!" he yelled, sitting up and examining his hands, clenching and unclenching his fingers. "Oh my gods, I have hands again! Thank you, thank you!" He turned and tackled Frederick, pulling him into a tight embrace and then kissing him without a moment's thought.
Frederick was so surprised that he didn't even respond, but Gilbert didn't seem to care.
With the curse broken, Gilbert was free to explain everything to Frederick, and he had said that he had kept the curse a secret from him because he did not want Frederick to take any pity on him, for the love between them had to be unconditional and unfettered by any obligations that Frederick felt compelled to give him. Gilbert shamefacedly said that he had tried to acquire love through pity in the past, but it never worked out. He was overjoyed at long curse finally being broken, and was constantly declaring his love, saying that the only way it could have happened was if they had both loved each other.
Not only that, but the rest of the inhabitants had been freed as well. Soon his friends, Francis and Antonio, were running out of the castle, laughing like children and nearly crushing Frederick as they dragged him into another embrace. They all praised and thanked the man who freed them, and offered to let him stay with them forever and rule alongside Gilbert as king. Frederick would have laughed and turned down the offer if Gilbert had not asked him, right after the offer had been made, to marry him. He knew that marrying Gilbert would make him co-ruler of the land and as a consequence the king, but he said yes anyway. He did love him, after all, and not even the idea of having to rule a kingdom could break it.
They were married soon afterward, and the both of them ruled peacefully, side-by-side, until the end of their days. And they all lived happ… you know what, I actually hate that phrase. But we all know that they were quite happy with each other and were probably so sugary sweet and fluffy to each other that they put cotton candy to shame. Everything just turned out awesome, alright?
The End~
A/N: Ah, twue wuv. It's so sweet~ What I find really funny though is that I have never seen Beauty and the Beast in my entire life (LOL) I went for an odd mashup of the Diney version and the original, with a little of my own flair thrown in. I hope you liked it dear, even though it is a bit erm, unoriginal I guess?
This turned out to be so much longer than I originally planned XDD But I made it longer because I had to write those little scenes with Fritz and Gilbert, because I couldn't stand not being able to write in my usual, detail-laden form. (I despise writing summaries, which is sort of what fairytales are in a vague sense, so I wrote some prose for my own sake.) I would have written the entire story like that, but it would have taken absolutely forever XD
Happy Birthday GothicDancer! I hope you liked it ;w;