Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young God lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the God was spoilt, selfish and unkind, thinking of nothing but gold and himself.

One winters' night, his 'loyal' Head Priest grew tired of his position… not how his Master was… but how he himself would never rise any further.

He wanted to be more than what he was.

During a ceremony, he offered his God a single rose as tribute, knowing that the God would turn his nose up at the non-gold gift. Just as planned, the God sneered at it and scolded the High Priest for his decisions, vowing that he would pay for this insult.

And that was all that the High Priest needed.

Knowing that a large crowd of loyal followers were watching, he warned the God about the perils of gold, that true worth often lay within something. A rose could be worth so much more than all the treasure in the world combined.

But the God turned him away again, warning him that one more outburst might result in a nasty end for the High Priest.

The trap was sprung.

Having poisoned the God's wine earlier in the evening, the High Priest remained silent until his Master started to groan in pain and convulse. Once everyone's eyes were back on the God, he subtly threw a smoke pellet to the ground acting as though the other Gods were displeased with their brethren and had decided to curse him for his greed and anger.

It wasn't hard to hear the God begging for mercy in the smoke… not that anyone was listening.

When the smoke cleared, everyone screamed and cried out in alarm…. Their God had been transformed into a hideous beast.

Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself within his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world.

But the High Priest didn't consider it a victory… Even after cursing the several loyal servants who were still willing to worship the Beast and stay in the castle. So, he pretended that the rose he had offered had been enchanted by the other God's, stating that it would bloom until his 10th year as a beast, and then the petals would start to fall.

Once the last petal fell, the curse would be permanent, however, if he could learn to love another and earn their love in return before then, then the spell would be broken.

As the years passed, the God fell into despair and lost all hope… for who could ever learn to love a beast?

….

Years later, a few minutes before eight in the morning, Miguel opened the front door of his humble home and made his way outside, smiling as the early morning sun warmed his face.

Dressed in simple brown trousers and a red tunic, with golden blonde hair, Miguel made his way to the marketplace, humming softly to himself.

It was a little town he and his adoptive son lived in, a quiet village with the same things happening each and every day.

A little town full of little people.

The clock struck eight, and suddenly everything came to life. Women started opening up the windows, the marketplace bustled to life and the local drunk was being dragged off the streets.

The baker with the same tray, with the same style of bread could be seen emerging from his shop, prompting Miguel to go over and purchase the daily loaf, giving the man a beaming grin… not that it was ever returned.

Single Fathers didn't get a lot of respect in this village.

"Good morning Miguel!"

Well, at least someone was polite.

Spinning around, Miguel beamed at Mister Ra, a man from Egypt who looked as though he could have been royalty, with prominent cheekbones and warm eyes… and a temper, but nobody focused on that too much.

"Good morning Mister Ra, is everyone okay with you?"

Ramesses Ra nodded, a sad look flashing across his face, before it seemed to vanish entirely, and his usual stern look appeared. "Nothing important… I just can't help but feel like I've forgotten something."

It probably had something to do with the abandoned shepherds crook in the corner… not that anyone would ever mention it, even if they'd never seen him go anywhere near sheep before.

"Oh well…" Ramesses shrugged, "… I'm sure it was nothing important. And where are you off to today?"

"Oh, Eugene's already read the book we borrowed last week, so I need to get him a new one."

Ramesses rolled his eyes slightly. "You should be encouraging him to hunt, not read."

Shrugging in response, Miguel sent the man one last smile, before continuing on his way.

Walking past the school, Miguel avoided the school-masters' eyes…. If he ever had enough money, he would send his son to school… but he never had enough money.

Quickly hopping over the rocks that were in the local pond, Miguel made a tactical retreat, not wanting to get into the same old argument all over again.

He knew the old ladies of the village looked at him in disdain… never married and yet he was raising a kid all on his own. He didn't even spare their daughters a second glance… which was probably what the perceived crime was in the first place.

Heading past the fish stalls, Miguel dodged the local egg sales-man, hiding behind the trees as his loudest protestor started whining about how the eggs were far too expensive.

If he could avoid talking to any of them this morning, the day would be a success.

Sensing an opportunity, he darted out from his cover and raced into the book store, sighing in relief as he shut the door, blocking him from view.

"I see Eugene is making good progress in his reading…" a voice from up high chuckled, prompting Miguel to glance up towards the higher shelves, smiling at the elderly shop-keeper, "… tell me, what did he think about it?"

"Honestly Jacob, I don't think I saw him put it down."

Jacob, a man with twelve sons, but was convinced he was missing a thirteenth… a keen believer in miracles, and one of the few who believed in one God and one God only.

"I don't suppose you have anything new?"

Shaking his head wearily, Jacob sighed. "Not since the last time you came in… but you are more than welcome to choose any of his favourites and take them with you."

"Thanks a bunch Jacob!" Miguel beamed, instantly moving over to the adventure section and picking out 'The Adventures of Flynn Rider', "He'll appreciate this, I promise!"

"I know he will Miguel, I know he will."

As Miguel walked back out of the book-store, he ignored the three man standing near the tavern.

They didn't like him.

Not many people liked him really.

….

"Look at him…" Tzekel-Khan ordered his Acolyte, keeping his eyes on Miguel from his tower, "… Isn't he perfect?"

"Perfect Sir?"

"For the… new position so to speak."

The Acolyte winced, "But, what about what happened with the last- "He stopped at the look on Tzekel-Khan, "- not that that matters, of course."

"… I admit to some… small mistakes with him."

"So what makes Miguel any different?"

"Young Miguel is the heart of the town. Something that the last one lacked." Moving back into the tower and heading down the stairs in order to head outside, Tzekel-Khan forced a smile onto his face and stepped out into the streets, following Miguel through the crowded streets, watching as the blonde-haired man made his way through the people with ease, clearly not caring about the looks everyone else was giving him.

As the people parted, forming a path for him, he raced to catch up with Miguel, announcing his presence by tapping his shoulder. "Good morning Miguel!" he beamed at the stunned man, "What a lot of books you have there!"

"Yeah, they're for Eugene."

"Ah… of course." The child was one of the problems with his little plan… Miguel was utterly devoted to him, "I was wondering if I could join you and your little… son for dinner tonight?"

Miguel thought to himself for a few moments, before shaking his head. "Sorry… not tonight."

"Busy?"

"…. No."

Without waiting for an answer, Miguel strode away, leaving a stunned priest behind.

Well… that was interesting.

…..

Miguel shuddered as he wandered back home, glancing around him to make sure Tzekel-Khan (or his dopey acolyte) hadn't followed him home. As he opened the door to his modest home, he smiled at the sounds of play coming from the smaller bedroom.

Flynn Rider was fighting a witch it seemed.

"Does Flynn Rider want some breakfast?" he called out, laughing as Eugene ran out of his room and straight into him, tiny arms wrapping around his waist.

"You're back! You're back! Did you get- "

"- some bread for sandwiches. Of course I did."

"Yes!"

"And I also grabbed some more books for you."

Eugene clearly knew that he'd read these before, but smiled anyway. As Miguel headed into the kitchen, in order to make some breakfast for the pair of them, Eugene slowly followed.

"Daddy? Are we odd?"

"Odd?" Miguel frowned, "What gave you that idea? Those boys? What are their names?"

Silence.

"Or was it that girl that you like? Rapunzel?"

"Daddy, no!" Eugene whined, "Girls have cooties! I don't like her!"

Hearing the slightly downtrodden tone in his son's voice, Miguel moved to sit next to him. "I know life's a bit… difficult. But things will change, I promise…. Soon, we'll live in a palace! With a moat and a drawbridge!"

"Really? Like in the stories?"

"Exactly like your stories!"

His previous worries gone, Eugene devoured his breakfast, pulled on his daytime clothes and was rushing towards the door.

"Be back later Daddy!"

He was gone before Miguel could say bye.