Beauty and the Beast: A Faberry Tale As Old As Time
Once upon a time, a young princess, Quinn Fabray lived in a shining 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 the old woman
away. The woman warned her not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. When she was dismissed again, the old
woman's ugliness melted away and she became a beautiful enchantress. The princess tried to apologize, but it was too late for the
enchantress had seen there was no love in her heart. As punishment, she transformed the princess into a hideous beast, and placed a
powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there. Ashamed of her monstrous form, the now beast concealed herself inside the castle,
with a magic mirror as her only window to the outside world. The rose that had been 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 passed, she fell into despair and lost all hope,
for who could ever learn to love a beast?
Not so far away lived one Rachel Berry. She was one of a kind, a short brunette with a large personality. She was uninterested in the
monotonous ways of village life, and longed for more. Rachel constantly sang, and dreamed of greater adventures that may lie outside of
this quiet village. The villagers all believed her strange but agreed that she was by far the loveliest girl in town. She dreamed of princes,
daring swordfights, magical kingdoms, and most of all, someone she could connect with. In the village lived a man who seemed almost like
a giant, Finn, who wanted Rachel for the simple fact that she was special. Finn had set his sights on the poor girl (unbeknownst to Rachel)
and set out to make her his wife. Seeing the object of his desire strolling through town, Finn approached the girl and snatched away a
music book she held. "How can you read this?" he asked "There aren't even any pictures! What're these funny dots all over the pages?"
"Now Finn, kindly return my book", Rachel said, clearly annoyed by the colossal man's rudeness. "It's a music book, filled with wonderful
new songs for me to learn. Songs about places much more interesting than here, and men much more interesting than you." "Now
Rachel", he scoffed "it's time for you to get your head out of the clouds and stop singing, and think about settling down. What do you say
you and me take a walk over to the tavern and look at my trophies? I'm quite strong, you know" Finn urged. "Maybe some other time"
Rachel stated, pulling away from Finn's arm, which he had snuck around her shoulders. "Please Finn, I can't, I have to get home,
goodbye." Rachel ran off, away from Finn and towards home. As she arrived at her quaint cottage on the outskirts of town, she heard an
explosion. "Papa!" she cried, sprinting towards his workshop. Inside, she found her Papa under some massive contraption, covered in
soot, but laughing. "It works! It works, mon Cherie!" "What works, Papa? Are you alright?" Rachel asked, concerned. "My machine works,
my dear! And I'm off to the fair with it! This will change our world, you just wait!" "Oh, I'm so proud of you Papa!" Rachel beamed.
"Now….what is it?" "It's a wood chopper!" he replied jovially. "And it works!" He demonstrated the machine for her, and Rachel hugged
him ferociously. "So you're off to the fair then? I'll go help you pack!" Soon, he Papa was all packed up and ready to go. He took their
horse, Felipe and the machine and started out, after a quick hug from Rachel and a promise that she would look after the household.
Rachel sighed as she watched her Papa disappear. She knew that their little family seemed odd in this town. A single father, an eccentric
somewhat flamboyant inventor, and his only daughter, a girl who was more interested in singing than anything this town could offer.
Rachel was happy for her Papa, but slightly saddened by his departure. "There he goes," she thought "off to change the world. And where
am I still? I'm stuck alone in this town, with no one to even talk to." She sighed again, and pulled out her new music book, determined to
learn it cover to cover before her Papa's return.