Prologue
'Today I am going to tell you a story. It is a tale of magic, adventure, hate, and eventually even love. Some people believe it to be a myth, or a legend. but I do not believe those people, for every legend or myth has some element of truth to it. This is my favourite story, and I hope you will like it as much as I do, because I hold it very dearly. Now listen closely, this is what happened. To understand the story we have to begin at the start, the very beginning…'
Once upon a time, like every great story begins, in a land not that far away, there lived a King and a Queen in a grand castle. They had everything they desired. A great kingdom, great harvests, and lots of treasury, enough to last them a lifetime.
The King and Queen ruled with great strength and an iron hand, keeping everyone happy and satisfied, but the rulers were horrible people. The king had an ego from here to next Tuesday, and the Queen was as selfish and vain as one could be. The castle walls were covered with mirrors, so that the Queen could always take a quick look in the mirror if she so wished to.
Even though the kingdom did overall very well and there was not much for people to complain for, under the people of the kingdom, the King and Queen were not well-liked. Because of the Queens selfishness, she would not share anything, even if it benefitted the people of her country for the better. The King was also headstrong and egotistic. He could not admit mistakes if he should try. The army had failures regularly and many men were wounded , but yet the King would not admit his mistakes.
If the people wanted help, you should not expect to get it from the King.
This went on for many years, until the day it all changed. That is where our story begins.
Our story starts on a blue Monday morning at some past ten in the morning, when the Queen delivers a healthy baby boy. After hours of labour, finally it was done, but the Queen had suffered greatly. She was exhausted and vulnerable for disease. It was on Tuesday she got sick, and did not recover anymore. She passed away a week later, to the great shock of the king, who was devastated when the news was brought to him at his breakfast table. His son was almost a week old, and now had no mother.
'I know this is a sad beginning, but that makes it even more believable. Life does not always happen as in the storybooks. A lot of people don't realise that. This is, however a beginning of a story, not the end. A lot can happen to have a happy ending. Just as your own life. Now quiet, then I will continue.'
The king was so devastated by the tragic death of his beloved wife, he did not see the daylight for weeks, barely leaving his bedchambers and not leaving the castle at all.
His new-born son was taken care of by the servants, in particularly Mrs. Potts, who adored the baby as if it was her own. Two maids, Camille and Giselle helped her take care of the boy as he got older and more difficult to handle. Mrs. Potts was after all no young lady anymore.
Through the years, the boy grew up wild and mischievous, looking up to his father, but rarely spending any time with him.
When they did spend time together, the boy would do anything to make his father proud and to get his attention, perhaps intentionally to get him to spend more time with him, or perhaps unconsciously. It never worked however, as the King was always too busy for his son.
As the boy got older, he noticed how his father behaved towards other people, the servants, the subjects. The king always made sure people knew he was better than them. It was always putting yourself first when it came to it, and nobody was better at this then the King. When the prince realised that, he started behaving differently. It started out slowly, with the boy starting to show less respect to Mrs Potts and the maids as he used to, or not thinking about his actions at all and denying his mistakes.
Sadly, his servants did not notice until it was too late. The boy had become a real brat by the time he was ten years old. He would anything to get the attention of his father, and Mrs. Potts attention, or even Camille's or Giselle's attention was enough. The servants were sad to watch the lovely young boy grow into a horrible man. He had felt like a brother to the maids, and like a son to Mrs. Potts. They almost thought of the boy as a failed attempt at raising a child. It was not their fault in any way.
Just when they thought it could not get any worse for the young prince, something unspeakable happened. The King was shot and killed in a carriage robbery. The whole kingdom was devastated, and mourned their King, who had ruled over them for many years.
That was the moment the prince's situation got even worse. He was forced to take lessons he did not want to have yet, and learn the proper way to speak, eat, stand, walk, dance and many more things. He had to learn so much there was not any time for him left to be a kid. He spent years learning and learning, etiquettes and difficult dances being forced onto him. It did not help the Prince's state. In his confusion on how to actually command people, he did the only thing he knew to do. He acted like his father would have. He turned grim and stern, not having any remorse for anyone or anything.
He did not for the consequences of his actions, and he did not care who got hurt over his foolish commands. It got so bad, that the people of the kingdom began to hate the young prince. it was known all over the land that the prince was a cruel person, arresting people for silly reasons and throwing them in prison for things they did not do.
The fact that the prince was spoiled and selfish was in fact so well know that a couple of kingdoms over, the news reached a very powerful witch. The witch was very well known as a successful healer and the King's personal mage.
She was a good person and an even better witch, but she was not to be trifled with, for she had a tenfold of terrible curses on her name. When the Witch heard of the vain Prince, she decided to take a look. She saw it as her duty to help as much people as she could with her magic, to use it for good.
She had no idea in what state she would find the Prince, perhaps the tales of the neighbouring kingdom were exaggerated. When she arrived at the castle however, she changed her mind.
It was clear by the high, closed gates and the guards by the entrance of the palace, that the Prince did not want any commoners on his grounds, and he would do anything to keep them out.
The witch decided she could not just walk in with her simple dress and filthy cheeks, so she mustered all the magic she had and turned herself into a beautiful lady. With that she walked to the gate and demanded she be let in.
The guards let her through, not wishing to disrespect a noblewoman, and within minutes, the witch stood before the big, wooden doors of the castle. With her magic, she turned herself from a beautiful noblewoman into a haggard old beggar. With her small fist she knocked on the door, wondering if it would be loud enough for the people inside to hear.
After a minute, the heavy door opened a couple of inches, revealing a long, bony face.
The witch smiled innocently, asking for the prince. The face looked her up and down and nodded, closing the door again, before unlocking it and opening it further for the woman to fit through.
'if you could wait a minute ma'am, I will inform His majesty of your arriving. But I would not get your hopes up, he does not often go out of his way to talk to people.'
'Very well, though I must insist on talking to His Majesty. It is quite an important matter.'
The man nodded and the Witch waited in the opening of the door, still hoping for the best.
The Prince had just finished his dinner, when Pepe walked into the dining room with a frown on his face. Sensing his butler did not have any good news, the Prince sighed and rolled his eyes. Could he not have any time for himself? Why did everyone always needed him with everything?
'What is it Pepe?' the Prince said before the tall man even had the chance to say anything.
'It is a woman at the door Your Majesty.' He had barely finished when the Prince sighed dramatically and waved him away.
'You know what I have said about people at the door Pepe. I do not want them. Turn her away.' He commanded.
Pepe looked behind him swiftly and then took a step back. "I am afraid she was quite persistent, Your Majesty. I think it would be wise to hear her out.' As it was, Pepe did not have a good feeling about this. There was something terribly off about that woman, but he could not for the life of him figure out what it was that made her stand out. He would have never allowed her in had she not confused him so, but something told him not to piss this lady of.
'Did you not hear me Pepe? I said turn her away. I will not have any beggars on my property. She has come to ask something of me no doubt, but I shall make no time for such commoners. I have more important things to do. Now leave.' The prince said dismissively.
Pepe stumbled out of the dining room, not quite knowing what do, closing the door behind him.
After a few moments of pondering on how he could bring the news the best to the old lady, the door behind him opened again to reveal the Prince.
'Pepe, did you not leave yet? I thought I told you to turn the woman away!' the Prince said angrily.
'Of course Majesty, I was merely, ehm… thinking about how to bring it to the lady. See, she was so persistent on seeing you…'
'Oh for god's sake Pepe, I have to do everything myself around here! Where do I even keep you around for? You are all completely useless!' He said loudly as he made his way to the front doors.
At the big doors he found an old woman, even more haggard and uglier than he expected her to be. She smelled of homelessness and sweat. The prince looked at her in disgust.
'What is your business here you peasant.' He spat, clearly annoyed.
'I wished to ask you for shelter, my Prince. I am very cold an weak and I do not think I can make it to the next town over.' She spoke soflty with a broken, old voice.
'What do I get in return?' the Prince asked. The woman smiled and began searching in her worn out bag, eventually pulling out a rose.
'I can only give you this rose. It is my most prized possession.' the woman said, looking up at the prince.
'A rose?' the Prince repeated with disbelief.
'What do you take me for, a fool? Leave you disgusting old hag. How did you even get through my guards?' the Prince sneered.
The woman sighed and realised with great sadness the horrible rumours were true. She had to take action, or this kingdom would crash and burn under his rule. Trying to give himself a chance to get himself out of it, she spoke up again.
'Please young Prince, do not judge books by their covers, you never know what lies beyond that rough exterior.' She said, holding the rose higher, willing him to accept it.
'It's Your Majesty to you, and has everyone gone deaf today? I told you to leave, now I suggest you do that before I have you removed.' he spat, venom lacing his voice.
The witch sighed and let her disguise melt away, with a little more sparks than necessary, but hey, she always had a habit of being dramatic when she could.
The Prince, finally realising this was no ordinary old beggar, started panicking, but trying his best not to reveal it. When she was done, the Witch stood before the Prince, tall and proud. She looked down at him with stern eyes.
'Young Prince, you have sunken so deep into you own selfish world, yo do not know how to have remorse for those beneath or around you. You have been deceived by your own cold heart. If you continue on this path things will not end well. You will destroy the few things you still love, your status and wealth. I will do yourself and the Kingdom a favour and stop this while it can still be stopped.' She began, and the Prince's eyes widened. This did not sound good at all. He shook his head slightly.
'Your position and looks have let you to believe you are someone better than you actually are. When it comes down to it, you are no better than the people you treat with such disrespect. I fear I cannot do anything but curse you. I cannot let you continue like this.'
The Prince took a step towards the woman, still shaking his head.
'Now you listen here you-' he began, before getting cut off by the woman.
'You are a danger to you Kingdom and to your people. You are not worthy of your title. The curse I will place upon you and your servants, will only break if you are.'
The Prince was now panicking, he did not like this one bit. He turned around, opening his mouth to shout for his guards, when he felt a burning pain beginning to spread all over his body.
He shot a look at the woman who smiled sadly. She held out her arms again, the rose from earlier appearing out of thin air. She put it in the cold snow before the Prince's feet and looked him in the eyes.
'you have until the last petal falls to break the curse, or else the curse will become permanent you the Prince in you will die.' She said, stepping back into the shadows of the outer castle walls, seeming to disappear into nothingness before the Prince's eyes, leaving him alone in pure agony as the curse was setting in.
'That's it for today I'm afraid, it's already much too late you monkeys.'
'But mum, what happened to the prince next?'
'Easy you! I promise I will read to you both again. Tomorrow, that is. You need to sleep.'
'Goodnight mum'
'Yes goodnight mum'
'Goodnight my princess, goodnight little prince.'
Hello everyone who decided to give my book a chance, i hope you've enjoyed reading this prologue as much as i've enjoyed writing it.
As said in the description, this is a story request made by retro mania, to mix: the 162 movie, the 1976 movie, the 1991 animated movie, and the retold book by Jan Brett into one story.
Of course i thought it would be a nice challenge, because have never take any story requests before, so i'm curious to see how it works out.
Also this story is to celebrate the Beauty and the Beast Live-action starring Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Ian McKellen, and many more great actors. I'm so excited for this movie! In my country it isn't in theatres until march 22nd, so don't spoil anything please ;)
But yeah i want to thank you again for reading my story and i hope you enjoy it, if you did, don't be afraid to leave a review. It always makes my day to read your messages, positive or negative. (If they're negative at least i can learn something right?)
How does Belle do in this alternate universe? Read to find out!
Xx
