THIS IS A BEAUTY AND THE BEAST SPINOFF!
I've always wanted to do a fairytale spinoff with my OTP, so here it is!
Clearing up any misunderstandings: I am NOT rewriting Secluded Lovers. I AM rewriting Law's Affair (did first chapter woo) and honestly I don't know if I should just discontinue Secrets of a Slave or not?
If someone wants to adopt that story (Secrets of a Slave) I'll let you fyi. That was the first multi-chapter story I've written and just kinda lost motivation for it so yeah.
Anyway, you didn't click on this fic to hear me rant about my other fics.
By the way, I don't know if anyone else does this but like I already wrote chapter 3 or 4 for this story for some reason and I've written like chapter 40ish for Secluded Lovers lmao XD I feel like that's not good to do but whatever :'(
Now finally this A/N has ended, so enjoy the story!
-o-
"Hey Dad, welcome back!"
Both the raven haired girls stood in the kitchen of their house—the younger sister could be seen scooping fluffy white rice out of the steaming rice cooker, while the elder one was setting up the small, round dinner table.
"Thanks girls," he gave them a gentle smile. Gazing at a picture frame, his smile widened as his eyes landed upon the familiar raven haired woman. "And hello, Minako." he greeted, tipping his hat ever so slightly towards the picture. Most would call him crazy if they'd seen this interaction—especially since it's been eight years since they lost her—but to his two daughters, it was saddening and heartwarming at the same time.
"Dinner's ready," the older of the two informed him, setting a clean white plate on the table. Her father—Sakuya Ayuzawa—took off his hat and hung it on a nearby coat rack.
"Smells good. What are we having tonight, Suzuna?" he inquired. The girl finished scooping out the last of the rice and shut the rice cooker with a satisfying click.
"Curried rice," she replied in a monotone voice. Sakuya hummed in appreciation. Suddenly, they all heard a loud crashing sound as a plate slipped from the other girl's hands and onto the floor.
"Misaki, are you okay?" Sakuya asked worriedly, rushing over to his eldest daughter. She nodded meekly and bent down to pick the glass up, only to be stopped by him. "Don't. I'll clean it up." he said.
"No, it's fi—"
"Misaki." he said in a no-nonsense tone. She stood up and decided to back off for now. He gingerly picked up the shards of glass one by one and discarded of them in a nearby trash can. "Is something bothering you?" he asked her.
"Huh?" Misaki asked, a bit surprised by the sudden question.
"Something's on your mind, Misaki. I know there is," he continued. She glanced at Suzuna as if asking for assistance out of the situation, though her younger sister only gave her a sorry glance before turning her full attention back to cooking.
With a sigh, Misaki finally decided to speak what was on her mind. "You're leaving tomorrow." she stated. It wasn't a question—the three of them already knew it.
Sakuya let out a dry laugh. "Only for a week. And you know it's for work," he said. Misaki shrugged.
"I know." she replied. Standing up, Sakuya cleared his throat as if he were about to give a speech.
"How about I bring you guys back a little something?" he suggested.
"No." Misaki and Suzuna immediately rejected simultaneously. Both girls weren't big spenders, and definitely didn't want their dad to waste his hard-earned money on petty gifts for them. Sakuya laughed at their predictable behavior. Just like their mother, he thought.
"Come on, what's something you've always wanted?" he prompted. Misaki and Suzuna shared a single glance, their lips pressed together tightly. Sakuya sighed. Sensing his discomfort in this kind of situation, and knowing that all he wanted to do was see them happy, Misaki was first to speak up.
"A rose." she answered. Suzuna gave her a questioning glance, but went along with it.
"Yes, I also want a rose," Suzuna said. "They're very pretty. I've seen them in movies a lot." she said, trying to sound convincing. Sakuya raised an eyebrow at such a strange request—after all, most girls would die for such an opportunity to have a new expensive necklace or purse. But, of course, he remembered, these two weren't just any girls. They were his girls.
"Of course," he responded with a smile. "Two beautiful roses for my two beautiful girls," he said. They both grinned at their successful plan and the compliment.
"Food's done. Let's eat." Suzuna announced, bringing a hot pan over to the table and placing an even amount of the curried rice onto everyone's plates.
-o-
One day later
"I'm running late!" Sakuya exclaimed. He jumped on his horse and waved to his two daughters. "Goodbye! See you in a week's time!" he called.
"Bye! Have a safe journey!" Misaki smiled.
"Forget about the roses if you please as well," Suzuna added. Neither of the two girls exactly cared about the gift, though Sakuya did kind of force them into choosing something.
"No can do! I'd do anything to make my girls happy," he said. Pulling on the reins and jerking them slightly, the horse began to move. He waved at them one last time before setting off in the direction he was headed.
When he was out of sight, Misaki spoke, "Ah, that's right. I'm off to work."
"Bye nee-chan. Get there and back safely."
"I will."
-o-
Sakuya rode his horse fast as he could, before letting out a groan when he realized how late he was running. There has to be a faster way to get there…
Then, of course, like a miracle, he rested his eyes upon a forest. Perfect. He could easily reach his destination significantly faster if he travelled through the forest.
He pulled on the reins of the horse and had it turn sharply. They took off quickly into the forest, the lighting turning much darker the further in the got.
-o-
"Welcome home, Master!" Misaki recited, a fake smile plastered on her face. Only half an hour of work left… she reminded herself.
Yes, Misaki Ayuzawa hated her job. She worked in a maid café with very unfriendly employees, but she had to put up with it everyday because the pay here was much better than most other places… She'd often have to remind herself "it's this or food", and imagining starving Suzuna and her father was solely enough motivation for her.
"Misaki, come to the back," someone called. Misaki recognized the voice as one of the other maids—her name was Tsubaki, or something like that. She headed to the back as she was instructed to.
"Yes?" she asked.
"You've been working hard girl. All of us agreed on this. We got the rest of your shift," she assured Misaki. Her voice had a slight accent to it, but it definitely wasn't strong enough to the point where it was hard to understand what she was saying.
"Thank you Tsubaki." Misaki said with a small bow. Wow, this is a first. she thought. Well, if she had to choose anyone to call friendly, it would definitely be Tsubaki. She often helped Misaki with small favors, which she appreciated.
"No problem."
-o-
"Ah!"
Sakuya was thrown roughly against the ground as his chestnut brown horse ran off. He had no clue what came over it to do such a thing—Chess was usually such a good horse, what had happened?
Suddenly, a loud howling sound sent shivers down his spine. He gritted his teeth together as his question was soon answered. Wolves.
The howling sounds got louder and louder—in other words, meaning the wolves were getting closer. He gulped. Sakuya attempted to scramble back up onto his feet, but horribly failed as his aching leg he'd hurt from the fall caused him to crumble back onto the dirt-covered ground.
Soon enough, he saw the creatures emerge from the darkness of the trees. He gasped in horror, his daughter's faces flashing in his mind.
No…Misaki, Suzuna, I can't leave you two!
With shaky hands, he picked up a stick and threw it at one of the wolves. Unfortunately, this only angered it further as an inhumane sound erupted from its throat.
Sakuya cringed as they advanced on him. He closed his eyes. This was it. This was the end. Just like his wife, he'd have to leave his daughters. I guess I'll see her in Heaven…
CRASH!
The whimpering sounds of—puppies could be heard as they fled from the forest. Sakuya cautiously popped one of his eyes open and glanced around.
"Oh my gosh, are you okay?"
Sakuya's eyes snapped to a young woman kneeling beside him. She looked around Misaki's age, and her head was covered by a cloak-like hood. All he could see was that her eyes were a pinkish color.
"Sakura, what should we do?"
He turned his head to the other side and noticed a young man now kneeling beside him as well. He didn't wear a hood, and you could easily make out the outline of his blonde, messy hair, along with his reddish brown eyes.
"Bring him back to the castle, of course," came the girl's high pitched voice.
"I don't think Takumi would like that." the boy said. You could tell from his voice that he was frowning without even having to look at him.
"Don't be such a worry wart, Kuuga! It'll be fine." she retorted. The boy named Kuuga let out a sigh.
"If you say so."
-o-
"Thanks for your hospitality."
"You're welcome…Sakuya-san, right?" Sakura responded.
"Yes," he replied, a small smile on his lips. He sipped the warm tea out of his cup. "I should head back soon to my daughters."
"Daughters? Omigosh, I bet they're cute!" she squealed. "How old are they?"
"My youngest is fourteen and my eldest is seventeen."
"Ooh! Wish I could meet them sometime," Sakura cooed. Kuuga sat back in his chair, ignoring the conversation and sipping some tea as well.
"I'll bring you back. Let's leave soon." Kuuga said. Sakura nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. That's probably a good idea," she agreed. "I'll go prepare a horse," she said. Kuuga made a sound of acknowledgement.
Once Sakura left the room, Sakuya cleared his throat.
"So, how long have you lived here?"
"Why do you care?" he asked. "But I've lived here for about twelve years."
Twelve?!
"Mmm." he hummed, and left it at that. Peering out the window, Sakuya noticed something peculiar. It was the reflection of…
A rose?
Sakuya spun around, and only then did he notice that there was indeed a glowing rose sitting inside a glass case. It almost appeared to be levitating. He didn't even have time to notice how strange this was and how frightened he should be, since the only thought running through his head was Misaki and Suzuna would love it.
Before he realized what he was doing, he found himself walking on his still slightly aching leg—since they'd treated it, his leg was better but still not in perfect condition—and reaching out for the caged rose.
"Oh, Sakuya, by the way," Kuuga spoke, turning his head in the direction of the older man. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he saw what he was doing. "STOP!" he exclaimed—but it was too late. Sakuya had taken off the glass case and was holding the rose in his hand.
It felt light, and had no thorns on it. It felt almost as if impossible to snap, and even if you attempted to it would only bend. The majestic aura still remained around it even in his hands, and he could almost feel the sparkles(?) it was emitting.
Suddenly, the rose turned a dull red color and the stem flopped into his palm. The rose felt as if it'd gained a bit of weight—it wasn't as floaty and magical-looking as before either. He watched as one, two, three petals fell to the floor by his feet. The leaf hanging off the stem plucked itself off as well and floated to the floor to join the petals.
Kuuga watched this all occur, chanting in his head over and over I'm so dead, so dead, so dead, so dead…!
"Ah," Sakuya said. "Sorry about that."
Sorry?! SORRY?! You old man, Takumi's going to have my head for this and— Kuuga's thoughts were disrupted by an especially loud though familiar voice.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY ROSE?!"
Fuck.
He stumbled back. "I'm very sorry sir. I'll buy you a bouquet of roses—" Sakuya tried to bargain.
"I DON'T NEED YOUR APOLOGIES, I NEED THAT ROSE!" he bellowed. Damn it, I will NOT be trapped in this form forever! I WILL NOT! he thought. Only then did Sakuya look the man—no, the creature in the eye.
Then he did the only sensible thing a man who'd just seen a beast would do.
He screamed at the top of his lungs.
"HELP! I'M JUST A FATHER WHO WANTED TO TAKE CARE OF HIS DAUGHTERS IS THAT SO BAD?!" he exclaimed. The creature looked angry, but soon had an expression on his face—almost like a smirk, before letting out a dark chuckle.
"Daughters you say?" he inquired. This could work to his advantage after all.
Sakuya gulped. "Y-Yes…why?" Fantastic. All I need is a replacement rose, and I'll find out some way to break this curse! the beast inwardly planned.
"I'm taking one of them." he informed Sakuya. The man froze and stared at the creature before him as if he'd grown two heads.
"Are you mad?! There's no way in hell I'm handing Misaki nor Suzuna over to the likes of you!" Misaki and Suzuna, huh?
The beast lifted his sharp nails—no, claws—and grinned to reveal his glistening and absolutely terrifying teeth.
"You can hand her over or I'll take her by force." he said. "I'll be expecting you by tomorrow. Now get the hell out of my castle."
He didn't have to ask him twice before Sakuya took off running, not bothering or even wanting to look back.