Once upon a time, on a planet called Earth, a young diamond lived in a charming colony. Although she had everything her heart could desire, she was spoiled, selfish and unkind.
But then, one winter's night, a stranger wearing a hood to hide her face appeared at the step of the diamond's base. She offered the diamond a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold of the storm.
The diamond took one look and was repulsed by her appearance of a mere human. She sneered at the gift and turned the human away. She warned the diamond not to be deceived by appearances. For beauty was found within.
The diamond ignored her advice and dismissed her again. The old human's ugliness then melted away to reveal a great gem spirit. The diamond tried to apologize, but it was too late. The spirit had seen that there was no love in her heart. And, as punishment, she transformed her into a hideous, corrupted beast. All gems in the colony were stripped of their gemstones, leaving them in weak human exteriors. The colony fell and rotted away. All memory of the diamond and her colony were erased from existence.
Ashamed of her monstrous form, the diamond concealed herself away inside her castle. The rose the spirit had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom for many years. If she could learn to love and other 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 time passed, the diamond fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?