Authoress's Note: Well, here's my take on Beauty and the Beast...if you want me to write more, just review, and I will magically escape my writer's block and be inspired once more! Many thanks! ~Jenny the chica~
Rosemarie
By Jenny the chica
Prologue
Once Upon a Time…a time where everyday people, like you and me, could see fairies and unicorns and elves and spells, and magic was everywhere, and heroes, virtuous ones, always arose when there was even the slightest need, and witches and evil fairies cast evil spells, and beautiful princesses would be rescued by handsome princes, and they would be able to fall in love instantly and still live happily ever after; a time when good always won and everyone's lives ended just as they had wished.
Once Upon a Time, a prince was born in a happy, joyful kingdom, where all the magical and mystical things mentioned above existed in great amounts. His parents were, of course, overjoyed, as most parents are when their baby was born.
But this was even more special, because the prince was the firstborn, and thus the heir to the throne. The entire country celebrated with the king and queen, and a national holiday was proclaimed, as they always were. In one certain country, one of the oldest, there had been so many proclaimed national holidays that every other day, or almost, at least, there was a great holiday. Sadly, everyone still had to work on those days, since, thankfully, the monarchy was not so stupid that they would let their people work only every other day. And, of course, the monarchy had to do their special duties, whatever they were, as well.
However, that is an entirely different matter, for another time, story, and place. Perhaps we will hear that story later, perhaps not. Anyway, in this kingdom with the new prince, the festivities eventually died down and normal life returned to the happy royal couple and their child.
And so the boy grew, the sole object of his parents' affection, since they never had any children besides him. Because of this, though, he was rather on the spoiled side…and that is putting it gently. In short, he was a brat to everyone except his parents, when he immediately became a perfect angel around, and they were too biased to listen to the courtiers, who came to them and raved about "what your blasted…I mean, dear sweet, son has done now."
His parents never punished him for anything, which is a pity, for I'm sure that he would have made a very nice boy, had he been raised that way, for he had curly, brown hair and a handsome face.
This he continued to grow up, lacking correction and discipline, until shortly after his seventeenth birthday. Still spoiled as ever, he was always playing tricks on the various servants, who only stayed in the castle because they adored the king and queen, even in spite of their terrible son.
But one day in June, which was just after his seventeenth birthday, which fell in April, a huge epidemic spread through this once-happy kingdom. Many died, and both the king and queen fell ill to it. Sadly, the prince had been spirited away to the country before he could catch it. Both rulers died, along with a good number of the population.
When the prince returned home, after the epidemic had died down, he returned to almost no one to rule. Of the people, most that had not died had fled to neighboring lands, whether they had relatives there or not.
You should not be very surprised that he did not care at all…well, at least not much. He ruled only because he liked feeling powerful. Another thing that you should not be surprised at is that many of the people left in the country fled soon after he came to power.
In fact, after he had been ruling for only a few months, there were only a handful of scattered homes that were still inhabited in the prince's kingdom. When his advisers would tell him this, he didn't really understand, and, when they finally explained it to him in great detail, he didn't care. All that mattered was the fact that he was in charge, even if there was no one to be in charge of.
Now, as I said in the beginning, this is a land where magical things are everyday occurrences, but the prince, having lived in the palace all his life, had never personally witnessed any of the magical things that could be found in his land.
On one particular winter's night, when the prince had been ruling for two and a half years, and was very close to his twentieth birthday, there was a visitor to the castle.
Of course, this is not a strange thing in any other circumstance, but you already know that this is not an ordinary incident, and thus it was quite strange.
No one had come to the castle, other than the servants and courtiers who were left. Not even the few scattered citizens of the country came there. Actually, they only technically lived within the bounds of the prince's country. It's not like they ever listened or obeyed the cruel prince, anyway.
Nevertheless, on this night, the door was opened by the gatekeeper, who normally opened the door. He was met by an old woman, tightly bundled in a dirty, old cloak that smelled of dirt, grime, and garbage. She was hunched over, and nearly toothless. Her gray hair was greasy and stringy, and dirty streaks were all over her face. The man hid his grimace, out of politeness, and told her to wait a moment. She nodded, and was thankful that the door was not slammed in her face, but merely left cracked open.
Not long after, a young man's voice was heard, "WHO LEFT THE DOOR OPEN? IT'S BLOODY COLD OUTSIDE!!!! DO YOU WANT ME TO FREEZE?"
A mumbled, "No, your majesty, of course not, your majesty," could barely be made out. The old woman continued to wait patiently.
The young man, who we know to be the prince, yanked open the door, only to peer down at the old woman. "What do you want," he sneered, a definite grimace plastered on his face.
"Please," the old woman whispered, barely audible, "all I want is shelter from this storm…just for tonight. By morning, I'll be gone, and you'll never have to-"
The prince didn't even bother to hold up his hand to silence her, but interrupted, "NO! We have no room here for the likes of you! Get out…NOW!!!"
The gatekeeper attempted, from behind the prince, "But sir, it is snowing heavily, and we have plenty of rooms now, and I'm sure that it will be no trouble if-"
The prince turned in fury to the man, and screamed, "NO!!! I HAVE SAID 'NO!' AND I MEANT 'NO!'"
The old woman tried one last time, "Are you sure, sir? There is no room for me?"
"YOU HEARD WHAT I BLOODY SAID, WOMAN!"
"Very well, then." And with that, she suddenly transformed in front of him. Her back straightened, and she grew taller. Her limp hair was changed to thick, and the gray in it vanished to become blond and glossy. Her dirty cloak fell in a heap around her, and she wore a dress finer than any of the ladies in the court of that land had ever seen, even in the golden days when the prince's parents had ruled. In shock, the gatekeeper dropped his candle in the snow.
The angry prince was not incredibly stupid, and he realized that this was one of those fairies that he had heard about. He fell on his knees and begged for her forgiveness, pleading that he had thought that she was someone else, and begging her to come in and rest in the best rooms in his castle.
The fairy shook her head. "It is too late," she murmured, but the prince heard her. "I have heard of your cruelty, and I gave you one last chance to prove that you could improve. But you have failed miserably, and for that, you have to pay. From now on, your outward appearance will reflect your inward appearance. Inside, you are cruel and heartless, like a beast. And so you will become one, only able to regain the power of speech. However, when you look at yourself, you will see yourself as normal, like you are now, but everyone else will see you as this beast."
The prince was weeping by now, and he managed to move the fairy, so she said, "However, if you can fall in love with a girl who can love you in return, then you will become human to everyone else, as well.
"As for the servants, they will become invisible-even to you. They will be like winds, and they will suffer for your cruel heart as well."
With that, the fairy did not wave a wand or anything, but the prince saw a flicker in her eye, and, on instinct, looked down at his hands. They were normal. However, he turned and saw the melted puddle of snow. Shaking, he held out his hands in front of the puddle.
From the light from inside, he saw his reflection…all he saw was a terrible vision of huge, hairy claws, on something like an animal's paw.
He looked up at the fairy, with tears beginning to form in his eyes, and when he saw the pitying look on her face, he broke down and wept. He glanced up again, but the fairy had vanished.
Hope seemed to be completely gone, and he screamed in despair, but all that reached his ears was a terrible roar. He began to weep harder.
A/N: Well, kids...that's all, folks! Now....you know what to do...if ya don't this is your cue to REVIEW!!! HA!! that...rhymed!!! YAY!!! ~Jenny the chica~
Rosemarie
By Jenny the chica
Prologue
Once Upon a Time…a time where everyday people, like you and me, could see fairies and unicorns and elves and spells, and magic was everywhere, and heroes, virtuous ones, always arose when there was even the slightest need, and witches and evil fairies cast evil spells, and beautiful princesses would be rescued by handsome princes, and they would be able to fall in love instantly and still live happily ever after; a time when good always won and everyone's lives ended just as they had wished.
Once Upon a Time, a prince was born in a happy, joyful kingdom, where all the magical and mystical things mentioned above existed in great amounts. His parents were, of course, overjoyed, as most parents are when their baby was born.
But this was even more special, because the prince was the firstborn, and thus the heir to the throne. The entire country celebrated with the king and queen, and a national holiday was proclaimed, as they always were. In one certain country, one of the oldest, there had been so many proclaimed national holidays that every other day, or almost, at least, there was a great holiday. Sadly, everyone still had to work on those days, since, thankfully, the monarchy was not so stupid that they would let their people work only every other day. And, of course, the monarchy had to do their special duties, whatever they were, as well.
However, that is an entirely different matter, for another time, story, and place. Perhaps we will hear that story later, perhaps not. Anyway, in this kingdom with the new prince, the festivities eventually died down and normal life returned to the happy royal couple and their child.
And so the boy grew, the sole object of his parents' affection, since they never had any children besides him. Because of this, though, he was rather on the spoiled side…and that is putting it gently. In short, he was a brat to everyone except his parents, when he immediately became a perfect angel around, and they were too biased to listen to the courtiers, who came to them and raved about "what your blasted…I mean, dear sweet, son has done now."
His parents never punished him for anything, which is a pity, for I'm sure that he would have made a very nice boy, had he been raised that way, for he had curly, brown hair and a handsome face.
This he continued to grow up, lacking correction and discipline, until shortly after his seventeenth birthday. Still spoiled as ever, he was always playing tricks on the various servants, who only stayed in the castle because they adored the king and queen, even in spite of their terrible son.
But one day in June, which was just after his seventeenth birthday, which fell in April, a huge epidemic spread through this once-happy kingdom. Many died, and both the king and queen fell ill to it. Sadly, the prince had been spirited away to the country before he could catch it. Both rulers died, along with a good number of the population.
When the prince returned home, after the epidemic had died down, he returned to almost no one to rule. Of the people, most that had not died had fled to neighboring lands, whether they had relatives there or not.
You should not be very surprised that he did not care at all…well, at least not much. He ruled only because he liked feeling powerful. Another thing that you should not be surprised at is that many of the people left in the country fled soon after he came to power.
In fact, after he had been ruling for only a few months, there were only a handful of scattered homes that were still inhabited in the prince's kingdom. When his advisers would tell him this, he didn't really understand, and, when they finally explained it to him in great detail, he didn't care. All that mattered was the fact that he was in charge, even if there was no one to be in charge of.
Now, as I said in the beginning, this is a land where magical things are everyday occurrences, but the prince, having lived in the palace all his life, had never personally witnessed any of the magical things that could be found in his land.
On one particular winter's night, when the prince had been ruling for two and a half years, and was very close to his twentieth birthday, there was a visitor to the castle.
Of course, this is not a strange thing in any other circumstance, but you already know that this is not an ordinary incident, and thus it was quite strange.
No one had come to the castle, other than the servants and courtiers who were left. Not even the few scattered citizens of the country came there. Actually, they only technically lived within the bounds of the prince's country. It's not like they ever listened or obeyed the cruel prince, anyway.
Nevertheless, on this night, the door was opened by the gatekeeper, who normally opened the door. He was met by an old woman, tightly bundled in a dirty, old cloak that smelled of dirt, grime, and garbage. She was hunched over, and nearly toothless. Her gray hair was greasy and stringy, and dirty streaks were all over her face. The man hid his grimace, out of politeness, and told her to wait a moment. She nodded, and was thankful that the door was not slammed in her face, but merely left cracked open.
Not long after, a young man's voice was heard, "WHO LEFT THE DOOR OPEN? IT'S BLOODY COLD OUTSIDE!!!! DO YOU WANT ME TO FREEZE?"
A mumbled, "No, your majesty, of course not, your majesty," could barely be made out. The old woman continued to wait patiently.
The young man, who we know to be the prince, yanked open the door, only to peer down at the old woman. "What do you want," he sneered, a definite grimace plastered on his face.
"Please," the old woman whispered, barely audible, "all I want is shelter from this storm…just for tonight. By morning, I'll be gone, and you'll never have to-"
The prince didn't even bother to hold up his hand to silence her, but interrupted, "NO! We have no room here for the likes of you! Get out…NOW!!!"
The gatekeeper attempted, from behind the prince, "But sir, it is snowing heavily, and we have plenty of rooms now, and I'm sure that it will be no trouble if-"
The prince turned in fury to the man, and screamed, "NO!!! I HAVE SAID 'NO!' AND I MEANT 'NO!'"
The old woman tried one last time, "Are you sure, sir? There is no room for me?"
"YOU HEARD WHAT I BLOODY SAID, WOMAN!"
"Very well, then." And with that, she suddenly transformed in front of him. Her back straightened, and she grew taller. Her limp hair was changed to thick, and the gray in it vanished to become blond and glossy. Her dirty cloak fell in a heap around her, and she wore a dress finer than any of the ladies in the court of that land had ever seen, even in the golden days when the prince's parents had ruled. In shock, the gatekeeper dropped his candle in the snow.
The angry prince was not incredibly stupid, and he realized that this was one of those fairies that he had heard about. He fell on his knees and begged for her forgiveness, pleading that he had thought that she was someone else, and begging her to come in and rest in the best rooms in his castle.
The fairy shook her head. "It is too late," she murmured, but the prince heard her. "I have heard of your cruelty, and I gave you one last chance to prove that you could improve. But you have failed miserably, and for that, you have to pay. From now on, your outward appearance will reflect your inward appearance. Inside, you are cruel and heartless, like a beast. And so you will become one, only able to regain the power of speech. However, when you look at yourself, you will see yourself as normal, like you are now, but everyone else will see you as this beast."
The prince was weeping by now, and he managed to move the fairy, so she said, "However, if you can fall in love with a girl who can love you in return, then you will become human to everyone else, as well.
"As for the servants, they will become invisible-even to you. They will be like winds, and they will suffer for your cruel heart as well."
With that, the fairy did not wave a wand or anything, but the prince saw a flicker in her eye, and, on instinct, looked down at his hands. They were normal. However, he turned and saw the melted puddle of snow. Shaking, he held out his hands in front of the puddle.
From the light from inside, he saw his reflection…all he saw was a terrible vision of huge, hairy claws, on something like an animal's paw.
He looked up at the fairy, with tears beginning to form in his eyes, and when he saw the pitying look on her face, he broke down and wept. He glanced up again, but the fairy had vanished.
Hope seemed to be completely gone, and he screamed in despair, but all that reached his ears was a terrible roar. He began to weep harder.
A/N: Well, kids...that's all, folks! Now....you know what to do...if ya don't this is your cue to REVIEW!!! HA!! that...rhymed!!! YAY!!! ~Jenny the chica~
