A/N: This is my first attempt at a GaaHina, so here's hoping things turn out well. The prologue was a pain because I had to listen to the CD over and over to get the words exactly from the beginning of the play/movie.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Beauty and The Beast; Naruto is property of Kishimoto-sensei and Beauty and The Beast belongs to Disney, I believe. The lyrics and music to the movie and Broadway play belong to Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.
Prologue:
Once upon a time in a far away land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish and unkind. But then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within.
And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. As punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there.
Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose which would bloom for many years. If he 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, he would be doomed to remain a beast forever.
As the years went by, he fell into despair, for who could ever learn to love a beast?
In truth, my tale has been stretched, twisted and in all ways distorted over the years to suit the fancies of storyteller after storyteller, and I fear that the true facts have faded and mixed with myths. But much of the real story has survived along with the fiction, and so I write this, not as a fairytale or bedtime story, but as an honest retelling of one of the greatest love stories of all time:
Beauty And The Beast.
