A/N: Well, originally this was a school writing piece. We were asked to write twists and I love B&B so I decided to twist this story. I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer None of these characters belong to me… I only created a twist into the original story. I also do not own the song that is used in the story.
(The songs are from Cinderella 3: A twist in the tale and Anastasia (1997 version I think)… They really are beautiful songs! I didn't know if it was actually necessary to put in a disclaimer but I did, just to be on the safe side.)
Okay I'm going to let you read the story now…
Beauty and the Beast
A twist in the tale
"You came back…" he whispered as he tried to stay conscious.
"Of course I came back. I couldn't let them…," she began and then hugged the body that lay on the ground, "Oh this is all my fault, if only I had gotten here sooner."
"Maybe it's better; it's better this way…," he replied.
"No, no don't talk like that. You'll be alright. We're together now. Everything's going to be fine you see," she interrupted and he coughed and finally raised his paw to her cheek.
"At least, I got to see you one last time," he murmured painfully.
She dug her face into his paw and as he fell to the ground, she began to weep.
"No, no, please; please don't leave me," she cried clutching his cape tightly, "I love you."
The last petal fell and the hopes of all the creatures of the castle were shattered. They would never be human again. The beast lay on the floor, with Belle sitting next to him. She sobbed over his motionless body. The rain hit hard on the surfaces making loud noises. Belle was drenched in rain water from head to toe, but she wouldn't move. She didn't want to believe that the beast was dead. (A/N: Don't kill me just yet please!!)
Belle wished; wished for a miracle. She wanted the beast to be back. She ran into her former room and threw herself onto the bed, crying. She looked at herself in the mirror. How could this have happened? She always believed deep down inside that she would get her prince and that one day all of her dreams would come true; but they did not. A sweet soft melody played itself in her head somewhere, reminding her of her dream, her love, her loss…
I've always dreamed, that my life would be, like a fairytale, a perfect fantasy.
Everyday a new adventure, on some undiscovered shore.
Was it nothing more, than a dream.
Then one magic night, with a single dance,
I found more than just, a storybook romance.
And for once my life was perfect, as we glided 'cross the floor.
And it was so much more; so much more, than a dream
I could say it never happened, just a dream from the start,
But then I'd live my life, with a broken heart.
'Cause in a prince's arms I found a love I can't deny.
If there was any chance to set things right, I simply had to try.
So I took my chance on love, to get my once upon a time.
Oh I've always dreamed, that my life would be, like a fairytale, a perfect fantasy.
But it was nothing more; nothing more, than a dream…
There was a knock on the door. Mrs. Pots came into the room and offered Belle a cup of hot, relaxing tea. She talked to Belle for a long time and told her all about the curse.
"… and so you see dear, we will never become human again because the last petal has fallen and the prince is…" Mrs. Pots informed disappointedly, "not with us anymore."
As she left the room, Belle lay down on the bed once more and faced the window. She began to cry again and from depths of her heart wished that there could be a way to solve this problem; that there could be a way to make everything right.
The large room began to gleam as a bright white light illuminated it. Little white sparks flew from the light source like silent fireworks twinkling in the evening sky. Then suddenly, a woman, dressed in a large and exceedingly beautiful green gown, stepped out of the light. She had long, shiny, gold color hair that curled from the bottom and swayed from side to side as she walked closer to the bed where Belle was sitting. She had attractive emerald green eyes and she held a delicate, branch-like object in her hand.
The woman came close to Belle and then halted. She gazed at the girl for a while.
"I am Esmeralda the Enchantress. You are Belle, if I am not mistaken; the maiden who won the heart of the prince and was on the verge of breaking the spell," she finally said in a formal and very royal voice. Esmeralda peered at Belle suspiciously.
"Yes. How do you know that?" Belle questioned curiously as she stood up and took a step closer to show that she wasn't scared of whoever the woman was and whatever she planned to do.
"I'm sure you have heard about the curse that was laid years ago on this castle. I am the enchantress that placed that curse here. It seems though that things did not go well. I am a woman of my word and the prince has achieved what he had to, but the spell was not broken because he had died. So I wish to help you and the people of this castle regain what you lost." Esmeralda said as she strolled towards the height-length window and stared at the stars scattered among the skies above, "A curse cannot be reversed which means that the only way that you can break it is to complete the prophecy. You must find the beast and proclaim your devotion once again. If you accept, I will magically teleport you to the netherworlds. This is where the souls of the dead wander. You must go there and give the beast this pendant when you find him. The pendant will teleport both of you back to the castle. As soon as he reaches here, the spell will be broken. Do you think you can do it?"
The enchantress handed Belle a pendant. It was made of gold with a deep blue gem encrusted in it and small diamonds surrounding the large inner jewel. The pendant gleamed even in the dim lit room.
"Yes; of course I can. It doesn't sound so hard to me," Belle answered confidently. She knew she could do this. She wanted to do this.
"My dear, the netherworlds is a dangerous place. Evil souls also wander the premises. You must be very careful. Exploring the netherworlds is a life-threatening journey," she explained, stressing the words life-threatening, dangerous and evil, making it sound tremendously petrifying.
Belle took the challenge. She wanted to do whatever was possible to bring back the beast and destroy the spell. Esmeralda gave Belle a small enchanted bag which contained a sword placed in its scabbard, herbs to heal any wounds, healing water to help her recover from serious injuries and crests consisting celestial light, which could be used to vanquish any unsafe spirits within a radius of ten feet. The enchantress raised her wand hand and delicately twirled the magical cue in the air while reciting an incantation. A moment later, a passageway with the other side blocked from sight by a multicoloured barrier formed itself in the centre of the bedroom.
Esmeralda explained to the maiden, once again, the task that was to be completed. With hesitation, Belle stepped into the barrier and placed her leg on the ground on the other side. She walked in and the passageway was shut behind her. She looked around and saw nothing but an endless colour; blue, like the skies. She looked down and noticed that she was standing on what seemed to be a cloud.
Belle looked around her; confused. She saw nothing beside, behind or in front of her to step on. She bent down and moved her hand forward to try and touch the space ahead of her. As she came closer to the cloud she was kneeling on, a new one formed itself below her hand. Surprised, she moved her hand away and the cloud disappeared. Belle stood up and then slowly moved her foot forward. Then as a cloud was produced, she stepped on it and began to walk onward.
Belle finally took her sight off of her feet and scanned the atmosphere. She was astonished to realize that dispersed in this seemingly endless world were ghostly figures, all strolling about and tending to their business; if it was to speak, walk or simply relax. Belle paced ahead and kept her eyes on all the souls that were around her in hope of finding the person she needed. The beast was nowhere to be seen.
She continued to stride through the sky until she realized that a few spirits were closing in on her. Belle remembered what the enchantress had said, '…the netherworlds is a dangerous place. Evil souls also wander the premises. You must be very careful. Exploring the netherworlds is a life-threatening journey…' She quickly removed her sword from the bag and tied it the scabbard to the cloth around her waist. She walked faster, trying to avoid an encounter but it was no use. The spirits were very fast and soon she was encircled by them.
She unsheathed her sword but as one particularly devilish looking soul darted towards her, she couldn't find herself to move. Belle was extremely terrified but as the person pounced on her she acted on impulse and swiftly slashed a long wound through its torso.
Belle had never thought that spirits could be wounded too. She guessed that the sword may have been enchanted. But she didn't have time to think. The spirits were all scurrying towards her. Belle tried to hold off as many as she could but she was really exhausted. Finally one of the evil souls reached her and grabbed the sword from her. She screamed when she looked at the spirit's wicked face. He has piercing eyes; empty yet full of rage. He threw it away and just when he was about to hit her, a loud, deafening roar erupted from behind her and a vaporous figure leaped onto the attackers. It pushed away the closest spirit and then let out an enormous, more terrifying growl that sent chills running up Belle's spine.
The savoir turned around to face Belle. He looked at her in sheer concern and shock. Belle gazed into his crystal blue eyes.
"Belle, what are you doing here? How…," the beast trailed off with anxiety in his tone.
"The enchantress sent me here. She sent me here to bring you back. If I do then the curse will be broken," Belle told him joyfully as she stared at him.
"But how can you take me back?" he questioned intently.
"Here take this and put it on," Belle responded blissfully as she handed him a pendant. She wanted to be quick. She didn't want to stay another minute in the netherworlds.
The beast put on the pendant and the diamonds began to shine vibrantly. There was a huge swirl of colors forming between them and they both disappeared with a little pop in the air. They reappeared in the bedroom where the enchantress stood waiting for them. Scattered in the room were relieved little creatures.
"Well done, you have completed the task I asked you to and returned safely. The curse is finally broken…" Esmeralda said as she vanished in a cloud of lime green vapor, her voice echoing in the air.
Pink sparks began to shoot out of the sky and the dark castle slowly transformed itself into a bright and beautiful palace. All the inhabitants were returned to their former selves.
"Lumier, Cogsworth, Mrs. Pots! Look at us! It is a miracle!" the prince exclaimed when he was completely changed into a human and saw all of his friends around him. He turned around to Belle, caressing her cheek and, sweeping her into his arms, he kissed her.
"Thank you. Thank you very very much," he whispered softly.
A great ball was held in celebration of the breaking of the spell. The ballroom was filled with smiling faces. The room was buzzing with loud, happy conversations. Everybody was rejoicing at this joyous occasion. The grand doors opened to show Belle, clad in a beautiful large gold coloured gown, linked to the arm of the handsome prince. The whole room erupted with cheers and comments about the happy couple, the transformed prince and the attractive maiden who went into the mouth of danger and escaped to have the spell lifted.
"Shall we?" the prince whispered, offering his hand to Belle for a dance. She smiled at him and looked into his stunning chestnut eyes. All he did was keep his hand out and his eyes placed on her soft, chocolate brown orbs. Slowly, she moved her gaze to his outstretched arm and they began to dance gracefully. She placed her head on his shoulder. The orchestra played a beautiful familiar song.
We were strangers,
starting out on a journey
Never dreaming
what we'd have to go through
Now here we are,
and I'm suddenly standing,
at the beginning with you
No one told me
I was going to find you,
Unexpected
what you did to my heart,
When I lost hope
you were there to remind me
this is the start
And life is a road
and I wanna to keep going
love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
life is a road
now and forever
wonderful journey
I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the storm is through
in the end I wanna be standing
at the beginning with you
We were strangers
on a crazy adventure
Never dreaming
how our dreams would come true
Now here we stand unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you…
At that particular moment, the prince tightened his hold around Belle, and she was finally sure that she had got her happy ending, except that this was her happy beginning.
THE END
A/N: Okay, I read my own AN and I found it so silly. I actually realized how much I've grown since last year in the sense of my maturity. I feel this to be a cliché story but it was my first and I don't feel like removing it. So.. criticism is welcomed and used to improve my writing skills. I hope you enjoyed it.
