Author Note: Written for gravitysabully on this website, who requested disneystuck. This was originally going to be included in my prompt collection, but it developed into a chapter story.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Once upon a time in a faraway 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 from within.
And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful trident wielding enchantress.
The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late.
For she had seen that there was no love in his heart.
And as punishment she mutated 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 fragment of the fourth wall as his only window to the outside world.
The rose she had offered, was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his 21st year.
If he could learn to love another, and earn her 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 for all time.
As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope,
For who could ever learn to love a beast?
As Terezi perused the town, tapping her cane along the ground, she wondered what the townspeople actually thought of her. Most of them almost never started conversations with her; they watched silently as she passed. If they were talking before, they stopped if she got too close. She could hear them gossiping as she walked away; exchanging vicious rumors about her missing parents, sickly roommate, and eerie grin.
She didn't care.
Dave and Jade owned the only bookshop in town, which was Terezi's only regular destination. The couple treated her kindly and allowed her to borrow books as long as she returned them. They had a large collection of braille books, which she devoured with relish.
Terezi particularly enjoyed stories about justice, and she read her favorite courtroom dramas until the braille practically felt flat under her fingertips. She also read quite a few fairy tales, and sometimes wondered to herself if the white knight actually existed.
A guy in town believed himself to be one. Eridan, the local hunter and hothead, approached every time he saw Terezi. At over six feet tall, he had the height advantage to see her coming from any direction.
This particular day was no different from the others.
"Hey there Ter," He sidled up to her near the town gate, placing one hand on her cane to prevent immediate injury. Vriska, a girl he recruited as his sidekick, followed a few feet behind, grinning silently as usual. "Another book, huh?" He grabbed it out of her basket, easily holding it up and out of reach. Eridan examined it for a moment before tossing it over one shoulder, dropping it into a pile of mud. "You should be thinking about more important things, like me."
"I don't know." Terezi wrest her cane out of his grasp, maneuvering around him to pick up the book. The cover was a little muddy, but the pages weren't ruined. "This book is awfully important." Terezi grinned up at him as she wiped the dirt off, and she pretended not to notice a moment later when her cane smacked his ankles.
"W-well I w-was w-wondering if you w-wanted to hit the tawern today?" Eridan stepped towards Terezi, and she automatically backed away.
"I wouldn't want to take you away from Vriska." Terezi smirked at the other girl, who glared angrily back "Besides, Tavros needs my help today."
"Pfft, that wimp!?" Vriska jumped into the conversation, cackling loudly. "Nobody could help that crazy loser, especially a blind girl."
"Don't talk about my friend that way!" Terezi snapped at the older girl.
"Yeah, don't talk about her friend that way!" Eridan frowned at Vriska, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Tavros isn't crazy!" A large explosion sounded from behind Terezi, probably coming from her house. It was the only building in the area prone to loud disturbances. She spun around towards the noise, ignoring Eridan and Vriska chortling behind her.
Terezi took off down the road, hoping this wouldn't be the explosion that finally burned down her farm. But the previous couple hundred explosions hadn't done it, so today probably wouldn't be the day.
She was right, the house wasn't on fire. Terezi could smell a lot of smoke billowing out of the bottom window, so she opened the door to the cellar and rushed into the basement. The last of the smoke filtered out past her, suffocating her for a moment, and Terezi could hear Tavros coughing across the room.
"How on earth did that happen?" He fidgeted with part of his invention, not handling it gingerly despite the fact that part of it just exploded.
"Tavros," Terezi called to him, making her way across the room carefully. "What happened?"
The teenaged boy stuck the piece back onto his contraption, shrugging once. "I'm not really sure. I think the engine backfired again." He rolled over to where the last piece lay, scooping it up and reattaching it. The contraption looked similar to the one he currently sat it, but with one key difference. It he could get the engine to work without backfiring, the wheelchair would move by itself.
It was a revolutionary concept, one that would change the lives of paraplegics across France.
"Huh," Terezi tapped it with her cane, wary of getting too close. "That's not good."
"I'll never get it to work!" Tavros hit it with his wrench, sighing in frustration.
"Only if you give up." Terezi stood next to Tavros, unsure of how to comfort him. "I bet you're only one small adjustment away from it running."
"Maybe" Tavros tightened a few bolts down with his wrench, adjusting the engine slightly. "I'm going to start it up one more time." He pressed the engine button as Terezi backed away a few steps; the wheelchair had burned her multiple times in the past.
But this time it didn't. It hummed slightly, vibrating in place, but failed to explode. Tavros wheeled up next to it, lifting himself up and over into the other chair.
He grasped the controls, directing it to roll forwards. It moved slowly, and his face lit into a grin.
"It works!" He rolled it a little faster, turning it left and right. "I can't believe it!"
"Congratulations!" Terezi couldn't see the movement, but she could hear the wheels turning smoothly across the floor. She heard Tavros roll back to his other chair, shutting the engine off and switching back. "What are you going to do with it now?" she leaned against the wall, gesturing her cane in his direction.
"I should get it patented." Tavros wheeled over to his desk, looking at one of the maps pasted on the wall. "I would have to go to Paris to do that though. Will you be okay on your own for a few days?" He spun towards Terezi, concern evident on his face. "I know Eridan's been giving you a hard time lately."
"I can handle myself." Terezi stepped towards the wheelchair bound boy. "You should go."
"I'll go today then." Tavros grinned, wheeling towards the ramp out of the basement. "Will you prepare Equius and the cart for me?"
"Sure." Terezi followed him out, turning towards the barn after emerging into the sun. The pair only had one horse, which Terezi inherited, along with the house, from her parents. She lived in the orphanage until she turned 18, but was given the property after being released. Tavros came from the same orphanage, and she was permitted to legally adopt him since she owned property.
The horses name was Equius, and every year the pair would hitch him up to their cart to haul their crops to Paris. Equius was a very strong horse, and pulled the plow every season. Between the three of them, they were able to grow enough to live on.
Terezi saddled him up to the cart, guiding him out to the road. Somehow, Tavros already had his device outside, and Terezi helped him load it. The cart had a ramp on the side that allowed Tavros to steer Equius from his wheelchair, so he didn't have to ride the horse directly.
"I'll be back in a few days." Tavros said from his perch.
"Good luck." Terezi waved as he pulled away; sniffing the air until his scent was completely gone. She strolled back to her house slowly; ready to settle down and read her book.
She wasn't expecting any trouble, but she retrieved her bladed cane from the closet just in case.
End Note: Let it be known that I know nothing about inventions, wheelchairs, patents, or France.