Disclaimer: I do not own Beauty and the Beast. The retelling this fanfiction is based upon belongs to Disney.
Author's Note: If you want to podcast or draw fanart for this fanfiction, there's no need to ask me! Go ahead! All I request is that you give me credit, send me a link in the reviews, and keep it PG.
Also, the title of this fanfiction comes from the song 'The Last Amalgamate' by Radix.
All of my failures are alive and breathing,
Trapped in the darkness of such a cold place.
They look at me but can not hear me screaming,
And I can't stand looking at my own face.
Despite the snow in the air, the chill of winter biting into skin, the whole world seemed to be at peace. All around France, families were settling down by the fire, pushing back the cold and filling it with song and cheer. Of course they would be. It was Christmas Eve, a time of peace and joy.
At least, it was supposed to be. Lost in the cold, a young lady trudged on. She clung to her forest green cloak, muttering against the wind. "Not powerful enough? They call me not powerful enough? I'll show them! I'll show them all!"
She was certainly a prideful one, especially for Enchantresses, who usually were content with just helping others, even if their methods were hard to appreciate.
For days, she had been practicing and reviewing her spells for the big test; she worked harder to prepare than any of her classmates.
It was a complete failure.
She had to go home for Christmas break with a low report card and the new laughing stock of Enchanting School.
The event still echoed in her mind. Waiting for hours to be brought in for her exam, to nervous to talk to any of her classmates. She got the written part done with almost no mistakes, but then, she had to use her powers.
A young baby was brought in a wooden cradle. The teacher asked her to curse it. Any curse she liked. She could still remember the baby's innocent laugh; her nervous beating heart, and the crack in her voice when she murmured 'I can't.'
Even though she knew they would reverse her spell, she couldn't bring herself to say anything. The human child looked so helpless, so defenseless, it wasn't fair. It was Enchanter Code not to hurt the innocent. How could they expect her to do this, even if it was impermanent?
After a minute of trying to force herself just to do something, she gave up. Normally, she enjoyed casting spells and cursing people - seeing them react was actually quite hilarious - but they were always full grown men and women. They had done something to deserve it.
She gave up and accepted an incomplete grade. When her 'friends' found out, they teased her. Would she ever be able to live down the insults? If only they recognized how much more powerful she was. She was always one of the strongest when it came to magic.
Her hands balled into fists at the thought of their laughter. That's why she was out here. She was furious at them, furious at the teacher, even furious at that child, even though she refused to admit it. She worked hard while the others slacked off, and she was the one who had to pay? She had stormed out in a rage, and walked for hours in the bitter cold.
Somehow, she had found herself in the human realm, with no idea where she was, on the day she should be with her family.
It was so cold out, even for an enchantress. She hoped no innocent humans were as lost as she was. Still, inside of her, a fiery anger was beginning to burn inside of her. She needed to prove she wasn't a softy.
She forced herself to put this thought aside. Even if she couldn't die by human elements, the cold was uncomfortable, and a place to sleep would be nice. She would resume her search for the way back in the morning.
After a few more minutes, a clearing in the forest revealed what she was looking for, and more. A tall castle stood, light shining from clean windows. Even from where she was standing, she could hear voices and music inside. I hope whoever lives there will let me stay the night.
She ran the rest of the way to the castle, following a small trail that had been shoveled away. Snow clung to her boots and the bottom of her cloak, but she made it there in a matter of minutes, speeding by with haste.
Finally, she was at the front door. Seconds before she knocked, she hesitated. What form will give me the best chance of getting in? Eventually, she decided to take the form of an old lady, for only the heartless could reject someone so frail.
The shift only affected her appearance, and not her actual health, so she still had full access to her strength and speed. With a smile, she knocked on the door.
She could hear the stomping of feet coming from inside. A baritone voice yelled "who is it?"
The door opened before she had a chance to respond. She was faced with a young boy, most likely in his younger teenage years. In this form, she had to strain her neck just to see his face. As soon as he looked over her, his face was filled with disgust. "What do you want?"
She was shocked by his impoliteness. The chance of him taking pity on her seemed pretty small. Still, she decided to try. "Sir, I am lost in the cold. Please, may I have a place to stay, just for tonight?"
He scowled. "What's in it for me? Why should I let you into my castle? Don't you have some old person's home to go to?"
The enchantress sighed. This was going to be difficult. "As I said, I am lost. Even if I have a place to stay, I can't find it in this dark night. All I ask for is shelter. Still, if you truly want something, take this." She reached inside her cloak, pulling out a rose.
It looked like a simple flower, not worth much attention, especially for someone who owned a whole castle. However, it was really the only thing she had to offer. Besides, it was a magical one, able to bloom, even in mid air. Such a gift would be an amazing addition to the castle's collection of prizes and trinkets.
Before she had a chance to explain, he cut her off. "A rose? A stupid rose? In the spring, I shall have thousands of those. Go away, you wretched old hag." As he said this, he began to close the doors.
"Wait," she called. She was beginning to realize her mistake. "If this is about my appearance, you must know, beauty is found from within. It is not right to judge a person based on looks alone."
He scoffed. "Don't judge a book by it's cover, blah blah. Don't you think I've already heard that a million times? Lady, leave me alone." At that, he shut the door.
The Enchantress was surprised by his rudeness. It took her a few seconds to react. How could someone be so cruel? To him, I was just a lost old lady. He'll have to learn to be more respectful or he'll end up a terrible ruler. She really hoped the other Princes of the world were a lot kinder to their subjects.
Now, she was stuck out in the cold, with no other buildings in site. The sun was almost set, and the thought of spending the night alone out in the chilly human realm made her shiver in disgust and fear.
She was mad at this boy. How dare he? He has this huge castle; he could have at least let me down nicely. All her rage bubbled forth, her anger towards the ones who made fun of her, her circumstance, and this idiotic prince. Her face grew warm, and her wrinkly hands clenched.
I'm tired of this. It's time to show that nobody messes with me.
In a matter of seconds, she formed a plan. She'd curse this mess and teach him a lesson, she'd curse the whole castle as a reminder to him, and get her 'friends' to see the whole thing.
In a fit of rage, she pounded on the door. "Open it!" She screamed. As she said this, a few magical sparks flew around her. A recording spell, so she could show the others why they should stop teasing her, if they value their current forms.
Once again, she was faced with the Prince. "What do you want," he snarled.
A sly smile grew on her face, as she began to take off her cloak. As she did, she could feel the old lady form melting away. "Sir, you do not know who you are messing with."
Her feet were lifted off the ground, and wind blew through her golden hair. Now, the prince could see her for what she was. An enchantress. One to be feared. Out of thin air, she grabbed her wand, and prepared to strike.
His eyes grew wide. The prince bowed down to him. "Fair lady, I apologize. If I had known you were magic, I would have let you in. Please forgive my-"
"Shut it!" The enchantress yelled. She landed right next to him. In her true form, she was the taller of the two. "You only care now that you know I have powers? You will only treat me with respect if I am beautiful?"
"Lady, this is not-"
"Not one more word." She shook her head. "You have been misguided, my friend." Her flowing hair came to rest as she laid a hand on his shoulder. She left a bit of pity for what was about to happen. Still, she knew he needed to learn his lesson. "I don't know what made you this way, but despite your youth and wealth, you are cold inside, much colder than this storm."
The magic flowed through her palm, rushing into him. (The wand was really just for show.) "Until you learn to love somebody with your ugly heart, and get them to love you, that is just what you'll be. Ugly."
She had practiced this spell on many daddy longlegs she had found around the house. Turning someone into a monster. Never had she used it on a human before, but already she could hear a slight groan in his voice; a little shift in his teeth.
He tried to pull away, the panic visible in his face, but he was immobilized by the spell. "Please, have mercy," he pleaded.
She rolled her eyes. "Did you have mercy on me?" As she paused for an answered, he looked down in shame. "No, no you didn't."
Once she had said this, the spell took hold. Stepping back, she watched her new creation take form. She didn't want to hurt the innocent, but on creatures who couldn't recognize their change, or those who deserved it, she loved cursing them. She loved seeing what they became; she enjoyed laughing at their reactions. It was like arts and crafts, just without the hard work. Her heart skipped a beat in excitement and curiosity.
It was difficult to see through the bright lights, but she watched as he grew taller, and his face shifted into that of a monster. Finally, he sunk back down to the ground. No longer was he the handsome young boy, but a twisted chimera of many animals in a form able to inspire fear in all but the toughest of men.
It was hard to hide the giggle in her voice. "How do you feel now, Prince?" She knew she had strong magic, but that was impressive. If it weren't for the recording sparks, her friends probably wouldn't have believed her. He fell to the ground, growling in response.
Still, her work wasn't done. If she wanted to impress the others, she was going to need a little more. Placing her hand on the castle, she cast a similar spell.
Never had she tried to use so much magic. The castle was a lot bigger than she expected, and she could feel the energy coming out of her fingertips, and her mind growing tired. She was determined to finish what was started, though. If she stopped now, they would believe she was weak. Gritting her teeth, she forced her energy to flow through, probably even more than was necessary.
For a second, the whole castle, inside and outside, glew with a magical light, bright enough to make the sun bask in shame.
The walls turned dark grey, with the gorgeous decorations adorning it turning into monsters, not too different from the prince himself. Through the door, she could see even the inside had changed. Suddenly, all the voices in the castle faded away.
Looking good! This will certainly get the message across. She smiled a weary grin.
The Prince began to straighten out, finding a way to stand on his new legs. "What… did you do?" His voice was weak, but growls could be heard within it.
She turned back to him. Her smile looked more like a smirk. "Just what I said I would. Now, you match your heart on the outside."
Inside, her heart sunk a little. Despite what they claimed, enchantresses really couldn't see inside people's souls. He could have been an innocent kid who was having a bad day, or…
No. I'm not going to let anyone mess with me. Especially not a hoity-toity prince.
He looked over himself, eyes growing wide. "Please, turn me back! How do I fix this?"
"That rose I offered you, it's a magical rose." She handed him the delicate flower, him holding it awkwardly in his paws. "It will bloom for many years." With a zap from what magic she had left, it began to glow. "As I said, you need to learn to love, and be loved. You have until your 21st birthday, when this rose will finally wilt."
He shrunk back in fear. "That's ten years from now! What do you expect me-"
She sighed. "I expect you to learn your lesson."
His eyes began to water. "I'm sorry, please… please… this can't be happening." he fell onto his knees. "Please let this be a dream."
"I assure you this is real." With a delicate hand wave, the door to the castle opened up. "How about now that you know what I am, you let me in?"
The beast didn't respond. Tears ran down his cheeks. He pounded his fists on the ground.
The Enchantress snickered, stepping into the castle's open door, not just to get out of the cold, but be out of the way when he finally lashed out in anger. The light from inside was warm, but an air of hostility felt rather chilling.
At first, it looked completely devoid of people. I could have sworn I heard voices. Stepping gingerly, she began to walk towards the stairs.
She was ripped from her thoughts as she heard the loud clanking of metal, followed by what almost sounded like screams. What is going on? She ran, following the sound, towards what seemed to be a ballroom.
It was large enough to fit multiple families, yet still, nobody was in sight. It seemed like a party could be in there, with a tall tree and presents thrown about, but instead of people enjoying the holiday, it was filled to the brim with furniture. All types of furniture and decorations were there, standing on the ground instead of their proper locations.
They were moving.
She couldn't believe her eyes, but they were actually moving. That wasn't part of the spell… The objects were looking around at each other, chattering with whatever sound they made.
A teapot was snuggling multiple teacups, in what looked like an attempt to… calm them down? Meanwhile, a small clock paced in circles, or at least it tried to, as it was very clumsy on it's feet. Every time it fell, it would mutter to itself in soft chimes.
The rest of the objects were having similar reactions. At first, they were so caught up in their pandemonium they didn't notice the Enchantress. Still, after a few moments, they were turning towards her.
She was so confused. She didn't know what happened. Did I use too much magic? The spell was just supposed to change the castle, not bring it to life!
Something tapped her on the foot. She jumped in surprise, but turned her head down to see a candelabrum at her feet.
"Um… hello?" She asked, kneeling down to meet it. On close inspection, she saw a human face in it's white wax and brass metal.
It looked afraid, completely still for a few seconds. The Enchantress couldn't imagine what was going on inside it's head. Then, it held out its right candle, almost like it was offering a handshake.
Now it was her turn to pause. She didn't know what to do. Was this thing really conscious, or was it merely moving with no thought behind it? Either way, she didn't want to be rude. She reached out her hand, and the two shook, although she took care to not burn herself.
In curiosity, she looked over the objects. They were just as confused by her as she was by them. Eventually, she picked the candelabrum up off the ground to observe it closer.
"Fascinating." She smirked, remembering the recording sparks behind her. "How can this be? I mean, I know I am strong, but not this strong."
It tried to say something, but all that came out was the sound of fire crackling. Covering its mouth in surprise, it suddenly grew scared.
"So, it doesn't look like any of you can talk, right?" A few shook their heads, but most either ignored or forgot about her.
That's… a common symptom of shapeshifting. It went away in a few days, so that meant they were enchanted recently. She was stopped dead in her tracks when she realized what happened. "Did I curse his staff too?"
Hearing this, the clock turned its head towards her. Both it and the candelabrum's eyes were wide. Finally, the whole situation beginning to come together, the one in her hand nodded, no emotion showing on its face.
Her heart began to race in her ears when she realized how much trouble she would be in. Her mother would never let her hear the end of it. You can't even complete a simple test yet you'll curse a whole castle full of innocent people? Still, she didn't care about any of that now. She just felt so bad for the staff.
She set the candle back on the ground. "I am so, so sorry. I never meant for this to hurt you. This was just for your master to learn his lesson."
A few of them made chattering noises, all sounds their objects would make in place of words; she somehow knew what they were saying. What did you do to the Prince?
"I-I was just so cold, I needed somewhere to stay! He was being so rude and… and..." She yelled in desperation. Her left foot was nervously tapping on the ground, the tile echoing throughout the ballroom. "I tried to curse him and his castle, but I never meant for this to happen to you!" Her voice fading into a whisper, she continued. "My spell was stronger than I thought." The objects were in uproar, not a single one able to communicate but still understanding each other perfectly.
Tears formed in her eyes. She shut off the recording sparks, not wanting anybody to see this. Those still able to move efficiently began to circle around her. "Please, I can fix it!"
They paused. "Yes, yes! I'll just do an undoing spell, and you'll all be back to normal in no time!"
Holding out her hands, and focusing on her energy (which after all that happened wasn't an easy feat), magic appeared, floating between her fingers. In her head, she recited the undoing spell chant, only adding more fuel to the 'flame,' and bringing the spell to maximum power.
Please let this work.
Quicker than a heartbeat, she let the spell free, and it rippled throughout the castle. No one could see what was happening for a few seconds, as the light around them was blinding. Finally, it faded…
The Enchantress began to cry, for nothing had changed. In fact, things were about to get worse. She could hear pounding footsteps approaching.
Falling onto her knees, she mumbled, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," over and over again.
For some reason, one she never understood, the candelabrum reached out to her, after only a few moments of thinking it through. He was offering a hug.
"Why are you… being so nice to me?" Tears could be heard hitting the tile floor; the only thing breaking the uneasy silence.
The others didn't share the same sentiment, but she couldn't blame them.
"Get out of my castle," the beast growled as he approached the Enchantress. She didn't even look up. "Now."
"Prince… I apologize." She finally found the strength to turn his way. "I would break the spell, for I have learned my lesson now. Just like you, I acted out of anger and made mistakes. I can't blame you for that."
"What?" His blue eyes were wide. "What are you saying."
"Your staff, they fell victim of the spell too." She choked. "I-I didn't mean to curse them, though, and now I can't undo it!"
In shock, he looked around at the new furniture. Normally, a gift like this, all these new chairs, tea sets, and various other decorations would have been an amazing addition to the castle. Now, it was quite possibly the world's worst Christmas present ever. They moved towards him, looking up at his monstrous form in fear.
She trembled. Their reactions were justified, for not only was he taller, they were now much, much shorter, and more fragile. She feared the candelabrum who had been so kind would end up a waxy smear on the wall. If he gave into his anger, who knew how long they would last?
"Please, don't hurt them." She whispered. Desperately, she wished for her cloak to hide under, but it was still outside where she had left it, not expecting to need it anymore. Still, he didn't hear her.
It looked as if he was about to strike for a second, before calming down. "Servants?" a strange instant of kindness could be heard in his voice, kneeling down to meet them. "Are you in there?" They nodded. "How can this be happening? Are you alright?"
He isn't a bad kid after all. You can't do anything right!
The Prince picked up the clock. Already, he seemed to recognize who it was. "Oh my, Cogsworth! Even you?" It nodded sorrowfully.
The Enchantress turned to leave. She hoped she could leave in peace, while the beast was too distracted by the servants to lash out on her. Still, this was all her fault, and guilt nagged at her heart like a persistent child begging for a new toy.
I think he'll only free them if he can complete the curse… how is a beast supposed to find love? Oh, this is all my fault! What can I do to help him?
After all those powerful spells, she was almost out of magic. She'd need to rest for a few days to recover it all. She was probably too fragile to go out in the cold. That was the least of her concerns at the moment.
I acted out in anger, just what I blamed him for doing. Don't I deserve the same fate, then? Walking through the halls, she pondered this. No, adding to the suffering won't help anyone or anything. You just need to think through this! You'll come up with something!
In that moment, she decided she would find a way to break the spell, even if it took her the rest of her life.