Hello, everyone! I know it has been a while since my last update, but I went through a lot of life difficulties...including the loss of a dear family member. My heart wept but life must go on. Let me remind you that my love for story writing and imaginative creation will never falter. And speaking of love, my dear friend and co-creator Reby and I created this new story to celebrate our newfound love for the new series: The Cuphead Show! This chapter marks the beginning of a new adventure into the world of one of our favorite fairy tales with our beloved cup duo and their new friends as the main cast.

Here's the first chapter of a tale as old as time.

"Bold Italics" are narration, FYI.

Disclaimer: I don't own "The Cuphead Show", "Beauty and the Beast" or its characters, except for the OC's.

Enjoy!

Beauty in the Dark

Chapter 1: The Dark Curse

The world is full of enchantments. And it is not just the pixie dust kind. There are mystical events happening all around us if we take the time to look and have the heart to believe. From the changing of seasons in nature to a simple trick performed by a clown in the circus but the most special are the miracles that come from the heart. You see, every land, country, city, and even islands have their own legends, legends that are told over generations as stories, but there is one tale that barely bloomed and became forgotten, lost in shadow. An enchanting story with mystery, magic, and a love formed between two unlikely beings. If you want to know more, then come with me to a place called the Inkwell Isles, it is just off the coast maybe 29 miles. It has good, bad, and in-between and it you don't know the place, you'll see what I mean.

This tale begins in the late 18th century, on a cold, windy night. The night was dark as shadow with stormy clouds looming over the land, yet several stars appeared on the sky, bringing some light tonight. Below was a grand castle, placed in the center of the mountain cliff. It had tall towers with red and blue roofs, several colorful flags that danced with the wind, glimmering crystal portraits decorated within the brick walls, and numerous windows that shone due to the lights inside. A bridge connected the castle from its vast garden ground to the main land where villagers and visitors can enter. The castle was full of life for tonight was a momentous occasion. The castle's ruler was celebrating her 14th birthday and she wanted everything to be perfect.

Once upon a time, in the hidden part of the Inkwell Isle One, a beautiful young princess lived in a bright, beautiful castle. Although she had everything her heart desired, the princess was selfish, spoiled, wild, and unkind. She would cause trouble to the servants in the castle and taxed the village in order to fill her castle with the most beautiful objects especially her parties with the most beautiful people.

Inside the princess's chambers are two young girls who are humans with cat ears and tails, gifted with angelic powers. One was the princess of the castle, known as Princess Rebellys or Reby for short. Reby has purple eyes and her hair colors matches of a calico cat. Despite being royalty, the only royal thing about her is being a royal pain to the castlehold. She is wild, unruly, selfish, and unkind, except towards her loved ones.

The other is Reby's most faithful, loyal, and perhaps her only true friend named Valéry. She has green eyes and dark, bluish-gray hair. Valéry may not be royal blood, but she has every aspect of a princess: smart, kind, wise, and humble. Despite her self-centered nature, Reby treats Valéry better than anyone else in her home due to their friendship. Valéry, being her lady-in-waiting, has known Reby for most of her life and became both a mother and sister figure ever since Reby's parents, the former King and Queen, passed away. Unlike the others, Valéry has the highest hope that Reby might grow to be the princess she is destined to be, but over the years, Reby does not seemed to change for the better.

As of this moment, Valéry was helping the princess prepare herself for the party downstairs. Both girls wore majestic, stylish dresses and their hairs were styled elegantly. Valéry wore a shimmering teal dress with white gloves and dark flats while Reby wore a deep violet dress with magenta flame patterns on the lower skirt ruffles and a red rose symbol on her chest area. She wore elegant boots hiding inside her dress, a long, red cape, and a small, gold tiara.

"Tonight is a very important night for you, Reby. It's not every day a princess turns fourteen," Valéry commented as she added makeup to Reby's face. "You must be excited."

"Excited to begin or excited for it to be over soon?" Reby scoffed.

"But you like parties."

"Not when I have to dress up and look pretty for the rest of the stuck ups!" The princess groaned. "This century's choice of garments are so pathetically boring!"

Valéry, though she agreed with her words, tried to ease her attitude. "I know it's not your taste, but you're the princess..."

"Shouldn't I be queen considering that the former king and queen are gone?" Reby interrupted.

"Not until you're twenty one when you have a proper coronation," Valéry replied before continuing. "As I was saying, you're the princess and future queen. People expect you to wear these clothes. It sets an example."

"Why can't I wear what I want? I would still look pretty regal in my choice of clothes!" Reby whined like a spoiled child.

"Maybe it is because wearing boots, long pants, and short dresses with some ripped sleeves doesn't scream royal queen."

"Well, it should! Those clothes scream power to me! People should follow my demands, people should pay me more often, and people should present me with anything I want!" Reby ranted, feeling that her status should be the only thing that matters.

Valéry sighed and shook her head. It doesn't matter how much older Reby grows, her spoiled attitude and fiery temper shall remain in her. If Reby ever needed any words of wisdom, it is now. "Reby, I am going to say something as your dear friend and I hope you listen. Being a princess means sacrifice. She must ignore her feelings and do what is best for others. You know, ever since your parents, rest their souls, were lost, we've been worried about you. You never been the same, you hardly laugh, and you..."

"Is there a point to all of this? Because if there is, get to it!" Reby demanded rudely. "And finish my makeup, pronto!"

"Look, Reby, even though you're royal and today's your birthday, not everything else is about you!" Valéry explained. "There are other people who don't have what you possess, yet they are happy and humble. Maybe you should learn from them in order to appreciate life and what you do have besides riches and dowry."

"Oh, please! What do those pheasants have that I don't? I have everything. I deserve everything! From what I see, everyone else in this kingdom gets it except for you. Why don't you focus on getting yourself into this program?"

"Reby, someday you're gonna end up all alone and you'll have no one to blame but yourself."

"Thanks for the tip. Now finish up!" Reby insisted. Valéry realizes that her words fell onto deaf ears, yet despite the lost cause, she will never give up. She then added the finishing touches on Reby's face and tied up her hair.

Once she was done, the two girls heard knocking on the door. A tall male human with cat ears and tail, blue eyes, and white hair entered the chambers. He wore a sky blue shirt with white pants and held out a pocket watch to them. "Your majesty, it's time. We're waiting for you."

"Thank you, Hiver," Valéry said. "We'll be there shortly."

Reby only nodded and snapped her fingers. Valéry responded to the snap and brought a mirror for the princess to gaze on her reflection. Pleased with the results, she smiled and rose up from her chair. "It's party time!"

Down in the ballroom, everyone waited for the princess to arrive. The loyal, humble servants settled in their respective places, preparing to serve either guest and princess. The guests, all dressed in fancy garments, stood in position, waiting for her majesty to commence the festivity. Soon enough, Reby arrived with both Valéry and Hiver behind her and sat in her throne in front of everyone. After making herself comfortable, she snapped her fingers, signaling the composer to play the harpsichord.

Once the music started, all the guests bowed to the princess and then danced to the rhythm. They all danced in perfect formation both in straight rows and in pairs. Reby watched her entertainment with a bored expression. She gazed around the room where she saw each and every one of her loyal subjects.

There was the young maid, the charming Ms. Chalice, a humanoid chalice cup whom was gifted with a beautiful singing voice. She would sing at parties when needed on the account that nobody, but the castle staff, should know her status as a simple maid.

Next to her was Reby's ginger toy poodle, Ginger, sitting on a footstool with her tail wagging as she listened to Chalice's singing.

Then there was Hiver, the royal butler standing beside her. He is organized, punctual, loyal, and sometimes controlling. He is in charge of getting everything and everyone in order. He tends to get stressed when things get out of hand. Despite his serious nature, Hiver is able to relax and have fun when not on the job. He deeply cares for everyone and gets protective when his loved ones are in danger.

Over by the buffet table stood the kindhearted, charismatic and yet rebellious, royal maître'd named Connor. He was an andromorphic deer with hazel eyes, brown fur, and auburn hair. He had small antlers on his head and wore a white long sleeve shirt with a red vest and black pants where his small white tail was seen from behind. He is respectful to everyone, especially to women and children. He was busy gathering some treats on a plate while socializing to the guests.

Finally, there was the housekeeper, Nova. She is the most unique of the staff. For one thing, she is a female demon with black, furry skin, red eyes with yellow sclera, an arrow-tipped tail, and wings, wearing a purple steampunk-like dress with fishnet stockings, and black leather boots. And the other is that she mysteriously arrived to the castle in order to seek a job, thus making her the only demon in the whole palace. Despite her heritage, she is kind, respectful, and headstrong. She gets along with everyone, except for Hiver. Those two squabble like cats and dogs for silly arguments but never for true hatred for each other. In fact, the staff believes there is more to them than meets the eye.

All her servants were kind to her even when she wasn't in return. Soon enough, she demanded to get her birthday gifts early. "Bring me my presents!"

Obeying her command, Connor stepped forward with a neatly wrapped gift and bowed to her. "Your highness, please accept this humble gift as a token of our appreciation. I know I speak for everyone, but..."

"Oh, just give it to me already!" Reby groaned as she snatched the gift from the buck's hands. "Don't waste my time with flattery!" She eagerly ripped the paper off and found it to be a book. "A storybook? You call this a present?"

"It's not a book, your highness," Connor explained. "It is a journal for you to write your story. As a sign of your new reign, we believe that you may want to chronicle your new life in it like a memoir."

"Why would I waste my time with this chore? I have you guys for it. I hate it!" She dropped it to the floor. Luckily, Valéry picked it up, mouth the words 'thank you' to Connor so that he won't feel down. Tired of watching the entertainment, Reby stood up and joined the dancers. After all she didn't want to miss out on all the fun.

She took turns with each dancer and mingled with the guests without a care in the world. After all it is her most special day and nothing could ruin her moment.

(Tap-tap tap)

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, interrupting the party.

"Who disturbs my birthday?!" The princess angrily shouted.

The doors suddenly bursts open by the cold, strong wind. The candles flickered out from the gust, darkening the whole room. Dry, fallen leaves flew inside along with an unknown intruder. The intruder was shrouded with a black hooded cape and weakly walked inside uninvited with the help of his cane.

Then one night, an unexpected intruder arrived at the castle seeking shelter from the bitter storm.

Wanting to seek answers, Reby grabbed a lit candle and approached the stranger whom respectfully bowed down. Using the light to identify the intruder, she was surprised to see an elderly, frail, and malformed andromorphic, black candle. Its face looked like it was half melted and had a small flame on its head.

"Who are you and why have you come to my castle?!" Reby demanded.

The elderly candle lifted his head and replied, "Forgive me for trespassing, your grace. I mean you no harm or disrespect. I only request that you let me stay here for the night. I don't have much to offer you, but in return for shelter from the bitter cold, I will offer you this beautiful simple rose in gratitude." He then pulled out a plain yet lovely purple rose and presented to the princess.

As a gift, he offered the princess a single rose. Repulsed by his haggard appearance, the princess sneered at the gift and turned the old man away.

Once she saw the flower, Reby snorted and laughed at this meaningless gift. The other guests laughed along with her except for Valéry and the royal servants. They knew Reby was disrespectful but to see her treat an old man so cruelly breaks their hearts.

Disgusted by his appearance, Reby replied with a scoff. "I don't need a useless flower. Go away, you wretched old hermit!"

But he warned her not to be deceived by appearances. For beauty is found within.

"I beg you to reconsider, your highness," the old candle warned her. "It may look like a simple rose, but there is beauty within. In fact, I must advise you that you cannot judge a book by its cover. Everything and everyone has something special inside. Even in the most ugliest of creatures, there is true beauty in the dark. Please, look within your heart and take pity for a poor old man like me."

"Who are you to give me orders? How dare that a loathsome, filthy, and useless creature like yourself should enter into my beautiful, pure domain? I am your princess, your future queen! I will have perfection, I demand respect, and I certainly don't need love or pity! I won't say it again: Get out and stay out!" She shoves the old candle into the ground and threw the rose away.

When she dismissed him again, the old man's outward appearance melted away to reveal the King of the Underworld.

But what the princess doesn't know is that her actions only sealed her fate. The candle's fire suddenly burned brighter than ever and engulfed the man. Ominous, purple smoke surrounded the flames. The stranger transformed into The Devil: a darkly powerful and infamous demon whispered only in myths and legends but feared by all. His dark fur is black as the moonless night and long, golden horns as sharp as spears. A long, sinuous tail tipped with a spade swaying ominously behind him like a predatory animal preparing to pounce upon its prey and crimson eyes that strikes fear into the hearts and souls of the innocent. With his golden, elegant yet threatening pitchfork firmly grasped in his right hand, the dreaded demon picks up the rose again. All the guests became terrified of the dark being before them, some screamed while some turned pale as the winter snow.

Petrified with fear and horrified by her actions, the princess dropped on her knees before the Devil. However, all the guests ran away in terror, leaving the princess and the royal servants to the Devil's hands. Pushing through the terrified guests were three curious fawns, not much older than two. They froze in place when they saw the princess before the Devil.

"Kids!" Nova ran towards them, shielding them protectively like a worried mother.

Connor quickly join them for the young ones were his younger siblings. Everyone left in the ballroom could only watch as the Devil glared at the princess.

"Princess Rebellys, do you know who I am?" The Devil asked.

The princess fearfully whimpered. "I h-have heard of you. But I thought you were a myth."

"Myth? I assure you that I am no myth. I am the Devil, the boss of the Underworld. Collector of souls and punisher of the wicked!" The Devil ranted. "My job is to bring Chaos when there's too much peace in order to bring balance to the world and I also come to the living to retrieve dark souls that should not overcome mine! Princess, I have come to you because you have been deceived by your own cold heart! You are selfish, spoiled, and unkind to all, especially to those who treated you with nothing but love and compassion. The reason I appeared as a frail being is to test your heart before I decide if you are worthy to live. By rejecting my gift and treating me with cruelty, you had failed my test!"

The princess begged for forgiveness, but it was too late. For he had seen that there was no love in her heart.

"Please, Devil! I didn't know! Let me make it right to you!" Reby fearfully begged.

"You say that only because you fear me! You had many chances to change your ways, but your heart is as hard as stone! You don't deserve to remain in this world. So I'll just finish you off right here and now!" The Devil raised his pitchfork, aiming for Reby's heart.

"WAIT!"

The Devil stopped his attack. Both he and the princess turned to see Valéry coming between them. The lady-in-waiting knew it was too late to turn back now that she got their attention. But her bravery stepped in and pleaded to the dark being.

"Please, sir! Please spare her! She didn't mean any harm!"

"Any harm? Do you not possess the power of sight? You all gave her everything she asked yet she repays you with cruelty and disrespects! I came to her as a helpless man and offered her a gift in return for shelter, yet she took my gift as a joke and pushed me to the ground. Is she the same girl you're willing to defend?!" The Devil questioned. "She is an insult to life and an abomination to nature!"

"She is not! She can change if given the chance. But if you're not convinced, sacrifice me instead!" Valéry begged, though she was deeply afraid.

"You would sacrifice yourself for a royal pain who is spoiled and rotten to the core?" The demon asked.

"Yes," she honestly replied.

"Why? Why should you care if I take her life? She is heartless! In fact, stealing her soul would benefit you all."

"Because I know there is good in her and I will never give up on her. My hope is strong. She is my friend, my family. I'm all she has left! She is young and has much to learn! Please, I beg of you! Don't take her life. She's like a sister to me and I...I love her!" Valéry cried, bowing her head.

Reby was speechless by her words. Every soul in the room were petrified and waited for the Devil's decision. The Devil pondered and glanced everyone in the room. With a deep breath, he calmly spoke. "If I decide to spare her, know that everyone here will share the same fate as the princess, but you will live. Do you accept my decision whatever the outcome?"

Valéry looked upon the rest of the servants, hoping for some advise. Each servant were afraid of the decision that is to come but each one gave her a nod of approval. Even though things will change, even though they may have to endure consequences, knowing that they will survive is good enough for them. Taking their silent gestures as approval, Valéry gazed upon the Devil and had decided, "I do. Whatever you decide, we will accept your punishment whether we deserve it or not. Our lives are reward enough."

"Very well," the Devil agreed. "Princess, though I will spare your life, you shall not go unpunished. A curse upon your house and all within it!" With his pitchfork, he summons his dark curse. A wave of purple energy spread across the room, targeting Valéry and the rest of the servants. Their shadows became outlined with magic and rose from the floor. "Despite the princess's selfish nature, you are loyal to the end. You remained by her side like your own shadows. You will be the shadows that guard her highness."

Soon enough, their own shadows consumed them, slowly transforming them into the creatures the Devil chose.

The Devil then turned to Reby. "As for you, princess, I've got something special for you. Something befitting to represent your beastly nature." He then stated his promise: "You shall be cursed and you will suffer. Your punishment might prevent you from venturing outside the castle grounds. However, I will leave you with special gifts to help you ease your pain. But know this, princess, I am giving you one final chance to change your ways by giving you this small cure: the spell has a time limit to be broken. It will last until your 20th birthday and you must find someone who will love you as you are and give your love in return as well," he then lowered his head to whisper. "Should you fail, princess, your soul will be mine to collect. You mustn't reveal this to the others. Consider this our little secret. Understand?"

The princess silently gasped but knew this was unavoidable. The Devil isn't one to negotiate easily. She only responded with a silent nod.

The Devil rose and continued. "From this moment on, you shall be known for your true nature. You shall be known forever...a beast!"

As punishment, he transformed her into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there.

The Devil then fired a green beam at the princess. Its power coursing through the young girl. Claws stretched out of her hands and feet, her whole body grew massive size, fur covered her skin completely including a mane that matched her hair color, fully white as the glistening snow with black and ginger patches, her tail extended, and her fangs became enlarged like a lion's. The spell completely turned her into a giant feral cat-like beast. Her screams turn into ferocious roars that echoed throughout the castle. As soon as she saw herself, fury flooded in her mind and began her rampage by tearing her self-portrait of her once normal self.

In an instant, everyone was transformed into different beings and the castle became surrounded by a misty forest, giving off a gloomy atmosphere that matched the Beast's current state. The walls grew darker, the statues outside became monstrous gargoyles, and many trees became barren as if it was in a forever winter. After placing his dark curse, the Devil then disappeared, never to be seen again. Soon enough, the princess and her servants became nothing but a legend. A memory forgotten by the rest of the world for many years.

Ashamed of her monstrous form, the Beast concealed herself inside her castle with a magic mirror as her only window to the outside world. The rose he has offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until her 20th year. If she 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, she would be doomed to remain a beast for all time.

As the years passed, she fell into despair and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love a wild beast?

Hope you liked it!

Please leave reviews!

Neomoon585