Author's Note: I got a whimsy, and produced a first chapter!  Actually, it's more like a prologue, but I called it a first chapter because…I felt like it, I guess.  I really don't know.

Disclaimer: I OWN A VIRAL BRONCHITIS INFECTION THING!!! MUAHA!!!!! But you can have it if you want.  It's been driving me banonkers since Christmas Eve. Other than that, I don't own much…especially not Gundam Wing…

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Beauty and the Anti-Heero

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Chapter One: Whoops

Shivering, the petite woman stepped up to the front doors of the castle.  She pulled back the hood of her cloak to show her face, indicating she meant no harm.  She wasn't the most beautiful creature on the planet.  In fact, she was rather ugly, with many blemishes and marks to hide any beauty she may have once had.  Shivering again, she noted that the snow had almost reached her knees, and she didn't know if she could continue on much longer.  Pulling back the knocker, she let it fall against the metal door and resonate throughout the castle while she prayed someone inside would come to her rescue. 

Within a minute, the door opened to reveal a finely dressed young man, most likely the prince of the castle.  He wore a scowl on his face, possibly caused by his too-tight braid, or perhaps he simply had a nasty disposition.  Bracing against the glare coming her way, the woman tried her luck on the prince.  "Please, sir, I've been traveling through the woods and I need a place to stay for the night, to get out of the snow.  If you'd simply let me stay in the front hall, I'd be gone by morning, and you'd never hear from me again.  Please?"

If anything, the scowl deepened on the young man's face.  "No."

Trembling, the woman tried again.  "Please, sir!  I'll freeze if you leave me out in the cold!  I beg of you, let me stay the night and I'll be out of your hair by morning.  You won't even have to feed me.  I promise you I won't be a nuisance, and I'll even pay a fare if I must!  Please!"

"Sorry, you know I'd like to help you, but…" the man drawled out, "I can't.  So sorry."

Taking a deep breath, the woman tried for the last time.  "Please, sir, just one night.  I only need a few hours to stay out of the cold.  Please, out of the goodness of your heart, give me shelter."

The prince didn't even wait a second before responding.  "No can do, little lady.  Please be on your way."

The woman bowed her head, hiding her ugliness from the young prince.  When she tilted her head back up, a beauty beyond all reason had replaced the scarred, blemished, aged face.  A soft glow surrounded her, and she raised herself out of the snow until her feet were resting lightly on the white powder.  Dropping her cloak, a pair of gauzy wings gracefully flowed out of her back, shimmering in the pale moonlight.  "Rumours of your cruelty had reached the ears of the fairies, but due to the previous rumours of your kindness, we were willing to put you to the test.  You have been put to the test, and you have failed.  I came to you in the appearance of but a poor, old, traveling woman, and all I needed was a night out of the cold, but you could not offer me even that.  Due to the cruelty of your nature, I am punishing you.  The prince of this castle is to be transformed into a hideous, monstrous beast, ugly to all who should so lay eyes on him.  All your servants and friends currently in this castle shall be trapped here with you.  The only escape for them is the only escape for you from the beastly form you shall be in.  You must come to love a person, and gain their love in return, before your twenty-first year.  If you cannot manage that, you shall be trapped inside the body of a beast forever."  With a grand flourish of her hand, all that she had proclaimed came to pass.  An invisible barrier surrounded the castle to keep all in, and the prince of the castle changed into a monstrous beast, doomed to remain so unless he could find love before his twenty-first year.

The fairy smiled, satisfied with her work, until she again laid eyes on the prince in front of her.  He had not transformed.  "Why are you not a beast?" she demanded.

The young man gave off a nervous chuckle.  "Heh.  Can we say I'm not the prince of this castle?"  A cheesy grin overtook his features, and from deep within the castle a mighty roar erupted.   Wincing, he said, "That's the prince."

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A/N: Short, I know, but next chapter will be longer, I promise!  Please review!  The quicker you review and boost my ego the quicker I feel the need to get another ego boost and write the next chapter!  ~~Callisto