Ok, here we go, my first attempt at a feature-length BatB-influenced story. As I'm not an accomplished writer and don't have a technique, I'm just gonna write as I go with things popping up in my head going into the story. Please don't pick me up on historical or geographical accuracy because I'm writing pure unadulterated fiction with no similarity to real life! There'll probably be a mish-mash of influences and likenings so feel free to play 'Spot The Reference' at anytime.
I came up with this idea ages ago when I was trying to think of ways you could 'modernise' Beauty and the Beast and figured this was a good way to do it. It's kind of a modern fairy-tale type thingy…….ok that's as much as I'm gonna waffle about it for now. Rating will start of PG and may go either way from there depending what kind of mood I'm in.
Disclaimer- I've seen other people do this so I'm assuming its what you do if you don't want to get dragged through the courts by the estate of Walt Disney. I don't own Beauty and the Beast and its characters in any shape or form. If I did, I'd have my own castle. And I don't! So there!
Prologue
Not once upon a time, but upon our time, a young boy lived with his mother and father in a large and ominous mansion deep in the Newforest. They lived a mysterious existence. Although the family were incredibly wealthy, and had everything they ever wanted, they chose isolation over human contact, and thus the boy was often alone.
One cold winter's night, the boy lay in his bed, trying to sleep and not to focus on the deafening sound of silence, when all of a sudden the silence was broken. Shouts, yells, the smashing of glass caused him to hide beneath his covers in terror. While he hid, a shivering lump under the warmth of his duvet, he held his hands over his ears, and so he was unaware of his parents murder until the next morning.
And so the curse began. Unequipped with the tools required to socialise, he spent the next nine years alone with his thoughts and his drawings, an art he'd mastered as a child and now used to make some sort of beauty out of the emptiness that consumed his life. From the topmost tower in the west wing, and the help of his father's binoculars, he could just about see the bustle of a nearby village, and it was this that occupied his drawings and became his way of interacting with the world he was too frightened to inhabit.
The magnificent house around him crumbled and fell into disrepair, the lavish gardens became overgrown and untended-the few servants long since departed. The boy became forgotten, and so also became a Beast.
Braces herself Ok, there we go. So what do you think? Please remember I'm new at this and very much appreciate constructive criticism. Any help you can give me would be beyond brilliant! Also, I don't know how often I'll be able to update cos I'm in my final year at uni and have lots of boring stuff to write as well. However, I promise I will update asap which is likely cos I need regular breaks from James Joyce and his meaningless drivel.
To bellamegs and TrudiRose- Thank you sooooooooo much for taking the time to read my first offering virtual hugs. I hope you think this one is ok as well. :)
