Padme came to a door, which she slowly opened and entered.

She found herself in a room that was dark and a bit of a mess, like someone had been attacked. But there were a few objects that were not broken. A full-body mirror, a portrait of a man and a woman with two boys and a girl, and a handheld mirror on a table on which sat a magical rose underneath a glass dome.

Padme approached the rose, and lifted the dome.

"What are you doing!" exclaimed a familiar voice.

Padme quickly looked behind her to see Anakin being chained to the wall by his siblings.

"I told you to stay out of here!" Anakin said angrily.

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't-" Padme stammered. "Wait, why are you being chained?"

"You have to get out of here. Now!" Anakin exclaimed. "Go! Before I-"

Anakin suddenly started to feel an odd and unpleasant sensation running through his body.

"Oh no, it's happening!" Anakin panicked.

"What's happening?!" Padme exclaimed.

"This happens every full moon!" Kara said, tightening Anakin's chains. "It's part of our curse. No matter where Anakin is on the night of a full moon, he transforms into-"

That was when sharp claws popped through Anakin's gloves, and tufts of black fur began sprouting from various spots on his clothes, and he grew big pointy ears, his blue eyes turned yellow again, and then his mask popped off to reveal big, sharp fangs in his mouth as his face became that of a wolf!

"You best get out right now!" Kara warned Padme, as Anakin began rampaging from where he stood, biting and growling, clawing and unleashing a loud howl.

Padme quickly ran out from the room, bumping right into Caroline, who'd come to get her friend.

"Padme! Are you alright?" Caroline asked.

"We have to get out of here now!" Padme said, taking Caroline's hand and rushing them outside.

The two girls exited the gate and began heading through the forest.

"What are we doing?" Caroline asked.

"I don't know, but werewolves are something I was not prepared to face."

"What about regular wolves? Because there are some headed this way!"

And sure enough, there were wolves headed their way, and they looked hungry.

Padme grabbed a big stick and prepared to use it as a weapon, but the wolves came at her and Caroline anyway, and the two girls began to run.

They ran and ran and ran through the snow, the wolves in pursuit.

Caroline suddenly fell into a cold lake as she'd stepped on thin ice.

"Caroline!" Padme exclaimed. She quickly got her stick and started to pull Caroline out from the water, but more wolves came at her.

Padme didn't know what to do. She and her friend were trapped between drowning in a frozen lake and hungry wolves. However, that was when something screeched and roared.

Something swooped down and grabbed Caroline, and something else jumped in and attacked the wolves.

Caroline looked to see it was Carmine, risking his life flying in the cold snow to get her out of the icy water. And to Padme's surprise, Anakin was battling all the wolves on his own while protecting Padme.

The wolves all came at the werewolf, biting and scratching, but they were no match for him, especially when he Force-pushed them away. He won the battle, but he collapsed to the ground.

"Ani..." Padme gasped. She ran over to him and looked him over.

Padme placed Anakin's arm over her shoulder and began to carry him back to the castle.

Carmine held Caroline bridal style as he brought her back to the safety of the castle.


A warm fire was set up in the den. Carmine wrapped Caroline in a blanket, and Zam gave her some hot tea to warm her up.

Padme wet a towel so she could tend to Anakin's scars.

"Here now." Padme said, noting Anakin was about to lick his scar. "Don't do that."

Anakin growled.

Everyone else backed away.

"Just hold still." Padme told Anakin. She placed the towel on his scar, making him roar.

"That hurts!" Anakin exclaimed, his voice sounding not so deep without his mask on.

"If you'd hold still, it wouldn't hurt so much!"

"If you hadn't run away, this wouldn't have happened." Anakin said.

"If you hadn't frightened me, I wouldn't have run away."

Anakin paused for a moment. Then he spoke again.

"Well, you shouldn't have been in the West Wing! Ha!"

"Well, you should learn to control your temper!"

"I can't help it!" Anakin said. "That's part of the curse!"

That shocked the two girls.

"Curse? What curse?" Caroline said.

"It's true." Kara said. "We are all cursed. We didn't always look like this."

"Well, what happened?" Padme asked, gently tending to Anakin's scar.

Anakin looked down. "It's my fault we were cursed. We were once humans until I was seduced by a beauty that revealed my former mentor's true colors. That rose you saw earlier... it was that which began this curse."


Ten years ago...

A long time ago, we were once all a happy family. This palace used to be very beautiful as well.

In the castle lived King Qui-Gon and Queen Shmi, along with their three beautiful, beloved children, Princess Kara, and the twins Prince Anakin and Prince Carmine. They loved their dear children very much and considered them their most precious treasures, their beautiful flowers.

Everything was perfect. We had the most wonderful family and many amazing friends. One of the people I was closest with was a man named Sheev Palpatine, who'd served as an advisor and a mentor of mine when I was a child.

Many told me they didn't have a good feeling about him, but I didn't listen. Little did I know just how wrong I was. And then one day, I went for a walk on my own.

On what seemed like an ordinary day, Prince Anakin was walking along through the woods, when he spotted a beautiful rose growing on a rock.

That was when I spotted the most beautiful rose I'd ever seen. It was so flawless, so fragrant. I immediately thought of my mother when I looked at it. And I decided I had to bring that rose to her. But when I picked the flower...

The sky turned dark with stormy clouds as maniacal laughter filled the air.

"You were drawn to this flower by your weakness towards beauty and for too long have lived as attractive to others as this rose was to you. If you cannot find one to love you and love you true by the time this rose dies upon the fall of its last petal, you shall be doomed to remain... a beast."

And Anakin found himself transforming. When he looked in the mirror, he was horrified by his reflection. But he was even more horrified when he went into the castle, and saw his brother and sister transforming into beasts too. And all their friends transformed into various living trinkets and furniture.

"One of you royal children must find true love, but none of you ever will. You will be beasts forever, and you, Anakin shall be the most feared of all!" Palpatine cackled before he disappeared in a poof of red smoke.

For years, we tried to break the spell, but any time anyone saw even one of us, they ran away or tried to attack us.

And it was true. Whenever any girls or boys the royal children's ages came into the woods, the princes and princess attempted to make acquaintance, hoping one of them might be the one to break the spell, but women fainted or screamed and ran at the sight of either of the princes. Brave men ran or shot arrows or guns at Kara. Even the bravest hunters and warriors who passed through were terrified by the sight of any of these beasts.

As the years went by, the rose slowly began dying, as did any hope that the spell would ever be broken. It hurt Anakin most of all to watch his family suffering. He blamed himself every day and night for bringing this curse up on everyone he loved.


Present day...

"And then Padme's parents came." Anakin said as Padme bandaged his wound. "When I learned they had a daughter, I saw another chance to break the spell. And when Padme didn't run away as soon as she saw me, I had hope again that maybe... we would fall in love, and the spell would be broken."

The twins brought the girls to the back garden, where they showed them... a statue.

Padme gasped at the sight of the statue.

It looked like a man and a woman hugging each other as though it were the end for them. Padme recognized the couple; they looked just like the people in the picture she'd seen earlier.

"The curse turned our parents... to stone." Carmine said, starting to cry.

Anakin wiped a tear from his eye.

"It's even harder for us than it is for them," said Anakin. "Because we are forced to live knowing that they hold the worst of this spell. And it's all my fault."

Anakin and Caroline felt terrible. Neither of them realized just how badly this family had been suffering, and for ten years, no less. They'd lost their parents to a fate much worse than death, and people treated them so unfairly.

"I'm so sorry." Caroline said. "Why didn't you ever try going out of the forest to find the one?"

"You really haven't put it together, have you?" Carmine said.

"We can't leave the forest," said Kara. "We've tried. And the curse keeps us here as long as we remain beasts."

Anakin then brought them back to the West Wing.


"This mirror has served as our only key to remembering... who we used to be." Anakin said, standing in front of the full mirror.

At first, the mirror showed the Sith-like werewolf's reflection, and it magically changed to show... a handsome human prince with sandy blonde hair that reached to his shoulders, and a naturally charming face with crystal blue eyes.

Carmine stood in front of it, his reflection changing to show another prince almost identical to Anakin, but with glasses and longer hair.

And then Kara stood in front of the mirror, showing a beautiful princess with long brown hair, and the same blue and gold-striped eyes.

"The mirror sees the truth of what's outside and in when one looks close enough." Kara said. "But the naked eye... it tends only to see what is on the outside."

"And so, when people look at us," said Anakin. "All they see are the claws, fangs, and hideous appearances. In short, the faces of monsters."

Padme and Caroline could see the royals were sad. If they really were the ones to break the spell, then they had to bond and fall in love with the princes. One thing they knew for sure, they couldn't force themselves to fall in love. It had to come naturally, but they had to try.

"I won't run away from you." Padme promised, taking Anakin's... paw.

Caroline took Carmine's talon-like hand. "Neither will I."

The princes were both surprised by this. Even after seeing the worst of Anakin's end of the curse, they still returned to the castle and were willing to risk everything to help them break their curse.

Suddenly, the spark of hope was reignited in all the children of the royal family.


Meanwhile, it was the middle of the night in the village, and Clovis was having a late meeting with a doctor from the asylum.

"I don't normally leave the asylum so late at night." said Dr. Dooku. "But you said you'd make it well worth my while."

Clovis placed a bag of gold coins in front of Dooku.

"I'm listening." said the doctor.

"It's like this." said Clovis. "I've got my heart set on marrying Padme, but she requires a little... persuasion."

"She turned him down flat." Dod said, amid Clovis roughly elbowing him.

"Everyone knows her parents have gone crazy." Clovis said. "At least her father is the worst, anyway. They were in here tonight, raving about beasts in a castle."

"The Naberries are harmless." said Dooku.

Clovis slammed his fist on the table.

"Padme would do anything to keep even just one of her parents locked up." Clovis said.

"Including marrying him." Dod said, and he ducked as Clovis was about to hit him again.

"So you want me to throw her parents into the asylum," said Dooku. "Unless she agrees to marry you? Ah, that is despicable."

Then Dooku laughed and said, "I love it!"


Meanwhile, Ruwee and Jobal were back at home.

"I'm worried, Jobal." Ruwee said. "Padme and Caroline... I don't know if they're safe and now Caroline's parents have begun to worry."

"Well..." said Jobal. "If those beasts are as gentle as they portray themselves to be, I'm sure they're fine. But, I suppose they wouldn't mind if we returned for a visit. They never said we could not."

And so, the couple retrieved Armorous and headed on their way back to the castle.

They left with perfect timing too, as the asylum vehicle soon arrived with Clovis and Dod.

Clovis barged into the house and called for the Naberries.

"Oh well. We tried." said Dod.

"They have to come back sometime." Clovis said. "And when they do, we'll be ready for them. Lok Dod..." Clovis forced Dod to wait at a pile of snow. "Don't move from that spot until Padme and her parents come home."

And Clovis left his associate there alone, to Dod's reluctance as a pile of snow fell on top of him and buried him.