Tale As Old As Time

by Alice Forshadow

After his brother goes missing, Vision ignores the pleas of the townsfolk to rescue his brother from the clutches of a dangerous witch. However, he quickly begins to realize that perhaps the two have more in common then he thought- and she's not as terrifying as people believe her to be. Beauty and the Beast AU.

Prologue:

A long time ago, in a kingdom far away, there lived a princess who lived alone in a castle. Although the kingdom was once full of joy and happiness, the loss of the royal family in years prior had taken its toll on the kingdom, especially the princess. She was so enveloped in her grief that she could barely see anything other than her own pain. The princess was also incredibly powered with magic, and used this to control the land, in attempt to make it the perfect life she dreamed it to be. Although this pleased her, it made the people she ruled over miserable. They didn't want to be controlled. But the princess was too embittered by her losses to see the truth. Someone else had to intervene for the sake of the people, but no one dared face her.

One day, there was a knock on the castle's door. When the princess answered it, she saw an old man at the door. He begged her to change her ways and release the kingdom from the ruthless iron grip that she held over it- in exchange for a single rose. However, the princess, in denial that she was making others unhappy with her own selfish actions, refused. However, what the princess didn't know was that the old man was really a powerful sorcerer in disguise, who was sent to free the kingdom. He cast a spell on the castle and its inhabitants, turning the servants into household objects and the princess into a monster- the one that everyone in the kingdom saw her as.

However, the sorcerer gave the princess one chance to turn herself and the servants back to their human selves. He told her that if she can love another- and be loved by them in return- by the time the last petal of the rose fell at the end of her twenty first year.

The years went by, and people eventually abandoned the kingdom, allowing it to be overgrown by the dense forest surrounding it. People forgot about the village, or rarely spoke of it. No one came to the castle anymore. And the princess continued to be embittered by her grief and despair. The servants attempted to stay positive, but the princess was losing hope.

For who could love such a beast?