LXP: Greetings, my fellow Fanfictioneers! Welcome to my latest DisneyXMiraculous crossover based on Beauty and the Beast!
Just as an FYI, this story will be blending story elements from three different sources: the 1991 and 2017 Disney films, and the original fairy tale version created by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. There were also be a few songs from the Disney films. (Disclaimer: I DO NOT own any of the aforementioned material, or Miraculous Ladybug.)
And now, we invite you to relax, let us pull up a chair… oh, you get the idea.
Enjoy! :)
CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCTION – A POWERFUL SPELL
Our story begins with once upon a time, as so many do.
It began in the late 18th century, in a tiny but beautiful kingdom hidden in the heart of France.
In this kingdom was a magnificent castle, and in this castle lived a fair, widowed queen and her young son.
The queen was as radiant and glorious as the morning sun, with golden hair that stretched to the floor and eyes of pure emerald. She was so kind and benevolent that even the meanest, grouchiest miser would smile at the mere sight of her. At the end of every month, the queen would host parties in the castle for the nobility, and ensured that the halls were filled with music and laughter.
But the good queen was also sad, for her husband had passed away some years ago, you see. Every time she strolled through the castle alone, the servants watching her would claim that an eerie phantom breeze followed in her wake. It was the king's ghost, they would say – lingering in the world of the living to watch over his beloved wife.
Thankfully, such things were never discussed in the presence of the young prince.
A strapping boy with a charismatic spirit, the prince had everything his mother had: soft golden locks that glistened like a lion's mane, skin like polished marble, and bright green eyes that gleamed with mischief and stamina. As the queen's only child and heir, he had been characteristically spoiled in the days of his childhood. He was the future king, after all – wanting for nothing, given everything his heart desired.
But shortly after his father passed away, the prince realized that having everything didn't necessary mean you were always happy. He noticed his mother's depression, and it made him miserable to see her like this. So, the prince made a promise to cast aside all petty ambition, and strove to become the king his mother would be proud of.
As the prince's heart grew big with kindness and compassion, the queen's melancholy began to lift away like the throes of winter surrendering to the first spring thaw. The villagers of their kingdom were touched by the prince's multiple acts of generosity, and his unwavering charm made every girl in the land swoon for him. The more the prince gave, the more his people loved him, and the happier it made the queen.
And every day, be it under scorching heat or freezing cold, mother and son would personally tend to their garden of roses. With bushes and lattices bursting with many colours, the garden sat in a special spot in the castle's hedge maze, and it held a special place in the prince's heart. Here, he and his mother could be alone and talk about anything. Here, they would remember that even in the thorniest of situations, there was always beauty and happiness to be found.
For many years, all was well in the kingdom...
Until one dark winter's night, when an unexpected intruder arrived at the castle.
The stranger was a beautiful young woman cloaked in black, seeking shelter from the bitter snowstorm. She was brought before the queen and her son, and the woman offered them the only gift she had to give: a single rose, red as blood and soft as a maiden's lips. Ever generous, the royal family allowed her to stay as their guest. The woman was given a spacious room in the castle, along with fine clothes to wear and warm food to fill her belly.
But the prince noted the peculiar, hungry gleam in the mysterious woman's eyes, and it bothered him something fierce. Every time she approached him, he played the part of the gentleman, but remained as vigilant as a hawk. He took her on tours of the castle as he listened to her preach about her handsomely-wealthy lifestyle and remarkable travels to the distant kingdoms. And every moment she was with the prince, the woman would smile suavely and shower him with romantic comments, telling him how sweet and charming he was.
Despite the woman's appearance and demeanor, however, the prince could see the sharp glint of coal beneath the painted gold. This woman had no real love for him or his mother, but for their wealth and power. Moreover, she was adamant in her wish to stay in the castle, claiming that she could not bear to be parted from the handsome prince who had treated her with such kindness. Tired of this façade, the prince respectfully told his mother it was time to send the woman away. When the queen insisted that their "sparkling" young guest wasn't any trouble, the prince warned her to not be deceived by appearances. Beauty, he reminded her, is found within.
He had no idea how true those words would become.
The very next night, the castle hosted a masked ball to celebrate the winter solstice. This time, the prince had convinced his mother to invite all the townsfolk, no matter their social standing. Men, women and children of every station came in all manner of costumes and masks, dancing across the shimmering ballroom and toasting their glasses to a brighter new year.
It was in the midst of this merry-making when a great gust of wind blew the doors wide open.
The candles fluttered wildly, casting shadows along the walls. And to the shock of all, the prince's unruly guest strode inside, blazing like a red coal from the forge. It was as though her human appearance had melted away, revealing her to be an enchantress in a haze of burning light and smoky shadows. Her foreboding presence sent a wave of shuddering silence throughout the ballroom, and the prince and his guards immediately sprang to the queen's side.
The enchantress sneered at the prince, bearing her true colours at long last. Beauty is found within, you say, she told him in a voice that prickled like chips of ice. What could be more beautiful than magic? She then enticed the prince to take her as his wife and queen. Together, she claimed, their reign would be the start of a glorious new era. An era of power, beyond their wildest dreams!
But the prince went toe-to-toe with the greedy, conniving woman. He could never marry someone as wicked and beastly as her, he stated for all to hear. She may appear beautiful and powerful, but her heart was black and shriveled as a rotten prune. The prince exposed the enchantress for the liar she was, and commanded his guards to gently escort her out of the castle.
That was a mistake.
Enraged by the prince's outright dismissal, the enchantress let loose her power, casting a powerful spell upon the castle. Many of the townsfolk screamed and raced for the exits, but the rest were not so lucky. No matter how hard he fought back against the onslaught of magic, the prince could do nothing but watch helplessly as everyone around him was turned to solid stone. Men, women, and even children were stuck by the spell, their faces etched forever in terror.
Until finally, as she tried to reach her son, the good queen herself was rendered frozen as a statue.
Grief-stricken, the prince fell to his knees, pleading for the sorceress to take his life instead.
But it was too late. The evil witch laughed maniacally and insisted that she had showed him mercy. Now he could gaze upon the pretty faces of his loved ones for all time.
Furthermore, if she was to be seen as beastly, as the prince had described her, then so would he.
And as a final punishment for her humiliation, the enchantress transformed the prince into a dark, fearsome, half-human cat creature.
Days bled into weeks. Weeks dragged on into months.
All that time, the prince, the queen and all those who had been turned to stone were forgotten by the world. The enchantress's spell had erased all memory of them from the minds of their family and friends. The castle became little more than a hollow husk of its former self, concealed by a magical veil of trees and mist with only one hidden pathway.
But this was all part of the enchantress's little game. And because she was having so much fun, she decided to give the broken-hearted prince a sporting chance.
The red rose she had offered him was actually enchanted, and she placed it inside a glass cloche to bloom until the spring equinox after next.
Though the prince was no longer fully human, his heart remained good and ripe with love. If he could share that love with another, and earn her love in return, before the last rose petal fell, the spell would be broken. If he failed, he would become the monster he now appeared to be… and be bound as the enchantress's unwilling slave forever.
And so the enchantress waited, mulling gleefully over the pain and misery her spell had wrought.
Meanwhile, the prince concealed himself inside his castle, trying not to lose hope that he and his people would one day be freed from their torturous curse. The rose garden he and his mother had made was the only part of the castle that remained alive and preserved, and he treasured it more than anything in the world.
Yet with each passing month, with each enchanted rose petal that wilted and fell to the bottom of the cloche, a bit of the prince's faith and courage fell away with them.
After all, what girl in her right mind could ever love a beast?
