Prologue

Once upon a time, in a land far away from here, a young prince called Bakura of Kaitou lived in a white marble castle. Although the King and Queen were diplomatic and kind, their son was cruel, selfish and spoiled. When his parents died in a strange accident and Bakura took the throne, he mercilessly taxed his people and hired Duel Monster champions to steal valuables from nobles and peasants alike for his own pleasure. People called him the King of Thieves, and no one had a chance of standing up against him.

Then, one winter's night, there was a solemn knock on the tall wooden door of Bakura's castle. Bakura answered the door; he had been expecting to see one of his employees with riches and was instead greeted by an old crone shivering from the cold and offering him a pure white rose in return for shelter.

Bakura, very angry of not receiving gold or riches but nonetheless selfish enough to want the lovely flower, snatched the white rose out of the crone's hand and, laughing scornfully, slammed the door in her face.

Suddenly the door burst open amongst an eruption of blue and white light, and where the crone had stood before now stood a beautiful, shining woman with long white hair and blue eyes. Behind her was a blue and white dragon.

It was the enchantress of the Blue Eyes White Dragon: the legendary and justice-desiring Kisara.

"You have been deceived by your own cold heart," she told him, her eyes blazing at the prince in front of her. "I place a curse upon this house and all who live within it."

The white rose in Bakura's hand began to glow, and the startled King dropped it as he found his usually pale, handsome hand darkening like baking bread. He cried out in fright.

"Hair as old as I," Kisara chanted, her eyes glowing with violent blue magic,
"Eyes as red as the blood you've shed,
Skin darkened by the sun,
Face disfigured by my vengeful slash!"

The Blue Eyes White Dragon raised a claw and slashed at Bakura's face, making the King shout out in pain and grip his bleeding face as he crumpled to the floor. Although he couldn't see it himself, his hair was slowly lightening and his skin was continuing to darken until his hair and skin almost clashed.

"All of these things considered ugly by your people," Kisara murmured, "shall bar you to this castle as long as my curse lasts. You shall never be able to influence others to do your dirty work…and you won't be able to use your servants to message things for you, for they shall be transformed into items that no one would trust. They will be your only companions, Bakura of Kaitou."

"You…you…" Bakura snarled in fury, attempting to get up and rip her to pieces as he had done many a man.

"Fortunately for you," Kisara interrupted coldly, "I am a justice-believing enchantress, so I know while you are learning your lesson, you must have two things: hope and knowledge."

She thrust a Duel Monsters card at the floor by his feet.

"Fairy's Hand Mirror," she named the card as Bakura picked it up and looked at it suspiciously. "This will allow you to see anything in the outside world or within the castle… it's your only remaining window to the outside world, fulfilling your need for knowledge. As for hope…that rose you were so desperate to get your hands on is an enchanted rose. It will bloom until your twenty-third year. If you are able to love another and earn their love in return before the last petal falls off that flower…then the spell upon you will be broken, and your true heart will shine through."

"And if I don't?" Bakura demanded angrily, his now-red eyes narrowing dangerously.

Kisara didn't recognize the danger in the young king's eyes, however. "You will remain a beast for all eternity."

Bakura lost it. Without considering her magic or her curse upon him, he lunged at Kisara, ready to kill her with his bare hands. Before he could get a hold of her, however, the enchantress and her dragon disappeared.

"Love another and be loved before the last petal falls…" her voice echoed one final time throughout the hall.

In the days that followed, Bakura was determined to prove the enchantress that he could still rule while within his castle. Unfortunately for him, the enchantress was right; his beastly appearance scared every duelist that could help him steal, as well as all of the citizens who lived under him, away, and only his enchanted servants remained at his side. The lands around the castle became heavily forested and almost haunted-looking with the abandonment of the towns, creating a Dark Forest around the castle, barring it away from all could possibly break the spell on Bakura.

The years passed, and Bakura soon caved in to despair and lost all hope…who could possibly find it in their hearts to love a beast?