A/N: Here lies an alternate tale of Beauty and the Beast, told from multiple perspectives. A combined story of both the fairy tale version and the movie(s).

PROLOGUE

BLACK and purple thunderclouds loomed in the sky above the inhabitants of a shining castle, half of whom had gathered in the bailey to watch the arrival of the young Prince's newest maid upon order of the late Duke himself.

The air carried with it the scent of rainfall as weeny little droplets were beginning to spritz their faces, yet no one paid the weather any mind. The inhabitants of the castle were too overcome by the Prince's newest maid who would be joining them soon to attend to much of anything else.

There were rumors already floating about the castle that this girl in question, this simple farm girl, had spoken out against the late Duke and his methods and as punishment, the Duke had ordered the girl forcefully removed from her home and brought to the castle to pay off her father's debts when the collector had come.

The old man had failed to pay the taxes that were owed. Monsieur Cogsworth was among the few gathered at the front of the iron-wrought gates and watched as the unmistakable litter approached.

He confessed himself curious as to what this simple peasant girl could possibly look like, that the Duke would insist a woman with no repute and no experience working in a castle and serving a royal family could possibly benefit his son.

The carriage came to a stop once the guards at the gate opened the gate and allowed the litter to pass through.

The door opened and a delicate foot was the first thing he noticed of the girl, though the farm girl's boots were muddied and still seemed high quality. The rest of the prickly little farm girl soon followed. Monsieur Cogsworth peered curiously at this strange material of beauty through his spectacles. He admittedly did not know what he had expected the daughter of an old inventor who was touched in the head to look like, but even he had to admit, the young lass was a sweet sight indeed. He pegged her to be a girl in her late teens, perhaps early twenties, and not much older than the Prince.

In the crisp chill of autumn, as autumn had come early to France this year, he could feel her warmth exude off her like sunshine. She was fair-skinned but not pale, and her eyes displayed more fear and vulnerability than Cogsworth had seen in a girl in quite some time. Her dark brown eyes were inquisitive and almond-shaped, her long dark chocolate hair pulled back into a simple low ponytail and plaited with a blue ribbon that looked on the verge of almost coming undone as it blew in the wind, and her figure was eye-catching even when covered underneath a thick woolen traveling gown. Monsieur Cogsworth stared at the girl and wondered how such a slip of a thing would fare in a lavish estate as this one.

Beside him, he heard the young Prince let out a frustrated sigh through his nose. Cogsworth furrowed his brows into a frown and tilted his head, not understanding.

He faced the Duke's son, Prince Adam, handsome, despaired, and angry at what his father was doing. The boy's head was bowed. Cogsworth could not understand why the young master could be so unhappy with this arrangement.

The girl was merely to be his personal chambermaid, it was not the Duke's intent to have this one be the girl whom his son would marry.

Yet now, he saw a strange disgust in Prince Adam's angular features. He had turned pale, as though he were about to be sick, and his lips were parted slightly in shock as he looked upon the brunette now standing to affront them both.

Monsieur Cogsworth would have wanted to reprimand the young Prince and call him out for such behavior in front of the lady who was to serve him, but instead, he drew in a breath and stepped forward to welcome her instead.

"My dear lady," he announced. "Welcome, welcome, I trust that your journey here was pleasant enough, and I hope that you will be comfortable here." His voice sounded crude, very nearly cold and unwelcoming, and Monsieur Cogsworth flinched as he felt this prickly farm girl shy away in hesitation. The poor dear was clearly skittish, though Cogsworth attempted to tell himself that it was only natural after what she had been through, the dreadful shock it must be to her.

The lass said nothing at first. At first, Cogsworth presumed the girl was either mute or just a good listener.

She began to play with her pinkish-tipped fingers to keep them warm from the cold, and her curious brown eyes soon landed on the Prince. The girl looked at him with what Cogsworth could only perceive to be venom in her dark eyes, labeling him and likely the rest of the royal family.

Why shouldn't she?

A part of him would not blame the girl if she were. The Duke had ordered her removed from her village, her home, and her family, and had not provided her with an answer on when she'd return.

He half expected the girl to throw herself at the young master and beat on Prince Adam's chest with her fists, to scream at him, to yell and cry a tirade to the heavens about how she was being horribly mistreated by coming here.

But she did neither of those things. Instead, her expression changed, as if by a witch's spell, and the girl did something Cogsworth did not expect. She smiled as she reached out to her skirt and hastily bent her knee in a curtsy.

"Your Highness," she murmured in a low, shy voice that reminded Cogsworth of warm baked barley bread and melted butter. "It is an honor to be here, in your home," she offered shyly.

He smiled, partly glad she spoke, and partly warmed several times over by the young woman's lovely voice.

It lifted Cogsworth's mood to see that this peasant girl did possess a modicum of proper manners and caused him to feel some hope swell in his chest as he began to pray that not all was lost. He let out a crooked little half smile and stepped aside so that Prince Adam could step forward and introduce himself.

"Might I introduce the young master of the castle, Adam de Barreau, Prince of these lands and son to the late Duke, Henri. He is who you will serve."

Beside him, he felt Prince Adam stiffen in disbelief and with painstaking slowness, the boy turned to face him.

Cogsworth raised an eyebrow and had to remind the Prince of his supposed act.

Thankfully, the young master was quick to grasp his shortcoming and flushed. He watched the fair-haired Prince move forward and peel off his glove, stretching his now ungloved hand to this strange material of beauty.

This Belle, he thought that the girl was called.

Cogsworth felt the edges of his mouth pinch and turn down into a suspicious scowl as he noted the way some color seemed to return to the young master's skin the moment his skin touched hers as the Prince took her hand.

"It is an honor to meet you, mademoiselle. You are lovely, Belle," Prince Adam managed in his low and steady voice.

His lips met the back of her hand, and she quickly withdrew it from her grasp, almost looking offended that he would dare to be so bold, and looked towards Monsieur Cogsworth pleadingly.

"Thank you, monsieur, for your kindness, I am sure that I will be happy here, but is there any chance that I might be shown to my rooms? A—a turned ankle, I sprained it when getting into the carriage when it came for me earlier," she stammered, a faint pink blush gracing her cheeks embarrassedly for reasons Cogsworth did not understand.

He quickly nodded his agreement, as her fretted dark eyes told him without her needing to speak she needed solitude and perhaps a cushion upon which to rest the pretty ankle that had suffered from twisting.

"Of course, my dear. I will gladly take you inside and show you to your rooms. There will be a dinner later for the master and his father at eight thirty pm this evening, as the castle staff did not expect such weather to occur. We would love to see you there. I will also see what I can do about one of the cooks in the kitchens getting you a nice hot bowl of soup if you've not already had a bite of supper yet. I believe it is onion soup tonight, a personal favorite of mine," Cogsworth said kindly.

The Head of House chuckled as he trailed off and looked concerned into the young brunette's eyes, which now glistened, and she looked on the brink of tears. He let out a sigh and motioned for her to follow him and keep up as best as she was able, given her ankle that she'd supposedly hurt.

Out of the corner of his eye as he began to trudge the path that would lead them from the bailey and back up to the castle, Cogsworth saw Prince Adam's jaw still and his muscles tighten as he had made to offer the farm girl his hand again and take her himself, but she point-blank refused him.

She nodded as Cogsworth called to her to keep up and struggled to keep up with the older gentleman's surprisingly long strides as he spirited her toward her new home, her new prison. The girl was quiet as she trailed behind Cogsworth, craning her head this way and attempting to take in her new surroundings.

As Monsieur Cogsworth opened the door and ushered the farm girl inside the dark corridor that would lead them to the servants' quarters, he turned his head to get one last look at the young master.

Much to Cogsworth's utter excitement and perhaps even budding fear, Prince Adam was looking directly at lovely Belle. But Belle disappeared into the icy corridor without so much as a second glance behind her. She was smart enough not to look back as she closed the door behind her as Cogsworth saw no other choice but to follow the girl.

He closed the door behind him, leaving the young master of the castle to stand alone in the bailey, staring wistfully at the space where the girl had previously stood, a strange look of longing coupled with frustrated desire on his face...

The Prince raised his eyes from the stones beneath his boots as he watched Cogsworth disappear with the lovely specimen behind the doors.

Only one thing was circulating around in his mind for the rest of the night. His mind was stuck on one thing only.

Pretty Belle.