Beauty, the Beast
A/N: So I wrote this in February for a submission to a child's writing program (haha which I got into!). The criterion was to take a classic children's tale and give it a twist, and this is what I came up with in a couple of hours. So I hope you enjoy. As always, comments and suggestions are always appreciated.
~*AllYdra*~
I always thought that being alone would be the highlight to any girl's young life. After my father's death, I found it was nearly impossible to be left alone. I always wanted to read a new book and be free of obligations and society. Was it so difficult to let me just sit down for an evening to do some peaceful reading? But of course, when you get to a certain age, you start to attract attention, and in my case, it was the attention of none other than Gustav, the town hero, and most wanted bachelor. Girls went out of their way to receive his attention, and I should have considered myself lucky for catching his eye. However, this meant that more people wanted me to attend their parties knowing that if I came, it would draw more people to the event. Even though I didn't live in the village, people would still travel to the outskirts to plead for something from me.
So I did the only thing a girl in my time could. I went deep into the forest and found the mysterious witch that everyone always talked about but no one had ever seen. I would ask her for a life where people would leave me alone and not bother me with petty troubles like attending their parties. I wanted a life that I could spend the day reading, and drawing and not have people offer friendship only because I was beautiful.
The witch's hut was not hard to find, and I was quick to explain my problems to the wrinkly old woman who resided inside, telling her about how I wanted to be left alone by the village people. She explained that the spell she would use had consequences, but I was quick to dismiss her concerns as long as it guaranteed that I would no longer be bothered.
As she waved her hands, she reminded me once more that all magic, even good magic, came with a price. With a spell and a wave, she bid me goodbye and sent me on my way. Walking back through the woods, to the village, I felt no change and concluded that she must have used a spell on the village.
As I reached the edge of the village, I heard the first gasp. Now gasping was regular when it came to my appearance. After all, they didn't call me Belle for nothing. But as I continued further into the village, people stopped and stared.
In the middle of the village square, I saw my reflection for the first time. The crazy old bat did not lie. My face was disfigured, with scars. In reality, I wasn't bothered by looking hideous, because I was still recognizable. I headed home that evening, walking past the village to the outer edge ignoring the stares of villagers. They would get use to it I figured. They all knew whom I was after all, and I was sure that the staring would stop eventually. For the first time no one followed me home, asked me to marry them, or made me promise to attend their party.
The first two weeks were utter bliss. I could spend hours reading, gardening, painting and writing. No one came past the house to request for me, and so I was left in a peaceful environment for the first time since my father had died. As the third week approached, I grew bored and by the forth week I was starting to feel lonely. I went into the village and mothers grabbed their children before dashing into their little houses, and within minutes of me stepping on the streets, it was deserted.
Saddened I found myself tearfully running into the forest looking for the wicked witch, until I stumbled into her living room pleading with her to change my back. I told her I had learned my lesson and regretted having her change me in the beginning. I wanted to be beautiful Belle again.
It was then she told me the consequences I had blindly ignored. I wanted to be ignored by society, so the only way for the spell to break was for me to fall in love with someone who was also ignored by society.
Disheartened I went back to my home, preparing myself for a life of loneliness, and for months, that is what I encountered. Nothing. The villagers began to tell tales of the beast who resided at the edge of the village, and so I remained at home avoiding everyone and everything, putting thick curtains on the windows and never answering the door.
It was nearly a year later that I heard the voice of a male, calling for his horse. I peeked out the window, and saw his horse not too far away grazing on a patch of grass. At first, I thought it was odd that he did not just walk up to the horse until I saw his eyes. They were almost white, the lightest of grey. Confused, I approached him slowly, weary of what his reaction would be to me, but he turned in my direction, feeling around after hearing my feet hit the gravel. After a quick introduction, I led him to his horse, and plucked up the courage to ask him to stay for tea.
I'll tell you now that it wasn't love at first sight. We sat down for hours talking and I found myself enjoying his company, as I had not had human contact for the past several months. I asked where he was travelling, and he told me everywhere, and nowhere. I was drawn to his stories, and he was grateful for the company as well, allowing me to write about his adventures, and read to him. He told me of how villagers had a tendency to avoid strangers who were blind because they didn't know to act around him. When it was time for him to leave, I was easily convinced to travel with him, as his guide. I was no longer wanted in the village that prided themselves on the beauty of women, and this stranger had shown me more respect for my personality and intelligence than the villagers had my whole life. So, I locked up my house and joined him on his travels to nowhere in particular.
Love is a complicated thing, and I can't say for sure when he fell in love with me, but I knew the moment that I fell for him. The transformation back to my old appearance was not instant; instead, I noticed the gradual fading of the scars, over weeks of travel. I never told him that I was once the most beautiful woman in the village, because I never understood true beauty until I had met him. He didn't care about my appearance as Gustav had. Rather he sought to understand who I was individually, as I did with him. We both strived for adventure, and with his help, I started to open myself back up the world that once disregarded me. You could also say that he is the individual who taught me to love.
We eventually married, though no one attended the wedding. We travelled for sometime after before settling down in another village. I never returned to my home, nor saw the villagers that had casted me aside due to fear, or the witch.
You could say I managed to have my own happily ever after.