Beauty and the Mischief
Once upon a time in the hidden kingdom of
Asgard, there lived two princes. One was golden-
haired and bold and a great warrior. The younger
was dark haired and a great sorcerer. Although
they had divine gifts, the princes were spoiled,
cruel, and greedy. They cared nothing for the
lives of anyone they deemed below them. Then,
one winter's night, an ancient beggar woman
to the golden palace seeking shelter from
winter's chill. She offered the princes a single
rose in exchange for shelter. Disgusted by her
ragged appearance, the princes chided her gift
and turned the beggar woman away. As
punishment for her impudence the younger
brother demanded she be flogged. The old
woman warned the princes not to be deceived by
appearances as beauty is found within. The
princes turned the beggar woman away. At that
moment, the beggar's ugliness disappeared and
she was a beautiful Aesir witch of golden hair.
The princes tried to apologize, but it was for
naught as she saw there was no love in their
hearts. As punishment, she wiped the crown
prince's memories and banished him to a distant kingdom on Midgard known as Norway. For his cruelty, the younger
brother was transformed into a hideous monster
and she placed a powerful spell on the palace
and it's inhabitants. Ashamed of his
monstrous form, the prince hid himself away in
his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window
to the outside world and those around it. The
rose was a magic rose that would bloom until his
fifteen-hundredth year. If the prince could earn
the love of another, the spell would be broken. If
not, he would be doomed to his hideous form for
eternity. As the years bled on, the prince lost all
hope. Who could love a monster?