AN: I am alive! Back-to-school craziness was kicking my butt, and I've hit a massive stroke of art block I'm trying to work through. I promised some people that I would publish this, as it's garnered some interest from how I talk about it online. I swear, chapter 12 of Kinslayer is coming. And episode 2 of Millennium SMP. And the next chapter of Ojou-sama. *sigh* Writer's block sucks.
Anyway, hope you guys enjoy my new addition to the Absol-verse: Beast!
Prologue: Once Upon A Time
Once upon a time, there was a king who, by chance, met a lion demon. She seduced him, and in time she bore him a child - a misshapen creature, a grotesque mix of lion and human - and vanished. The king could not kill the monstrous infant, for it was his wife's child, and he was still deeply bewitched by her even after her death. He loved the child as he would a human son.
Several years later, the king died of a broken heart, and the beast was locked away forever, to keep the Pharaoh's shame from becoming widely known.
Once upon a time, there was a prince who loved games. There were an abundance of games in his castle to amuse himself with, and his servants traveled far and wide to bring him more. He had everything he could ever need - fine clothes, good food, hours worth of games to entertain himself with. However, he could not - dared not - set foot outside. His uncle told him about the horrors out there. How to leave the sanctum would be to leave his domain, his safe place. Yet the outside world was so tantalizing, and the idea of leaving soon consumed the prince's every thought.
Once upon a time there was a magician. The magician spent much of his life in seclusion, because his friend, his dearest friend in all the world, to whom he owed his life, was born with a horrible deformity and his caretaker decreed he could never leave the safety of his home. The magician was his only companion, the only one who bided the danger.
They were lonely, the magician and his friend.
Once upon a time there was a witch. She wore plain clothes, never brushed her hair, wore the most minimal amount of makeup and jewelry, and was constantly getting dirty, injured, or in trouble. She was plain.
She had the energy of the universe humming through her blood, boundless, and the glitter of stars and galaxies shone in her catlike eyes. She was beautiful.
Once upon a time there was a witch who didn't know she was a witch.
Once upon a time there was a girl who was fed to the Beast for eighteen coins.
Once upon a time there was a girl…