Beauty and The BeastOnce upon a time, in a castle in the rural area of France, lived a family most prosperous and filled with happiness. The family was La Marche, a quite noble family who employed those in need of a job and in support for their family. They paid well because they lived well and none could change their opinion of the people. The lady of the house bore two children, a son and a daughter, by the names of Victoria and Julien. As the years progressed, the children grew very beautiful and adapted their parents personalities. They were kind and gentle to everyone in the castle and everything seemed to be following the great plan until a sudden sorrow enveloped the palace: the Lady La Marche became gravely ill and bedridden. The Lord La Marche sent word out to all the nearby and far physicians, paying them great expense to see to his wife and find a cure; yet, one by one, each doctor abroad said they could do nothing for the woman.
The last person to offer healing for the lady was a wiccan of the woods. She offered ointments and natural teas but the Lord dismissed her for her absurd alchemy. “My Lord, one drink of this and she shall be cured,” suggested the woman, but again, he dismissed her. The Lord was filled with rage and knew of only one other option - the lady of the forest.
The lord of the land sped through the torrential downpour cursed upon that one fateful night on his trusted steed towards the Forbidden Forest, leaving the children sitting by their mother’s bedside. The forest held many secrets from the likes of man and was warned to never enter alone, but the lord didn’t care, he wanted to save his wife. Through the black gnarled trees that seemed to come alive at night, he rode. The sounds of wild wolf cries, he ignored, even as they chased snapping at the feet of the horse. Finally, a large wolf aggressively mounted the steed causing the man to be thrown from the horse, but, this would not stop him. The man drew his sword and pressed onward through the rain towards an empty field full of roses, and there, a large tree stood, dry, and protected from the storm. After the last wolf was removed from his bloody sword, he stood there before the tree and cried, “Lady! I beg of you, hear my plea.” The man’s words echoed through the, now, silent air. “My wife is dying and my children’s hearts’ are full of pain and sorrow. Please, I beg for mercy.”
From the tree, a branch moved forward, slowly turning into an arm. Another from the left did the same. From the tree, a female body emerged, stepping onto the earth barefoot before the now kneeling and weeping man. Her hair seemed to move on its own, like the leaves on the tree and her eyes seemed nothing of the normal world for in her eyes, one could see the stars in the sky. “Mercy?” her voice echoed, as if the whole forest spoke with her, “You ask for mercy, child? We do not understand mercy for mercy is not capable of man.” The man closed his eyes and remained staring at the ground in fear to look upon the creature. “I cannot save your wife for she is already dead,” The lady of the forest began, “I had made an offer to heal your woman but you dismissed me for the lack of better judgement. Not everything is as it seems. Regardless of how gracious you have been towards your servants, you fail to see in truth for all people.”
“No…No!” The man cried and grabbed his toward, thrusting it towards the lady. The sword pierced, but nothing happened. The creature grabbed the man by his throat and forced his eyes to look upon her. “Because of your hatred, I place a curse upon your family,” she began, “Your castle shall remain forgotten and in darkness because of the lack of kindness in your soul and your children shall suffer because of your ignorance.” The woman threw the lifeless body of the man on the earth, disappearing into the soil beneath the roses.
A sudden darkness over swept the land of the Lord, chasing away all neighboring guests. They forgot where the palace was and who once lived in the lavish castle, be it family or friends. The thought of them was erased from their mind. The Lady of the Forest took possession of the princess into her kingdom, never to be heard or seen from again, and the prince became what his father was secretly inside - a hideous beast. The servants of the castle became cursed as well, turning into animated furniture as they, also, deserved not to be human as their master was neither man. All that was left for the prince was a single rose from the forest and these words whispered by the lady, “When the last petal falls, you shall remain this feared and hated creature forever unless someone may take pity on your soul. Your sister shall remain with me, as a daughter of the forest.”
~ * ~
Ten years later, the massive castle was covered with dust and dismal energy. The once bright tapestries were torn to shreds or gray from age. The fine woodwork was deteriorating to the touch or tap of the finger. No human had ever come across the castle unless it was by an accident and the prince only allowed their stay through the cursed storm. But, if they remained longer than a night, the beast attacked to chase them away. Never could they speak about the beast for or return to take him down for the forest would keep the castle protected. Hope was lost for Julien and it almost felt the same way for his servants. They hardly ever saw their master yet every day they prayed for him to not give up.
“Oh,..Lumiere..” a soft voice cooed in the darkness, [i]“..Lumiere, you are burning my feathers.”
“Oh, ma cherie! Forgive me but I cannot quench the fire you light in my soul..” an accented French voice replied.
The female voice giggled, “I never imagined in my lifetime I would be kissing a candlestick.” Scoffing, the other replied, “My dear I am a candelabra! Not simply a mere candlestick.”
The sound of the large wooden front doors creaking open startled the two to silence. Into the large castle crept an old weary man, appearing as if he had lost his way. “Oh, great, another one,” whispered a third voice with a bit of an English tone, “I feel like we should start charging for these people.” The voice had been heard by the old man, who then became startled. “W-Who’s there?” questioned the traveler, “..I-Is somebody there?” The man ventured towards a flickering light emitted from a room to the right and, inside, he beheld a large fireplace with a chair positioned right before it. “I...I’m just getting warm from the cold...I shall be on my way momentarily..” the old man explained as he took a seat in the chair.
The three voices gasped in fear. “That’s the master’s chair!” the female voice snapped, “Lumiere, do something!” The candelabra looked towards the feather duster and shrugged the two appendages holding two candlesticks, “Well what do you want me to do, set him on fire?”
“Now, now, I’m pretty sure we can reason with him,” said the third voice that belonged to a talking clock. “Oh, sure Cogsworth, let us: a duster, a clock, and a candelabra, go have a conversation with this man like a normal human being. What are you crazy?!” Lumiere snapped. The old man turned around peering into the darkness, yet again, hearing voices, “...I..Is someone there? I..I guess I’ll be on my way…” Suddenly the fire vanished with a large burst of wind down the corridor.
“Uh oh..” Unanimously, the three animated objects stated and vanished into hiding places.
From behind the chair, a giant shadow appeared until he stood immediately behind the chair. Two large claws were sunk into the chair and traveled down to the arms ripping the fabric slowly.
“Who dares enter my castle and sits themselves in my chair?” the voice boomed through the darkness, leaving the old man shivering both now from the cold and due to the fear bestowed upon him. “I-I-I…” the old man stammered as the large claws seized hold of the weathered cloak bound around the man’s neck.
“To the dungeon with you,” the beast stated staring down at the human through fierce green eyes. “N-N-No...please..I..have mercy,” the old man pleaded as the Beast dragged the man through the corridor down towards the drafty, frigid basement. The creature scoffed at the word and growled,
“Why should I? No one has ever shown me mercy?” Once at the bottom of the stone stairs, the creature threw the old man into a room enclosed by wrought iron bars.
“Here you shall stay unless someone comes to show you some sort of mercy,” the creature spat as he perched on all fours before the cell and then disappeared into the darkness back up the stairs.
Up the stairs he climbed until he reached a wooden floorboard, indicating he had returned to the first level. The creature then climbed back up the rickety staircase, going westward in the castle. This area of the castle seemed completely destroyed, shattered and torn apart, everything by his hands. He ceased movement after reaching one room that appeared like a bedroom and in there, beneath a glass was a glowing white rose which had just shed another petal. The creature snorted in disgust and crawled towards the balcony. Once on the balcony, he overlooked his now dismal land and released a monstrous roar of anguish. This was his prison. This was his agonizing forever.
