"Crazy" Beauty and the "Hunter" Beast

[sugaronthecream]

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a cruel Prince lived in a shining castle surrounded by rich hunting lands.
Although he had everything his heart desired, the Prince was paranoid, selfish, and cruel.

But then, one winter's night, an old beggar-woman came to the castle, and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold.

None know for sure what happened that night. Some say the Prince turned her away for her appearance, and others claim he attempted to harm her... the beggar-woman melted away her disguise to reveal a beautiful Enchantress.

As punishment for his loveless heart and vicious cruelty, the Enchantress transformed him into a hideous Beast, and placed a powerful spell on the castle, and all who lived there.

Ashamed of his monstrous form, the Beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his 30th year. If he could learn to love another, and earn their love in return, by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time.

As the years passed, he fell into despair, and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a Beast?

Comments

[youknowwhothisis]

"A strange little man with stranger ideas. Losing sweet Lily surely cracked his mind."

"I don't know what his late wife, gods rest her soul, ever saw in him."

"His daughter seems to be falling right in step with him. Don't they know there's no point in a young lady reading when she has better things to focus on??"

"What a strange, strange man. Not a week goes by before something explodes in that cellar. He'll cause the whole damned village to collapse one of these days."

Lucifer was not a very popular man. His adult daughter, so bright, funny and with the voice of an angel, always saw the bright side of things, but he just knew that he was likely dragging her down. The eligible bachelors and bachelorettes quietly side-eyed her when she thought she didn't notice- to take her hand meant being related to the village crackpot.

But Lucifer put on a smile, and finished loading the last of his newest contraption into the cart, alongside small toys and gadgets he knew he could sell for extra coin. He hugged his daughter, fussed over her, but bid her farewell. He would be gone for just a fortnight, peddling his wares and hopefully selling his newest idea to an investor. If he could sell the concept, his name would be restored. Just once, something Lucifer Morningstar made wouldn't be the pipe dream of some crazed idiot who kept blowing up his cellar and talking of dreams. I mean, flying machines, for one... why did he seek to defy the gods by letting humans take to the sky like birds?

"Let me bring you something back! Anything you like."

"Aw, Dad... but I don't want anything! Just come back home safe. That's what I want. Good luck, okay?"

One last hug, and Lucifer mounted trusty Gershwin, the big draft horse who dutifully pulled the cart each year, or helped in their modest fields. With the click of his tongue and a nudge, off they went. He waved farewell as he went on his way, until he was completely out of sight of the cottage, his small family, and the only home he'd known.


---


He'd taken this route for years. But this year, after a time, the twists just weren't twisting. The turns felt foreign. Something was... strange. Something was wrong. Even Gershwin's ears were swiveling, steps nervous.

"Yeah... sorry, buddy. I don't know where the road went, either." Sure, he was talking to his horse, but who else was there to speak with? And he loved his big buddy. When he spied a path that looked less like certain doom, Lucifer dismounted and seized the reins.

Gershwin planted his hooves and gave a short, unsure keen.

"Hey. Hey... it's alright. I'm right here with you. C'mon... have I ever steered you wrong?" He offered a smile and took it one step at a time. Slowly, the dutiful horse fell in step, relying solely on his handler for that security.

At least his horse was his friend.

They traveled for a time along the foggy road, Lucifer soothing poor Gershwin after every odd sound until they stepped at a massive gate.

"Huh. Someone lives out here...?" Yet he sighed. "Thank the gods. Maybe the master of the place lives here and can give us some directions."

He pushed open the gate and eased the horse and cart inside, passing through an unusually breathtaking, well-kept rose garden. It was... not the season for roses, was it? Yet these seemed to be thriving.

If the garden wasn't enough of an eye-grabber, the castle, oh... this beautiful castle. Lucifer gaped up at it, but he furrowed a brow. An entire castle was here, but... for how long? How had he never heard of this place. But he shook his head, and bid Gershwin to stay in the courtyard.

He hopped up the steps, light on his feet, and was about to bang on the door when he noticed it was a little loose, and it was dark within.

...

Maybe he was crazy. But he was also desperate. He used his shoulder to push open the heavy door and slip inside. It's fine- he just needed to ask something real fast, and he would be out of this person's hair.

If. ...If people still lived here, anyway.

"...Hello...?" He called. He shut the door behind him, not wanting to be rude.

"I... don't know castle etiquette, but... if anyone's home, I could use a little help."

Setting the Stage

[sugaronthecream]

Dinner was served, the furniture was scurrying about and making things more presentable for their guest, and most important of all - a warning was given.

Do not go to the west wing of the castle. "You don't need a reason. Just obey."

That wing didn't appear on its surface to be particularly special - portraits lined on the walls, armor and hunting trophies, antler chandeliers all the same leading into the east wing. The feather-duster from earlier zipped from fluttering ahead down the east wing to clinging onto their esteemed guest - at least until he was finally set up in a private room, which had a large bed with fresh blankets and a crackling fire going to make sure the room didn't get too chilled in the night.

Come morning, the castle's gloomy darkness is at least alleviated by the sun coming through the windows - save for the west wing, again, where the curtains were left not drawn. No one should be down there, after all.

The rest of the castle was thankfully tidied up, presentable, and breakfast offered - Alastor didn't join for breakfast, but that's quite alright. He's enjoying tea outside, his massive cervine beastly form somehow relaxed and reclined in a chair far too small with one leg crossed over the other as he sipped and read from a book. The grounds in the back of the castle where he was relaxing were sprawling, a large meadow-like field filled with wildflowers and plants with overgrown hedges staving off the forest proper, even if only by a hair at this point.