I once was a Beast (a unique retelling of the Beauty and the Beast)

Once when I was a mere lad, an old, haggard woman came to my mansion door during the darkest hours of the night requesting a room in exchange for a rose. First of all, we princes require sleep, and lots of it, to maintain our royal appearances, so I was not pleased at the arrival of this late traveler. Second, a rose is hardly an appropriate thing to give in exchange for my overbearing hospitality. So, in the end, I turned that old hag away. That turned out to be the worst decision of my life.

Now, how was I to know said particular old woman was a witch? They should warn me about such things. Anyway, I end up with a curse for being quote-on-quote “a spoiled little turd”. Maybe that’s not what she actually said, but whatever—you would think the woman would have been nicer if she really expected a room. And this wasn’t just any old curse. This particular curse transformed me into a hideous beast; a repulsive creature that I myself could hardly glance at in a looking glass. That wench even turned my servants into myriad household items—everything from teacups to armoires. In exchange for her little tantrum, the witch gave me the rose she had been carrying along with a magic mirror that would allow me to witness far-away events before telling me that if I could not love and be loved in my beastly form by time the last petal wilted and fell from the rose, I would be stuck as a beast forever.

How nice of her.

I spent the next several years in utter isolation, entertained only by my talking furniture (who became remarkably good at singing and dancing). Although I had no desire to become a beast for good, I simply was not into that whole “love” thing. My teenage emotions were in a very fragile state, seeing as I was going through puberty and all…anyway, years passed before I even came into contact with a woman.

It was a rather unordinary day (all my days were) when some old geezer came knocking at my door during a dreadful thunderstorm. Was this trap; a wizard perhaps attempting to cast another terrible spell upon my once-noble demeanor? I wasn’t going to take any chances with this man, so I gave him a room to stay the night—a nice damp one in the dungeon! Maybe he would serve as a scrumptious appetizer for my feral palate the following evening.

Unfortunately, I would never know how delicious this man really was. His daughter, a young, quite attractive yet slightly—strange—woman, came boldly treading into my palace the following morning in search for her missing father. My servants gave her a warm welcome—it was sickening to see how blatantly they disobeyed my wishes. So in return, I mustered up some ardent fury in my beastly gullet, and let out a roar to terrify the gods. However, this lass felt no apprehension in my overwhelming presence, and pleaded with me for her father’s freedom. When I refused most adamantly, she made an offer I simply could not pass by—her father’s emancipation in exchange for her lovely carcass…I mean…body. She would undoubtedly taste much sweeter than the old man, I thought with a grin as I sealed the bargain and locked the maiden in my elaborate guest room.

That evening, I ordered my servants to conjure up a royal feast for me and my new pet (after all, I’d need to fatten her up a little before digging my teeth into her soft flesh). But, the girl refused to meet me for dinner! What gall! What impotence! Infuriated, I chased her out of my mansion, smashing walls with my fearsome fists and howling after her into the dreary forest that surrounded my castle.

After my unrestricted flow of adrenaline was finally depleted, I felt exhausted. I dragged myself up to my room at the very top of the mansion and plopped my hairy form into bed. There, I looked into my magic mirror (as I often did when feeling bored or tired) and saw that poor girl being pursued by some mangy wolves. Don’t get me wrong—I had neither the strength nor the desire to save her. Yet, something deep inside my bosom told me that I must do the right thing. What a nuisance one’s conscious can be at times!

So I darted into the shaded woods as fast as my beleaguered body would go. I caught up to the girl just in time—the wolves pounced and I clawed them to the ground, breaking jaws and biting huge chunks of their flesh as the lady watched in sheer horror. I’m not sure what she was more scared of—me or the wolves! It took only seconds for the animals to give up on their prey; I was obviously far more powerful than any of them. That fight sure did me in though, because before I could drag the poor dame back to my abode, I blacked out.

When I awoke, I was in my own library. I looked down at my body (as I often did when I awoke, making sure I hadn’t turned back to human form just as suddenly as I turned into a beast) and saw that my scratches from the previous night’s struggle had been treated and bandaged. To my great surprise, the girl was there with me, reading a stack of books off one of my numerous shelves. She was pleased to see me awake and offered me lunch. We shared the meal together, and when I asked her why she had been taking good care of me, she responded, “You saved my life—I couldn’t let you suffer out in the woods alone.” Maybe, I thought, this girl isn’t so bad after all.

After lunch, she went back to reading one of my books. “Oh, I sure do love this one,” she said as her eyes frantically darted from line to line, absorbing the literature as a plant absorbs sunlight. Most girls are not interested in books and such, but this one—well, let’s just say that she was different. After a while, I grew bored of sitting around and asked her to join me in a stroll around my grounds.

It was a snowy yet beautiful day outside. The birds were singing and great glistening icicles formed on the various overhanging arcs and edges of my looming castle. As we journeyed around the vast property, Belle (I had discovered that that was the woman’s name) surreptitiously constructed a snowball and threw it at the back of my neck. My first sudden twinge of anger turned to amusement as I got my revenge by throwing a huge cloud of powdered snow upon her dainty jacket. We played like children for what must have been hours. I don’t think I had ever had so much fun in my entire life—let alone with a woman. She was so beautiful as she pranced through the snow, a soothing smile on her face and shimmering snow in her hair. I had never gazed upon such a fair maiden and I thought of how lucky I was to finally have someone who understood who I was under my grotesque and fearsome appearance.

That night we finally had our feast together, followed by a spectacular ballroom dance. I wore my best princely garb and I lent Belle a dress that looked absolutely stunning upon her commensurate frame. We danced the entire night away, as if nothing else mattered except our feelings for one another. At least, I hoped she felt similarly toward me as I felt toward her. Perhaps then I could finally break that cursed spell. But at that moment, none of that mattered as we danced with our bodies pressed close as one.

After we tired from dancing, I allowed Belle into my chambers to show her my magic mirror. However, when she gazed into it she saw her father dying out in the forsaken forest. How such a wonderful evening can be ruined so easily! She knew it not, but there was but three hours remaining before the last petal fell from my rose and I was trapped as a beast forever. However, I loved Belle so much that I could not see her in distress over her father, so I released her, tears forming in the crevices of my beast-like eyes.

I waited around for what felt like an eternity for Belle to return, but she did not. When I went to look for her in my mirror, I realized that she mistakenly took it along with her! Dismayed and inundated with hopelessness, I reluctantly awaited the time where all chances of my turning back into a human would be gone. As a brooded my fate, I thought I heard sounds coming from the forest. It must be Belle, back to save me, I thought. I went out to my yard to greet her, but instead of facing a beautiful girl, I was faced with an angry mob, armed with a variety of weapons meant to cut and gouge my beastly flesh.

The leader of this group was Gaston, an arrogant man who approached me without fear and prophesied my certain death. Fear welled inside my bosom and I retreated into my mansion, the mob close behind me. I was eventually chased onto the roof, from which there was no escape. Though a brigade of armed men had me corned, all I could think about was Belle—the beauty that I was to never set eyes on again. Just then I heard a delicate voice rise over the chants of the mob and say, “Beast, don’t worry! Have strength!” It was Belle. She had finally come back because she cared for my safety. At that moment, strength, the true strength that can only be evoked by the one you love, filled my fearsome body and I clawed my way through the mob, slaying men right and left. Skulls cracked and bones crunched under the weight of my vicious fury. Finally, I was faced with one last opponent—Gaston. “I won’t let you have Belle, you filthy beast,” he jeered as he spat on my uncovered feet. At this point, my rage was uncontrollable and I lashed out at this man with all the beastly power at my disposal. However, he was a skilled fighter and dodged the majority of my blows. I took several cuts from his blade and fell to the ground. There he loomed over me, dagger in hand and a malicious look on his face. I couldn’t believe that I, a once-proud prince, would die in such an agonizing manner. As he prepared to deliver the final blow, I thought of Belle—such a fine woman did not deserve this swine of a man. So with every last bit of strength, I kicked out his shins with my powerful leg and impaled his chest with my sharp claw. He staggered for a moment and plummeted from the rooftop to his death.

I had won Belle. However, I was severely wounded from the fight and the last rose petal was sure to fall at any second. What a fitting ending for a beast, I thought. Then in the light of a nearby window I saw her. She panicked when she saw my frightful condition and hugged me close to her, whispering, “Please don’t die, please don’t. You fought so valiantly, and all for my sake. You are a true man among beasts, and I love you.”

With those words the spell was broken and my servants and I returned to our former selves, and Belle moved back into the castle with me where we were to live happily ever after.