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Once upon a time, a young prince lived in a beautiful and shining castle. His father had died many years earlier and his mother had disappeared shortly after his birth.Although he had almost anything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled and unkind.One night, an old beggar woman arrived at the castle and asked him personally for shelter from the bitter cold, offering him a beautiful rose in exchange. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and ordered the old woman out. However, she warned him not to be fooled by appearances, for beauty is found within.When he ordered her out again, the old woman’s appearance melted away to reveal an enchantress.The prince fell to his knees and started to apologize, but it was too late, for the Enchantress had seen that there was no love or kindness in his heart.As punishment, she transformed him into a monstrous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there. In time, the prince and all of his servants were forgotten by the world, even by all those who loved them.They were each other’s only company in the castle.However, the rose that the Enchantress had offered to the prince turned beast was truly an enchanted one, which would bloom until his 25th year alongside a magic mirror to gaze upon the outside world that would so harshly reject him.If the prince could learn to truly love another and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, his servants would become fully inanimate and he would be trapped in the body of a beast until the end of time.As years passed, he fell into a deep depression and lost all of his hope.For who could ever learn to love a beast?
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The sound of well-worn boots on the bridge leading into town was the only thing that tried to muffle the sound of the young man’s humming.The rest of the village was just waking up to start their day, but Lance’s had already started and there was still more to do.He happily smiled and waved to the villagers as they went about their daily routines. The baker, Tyler, nodded to him pleasantly. “Where are you off to this morning?” He asked.“The bookshop,” Lance said with a grin. “I just finished the most amazing story about five lions and a princess and-“Yeah, that’s nice,” Tyler said dismissively before turning back and yelling through the window to tell people to hurry up.Throughout his walk into town, Lance could hear them whispering about him, how strange he was. How he didn’t do things the way everyone else did. How much he stood out. He tried to ignore them. He always failed at it eventually.“Ah Lance!” The bookseller called.“Good morning Rhys!” Lance replied cheerfully, trying to brush aside all the whispers circling his head. “I’ve come to return the book I borrowed.”Rhys raised an eyebrow. “But you just got it,” he said curiously. “Are you finished already?”Lance nodded excitedly. These books were the only escape he had from this poor provincial town. “I couldn’t put it down! Has anything else arrived?”Rhys laughed. “Not yet my dear boy. Best believe you’ll be my first call the moment I get a new shipment.”Lance grinned. “That’s alright.” He scanned the shelves. “I’ll borrow…” his fingers danced around a familiar spine before he pulled it out with a triumph. “This one!”“That one? But you’ve read it 8 times!”“It’s my favorite!” Lance said excitedly, flipping through the pages. “Far off places, magical spells and a prince in disguise!”Rhys chuckled. “If you like it that much, then it’s yours.”“But sir-”“I insist!”“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Lance said with a grin as he exited the shop, his nose now firmly buried in the book as he began to walk back home.He heard murmuring and whispers following him as he began to meet the road that would lead him out of the village, but when he lifted his head to look, the whispers died instantly and were replaced by happy chatters about the villagers' day to day life. He rolled his eyes and buried his nose back down.“Hello Lance,” a new voice oozed.Lance internally groaned. He should have known that this was going to happen. “Bonjour Lotor,” he managed to get out, trying to sneak past the man on his way back home.“Not so fast!” Lotor said, snatching the book out of Lance’s hands.Lance froze.“How can you read this?” Lotor demanded. “There’s no pictures.”“Some people like to use their imaginations,” Lance said weakly, holding his hand out for the book, but Lotor scoffed and threw it down into a mud pile leftover from the previous night’s rainstorm. Lance knelt down to try and pick it up, but Lotor stood over him, boot resting on his new book.“Lance, you know that there’s more important things for you to be thinking about than that,” Lotor said with a malicious grin as Lance snatched up the book from underneath Lotor’s boot.“I’m sure there are,” Lance said, backing away slowly.“Why don’t you and I,” Lotor said, throwing an arm around Lance’s shoulders, “take a walk down to the tavern and take a look at all my trophies.”“That sounds lovely,” Lance said, trying and failing to hide the sarcasm in his voice. “Right now though, I really do need to be getting home to help my sister.”“Veronica?” Acxa, one of Lotor’s goonies, asked, poking her head up.Lotor laughed confidently. “That spinster needs all the help she can get.”Lance almost saw red. “My sister isn’t a spinster,” he spat. “She’s a genius.”There was a boom from up the hill and Lance whirled around. Smoke was coming from the direction of his house and he took off running.Lotor stood and watched him as he ran back.“He’ll be mine,” Lotor mumbled beneath his breath as the blue of the young man’s vest disappeared behind another hill. “I’ll make sure of it.”“Maybe you’re going about it in the wrong way,” Acxa suggested. “Lance seems like books more than-”Lotor silenced her. “Lance will be my husband,” he hissed. “I don’t care how long it takes, but he will be mine.”
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“Vero?” Lance yelled as he approached the house, still smoking. “Vero!”“I’m okay!” A distant voice shouted from the cellar.Lance rolled his eyes and opened the cellar door before he started coughing from the excessive amount of smoke coming out.“Jeez Vero,” he coughed, “maybe you should invent something to detect fires, not cause them.”Veronica scowled at him and dove back beneath her latest invention. “I didn’t mean for it to catch on fire!” She yelled. “It was just supposed to chop wood, not burst into smoke.”Lance sighed. “How’s it coming?”Veronica emerged from underneath it again, face covered in soot. “I’m not sure it’ll be ready by tomorrow,” she admitted sadly. “I can’t get the blasted thing to work.”“I’m sure you’ll get it,” Lance said, placing his hands on her shoulders. “And you’ll win first prize at the fair tomorrow.”Veronica scoffed. “Yeah right. No one’s going to give the girl from the poor provincial town any kind of award.”Lance rolled his eyes. “You don’t know that,” he said firmly. “People may surprise you.”“Are you on my side or not?”“Of course I am,” Lance reassured. “I’ve been on your side from day one.”“I know you are.” She paused, thinking. “Let me try it again.”Lance grinned as Veronica continued working on the contraption.“Did you have a good time in town this morning?” She asked, holding her hand out for a wrench, which Lance placed carefully in her hand.Lance sighed. “I got a new book. Nothing else was anything to write home about.”“Did you see Lotor again?”Lance scoffed. “He’s always there when I’m in town. He never leaves me alone.”Veronica winced. “Yeah, he’s always asking me about you whenever I’m there. Kinda creepy.” She shuddered.Lance winced. “Yeah, I know. Nothing seems to stop him.”“You could come with me,” Veronica offered.“And risk Lotor breaking into our house while we’re gone?” Lance shuddered at the thought. “No thank you.”“You don’t know that,” Veronica replied.“You know he would,” Lance snapped, “he’d break in and move himself in and you out in a heartbeat if we were both gone.”Veronica sighed. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”Lance nodded. “I can take care of myself, I promise.”___________Veronica left late that afternoon, her invention tucked securely in the wagon with their faithful old horse Blue tied up in front.“Is there anything you want from the fair?” She asked as she climbed atop the wagon.“A rose,” Lance said with a grin, resting his hand against the wagon seat. “Like the kind that Mama used to grow.”“You ask for that every time.”“And every time you bring it.”“Alright then,” Veronica said, gently flicking the reins, urging Blue forward.“I’ll see you in a week!” Lance called as he waved his sister off.“Yep!” Veronica called as she entered the forest. “A week with the rose!” Lance had just started settling into the peace and quiet of the house often offered when there was a sharp, loud rap at the door and he winced. Lotor was undoubtedly on the other side of the glass, having seen (or had been told) that Veronica had left and Lance was home alone.“Ah Lance,” Lotor cooed, very much resembling a preening pelican, “how wonderful it is to see you.”A loud horn tooted from behind him, and Lance tried to peek around to see what in God’s name was going on.“Lotor, what a wonderful surprise,” Lance replied once he didn't see where the horn had come from, trying to shut the door in Lotor’s face.“You’re very lucky, Lance,” Lotor replied, now grinning like a snake as he pushed back against the door, “You have no idea how many people would kill to be in your shoes.” Lotor forced his way inside, taking in the minimal decor of the living room.Lance gulped nervously. “Can I ask why you’re here?”“Because, Lance,” he smiled. “Today is the day that all your dreams come true.”“What do you know about my dreams, Lotor?”“Plenty!” Suddenly Lotor was reclining in Mama’s chair, his feet now propped up by the books that Lance and Veronica had been reading, including the one that Lance had literally just got. “Picture this, a rustic hunting lodge with my latest kill roasting on the spit.”Lance winced. That sounded nothing like his dreams.“We’ll have six or seven,” Lotor said, wrapping an arm around Lance’s waist. He had been talking about Lance’s non-existent dream with him, apparently.“Dogs?” He asked hopefully.Lotor laughed loudly. “No Lance, strapping young boys. Like you and I.”Lance chuckled nervously, reaching for the book at the top of the pile. “Imagine that.”“And do you know who that husband will be?”“Um…”“You, Lance.”Lance paled but tried to slap a surprised and flattered smile back onto his face. “Lotor, I’m-“ he stammered, “I’m speechless. I really don’t know what to say.”Lotor grinned evilly. “Say you’ll marry me.” He whispered, pushing Lance against the door.“I’m sorry Lotor,” Lance said, trying to feel the doorknob. “But I’m not sure I deserve you.”His hand found the doorknob and he threw the door open, stepping out of the way as Lotor fell forward and slamming the door behind him as soon as he was through.There was banging on the door again, but Lance made sure the door was firmly shut. He ran around to draw the curtains and lock windows, because Lotor was certainly going to try climbing their fucking house to peek in through windows and try to open them because Lotor was a psychopath that didn't take no for an answer.After a while, the strange noises from outside slowly faded away and Lance poked his head out once the noise had returned to its normal sounds and rhythm.“Can you believe it?” He asked one of the chicken’s on the windowsill. “He asked me to marry him.” Lance shuddered. “Me, the husband of that boorish and brainless-” the chicken squawked and Lance made his way down the steps towards where the rest of his family’s animals were kept.“Monsieur Lotor, can’t you just see it? His little husband?”He scoffed. “No sir, no way, not me, I can guarantee it. I want so much more than this provincial life.”He knocked over the bucket of feed on the sill and ran out into the field that overlooked the valley beyond. “I want adventure in that great wide somewhere.” He sighed. “I want it more than I can tell,” Lance leaned over to pick a small dandelion growing. “And for once it might be grand,” he sighed, “to have someone understand, I want so much more than they’ve got planned.”
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In Veronica’s defense, she wasn’t expecting to get lost in the forest and chased by wolves.
But hey, the freaking castle gates had opened for her, so that had to be a good sign. Right?
“Hello?” she called as she stepped into the grand entrance hall. “I don’t mean to intrude, but I lost my horse in the storm. I was hoping to stay the night.”
There were whispers behind her, but when she turned around, the only thing she saw was an illuminated candelabra and table clock, hands barely moving.
“Hello?” she called, walking towards where she thought she heard the voices.
“Hello!” A cheerful voice replied from the same direction.
There was a moan and groan that vaguely sounded like ‘Coran, no’ and Veronica took another step forward.
“Who’s there?” She demanded, grabbing the candelabra.
“Over here!” The voice said again by her shoulder.
Veronica looked over her shoulder. There was nothing but the pitch black of the rest of the castle. “The other way,” the voice said kindly. Veronica turned to look over her other shoulder and screamed.
The candelabra had a face. A human face. Sort of.
She dropped it on the ground.
The candelabra groaned (were candelabra’s supposed to do that?) and made himself upright. Veronica pressed herself against a nearby column.
“Do not be alarmed!” He said as if it would help her at all. He took a step towards her. “I am Coran, and you are more than welcome here!”
Veronica nodded. “Um- you’re-”
The candelabra- Coran, apparently- brushed the comment off. “Do not fret!” He said. “No one in this castle will do you any harm.”
“Coran,” a new voice said.
Veronica almost fainted. The
clock
was talking now.
“I’m dreaming,” she announced. “I hit my head on a branch, and I am lying on the forest floor, hallucinating while I am dying and about to get eaten by wolves.”
“I wish this were a dream,” the clock said sympathetically. “It’d almost make it more bearable.”
Veronica gaped at him. “Tell my brother I love him and that I hope Lotor gets off his tail because I am a goner.”
“If the master finds out you’re here, you most certainly are,” the clock agreed.
“The master?”
“My brother,” the clock said, as if that explained everything, which it certainly didn’t.
“The master of this castle is another clock?”
The clock made a face. “No, he’s-“
“Do not worry about the master for right now,” Coran urged, urging her into a room off the hall where a nice warm fire was already lit. “He will have no objections to you being here tonight.”
“Coran,”
“Do not fret Shiro!” Coran said to the clock.
Shiro ticked at him, but whatever he was about to say was cut off by a tea trolley flattening him.
“Hello,” a new voice said kindly, “we thought that you might want a nice cup of tea to warm you up.”
“That’s very kind of you,” Veronica said, trying to determine who had spoken. “Um-”
“Oh, don’t worry about it,” the teapot said, turning slightly (not creepy at all, no way) so that Veronica could see his face. “It’s really the least we can do.”
“Matt,” Shiro began to say as the teacup (the teacup?) jumped from the trolley right into Veronica’s hand.
“Hi!” A very cheerful (and very young) voice said.
“Hi?” Veronica asked, confused, moving towards the chair at the center of the room before she fainted from all the shock.
“No, no, no!” She faintly heard Shiro exclaim behind her, “not the Master’s chair.”
“Calm down, Shiro, it’ll be-”
The door to the room flew open and the fire blew out from the gust. The teacup leapt off of Veronica’s hand to hide behind the teapot.
“There’s a stranger here,” a deep voice growled. Veronica turned in her seat. Shiro and Coran were as pale as fancy household objects could be, but she couldn’t see the voice.
“I tried to talk him out of it-” Shiro began to say, but the ‘Master’ roared and he was silenced.
“If I may-” Coran tried to add. There was a growl and the lights in the room went out completely.
“Who are you?” Veronica froze as the voice circled around her. “What are you doing here?”
Veronica turned from one side of the chair to the other and inheld a scream when she saw the monster in front of her.
“I, I,” she stammered out. “I got lost in the woods and so-”
“You decided to trespass here,” the beast finished for her. “You’ve come to stare at the beast in the castle, haven’t you?”
“I had no idea this goddamn castle was even here!” Veronica tried to argue. “If I had known, I wouldn’t have come, I just needed a place to stay-”
The Beast snarled at her. “I’ll give you a place to stay.” Without another word, he picked her up and hauled her out of the room.
The last thing she saw were Coran, Shiro, the teapot and teacup being plunged into darkness by the door, identical sketches of horror drawn on their faces.
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Lance was in the middle of picking the vegetables from their garden when he heard the horse.“Blue?” He called, brushing the dirt off his vest and running to meet her. The horse was drenched in sweat and Lance stroked her gently as she guzzled water from the trough. He glanced at the path between the trees that Blue had come from, expecting to see his sister walking up it, letting old Blue go on ahead of her after their journey.Lance glanced back at his family’s horse. Veronica’s invention was still attached to the wagon. But his sister was nowhere to be seen. Lance froze. There was no way that Veronica would come back home with their invention, regardless of whether or not the fair had been a success.“Blue,” he said, grabbing the muzzle when she finally came up for air, “Where’s Ronnie?”Blue winnied nervously, bucking and backing away from the forest and Lance paled. Had Lotor come across her in the forest? Had he done something to her? Was she hurt? Was she in trouble? Was she in danger?“Blue, you have to take me to her,” he pleaded, bringing the horse’s face closer to his and Blue trotted in place nervously. “Take me to her.”_______________________________The forest was terrifying and Lance swore that he heard a wolf howl, but nothing freaked him out more than the giant castle looming in front of him through the fog.“Easy girl,” he soothed as Blue started to pace in front of the gates anxiously. “Veronica’s probably in there someplace. We just have to find her.” Lance gulped. “I just hope this isn’t Lotor’s doing.”The gates slowly creaked open and the pair walked through. The mist parted slightly and Lance jumped down when it was clear that the ground beneath his feet was (probably) not going to give out beneath him at any second.“This place is creepy,” Lance shuddered, walking deeper into the fog. Blue winnied in agreement, trotting closer to him.The mist twirled and parted and Lance gasped. “Vero’s here,” he whispered, picking up her hat from the path. “Or at least she was.” He looked at Blue. “Let’s go.” The castle was freaky from a distance by the gates, but up close, it was terrifying. The stonework and decorations suggested that this castle might have been beautiful a long time ago, but its glory days were long behind it, if anyone still lived there at all.Lance approached the doors. They looked heavy and made of marble and some other kind of stone that he couldn’t identify. “Hello?” He said, banging on the doors.There was a clatter from behind the door. “Hello?” He called again.The door opened a sliver and Lance pushed with his strength to open it more.A big enough crack for him to slip through appeared and Lance dove in and came into the castle coughing from the dust.“Hello?” He called, hearing his voice bounce in between unseen columns and walls. “Veronica?”No one answered. “Ronnie?” He called again. “Are you here?”There was a loud clatter behind him and Lance jumped. “Hello?” He shouted.No one answered, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a light making its way upstairs.“Wait!” He called, taking off in a room. “Stop!”The light only moved faster. There was a loud crunch behind him, but Lance ignored it.Lance followed the light up and up and up, but the person carrying it did not answer him, either unknowingly or purposefully.By the time they reached the top, Lance was completely out of breath. “Hold on,” he wheezed, clutching his knees and letting some air back into his lungs. Once a suitable amount had reentered, he looked up, expecting to see the light still going on, far ahead of him.It had stopped. Lance ran forward into the mostly dark room, bars on doors illuminated by a single torch.No one was there and the light he had been following was left on an alcove.“That’s funny,” he said to himself. “I could have sworn-”He was cut off by loud coughing.“Veronica?”“Lance?” His sister’s voice croaked from one of the small cells.Lance surged forward, grabbing the torch as he went. “Vero, what are you doing here?” He asked, grasping at her fingers through the metal bars. “Why are you in a cell?”Veronica didn’t answer him. “What are you doing here?” She asked weakly.“You didn’t come back home,” Lance explained, running his fingers along his sister’s,. “Blue led me back here.”“You shouldn’t have come,” Veronica insisted. “There’s no time to explain, you have to leave this place. If he finds out you’re here-” She trailed off.“Who’s he?” Lance demanded. Veronica paled.“Is it Lotor? Did he set this up?”Veronica started to shake her head, but when she locked eyes with him again behind the bars, her eyes widened with fear.“Who are you?” A deep male voice said from behind Lance. “Why have you come to my castle?”Lance whirled around, dropping the torch in a nearby puddle extinguishing it, leaving the only light to come in through the ceiling. “Why is my sister locked up?” He fired back. “She hasn’t done anything wrong!”“She is not welcome here,” the voice replied, though Lance couldn’t see the origin of it. There was only darkness.“So you locked her up?” Lance fired back.The voice grunted in response.“Lance please,” Veronica begged from behind him. “You need to leave here, now!”Lance paused and stared at the space that the grunt had come from. Someone was almost certainly there, hidden by the shadows. He took a deep breath.“Take me instead.”“What?”“Lance, no.”“You would take her place?” The voice asked, sounding slightly conflicted.“If I did, would you let her go?”“Yes.”“Lance, no,” Veronica pleaded. “You don’t know what you’re doing!”“But you must promise to stay here,” the voice in the shadows paused before it continued. “Forever.”Lance stared at the lump in the shadows. Whoever it was was staying away from the light, but Veronica was terrified of him, whoever he was.“Come into the light,” he said.The shadows shifted and the lump grew tall. Much, much taller than Lance and certainly any human sized man.A massive beast stood over him and Lance froze in fear.
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The beast was massive and didn’t look like any animal Lance had ever seen.His fur and mane were purple and long and shaggy and very unkempt. He had two large teeth (sort of like a predator animal that Lance had seen in books) and a long purple tail. His grey-purple eyes might have been kind, but they were filled with anger and suspicion and hate, which was only backed up by the yellow sclera.Lance backed himself up against the cell door.“Lance, listen to me,” Veronica pleaded. “This is my punishment to bear. Not yours. Go, live your life. Forget about me.”Lance looked at her in shock and fear. “I will never forget you,” he whispered.He looked back at the beast, who grunted, clearly wanting an answer.Lance stepped into the light, feeling like a sacrificial lamb. “You have my word.”“Done.”The beast surged forward. There was a click and all of the sudden, Veronica was grabbing his shoulders. “Lance, please! Don’t do this!”Before either of them could say another word, the beast had grabbed Veronica and hauled her over his shoulder, disappearing from view down the stairs.“Wait!” Lance screamed after him. “Wait!”“Lance!” He heard Veronica yell. “Please, spare my brother, please!”There was a growl and Veronica’s yelling stopped and he began to panic. He ran to one of the walls and began prying at it, hoping to make a hole big enough to see through. Small chunks of rock rained down on his feet, but by the time he made a hole, a palanquin was running away from the castle, no doubt with Veronica inside it.Lance broke down into tears. —————————— Keith was having a shit day and he knew that that enchantress was laughing her ass off at his misfortune.First, that girl had been a pain in his ass all night long and then her (admittedly very handsome) brother had to show up and heroically take her place as his captive.As he stomped his way back up to the prison tower (that was the only way he knew how to walk in this stupid form), Coran coughed from a small alcove.“Master,” he began to say.“What?” Keith snapped.“Since the boy is going to be with us for quite some time, I was thinking that you might want to offer him a more comfortable room.”Keith snarled at him.“Then again, maybe not.”Keith sighed and pushed open the door gently. Maybe Coran had a point. Maybe this could be the reason why he was transformed into this form. The rose was about to wilt. Time was running short.On the floor, the young man (Lance, the woman had called him) looked up at him, tears streaming down his cheeks. “You didn’t let me say goodbye,” he managed to say. “I’ll never see her again.” He turned back to a small hole in the wall that Keith swore hadn’t been there when he left.Keith almost broke right then and there. “I’ll show you to your room.”Lance frowned at him. “But I though-““You want to stay up here in the tower forever?” Keith snapped.Lance shook his head.“Then follow me.”—————————-The castle was massive now that Lance could see it slightly better, as it was illuminated by the candelabra. Light danced around elegantly carved statues and wall carvings, depicting mythical beasts and terrifying monsters.He froze in the center of the hallway while the Beast continued on. The monsters and beasts glared down at him, as if asking him why he had intruded on this place. Why was he here? Didn’t he know that he was now here for the rest of his life?Lance turned and ran closer to the Beast, his cloak wrapping itself around him a bit tighter.He kept his eyes trained on the ground, but out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw the candelabra move.“I hope you’ll like it here,” the Beast said softly. “The castle is your home now, so feel free to go wherever you desire.” There was a pause. “Anywhere, except the West Wing.”That perked Lance’s interest. “What’s in the-““Nothing,” the Beast snapped, “that is of interest to you. It is forbidden!”Lance continued to follow him reluctantly down the halls before they stopped at a door.“This is your room,” the Beast said, opening the door. “If you need anything, my servants will attend to you.”He paused again, as if he was listening to some inner voice. “You will join me for dinner,” the Beast said sharply as Lance made his way into the room. Before Lance could react or say anything in response, the Beast added, “That’s not a request!” and slammed the door right on Lance’s face.Lance pounded on the door and tried to open it to no avail. The Beast, that monster was gone. He would never see his sister again. His hopes, his dreams, his life: gone with a simple promise so his sister wouldn’t suffer this cruel fate and punishment.He looked around the room wildly. It was mostly empty, save for a large, comfortable bed and a wardrobe, illuminated by large windows, where large fluffy snowflakes were already starting to appear from the sky.He tried to remember what Veronica had told him when he was about to overthink about all the possibilities of what would happen, but nothing but Veronica’s face as she was dragged away from him was the only thing etched into his memory about her.Lance threw himself onto the bed and began to sob. No beast or monster could see him in here anyways.