Chapter Text
A long time ago, in a kingdom far away, there lived a princess who lived alone in a castle. The princess was not always alone, however. She used to have a family. But unfortunately, a series of tragedies had hit the castle, making her the only one of her family left.
She tried to mask her grief, and her servants and subjects tried to comfort her. But none of them helped. Eventually, her grief made her bitter, and she began to take it out on the people who cared about her. For the princess had magical abilities- gifts she held since she was a child- and was prepared to use them at her disposal. And with these abilities she tried to make her kingdom idyllic, the perfect world for herself, where everyone was happy. Where there was no suffering. And for a while, the princess was. But in exchange for her suffering, the kingdom's subjects were miserable. But they were too afraid to do anything and face the princess's wrath.
One day, there was a knock on the castle's door. It was an old man who asked to speak with the princess. He begged her to change her ways and release the kingdom from the ruthless iron grip that she held over it- in exchange for a single rose. However, the princess, still in denial, refused. However, what the princess didn't know was that the old man was really a powerful sorcerer in disguise, who was sent to free the kingdom. He cast a spell on the castle and its inhabitants, turning the servants into household objects and the princess into a monster- the one that everyone in the kingdom saw her as.
However, the sorcerer gave the princess one chance to turn herself and the servants back to their human selves. He told her that if she can love another- and be loved by them in return- by the time the last petal of the rose fell at the end of her twenty fifth year, the spell would be broken. However, if she failed to do so, then she would remain a monster forever.
The kingdom's inhabitants wasted no time in leaving the kingdom behind. As the years went on, people forgot the kingdom's existence, and the only time it was spoken was when people would tell others what it became. It became overgrown by the surrounding forest and inhabited by wild animals. The princess continued to be embittered by her grief and despair. The servants attempted to stay positive, but the princess was losing hope.
For who could love such a beast?