The Beauty of Mist, the Beast of Dawn {INDEFINITE HOLD}

Prologue

Long ago, in Valennia, a small kingdom lost in time, the towns were alight with laughter and dancing. There were bonfires, parties, and colorful displays of light everywhere. The people, peasants and nobles alike, were celebrating, for earlier that day, it was with great joy that the King Richard announced his queen, Queen Dalilah, had just given birth to an heir. They called him Luka. Prince Luka was a small child, but that did not stop the king and queen from thinking him the most beautiful boy they'd ever seen. 

King Richard and Queen Dalilah rejoiced. Their subjects rejoiced, for unlike in many other kingdoms, they loved their king and queen. Richard and Dalilah were the best monarchs Valennia had seen in centuries; they were kind and gentle, and under their rule, the kingdom prospered.

The people believed Luka would someday make a fine ruler, as kind as his mother and father. But a terrible tragedy soon came to pass, and it changed everything.

Days after the infant was born, the queen grew extremely ill. The illness that struck was unlike any humanity had seen before. It was completely unknown and had no natural cure. And so, the king turned to the queen's closest friend, Margaret, the most powerful witch in all the land. Alas, she too could offer no remedy. 

"I am sorry, Your Majesty, but there is nothing I can do," Margaret said sadly.

"Surely there is something you have yet to try," the king all but wailed in response.

The queen and witch exchanged glances. "Well, there is one  thing I could try," Margaret replied hesitantly.

"No," the queen cut in. "You cannot."

"Dalilah," Margaret said sharply, foregoing all formality, "I can, and I will if it means saving you."

"No. You will not. As your queen, I forbid it."

"You and I both know I have never been very good at following orders, even yours."

The king, whose head had been whipping back and forth between the two women, finally contributed to the conversation with a confused, "What? Forbid what?"

"I might be able to save your wife," Margaret explained, "if I bonded my life force to hers and sacrificed myself. And if she is willing."

"Please," King Richard begged, "please save her."

"I said it may work. And my willingness has never been in question," she responded calmly. " I would take her place in a heartbeat, the same as you would. No, it is  Dalilah who must be willing."

"No," the queen was adamant. "Absolutely not."

"Yes. What of your son? What of your husband?"

"What of our kingdom?" the king added.

"And what of your husband and your daughter?" Queen Dalilah retorted, disregarding her husband's argument as she pointed an accusatory finger at her friend. She was right of course. While Valennia celebrated Luka's birth, in her small corner of the kingdom, Margaret had borne a child of her own.

Margaret's face flickered with sorrow and pain before returning to its usual, impassive state. "Myalah will be just fine without me."

"Truly you do not think so! A daughter without her mother! That is no way to live!"

"Myalah. Will. Be. Fine. Valennia, on the other hand, will not. And Luka will need you to teach him what his father cannot. Sorry, Richard. I mean no offense."

The king waved Margaret's comment and apology away impatiently. "No worries. Indeed, you are correct. Dalilah. Please. I need you. Luka needs you. Our kingdom needs you."

At this point, the queen was too weary to continue arguing. She agreed to comply and so Margaret began chanting. But, something went wrong. Either the queen had not been willing enough, or the malady had been too powerful for Margaret. Both women died that day, their hands woven between them.

Before Queen Dalilah had passed , though, she gave her final command. It was not for the kingdom; it was for her husband. "Tell Luka I love him," she had said, and although her voice had shaken, it was authoritative as ever. "Continue to raise Luka as we planned. Allow our kingdom to stay as bright and colorful and beautiful as it has always been. Teach our son to be kind and to act for the people. Teach him to find beauty in everything. Do not mourn me; my spirit rests in him."

Unfortunately, the Crown Prince  was not raised as Queen Dalilah had wanted. He was neglected King Richard,  who mourned his wife every hour of every day, withdrawing from the public eye and choosing a new queen to fulfil most of his duties. Due to this treatment by his father, Prince Luka turned angry, spiteful, selfish, and something akin to evil. He became a beast.

As time elapsed, darkness descended upon Valennia. The streets no longer filled with color, joy, or celebration, for what was their to celebrate. a king who wished to be unseen? A loving queen who had passed? The childhood of a tyrannical prince?

While everyone suffered the consequences of Queen Dalilah's death, it was the witches who were affected most. The witches who had founded the kingdom all those centuries ago. The witches who continued to protect it and its people. The witches who healed the sick. They were banished, blamed for the death of the queen and failure to shield Valennia from what seemed to be a curse. Some even thought the witches the cause of the curse. They believed once the witches were gone, Valennia would return to its usual self, but only further darkness ensued from the decision.

Perhaps, had King Richard not overlooked his son, none of this would have happened. Perhaps Valennia would have remained alight and joyful. Perhaps the prince's heart would have been pure, and he would have never suffered the ordeals that he did. Or perhaps is father's negligence meant nothing, and the dark, colorless times were written in the stars.

Of course, this bleak period in Valennia's history did not last forever, as nothing ever truly does. The gloom cast upon the kingdom (as well as the witches' banishment) was lifted, in time, and the prince's heart cleansed—thanks to a single hope. A light where there was only a sea of darkness. An anomaly who made all the difference.

And so begins the tale of a beastly prince and the young woman who managed to tame his unruly heart.