A Beautiful Beast (#twistfatechallenge)

A Beautiful Beast

Once upon a time there was a wealthy widowed merchant who had three sons and three daughters. While they were all remarkable in their own way, his youngest daughter was so dazzlingly beautiful that everybody called her Beauty.

The merchant's family lived in the midst of a bustling city. A little ways from town, separated by a small part of a large forest, was a magnificent palace surrounded by rose gardens where a Lord and Lady lived with their son. The Lord was lifelong friends with the merchant, and would always provide assistance should the merchant find himself in shady situations.

From a young age, Beauty and the young Lord were best of friends. As children, they were nearly inseparable. When they both grew a little older, their childhood love grew into something a little more.

One night when Beauty was fifteen years old, she lay in bed, a smile on her face, when the anguished cries of an unknown animal reached her ears. Although the sound was terrible, Beauty was not afraid, for she believed that the young Lord, her lover, would soon propose. To her, nothing could go wrong.

But it did. At dawn, the Lord and Lady were found dead in the forest. The palace staff had fled to town with various tales of the night's occurrences. There was but one similarity between them all: a monstrous Beast had come to the palace, killed the Lord and Lady, and eaten their son.

At first, many brave knights attempted to slay the Beast, but one by one, they all failed. The Beast did not actively provoke anyone; it only seemed to attack when people sought him out. Thus, people began to leave him alone, and over time, forget the palace even existed.

But Beauty remembered it. At first it was subtle, but gradually everyone who knew her began to notice a change in Beauty. Only a shell of her former self, she froze her heart out from the world, growing bitter, keeping to herself, and letting her hatred for the Beast grow.

When Beauty was nearly sixteen, the merchant made a terrible mistake. Without the Lord to help him, he lost his whole fortune. Furthermore, he was forced to sell their estate in favor of a small farm a great distance from town. Although the entire family was distraught by the news, only Beauty was offered a way out: her beauty was so great and she had once been so kind that suitors wished to wed her despite her poverty. But with a cold heart, she refused them one by one, for only the young Lord could hold a place in her heart.

At their country house, the merchant and his three sons hastened to work in the field, whilst Beauty's sisters did nothing but lounge about and mourn for the life they had lost, forcing their youngest sister to rise at four each morning and spend the day keeping house. The long hours of ceaseless tasks gave her ample time to stew about different her life would have been were her lover still alive.

One day, the merchant received news that a vessel he had invested in had safely arrived. When Beauty's two sisters saw their father ready to set out for town, they begged him for for gems and gowns. The merchant promised them their trifles, but when he asked Beauty what she wished for, she was silent. The merchant knew that Beauty had changed, and persisted, believing that something of home might return her to the sweet tempered maiden she had once been. Finally, she relented.

"Bring me a brilliant rose, from the Beast's gardens," she said coldly. "For as he as taken so much from me, is it not fair that I should have this small thing from him?

Although the merchant was secretly terrified to approach the palace, he would grant any wish to Beauty. He left at dawn.

Several months passed before the merchant returned, far longer than the trip should have taken. Winter had arrived when a procession of three fine horses arrived on their small farm. One contained the merchant, the other two held luggage. Although her sisters were ecstatic, Beauty hung back, deeply suspicious, eying the blood red rose the merchant clutched, that should have died months ago at first snow.