Prologue
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young and beautiful princess lived in a shining castle. Although relatively pleasant to her people, the princess was spoiled, selfish, and uncaring to the needs of others.
But then, one night, a weak and weary traveler came to castle and offered the princess a golden rose in return for shelter and protection from a horrid beast that he believed was hunting him. Uninterested in the flower, as she already had all the gold she could ever desire, the princess sneered at the gift, and refused to allow the traveler sanctuary for the night. He pleaded desperately for the princess to have mercy on him, stating that he would tell the whole kingdom of her profound kindness and compassion if she would only let him escape the monster in the forest.
After she dismissing him a final time, a horrible, monstrous beast broke free from the woods, bounding towards the castle. Frozen in fear, the princess was unable to close the door to the palace and the beast came crashing through, destroying the castle.
Furious, the beast spoke of the cold heart of the princess, stating that they had witnessed the whole ordeal with the traveler. Condemning the princess to a life of solitude and shame, the beast revealed themself as a werewolf and bit the princess, leaving a cursed mark on her for the rest of her life. As additional punishment, the werewolf demolished all the inhabitants of her kingdom, as they were as apathetic as the princess. Leaving the princess in seclusion, shame, guilt, and despair plagued the princess as the werewolf left, leaving the kingdom to fall into ruin and legend.
Legends say that if someone who truly loves and trusts a werewolf and calls it by name, the werewolf would return to its human form, curse broken. Living in her abandoned castle, the princess only has this legend to bring her hope.
But who would ever return to an abandoned, cursed castle? And who could ever love a beast?
