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Our story begins on one particularly fateful night, one that would prove to be fairly disastrous soon enough.
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Once upon a time, in the hidden heart of France, a beautiful young princess lived in an elegant castle. Although she had everything she desired in the palm of her hand, she was selfish and unkind. She taxed the village to fill her castle with the most exotic and eye-catching objects and her parties with the most beautiful people. She had no remorse and very little tolerance for anything unless it glittered or raised her status.
"Mistress, it is time." A voice came from the shadows, old and fatherly. Holding a pocket watch, a hand was extended towards the princess.
"Oui, maîtresse."
The hand retracted back into the shadows, and the princess stood, brushing off the skirt of her dress before pushing past all her servants to go and greet her guests. As she entered the room, all bowed to her icy gaze; the princess nodded curtly, and beautiful music filled the ballroom. The guests dispersed and began to dance as Madame Garderobe began to sing to her husband, the glorious Maestro Cadanza's, exquisite piano playing. The princess joined the crowd and danced alongside her guests as Madame Garderobe's singing began to quicken; the princess twirled and spun among all the other maidens, quickening as well.
As the song came to a stop, the storm raging outside became more of a concern to all in the ballroom as the balcony doors swung open. All candles instantly went out as the wind howled, and a dirty young man dressed in rags limped into the ballroom. Outraged, the princess stormed up to him, demanding he state his reason for ruining her party.
The man begged for shelter from the storm, offering the princess a single rose in return. Disgusted, the princess turned the young man away; she simply scoffed as he warned the young princess not to be deceived by how one looks. Again, the princess rejected the man's offering, but this time, the man's rags and dirty appearance melted away to reveal a handsome enchanter. The princess, as her guests retreated in fear, sunk to her knees and begged for forgiveness. Alas, it was too late; the enchanter saw there was no love in the princess's heart.
As punishment for the princess's cruelty, he transformed her into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there.
Days bled into years, and the princess and her servants were forgotten by the world, for the enchanter had erased all memory of them from the minds of their loved ones.
However, the rose the man had offered was truly an enchanted rose; if the princess could learn to love another and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell, the spell would be broken. If not, she would be doomed to remain a beast for all time.
As the years passed, she fell into despair and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love a beast?
