Beauty and the Curse

Prologue

Once upon a time in a far off land there lived a prince in a gorgeous castle. One night a woman came to the castle asking for shelter from the winter cold. The king had answered the door with his young brother trailing behind him. 

"What do you want?"

The woman simply ignored the coldness of his voice as she answered him.

"Sir, I only wish for some shelter from the winter for the night."

He scoffed at her.

"Go, we are not an inn."

She didn't move. She simply stood from her crouched position and smiled.

"Oh, Alexzander, I had so hoped you had changed."

The king was taken aback remembering the woman from years before, when he himself had been his brother's age. The woman had warned him after turning his father into dust that he needed to learn how to be kind. She smiled sadly at him before he turned to dust.

She looked at the nine-year-old prince.

"Conner, please learn from your brother's mistakes."

She looked to where the king disappeared.

"I know you can. Learn to be kind, I know you're able. If you don't you've seen what will happen when you're eighteen. I'll return to see if you have learned. I hope you have."

From there, she vanished leaving Conner with a lasting memory.