We Can Be Beautiful (Both Inside And Out)

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Imagine you had everything you ever wanted.  Imagine if you had all of the power you could want.  

Now imagine that you were suddenly more alone than ever before.

Beauty and the Beast AU, with a few changes here and there…this story happened because of a lovely anon who sent me an ask to write it. :) (You know who you are ;D)

Sneak peek:

Eyes are tricky little things.  Whatever sight first greets them, they immediately hold as true.  Some can outsmart their eyes, and they learn to look past solely what they see.

            The Prince, however, had not yet learned to do so.

            It was raining that night.  A harsh, thundering rain that sounded like giants’ footsteps on his roof, with lightening brightening  up the sky to make it seem like the sun had awoken early. 

            No one could ever describe the Prince as kind.  Charming, yes, but there was something hidden in his bright blue eyes.  A concealed horror, one that was waiting patiently to be released. 

            An old woman came to his grand door that night.  A servant came up to his chamber and told him that she had requested to see him specifically, and would not be turned aside.  Out of curiosity, the Prince complied. 

            The old woman was much more dreary in real life than in his imagination.  All she wanted was a place to stay for the night.  The Prince’s cold heart, the one that sent ice instead of blood through his veins, turned her away.  She would not be deterred, however, and presented a red rose as payment for a dry roof over her head until the rain ceased its torrent. 

            Once again, the Prince refused to allow her to stay, saying that he could never permit such an old, dreadful-looking woman to reside in his castle.  She gave him one more chance, saying that beauty was found within, and for him not to trust solely what his eyes told him. 

But the Prince’s ears remained deaf to her pleas, and his hand waved her aside once again.  The old woman’s black cloak suddenly tumbled to the floor like a curtain revealing the opening act of a play, allowing a beautiful enchantress  to arise from its depths.  The Prince, deeply ashamed of his actions, fell to his knees and begged for forgiveness.

But the enchantress had seen enough of his cold heart.  To punish him, the enchantress placed a spell upon the castle, and everyone who lived there.  The coldhearted young man will only become human once he has learned to love another.  The Prince was transformed into a hideous beast, complete with wolfish teeth and a haggard mane.  He locked himself in his castle, with only a magic mirror as his guide to the outside world.  The rose the enchantress had offered him stood silently upon a table in a hidden room, slowly, but surely, dying. 

Years passed, and the Prince lost hope.  For who could ever learn to love a beast?

You like?  You can find the whole fic here.