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0Beauty and the Beast Prologue .4
His initial shock fading, the Prince felt rage well up inside him. Grabbing a candelabrum from a nearby table, he stormed through the crowd, pushing people out of his path. By the time he arrived at the door, his face was red, despite the layers of face paint. He noticed that the uninvited guest was an old beggar woman. Hunched as she was, the Prince towered over her.
“What is the meaning of this? ” he demanded with a snarl.
The old woman looked up at him with hope in her eyes. Holding out a single red rose, she said in no more than a whisper, “I'm seeking shelter from the bitter storm outside.” As if on cue, the wind rose to a fever pitch, howling like a mad beast.
The Prince remained unmoved.
He did not care if the woman was cold and wet. She was haggard, old, and a vagrant. And worse still, she was ruining his ball. Another wave of red-hot anger washed over him as he saw the ugliness amid all the beauty he had so carefully and painstakingly created. “Get out! ” he sneered, waving her away with his hand. “Get out now. You do not belong here.”He gestured around the room at the elegantly dressed guests.
“Please, ” the old woman begged. “I am only asking for shelter for one night. I will not even stay in the ballroom.”
The Prince's frown deepened. “Don't you see, old woman? This is a place of beauty, ” he said, his voice cold. “You are too ugly for my castle. For my world. For me.” The woman seemed to shrink as the Prince's words tore into her, but the Prince did not appear to have any remorse. Signaling to his majordomo and the head footman, he ordered the woman escorted out.
“You should not be deceived by appearances, ”the woman said as the two servants approached.“Beauty is found within .... ”
The Prince threw back his head and laughed cruelly. “Say what you will,hag. But we all know what beautiful looks like — and it is not you. Now go! ”
Turning, the Prince moved to leave. But a gasp from his guests gave him pause. As he looked over his shoulder, his eyes grew wide. Something was happening to the old woman. Her dirty cape and hood seemed to engulf her in a cocoon of sorts until she all but disap-peared. Then a flash of light erupted, blinding him.
When his vision cleared, the old beggar was gone. In her place was the most beautiful woman the Prince had ever seen. She was floating above him, emitting a dazzling golden light not unlike the sun's. Instantly, the Prince knew exactly what she was, for he had read about such things. She was an enchantress — a woman of magic who had put him to a test.
And he had failed.
Falling to his knees, the Prince held up his hands. “Please, ” he said,now the one to beg.“I'm sorry, Enchantress. You are welcome in my castle for as long as you like.”
The Enchantress shook her head. She had seen enough to know that it was a hollow apology. The Prince had no kindness or love in his heart.Magic coursed through her and then washed over the Prince.
The transformation began instantly. The Prince's body was racked with pain. His back arched and he groaned as his body began to grow. His jewelry popped off. His clothes ripped. The surrounding guests screamed at the sight of their host and fled. The Prince reached up, trying to grasp a nearby man's hand, but to his horror, he discovered his own hand resembled that of a monster. The man jumped away and made his escape,along with the others.
Amid it all, the Enchantress calmly watched her punishment take effect.Soon the ballroom was empty save for the staff, the entertainers, and a lone dog that belonged to the diva. As they looked on in shock, the Prince's transformation became complete. Where once there had towered a handsome man now cowered a hideous beast. But he was not the only one to have transformed. The rest of the castle and its inhabitants no longer looked the same. They, too, had changed ....
The days bled into years, and the Prince and his servants were forgotten by the world until, finally, the enchanted castle stood isolated and locked in perpetual winter. The Enchantress erased all memory of the castle and those who were in it, even from the minds of the people who loved them.
But there did remain one last bit of hope:the rose she had offered the Prince was truly an enchanted rose. If the Prince could learn to love another and earn that person's love in return by the time the last petal fell,the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast forever.
