Chapter Text
Once upon a time, in a far away land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although the prince had everything his heart desired, he was spoiled and selfish and unkind.
But then, one winter’s night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within.
When he dismissed her again, the old woman’s ugliness melted away and revealed a beautiful enchantress.
The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart, and as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there.
Ashamed of his monstrous form, the Beast concealed himself within his castle with only a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world.
The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his twenty-first year. If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return, by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be cursed to live as a beast for all time…
As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope.
For who could ever learn to love a beast.
“I don’t think I like this story,” murmured the child at Tang’s side.
“Oh?” Tang responded, glancing away from the book to meet her eye. “And why’s that, Mei?”
“I don’t understand why the prince would be so mean,” she said. “I don’t care what happens to him if he’s gonna be so rude for no reason.”
Tang laughed a little. “Well, that’s the point of the story, sweet pea. He starts off as a flawed character who needs to learn a lesson or two and become better.”
Mei scrunched up her nose, and Tang had to hold in a coo. She truly was the cutest ten-year-old in their village. “Is the whole story about him?”
“Not quite,” Tang said. “The real story is about a girl who takes the place of the beast’s prisoner when her father is in danger.”
Mei perked up. “And does she eventually beat him? Like, like, learn his weaknesses and strike when the moment is right?”
Tang recalled the ending of the story, how the girl made the beast wish to be better, how she taught him kindness and when he changed for the better, the two fell for one another. He cleared his throat. “Ah… not really.”
Mei deflated, pouting, and Tang laughed again.
“Don’t worry, we don’t have to read it,” said Tang as he moved to get up.
Mei latched onto his arm. “No, wait! Don’t leave…”
Tang glanced down at her trembling hand and softened. He settled back onto her tiny bed again and said, “How about this? Best of both worlds! We read it, and then we make fun of it for not being a cooler story.”
Mei gave him a smile and a giggle. “Okay…”
Tang opened his arm to her and allowed her to cuddle under his side. He turned the page to the next chapter and began to read, his mind wandering slightly as he did.
He couldn’t really blame Mei for immediately dissing the premise of this tale. He, too, found it lacking in some departments. He couldn’t see how turning someone cruel into a horrible monster would somehow teach kindness, and the focus on love being the cure had always seemed out of place, somehow. He knew the prince lacked love in his heart, but why did he need to fall in love and have someone else fall for him to break it when the enchantress had simply been a stranger looking for shelter?
For a timeless romance, the story had quite a few wrinkles within its pages.
But, well, it was a story to help lull his newly acquired child to sleep, one that entertained her, if her giggles at his exaggerated readings and dry comments meant anything. So he supposed it did its job as much as he could ask of it.
Besides, it’s not as if fairy tales are supposed to be particularly realistic. Something like this would never happen in real life—this, Tang was certain of.