Chapter Text
Once upon a time, many, many years ago in a land far, far away, a young prince lived in a grand castle in the middle of a dark forest. The prince’s parents had died when he was a small child, leaving him without any surviving relatives. No one in the castle knew what to do except to let the child grow up with everything he could ever possibly want given to him at his beck and call. Because of this, the once sweet little boy grew up to be spoiled, selfish, and unkind.
One spring night, on the prince’s sixteenth birthday, just as the winter’s snow was beginning to thaw and young new shoots of grass were beginning to show through the muck and mud of the gardens, a mysterious woman knocked on the door of the castle. She was hooded and cloaked so the prince could not see her face. He was annoyed at her interrupting his birthday celebrations, and demanded she tell him who she was and why she had come.
The prince was disgusted when the woman threw off her cowl to reveal features that might once have been beautiful, but now were distorted and disfigured by horrible scars. She advanced, even as he stumbled back in horror, and held out a single red rose.
“I need shelter,” she implored, “but this is all I have to give you in return for your kindness. It is an enchanted rose.”
The prince pushed her gift away, sneering. “We have no rooms to spare, hag,” he replied. “Go and leave me in peace.”
“Be careful what you call me, young man,” the woman warned.
The prince was outraged. “Young man?!” he snarled. “How dare you condescend to me! I’ll throw you out myself!”
The prince rushed forward to throw her out the door, but suddenly, the woman’s face began to change, features shifting until before him stood a beautiful young woman, her bright blue eyes sparkling with anger. The prince realized she was an enchantress and he had just gravely offended her. Eyes widening in horror, he fell to his knees to beg for her forgiveness, but it was of no use.
“You have shown me that you have a heart of iron,” she said coldly, heedless of his frantic pleas. “You must learn that beauty is found within.”
With that, she placed a curse on the prince and the entire castle, leaving them in turmoil. The foundations of the house shook around the prince and all his servants as, in the prince’s rage and confusion, the metalwork of the ornate staircase behind him began twisting and contorting beyond his control. The servants stared on in horror.
Before she disappeared into the night, the enchantress left two things for the prince. One was a magic mirror, which could show him anything his heart desired. The other was the rose, which had indeed been enchanted. Before she left, the enchantress told the prince that it would bloom until his twenty-fourth birthday. If he could fall in love with someone before the last petal fell, and if they fell in love with him in return despite his terrifying affliction then the curse would be broken. If, however, no one could change the prince’s iron heart, then he and all the other castle’s inhabitants would remain cursed forever.
Years and years passed. The castle fell into disrepair, and the prince locked himself away in the secluded West Wing, cutting himself off from everyone in the castle and the outside world. Everyone gave up hope that the spell would ever be lifted, the prince most of all, for who could ever learn to love a monster such as himself?