Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, or Beauty and the Beast. These works of literature belong to Suzanne Collins and The Brothers Grimm
He tore at the painting in his fury, leaving long parallel scratches in the former portrait of his face. His reckless rage left many of the items in his castle in shambles, a mere shadow of their former glory. Stomping over, he sat on the chair next to his most prized possession; a white rose concealed within a pristine glass case. A faint pink glow surrounded the rose, as yet another petal fell, joining the few that lay littered at the bottom.
The prince had not always been like this. Once, long ago, he was happy. He lived in a beautiful white castle in the middle of the forest, with servants to dote on his every move. He was strikingly attractive for a boy his age, and he was very aware of this fact.
Though he had everything he had ever wanted, he was spoiled, selfish, haughty, and unkind. This was what had led him to his untimely downfall.
On a snowy night, a few days after the prince's twelfth birthday, an old beggar woman came to the castle. She offered his a single white rose, in exchange for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard and ugly appearance, the Prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away.
The old woman simply stood there, watching the prince through wise, age-old eyes.
"One must not be deceived by appearances, my dear Prince Peeta," she rasped, "For Beauty is found deep within,"
The Prince felt a chill run down his spine as the old woman said his name. He turned to her, his blue-eyes brimmed with fury, and sent her away for a second time.
When he dismissed her again, her ugliness melted away like a candle, to reveal a beautiful enchantress. She wore a long flowing green dress, and held a small wand in one of her hands. Her green eyes were cold, calculating, and her red hair flowed around her, in an almost ethereal way. She was entrancing, and her whole being radiated power.
The Prince was utterly terrified of her.
He instantly got down on his knees and tried to apologize, but alas, it was too late. The enchantress had already seen that the young prince had held no love in his heart. She knew that he only regretted his words now that he had seen her true form.
And so, as a punishment, she cast a powerful spell on the prince, disfiguring him with scars, and set a curse on the castle and all its occupants. The beautiful winter night immediately turned sinister, as the sky darkened. The white turrets of the castle turned black, the cherub decorations turning into hideous gargoyles. Within the castle, there were shouts of surprise as one by one, all of the Prince's servants, assistants, and advisors turned into common household appliances. The Prince looked at the enchantress, utter horror painting his face.
The boy's screams lit up the night, as the enchantress turned her wand on him. Slowly, searing hot lines appeared across his skin, sending him spasming in pain. He lay in the snow, screaming and grabbing his arms and torso, as the lines appeared. The cuts began to bleed, and at the sight of blood, the Prince passed out.
The enchantress scowled, looking at the bleeding body in front of her. Blood stained his orange robes, turning them a deep crimson color. He was now a beast, his body scarred to the point of sheer hideousness. She felt no remorse, for the boy needed to learn a lesson. She stayed for a few seconds more, before wrapping her robe around herself, and slipping back into the forest.
The rose she had offered the boy was truly an enchanted rose which would bloom for many years. If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell on his twenty-first birthday, the spell would be broken. If he could not, then he would be doomed to remain a hideous beast forever.
And so as the years passed, the Prince fell into despair, losing all hope.
For who could ever learn to loveā¦..a beast?
So this is basically a short Prologue for my new fanfic, which is a take on Beauty and the Beast with Hunger Games characters. The original story told by the Brother's Grimm was edited by Disney, to make it more viewable by younger audiences. My story is going to be based mostly on the Disney version, except with a more sinister feel. Think of it as a mix between the original and the disney version.
I'm working on chapter 1 of this right now, which will be giving you an insight on Katniss (Belle)'s life. Over the course of the story, I'll be using many different references to the hunger games, most of which you'll have to dig deeply to find.
For example, in the prologue, I symbolized President Snow through the White Rose. In the original story, it was a red rose, but I substituted it with white since it symbolizes president snow. It also symbolizes how the rose traps the Prince to his fate, much as how Snow traps Peeta with his fate by sending him into the hunger games.
I also made it so that Peeta doesn't turn into a beast, but is horribly disfigured by scars. This symbolizes the scars that he gained through the bombing. I also couldn't really imagine Peeta as a mutt.
Anyway, I'll try to get up the next few chapters as soon as I can. I'll probably be updating this on a weekly basis, so that I have time for my other story, "clockwork".
Beauty and the Beast has been an all time favorite of mine, and It has played a major role on my childhood. I hope that some of you show a love for this story as much as I do.
Thank you for reading. I would really appreciate if you reviewed and told me the things I did well, as well as the things I could improve.
~Reaper