Hello, everyone! Welcome to Charming and The Witch! I am so excited to write this story, and I couldn't wait to hear what you guys will think of it. (^▽^)

Alright, this story is my take on Disney's animated (not the upcoming live action) movie, Beauty and The Beast. To make it even more interesting, there will be a 'gender role switch' in my story. You'll know what I mean as you read on or can guess from the story's title. On the side note, this story is also inspired by the trailer of the 2011 film, Beastly. Never watched the movie itself, the ratings are kinda... discouraging too.

No more talking and on to the story! I hope you will enjoy.

Please pardon any mistakes, especially my grammar. I'm trying my best to improve.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts and its characters! Except for the OCs and the story (well, my addition, changes and version of it at least). Everything else belongs to their respective owners.

Charming and The Witch

Prologue

Hello, my children. Come, sit a little closer, and listen closely to what Granny Lacemere has to say. Pay attention now, for today's story isn't just any story… but the tale of our home.

On a beautiful land, thriving with various plants and creatures, lies the peaceful Kingdom of Soligtus ruled by the Royal Family of Vallenhart. The realm comprised 3 major towns: Traverse Town — the town of night-lights, Twilight Town — the town of sunset, and the capital, Radiant Garden — the town of gardens and fountains.

Our ruler was a kindhearted and intelligent king named Ansem Sophos Vallenhart. He never declared war to gain power and always strived to improve the lives of his people. King Ansem was down-to- earth, selfless and willing to teach what he knew. He even trusted his close students with his findings and experiments. Everyone in the kingdom loved and respected him with their heart.

However, one day, one of his experiments malfunctioned. As the King rushed all his students to evacuate, he himself was too slow. The experiment exploded and took his life.

King Ansem Sophos Vallenhart was laid to rest in the royal burial ground at the age of 57.

Prince Vanitas Cinereus Vallenhart, King Ansem's adopted son, ascended the throne at the young age of 26.

The whole kingdom mourned for the loss of their king, especially Prince Vanitas.

Prince Vanitas Vallenhart was an orphan who was found injured in the castle's garden one stormy night at the age of 14. With a soft heart for those in need, King Ansem had nursed him back to health and raised him as his own. Under his loving care and upbringing, Prince Vanitas grew up into a great young man, who valued peace, knowledge and helping those in need as much as his stepfather.

Needless to say, Prince Vanitas loved his stepfather and his sudden death had devastated the Prince with grief. Not long after his coronation, King Vanitas moved out of the castle in Radiant Garden and to a smaller castle that resides in the woods between Twilight Town and the capital. His wife, the newly turned Queen Silvana Netla Rosewood, welcomed him with all her love and open arms.

Queen Silvana Rosewood was a commoner who King Vanitas met and fell in love with during a visit trip to a neighboring kingdom back when he was 21 years old. They married a few years later and the whole kingdom rejoiced in their merry union. However, after a year of their marriage, Princess Silvana found out she could not bear a child despite the healers' help and fell into despair.

Crushed by the sight and remembered how much his wife loves the nature, Prince Vanitas had the smaller castle built in the woods for her as a present. Princess Silvana moved to the new establishment permanently after the construction was completed.

For the next 15 years, King Vanitas had been a great ruler to Soligtus. He carried on his stepfather's studies and experiments, improving his people's lives and continued been a good friend with the neighboring kingdoms to reduce all possibility of war.

All was peaceful until the night which began The Rise of the Broomriders.

Witches and warlocks — or broomriders as we called them — are nefarious magic users who cast dark magic, make deadly potions and kidnapped little children. They are solitary creatures and always did their crime solo. But that night was different because the broomriders came in huge groups, like murders of deadly crows with their wands out — readied to cast lethal spells.

It was a nightmarish night. Houses were raided, some were burned down, and children were snatched. The royal guards fought back with all their might, but the broomriders easily outmatched them. The guards were not prepared for war, especially one with wicked, flying magic-casters.

Knowing he was short of manpower, King Vanitas promptly formed a new team of fighters called the Broomrider Hunters. The group composed of many experienced fighters across Soligtus, ranging from swordsmen to rare sorcerers, who volunteered to fight for their kingdom and their loved one. The Broomrider Hunters only had one goal: Protect the innocent and terminate all witches and warlocks.

With the power provided by the hunters, Soligtus had the upper hand against the broomriders as their attacks dwindled by the 3rd month of the battle and stopped altogether. The war had come to an end and Soligtus was victorious. However, King Vanitas was concerned of what the escaped broomriders would do in the future, thus he sent the Broomrider Hunters out to track down and eliminate them.

The relief and peace from the victory were ephemeral, for another tragedy shook the land: Queen Silvana was struck down by an unidentifiable illness. Devastated by the thought of losing another loved one, King Vanitas sought help from the neighboring kingdoms. The Kings assisted by sending over their best healers, but none of them could find the source and cure the Queen.

Most unfortunate, Queen Silvana passed away at the age of 38, and the whole kingdom mourned once more. King Vanitas mourned as fully as he did for his stepfather, but he mourned the longest for his wife.

The King began to shut himself in the castle and refused any audience from his people, but did his duties as the ruler nevertheless. Dealing with the damages from the battle, and coping with the death of his Queen, King Vanitas was at the lowest point in his life. His moment of weakness was not left unnoticed, for the wickedest creature in the world took this as her opportunity.

One winter's night, an old woman dressed in a tattered cloak turned up at the castle's gate and asked for shelter from the bitter cold. Without a second thought, King Vanitas invited her in, unaware just who the elderly really was. Once inside the castle, the old woman's appearance melted away and shifted into the strongest witch of all: The Mother of Witchcraft.

Before anything could be done, the Mother of Witchcraft ended King Vanitas's life.

For the rest of the night, she terrorized the castle; hunted down the inhabitants, not caring if they were men, women, children or elderly. She carried on her dark deed until she had vanished every single one of them. The Mother of Witchcraft was proud of her work, for she had avenged the death of her kin. However, her cruel, unforgiving act will not be pardoned.

Suddenly, a bright blinding light shone upon the witch from the night sky. Surrounded by the holy light, a beautiful woman descended. She was our savior and grace, the Goddess of Kingdom Hearts.

Enraged by the deed of the Mother of Witchcraft, our Goddess placed a powerful spell upon the Mother as punishment. For the rest of her life, the witch has been cursed to seal within the castle's walls, with no hope of reversing the spell.

To this day, the Mother of Witchcraft continues to roam in the castle of the woods. Fellow adventurers who had ventured into the castle stated they have not met the witch personally. Instead, they were greeted by another form of evil: spirits. The explorers claimed these vengeful spirits were summoned from the underworld by the witch to protect herself, and they would harm anyone who stepped into her new territory. Therefore, the castle was declared as a restricted area.

Due to the sudden death of King Vanitas and the lack of a regent, the closest and longtime friend of both King Ansem and Vanitas, King Mickey Mortimer Maus of the Kingdom of Disney, stepped in and announced he would rule over Soligtus in honor of his friend.

For the past 2 years, King Mickey ruled over with little to no difficulties, and the whole kingdom eventually stopped mourning for their fallen King and carried on with their new peaceful life.

Although the Royal Family of Vallenhart was short-lived and no longer with us, they lived on in the hearts of their people. Their legacy will pass on through the generations and live on forever.

〜∗〜∗〜 Charming and The Witch 〜∗〜∗〜

The clock tower struck 6 o'clock just as the storyteller finished the story. The elderly woman hummed and stood from her stool, her old joints cracking after sitting stiffly for so long. Adjusted the shawl around her neck, she motioned the group of children sat before her to rise from the carpeted floor.

"That's all for today, dearies. It's time to go home," she instructed before noticing the fear on their little faces. "Oh, my lovelies. I'm so sorry if the story had frightened you. The past may have been scary and wasn't always peaceful, but it is also in the past. The broomriders are gone, and King Mickey has been a great ruler to us. Everything is safe and sound."

A boy with bright orange hair questioned, "How do we know if the Mother of Witchcraft is still sealed in the castle?"

"Ah." The storyteller turned to the boy. "That is a good question, Neku. Two royal guards would go to the castle twice every season to check. As stated by them, the witch's silhouette would walk past the windows once in awhile, so it wasn't hard to spot her."

"Will she break the spell one day?" A brunette girl clutching a cat soft toy asked next.

"No, I don't think so, Shiki. The Goddess of Kingdom Hearts is an all-powerful being, surely her spell won't be broken so easily." The storyteller began to walk towards the exit, gesturing the children to follow her. "Don't worry, dearies. Trapped in the castle, Mother of Witchcraft can do us no harm. Just remember to stay away from the woods and castle. They are too dangerous — especially during winter. You wouldn't want to be eaten by wolves, would you?"

The children replied with either an 'I understand' or a shake of their head to dismiss the thought of becoming wolves' meal.

"Now that's a good boy and girl." Soon, she stopped at the library's entrance, with its heavy wooden doors held open by a teenage staff. "Alright now, time to go home. Next story time, I'll read both 'The Great Adventures of the Chocobros' and 'Oracle Luna and the Plague of the Stars'. How about that?"

Almost instantly, the kids perked up and thanked the storyteller before leaving the library with smiles on their faces. One by one, the staff and storyteller bid the children farewell until the last of them had left. The old woman groaned and stretched her sore back before glanced up to the teenager with a small smile. "I noticed you were listening to the story earlier."

The teenager turned to face her. "Hm? Oh, yeah. Work ended early, so I decided to join in until it's time for the kids to go home. Did I bother you, Granny Lacemere?"

The storyteller, known as Granny Lacemere by everyone in town, shook her head. "No no. I do not mind at all. It's just…" The smile on her face turned into a worried expression. "I'm quite… concerned for you."

"Concern? Why?"

Granny Lacemere brought a bony finger up to tap her face as she reminisced. "I don't know if you have noticed it yourself. But you were… smirking? No no… that isn't the right word..."

"Smirking?" The teenager raised an eyebrow at that description. "Am I?"

The elderly woman shook her head once more. "Not really. You were smiling, but it wasn't a smirk. It's a… Oh! A skeptical smile, yes. It's like… like you don't believe in the story. You even rolled your eyes once."

"Really? I apologize if my action had upset you. I'll keep it in mind the next time you tell this story, Granny Lacemere." The teenager smiled politely and was about to leave when the elderly woman stopped him.

"Wait for a second, dear. I want to know why are you acting like that. That story is our history, yet you have shown skepticism about it. Why?" The storyteller asked, a look of concern and curiosity spread across her feature.

The library staff hesitated to the grandmother figure before he finally spoke, "It's not that I don't believe it. It's just… There are so many versions of it; I don't know which I should truly believe in. I mean, you left out so many details in the one you told to the kids."

"I have to. They are merely children, son. I can't tell them about the death, the massacre and the message. Those would only frighten them more; scarred them even. They only need to know what is crucial for now. They'll eventually know the rest as they grow up." Granny Lacemere explained.

"That's understandable, but it also proves my points. By filtering and removing anything that is considered 'too graphic or not important', we don't get the full story in the end," the teenager stated. "There are so many missing pieces, that's why I can't find myself believing anything other than the full picture; the truth."

"How do you plan on finding the truth, dear?"

The teen sighed and let his shoulders droop. "I don't know — not at the moment. But I intend to find out one day."

The old woman sighed as well before shaking her head with a weak smile. She turned to the open door and uttered her last sentences to the teenager that day, "I've always known you differ from everyone in Twilight Town. Do whatever your heart tells you, dear. However, I only have one simple request: Please don't go near the castle. I have seen too many deaths and horror throughout my life. Everyone here is like my family, I don't want you or anyone to be taken by that witch ever again... Have a safe trip home, Roxas. I'll see you in the morning."

Roxas gave the storyteller a stare, then a soft 'see you too' as he watched the old woman limped out of the library and disappeared among the bustling crowd.

And that's the end of the prologue! I hope you all enjoy the story so far. Due to my busy schedule, updates will not be frequent, but I'll try my best! I'll have you know that my chapters are quite long, so I hope they'll worth the wait.

Thank you for reading! Do drop a review, favorite or alert to share your thoughts. They make me so happy.