A/N - Hello everyone.

So after writing those two shorts I decided to do a full blown story, entirely about Beast, before and during the plot of the movie. They'll be flashbacks of his childhood at the start of some chapters, and as the story progresses you'll see how he changed over time. Basically telling two stories at once.

The story will be more based off of the 2017 version, but there will be stuff from the original Disney movie too. I just prefer this portrayal of Beast because there's more of his backstory to work with, you don't learn anything about his family in the original.

Even still, I like both movies a lot.

I hope you enjoy this story. I have 3 chapters stock piled so I'll be posting one per week starting today, so that I can stock pile more in the next 3 weeks.

Let me know what you think.

Prologue

His early childhood was a blur. They were distant memories, lost to the passage of time. But there was one day that he could recall rather well, despite all odds. He remembered it rather fondly.

He was four years of age. He had not a care in the world, as he was so young, and had no princely duties to attend to. Instead, he could spend his time running around the castle, or the garden, depending on the weather, or playing with his toys in the playroom. On that particular day, he was chasing one of the royal pooches.

The young prince went charging into the kitchen, in hot pursuit of the dog. The castle staff were hard at work, washing cutlery, chopping vegetables, cooking food.

The dog and the young prince dove under the middle table, and he was finally able to grab the royal hound and give him a big hug. "Got you!" He exclaimed, giggling uncontrollably. The dog barked and licked his face.

The table cloth was lifted up and the familiar face of Mrs Potts peered down at him "What are you doing under there?" She asked in a surprised tone, even though she had seen him come in.

"I caught Wilfred!" He squeezed the poor dog tighter, practically suffocating him.

"Did you?" She asked "Well then, I think that deserves a treat!" She let the table cloth fall for a moment and walked away. She wasn't gone very long, and returned holding a biscuit, and handed it to him. She always snuck biscuits to him.

"Don't tell anyone I gave this to you." She told him.

The young prince smiled "Thank you Mrs Potts." He said sweetly, nibbling on the biscuit.

"You're welcome deary." She responded, patting him on the head before letting the table cloth fall once more.

Wilfred sniffed at his biscuit as he ate, but he was careful to not let him have a bite. The door leading into the burst open and he saw his mother's shoes, and heard her voice. "Have you seen Adam anywhere?" She asked.

There was silence, but moments later, the table cloth was pulled up and her bright, beaming face appeared. "There you are! Where did you get that biscuit from?" She asked curiously. She obviously knew, but he didn't know that at the time.

He grinned cheekily "It's a secret." He replied.

She outstretched her hand and offered it to him "Come on, I have something to show you."

He almost immediately took hold of it, his tiny hand being engulfed by her's as she helped him out from under the table and led him out of the kitchen, Wilfred excitedly nipping at their feet all the while, as he still wanted to play. Unfortunately for him, the young prince had lost interest, as most children do at that age, so Wilfred eventually gave up and wandered off.

He walked hand in hand with his mother through the castle until they reached a large set of double doors. His mother let go of his hand momentarily to twist the knob and open the doors to reveal what was inside.

Behind the double doors was a large room, every inch covered in swirling patterns painted gold, with crystal chandeliers and unlit wax candles, and large glass windows that allowed sunlight to pour in, causing the room to glisten and shine.

The young prince looked around at the mysterious room with wild and excited eyes "What is this place, mother?" He asked curiously.

"It's a ballroom, sweet pea." She replied "It's been a part of the castle for generations, so I'm told. It's also the same place where your father and I celebrated our wedding."

"What's it used for?" He questioned further.

"For dancing mostly." She told him. "I used to love dancing, I did it all the time." She continued.

"Were you good at it?"

"I liked to think so." She replied. She then lowered herself to his level and whispered in his ear "I can't say the same for your father, though. He has two left feet and stepped on my toes during our wedding dance."

He chuckled at that "Do you think I'd be good at dancing?"

"Oh, I think you'd be brilliant!" She responded, smiling at him and ruffling up his blonde hair.

"Will you teach me?" He requested, taking hold her sleeve and tugging on it "Can you mother? Pretty please?"

"Of course honey." She said. She then glanced around the room for a moment and then looked back at him "I have an idea," she began, edging a little closer to him "Why don't we get the servants to clean this place up a bit, make it look really nice, and have your 5th birthday party in here?" She suggested.

"That's a great idea!" He exclaimed "I'd love to do that, mother."

She rose to her full height and took hold of both his hands "Well then, we better start working on those dance lessons!" She cried, picking him up and twirling him around. They spun around in a circle in the middle of the ballroom, laughing all the while.

For you see, it wasn't catching Wilfred or getting a biscuit off Mrs Potts that made that day so memorable and special. It was the day that he first saw the ballroom, and everything was set in motion. Where he learned how much he loved to dance.

And now, over twenty years later, he was entering that ballroom once again. He had been in the many times before, but this time it was different. It was a big occasion, tomorrow night he was throwing a party, and around thirty or so maidens had been invited. And one of them, one very lucky one, was going to be his wife.

He glanced around the ballroom, with no sense of childlike wonder in his eyes, nor any expression of excitement or joy. The only look on his face was that of disgust.

"Is something the matter, master?" Cogsworth, the head of the household, asked him.

He spun on his heels and gave the servant a scornful look "Yes, there is something the matter!" The Prince exclaimed "The ballroom isn't nearly clean enough!"

"But sir, the servants have been working on it all day." Cogsworth protested.

"Well, their days work is not good enough. Do you want the maidens to think I live in a pig sty?" He questioned, but didn't allow him to answer "Tell them to do it again. I want it spotless."

"Yes master." Cogsworth replied, bowing his head.

"Oh, and tell the staff to bring my throne in here." He added.

"With all due respects, sir, your throne is rather heavy."

"I don't care how heavy it is, I want it putting in the ballroom!"

"Of course, sir." Cogsworth sighed "Where would you like it placing?"

"In front of the two glass doors. It will give me a good view of the maidens. But make sure to consult me about its position before you finish."

Cogsworth simply nodded and took his leave as Lumiere approached him "My Prince." He addressed him before bowing "I was wondering if you wanted me to send out anymore invites, perhaps to some of the people from the nearby village? They are paying for this party after all."

"Absolutely not. I'm not having any of those filthy peasants in my castle. Besides, the only people that are invited to this party are princesses from overseas. I doubt there are any princesses or maidens worthy of my hand wandering around that village anyway." He retorted.

"Will you at least allow my husband to come?" Mrs Potts asked. He hadn't even noticed that she was there.

"Is your husband a member of the castle staff?" He questioned.

"Well, no..." Mrs Potts murmured.

"Then he's not allowed to come. No exceptions."

Defeated, Mrs Potts turned and walked away. The Prince did not dwell on it for very long and took his attention off of her and glanced at Lumiere "See to it that everything runs smoothly. I want tomorrow to be perfect."

That night was going to set everything in motion once more. And years to come, he would be able to look back and remember it clearly, just the same as his earliest and one of his most fondest childhood memories.

Sadly, that night was going to be remembered for all of the wrong reasons.