Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young Prince lived in a shining castle. He spent his days learning in the castle's vast library and hunting in the surrounding forests. He was kind to all his subjects and as a result his family and the lands around them were prosperous. He had everything he could want, except for one. He hadn't found his true love.

However, he grew restless. He was bored of the parties and the balls that his family threw in a hope of finding him a husband or wife. So he disguised himself as a commoner and left the castle grounds, heading for a nearby village. He wanted to find his own true love.

In the village he met a boy of a similar age, Sebastian, and they become friends immediately. The Prince spent many hours in the village and the woods with his friend, slowly but surely falling in love with him. However, he never told Sebastian of his true identity.

One day, not long after their first kiss, the Prince returned home and announced to his family his intentions to marry Sebastian. His family laughed, telling him he could never marry, let alone love a commoner. It just wasn't done and wasn't right in their eyes. But the Prince had already asked his love to meet him at the castle. He was going to reveal himself to Sebastian that night. His fate was sealed.

Late that night, as the cold wind and rain began to set in, Sebastian appeared at the door with a single red rose. The Prince s family grew angry and sent their son to turn him away. He did, with a cold heart, sneeringly telling Sebastian that he could never love someone as low and common and ugly as he. Sebastian's face fell as his world crashed in around him, but, instead of leaving, his common disguise melted away, revealing a powerful enchanter. The Prince tried to apologise, but it was too late. Sebastian had seen that there was no true love for him in the Prince's heart, and so, he punished him. A spell enveloped the castle and all those who lived there. The Princ' s family were transfigured into whisps of darkness and scattered to all four corners of the globe. The servants were changed into household objects and furniture. The skies above the castle turned dark as the stone's themselves turned ugly; majestic lions transforming into fearsome gargoyles and golden roofed turrets turned to shadowy slate. But the cruellest fate of all was the Prince's. He was transformed into a hideous beast. His body began to gain muscle and fat as he grew, ripping and tearing his clothes. Claws erupted from his hands as they turned to paws and thick hair grew from his new toughened skin. He let out a mighty, anguished roar and leapt for the enchanter, but he had already whisked himself away into the night.

Ashamed of his monstrous form, the Beast concealed himself in his castle. The enchanter had granted him one small mercy and had left a magic mirror behind, to be the Beast's only window to the outside world. The rose he had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which stood in a bell jar in the Beast's quarters in the west wing. It would bloom only until his twenty-first year. If he could learn to love another, and earn his love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time.

As time passed, the Beast fell into despair as he couldn't see a way to break the spell. The castle grew dark and decrepit and the servants tired and distressed. They couldn t bear to see their beloved Master so lost and hurt. The Beast stayed locked in his quarters, denying himself food and comfort. His dreams were haunted by Sebastian, the enchanter who he had once loved. He spoke the same words every night.

"Honestly Blaine. Who could ever learn to love a beast?"