Once upon a time, in a faraway land, A young Prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, The Prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind.<br/><br/>But then, one winter's night, An old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single Rose. In return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, The Prince sneered at the gift, And turned the old woman away.<br/><br/>But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances,For Beauty is found within.<br/><br/>And when he dismissed her again, The old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful Enchantress.<br/><br/>The Prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, For she had seen that there was no love in his heart. And as punishment, She transformed him into a hideous beast, And placed a powerful spell on the castle, And all who lived there.<br/><br/>Ashamed of his monstrous form, The beast concealed himself inside his castle, With a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world.<br/><br/>The Rose she had offered, 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, Then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast For all time. As the years passed, He fell into despair, and lost all hope, For who could ever learn to love...a Beast?<br/><br/>~~~~<br/><br/>Stella tightened the laces on the front of her red, strapless dress. Sighing softly as she looked at herself in the full length mirror. Her black locks of hair fell in waves down her shoulders, stopping just below her breasts. Deep blue eyes stared back at her, telling the story of a girl who was happy with her life. Raising her hand to her head, she swept her wavy bangs to the side before becoming satisfied with her appearance. Taking one quick spin in front of the mirror, she nodded to the beautiful girl inside the mirror, approving of the quick work she had done.<br/><br/>Picking up her weaved basket that held one of the most precious things to her in it, she left her small bedroom and took the stairs two at a time as she quickly descended to the first floor of their very small cottage home. "Father?" she called, looking around the one room first floor. There was no one sitting at the table with breakfast, his bed was made and the fire in the fireplace was out. A smile graced her soft, pink lips as she thought of the only other place in the world he would be. Walking out into the early morning sunshine, she stood still for a moment as she let the sun's rays warm her up. It was a frosty winter morning, telling signs that it would soon snow.<br/><br/>Making her way across the yard to her father's workshop, she opened the small shack's door and peeked inside. Her father was nowhere to be seen and neither was his latest invention. A soft frown creased her brow and she closed the door, looking around the yard before she spotted their plowhorse tied up to the wagon. "Oh yes. Today is that fair he wants to go to.." she whispered quietly to herself before smiling. Walking over to the cart, her father was pulling a blanket over his newest invention to keep it safe. Looking up, his brown eyes lit up once he saw his daughter. "Stella! Why where are you going so early in the morning? To get another one of those fairytale books youre always reading i assume?" he poked fun at his daughter with a smile on his face. Stella huffed, looking rather put-out at her fathers teasing. A booming laugh left the large, older man and he gently patted his daghter's shoulder. "Im only teasing Stell. Now im going to the fair today, i probably wont be back until tomorrow. Are you sure you can hold out here until then?" he asked with a concerned, fatherly frown on his face.<br/><br/>Stella smiled, giving her father a light kiss on the cheek for good luck. "Of course i can father. Im a big girl, I can take care of myself." she teased playfully. Her father, Roman Pierce, smiled and gave his daughter a gentle hug before he climbed up into the wagon. Taking the reins in his hand, he made a clicking sound and urged their horse on. "Take care Stell! Becareful of the wolves!" he warned over his shoulder as him and his wagon started off towards the fair. Stella smiled and waved before turning to head to town, humming quietly to herself as she took the trail through to woods this time. It was peaceful and quiet out here, she never saw any wolves before so she never figured there was anything to worry about.