'I gave each of you a chance to be kind, and instead, you treated me like an animal,' the fair maiden said.
'We had no idea that you were so lovely,' the second prince said. 'If we had known, we would have offered you a room befitting your beauty.'
'Beauty!' The young woman hissed. 'That is all you can see, isn't it? I will teach the three of you a lesson in beauty.'”
I smirked. “Oh yeah, you let them have it, lady!”
I settled back against the wooden wall and read more eagerly, “The maiden's hands began to glow with magic, and the court drew back in fear when she lifted them above her head. The princes, confident in their own worth, did not cower. They faced her with curiosity only.
'Since you treated me like an animal, that is what you shall be. We shall see who stands by you when you are no longer beautiful. How many of your court will remain to fawn over you when your monstrosity is apparent on your very faces?'
The magic shimmered over the princes, and they immediately transformed into hideous monsters; part man and part beast. The court ran away, screaming.”
I chuckled, monsters indeed.
“The eldest prince cried out to the maiden, now revealed to be a witch, 'Please, we can change our ways. Have mercy.'
The witch lifted her chin and stared at the pathetic creatures.
'You who gave no mercy, now beg for it,' she said. 'All right;. I will grant you one chance to regain your human forms.' She plucked a rose out of an overflowing vase and cast it at the feet of the eldest prince. 'You have till the last petal falls from this flower to prove that you are worthy of ruling this kingdom.'
The princes looked at each other in horror. 'But a rose dies so quickly,' the second prince pointed out.
'Not this one,' the witch smiled. 'It will fade slowly, and you will not fade at all, but only I shall know how much time you have to prove your worth. Thus, you will live in fear, like an old woman in a storm.'
The youngest prince crawled forward on his massive paws, 'But how do we prove ourselves?'
The witch thought about it and finally said, 'With true beauty, of course. You must find a woman, a brave and truly beautiful woman, to love all of you. If you can win her love, and become humble enough to share that love, then I will return your kingdom and your pretty faces to you.'
The princes vowed that they would win the love of a brave and beautiful woman... and they would share her humbly.”
I grimaced and tossed the book down in the hay.
“What rubbish.”
Chapter Two
“You didn't like The Beastly Princes?” Theo chuckled.
“Have you read that garbage?” I asked him as I returned his book. “It's ridiculous.”
“It's supposed to be a true story,” Theo said, “about our very own kingdom.”
“We have a King and Queen,” I reminded him. “And they only have a daughter, no sons; beastly or otherwise.”
“We were not originally a part of the Kingdom of Hannaleigh,” Theo said. “In fact, we're not really a part of it now. Our monarchy disappeared long ago; the castle is said to be deep within the forest, hidden by magic and haunted.”
“What happened to our monarchs?”
“No one knows.” Theo waved the book at me. “Or do they?”
“You want me to believe that there are three beasts, who once were princes, living in an abandoned castle in the woods, waiting for a beautiful woman to find them and fall in love with them?” I scoffed.
“Pure drivel,” Fabien said as he sauntered into Theo's shop.
I rolled my eyes. “For the flour,” I said to Theo as I handed him a copper coin. “And thank you for the loan of the book.”
“You're welcome Sylvaine,” Theo spoke to me, but eyed Fabien.
