Chapter Text
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there stood a grand manor at the edge of a thriving kingdom. Within it lived a queen and her prince.
The prince was beloved by all. He greeted the people of the land with laughter and warmth, offering kind words and gentle smiles wherever he went. The townsfolk adored him, and he adored them in return.
The queen, however, was far less fond of the world beyond her walls.
She kept her distance from the people, watching them only from the high windows of her manor. And though the prince loved her dearly, she could not help but notice how easily his kindness was given to others. What began as quiet discomfort soon twisted into jealousy.
And jealousy, as many stories will tell you, has a way of growing sharp and cruel.
When the prince was called away to study in a distant city, the queen remained alone in the manor. Without him, the halls felt hollow. The warmth she had taken for granted faded, and her heart slowly began to freeze.
Days passed. Then months.
By the time the prince returned nearly a year later, the queen who awaited him was no longer the woman he had left behind.
Eager to see him again, she hurried to the town where he arrived—but what she found there broke her heart beyond repair.
The prince stood among the townspeople, laughing freely, accepting flowers and warm greetings from those who had missed him. Hands clasped his in welcome, and bright smiles surrounded him.
To the queen, it looked like betrayal.
Wounded and humiliated, she fled back to her manor before he could see her.
Not long after, the prince arrived at the great doors with a bouquet of beautiful flowers, hoping to surprise the woman he loved.
But the queen who greeted him was cold as winter.
She sneered at his flowers and turned him away.
Confused, the prince gently removed the most lovely bloom from the bouquet and offered it to her once more.
But the queen’s heart had already turned to ice.
Declaring that she felt no love for a traitor, she revealed the darkness that jealousy had nurtured within her. Before the prince’s eyes, she transformed—her hands curling into cruel talons, her once-lovely face shadowed by bitterness and despair.
And with a curse born from heartbreak, she punished him.
The prince was transformed into a terrible beast, and the manor was sealed beneath a powerful spell. Winter swallowed the land, burying its bright summers and blooming springs beneath endless snow. Any soul who wandered into the cursed estate and failed to escape would remain there forever, bound to serve the beast within its frozen halls.
Yet even as she cast the spell, the queen felt one final heartbeat stir within her chest.
Though she hated him, she could not bring herself to condemn him completely.
So before vanishing into the endless ice, she left the prince with one fragile chance.
If he could learn to love another—and earn that love in return—the curse would break.
The most beautiful flower from the bouquet he had once offered her would serve as the key. Its petals would endure for many years, but when the final one fell, the spell would become permanent. With that promise spoken, the queen disappeared into the frozen wilderness, never to be seen again.
Ashamed of the monster he had become, the prince hid himself within the manor’s towering walls. A magic mirror became his only window to the world beyond.
And as the years passed, hope slowly faded from the beast’s heart.
For who could ever learn to love a beast?