DISCLAIMER: This story and some characters in it are based on the 1991 movie Beauty and the Beast. I do not own this movie; all rights and credit goes to Disney. The characters in this story belong to the anime and manga Hetalia, written/drawn by Hidekaz Himaruya. Once again, I own nothing, all credits and rights go to him.

Once upon a time, there stood a magnificent castle, with sturdy towers rising into the sky, impenetrable walls guarding it, and inside, the beauty and elegance of a heavenly hall. In this castle lived a powerful warrior king, King Aldrich. Despite his military might, however, he remained peaceful and neutral, defending only when attacked.

King Aldrich had two sons, Prince Gilbert and Prince Ludwig. They were a happy family, and their happiness was infectious. They were loved by their servants, their people, everyone.

Then one day, disaster struck.

The castle was attacked by the occupants of a nearby village, a foolhardy attempt by their mayor to capture the castle, and therefore, the kingdom, for himself. The battle was won; King Aldrich was victorious.

However, in the melee, he had suffered a mortal wound to his heart. His death the next day devastated the entire kingdom, leaving the next in line, Prince Gilbert, all of twenty-one years of age, as the heir to the throne. Enraged and grieving over his beloved father's death, the prince rode out of the castle and single-handedly waged war on the village. It is said that no day has seen destruction like that day. Apt at combat from a young age, the prince was second in might to no man in the land. Houses burned, blood watered the earth, people cried out for mercy, only to be struck down.

The prince was unmovable, undefeatable, unstoppable.

Finally, the last villager cried out for help with his dying breath; to anyone, anyone who could stop this monster from causing any more devastation. As his life force diminished, as the prince stood over his lifeless body, surveying with malicious satisfaction the work he had done, the answer to the fallen man's call appeared. A powerful enchantress, the protector of the land, emerged, looking over the remains of the village in grief. She turned her gaze to the wrathful prince, who drew his sword, the madness of a berserker coursing through his veins. The prince simply sneered, unafraid of the enchantress' power.

The enchantress, however, was as fair and just as she was powerful. She saw the grief the prince was in, and the pain that had caused him to lash out against others, and she waved her hand, calming his rage. The prince's eyes were opened, and he saw the damage he had done, the ruin he had caused, the lives he had taken. At the sight, he fell to the floor weeping in shock and horror.

He cried out apologies, begged for mercy, but the fair enchantress stood as firm and unwavering as a mountain, ignoring his pleas. "Justice will be done." The enchantress cast a spell on the prince, transforming him into a hideous beast. His hands turned to paws, his silver hair spread across his body to form a thick hide of fur, and his once handsome features twisted to form a grotesque animal-like face.

She pulled out an intricately carved magic mirror and gave it to him to show him what had become of him. The prince stared at his mangled reflection in horror, unable to speak. "Now you see yourself as the people you killed saw you; a hideous beast, a bringer of destruction and war. This is your punishment, and your curse."

When the prince knelt at the enchantress' feet, abandoned all his pride and began to beg, the enchantress saw that there was true regret in his eyes. She softened and told him, "I will grant you three boons, to ease your burden."

"The first: you shall not be alone in your castle. Your friends and your servants shall remain with you, to aid you and keep your company. However, like you, they will no longer be human, and none of your shall be able to leave the castle grounds.

"The second: you shall choose any gift from me, provided that I deem it acceptable." The prince, with no hesitation, begged her to restore every life he had taken. The enchantress, touched, agreed, and additionally said, "Though your wicked deed will be forgotten, so will you, and your kingdom lost. None shall remember but the occupants of your castle.

"The third: I shall allow you one way to break your curse. It is all too easy to conquer a village, or even a kingdom. These are fickle things." Then she gave him a rose, as pure a shade of white as the snow, and told him, "If, before ten years from this day, when this rose wilts, you have managed to conquer a stranger's heart, for those are far more precious, the curse shall be lifted and you shall be freed."

With these words, the enchantress disappeared, and the village was restored.

The prince fled, taking with him the magic mirror and the rose, returning to his castle to wait for the stranger whose heart he was to conquer, and long for the day he would be human once more./em/p

Hey guys,

Thank you for reading!

First of all, I'd like to tell you that this story is still very much in progress, so I will definitely be editing and rewriting to correct mistakes and improve my writing style.

Secondly, I appreciate constructive criticism, so feel free to leave a review telling me what you've thought. I would love it if you could tell me exactly what you enjoyed and what you found fault with, though, because hate messages aren't exactly helpful -_-

Lastly, this isn't the old owner of this account! I'm still using the name Finch, but the old owner, a friend of mine, decided that she would rather work on her own stories instead of fanfiction. So hi, nice to meet you!

Thanks again guys, I'll try to update soon!

- Cass

EDIT: Thank you so much to the reviewers who told me about that code error thing, I've fixed the problem now (yay!) and hopefully it won't happen again. I should probably warn you that this is my first time using , so there will probably be more errors and editing mistakes in the future, but I'll do my best to avoid them :) also thank you that one guest reviewer who warned me not to use Disney lyrics and make it too similar to the movie - I was actually going to use some lyrics from Belle, but I've changed that now ahahaha. I'd like to clarify; the actual story is going to be quite different from the movie (1991 haven't seen the live action one yet) but the reason I made this a crossover fic is because I'm making some characters in the fanfic very similar to the ones in the movie (e.g. Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts etc.)