A Tale as Old as Time.

J

Jenbells

Guest
Original poster
The day was bright with the sun hanging boldly in a cloudless sky. No wind corrupted the air, keeping its warmth pleasantly sitting in the village below. Yet none of the townsfolk gave any notice to the perfect weather. They were all too busy running about preparing for the tradition that had held them in terror for many years.

Above the town was beautiful and magnificent castle. The legends about where it had come from and who still might dwell in it were numerous, but only one fact was known. Inside the lavish halls was a horrific monster who threatened to come down and destroy the village if the people did not offer up a maiden to him every spring. As always most of the town was preparing the celebration that rejoiced that the beast would not harm the rest of them, while town officials crowded around the home of the chosen maiden.

She stood numbly in front of a mirror as women surrounded her. Some braided her hair, while others stitched her gown together. Distantly she could hear her father crying in the background. Everyone else would be enjoying the festivities tonight, except her family, except her. She slowly swallowed a lump in her throat as one of the women told her that she looked beautiful. Belle looked up her reflection and sighed softly. Her brunette hair was delicately twirled on the top of her head in an intricate bun. Her cheeks and lips were pink from some ground rose petals one of the women put on her. The gown could barely be called such. It was much more a slip of golden fabric. She really was an offering.

The rest of the day followed in similar fashion until Belle found herself in a cart. Her father had given her a quick hug before she had been yanked away. Now he seemed so far away and distant. She would never see him or anyone from the village ever again. She would die tonight. Reaching the castle gates, Belle was helped off the cart and walked just inside the gates. Once there the men with her fastened rope around her arms and legs to keep her from running. “Good luck” one mumbled before she was left alone in the dark court yard.
 
The castle sat above the small village, looming over it like a dark spectre. The castle was said to be haunted by a terrifying beast. One that continuously took young women up into its castle, saying that if the village complied, it would not harm the rest of the villagers or destroy the village itself. Nobody had ever seen the beast, or had lived to tell the tale. There was a rumor floating around that the beast had once been a very handsome prince, but had been cursed for eternity by an evil witch. The rumor had never been proved right or wrong, for the fact stated before that no one had lived to tell what the man looked like now.

Some of the rumor was true, the young prince had been cursed by a witch. Though it wasn’t as bad as the rumor said. No, the man had not been turned into an evil, horrid beast. Instead, the man had been cursed to roam the halls of his castle, alone, for all of eternity. Only one woman would be allowed into the confines of his castle, to live for a year before he would need to send for another one. The witch had muttered to him that the only way to break the curse was to find his one true love. But spending years after years after years of searching, the man had simply given up on searching for his true love. He simply continued the yearly acceptance of a woman into his castle to keep all others away.

Walking down the halls of the old castle, the man sighed heavily as he knew one of the village women would be entering his home that day. He didn’t care for the women that joined him in the castle, but sometimes it brought him a reason to actually have human contact. After years of being alone and stuck in the castle, the man had become angry, cynical, lacking of all emotions as he lost hope in ever being released from the castle.

It was midday when the man finally got the urge to put on something a bit more appealing as he would be greeting the young woman that would spend the next year of her life in the castle. Running fingers through his unruly brown hair, the man fixed himself with a nice pair of light brown pants, a blue button up shirt, and a pair of black shoes. He didn’t care that much to make himself acceptable, for he knew this one would be just like the last one, and the one before that, as well as all the others.

It was finally time for him to open his doors for the woman, though he didn’t much care for it anymore. He would speak with the woman a couple times throughout the year, only when his lack of contact with others really nagged at him. Walking down the hallways, Bennett moved towards the front doors of his castle. It was still in beautiful shape, even after all the years of the man being the only one that walked the hallways. Other than the few animals he had, including the two dogs that kept him some sort of company, Bennett had sent everyone away. After his parents died many years after the witch’s curse, the man no longer wanted to have people around him. He had become angry with the way his life was headed, and especially since everyone around him would grow old as he stayed the same age as when he was cursed.

Pushing the double doors open, the man shaded his eyes as the sun beamed down on him. He was only allowed to step on the threshold of his castle before the curse pushed at him, forcing him to stay inside the castle. It was horrible seeing the beautiful sky and knowing he wouldn’t be able to step out in the warmth, or go for a walk, or swim in the river anymore. Sneering at the outside world, Bennett turned his back on the world and moved further into his castle. The woman could enter whenever she wanted, but Bennett was putting the world behind him as he once again cursed the woman that did this to him.