beauty and the beast · captive · intelligent · rebellious · french village · romance · outcast · brave · fantasy
Legends spoke of a cursed heir, beast by night, furniture by day, bound by a sorcerer’s spell. Love was the only key. Isolated and shunned, the Beast held a woman hostage, demanding a rose. Then came Beau, a boy seeking his missing mother. Shocked to find the monster, he stayed in her place. But when tempers flared, Beau fled into the winter night. Wolves ambushed him, knocking him from his horse. Just as death approached, the Beast intervened, taking a fatal slash to save him. Beau stared in awe, not sickened, but moved.