The Beast and her Handsome
Saviour

Once upon a time there was a kingdom named “euphoria” and as the name suggested it was the kingdom of great wealth and happiness. There was river named Emma which separated the public and the royals. Unfortunately, the royals kept on polluting the river and became ignorant about it. The palace was surrounded by apple orchards. The palace was the epitome of prosperity and beauty. There lived the king , queen and there beautiful daughter . They had named her after the great river Emma. She was a cheerful and pretty teenager who was about to enter the womanhood in few days. The palace was ready to throw a grand feast and each and every person in the kingdom was invited. Finally , the day arrived. Everyone was elated as they were going to be the part of their princess’s 18th birthday . But the most unexpected misfortune befell them. They got cursed by the soul of the river Emma. The furious soul cried “ Here, you are celebrating the grand feast being all happy and zealous and there my kids , my water creatures are dying because of your deeds. I, therefore curse you to be trapped in your mighty palace for lifetime in the form of objects in this place . And you , my dear Emma you’ll get transformed into an ugly and loathed beast forever.” Upon hearing this everyone present there started screaming for mercy but the soul brushed them aside. Emma started to transform into the beast and so as the people present there in the hall. She begged the soul” O’ mighty river soul please forgive others and I’ll take the punishment by myself. I beg your mercy on them”. After hearing this the soul softened and spoke” My dear Emma , I am afraid that the curse cannot be reversed but can be demolished . After your plea I saw that how humble and pure hearted you are , therefore I grant you a wish that this curse will finish the moment a man will fall in love in your beastly form and this will last till next blue moon”. With this the soul disappeared , leaving Emma alone with her fate.
15 years later
One day, a merchant got lost in the dark forest. With each step he became hopeless. He was hungry and thirsty. But gaining all the strength he had he kept moving. And when he was about lose hope he saw an orange. Upon seeing an orange his eyes gleamed with happiness. He picked it up and ate it. He kept on moving and saw an orchard. His hopes to see a life lifted with each step. After crossing the orchard he saw a huge palace. He ran towards it and when he entered he passed through several furnished rooms. The air warmed him there. Then he passed through the dining hall and saw a grant feast there. Feeling elated he started eating as much as he can. And when he was full he was about to move that he heard footsteps , not humanly one but heavier.
The footsteps became clearer and nearer that before. “ Hello” a voice called. He turned around and saw the most hideous creature he has ever seen. As the creature approached him he started to panic . In a shaky voice he pleaded , “ Please do not harm me , I have a family behind .
I’ll leave this place at this moment.” He kept on rambling. The beast tried to calm him down but to her vain he was too terrified. She assured him that she would do no harm and asked him to leave the other day. Hearing this merchant got relieved and went to sleep.
Next day he woke and went to breakfast. The beast came up to him asked him if he could marry her. The merchant got startled and answered politely “ Accept my apologies beast but I am already married and I love my wife to death”. The beast became sad and after a bit became angry. She roared” How dare you decline my offer? I , hereby, sentence you to imprisonment forever”. The merchant gladly accepted this as he was truly in love with his wife.
On the other side the beast became sadder and now she was angry on herself for caging the poor merchant. After all this time she got frustrated and released her wrath on this poor soul. She started a heartful cry and cried until she slept.
The next day the merchant asked her a favour . He requested ,”O’ mighty beast I request you to allow me to write a letter to my wife Anna and my younger brother James about my well -being.” The beast thought for a moment and asked only one thing ,” So you have a brother”. The merchant nodded yes. The beast continued “ I am giving you an offer, I’ll release you this moment if you’ll send your brother to me”. The merchant got shocked. The beast gave him one week to think over it or he would have to return back. The merchant packed his stuff and loaded on a magical cart and rode off.
When he returned back to his village. He was welcomed by his lovely wife . Then he narrated the whole palace incident to his brother and wife. His wife started crying and his brother got lost into thoughts. After two days James told them he will summon himself to the beast. His brother protested but he declined his offer and started getting mentally prepared to face the beast. At the end of the week the magical cart appeared and took James to the castle. After arriving the palace he started roaming around the rooms and was astounded by the beauty of the castle. It has been three days but he hadn’t seen the beast yet, which he was glad of.
The fourth day after he ate his dinner he heard some footsteps and when he turned around he saw the beast . But instead of finding her hideous , he found her strangely alluring. The beast on the other hand was taken aback by the beauty of this young man. According to her , he was the epitome of perfection. She greeted him and he accepted her greetings. She offered him a walk around the castle, which he gladly accepted . It was a silent walk, no one spoke . The beast kept on glancing towards James. She was awestruck by his beauty. After sometime they bid each other farewell and went to sleep. While laying on his bed , James Kept on thinking about the beast and possibilities of her being like this. With all thoughts he drifted to sleep. Next day, after breakfast he started his daily routine of wandering around. While roaming around he came across a room, out of curiosity he went inside . There he saw a portrait and was astounded by the beauty of the girl in the portrait. He looked around the room for more of that girl’s portraits but in vain. At last he peeked through the large window in that room and saw the calm river flowing in its own glory. The overall view was soothing. After that he went to dinner, he ate half -heartedly because his mind was on that princess. After the dinner beast came and in her hoarse voice asked his whereabouts. James told her everything and asked about the portrait but the beast ignored . Before going back to sleep the beast asked,” James, would you like to marry and settle down?” James gave her faint smile and nodded . The she asked ,” would you like to marry a hideous creature like me”.
He again gave a smile and said , ”Accept my apology beast but I am not in love with you . So it would be like deceiving you, if I’ll marry you”. With a sad sigh the beast wished him good night and left. The next few weeks kept on asking the same question and he kept on declining politely. The reason was James’s mind was on that princess, bit by bit he started admiring the portrait and eventually fell for her . One day he requested the beast to grant him few days leave so that he could meet his brother. The beast affirmed but asked him to come after a month.
When he returned , his brother welcomed him with all his heart. He even proposed him that they could leave the village . But he declined. Then he proposed an idea of killing the beast. Upon hearing this James became furious and went out for a walk. He himself was shocked by his anger. On his way back he saw an old man feeding his chickens . He was getting bored so thought of striking a conversation. He greeted the old man and the old man greeted him back. James spoke,” isn’t it annoying living alone”. The old man smiled and replied ,” No, my son its soothing. And who said I live alone I live here with my wife’s memories. They are enough for me”. James smiled. The old man told him about himself and James a bit about himself. Then James asked’” You told me you had son, where is he now?” The old man replied ,” That’s for me to know and you to find out”. With this he went away. James kept on thinking about the man’s words. Time passed and two thoughts kept on haunting him, one instead of princess’s face his dreams got conquered by the beast , but surprisingly he was glad and two the old man’s words. The day came when he was about to leave for the palace but before that he decided to visit that old man. He went back to the old man’s house for the answers. The old man opened the door and answered,” I knew you would come. Take a seat. Let me tell you story , more like a legend”. He started narrating the story. He told him about the palace , the king , queen , river, and the princess. After the story ended James getting tired by story asked,” What about your son? What happened to him?” The old man replied ,” My son was one of the guards there, he himself got transformed into a mute object. James was now confirmed that this man is lunatic. And he bid him the farewell. All the way back to the palace he kept on thinking about that story. He thought,” What if the old man was right? That means the beast is the princess”. He got elated by the thought. And in this last month he was assured by one thing that love is not about outer beauty. Because when he was in the palace he kept on thinking about the princess but when he was away his thoughts were conquered by the beast and her humbleness.
When he reached he saw the moon and realised that it was a blue moon . His thoughts went back to the old man’s words. He had warned him about the blue moon and the beast’s death. He started looking out for the beast but to his vain she was nowhere to find. He started crying and went to the princess’s room and peeked out of the window . There he saw the beast lying near the river bank , most probably waiting for her death. He hurried out and took the beast in his arms. He sobbed ,” O’ my beast when I left you I realized how much I love you . Please don’t die. I beg you the river Emma , please don’t take her away from me. I don’t
care about how she is now .I need her as she is. I love you beast”. He kept on chanting these words. Suddenly, a light flashed and the soul of the river appeared ,” Dear , James you have proved your pure love for Emma. So now I grant her life back”. With this she vanished. He turned around and saw that the beast was gone and there stood the girl he had seen in the portrait. Everything became normal. They went to the palace where they saw the king, the queen and everyone back to their old self. The king announced their marriage. Emma and James were happy. He even looked out for the old’s man son but he found nothing. Few days after the marriage, he visited the old man to thank him, but to his surprise there was nothing. First he was shocked and then he smiled and remembered The old’s man last words,” I know you don’t believe me but soon you will and I’ll be gone by then”. James asked him the reason .He replied again ,”That’s for me to know and you to find out”. James thought about this and smiled that all this time the soul of the river was guiding him.
Now he was standing by the river bank with the love of his life , his Emma, His beast.
And they lived happily ever after.