Become Who You Truly Are

“So, let me get this straight. You sent two gifts to this Princess in hopes she’d fall in love with you despite never meeting you ever?”,his visitor began. Her mouth tucked into a frown as she stared deep into his eyes. Feeling as though she were talking to a mere child instead of an alleged prince. One that picked his hope-to-be bride based on her looks and not her attitude. She continued,”Thinking that she’d somehow except these gifts from some weird stranger she'd never met. Who couldn't be bothered to know her or try to ask for a meeting with her and her Father?”

“Were you even aware if the object of your affections even liked flowers? Or wanted an unasked-for pet given by some stranger she doesn’t really know?”she questioned. It hadn’t honestly occurred to the Prince that this young Princess didn’t like flowers or wanted to have a pet. As it he hadn’t thought she would take care of either the plant or the bird. But he supposed that he hadn’t thought this as through as he believed he had. The woman continued,”Did you even think about the needs or wants of this young lady?”

“I have an odd feeling that you might not have. And that all you truly cared about was how pretty she was and how you just wanted her for her beauty.”,the woman snapped at him. Talking down to him as if he were nothing more than a spoiled child to her. And in all honesty, he started to see himself as one. He asked,”But what about kissing me as a commoner? Wasn’t she wrong for kissing me for material things?”

“You’re shaming her for trying to buy something that you said yourself were essentially cursed into making her want them?”,she fired back. Crossing her arms, she glared deep into his eyes. A fire in them, something he hadn’t anticipated seeing. It was true. The young prince had essentially cursed each item into making her want them. And she could actively find use for in her day-to-day life, the pot and the music making rattle. He felt somewhat disgusted with himself as he thought what he had done over a bit more. In a saddened voice, the Prince muttered,”I mean, I suppose I had done that.”

“Where is this poor girl even? Do you even care or thought about where she went after this? Or how she is currently doing in this very moment? If she is even alive and safe?”,his visitor demanded. Suddenly she rose to her feet as she took a step towards him. Eyes full of a blazing fury as she glared deep into his. He adverted his gaze in shame as he shook his head. For the Prince did not care where the poor disowned Princess went. Or what had happened to her after they were thrown out of her Father’s kingdom. For she had angered him by just wanting material things that were useful to her. His visitor grasped his jaw tightly in her hand and forced him to look at her. Her face alight with an anger that terrified him into silence. She hissed,”How dare you call yourself kind when you condemn that poor girl to poverty and loneliness?”

“You’re a terrible monster! And for this you shall turn into one!”,the visitor boomed. Her appearance of a wandering woman dressed in rags melted in an instant. In the place of her was a beautiful fairy dressed in the finest silks he had ever seen in his life. Her long black hair was pulled into an intricate bun with precious jewels and ribbons running through it. As she let go of his chin, she shouted,”FOR YOUR DISGUSTING TREATMENT OF THAT PRINCESS, I CURSE YOU TO BE THE VILE BEAST YOU TRULY ARE!”

“THE ONLY WAY TO TURN YOURSELF BACK IS TO SHOW GENUINE KINDNESS FOR ANOTHER!”,she bellowed. A second later, the Prince found himself on the floor of his precious room. Hands clenching and unclenching as a terrible pain shot through his form. In horror he watched his hands grow until they were nothing more than bear’s paws.

His arms thickened until they tore through the sleeves of his shirt. Legs tearing through his pants in a similar fashion. Torso becoming much too broad to be contained in what was left of it. A white-hot pain on his lower back was nearly unbearable as a long and furred tail pushed through his tattered pants.

Mouth pushing forward until it resembled a dog’s muzzle.

Itching came next. More and more of the fur that was on his new tail came out from every single pore on his skin. Ears melting back into his face as two more pushed up from the top of his head.

His eyes burned briefly and so terribly he closed them to blink the pain away. When he opened them, the world became duller than it had before. Something that somehow terrified him much more than the pain he had been through. Looking up at the woman, she was staring at him with contempt. Not satisfied like he had anticipated she would be. Softly, she informed,”A true good deed done to not just relieve yourself of this curse will help you.”

“Good luck, dear Prince. I fear you are going to sorely need it.”,she added. With this, she twirled in three quick circles and disappeared in a puff of sparkling smoke. Leaving the now hideous Prince to sit alone in the middle of the room to deal with what he had become.