Bothering Layla

[Belle]

Belle tugged on the sheets on Layla's bed, causing them to land on her head. "Layla," she said, her voice muffled by the sheets. She fought and struggled to get free of the sheets. After she finally got free of them, her hair and dress were completely mussed.

"Layla," she repeated, looking up at the larger fairy. "Can you tell me a story, please?"

[Layla]

Looking up from the book she was reading for Professor DuFour's class, Layla smiled at Belle and asked, "And what kind of story would you like to hear?" Already knowing that Belle loved stories that dealt with love and romance, she teased, pretending to scratch her head in confusion, "I just can't seem to remember what kind you like, I'm afraid."

[Belle]

Belle looked up at Layla, her eyes wide before she realized the bigger fairy was teasing her. "Can you tell me a fairy tale? One that has a cursed prince in it? Like Beauty and the Beast," Belle chirped. She tilted her head and tapped a finger against her cheek. "There's only two conditions for the story. One, the beast has to be a wolf and two, the girl who breaks the spell has to be the singer from the dance, at least look or sound like her," she suggested before climbing up onto Layla's lap and snuggling.

[Layla]

Layla smiled as she began, her voice warm and melodious. "Once upon a time, there was a very handsome prince. He was the kind of man all the mamas wanted for their daughters because he was, of course, wealthy, of noble blood, handsome, and ruler of a vast area of land. However, the prince wasn't all good. In fact, his personality was horrendous, but the mamas overlooked that fact because of his money and his palace made of gold and exotic stones. The prince, having always been rich, was rather spoiled and selfish. He had never had to share anything in his life and would become quite temperamental at the thought of ever losing his good looks or his wealth.

One day, though, a large storm struck the province. It rained and rained and rained and the wind blew strong. The prince was glad that he had his palace and was safe from the wrath of Mother Nature outside. Soon though, he heard a knock at his study door; one of his servants told him that an old beggar lady was at the front door, begging for a room to stay in for the night. The prince laughed and told the servant to send the woman away. The servant shook his head and told the prince that the woman would not leave until the prince had come to speak to her himself. The prince, irritated but having nothing else better to do, went to see the old woman . . ."

Layla pretended to yawn, a mischievous shine in her eyes, "Oh, I think we should stop the story there, don't you think, Belle? I'm awfully sleepy, aren't you?"

[Belle]

Belle was sitting in rapt attention, her eyes wide. "Oh, Layla, you can't leave the story hanging there," she said, fairly bouncing on the other's lap. "But if you must stop, at least stop after the prince gets cursed."

[Layla]

Layla grinned, "Well, I suppose I can continue the story for a while longer. Okay, where was I? Right. The old woman . . ."

"When the prince reached the front palace doors, the old woman was indeed waiting, soaking wet and shivering - a truly horrible sight. However, seeing the pitiful woman did not make the prince's heart tug as it would have done to other people's hearts. Instead, he breathed a sigh of pleasure that he had not been born poor. Speaking to her in a mocking tone he said, 'Go away, you hag. Your dirty feet aren't worth one millionth of these palace steps so leave at once!' At his words, the old woman's face broke out into a grin and she began cackling, almost as though she had lost her mind. Indeed, the prince thought that the woman must be insane. As he began to close the doors on the woman, her hand shot out and held them open. Grinning, she asked the prince, 'Do you care for a rose?' Before he could respond, she thrust a beautiful pink rose into his hand, pricking his finger so that a drop of blood trickled down his hand. Continuing, she said, 'When the petals fall from the stem and touch the ground your curse will be set in stone.'

As she turned away, the prince felt a tremor of fear run through his body. 'What curse?' he called after the old woman, his voice shaking. The woman answered cackling again, 'It has already started, my boy. By your blood it has already started. The prince, looking down at his hand saw the trickle of blood and as he stared at his hand he saw something very strange. His hands were no longer his own, but rather those of an animal. Yes, They had become paws. Afraid, the prince ran to a mirror, praying that he would not see what he thought he would. As he looked in the mirror, he saw that his wish had not come true. Indeed, he was transforming into a wolf right before his very own eyes."

[Belle]

Belle's beath had caught in her throat. "So, what happens next, Layla?" she asked. She really wanted to know how the prince changed. "So, what kind of wolf like attributes does he get, besides the paws?"

[Layla]

"Patience, patience," Layla replied, pretending to wag her finger severely. "Now, let's see. Besides the paw, the prince also began to grow mangy fur (of course, the old woman would not have the prince turned into something beautiful) and his ears grew quite pointy. As for his face, it became elongated - meaning, he now had a muzzle of sorts. But the final attribute was that he could no longer walk on two-legs. Instead, he had to walk on four, as a wolf must walk on four."

[Belle]

"If he hadn't been so mean to that old woman, I'd feel sorry for him," Belle said. She bit her lower lip. "At least my Beast didn't offend any witch, at least, not that we know of," she admitted. She blushed at the mention of her beast. "What color was he?"

[Layla]

"His color? He could have been lovely if he could have cleaned his fur and grown a bit more plump - but alas, the curse prevented him from doing either. So, until the curse could be broken, the prince was destined to be nothing more than a scrawny, starved looking wolf with a very dirty looking white coat - as though he had run through a pool of mud. After several years of this curse, the wolf-prince had become quite a beast. For several years he had refused to leave his palace, believing it better to suffer in seclusion than to go out amongst people. Over time, he grew distrustful of the outside world, believing that the people out there were out to kill him - he was right, as it should happen. But still, within the prince's heart, a growing desire for company began to sprout. He was so lonely in the palace, but he would never admit it to his servants, who had all been transformed into various animals as well. Thus having no one to speak to, the beast became even more temperamental than he had been before the curse. In fact, he became quite frightening, as it only took one look into his eyes to know that there was nothing human about him anymore. He was a beast, through and through."

[Belle]

Belle hung on Layla's every word, snuggling closer and listening. "So, how does he meet the girl that's going to break the spell?" She paused. "She will break the spell, won't she, Layla?"

[Layla]

"Well, of course she will break the spell, silly," Layla teased affectionately. "That's always how it goes in fairy tales, you know. But even though they're predictable and there's always a happy ending they still make great stories, don't you think?"

[Belle]

Belle nodded. 'Beauty and the Beast' was her all time favorite story. She looked up at Layla. "Layla, what does the girl look like? Is she pretty?" She was trying very hard not to yawn. She didn't want to fall asleep while Layla was telling her the story - that'd be rude.

[Layla]

Noticing that Belle was struggling to stay awake, Layla suppressed a smile. "It's getting pretty late, Belle; why don't you go ahead and try to fall asleep? You know, we can always pick back up on the story tomorrow night. Here, I'll tell you about the girl and you just close your eyes, okay?"

Clearing her throat for dramatic effect, Layla began, "The girl was certainly quite pretty - but more than that, she had an incredibly melodious voice, especially when she sang. It was the kind of voice that other girls were envious of because it could capture anyone's attention, so beautiful was it. When she sang, even if it was just a simple tune, it was almost as though time stopped. And, whoever happened to be nearby always craned their ears to hear the sound and for those few moments, they were filled with such sweet satisfaction because the girl only sang about happy things . . ."

[Belle]

Belle yawned softly and snuggled close. "And she was quite the opposite of the prince, right?" she asked, trying to not to yawn. "I hope the prince likes her." She blinked her eyes and tried to keep them open.