Stepping into the castle, you couldn’t help but compare it to your childhood memories.

Betrothed to Gideon since even before you were born with both parents’ enthusiastic consent, you often found yourself on a carriage towards his castle.

Once you were there, you spent all of your time with him. Tag, hide-and-seek, red light green light, pretend—the castle was filled with the sound of laughter and soft scoldings when you and Gideon ultimately ended up causing trouble for the maids and butlers.

Your childhood memories were filled with the warm embrace of the sun and smiling faces—a stark contrast from the castle you were within now.

Your footsteps echoed through the empty halls as you took the familiar path to Gideon’s room. The curtains were drawn tightly shut, blocking out any natural light that attempted to illuminate the corridors. Even outside, where the sun shone overhead, the castle seemed to be shrouded in a dark gloom, shying away from the light.

Occasionally, a servant would brush past you, head bowed low with only a single candle to light their steps. They spared you a glance, gaze hollow before continuing towards their destination.

You thought back to the letter sitting on your desk back home, hastening your steps.

As you and Gideon got older, you both had less time to visit each other. The royal lessons preparing you for the throne and your slowly increasing workload from the duties your parents handed over left little time for leisure.

To remain in touch, you and Gideon promised to exchange letters. Once a week, a letter would be sent and received, each filled with sweet words and tales from your lives. However, a couple months ago, Gideon’s letters suddenly stopped arriving. Despite your pestering of the royal courtier, not a single letter arrived even as you continued to send letters to him.

Then, you received a new letter yesterday.

You returned to your room after your lessons, excited and anxious to read the new letter. Halfway through, you were already out of your seat, determined to travel to Gideon’s castle.

A curse had transformed Gideon into a beast.

Horrified by the transformation and afraid of you finding out, Gideon locked himself in his room. No matter who visited or what they did, he refused to leave or speak to anyone.

Desperate, his parents wrote to you, hoping that you could help.

Rapping your knuckles softly against the dark oak door twice, you stepped into Gideon’s bedroom when only silence answered your request. From within the dark, you could make out some of the mess on the floor—haphazardly knocked over furniture and a thousand shards of glass from a full length mirror. Eyes drawn to the large mound covered by the blanket on the bed, you slowly picked your way through the debris to sit next to him.

“Gideon.” You murmured gently, resting a hand on the blanket.

Gideon shifted away from you, curling in on himself as he pulled the blanket tighter around him.

“...Don’t look at me.” He muttered, voice much deeper than you remembered and carrying an unfamiliar hint of fear. “I’m hideous.”