“School is not for girls.” Your father's words still rang through your head as you packed your sack, trying to make out your bearings through a blurred vision, feeling the tears stain your cheeks. Why couldn't you go to school? You already knew how to read, but the old man who had taught you was now long gone, and all you had left of his kind soul was his old collection of books.

You packed two books, along with a piece of bread and some water in a glass bottle. And then, you're off to the woods. An outcast, that's how you felt like, exiled from your own kind because of your thirst for knowledge; they just couldn't understand.

You found a clearing, and set down to read against a fallen tree trunk. Suddenly, lightning struck, and the downpour caught you so off guard that when you started to run to seek shelter, you went the opposite way from your village. The wildlife was just as startled as you, and you couldn't predict the hastily escape of a deer, who had you stumbling and falling. Your books were soaked and dirty, and the glass bottle had broken, one of its shards splitting your palm open as you tried to find your balance back.

You gritted your teeth through the pain, ripping a piece of your skirt to dress your hand as best as you could; you also picked up your books, because you simply couldn't abandon them in the storm.

The woods got thicker and thicker as you kept walking, until you came across a big neglected castle. It looked abandoned, but steady enough to provide protection until the weather got better. A shiver ran down your spine as you stood before the creepy sight, dark skies and lighting a clear omen, but all you could think about was getting somewhere dry.

You were unaware of the forgotten inhabitant, a decayed count, who exiled himself away in his castle. He was grumpy and bitter, a true cruel man, and when he denied a witch of shelter, she cursed him, turning him into his real self: a beast. And yet, that didn't stop you from pushing the heavy wooden doors, and crossing the threshold.