Audio recommendation - Elastic Heart by Sia 

Have you ever heard of Beauty and the Beast?

If no sit tight, if yes here are some question

What if the beast never loved Beauty?

What if Beauty never tamed the beast?

What if Beauty came to be the beast because the beast kept haunting her, he hunted her, and taunted her until she snapped?

Once upon a time, there lived 'La Belle enfante' Called Belle who together with her father lived in joyfulness until he was taken captive by the beast, unable to bear it, Belle took the place of her father as the captive of the beast, so she lived in a cage in the mansion of the beast.

This beast cold, menacing and domineering, derives pleasure in anguish, he watches Belle every day within her cage and fantasises about different fun games he could play with her but always walks away, holding back his emotions 

One day he left the mansion in haste leaving Belle's cage open, stupified and sceptical, she refused to step out of the confines of the wrought iron, but as the day wore on, confusion contorted into apprehension, looping back into puzzlement. Her mind churned with unanswered questions, circling relentlessly around the unnerving revelations that he might not come back anytime soon and if she had left she might have made it far away from the mansion by now.

A heavy rain started to fall from the now dark clouded sky, the gloomy weather chilling and looming with secrets, Reluctantly, her thoughts began to converge toward an ominous conclusion.

The beast might be dead.

Commandeered by grim bravery, Belle reached for the iron entrance of the cage and forced it open, the basically rusty iron made an exaggeratedly loud screech making her grit her teeth, hoping she was alone in the mansion, Her heart pounded in its compartment, parroting the rhythmic drumming of the rain against the windowsill, as she slinked away from her confinement for days now,

Emerging from the space, An eerily gloaming mansion, welcomed her with only a sparse distribution of candles that cast long, dancing shades against the cold pebble walls as the wind blew, its chill waft whispering through the echoing halls, extinguishing the feeble flames of the candles and plunging the mansion further into darkness. Where could it possibly be coming from? She could follow the wind. 

Her heart pounded in her chest as she made her way to wherever her legs led, her tiptoeing footsteps reverberating in the choking serenity. The rooms were deserted, the ominous silence hanging heavy in the air knotted unease in the pit of her stomach as she proceeded with her search for a path out of the dark in the dark, she cluelessly ambled to the kitchen of the place and still found it similarly devoid of life like the rest of the mansion. It was already chow time, yet there was no bustling movement, no simmering pots and kettles, and no gaudy cooks, she wondered how food was fetched for her every day if no one was in the mansion 

Her frown deepened. Something stood awry.

A shiver of dread traced its way down her spine as she arrived at the realisation that she didn't understand the imprint of the building and could not head straight for the main door, And now, she was beginning to doubt if the beast was indeed dead but had simply left the cage open because he knew she couldn't run.

Belle's thoughts were shattered abruptly by a sudden boom of thunder outside the dark mansion, She hadn't noticed the gathering storm clouds until now, her hope for a possible escape having thoroughly consumed her.

The beast tramped back home leisurely, his urge to hunt and play ruling his other senses, With every step closer, different scenarios went through his mind, making his fingers flex and his grin broad, the thought of catching Belle and playing with her pleasant to him.

His pace increased, the hunger for fun insisted, He could no longer wait!

The rain hammered relentlessly against the windows, echoing the turmoil in her heart. The beast was still absent and he might not enter the rain back home she had time, Her victorious thought immediately came crashing down when she heard the sound of the cart's wheel rolling into the compounds despite the rain, he was back. 

The Beast. 

A bone-deep fear began to creep in, spreading its icy tendrils around her heart and almost rooting her barefooted feet to the cold marble floor but her survival instinct kicked in seconds after her shock making her hide behind a heavy curtain 

Oh, the grand entrance to the mansion creaked open pushing her to hold her breath, and then a cold gust of wind seeped in, strengthening the sound of the downpour outside. She froze, her heart pounding like a drum in her chest as the grand doors slammed shut with a resounding thud.

The echo of calculated footsteps rang through the mansion, the distinct click of boots on marble growing louder with every passing second. Belle stood rooted to the spot, her heart caught in her throat, was he coming this way? the curtains moved with the wind so she decided it wasn't safe there and set to move but the footsteps halted abruptly, causing her heart to pause alongside it, her eyes wide.

"Belle" The beast's gruff voice echoed through the vale expanse of the mansion, giving his location away. The beast normally looked and sounded abnormal but right now she administered sadly that his tone was unnerving, with a strange, pumped-up edge to it that sent a frisson of terror down her spine. "Belle?" he summoned for her again, and she could almost hear the anticipatory grin in his voice, he knew she wasn't in her cage. Even as they weren't in the same hall, she instinctively retreated, her breath hitching in her chest.

"La Belle Enfante, We should talk" His voice was eerily playful, a disturbing distinction to the fear bubbling up inside her.

Father, help! Turning on her heel she tiptoed down the corridor, away from him, from where his voice was reaching, despising herself for not figuring out the way to the main entrance earlier.

"I just want to play Belle" his confession came almost innocent but the air wasn't lying to her "It won't take much of your time… "

He promised Belle to free her if she played a game with him

The game? Hide and seek.

That was actually a very good game that she loved playing but this was the beast, and he only glared, growled and his hairy skin wasn't an inviting sight to wish to play with, She had loved such playful challenges as a child, but they were imaginary and harmless.

Belle was very suspicious of this offer but she missed being Belle the beautiful child of her village and she wanted to go back to her life, so yes, she agreed as she watched him through a small hole, the smile he carried freezing hard to the grounds she blinked fast multiple times her heart growing.

"Good! hide and seek? I love it." His voice echoed throughout the mansion, chilling her to the bone.

She heard the echo of the beast's boots on the cold stone floor reverberating through the manor, each ominous click causing her heart to race faster

What was he doing? Belle swallowed hard, her feet continuing their panicked journey through the darkened mansion 

"I will give you some time to hide?" His tone was teasing and terrifying all at once and she knew he was lying 

Belle froze momentarily, her mind spinning.

This is a dangerous deal, if she fails she will remain in the mansion forever.

Spotting a sliver of light at the end of the hall, Belle guessed it was probably a back door leading outside, Without a second thought, she broke into a sprint, her footsteps echoing in the deadly silence. Upon reaching the door, she yanked at the handle with all her might, but the door remained stubbornly shut.

She fumbled with the lock, desperation giving her temporal strength, but to no avail. The door didn't bulge, it refused to yield.

Beast's chuckle reached her, sending a shiver down her spine. "Oh, Belle, this game is hide and seek for a reason and you're supposed to hide not run" His voice was eerily close, yet she couldn't discern his exact location, making her feel sweat trickling down her spine despite the cold.

"If you keep running, this game becomes complicated, it is now cat and mouse Belle" he drawled "But a combination of both would be most intriguing, and you seem to prefer it" he confessed, his voice oozing with amusement.

Ignoring his disturbing commentary, Belle struggled with the door once more. When it remained unyielding, she sprinted towards the next door she could see, only to find it locked equally fruitless.

His footsteps echoed again, faster this time. "Belle, I am quite bored, hungry for excitement" he declared, his voice huskier than before. 

She hated how he kept calling her name whenever he talked, it kept her on a dangerous edge that she violently wished she wasn't on.

"I just want to play." But I'm not. a rat, she would have loved to reply but she knew that would be stupid as it would expose her location.

Play? She did not want to play!

Tuning her ears to the sound of his voice, Daisy veered in the opposite direction. This was a nightmare. She wished to wake up soon! But despite her desperate self-reassurance, she grabbed a knife from the well-laid-out cutlery as she stumbled upon the dining hall.

Her body was shaking uncontrollably as the reality of her situation set in. This was her only escape day, if she let the beast catch her she would never get freedom anymore, which was devastating to think about, so this was her only opportunity to fight for her freedom and leave this dreadful mansion.

Belle kept tiptoeing to different doors and she pulled all of them as silently as she could in her frantic flight, her heart sinking a little more with each unyielding latch.

"Are you hiding well, Daisy? If I find you sooner, we'll play longer and you'll never leave me" He sounded a bit more impatient this time.

The sound of his footsteps quickened.

No!

Blind panic overrode her rational thoughts. She ran, heedless of her destination. Her instincts were screaming at her to flee, even as her mind struggled to come to terms with the chilling reality she was running for her life and if it got to the point where she was caught, she shuddered at the thought, she would have to fight.

Her breath was coming in ragged gasps, and she could hear the drumming of her footsteps mingling with the pattering of raindrops outside. The cold steel of the knife was a grim reminder of her dire situation as she continued her desperate flight, her heart hardening.

She raced to the end of one corridor, then turned right, then left, then left again. She was lost already and further losing track of where she was.

Belle laughed in time with a sudden crack of thunder outside, which made her scream involuntarily. Horror washed over her as her hand flew to her mouth. 

Oh no!

"Oh, I heard you, Belle, I'm coming for you?".

In a frenzy of desperation, despite wanting to leave the mansion, Belle found herself climbing up the grand staircase. Anywhere would do, she now needed to hide, She clung to the hopeful thought of finding an open door leading to a balcony or a window upstairs. But when she arrived at the top of the staircase, the chilling sight of a pair of glowing gold eyes in the darkness caused a scream to rip through her throat, echoing down the corridor.

Instinct propelled her to spin on her heels and sprint in the opposite direction. She found another staircase leading downward, and, though she felt like she was running in circles, the diversion might just be what she needed to prepare to fight back.

She had to find an escape route. The main entrance, perhaps, or... a sudden thought struck her. She recalled leaving the door the beast followed in. Without wasting another moment, she bolted towards it, with the knife securely clutched in her hand. She burst through the chamber doors, the frigid wind howling from the direction of the open terrace. She was on the right path. She had to get out.

Belle caught sight of the door, and a fleeting moment of relief washed over her as She sprinted towards the door, but just as she reached it, something hard and cold slammed into her, A low, dark chuckle echoed from behind her, freezing her blood. He was in the room with her.

She felt dizzy and nauseous, her ribs stuck and her breath caught in her chest, she shook her head clearing the fog in her brain, she almost rejoiced at the fact that the knife was still in her clutches. Now overwhelmed by panic, Daisy didn't care to look behind her and tried to yank the door open, but the rapid footfalls behind her told her she was too late. His icy grip locked around her wrists, pressing her against the big door with his body. 

"Oh... a knife," he noted, his chilling breath tickling her ear, raising goosebumps all over her skin.

Belle thrashed in his grip. "Let me go, you beast!" she demanded. But he was stronger, much more stronger than all the strength she could ever acquire, his strength was superhuman, entirely out of the ordinary.

His grip around her wrists tightened further, making her feel as though they were delicate flower petals being crushed under his iron grasp. The sharp chill of his breath against her neck was colder than the biting wind outside, his nose brushing against her in an almost intimate way. "I caught you, Belle, now you are all mine" This made her desperation triple as she tried to gain her wrist so she could use the knife.

She fought harder, refusing to relinquish the knife. His laughter, deep and unsettling, echoed in her ear. Her heart pounded wildly, like a frenzied drum. Every cell in her body screamed at her to run.

"Belle, La Belle Enfante" he cooed, his breath hot, hovering against her ear, causing her to shudder. "Why are you so frightened? We're just playing a game."

A game? No, this was her worst nightmare coming to life, this would determine how she would live the rest of her life and she didn't want to live it as a prisoner.

Belle's eyes widened as she caught his reflection in a mirror on their left side. His eyes which she had always avoided before now met hers in the mirror glowed gold, the edges sharp and predatory. His hairy face, tickled her, his presence living ominously in the dark room.

"You think you can escape me" he said, his voice as cold as the winter wind outside. "But all of here is my mansion" his voice sinister and cruel.

"Why are you doing this?" Belle managed to stammer out.

"Playing with you?" he retaliated, his orbs still holding hers in the mirror.

"Haunting me, taunting me and caging me" she defended

"Because I love you" he announced and this made Belle freeze.

Love was a complicated feeling she'd heard, messing with the heads of even the most hardened people to act differently, it affected every creature unfortunate to be overpowered and deceived by it, and now the beast that has been rumoured to be unable to fall in love is confessing to being in love with her, he just made her hate the emotion and she would not accept it, she would leave this mansion no matter, and will not breakdown now.

"I will never remain in this wretched house because you feel love"

"Oh, you will beca…" Belle cut him off with a sudden bite to his hairy wrist prompting him to let go of her wrist, giving her a perfect opportunity to swipe her knife for his throat but he was also fast and he dodged her attempt making it only graze his cheek as his eyes widen as he caught sight of the knife.

"A knife ?"

Belle sprinted in the other direction, escaping his attempt to grasp her in his arms, her breath catching In her throat as she heard him sprinting after her, her blue eyes temporarily going blurry as tears gathered in them, she stretched her left hand to find a wall to guide her but ended up pulling a curtain and losing her footing she fell knee first to the ground, the pain shooting straight to her lower neck, she screamed to relieve the pain clogging in the chest.

The curtains fell heavily on the candlestick and it caught a small fire that started to grow as the beast got to her, she threw at the beast a boot she caught sight of the minute her eyes cleared, slowing him again as he lost his footing, his head hitting a short entrance door to where she was.

Belle got up on her feet as quickly as her body could let her, the fire was spreading fast making her cough and blink multiple times, the only way to the back door she was now sure the knife could open was a few runs away and she swore mentally to reach it. The beast's grunt met her and she knew she had to step into the fire to run, as there was no way around it unless away from it, which the beast was occupying now.

She breathed in sharply, thinking about her poor father probably waiting for her in the storm because he felt undeserving to be in warmth and she couldn't allow that, before sprinting into the growing fire, the second she stepped into the fire her bare feet screamed along as she screamed to the top of her lungs, the pain from the fire melting the curtains on the ground was excruciating as they came in contact with her feet but she was determined to get away from her prisoner who was also getting ready to come after her with all his might this time, her gold locks beats form catching fire she got to the other side, she couldn't catch her breath before the beast took one strong leap across the fire, surprising a wail out of her chest.

She was tired but now angry.

Belle lifted her knife which unsurprisingly was still within her fingers' clutches, she waited for him to attack and just as he did, unlike the first time she aimed right with the knife penetrating straight into his neck.

The beast choked, a surprised growl leaving him angrily as he went down on his knees, his big palm trying to pull the knife out but Belle kicked his head sending him back down further, his hair touching the edge of the now raving fire, the thundering outside now dangerous and angrier, singing to the rhythm in the mansion, Belle smiled mischievously as she jumped on the beast.

Her knee meeting his abdomen, he chuckled darkly, mercilessly pulling her victory knife out of his neck, leaving a gaping hole that produced a gush of blood staining the floor, she angrily plunged the knife into his stomach earning her a groan that made her giggle again

"I told you I didn't want to stay in this…" She stretched her palm pulling out the knife in the process making the beast flinch surprisingly not dead yet.

"...But you wouldn't listen, you kept saying you want to play, why don't we play now, 'stab till you can't growl'? That's the name of my game"

She started to stab his hairy-clothed body as his shirt tore that was how his skin exhibited holes and lost blood, sending Belle into more laughter, her freedom was finally here.

The beast stopped moving, flinching or growling after her nth stab making her bow breath in pants her forehead covered in sweat she swiped her wrist over it.

Standing up, the door behind her swung open and Belle heard a small whisper behind her 

"Belle?"

"Father!" She squealed running into his arms with her bloodied hair and dripping knife that was now buried deep into his stomach.

"We came to save you" he choked out, his body sagging as blood escaped his mouth, his eyes wide with surprise and regret.

She looked behind him and truly the whole village was there but a bit too late because now she would enjoy ending whoever saw her action as unethical.

Despite the blood dripping out her nose and somewhere from her head, her eyes red and teary Belle's face lifted into a sinister smirk appeared on her small bloody face.

La Belle Enfante became La Beast.