Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. And as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there. Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his 21st year. If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?
"Where's Tony? He's late and he has to get his make-up done!" A shorter woman demanded from the center of a well lit room.
"Bella, relax, he's just around the corner. The show can start a few minutes late. This is Broadway after all." A mousy woman with her red hair in a tight bun said, tucking a cell phone into her pocket.
"I don't care, there's a critic coming to this show and so help me if Tony ruins it." The shorter brunette woman said, turning to look at herself in the mirror. She pinched at non-existent fat and smoothed down the material of her white tanktop. A nervous habit of her's.
The other woman moved over to her and looked at her from the mirror. "Breathe, would you like more coffee or something to eat?" She asked, summoning a crew hand that had just come in to tell them once Beast's make-up was done Belle's would be next up.
Bella ran a hand through her hair and paced around some. "Fresh lemon tea. One sugar packet and a slice of lemon on the side." She mumbled, looking at the man who'd just been allowed to enter the room.
The crew member spoke quickly but didn't look at Bella. He'd already learned about her getting angry at crew members. "The make-up crew will be here soon and the costumes that were cleaned are going to be brought over in a few minutes, Ariel." He said to the red headed woman.
She nodded and smiled. "Good. If you're not too busy could you go get that tea, please?" She was pleasant about it but they both knew it needed done and Ariel couldn't do it. She was one of those select people who could train the true beast of the show. "And ask Mike if he talked to the light booth about the spot lights. They seemed off on the earlier show." She added, wanting to do something worthwhile if she was sending someone off to do a stupid job for Bella.
With a nod, the crew member left and Bella spoke up soon after. "Oh, Ariel. This critic could make me or break me. Well, I've already made it but he could take it away." She said as she plopped down on her make-up chair. She brought herself closer to the mirror and wiped away some stray eyeliner from the last show. Sweat had removed the rest of it for her but she wanted to make sure everything was perfect for the make-up crew. Taking a make-up wipe from a nearby container, she started wiping away any other excess from her face.
"Bella, you'll do fine. This morning's show was quite amazing. You always get better after the first go around of the day." She spoke confidently as she seated herself in a chair near the door. She was an old member of the crew but after Bella's name hit it big, she'd gotten the 'privilage' of being Bella's personal assistant. In reality, Bella wanted her off the crew but not fired because she liked her. It had given her a pay raise so she didn't complain and the work wasn't that bad. It was just the attitude the girl had sometimes. That had even gotten better toward her since she'd started. She missed being a part of the crew but said nothing of it to anyone.
"Sure." Bella mumbled. The make-up crew cutting off anymore conversation.
[[Woot, I stole the beginning of the post from the beginning of 'Beauty and the Beast'. I figured we should start it before she freaks at a crew member but that will come soon.]]
