Her Master Mephisto (Beauty & The Beast Fanfiction)

Chapter 1

Haunting, mournful singing could be faintly heard from the small cottage located at the fringes of an otherwise prosperous village. In contrast to the bustling of vendors yelling out their wares and locals competing for the best produce, this house looked dark and isolated like it was not welcome in the vibrant community. The singing, though soft, was beautiful. It spoke of sorrow and hope all at once. One could imagine a being of rare qualities just from the soulfulness felt from the voice of the young girl at the basement window. Her name was Allura, meaning beauty; like her name, she was incredibly beautiful.

She was also a prisoner.

Her father was a cruel and viscious man. He got his pleasure from torturing the sweet and gentle girl with a lack of freedom and made her a servant in his household. Allura's mother died many years ago leaving her alone at the mercy of her father. He drank and became violent when angry, which was often. This made Allura almost happy to be able to stay behind her locked door. Solace was hers in the plants, flowers and trees that she nurtured to life, even with the little light shining through the basement. The times she was allowed out to cook and clean she also strangely treasured. Feeling the earth beneath her bare feet picking food from the garden, feeding the animals, holding her arms up to the sky she would spin gracefully in pure pleasure to see the sun and or the moon and stars at night. She sensed magic in the air. The very presence of life in nature ensured she never truly felt lonely.

Her gifted touch nourished the animals and even the flowers and leaves swayed towards her when she entered the room almost as if she was their mother. Allura often sang to them and lovingly gave her energy and devotion. It seemed they adored her in return. Despite being imprisoned in a life of drudgery and service, she was liberated in her own mind and space, always free to dream and imagine a future of dreams alive with possibility.

The people in town pretended to be blind to her present situation, they did not care. The family in that cottage were always judged as odd and they were avoided as if the villagers would be tainted just by being in the presence of such wretchedness.

One day her father yelled out to Allura, "I'll be gone for a few days to get me grog and supplies as the stinking townspeople have run out of charity for a poor person like me. Don't be makin' any noise ya' hear."

Hanging her head in futile despair, she replied, "Yes, papa."

She could hear him stomping through the front door and leaving on the only horse they had; a poor beast driven hard and ready to retire or die, whichever relief came first. Sighing with resignation, she kept singing to what she imagined were real friends in the story books, the few she owned. Her father, being too ignorant to read, never realised her intelligence, just as much as he was blind to the grace of her spirit. The dismal cur had nothing pleasant to notice in life itself let alone in a daughter he was supposed to be responsible for. It was her fault for being a burden and worthless to him. If she were a boy she could at least work and help earn coins for the much needed ale. What was he supposed to do with a stupid, no good female child?

The winter was cold and after travelling for some time, the father was caught unawares in a snow storm. The storm quickly turned into a howling blizzard. He was so cold and scared for his life. He sought salvation at a nearby property that looked like a wreck of a castle. Knocking on the door with urgency, he demanded to be let in. The shaking servants were hesitant to oblige. The father kept knocking loudly and eventually started kicking the door in righteous rage from being denied. Suddenly, a roar could be heard from behind the door even more terrifying than the storm. Blinded by the snow and darkness, he was squinting when the door was flung open. Revealed were a pair of glowing red eyes and a large body mass of a strange beast like shape hidden under a black cape.