Beast: A new leash on life?

We all know the story, Belle a humble Village girl dares to brave the castle of the fabled Beast, who in turn falls in love with the misunderstood monster, which physically reforms him to his previous human state. Happy ever after.

"You can't polish a turd!" Exclaims Belle's eccentric father, Maurice. "He may have learned to love and care while in his hairy state, but how long did you think it would last after his transformation?"

When I was commissioned for this series I didn't know where or who to start with, There I was, my desk filled with research. Then my 6 year old daughter came in and decided for me, "Do Beauty and the Beast dad, it's a nice story and will make your readers happy".

Children are naive.

However she did give me the idea to look into the file more extensively. Rumors had circulated that there was trouble in paradise, Beast out all night, Belle in the castle alone going through several bottle of wine a day. I booked a flight to France that night.

Upon offending locals with my broken French I found my way to the small village. It was typical, full of life, interesting people and beautiful buildings. I found my way to a bar upon arrival and sat down to absorb the culture before I did any work, however, work had other plans. In the corner a short robust man was yammering on about "That bloody piss ant!" It didn't take a skilled journalist to recognize this man, it was Maurice, Belle's father. He agreed to an interview.

"It was all happy for the first few days, Grand dinners and romantic ballroom dances, but soon Beast fell in love with someone else, himself." Then it was true. "Soon as that bastard went outside and people didn't run away at the sight of him he was cocky as anything, buying new suits, spending all night in bars, going to parties. I wouldn't of minded so much if he'd taken Belle with him."

I then pressed Maurice on the matter of Belle, "You gotta understand, she's a sensitive girl, he tore her heart out, she sits alone now, sure she got the castle in the settlement, dog breath doesn't care though, he's got his apartments all over."

I saw Maurice had said enough, we parted ways and I searched for Beast. My contacts told me he'd be at a party in Paris, So I caught a flight there. I used my Press Status to get into the party and saw him, He was well dressed, well groomed and well and truly drunk. I finally got through to him, There he was, a woman on each arm, one with a bottle of wine and the other with grapes "Beast, Beast, Can I have a moment of your time? Press." He look at me with bemusement. "I'll tell you what friend, Leave your number with Lumière here and we'll have a chin wag soon, but for now, there's to many lovely ladies to ignore."

I'd blown it, I gave my hotel number to Lumière but I knew he wouldn't call. The next morning I was woken up by the phone, "Sir, a call for you" To my surprise it was Lumière, in his thick accent he asked me if I still wanted to interview Beast, Agreeing instantly he told me a car would pick me up in 15 minutes.

I was whisked away to a luxury hotel and taken up to the penthouse suite. I sat in my seat and waited, a few minutes later Beast came in wearing nothing but a dressing gown, he lead two ladies to the door and kissed them before rubbing his hands together and greeting me. After some Croissants and Coffee we got into it.

"You have to understand my dear friend the woman was baron, all she wanted to do was read and sing, I've just spent 10 years as a monster, I couldn't even hire out a 10 francs hooker in that state, and she thinks I want to ballroom dance?!" Despite everything I've learnt about modern men and how we should be I didn't dislike Beast, he was extremely charming and just had a way with words. "So, after the 3rd day of her waking up and singing to get woodland critters to dress her I was tired, So I asked Lumière show me a few digs. When I get back she's been on the wine, You see she makes out to be the poor little victim but the woman has a problem, She'll say she went into the West Wing (Which was strictly forbidden) out of curiosity, but she went in there looking for more booze my good man." The tale got more interesting. "I came home and the place smelt like a vineyard, So I said "that's it Belle, Have the castle, have the retarded animals, I don't care, I'm out.""

"Did she care though? again no, She was Happy to get the castle, sure when people see her she puts on the sad face, but really, she's just happy to have the property."

A few minutes later after talking about the football Beast wrapped up some of the food in a hamper and gave it to me an politely asked me to leave due to him having a doctors appointment.

I came out with a different perspective, Was Beast the vain, uncaring party boy who Maurice described? Perhaps, However, how can we judge a man who was called a monster for ten years.

Belle was unable to reach, however she's in negotiations to host a property development show.