The mob had dispersed now, scared back by the Beast's loyal servants. Maria leaned over the injured, heaving body of the Beast, the rival for her affections having fallen to his death from the castle rooftops after stabbing the Beast fatally in the back. The blood that pooled beneath him was thinned by the gently-falling rainwater, his torn cloak spread out haphazardly, his shirt and pants torn from his battle with Marrek. Bright amber eyes that once burned with ferocity were now calm and serene, set on her face. He tried to breathe despite the searing pain in his back, his ears lowered.

"You came back..." The Beast said, gently pulling a few soaked locks out of her eyes. The joy of seeing her face again was almost enough to anesthetize the pain.

"Of course I came back!" Maria replied, worry in her voice over his wound. "I couldn't let them... Oh, this is all my fault! If only I'd come here sooner!" She teared up but tried her best to keep her composure in the face of this event.

"Maybe it's better this way," The Beast whispered solemnly. He wasn't worthy of her, he had let her go to find someone deserving out of his own sheer love for her.

"Don't talk like that! We're together now..." Maria denied him tearfully, her hand on his chest as she tried to convince herself he would make it. "Everything's going to be fine, you'll see."

"At least I got to see you... one last time..." The Beast stated contently, a smile upon his maw. One large paw went up to her soft, beautiful face, cupping her cheek in the most loving and gentle way possible. A smile spreads over his weary features at the sight of her simple, natural beauty. As his the last of his life ebbed away, he dropped his paw, his head falling back as his eyes closed softly.

"No...!" Maria leaned over him, cradling his head and caressing his long mane as he lay lifeless.

"Please! Please don't leave me!" The Furret clung to his massive chest, sobbing in the rain. She didn'td want to believe this was happening, not now. As tears fell from her eyes, she whispered shakily to him between gasps.

"...I love you."

Meanwhile, Raiga, Cody and Rika, the Beast's faithful servants who were transformed along with the beast into a clock, a chandelier and a teapot respectively, watch as the final petal of the Beast's rose falls, meaning his time was up. They all look down, saddened that all hope was now lost.

Suddenly, a beam of light fell from the skies near the Beast. Then second, a third, a fourth, soon a storm of light encircled him and Maria, who pulled back from him when she noticed what was happening. While a magical force lifted the Beast's body up, wrapping him in his cloak, a fog of light shrouded him. Maria and the servants watched with anticipation, speechless as he begins to transform. His large paws became slender, gentle hands. His body mass shrank from a beastly build to a slender but well-built physique. Digitigrade footpaws became simple plantigrade feet. Finally, his hair went from a wild, unkempt mane to long, well-kept blonde locks and his face shifted from a rough, monstrous one to that of a handsome, rugged young Flareon.

As the metamorphosis ended, the Beast, now back to his original form as Prince Leon, slowly floated back to the ground, his now over-sized cloak draped over him. Maria hesitantly approached, but stopped herself when she saw him rise to his feet. As he stood, back to her, he looked at his arms and hands, realizing the curse had been broken. He turned back to her, lips forming a smile, his hands moving to take her hands in his. Maria gave him an odd look, not recognizing him at first.

"Maria..." He said, his voice having lost its roughness and now matched his handsome appearance, full of joy that everything really would be fine. "It's me!"

Maria peered at him searchingly, skeptical as she leited a hand to touch his long blond hair, then saw his eyes; the same gentle, loving amber eyes as the Beast. She knew then that it really was him, returned to his true form. Her face lit up and her arms slid around his neck.

"It is you!" She exclaimed happily, her expression softening as her eyes locked onto Leon's. Slowly, the two leaned closer to one another until their lips met in a soft, gentle kiss of true love. Beauty had softened the Beast's heart, and Beast had won the Beauty's.

---

While watching Beauty and the Beast together, Leon and I decided that Maria and Leon work perfectly as Belle and Beast respectively. So, naturally, some art for that had to ensue. The little blurb was written by Leon for the piece yesterday.

I've actually been working on this piece for quite some time, on and off for over a month I believe, so it was really nice to get it done. I tried to make the piece feel Disney-esque with the colored lines and simple cell-shading, and also with the background, but I dunno how well I did on that. The background was a little hard, since I haven't done a decent one in ages, but I'm relatively happy with the outcome of it and the whole piece in general.

Enjoy~