Blood for a Rose

In the heart of the Beast
There is a hunger for Blood,
A love for the Rose,
And a weakness for Beauty.

Prologue

The Prince was growing too arrogant. Every aspect of his person exuded his spoiled upbringing. He dressed in the finest clothes, stood erect, and never met the eyes of those lower than him. It did not escape the old witch that he never looked at her. He looked as though he barely tolerated standing in the low, dark room beside the shelves filled with old jars and dust.

When the girl came through the door, his eyes narrowed. He touched her cheek with a sniff of disdain. "Is that all you can do?" He asked the old witch, his jaw held straight and superior. She stiffened and bared her teeth at him.

"She is the most beautiful woman in the land, milord, and my daughter." Her voice was high and cackling, her hands rubbing the pure black petals of the rose in her hand with sharp yellow nails. Her daughter's eyes were lowered to the ground, for she dared not look up at the handsome prince.

He shook his head, moving gold-brown hair against his forehead. "I want better." He scoffed. "I've seen better." He dismissed the girl with a wave of his hand.

A blush spread over the girl's cheeks, and her blue eyes grew angry. With a toss of her blonde hair, she dared to look at him. Her gaze was full of defiance, but she said not a word as she left the room obediently. The door slammed as she exited.

The old witch shoved her face close to that of the Prince. Inwardly, she scoffed at him as he cringed away from her with distaste, and his eyes remained aloof, staring somewhere above her grey hair. "Very well, my Prince, I will give you what you want." Her voice held threat, but the Prince seemed to ignore it.

With a small bell that tinkled lightly, the witch summoned in the last beauty. She far outshone the witch's daughter, her fiery red hair curling wildly about her face, her thick eyelashes dark, her catlike green eyes smouldering. A seductive curve pressed her lips upward in a flirtatious smile and she met the Prince's lustful gaze with one of her own.

"Does she please you, Prince?" The old witch grinned toothlessly. With a short, annoyed nod, the Prince tossed a bag of coins to the witch and took the woman's arm. She pressed herself against him, feeling him shudder with desire, and looked back at the witch with a smile. The witch tossed her the rose and whispered. "Midnight."

A/N: So, thus begins the revision. I'll be sure to include a note at the beginning of the chapter if it does not change from the old version, for those of you who have read the old one... otherwise, it's different.