The Dresden Files / Bob / #04. Imagination
Title: Tale as Old as Time
Author: Cyloran
Fandom: The Dresden Files (tv-verse)
Character: Bob and audience
Prompt: 04. Imagination
Word Count: 1,037
Rating: very G
Summary: Bob tells a bedtime story.
Notes: Inspired by (and borrowed from) the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast.
Disclaimer: The Dresden Files do not belong to me; just passing through.
Table: Here There be Ghosts
Hrothbert of Bainbridge had a voice perfect for oratory. At times warm and rich, it could also be cold and as sharp as a blade. His delicately accented baritone could convey a range of emotion both subtle and deliberate. Equally adept at rejoinder or incantation, his voice was a tool that he wielded with deft precision.
It also made him an exceptional storyteller.
"Once upon a time there lived a very spoiled and selfish young prince…"
"Prince what?" asked five year old Malcolm who sat on the edge of his slightly too-tall bed, small legs dangling over the edge.
"Prince who," Bob corrected his audience. "The Prince is a person, not a thing."
"But prince who?" the boy persisted. "What's his name?"
"It is merely Prince."
"Mal's right," said his sister. "He should have a name. Everyone has a name, don't they?"
"A reasonable assumption," Bob conceded. "Very well, my dear. You decide what we shall call him."
"His name's Bob."
The ghost arched an eloquent eyebrow. "Perhaps another name would be more appro--"
"His name's Prince Bob," she said with a decisive nod of her head, blonde curls bobbing.
And that, as they say, is that, thought their storyteller with wry amusement. "Very well, Susan. Prince Bob it shall be. Now then, if I may continue the tale? Good. One cold winter's night, an old beggar woman came to his castle and offered him a single red rose in return for shelter. Repulsed by her ugliness, the Prince-"
"Prince Bob," Susan reminded him.
"Yes, of course. Prince Bob heartlessly turned her away." For the briefest moment, Bob paused to wonder why little Susan was so insistent upon naming the selfish and haughty prince after himself. He felt a twinge of hurt at the comparison but deftly kept it from his tone and expression as he continued the tale. "The old woman warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for true beauty is found only within. But again he dismissed her."
Susan leaned over to her little brother and said, "That was a mistake."
"Indeed it was," Bob agreed, "For suddenly before his eyes the old woman turned into a beautiful Sorceress. Realizing his folly, the Prince fell to his knees and begged her forgiveness. But it was too late! With a wave of her wand, the Sorceress cast a spell upon the castle and transformed the Prince into a hideous Beast!"
"I wouldn't need a wand," Susan insisted. "I'd have used my hands because wands and staves can be taken away."
"You would have done neither, my young enchantress," replied Bob with a stern expression. "Or have you already forgotten what I have taught you about the Seven Laws of Magic?"
"I know! I know!" Malcolm waved a hand as he bounced up and down on the mattress. "It's the second one, right? Don't change anyone into frogs and stuff."
"Thou shalt not transform others. Correct and well said, Malcolm."
Delighted, the boy glanced over at his sister and stuck his tongue out at her.
She studiously ignored him. "What happened to Prince Bob?"
"He found himself no longer a prince, my lady, but a terrible Beast," Bob reminded her. "Leaving the Beast with a magic mirror and the red rose, the Sorceress laid this curse upon him: if he could learn to love someone and earn her love in return before the last rose petal fell, the spell would be broken. If not, he would remain a Beast forever."
"Forever?" repeated Malcolm. "That's like a really long time, right?"
"A very long time."
"Longer than Mommy and Daddy when they start kissing a lot?"
"A bit longer than that, yes," agreed Bob.
"Wow."
"Indeed. And so the years passed, one after the other, until the Beast lost all hope of redemption. For who could ever learn to love a Beast?"
"Daddy could," said Susan.
"Mommy, too," agreed Malcolm.
"True. Both of your parents have very big hearts and care greatly for others, no matter their shape or size. I do not doubt that, given time, they would see beyond the Beast's terrible visage to what lay within his heart and vanquish his curse, just as Beauty would."
Susan looked up at Bob with her father's eyes and a determined expression that was very much an echo of her mother. "Daddy will, too. You'll see."
"He will what, child?"
"Break the Curse," she said with complete and utter certainty.
"What curse are you ref-" Bob stopped, stunned. "My curse?"
"Well, d'uh!" she said with a childish roll of her eyes. What other Curse was there, after all, except the one that was most important (and hateful) to everyone within the Dresden household?
Only now did the seven year old's earlier insistence make a strange sort of sense to the ghost.
"Are you saying that I am the Beast to Harry's Beauty?"
That gave Susan a moment's pause; but only a moment.
"Well, Daddy said you were cursed by a lot of evil wizards who made you into a ghost forever and ever and some people think ghosts are pretty scary, so that's kind of like the Beast, right? And you had years and years without anyone to love you or you to love them and then Daddy came along - not Daddy now but Daddy when he was little, like Mal - and he didn't have anyone to love him or care for him either, but then you did, so you're not evil at all and if you love enough and are loved back by people the curse will break. That's what Daddy says." Susan took a great big gulp of air and then concluded decisively, "Daddy loves you and Mommy loves you and I love you-"
"And me! And me!" exclaimed Malcolm, still bouncing on the bed.
"-and Mal and Mister and Mouse love you, so that means the Curse is going to break and you'll be a Prince again."
Tears glistened silver blue on the old ghost's pale cheeks.
"But my dear little ones," said Bob at last when he could again find his voice. "I am already a prince, for your love has made me so."
Author: Cyloran
Fandom: The Dresden Files (tv-verse)
Character: Bob and audience
Prompt: 04. Imagination
Word Count: 1,037
Rating: very G
Summary: Bob tells a bedtime story.
Notes: Inspired by (and borrowed from) the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast.
Disclaimer: The Dresden Files do not belong to me; just passing through.
Table: Here There be Ghosts
Hrothbert of Bainbridge had a voice perfect for oratory. At times warm and rich, it could also be cold and as sharp as a blade. His delicately accented baritone could convey a range of emotion both subtle and deliberate. Equally adept at rejoinder or incantation, his voice was a tool that he wielded with deft precision.
It also made him an exceptional storyteller.
"Once upon a time there lived a very spoiled and selfish young prince…"
"Prince what?" asked five year old Malcolm who sat on the edge of his slightly too-tall bed, small legs dangling over the edge.
"Prince who," Bob corrected his audience. "The Prince is a person, not a thing."
"But prince who?" the boy persisted. "What's his name?"
"It is merely Prince."
"Mal's right," said his sister. "He should have a name. Everyone has a name, don't they?"
"A reasonable assumption," Bob conceded. "Very well, my dear. You decide what we shall call him."
"His name's Bob."
The ghost arched an eloquent eyebrow. "Perhaps another name would be more appro--"
"His name's Prince Bob," she said with a decisive nod of her head, blonde curls bobbing.
And that, as they say, is that, thought their storyteller with wry amusement. "Very well, Susan. Prince Bob it shall be. Now then, if I may continue the tale? Good. One cold winter's night, an old beggar woman came to his castle and offered him a single red rose in return for shelter. Repulsed by her ugliness, the Prince-"
"Prince Bob," Susan reminded him.
"Yes, of course. Prince Bob heartlessly turned her away." For the briefest moment, Bob paused to wonder why little Susan was so insistent upon naming the selfish and haughty prince after himself. He felt a twinge of hurt at the comparison but deftly kept it from his tone and expression as he continued the tale. "The old woman warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for true beauty is found only within. But again he dismissed her."
Susan leaned over to her little brother and said, "That was a mistake."
"Indeed it was," Bob agreed, "For suddenly before his eyes the old woman turned into a beautiful Sorceress. Realizing his folly, the Prince fell to his knees and begged her forgiveness. But it was too late! With a wave of her wand, the Sorceress cast a spell upon the castle and transformed the Prince into a hideous Beast!"
"I wouldn't need a wand," Susan insisted. "I'd have used my hands because wands and staves can be taken away."
"You would have done neither, my young enchantress," replied Bob with a stern expression. "Or have you already forgotten what I have taught you about the Seven Laws of Magic?"
"I know! I know!" Malcolm waved a hand as he bounced up and down on the mattress. "It's the second one, right? Don't change anyone into frogs and stuff."
"Thou shalt not transform others. Correct and well said, Malcolm."
Delighted, the boy glanced over at his sister and stuck his tongue out at her.
She studiously ignored him. "What happened to Prince Bob?"
"He found himself no longer a prince, my lady, but a terrible Beast," Bob reminded her. "Leaving the Beast with a magic mirror and the red rose, the Sorceress laid this curse upon him: if he could learn to love someone and earn her love in return before the last rose petal fell, the spell would be broken. If not, he would remain a Beast forever."
"Forever?" repeated Malcolm. "That's like a really long time, right?"
"A very long time."
"Longer than Mommy and Daddy when they start kissing a lot?"
"A bit longer than that, yes," agreed Bob.
"Wow."
"Indeed. And so the years passed, one after the other, until the Beast lost all hope of redemption. For who could ever learn to love a Beast?"
"Daddy could," said Susan.
"Mommy, too," agreed Malcolm.
"True. Both of your parents have very big hearts and care greatly for others, no matter their shape or size. I do not doubt that, given time, they would see beyond the Beast's terrible visage to what lay within his heart and vanquish his curse, just as Beauty would."
Susan looked up at Bob with her father's eyes and a determined expression that was very much an echo of her mother. "Daddy will, too. You'll see."
"He will what, child?"
"Break the Curse," she said with complete and utter certainty.
"What curse are you ref-" Bob stopped, stunned. "My curse?"
"Well, d'uh!" she said with a childish roll of her eyes. What other Curse was there, after all, except the one that was most important (and hateful) to everyone within the Dresden household?
Only now did the seven year old's earlier insistence make a strange sort of sense to the ghost.
"Are you saying that I am the Beast to Harry's Beauty?"
That gave Susan a moment's pause; but only a moment.
"Well, Daddy said you were cursed by a lot of evil wizards who made you into a ghost forever and ever and some people think ghosts are pretty scary, so that's kind of like the Beast, right? And you had years and years without anyone to love you or you to love them and then Daddy came along - not Daddy now but Daddy when he was little, like Mal - and he didn't have anyone to love him or care for him either, but then you did, so you're not evil at all and if you love enough and are loved back by people the curse will break. That's what Daddy says." Susan took a great big gulp of air and then concluded decisively, "Daddy loves you and Mommy loves you and I love you-"
"And me! And me!" exclaimed Malcolm, still bouncing on the bed.
"-and Mal and Mister and Mouse love you, so that means the Curse is going to break and you'll be a Prince again."
Tears glistened silver blue on the old ghost's pale cheeks.
"But my dear little ones," said Bob at last when he could again find his voice. "I am already a prince, for your love has made me so."