He doesn't get to have heart to hearts with his staff about Belle, he is woefully on his own. Everything about the curse is designed to terrify and punish him and this rendition of it makes his punishment so much heavier. For the Beast his servants are living statues, haunting him, moving only when his gaze isn't fully on him. What if the charming rendition of the curse that Belle experienced was only for her eyes, talking candles, a clock with a face. like what if the Prince and Gaston had once been friends, their vain and cruel personalities making them befitting companions. Most of the tale is a flashback, with interesting ideas. This story belongs to the Beast, and Belle only makes brief appearances in the beginning and skirting along the edges. This isn't just one instance of him refusing shelter to a haggard beggar woman. By the time the curse takes its hold on him you can understand why. What this retelling does is really dive into the Prince's demeanor, provides a consistent pattern of selfishness and cruelty. Most of the time the beginning of this tale is glossed over, the enchantment and the curse itself briefly acknowledged in abstract. What I like is that THE BEAST WITHIN by Serena Valentino didn't change that factor, but expanded upon it in intriguing ways. It's about how the damsel does the most important kind of saving, the saving of a soul and a heart, how sometimes a Prince needs rescuing too. For the most part, interpretations of Beauty and the Beast normally stick to making the story Belle's. Perception is everything in a tale, the view from which you observe the plot unfolding makes all the difference in the world.

The beast within by serena valentino