This may become part of a whole series based around the same theme. I was pondering the standard female characters in myth (and Disney movies), which by one count number three: the maid/princess, the mother/queen, and the crone/sorceress. Characters tend to stay in these roles, although by the end of the story you usually have the first step in a journey from maid to mother.

But those crone/sorceresses have to come from somewhere! Traditionally I suppose they are a further possible development from the mother/queen stage, but I found the idea of a transition straight from princess to sorceress a really fascinating idea.

Belle from 'Beauty and the Beast' just leapt to mind as the most obvious candidate. I have ideas in mind for Jasmine (Aladdin) and Aerial (the Little Mermaid) that I may draw later.

So, in this version of the story, things turn out a little differently. Belle already has a castle full of non-human minions and a great big scary monster at her command. As the townspeople come to 'kill the beast!', she finds a book of magic in the castle's great library. In defending her new home, she will have to kill or be killed... and thus take the first steps towards becoming a fully fledged sorceress.

Merry Christmas!