Chapter Text
Once upon a time, there was a cruel warden who ruled over an isolated prison. The prison was his kingdom and he was a king who ruled with an iron fist. Under him, the prison was not a place of rehabilitation, but one of torment and suffering. Even the guards lived in fear of his tyrannical rule.
One day, a young woman arrived at the gates of the prison. She arrived in a snowstorm, shivering and cold. The guards, taking pity on the poor girl, brought her inside. The girl thanked them profusely, promising that they would be rewarded for their kindness.
However…when the warden heard of this, he was incensed. They were not a charity, he proclaimed. He demanded they turn the girl out again. The girl pleaded and the guards protested, but the warden stood firm. It was then that the girl revealed herself as a faerie of great power. And she was none too pleased with the warden’s disrespect.
As he stood trembling before her, the faerie promised the warden she would spare him the punishment she had planned, if he would only apologize. The warden immediately did, but the faerie could tell his words were false and that he was only trying to save his skin. She gave him one more chance to right his mistake. And once more, the warden failed her test. Furious, the faerie promised retribution, preparing a powerful curse to punish the warden for his cruelty.
The warden, ever the coward, chose to flee rather than face the consequences of his actions. And so, the curse fell upon the poor inhabitants of the prison. Both the prisoners and prison staff found themselves transformed and trapped within the prison by an enchanted snow storm. Unable to remedy their situation, the inhabitants of the prison had no choice but to remain, trying to carve out whatever life they could with what they had. Some were able to break the curse laid upon them, but others lost themselves to their beasthood.
This is how things remained for ten long years
Until… one day… new strangers appeared at the fortress.