*soft gasp* Are these referencing other fairy tales? The gown of sunrise and gown of gold, I recognize that from the All-Kinds-of-Fur/Allerleirauh tales! And the hedgehog is a reference to Hans My Hedgehog, right? What other contracts has Beast had a hand in I wonder...?
Even as Beast hears these pleas. You can still see the emptiness and pain still inflicted inside him. His tragedy may seem little, but I kinda disagree considering what cost it took him. Its just as heavy on his heart/or his mind. As the rest that come with this enchantment/deal.
So LOVE the other fairy tale references here. Oh awesome! At the same time, poor Beast. Okay, we've seen enough suffering for him now...let's get on with the saving, right?
If that fountain was associated with granting the Beast's wish regarding the heart of a beast, and if the Beast has entered into the heart of the fountain, where he now appears to be sitting, then that is a logical place for some entity to detect as-yet-unfulfilled wishes.
But what entity has previously resided there, to grant wishes?...
Stories of wish-granting at a horrible price are sprinkled throughout many cultures and ages. I would guess that dear Beast still clings to his will, hence the clashing monologues.
I have long wondered at the Castle's agenda in driving the loyal Beast toward death after breaking his will. I am guessing that the black-box dialogue is the heartless magic of the castle, trying to make a heartless King to rule over it.
In the original tales a heartless prince learns to develop a heart; this sinister castle appears to be working in the opposite direction. Very reminiscent of Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens.
Crazy theory along the vein of the "heartless king." That was what his mother wanted, did you notice? She wanted him king no matter what he wanted. She wanted him to be her puppet, to show that blasted king that she was useful and that the son SHE RAISED would be on the throne no matter what may. I have wondered often if the castle magic was tied to her, if it was her consciousness maliciously dragging him around still somehow. I'm still leaning that way.
It's interesting - you've positioned him at the center of the spiderweb, but the thorny "manacles" around his paws make it clear that he's just as much a prisoner as those others who were also trapped, and whose memories remain around him in shredded snatches.
Oh gosh, the line "A vessel emptied of grief is emptied of compassion by the same measure" is worrying. Does that mean that the Beast was initially heartless in the contracts he oversaw (so the contractees received bad terms)? Or maybe that he ignored many of the pleas he heard? I do like the references to other fairy tales here (the reference to "Donkeyskin" is chilling, since it implies that the Beast helped an abuser in his goals, even though the Beast was a victim of child abuse himself), though I wonder why the spirit of the castle shaped the Beast in this way. Did it see compassion as useless in its dealings with mortals? As for "His little tragedy was nothing compared to the weight of the woes now spread before him"--while it's useful for the Beast to recognize that other people are suffering, too, it is dangerous to dismiss your own pain like that. It's not a competition, and saying your situation isn't as bad as those that others are facing is still a way of avoiding it.
