Unfortunately, it was turning out to be a discouragingly easy triumph. He didn’t just want to win. He wanted to defeat Belle. He wanted it to be her and him, struggling for victory. And when he emerged on top, he wanted her to know that he’d done it. Just him. The lawyers and the judges were spoiling the whole contest.
“I submit that Prince Avenant coming here, at such personal risk, proves that he should be wearing the crown.” Letty continued. “His heart is forever with the welfare of the Northlands. He has been supportive and open throughout this process. He’s shown deference to the wisdom of the court and has only the deepest concern for his citizens.”
Belle gave an audible scoff.
Even Avenant had to squint at little at Letty’s hyperbolic sentimentality. But, the three ancient judges seemed moved by the idea and that was all that mattered.
“All we want is fairness.” Letty concluded. “This is about Prince Avenant’s legacy. The palace she took from him?” Another gesture towards Belle. “That was the place where he was born. Where his parents lived and died. Where he should have been allowed to rule, as his ancestors have for centuries.” She sadly shook her head. “This case is really about bigotry. He was driven out because he was labeled Bad and Bad folk can’t rule according to these antiquated laws.”
There were Good folk and Bad folk in the Four Kingdoms. The Good were in charge. They always had been. Assured of their moral superiority, they smugly waited for their happily-ever-afters and relished the fact that they were genetically blessed. For so long, they’d believed they would always be in control.
But now the Bad folk were fighting back. They outnumbered the Good and they were beginning to assert their power. Social change was sweeping the Four Kingdoms. These ancient wizards were terrified of what might happen if they tried to keep Avenant from the Icen Throne. The protests would be all over the news. Bad folk would shut down the Northlands with strikes and picket lines. Letty would make sure of it. And the more violent factions might take things even further. The judges didn’t want radical trolls and goblins firebombing their houses.
Avenant was about to be the first Bad folk in history legally granted a crown. After a lifetime of being told he wasn’t Good enough, it was finally going to happen. His parents would’ve been shocked. They’d weaned him on the idea that he’d have to hold the Northlands by force in order to sustain the family legacy. That was all they cared about. Keeping the line intact. Maintaining power. They’d expected him to rule through pain and fear and tyranny. It was how they’d trained him. What they’d hardened him for, through countless insults and beatings.
And closets.
Avenant’s hand clenched against the table. Remembering his parents was always a bad idea. The Beast snarled in agreement.
“Prince Avenant had his whole life stripped away.” Scarlett insisted. “He was called a beast and plotted against. Because of prejudice, he was driven from his lands. He’s the victim in the story.”
Belle opened her mouth to argue that point, but her lawyer quickly clamped a palm on her arm, urging her to keep silent.
“For so many years, we’ve branded people Good and Bad, without really seeing into their hearts.” Letty said passionately. “All that’s changing, now. We’re finally realizing that everyone is born both Good and Bad. We can all live in equality and peace, if we can just move on from the past. Maybe Prince Avenant has made mistakes, but he’s paid for them. He’s forgiven everyone who plotted his downfall and we ask that they forgive him in return. All he wants to do is come back to the Northlands.” She placed a hand over her heart. “Please. Let him come home.” Letty headed back over to sit beside him at their table.
The courtroom was a cavernous space, with white stone walls and a gallery of busts depicting dead judges lining the perimeter. Through the windows, Avenant could see snow falling and blanketing the kingdom in another foot of frost. His homeland wasn’t called the “Northlands” because of its sunny climate. He absently used his powers to create patterns on the chilly glass. Controlling the ice always calmed him. He wished he was standing in the cleansing blizzard, rather than stuck in some depressing little room.
Claustrophobia was a personal weakness that he worked tirelessly to hide from the world.
“Passable job, counselor.” Avenant lowered his voice so only Scarlett could hear. “Your speech got a tad melodramatic at the end, but I think they were dumb enough to buy most of it.”
“Shut-up and keep looking un-beastly.” Letty whispered back. “God, it’s a lucky thing this is a private hearing and they made Marrok stay outside. No way could he have kept a straight face, listening to me praise you so effusively.”
“The wolf wants me out of the Enchanted Forest.” Scarlett’s True Love had made his position crystal clear on that front. “He’d be a character witness, testifying that I volunteered in soup kitchens and had donated both my kidneys to needy kittens, if that’s what it took to get me back to the Northlands.”
“Well, it would help your popularity if you weren’t always such a conceited jerk. Remember how you promised that, if I helped you, you’d work on being nicer? When is that going to start happening?”
“I don’t know how to be nice.” Avenant glanced to the other side of the courtroom where Belle and her attorney conferred in heated tones. He felt a surge of satisfaction. “She’s going to blow it for herself.” He predicted. “She’s too angry to think rationally. It’s always been her downfall.”
“I just hope you know what you’re doing by antagonizing Belle.” Letty fixed him with a pointed look. “Even if you win the case, it doesn’t mean you win her. I’ve told you, there are much better ways to get a girl to pay attention than by pulling on her pigtails.”
“I’m after my kingdom, not that fucking usurper.”
“Right.” Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Attorney client privilege, Avenant. Just admit that you’re doing all this because Belle is your True Love. You want the woman, not some chilly throne.”
“Once I reclaim the Northlands, you’re invited to that treacherous librarian’s public execution on the castle steps. Then, you can see me get what I really want.”
He watched as Belle pushed her shiny brown hair behind her ears with a graceful sweep of her hands. She only did that when she was agitated. Even from across the room, he could sense the heat of her emotions. Warmth pooled in his lower body as he remembered the last time they were in this courthouse together. The sounds she’d made and the feel of her.
He told her there’d be a next time.
“I don’t believe in most of the distinctions between Good and Bad folk.” Scarlett murmured from beside him. “You know that. But, Good folk never recognize their True Loves as quickly as Bad folk do. Maybe it’s just an outcome of environment or maybe it’s a biological thing, but we both know it’s true. Marrok knew me right from the beginning. He said he looked at me and he just knew.”
Of course, the wolf had known. Avenant didn’t doubt that for a minute. A True Love was the ultimate prize. The one person you were destined for. If you found them, you’d won the game of life and Bad folk were never supposed to win. Traditionally, they were pariahs, excluded and oppressed. No one would ever give them a mate. Bad folk had to fight to claim what was theirs. As a survival mechanism, they’d developed a sixth sense when it came to identifying their True Love. Their instincts took over where faith left off.
They saw their other half and just… knew.
“Belle’s Good. She has no idea of your connection and you’re not giving her many reasons to discover it.” Letty pressed. “You’re mad at her for ignoring something she doesn’t even know is there.”
“I’m mad at her for a lot of reasons.”
“I’m telling you, this is the wrong way to win her over.” Letty made a face. “Better than a war would’ve been, granted, but still a terrible idea. Why don’t you try being nice to the girl?”
“She framed me, stole my kingdom, and had me sent to pri
son. Why should I even attempt to be nice?”
“Because… you long for Belle. I see it every time you look at her.”
Avenant ignored that. His gaze stayed locked on Belle even when she turned and caught him staring. Chocolate brown eyes met blue for a long moment, as if they were the only two people in the courtroom. As far as Avenant was concerned, they were. All the ceremony and spectators were just extraneous pieces on the board. It was always him versus Belle in their endless game.
“Don’t.” Belle hissed. “Just don’t do this.”
“Give me a reason not to.”
Her mouth thinned into a tight line. “What do you want?” Just the fact that she asked for terms told him she knew she was losing.
“Surrender.” It was what he’d always wanted from her.
“Not. happening.”
He arched a brow. “Think of the good of the kingdom. We could both live here in peace, if you just give in to the inevitable.”
“I will go live with the ogres under a bridge before I surrender to you.” She snarled.
She’d sounded the exact same way at their senior prom. Belle had been seventeen when she’d shoved him away and told him it would always and forever be no. Seventeen when she’d won the most important round. Everything since was bullshit.
Everything until now.
This was their ultimate showdown and he was going to walk away the champion.
Belle’s moronic lawyer was jabbering, again. The elf had created a poster of Avenant’s crimes and set it up on an easel, emphatically highlighting each charge with his laser pointer. Avenant was annoyed at the list. He could’ve filled up at least three of those boards. This entire enterprise was a farce.
In fact, Avenant was growing more and more certain that this strategy had been a mistake. Inside of him, the Beast paced restlessly. They both knew the victory would be hollow if he couldn’t defeat Belle one-on-one. It had to be just the two of them. Otherwise, she would never admit that he’d won. She’d keep fighting and fighting and fighting. Slipping through his fingers and refusing to surrender. She might even move away from the Northlands and then…
The door to the courtroom burst open and Lancelot swept in.
Dressed in a full suit of armor, the idiot looked like an idiot. His idiot blond hair and idiot chiseled jawline further contributed to his idiocy. The idiot cleft in his too pretty face and the idiot swagger to his too swaggering walk proclaimed to anyone watching that he was the biggest idiot in the kingdom. And, given the Northlands was full to bursting with idiots, that was quite a feat of idiotosity.
Avenant’s eyes rolled towards the ceiling. Just what he fucking needed. “Oh, here we go…”
“Do you know that very shiny man?” Scarlett whispered.
“Sadly, yes.” Avenant’s gaze slid over to Belle, who looked almost as appalled as he felt. “This is your fault.” He told her.
“He’s your cousin.” She hissed back.
“I object to these proceedings!” Lancelot proclaimed, the overhead lights bouncing off his helmet and causing half the room to squint against the glare. “Avenant is not fit to lead our glorious lands and this woman,” he swept a gauntleted hand at Belle, “is a pretender to the throne. As the next in line and a man among men, I should be granted the crown of the Northlands.”
Scarlett leapt to her feet. “Your honors, this is a private hearing. This person has no standing in…”
“Do we want someone Bad ruling us?” Lancelot interrupted passionately. The presumptuous ass strolled passed the gate at the front of the room like he had every right to be heard. “Do we want some book-selling female in charge of our lands?”
Belle’s mouth dropped open. “I have helped this kingdom achieve fiscal solvency for the first time in…”
“No!” Lancelot answered his own question, talking right over Belle’s outrage. “We need a man. Someone to take back our land from the women and the beasts.” He banged a fist against Avenant’s table. “A man born and bred for the hard task of being a monarch. A man with refinement and valor and innate Goodness, who will live in that castle and inspire his people to greatness.” He paused for dramatic effect. “And that man… is right here, gentlemen.” He spread his arms and waited for the applause.
Avenant sighed. He definitely should’ve skipped the lawsuit and gone with the bloodshed option.
“If I wasn’t supposed to be ruling the Northlands, why hasn’t the Icen Throne melted?” Belle challenged. “Obviously, the kingdom is still strong.”
There was a very simple reason why the Icen Throne accepted Belle as part of the royal line. Avenant could’ve explained it to her, but she wasn’t in the mood to listen. She had never been in the mood to listen.
“This is ridiculous.” Scarlett glowered at Lancelot. “I’m sure there are hundreds of random people in this kingdom who’d like to be king, but they’re not and they never will be. Are we supposed to listen to this…?”
“Actually, there are twenty-four.” One of the judges piped-up. “The court has received twenty-four separate petitions from citizens detailing why they believe they are the rightful heir to the Northlands.”
Avenant arched a brow at that news.
“My client is the rightful heir!” Scarlett insisted.
Belle jumped up again. “I ousted Avenant from the Northlands, fair and square. It’s mine by right of conquest! The last judge ruled it, right from where you’re sitting.”
“That ruling was a travesty!” Lancelot raged. “I am the last Good member of the royal family! I’m a knight and a hero. Plus, I’m the only one here with his own action figure. I deserve to be enthroned.”
“Nobody even bought that action figure!” Belle snapped. “They couldn’t give them away at the store.”
“They’re collectors’ items!”
The courtroom descended into chaos, everyone shouting over each other.
Avenant put his chin in his palm and considered his options. Lancelot’s arrival was actually a lucky break for him. A throne contested by many people allowed him more possibilities for victory. Once they opened that door, the judges couldn’t award the crown without hearing all their competing claims. Unless…
“We should have a contest of valor.” Avenant put in lazily. “That’s the traditional solution when the kingdom is in dispute. Who are we to question the wisdom of our ancestors?” He paused. “My ancestors.”
Scarlett’s head whipped around to gape at him. “What?” She sputtered. “Are you out of your mind?”
Avenant ignored her.
The judges’ ruling meant exactly nothing to him and Lancelot mattered even less than that. Avenant had no conscience and magical powers. He could’ve taken this land by force weeks ago if that’s all he desired. He could kill his cousin where he stood and smile as the social-climbing idiot bled out on the floor. He could walk out of the dreary courtroom the undisputed ruler of the Northlands.
But, he wanted so much more.
Belle’s chocolate eyes narrowed in his direction. They were the exact shade of warm cocoa. “You arrogant son-of-a-bitch. It’s never enough just to win, is it?”
Avenant glanced over at her. “Or maybe I just never tire of beating you.”
“I support this plan.” Lancelot volunteered in a loud tone. “Contests of valor are the way of men. They prove who is the strongest and the most fit to lead the women and other lesser folk.”
Scarlett stabbed a finger at him. “You shut-up. You too, Avenant.” She whirled back to face him. “They’re about to rule our way, dumbass! Why do you want to give them some crazy, obsolete alternative?”
“I’m magnanimous even in total victory.” His eyes stayed on Belle. “I propose we settle this once and for all. The winner will take everything and the loser will surrender… everything.” He arched a brow. “Unless you’re scared.”
Belle glared back at him. “Really? Are we challenging each other on the playground, again? You really think goading me will work?
”
Of course he did. The woman could never resist a dare. “I think I’m going to have everything that’s mine.” He told her truthfully. “It’s inevitable.”
“The last time you thought that, you wound up in a cell and I wound up in charge of the kingdom.”
Avenant’s teeth ground together at the reminder. “That only happened because I underestimated how far you’d go to win.”
She threw her hands up. “How in the world can you still blame me for what happened? Huh? It’s not my fault you were sent to prison.”
“Of course it’s your fault.” It infuriated him to remember how Belle had screwed him over. He never thought she’d go so far. She’d set him up. Even if she didn’t like him, she’d never deliberately hurt him before. He wasn’t hurt. Obviously. Nothing could hurt him. But, it did piss him off. “You cheated.”
“That’s preposterous. I wasn’t the one caught embezzling.”
“If I’d been embezzling, I wouldn’t have gotten caught.” He felt the Beast yanking at its leash and fought to hold it back. It was getting more difficult to stay in control. It worried Avenant what might happen when the monster finally got free and that only made him sharper. “You’re the one who changed the rules and made this into a blood sport, Belle. So fine. We’ll do it your way. From now on, we play the game full out.”
No matter what she did, Avenant would triumph. He knew that. It really was inevitable. Until now, his utter certainty in the eventual outcome had kept him sanguine about the back-and-forth nature of their encounters. Some days she won a skirmish and sometimes he did. But, in the end, he knew he’d have everything he wanted. Avenant was a patient man. However, being sent to jail for eight months made him seriously reconsider his timeline for victory.
Before, he’d been savoring the challenge. Now he just wanted his prize.
Deep inside, the Beast gave a low growl, its sights fixed on Belle.
Belle scowled at him, oblivious to the danger. “You’ve always played full out! What, I’m supposed to believe that you’ve been ruining my life all these years because you’re such a nice guy?”
Beast in Shining Armor (A Kinda Fairy Tale) Page 2