Beast in Shining Armor (A Kinda Fairy Tale)

by Cassandra Gannon

  Chapter Fourteen

  Avenant said I was trespassing and tore down the wall with me on it.

  I fell to the ground and it took weeks to put me back together, again. You can still see the cracks.

  Now, just hearing his name triggers post-traumatic stress.

  Testimony of Mr. Humpty Dumpty - The People of the Northlands v. Prince Avenant

  Belle hated this idea.

  She’d pretty much hated every idea Avenant ever had, but this one was probably his worst. “What if this passage is one way and you can’t get back through?”

  “Then, you won’t have to worry about being stuck with me as a True Love, anymore.” He sat down on the edge of the vortex and dangled his legs into the hole. They vanished beneath the mirrored surface, giving no clue as to what might be on the other side. “Good news. My feet haven’t been bitten off, yet. Whatever’s down there, it’s probably not sharks.”

  “That’s not funny.” She warily gazed into the reflective pool. “We should do this another way. I should be the one to go. We’ll keep the cord between us attached. Then, you can pull me back up.”

  He shot her a sideways look. “You’d trust me to do that?”

  “Yes.” She met his eyes. “I know you won’t let me go.” Avenant would never let her fall. She believed it without hesitation.

  Avenant studied her for a beat. “If something goes wrong, I trust you to pull me back up, too.” He finally decided. “So, I’ll go through and you stay on this end, ready to yank on the rope.”

  “I weigh less than you do. I’m not strong enough to haul you back. We don’t even know if the cord will hold you.” She gestured to the thin filament tying them together. “My way makes more sense.”

  “No.”

  “I’ll just look around and see if it’s safe. Ten seconds and you can pull me topside.”

  “No.” He wasn’t even considering the idea. “Stay here. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  “You’re an idiot. You just have to disagree with me, even when you know I’m right. This is why we lost the sixth grade scavenger hunt. I told you we should look for the pink flower first, but you were so damn sure you knew better.”

  Avenant was getting annoyed. “Trying to find the orange mailbox made more sense. There had to be more pink flowers than orange mailboxes.”

  “Except there weren’t and we came in second.” She arched a brow. “This time, why don’t you be smart and listen to me?”

  “You’re not going through that fucking hole, Belle! Give it up.” He sounded deadly serious.

  Thank God she didn’t have to listen to word he said.

  Belle flicked him off and stepped back through the rabbit hole. She heard his bellowed curse, but there wasn’t anything he could do.

  Belle tumbled into the abyss. Everything around her was blackness. She didn’t see a floor beneath her or walls surrounding her or anything else. It wasn’t just an absence of light. It was an absence of anything. The string connecting her to Avenant unraveled as she fell deeper into the hole, finally reaching the end of the spool. It jolted her to a stop so fast that Belle flipped upside down.

  “Shit!” She could see the vortex glimmering far overhead and nothing else. Belle spiraled her arms, trying to right herself. The knapsack slung over her shoulder slid forward to bang against the back of her head. Her phone fell out of the front pocket and she didn’t hear it hit the ground. Whatever she was dangling over was too deep.

  Goddamn it, she hated heights.

  She definitely should have let Avenant do this.

  Using her legs, Belle managed to use the cord to drag herself upright. It wasn’t particularly graceful, but at least she wasn’t poised to drop headfirst into oblivion, anymore. Somehow she got the pack unzipped in the dark and found the flashlight inside. Belle scanned the beam around and saw…

  …nothing.

  Just as she’d suspected, there was nothing to see. “Hello?” She called and her voice echoed off into the void.

  Yeah, she really, really hated this.

  Belle swallowed hard. There was no way to tell what was underneath of her. This pit might go on forever or maybe the bottom was only three feet down. If Avenant didn’t pull her out, she’d be stuck in the blackness with no idea how far this abyss went. Panic started pounding in her head. She looked up again, her hand tightening on the cord. Maybe she should try climbing…

  Avenant started hauling her towards the surface before she could even finish the thought.

  Belle smiled in relief. He was going to get her out of there. Thank God. She’d known this plan would work. No way could she have lifted him as easily as he was lifting her. She was right and he was wrong, as usual. The sooner he realized that, the happier their relationship would be.

  She still couldn’t believe she was even thinking about Avenant and the word “relationship” in the same sentence, but what the hell else could she do?

  They were True Loves.

  The reality of it hit Belle fully and she felt kind of dizzy as she accepted the truth. Avenant wasn’t going to sign a scroll to dissolve their bond. And angry as she was, Belle wasn’t certain she wanted to, either. Having a True Love was like winning a huge prize. The biggest. Giving that up without even trying seemed like quitting. She’d never been a quitter.

  Not when there was a chance of having something… amazing.

  “You’re a reckless fucking idiot!” Avenant raged as she cleared the top of the hole. “What the hell where you thinking?” He grabbed hold of her arm and dragged her back to solid ground. “What if the cord had snapped, huh? Did you even consider…?”

  Belle cut him off. “Do you want to hear what’s down there or not?”

  “I don’t give a shit what’s down there!” He scanned her face and body, looking for injuries. “Every decision you make is emotional, you know that? When you’re mad, you don’t think more than two goddamn seconds into the future.”

  “Because you’re such a calm and logical guy, right?”

  “I try to be. You make it hard, though. You always have.” He ran a hand over her hair, his voice still dark. “Are you okay?” His thumb brushed the curve of her cheek. “Are you sure you weren’t hurt?”

  It was impossible to be mad when he was so gentle with her. “I’m sure.” Belle hesitated. “I knew you weren’t going to abandon me, but it was still pretty damn reassuring to feel you lifting me skyward. I don’t like heights.”

  Gentle or not, he was pissed. “Well, I didn’t really have much of a choice, did I?”

  “Nope. Not now that I’ve ruined you for other women.”

  Blue eyes slammed into hers like he couldn’t believe she’d just said that.

  Belle couldn’t believe it either. The words had just sort of popped out. As much as she’d surprised herself with that comment, though, it was nothing compared to Avenant’s astonishment. It occurred to her that she’d never teased him before. Given his perpetual snarkiness, she was willing to bet that no one teased him. He hadn’t even looked so shocked when she’d had him arrested.

  She bit down on her lower lip, trying not to smile.

  “You ruined me for other women long ago.” Avenant’s mouth slowly tilted up at one corner. “More importantly, there’s no way I’ll let you die before I see you topless.”

  Belle wrinkled her nose. “You not going to become fixated on my breasts, are you?”

  “Become fixated? I’ve been fixated for quite some time.”

  “There’s nothing to be fixated with. You’ve felt them. I’m not exactly round as a tuffet.” She made a face. “You’re just going to be disappointed.”

  “You’re insane.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Can we focus on you pulling me from the rabbit hole, please? I was thanking you. Just say ‘you’re welcome’ and let’s move on.”

  He dipped his forehead to briefly rest against hers. “You’re welcome, my love.”

  God, he was handsome. What woman wouldn’t take a
chance on him? The man was like one of those carnivorous flowers that grew extra beautiful in order to lure bugs closer and devour them. You knew it was dangerous, but you were just so dazzled by all the amazingness that you forgot common sense.

  Belle cleared her throat. “Good. Right. So anyway, getting back on track, there is nothing down there.” They were still sitting on the edge of the rabbit hole and she gestured to it. “Not that I can see, anyway. It’s a dark chasm.”

  “A chasm?”

  “Of the possibly bottomless variety.”

  “Great.”

  “I think it’s a leap of faith thing. We can’t see the bottom, we just have to trust that it’s there.”

  “Great.” Avenant repeated with a sigh. “Because, I’m so eager to take things on faith.” He frowned in consideration, thinking for a long moment. “Any ideas on our next move? Maybe we just need a longer rope.”

  “I don’t think that…”

  The gunshot caught her completely by surprise.

  Belle gave a panicked cry as the bullet ricocheted off the stone wall and hit Avenant. The momentum of the projectile knocked him backward right through the vortex. “No!” Belle grabbed for him, but he disappeared through the hole.

  Her head instinctively snapped around to see who’d fired at them and came face-to-face with Bluebeard. Resplendent in his citrus colored finery and brandishing a revolver, he stood at the edge of the pathway. His turquoise beard was studded with leaves, as if he’d been struggling through the plants all night.

  “Are you out of your mind?!” She screamed.

  “You think I’ll let that bastard kill me like he did the others?” He shrieked back. “I know the Beast is behind it! No one else could take down so many people.”

  Belle didn’t get a chance to offer a retort. The cord connecting her to Avenant pulled tight, yanking her forward. He must have reached the end of the line. Her fingers dug into the ground, trying to hold on, but it didn’t work. Belle was dragged towards the edge of the rabbit hole.

  Shit!

  The clip on her belt wasn’t going to hold his weight for long and there was no way could she could pull him back up. She either had to disconnect from Avenant or follow him down.

  And she really hated heights.

  “Hey, is that a rabbit hole?” Bluebeard asked, apparently just noticing Avenant had disappeared into a mirrored abyss. “Don’t go through that thing, girlie. Those things will kill you.”

  Belle fixed him with a deadly look. “You’d better hope I die in it, you son-of-a-bitch. If I climb out, you’re gonna be real unhappy to see me.”

  With that, she dropped back into the vortex.

  Belle wasn’t really afraid of heights, so much as she was afraid of falling. Now, for the second time in ten minutes, she was careening into darkness. Belle tumbled down for so long she wondered if the rabbit hole had a bottom at all. Maybe it went on forever. Maybe it was an endless shaft of black, empty space and she’d just keep falling until she died. She couldn’t work up much concern about that, right now. As terrified as she was about splatting into goo on impact, she had an even bigger problems.

  “Avenant?” Belle called, trying to see him below her. “Are you okay?”

  No answer.

  The bullet looked like it had hit his shoulder. Did people die from getting shot in the shoulder? She wasn’t sure. Why wasn’t she sure? All the books she read and she didn’t know anything about anatomy. What if he bled to death before she even…?

  Belle splashed down in water.

  It was icy cold and so deep she nearly drowned reaching the surface. She swam upward, her lungs screaming for oxygen. When she finally made it to top, she was panting for breath and still in complete darkness. Deep as it was, the water had a fast moving current and she was dragged along.

  “Avenant!” Belle shouted, not sure where he was or if he could even hear her. “Avenant!” They were still tethered together and she quickly began yanking on the rope. “Answer me, goddamn it!”

  The cord led her to Avenant, floating face down in the river.

  “No!” Belle flipped him over, trying to locate a pulse. She didn’t feel anything. Panic became terror. “No, no, no. You’re not going anywhere, you son-of-a-bitch.” She held his head above the rapids, willing him to breathe. “This is not how it’s supposed to go! You’re supposed to stay with me!” All her life, it had been Belle and Avenant. They were connected. He knew that. He couldn’t just leave her. “Please, open your eyes. Please… Shit!”

  She didn’t find land. It found her.

  Belle thudded into an outcropping of rocks hard enough to see stars. She shifted at the last moment, so she took the impact instead of Avenant, jarring every bone in her body. Christ, but she hated this labyrinth.

  “Avenant, hold on!” Belle managed to drag herself onto the stones and then lugged him up beside her. Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness and she could see that he’d hit his head on something. Dropping her to knees, she began doing CPR the best she could. She’d only ever seen it done in movies, but the basics of it seemed simple enough. If he would just cooperate, this would work. Except it wasn’t working. Why the hell did he always have to make everything so difficult? Why couldn’t he just start breathing and…?

  Avenant came to with watery gasp. He was swearing and coughing and alive.

  He was alive.

  Belle sat back, sobbing like she might never stop.

  “Fuck.” Avenant quickly took stock and ran a hand through his wet hair. “Belle, are you alright?”

  “No! You were dead, you asshole!”

  “I was?”

  “Yes.”

  He blinked, seeing she was furious. “Well, it wasn’t on purpose…”

  “How could you do that to me?” She raged, cutting him off. The relief and anger were making her an emotional basket case. “How could you abandon me like that?”

  “I didn’t. I wouldn’t.” His voice softened and he reached out to pull her into his arms. “Don’t cry, my love. I’m here.”

  Belle let out a shaky sigh, leaning against his chest. She was being ridiculous. She knew that, but she couldn’t stop. “If you didn’t come back, I’d be alone.” She whispered. It didn’t matter how many other people she knew, Avenant was the one who really mattered. Without him, she’d have nobody. “You can’t do that to me. You can’t leave me all alone.”

  “I will always come back for you.” His voice was warm in her ear. “You should know that, Bella. Nothing in this world or the next would keep me from you for long.” He kissed the side of her head. “You are my True Love in every possible way.”

  Belle swallowed and lifted her eyes to his. “Are you alright?” He was the one who’d been shot and she was the one in tears. “How badly are you hurt?” She pulled back to examine his arm. Her heart stopped as she saw blood stain the white fabric of his shirt.

  “It’s alright.” He glanced down at the wound. “The bullet just grazed me. I think I whacked my head of the side of the rabbit hole. That was what knocked me out.”

  “Bluebeard shot you.”

  “I noticed. Remind me to freeze him to death, someday.” He looked around the dark cavern. “So this is that bottomless chasm you were talking about, huh?”

  “Turns out it has a bottom, after all.”

  “Yes and I’m thrilled to be at sitting in the middle of it.” He didn’t sound thrilled. “You see what leaps of faith get you?”

  “At least we’re alive.” Belle stood up. “And, if we’re reading the journal right, this is the way to Excalibur, so we’re still on track.”

  He gave a sigh. “You couldn’t have just pulled me back up to the jungle level?”

  “You were too heavy.”

  He glanced at her with sharp eyes. “So, I dragged you down here?” He surmised.

  “No. I came after you.”

  Avenant regarded her silently for so long Belle began to feel self-conscious. “Well, you followed me whe
n the ice floor cracked.” She reminded him. “You think I’d just let you go when you were in trouble?”

  “I think it’s lucky that you really are my True Love.” He sounded utterly serious. “I could never give you up, Belle. If you belonged to some knight in shining armor, I’d have to steal you for myself and this would be a lot more complicated.”

  “Oh please. You’d love kidnapping me away from a knight in shining armor.” Belle busied herself wringing out her clothes. “The poor guy’s ice-cubed body would probably be pictured on your Christmas card, with a Santa hat and a merry holiday warning.”

  “You believe I could defeat a knight?”

  Belle blinked at his surprised tone. “Avenant, you could defeat anyone.” Growing up, she’d always admired knights and their heroic exploits, but they were nothing compared to the Beast. “There’s nobody in the world who could ever beat you.”

  “You could.” He said quietly, getting to his feet. “You could break me right in half if I let you.”

  “I wouldn’t…”

  “I know you wouldn’t.” Avenant interrupted, his voice going firm. “Because, I’m not going to let you. I’m going to get that damn sword, Belle.” Determination filled every word. “I’m going to win. I have to. True Love or not, you won’t beat me.”

  “Winning is that important to you?”

  “The prize is that important to me.” He took the sodden backpack from her and slung it over his uninjured shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before we drown.”

  “You did drown.” Belle reminded him testily. “I saved you, although at the moment I’m wondering why I bothered.”

  “So am I.” Avenant started up the steep embankment of rocks. “In case you hadn’t noticed, it just postponed the inevitable.” He gestured around them. “There isn’t a way out of here.”

  Belle snorted. “What else is new?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Prosecution: Come now, Prince Avenant. You know why you’re here. Wouldn’t you agree that you have mercilessly oppressed the Good citizens of the Northlands since you took the Icen Throne?