by A. Anders
Belle searched her memory trying to figure it out. “He didn’t mean to. My father gets forgetful. He forgot to replenish our supplies before he left for his trip. But he has been gone longer than he ever has before. I’m afraid that something might have happened to him. I have to go look for him.”
“First of all, you are in no condition to go anywhere.” He looked at Belle trying to piece things together. “You say that he’s been gone longer than he said he would be?”
“Yes,” Belle said before pausing. “I mean, he said that he might be a few days longer than usual. There was a clock that he was trying to sell at a higher price. And he mentioned that there was something else important that he had to do while he was in the city. But it has been over two weeks. This is the longest that he has ever been away.”
“But he said that he would be away for a little longer this time?”
“Yes, but I don’t think that he would’ve chosen to be gone for this long. I think something has happened to him.”
“Is it possible that it could just be taking him longer to sell his clock?”
Belle thought about it for a moment. It wasn’t unreasonable to think that it might take him an extra week or two depending on the price he might be asking. He hadn’t mentioned the price he would be asking for it.
If he was hoping to get enough for them to start a new life, he might be asking too much. Her father was a wonderful man and an incredible artist, but he wasn’t a great businessman. Thinking about it with a little food in her stomach, she began to see how it might take her father a little longer than a week to do all of the things that he wanted to do in the city.
“I guess it’s possible,” Belle admitted. “But I am beginning to worry about him. I’m thinking that I should go out looking for him. What if something has happened to my father like it did to…”
Belle stopped herself from saying it but Captain Bernard completed her sentence. “Like it did to Trudeau, your fiancé?”
Belle looked at him surprised. “What do you know about Trudeau?”
“I know that he was your fiancé and that you cared about him very much. I know that you two had made plans to get married but before you got the chance, he was killed by wolves as he crossed through the Dark Forest.”
There was something in Belle that relaxed hearing the Captain’s recount. She had always felt very sensitive about anyone mentioning Trudeau. Most people didn’t recognize the relationship that the two of them had. Most skipped the part about him being her fiancé instead choosing to view her as a trollop.
But the Captain hadn’t done that. He gave Belle’s lost love the respect that he deserved. He gave Belle the respect she deserved. That statement alone endured her to him. Belle was beginning to understand that she hadn’t treated the Captain fairly. He was a much better man than she had given him credit for.
“Yes, that is what happened to Trudeau.”
“But the city and the Dark Forest are in opposite directions. There would be no reason for your father to head towards the Dark Forest if he was heading into the city, would there be?”
He was right. There was no reason for her father to enter the Dark Forest if he was going towards the city. “No, I guess not.”
“Isn’t it more likely that it has taken him longer to sell his goods than he had anticipated and that he could be back at any moment?”
Belle thought about his suggestion. “Well, I guess it’s possible.”
“Certainly it is. And if you promise to give me a few days to help you recover, I promise to head to the city to search for him myself.”
“Would you?” Belle said both excited and relieved.
“Of course. How could I come to the rescue of a damsel in distress without helping her with what’s distressing her?” He said with a smile.
Belle stared up at the smiling man above her. She had never noticed it before but he was fairly handsome. He was barrel-chested and muscular while his face was chiseled with the angles of a statue.
He really was a good-looking man. It was no wonder that all of the girls in the village fawned over him. It made her wonder even more why he had chosen to focus all of his romantic energy on her.
“Thank you,” she said gratefully.
“You’re very welcome, Belle. I hope that you know that I would do anything for you.”
There it was again, Belle noticed. He expressed such devotion towards her. It made sense when she thought that he had misunderstood her relationship with Trudeau. But he acknowledged that what had happened between the two was between an engaged couple. So if he didn’t think of her as another possible notch on his bedpost, why was he so devoted to her?
Belle continued to think about it all day and night. The Captain insisted on sleeping over. Belle was a little suspicious but he told her that he would sleep on the floor by the door. She didn’t think that he would actually do it, but he did. He was nothing but a gentleman all night. More than that, he was an attentive nurse.
“War is the bloody activity,” the Captain explained. “If you are incapable of taking care of your men, you will find your troops depleted very quickly. I wasn’t always the Captain of the guard. For many years I was just a foot soldier. It was up to each of us to keep each other alive. So you can thank my many battles for my amazing bedside manner,” he said cheekily.
Belle stared at the Captain with a smile. She wasn’t completely incorrect about him. He still had a little arrogance and cockiness to him. But it was clear that he had a softer side as well. He was more complex than she had given him credit for. He was like one of those richly drawn heroes from her books. Or, more precisely, Captain Bernard was the dashingly good looking rogue who had saved the heroine’s life.
Belle and the Captain talked for most of the second day. Although still very weak, by afternoon, Belle was out of bed. The Captain had tried to insist that she rest longer. Her response was that his horrible cooking necessitated her getting up.
“I will teach you how to make something a little tastier,” she had told him. And together the two baked a bread and made a stew that tasted as good as the Captain had ever had.
“This is fantastic, Belle,” he said appreciatively.
“Thank you,” she replied surprised that his complement had meant so much to her.
Belle paused and thought as she stared into his eyes. “Tell me something, Captain…”
“I told you, Belle, call me Bernard,” he said interrupting her.
“You’re right. You did ask me that. All right. Tell me something, Bernard, is it true what they say about you, you know, on the battlefield?”
Bernard’s face melted into seriousness. “You mean about my viciousness?”
“Yes.”
Bernard’s eyes drooped. “The things you have heard are true.”
“But I don’t understand. How could you be a man like that out there and yet be so different here?”
“When I am out there, I am a different man. On the battlefield, I no longer have to hold things back.”
“So you’re saying that at your heart, you are the animal that everyone says you are?”
Bernard thought for a moment. “If I am, then I have every right to be,” he said firmly.
Belle looked at him confused. “What gives you that right?”
“Injustice. Anger.”
“What do you have to be angry about? You are the Captain of the guard. Your power over the people is near limitless. You have a great salary and the choice of any girl you want.”
The Captain didn’t answer. “Perhaps I shall tell you another day. For now, why don’t you tell me your story.”
“But you know my story. You seem to know it better than anyone else in town. There is nothing new I can add to it.”
Bernard looked around. “Then how about you tell me about that book that you’re reading. That is yours, isn’t it?” He asked pointing at a book beside the bed.
“It isn’t exactly mine. It belongs to the church. But
I am the one reading it.”
“What is it called?”
“It’s actually a play.”
“Oh really? And what type of play is it?”
“It’s a romance. It’s called ‘The Taming of the Shrew’. I keep reading it hoping that one of these times the story will end differently.”
“Why is that?”
“Why do I keep reading it, or why do I want it to end differently?”
“Why don’t you tell me both,” the Captain said with a smile before settling into his seat for the night.
Belle smiled back. She was beginning to like the Captain. There was no denying it. And it was then that, for the first time since her last night with Trudeau, she thought about the way that Trudeau had touched her. It had brought her so much pleasure. Could the Captain’s touch do the same, she wondered. Settling into her chair about to talk about her favorite book, she suspected that it could.
The next morning, Belle felt strong enough to leave the house. She suggested to the Captain that she would be okay if he left her to find her father in the city. He disagreed. He told her stories about men who he had found half-starved in the forest. He told Belle that they were never as strong as they first seemed.
Belle couldn’t argue with that. In truth, her legs still felt a little wobbly and her stomach still quivered whenever she ate anything. She was intent on convincing the Captain that she was fine, though. And that meant proving to him and herself that she was as strong as she ever was.
“I have an idea,” Belle said as the morning began.
“What’s that?”
“You had asked me how I was able to catch fish in the stream.”
“Yes.”
“Well, how about I show you?”
“You want us to walk down to the stream?” Captain Bernard asked hesitantly.
“Why not? I’m feeling strong. And when we’re there, I’ll be able to teach you a thing or two about fishing,” she said playfully poking his male ego.
“Oh, will you now?”
“It is a little sad that here you are, a big strapping man, and you need a little girl like me to teach you how to fish, but if that’s what’s necessary, then I am willing to help you out,” she teased with an impish smile.
“So you think that you can out fish me, do you?”
“I think we’ve already established that. The only question now is, by how much?”
Belle had to admit that she was enjoying this. This was how she would tease the boys before she had become the village pariah. She missed this. In fact, she missed having someone close to her own age to talk to. She had tried not to think about it but the last few years had been very lonely for her. What was more, Captain Bernard was very easy to tease.
“Then, you’re on. We’ll go to the stream and have a fishing contest. When I catch the most fish, I win,” Captain Bernard told her.
“And, when I catch the most fish?”
“Belle, should we really be worrying about something that could never happen? Aren’t we both a little too old for pretend?” He asked with a smug smile.
It was Belle’s turn to be riled up. “Oh, really? You know, Captain Bernard, I was planning on taking it easy on you. But it seems now that I am going to have to teach you a little lesson about who is better than whom.”
“… At fishing?” He clarified.
“No, I think you know what I meant,” she said with her own smug smile.
After packing a lunch, the two walked to the stream. It was a little more challenging than Belle had thought it would be. She was fine once she got there but she wasn’t looking forward to walking back anytime soon.
With a blanket rolled out next to the stream and all of their stuff spread out on it, Belle got to work assembling her fishing box. As she sat starving in her home, she had thought up a few adjustments to make it more efficient. No fish had any hope of escaping anymore.
She couldn’t wait to give it a try. She also couldn’t wait to see Captain Bernard’s face as she retrieved each of her catches.
“What do you call that again?” Captain Bernard asked.
“Your demise. That’s kind of my nickname for it.”
“Oh, is it, now?” He asked playing along though he was genuinely interested in learning more about it.
Pulling out the second fishing line, Captain Bernard baited the hook with a nearby worm while keeping one eye on everything Belle was doing. Peeking at look as she held the box open, the inside of the box looked like the inside of a clock. Captain Bernard couldn’t imagine how a clock was going to help her with fishing.
“Are you ready?” Belle asked wondering if after not catching a thing for weeks, her luck was about to change.
“The question is, Belle, are you ready to be humiliated?” He asked still brimming with confidence.
“Ahhh, it’s going to be so fun watching you lose. Let’s begin,” she said gathering extra line in her hand and tossing her hook into the water.
As if all of the fish were waiting for Belle’s hook, as soon as her hook hit the water, a spring triggered in Belle’s fishing box and a fish was automatically lifted into the air. Belle couldn’t believe it. Where was this fish a week ago when she was slowly starving to death? She was genuinely surprised that she had caught anything at all, but turning to the Captain and seeing his utter amazement, she quickly acted casually and tossed the fish into the basket.
“One,” she said with both satisfaction and more than a little cockiness.
That wasn’t the only fish Belle caught during their contest. Quickly her first fish was followed by another and then a third. Belle couldn’t believe it. She was beginning to believe that there had been something preventing her from catching fish when she needed it most. How could that be, though? That didn’t make any sense.
“I don’t understand. How are you doing this?” The Captain said. “You have got to be cheating somehow.”
“What? Do you think I have someone waiting underwater attaching the fish to my hook as soon as I throw it in?”
Bernard didn’t answer. He simply stood up, stared deep into the water, and then sat back down. “No, because that would be ridiculous,” he said rebuffed.
“Then I guess it’s time for you to admit that I am the greatest fisherman in the world and that you are nothing.”
Bernard chuckled. “Oh no, there is no way you are going to get me to say that.”
Belle approached the Captain like a cat. Kneeling in front of him she playfully poked at his lips. “Come on, you can say it. I am the best fisherman in the world.”
“No,” he resisted.
“Oh, it’s easy,” she said taking the edges of his mouth between her fingers. Imitating his gruff, deep voice she moved his lips and said, “Oh, Belle, you are the greatest fisherman in all the land. I am nothing. You are everything. There is so much I can learn from you.”
Without removing her fingers, he mumbled, “there is nothing I can learn from you.”
Belle replied again imitating the Captain and moving his lips. “Don’t listen to what I am saying, Belle. You are the greatest fisherman ever. If only I was as great as you.”
“Stop it,” he said turning away like a little boy.
Belle crawled after him. “No, wait. There’s more that you want to say.”
“No, there is not.”
Belle crawled on top of the Captain continuing to reach for his lips. “Yes, there is.” She imitated him again. “Oh, Belle. You are so fantastic and I am nothing. If only I could…”
Belle froze as she realized that she was staring into his eyes with her own lips inches from his. The thumping in her heart increased. Suddenly she felt the rush that she had felt as Trudeau touched her. She felt lightheaded and drunk.
In that instance, she wanted so badly to kiss the man who had rescued her. She wanted to be closer to him. She wanted to touch him in a way that she had only touched one other.
Restless, she was about to speak when the man who she was f
alling for, leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. It felt magnificent. Barely able to breathe, Belle wrapped her arms around his muscular torso. He cupped his large hands around the back of her head. He held her with strength and security. She melted in his grasp.
Losing herself in the moment, she felt Bernard do something strange. With his lips, he parted her own. Was he meaning to do it? She wasn’t sure. But caught in the moment, she followed his lead and was surprised to feel his tongue touch hers.
The sensation made Belle shiver with delight. This was new to her. It felt so intimate yet so right. As the sensation wriggled through her, she became clay in his hands. She desperately wanted to be touched in the way Trudeau had touched her. And when she felt the Captain loosen the buttons on the back of her dress, she nearly exploded with anticipation.