Beast in Shining Armor (19 page)

The
Beast and Avenant both glared at her.  “Why the hell would you think that?”

“Because
he
said
he was, remember?  He said if we made it to the water, he’d find
us.  Obviously, help’s going to help us get across it.”

“Cross
it to
where?
 Look over across the river.  It’s just another wall of
stone over there.”

“The
labyrinth doesn’t care what you see.”  Knoss reported, stepping into the
firelight.  “Its purpose is to show you what you
don’t
.”

“God,
you really just said that.”  Avenant was so damn sick of all the
quasi-philosophical bullshit about the maze.  They even had
him
half-convinced it possessed some kind of awareness about their actions. 
“Fine.  Tell me, what I
don’t
see, then.  I’d like to get out of this
pit sometime before July.”

“You
cancelled July, too.”  Belle reminded him.

“You
canceled July?”  Knoss arched a brow.  “Why the fuck did you cancel July?”

“The
entire month annoyed me.”  Avenant had been slightly drunk and very pissed when
he’d made that edict.  Belle’s birthday was in July and she hadn’t invited him
to yet another one of her parties.  Obviously, it hadn’t been his finest
moment.

Belle
rolled her eyes and looked back at Knoss.  “Just ignore him.”  She advised. 
“Most of the calendar manufactures did.  Right now, we need to find the sword
and you need to help us.”

“Do
I?”

“If
you ever want to get out of this maze you do.  Once we have Excalibur, you’ll
be free.  We have to be getting close, right?”

“Geographically.” 
Knoss allowed.  “But, given the number of dead bodies I’ve been finding in my
labyrinth, I doubt you’re going to make it.  You people seem to be faring
poorly on this quest.  If I were you, I’d quit while I was still breathing.”

“We
can’t quit.”  Belle told him firmly.  “Do you know who’s been killing all the
contestants?  If we stop them, everyone will be safer.”

“Whoever
it is, they’ve had help navigating the labyrinth.”  He lifted a shoulder in a
shrug.  “Probably from one of my kind.  Not every minotaur loves the idea of freedom. 
Many prefer to stay here, rather than risk the unknown.”

“I’m
sure
some
people can relate to that.”  Belle sent Avenant a pointed
look.

Avenant
gave a scoff.  “Please don’t compare me with these… beings.”

Knoss
arched a brow at Belle.  “Are you sure you wish to seek Excalibur with this
man?  What do you plan to do if you find the sword?  Give it to him?  Fight him
for it?”

Avenant’s
jaw ticked, knowing Knoss was right.  Strategically, it made more sense for
Belle go on alone.  Only one of them could win this contest and now was the
perfect opportunity for her to take the lead.  The minotaur would help her and
happily leave Avenant behind.  She could make it to Excalibur while he was
still trying to forge the rapids.

Goddamn
it.

He
couldn’t
lose this.  The only way to show Belle that he was strong and
worthy was to get that fucking sword, so that’s what Avenant was going to do no
matter how many minotaurs he had to decapitate.

He
slanted deadly glare at Knoss, sizing up his foe.  “I’ll kill you before I let
you take her.”  He warned and he heard the Beast’s darkness rumble in his
voice.

Knoss
smirked at him.  “Try it, boy.  Your monster is nothing compared to mine.”

“Both
of you stop.”  Belle pushed herself between them.  “I’m not abandoning Avenant
on this rock, so the whole argument is pointless.  He and I have a deal.  We’re
going to get to the end of this contest together and
then
we’re going to
see who claims the sword.  I’m not about to change the rules.”

“In
your place, he would change them.”  Knoss nodded at Avenant.  “You’re close
enough to the finish line that he’d leave you behind and try to make it on his
own.”

“He
wouldn’t leave me.”  Belle sounded very sure of that.

So
sure that even Avenant blinked at her.

Knoss
gave a scoff.  “Of course he’d leave you.  You’re an interesting girl, but he’s
a beast.  Why wouldn’t he choose the most selfish path?”

“Simple. 
He hasn’t seen me topless, yet.”  Belle nodded.  “We had a whole discussion
about it.  Apparently, he’s fixated.”

Knoss
and Avenant both stared at her.

“Oh.” 
Knoss said.  “You’re right, then.  He wouldn’t leave you.”  He glanced back at
Avenant.  “Not even you seem that stupid.”

Avenant
barely heard him.  God, he would never get used to Belle’s teasing comments. 
He felt himself gaping at her, amazed that she was sort of flirting with him.

She
gave him a slow smile.

Avenant
shook his spinning head and turned back to Knoss.  “Just show us the way out of
here, before I toss you in that river.”  He ordered.  “We’re staying together.”

Knoss
studied Belle for a moment longer.  “You aren’t going to reconsider, are you?”

“Nope.”

“So
be it.”  He shrugged, absolving himself of any liability.  “When you hit rock
bottom, the only direction is up.”  He pointed to the some barely perceptible
handholds in the sheer wall.  “And up.  And up.”

Avenant’s
eyes followed the makeshift ladder up, and up, and up… and then finally to what
looked like the world’s ricketiest suspension bridge spanning the gorge
downstream.  “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.”

Belle
sighed.  “I suddenly wish we’d gotten that dragon.”

Everyone
knows the Beast killed his father.

We should
never have allowed him to claim the Icen Throne, but we were all too scared to
oppose to him.

When I
protested that a Bad folk couldn’t inherit a kingdom,

Avenant
threatened to smush me with a water spout.

Testimony
of Mr. Itsy Bitsy Spider
- The People of the Northlands v. Prince Avenant

Three
Years Ago

His
father was dead.

Avenant
still couldn’t fully process it.  Vincent’s cold hatred had been such a
constant that he didn’t know how to navigate his life without it.  Since
Avenant had attacked Vincent in the throne room, their relationship had been
worse than ever.  They barely spoke, most of their communication reduced to
chilling glares and pointed insults.  He kept expecting his father to pop up and
ridicule him for falling for this elaborate hoax.

Although
not even Vincent could’ve faked an explosion that big.

His
father had died touring an oil platform.  If he’d read any of Belle’s
environmental pamphlets, he would’ve known it was operating with fourteen
different code violations, but Vincent had never been very interested in other
people’s opinions.  He’d allowed the drillers to cut corners and pocketed their
bribes and look where it got him…

Blown
into so many pieces that his whole body fit in a freezer bag.

Rumors
abounded that Avenant had “helped” with the accident, but, in truth, he hadn’t
been involved in his father’s death.  He just didn’t mourn for the man.  Just
like he hadn’t mourned for his mother.  He’d never felt close to them or anyone
else in his family.  Pretending otherwise was pointless.

All
his life he’d heard stories about his proud lineage, but they’d been impersonal
lessons instead of tales designed to span generations.  His parents didn’t care
if he felt a bond with them or understood any of his ancestors.  They just
wanted to make sure he didn’t disgrace them.  They’d both made their choices
and none of their choices ever involved loving him.

It
would be weakness to care for people who’d shown him nothing but disgust.

At
his father’s funeral, he was dry-eyed and distant.  He heard the whispers,
noting his lack of emotion.  Witnessed the glances of disapproval as he didn’t
give a eulogy lying about what a wonderful dad and prince Vincent had been. 
Saw them all waiting for the Icen Throne to melt underneath him.  So far, it
hadn’t, much to their dismay.  Avenant seized control of the kingdom before
anyone could stop him.  Nobody was strong enough to take what was his, so fuck
them all.

Avenant
had no illusions about his citizens.  They were never going to accept him as their
ruler.  They saw him as a beast.  Why even try reaching out to them when it was
hopeless?  Better to reject them, before they rejected him.  Better to make
them fear him, right from the start.  All the people who avoided his gaze or
cringed away were going to know real terror.  He was going to make sure this
kingdom never forgot who was in charge.

Bad
or not, he controlled the Northlands and everybody in it.

Avenant
was the last one in the graveyard, stoically watching the coffin be lowered
into ground.  His parents were gone.  He was free.  Except he didn’t feel
free.  He didn’t feel anything.

He
sensed Belle before he saw her.  It was always like that.  The Beast detected
her presence and started pacing, trying to get closer to her warmth.  Avenant
slowly turned his head as she came up next to him, taking in her somber outfit.

“Black
isn’t your color.”  He decided.  She was too bright for the stark shade.  Too
full of life.  She didn’t belong in this graveyard, paying respects to a man
who’d wanted her raped.  She belonged in the brilliant yellow sunlight.

Belle
ignored his opinion.  “I’m sorry about your father.”  She said, quietly.  “I
know how hard it is to lose your parents.”

“I’m
twenty-seven.  Hardly an orphan.”

“You
feel like an orphan no matter how old you are.”  Her chocolate gaze stared up
at him.  “Give yourself a chance to grieve.”

He
snorted at that idea.  “I didn’t even like my parents.”

“I
don’t think it matters.  They were still your parents.”  Belle chewed her lower
lip.  “Do you need anything?”

She
was the first person to ask him that.  Everyone else knew better.  He rolled
his eyes and told himself not to be touched.  She wasn’t asking because she
cared about him.  The woman was just pitifully
Good
.  As much as he
hated to admit it, Vincent had been right.  Belle would never love him.  Not in
the way he longed for.  She couldn’t.

He
was a beast.

“I’m
Prince of the Northlands, now.”  He reminded her flatly.  “My word is law. 
Didn’t you hear all the whining from the lawyers, before I arrested them? 
Everything I need is one royal decree away.”

“I
wasn’t asking the Prince of the Northlands.  I was asking Avenant.”

Shit.

Just
like that, his defenses crumbled.  Before he felt nothing; now he felt far too
much.  Avenant’s lips pressed together, not trusting himself to speak for a
long moment.  If he did, he’d break down.  “I’m fine.”  He said shortly.  “Go
home.  You’ve done your duty and sucked up to the new monarch.”

“That’s
not why I came and you know it.”

“Then
why did you come?”  He flashed her a glare.  “To bitch at me about how I’m
becoming a dictator?”  Avenant already knew Belle was going to oppose his rule
at every turn.  He had absolute power, now.  He could have her killed fifty
different ways, but she never seemed to notice.  She just kept fighting.  He
didn’t understand how she could be so blind to the fact that she was
outmatched.

Or
how she kept fucking
winning
.

“Well,
you
are
becoming a dictator.”  She began.  “You used the funeral to
stage a coup…”

Avenant
cut her off.  “I don’t need to hear about how I’ve oppressed puppies or
littered in a school zone, alright?  I already have kids sending me crayon hate
mail about my evilness.”

“You
cancelled Mother Goose’s TV show!  What do you expect?”

“Those
damn puppets were annoying me.  They were singing some so-called ‘rhyming’ song
about how your True Love is your best friend, till the end, it just depends, on
you Good
inten…
sions.  And that doesn’t rhyme, at all.”  Also, it was a
total lie.  He was getting pissed off just thinking about it.  “That squawking
bitch was rotting the brain of every child in my kingdom and I needed to stop
her.”

“Mother
Goose helps preschoolers learn to read.  Don’t you want an educated populous?”

“No. 
I want them beaten down and toiling.”

“You’re
impossible.  I don’t know why I even bother.”

“Look,
I’m sure you have a list of a thousand things I’ve done wrong, so far.  But,
right now, I just want…”  Avenant trailed off because he had no idea what he
wanted, aside from Belle to stay with him.  The thought of going back to that
empty castle triggered his claustrophobia, making him want to wrench at his tie
and suck in oxygen.

He
should have ordered some kind of reception.  He hadn’t wanted the normal array
of sycophantic people around, pretending to care.  But, at least they’d be
something
. 
He didn’t want to be alone.  Why was he always alone?

Belle’s
annoyance seemed to fade as she gazed up at him.  “We can talk about your
insane power grab later.” She assured him quietly.  “I’m sorry.  I’m not here
to continue our war.  I promise.  Today, we should just focus on getting you
through this.”

“Oh
great.  Do we get to share our feelings?”

“If
you’d like.”  Belle offered.  “It would probably be really good for you.”

“I
don’t have any feelings.”

“I’m
sure you’d like to think that’s true.”  She muttered.  “Look, you should come
home with me.  I can make you dinner.  You probably haven’t eaten.”

“I
have cooks.”  He refused to give into temptation.  “I can eat anything I want,
anytime I want.”  She was inviting him because she felt sorry for him and he
couldn’t stand that.  It was worse than even her scorn.  “I don’t need you or
your pity.”

God,
how he needed her.

Belle
was quiet for a long moment.  “Do you want to be alone?”

“Yes.”

No!

Belle
let out a sigh and turned to go.  “Okay.”

Goddamn
it, why didn’t she ignore what he said and stay?  It wasn’t like she’d ever
listened to him before.  The Beast was roaring in his head, screaming that he
was an idiot.  Avenant didn’t need the monster to tell him what he already
knew, but he couldn’t stop himself from pushing Belle away.  If he didn’t,
she’d see how weak he was.  He wanted to beg her not to leave.  He wanted to
tell her every feeling inside of him.  He just wanted to cling to her warmth.

But,
the last time he’d tried opening up to her, she’d almost broken him.  He didn’t
even blame her for not wanting him.  Not really.  His father had been right. 
Nobody could ever want a beast.  Avenant had been an idiot to approach Belle at
prom.  The way to victory wasn’t with begging, it was through strength.

He
was going to run the Northlands with an iron fist.  He’d show Belle that he
could win against all the people who hated him.  That he wasn’t one of her
pathetic charity cases.  That he was strong.  Then, she’d look at him and just…
know.

She’d
finally
surrender
.

Belle
took a step, hesitated, and then turned back to him.  “You don’t always have to
be so cold, you know.  It’s okay to have emotions.  No one will think less of
you if you let go.”

“Bad
things will happen if I let go.”

“Maybe. 
But, what will happen if you keep hanging on so tightly?”

Avenant
shot her a frown.  “Exactly the same thing that’s been happening all my life.”

“Exactly.” 
Belle gave him a sad smile and walked away.