Beast in Shining Armor (22 page)

I was such
a merry old soul before Avenant came along.

Then he
confiscated my favorite bowl, said my pipe was a controlled substance,

and
indicted my fiddlers three for tax evasion.

Did he
care when I cried?  No.  Because, a beast could never care for
anythin
g
but himself.

Testimony
of Old King Cole
- The People of the Northlands v. Prince Avenant

The
good news was this section of the maze had enough light that Avenant could see
the cave surrounding him without the Beast’s eyes.

The
bad news was it was still a cave.

He
let out an annoyed sigh.  He wanted out of this whole labyrinth.  More
importantly, he wanted
Belle
out of it.  Avenant had started this
misadventure to win his True Love, but he’d never imagined that his plan would
endanger her.  Christ, he’d never do
anything
to put Belle at risk.  …Except,
he’d dragged her down here and now there was someone trying to kill them.  It was
his fault that she’d been trapped on a burning bridge and fallen through a
rabbit hole and been attacked by a psychotic minotaur.  Everything that
happened was all on him.

“Belle?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m
sorry.”

This
final passage was carved from dense rocks that glowed with magic.  The two of
them were making their way down a stone hallway so cramped that he had to duck
down to avoid knocking his head on the ceiling.

She
turned to give him a surprised look.  “Sorry for what?”

“When
I suggested the contest of valor, I didn’t expect it to get so screwed up.”

Belle
snorted.  “Well, there
were
easier ways to convince me you were my True
Love, that’s for sure.  But, I forgive you.”  She hesitated.  “They say True
Love conquers all, you know.  Do you believe that?”

His
heart flipped.  “Yes.”  He said simply.  “Do you?”

“…I
think so.”

That
quiet words were closer than he ever imagined being to his prize.  Belle wasn’t
trying to get rid of him, anymore.  She was willing to give their relationship
a chance.

It
still wasn’t enough, though.  She wouldn’t fully accept him unless he showed
her he could be open.  Whatever the hell that meant.

“About
the labyrinth.”  Avenant cleared his throat and pushed passed his emotional comfort
zone.  For Belle, he would do anything.  Even… share.  “I should’ve handled everything
better.”  He tried, edging his way through the minefield of “feelings.”  “Obviously,
I had no idea there would be people in here trying to kill you.”

“I
don’t blame you for Knoss.”  Belle sounded surprised.  “You’re the one who
saved me from him, Avenant.”  She shook her head.  “If anyone’s to blame, it
was me.  I was the one who said we should trust him.  I didn’t expect that
asshole to be a villain.”

“Of
course you didn’t.  You’re Good all the way through.”  Avenant found her
softness endearing, but it did leave her vulnerable to the monsters of the
world.  “I’m the only man you’ve ever noticed is a villain.”

Belle’s
eyes flicked to his.  “You’re the only man I’ve ever notice,
at all
.”

Avenant’s
brain experienced a full system shutdown.  That happened every time she said
something even remotely flirtatious.  He lost the ability to think and became a
gaping moron.

Belle
didn’t seem to mind.  She gave him a small grin.  “Listen, we can do
anything
,
so long as we’re working together.”  She nodded earnestly.  “I’m really
starting to believe that.  I’m not worried about any more minotuars trying to
kill us or the labyrinth swallowing us up.  As bad as things are, we’re going
to okay so long as we stick together.”

Avenant
automatically hid how deeply her words touched him…  Although, he wasn’t quite
sure anymore
why
he should hide it.  Belle had just said something
amazing to him.  Wouldn’t it make more sense to say something nice back to her?

His
father wouldn’t have thought so.  Vincent would’ve said it was weakness to even
consider this “openness” thing.  But, what had that bastard ever done right in
his whole life?  Nothing.  What had being cold and rigid gotten him?  Certainly
not happiness.  Avenant didn’t want this father’s miserable life in an empty
castle.

He
wanted Belle.

Shit,
had he been completely wrongheaded about this whole “strength” thing?

Belle
was oblivious to his silent revelation.  “And I
know
we’ll stop whoever’s
murdering the other contestants.”  She concluded confidently.

“I
still say it’s probably Lancelot.”  Avenant muttered, trying to rally his
scattered thoughts.

“How
could it be Lancelot?  Knoss beat him to a pulp earlier.  Hardly the actions of
two people on the same nefarious team.  And then there was the weird smell on
the bridge….”

“Lancelot
smells.”  Avenant agreed with a nod.

“That’s
not what I mean and you know it.”

Avenant
shrugged.  Lancelot’s armor-y stench was the last thing he wanted to talk
about.  “Anyway, the point is, I didn’t mean to get you into this mess.”  He
continued, wanting to get the conversation back on track.  “The contest of
valor was my idea and it sucked.”  He paused, remembering the incredible feel
of her body against his… and how she said they could be friends… and every
smile she’d shined his way.  “Well, not
all
of it sucked.  A lot of it
was mind-blowingly successful and turned out to be the best plan I ever had.”  He
admitted.  “But, I’m sorry about dragging you through the parts with the river
and the fireballs and the dead bodies.”

“Thanks. 
That’s really touching.”

“The
stories skimmed over a lot of the messier aspects of the labyrinth,” he
finished, ignoring her dry interruption, “so I apologize for not anticipating
how rough it would be on you.”

There.

It
had been like swallowing straight pins, but he’d been very open.  Belle would see
that he was
trying
to be nice and appreciate his sharingness or whatever. 
Avenant let out a relieved breath, pleased with himself for struggling through
that horrible ordeal.  He didn’t have to be like his father.  If he could prove
that to her, she’d…

“What
stories?”  Belle asked, interrupting his silent back-patting and latching onto
his slip.

Fuck.

That
would
be the one part of his speech that she paid attention to.  The
woman and her high IQ drove him insane.

“I
grew-up hearing stories about my ancestors and Adam was one of the perennial favorites.” 
Avenant chose his words carefully.  “Drunken lunatics are great object lessons
in the perils of Bad behavior.”

Brown
eyes narrowed.  “Wait, how much did you know about this labyrinth before we
came in?”

He
hesitated.  “Not much.  I knew Adam had built it and,” he cleared his throat, “I
knew some stuff about the sword.”

“
What
stuff about the sword?”

Damn
it, she was going to keep pushing.  Why couldn’t she see he was
trying?
 
Why did Belle have to rip everything down and leave him totally exposed?  Why
couldn’t she just realize the truth without him having to be so… truthful?

“Avenant?” 
She prompted in a serious tone.”

“I
don’t want to lose.”  He heard himself say.

“Neither
do I, dummy.”

“No,
I mean I
can’t
lose.  I’m trying to be what you need.  But, if I lose,
you’re not going to want me and I can’t let you go.”

Belle
frowned at him in confusion.  “Avenant, finding the sword isn’t going to affect
my feelings for you.”

“It
will.”  When he had Excalibur, she’d look at him and just… know.  He had to
believe that.

“No,
it
won’t
.”  Belle gave her head a mystified shake.  “We play this game,
going back-and-forth, but it’s just a
game
.  Winning has nothing to do
with our relationship.  The only thing I care about is how you feel.”

“How
I feel?”  He squinted at her, trying to understand what she meant by that
lunacy.  “How I feel about
you
, you mean?”

“Yes! 
What else?”

“But,
you
know
how I feel.” 
Everyone
knew how he felt.  It was the
worst kept secret in the Four Kingdoms.  Why were they even talking about
something so obvious?  Was this some kind of trick?  Did she want him to say it
out loud so she could laugh at him?

“No,
I really
don’t
know how you feel.  Am I important to you or just…?”  Her
voice trailed off, her eyes falling on something over his shoulder.  “Oh.”  She
whispered.

Avenant
turned and saw the sword.

The
chamber had been obviously been carved to designate the end of the quest.  Huge
goddesses surrounded the room, holding laurels and trumpets.  At the center sat
ceremonial black rock with a blade suck halfway in, just like an illustration
from a storybook.  The grip was made of gold and decorated in raised
snowflakes.  The pommel was studded with a cabochon sapphire the size of golf
ball.  A shaft of light glinted off the polished steel, highlighting the
engraved word “Excalibur.”  It was a weapon fit for a prince.

Avenant
stared at it, a sinking feeling in his gut.

“I
didn’t expect it to be so beautiful.”  Belle said quietly.  But, she didn’t
lunge for the sword.

Neither
did Avenant.  He didn’t have to.  He was about to win.  This was the moment…  Except,
it didn’t seem like would be winning, at all.

Belle
tore her eyes away from the sword and looked up at him.  “So now what?”  She
asked.

Avenant
cleared his throat.  “I don’t know.”

All
the times he’d pictured his victory, he hadn’t envisioned the moment quite like
this.  He thought he’d feel triumphant.  He thought he’d relish the look on
Belle’s face as he claimed the sword and she realized he was a worthy.  Instead,
he felt like he was about to fail the only test that mattered.

From
out of nowhere, he thought of Knoss’ final words.

You
won’t win, because you’re too afraid of losing.

“Well,
wanna play rock-paper-scissors for it?”  Belle suggested lightly, but he heard
the tension in her voice.  She didn’t know what to do either.  Neither one of
them wanted to give in… But, one of them was going to have to.

And
it was going to be him.

“Shit.” 
Avenant whispered in defeat.  All this work.  All the effort.  All the
planning.  Finally, he’d reached the end and he couldn’t go through with it.

He
was going to surrender first.  He suddenly knew it was inevitable.  Beating
Belle wasn’t the answer.  That stupid minotaur had actually been right.  There
was only way to really win and it was through losing.  If he ripped that sword
right out from under her, Belle would never be his.

Avenant
pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed with extreme frustration.  “You’re
not going to be able to pull the sword free.”

Belle
blinked at him.  “What?”

Avenant
took a deep breath and started tearing down all his walls.  “Whoever frees
Excalibur gets the kingdom.  Adam set it up as a test, right?”

“Riiiiight.”
 She drew out the word, watching him with deep suspicion.

“So
would one of my ancestors really create a test that lets some
other
family rule?  Adam was a drunken lunatic, but he wasn’t stupid.”  He lifted a
shoulder in a shrug.  “Excalibur is enspelled.”

Belle’s
lips parting in outrage.  “You’re saying the contest of valor is rigged? 
You’ve been cheating this whole time?”

“No!” 
Avenant instantly denied.  Then, he paused to consider it.  “Well… sort of.”

“
Sort
of?
”

“I
was
sort of
cheating.”  He allowed.  “Adam wanted to ensure his line
would always retain control, so he created a failsafe.  The sword will only
come loose for someone with royal blood.”

“So
that’s why you’ve been so smug since we got in here.”  She shook her head.  “I
knew
you were up to something.”

“I
wasn’t
smug
.  I was
confident
.”

“Because,
you’re the only person with royal blood who could complete this maze?  What
about Lancelot?”

“You
really think that moron’s going to get this far?”  Avenant rolled his eyes. 
“Please.”

“You’re
unbelievable.”  Belle brooded for a long moment.  “If your plan was to use this
failsafe to your advantage, why are you telling me about it?  Why don’t you
just walk over there and win?”

“The
whole point of this contest is to protect the family.”  He shrugged.  “And you’re
my family, Belle.”