Love Untouched

Dead to Me Part II

            Bellezza grabs Mary’s hand and tries to slow the knife’s descent to her chest. The blonde finds this amusing and laughs at the princess’ attempt to keep her life. She pushes harder until the knife punctures skin. Fresh blood spreads from the wound, ruining the silk shift even further. Sweat falls into Belle’s eyes and she grits her teeth to keep from crying out.

            The bathroom door caves in and Aber tumbles onto the floor. Mary pauses in her action and looks at the prince, startled.

This is my chance.

            Bellezza wretches the knife from Mary’s grasp and knocks her off of her feet. The girls throw punches and kicks, rolling on the floor with one on top of the other. Mary lands a solid punch to the princess’ face and she cries out in agony.

            “Belle,” Aber screams her name, even though it’s muffled by the tape, and tries desperately to free himself from the rope.

            Bellezza gains the upper hand and grabs the knife off the floor. She slashes and stabs at Mary but can’t land a clean cut. Suddenly, Mary yelps and pushes the princess off of her with surprising strength. She holds the side of her face as blood seeps through her fingers. Without wasting any more time, Mary throws open the window and jumps over the balcony.

            Wounded and out of breath, Bellezza slowly crawls to Aber’s side. She removes the tape and unties his hands. Before she knows it, his arms are around her and his eyes scan every inch of her body and assess the damage. He holds the sides of her face and looks into her eyes.

            “Are you okay?” He asks while wiping stray tears from her cheeks.

            She nods once and falls into her prince’s waiting arms just as the bedroom door is knocked down. Eric and Richard charge their way into the room with their wives in tow.

            “What is going on up here?” Vita asks before gasping when she sees her daughter. “Belle,” she cries, hurrying to Bellezza’s side. “What happened?”

            Too tired to speak, the princess let’s Aber do the explaining. The further they get into the story, the more Vita’s arms tighten around her little girl. Eric and Richard look over the balcony.

            “She’s gone,” the king of Liam says slowly. “I’ll have search warrant sent out immediately.”

            “Guards will be vigilant your doors every minute from now on,” Milis chimes in as she looks over her son for any wounds.

            “Bellezza,” Vita starts, looking down at the princess, “can you stand?”

            After shaking her head ‘no’, her eyes begin to close. Abernathy gathers his wife in his arms and holds her close to his chest.

            “Amharach,” Milis stands from her spot on the floor with worry in her eyes. “Maybe you should sit down?”

            “No, I’m fine,” he says looking down at his precious Bellezza. “I’ll make sure she’s alright. I’ll protect her.”

            “Like you did just now?” Richard asks, marching up to prince and sending him a heated glare. “She could have been killed!”

            “Richard, please,” Vita approaches her husband and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Be calm, my Love.”

            “You think I don’t know that?” Aber asks, enraged that someone would dare challenge him. “That woman has been in the castle for months now and no one knew. I will never forgive myself if something happens to Belle, but I’m doing my best.” He turns to his father with determination in his eyes. “I want the guards on double patrols. I want her caught and killed on sight for attacking my wife.”