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» PRINCESS OF THE APOCALYPSE, MEET THE QUEEN PT.3 «

What If...Belle Went With Ezekiel, Yumiko And Eugene? (10x14, not canon)

Hunt Or Be Hunted

I couldn't be sure if the room was actually pitch black or if it was just my blurry eyes, but everything around me was covered in a thick darkness. The air was so stuffy it felt like a layer of dust coated my lungs every time I took a breath, the tips of my fingers skimming the panels of a wooden floor.

"What the hell?" I winced as the sound of my voice hit my ears, a sharp pain piercing my brain that thudded repeatedly. My hand immediately went to touch it, the area warm and sticky with what I assumed could only be blood.

My vision finally adjusted to the dim light and I noticed speckles of white dotted along the walls, holes in the wood allowing beams of fluorescent light through to reveal the train car I was held in.

"Belle?" I heard a voice hiss, the source nowhere to be seen as I struggled to my feet. After a few wobbling steps I reached the nearest wall, my fingers gripping at the worm eaten wood for support. "Belle, are you awake?"

My eyebrows creased despite the dull headache fogging my brain. "Ezekiel?" I realised, feeling along the boards as though they would tell me where he was. Even in my panic a small spark of hope flickered in my chest when I figured out I wasn't alone here.

"Follow my voice." He whispered, the sound echoing from the wall to my right. It wasn't long before I slumped against the wooden boards, exhaustion seeping into my bones from the short walk. "Are you alright?"

I could've scoffed at the simplicity of the question, or rather the definitive answer. "No. Where are we?" I mumbled back, squinting through a hole in the wall. I barely caught a glimpse of his dreaded hair before he disappeared, the man pacing back and forth in stressful strides.

"You can't remember?" He asked, the tone of his voice suddenly heavy with concern. "You've been out for a while."

My hands shook as I raised them, the tips of my fingers just barely skimming my sword as I prepared to draw it. It wasn't my most intelligent decision, what with the countless guns aimed in our direction, but it was almost instinctive at this point.

"Drop the weapon!" One of the armed men yelled, but I couldn't tell which one through the white helmets they all wore. I had to be honest, this wasn't what I was expecting to find when Eugene led us to this place.

"Belle, drop it." Ezekiel muttered, his eyebrows arched high in suspicion as he scanned the people surrounding us. It was strange to see such an organised group of soldiers, their equipment and armour somehow advanced way beyond ours. Still, it didn't sway my determination as the sword swished from its sheath, the blade glinting in the harsh stadium lights.

It took less than a second for the weapon to be knocked from my grasp, the sharp edge unsuccessfully stabbing at the man who charged towards me.

"We're friendly!" Eugene yelled, but his fearful pleads were ignored as his arms were forced behind his back, the man being led somewhere unknown.

I scrambled for my sword as it tumbled to the ground, sand and dirt pluming from the impact. All I needed to do was wrap my fingers around the handle, my target already in sight as a man towered over me, but a shriek of terror caught my attention before I could.

"You're hurting me!" Princess struggled against the soldiers firm hold, her eyes wide with tears sparkling along the brim. "Yumiko!"

The other woman lay a few feet away, her limp body being dragged along with Ezekiel, who complied reluctantly. Her hair was matted to her forehead with blood that mingled with the black strands, sticking them to her skin.