» Time In A Bottle «

» PRINCESS OF THE APOCALYPSE, MEET THE QUEEN PT.4 «

What If...Belle Went With Ezekiel, Yumiko And Eugene? (11x01, not canon)

My Name, His Legacy

The brown bag was whipped off my head before I could even protest, my eyes squinting in the sudden brightness coming through the windows. My head spun so hard I almost cracked my neck as I surveyed the people around me- a man and a woman in smart clothes sitting across the table, and a man standing just to the left of me with a sneer.

I couldn't stop myself from snickering at the boldness of his armour, black stripes lined neatly over an orange so bright it seemed to glow. The man was clearly unimpressed at my reaction, his sneer transforming into a hard frown.

"Annabelle Finch?" The woman startled me with her question, breaking my amusement harshly.

"It's Grimes now." I answered wearily, my mind searching for a reason she already knew my name. I made sure not to tell these people anything too deep, so they obviously had other ways. "Belle Grimes."

The woman nodded, glancing briefly at her friend who scribbled hasty notes on his page. "There's no need to be afraid, Miss Grimes. Just so long as you cooperate."

My eyes rolled with exasperation as I leaned forward, the following glare coming naturally. "I'll cooperate when you let me see my friends." I hissed, slumping back in my seat with an irritated groan.

"We are Auditors for the Commonwealth, and you are under Level One Assessment." The lady informed me, not aware that most of her words flew right over my head. The Commonwealth sounded familiar since Eugene mentioned something about Stephanie being here, but everything else sounded like nonsense. "If you pass inspection, you'll move to Level Two. Let's begin."

My eyebrows raised curiously, my shoulders slouching lazily. I was starting to become extremely unimpressed with this whole place, perhaps a little bored. All they did was ask question after question, and none of them seemed exactly relevant.

"What did your parents do for a living?" The red haired woman asked, her relaxed expression deceptively kind.

My mind wandered until I eventually came up with nothing, my shoulders shrugging defeatedly. "I guess you could say they were unemployed." I muttered, the bitterness evident in my voice at the mention of my parents.

"What did you do for a living?" She continued, my attention drifting to the man scratching away at his notepad.

"I was a kid, I didn't have a job." I replied, a hint of incredulity behind my words. How old did they think I looked?

Every time the strange lady opened her mouth I had to suppress a scoff, but deep down I felt an inkling of shame. It was like she wanted to prove how stupid I was, how little I achieved in my life. "Highest level of schooling?"

"Do you count kindergarten?" I pushed back, an almost invisible crease showing on her forehead.

"You didn't complete elementary school?" I could sense the surprise she forced herself not to show, her face still void of emotion.

I hated explaining my past life to someone new, it always felt like their judgements of me changed so quickly. "I had to look after my-"

"So, no?" She cut me off sternly, flipping to the next page of questions. "Have you ever been vaccinated for measles?"

My lip stuck out in a thoughtful pout as I pondered the question. "Uh, no. I mean, I don't think so." It wasn't like my parents would've taken me as a child, and there was no one else around to do it.