Why Not Pretend

Chapter 2: I Know How To Kill The Beast

When Beatrice woke up, I greeted her, then launched straight into my preplanned explanation.

 "I know how to kill the Beast," I announced. Beatrice looked excited.

"How?" she asked. I frowned and looked at the lantern.

"His soul is in the lantern. All you have to do is blow it out," I said, purposely using the word "you". Beatrice caught it.

"What do you mean, 'you'?" she asked. "You'll be there...right?"

"The thing is," I explained, "Part of the Beast's soul is also in me. So..."

"Blowing out the lantern...will kill you," Beatrice finished, looking scared. "But...I don't want you to die."

"It's the only way," I said. Beatrice raced up to me and wrapped me into a hug.

"I'm not killing you," she murmured into my shoulder. I rubbed the back of her head, squeezing my eyes shut to block the tears.

"You have to," I said quietly. "I'll probably be a tree, and you can come anytime."

"No!" Beatrice cried, hugging me tighter. "You're not going to die! You can't be a tree!"

"We have to," I told her. "Bea...I'll be okay."

"Okay," Beatrice said, her voice muffled by my shoulder. "But I'm never going to forgive myself."

"We have to get going," I said. "Let's go kill the Beast."

"Wait. We need a plan!" Beatrice insisted. 

"No time," I told her. "Let's go right now." 

This was was short too 😅. I hope you liked it though!