''Flying''

My Own Stupidity

TW: Mentions of Sexual Assault

Bella spent the day struggling with what to do. After her talk with Alexis in the garden, she hid herself in her room, going through all that was said about both Henry and Alexander.

By the time she finished dinner with Alexis, Bella had made a decision and is now time to make it happen.

Knocking on the door of Henry's room, she is greeted by the valet, but once she enters the room, she sees that the man is in the process of packing Henry's belongings.

-"You're leaving?"

-"Leave us." - The valet obeys, leaving them alone. -"I am."

-"Why?"

-"There's nothing keeping me here. Not anymore at least."

Bella stays silent for a moment, just looking at him, his eyes never meeting hers as he moves around the room throwing things into a trunk.

-"What happened between you and Alexander?"

-"You already know."

-"I don't." - She slowly approaches him.

-"Alexander already told you."

-"I want to hear it from you."

Henry stays silent, placing a few books inside of a trunk. Bella places a hand on his arm, stopping him.

-"Tell me the truth."

Henry looks at her and sees the plea in her eyes. Stepping away from her, as hard as it might be, he rakes a hand over his hair, before leaning against his desk, his eyes on the floor. He takes a deep breath before looking back at her.

-"A few months ago, I was in my study when one of my men asked to talk to me. I could tell he was angry about something, so I asked what happened, thinking it was a simple dispute between soldiers and therefore easy to solve. Nothing would've prepared me for what he was about to tell me." - Henry lets out a breath. -"He tells me that he had just found out that some of Alexander's men came to collect some supplies, as usual, but decided to go a step further."

"He says that what happened wasn't his story to tell and signals for someone to enter the room. Behind him appear two women, who looked as if they had been in the fight of their lives."

"Their faces were covered in cuts and bruises, and their clothes were torn under the capes they were wearing. I sent for the Royal Healer and asked them what had happened."

"The older woman tells me that Alexander's men found her outside her home and started teasing her, making some obscene comments and following her around."

"She tried to enter her home and they followed her in, forcing her inside. They grabbed her and threw her on the floor. When her daughter, who is the same age as Alexis, tried to run to get help, they did the same to her. Once they were both on the ground, they took turns raping and beating them."

"A few of my soldiers that were passing by heard their screams. They rushed the house and arrested Alexander's men. The women were a mess and it took everything in my men not to take justice into their own hands."

"By the time she finished, I was furious. And maybe I should've reached out to Alexander and tell him what happened, letting him decide the punishment of his own men. But seeing that young woman and her daughter battered and bruised in front of me, it was enough to bring the Devil back."

"I left them with the Royal Healer and went to confront the men. They all challenged me, saying that they were under Alexander's protection and there was nothing I could do to them."

"I reminded them that they weren't in Josh's Kingdom, they were in mine, and that they assaulted two women of my Kingdom, therefore I could do whatever the hell I wanted with them."

"I ordered their execution by beheading and oversaw it myself. I wanted to make sure they got justice for what had been done to them by those savages."

"You asked for the truth, Arabella. This is it. This is what happened and I don't regret a single moment of it. I would do it again if it means my people is safe from men like that."

Bella doesn't know what to say, her hand to her mouth and tears in her eyes, shocked that someone would do something like that to a mother and daughter. What they went through is something that Bella didn't even want to imagine.

-"What happened to them? The mother and daughter?"

-"I gave the mother a job in the Castle and they both live there, under my protection." - He pushes himself away from the desk. -"People are right when they call me the Devil, and you just had a first hand report of that. You're better off staying away from me."

Henry walks over to his bed and picks up a book, handing it to her.

-"This is for Alexis. She had asked me about it and I told her I have it." - Bella takes the book from him, her hands shaking. -"I hope you find someone that cares about you as much as I do, Arabella. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to finish packing."

-"Henry..."

He turns his back at her, ending the conversation. Bella looks at his back, realizing then what she had done, tears now falling down her cheeks, and starts to leave.

She grabs the doorknob, but before she leaves, she turns to him one last time.

-"I was wrong, Henry. You are so much more than your reputation and I was a fool for not seeing it before it was too late. I'm so sorry."

Bella leaves, wiping the tears from her cheeks, her heart broken because of her own stupidity.

Henry hears the door closing behind her and throws a book he was holding against the nearest wall, thinking that he just lost the only woman he has loved since Sloane's death.