Sariel: Once you have signed the covenant, I will show you to your room.
Veronica: Okay, okay, but-wait, what?
Sariel: Is something the matter?
Veronica: Did you just say you're going to show me to my room?
Sariel: I did.
Veronica: Really? MY room?
Sariel: What other room would I show you to?
Veronica: You're talking about my room in my house down in town, right?
Sariel: I'm talking about the room that has been prepared for you, here in the palace. The person chosen as Belle is required to live in the palace until such time as she has fulfilled her duties.
(Wait, wait, why didn't you tell me this sooner? Why didn't I think of it myself?) I'd been dreaming of starring in my own fairytale, but I'd forgotten they always started with the heroine's life being turned upside down.
Veronica: But I can't just drop everything and live here for a whole month! What about my job at the bookstore?
Sariel: The owner has already been contacted, and an interim replacement has already been hired.
Veronica: Okay, well... what about my things? I need to go home and pack my clothes, and-
Sariel: Your belongings have already been brought to the palace and put away in your room.
Veronica: You broke into my home?! Never mind, of course you did. But... okay, fine! But what about Rio?!
Sariel: Yes, over here.
Sariel snapped his fingers again. and I stared at him.
Rio: Ver, it's been HOURS! I missed you so much!
Veronica: What?!
Rip came hurrying into the throne room, and I stared-not just at him, but at the clothes he was wearing. (It's like you're playing at being a butler or something... although that outfit is so good you look like the real thing!)
Veronica: Rio... what's with these clothes?
Rio: I've been lucky enough to get a job here!
Veronica: Here? You mean at the palace?!
Sariel: Consider it one of the perks of being Belle. You are permitted to keep a pet at the palace.
Veronica: A... pet?
Sariel: This is your pet, is it not? When I entered the bookstore, it started barking non-stop, so I had no choice but to bring it with me.
Rio: I know, I know, I kind of lost my head when I heard you were chosen to be Belle, Ver! But I'm so relieved Sariel is such a reasonable, helpful person!
I expected Sariel to have a comeback for that, and I was surprised by the silence that followed.
Veronica: Sariel, is it my imagination, or do you look a little weary all of a sudden?
Sariel: Not in the slightest... haha.
(I have never wished to have been a fly on the wall so badly in my life! Just how did you get the better of Sariel. Rio?) But before I could ask anything more, Sariel cleared his throat discreetly.
Sariel: It seemed appropriate to assign him to be your attendant. Be sure to follow your mistress's orders to the letter, Dog.
Rio: I will! Don't worry, Ver, no matter what happens, I'll be here to protect you.
Veronica: Thanks, Rio. And sorry for getting you caught up in this.
Rio: Not at all! If anything, I can hardly believe I finally get to call you 'Mistress' for real! It's like a dream come true!
Veronica: Okay, stop right there. Do NOT call me that!
(But... I'm actually really glad you're here being your usual goofy self. I feel a lot less alone all of a sudden.)
Sariel: Now, if you could save playing with your pet for later, I would like you to read through the clauses of the covenant.
I sighed and turned back to the giant pile of paperwork, but the language was dry, and the words all seemed to blur together. (There's no way I can read this in one go! Even if I manage to stay awake somehow, I'll be here all night! I'm just going to have to trust that there's nothing awful in here, and read over it later when I've got time to focus on it.) I flipped quickly through the rest of the pages. barely even scanning them, and then reached for the quill waiting nearby. I signed my name where I'd been told, and Sariel reached out, his smile satisfied as he touched the page next to my signature.
Sariel: Thank you very much. With this, you have now formally been appointed to the position of Belle. I'm afraid the princes of our kingdom are a strange lot, and not a single one of them is easy to deal with... But please use the purity in your heart to choose a good king for us, won't you?
Veronica: I will. I'm going to do this right, no mater what it takes.
I looked up, meeting Sariel's gaze, and for the first time since I'd met him, his smile seemed genuine, with no ulterior motive.
Rio: Okay then, Ver! I know this is all a bit sudden, but why don't we go straight to our new love nest?
Veronica: I think you mean MY room. Just mine. Right?
But Rio's grin and his light-hearted, teasing voice made me feel better, and I grinned back at him as I turned away from Sariel. (I'm still really worried about what comes next, but... I chose this. And whatever happens, I'm not going to regret that.) I glanced back as we walked away, just in time to see the first petal break away from the rose and flutter to the bottom of the glass dome. (I need to learn more about the princes, and more about Rhodolite itself, and then... I'll be able to choose the best king.)
**After Veronica and Rio had left the throne room-**
Sariel: Things are going to get very busy from here on.
Sariel turned away, glancing down at the covenant just as a gust of wind blew in through the open door.
The pages shifted across the table, revealing the last page of the covenant, and the final clause at the bottom. But who could know then that those simple words would so cruelly twist the fate of all that was to come after?
Covenant clause 99
Once the selection process is concluded,
Belle is forbidden
from having any further contact
with the chosen king in any capacity.
YOU ARE READING
Beauty and her Beast (Nokto)
Ficção GeralYou've been selected as "Belle" to choose the next king out of the eight princes. If that wasn't hard enough, the princes turn out to be hot...and deadly. In a world of war and intrigue, will you be able to save his heart and yours as you enter your...
