The Belladonna

Chapter 4

Isabella's POV:

I stared at Duke with wide eyes, gripping my sword as tight as I could. "How do you know my name?" I ask, seeing his grin get bigger as he stares me down. "Oh? Don't you know?" he asks amused and I grit my teeth together.

"If I knew would I really waste time talking to you?" I snap and he begins to laugh, shaking his head before giving me a dark look. "Drake was right." he says and my eyes widen. "What?" I ask, completely thrown off guard by his comment. How could Drake be right? Right about what? He can't be! He's dead! Drake is dead!!

Duke used my hesitation as his advantage and he charged me, bringing his sword down on me and I gasped, barely getting mine up in time. He grinned devilishly as he stared down on me, the force of his blade a lot stronger than I anticipated. My arms were shaking and I clenched my teeth together, my eyes narrowing as I was trying to keep him at bay.

He grabbed my hand, making my eyes go wide as he brings me to him, grabbing my other hand so that I couldn't cut at him with my sword. I stared up at him with fear, seeing him smirking down at me. I was at his mercy right now, his grip was too tight for me.

Duke begins to drag me up the stairs, making me struggle as we went. "You're about to be enlightened, little girl." he murmurs, throwing me across the ship and I let out a gasp of pain as I slammed into the side, falling to the ground.

I closed one eye, getting on my knees as I looked up at Duke, who was towering over me and I felt fear pierce my heart. This terrible look...it's just the same as Drake's.

"Get up, Bella." he says, bringing his leg back and kicking me hard in the stomach, making me yell out in pain as I rolled a few feet away from him, holding my stomach. I tried to get up, gasping for breath as I did. I staggered to my feet, gasping as I held my sword out in front of me, seeing Duke laugh.

"That's the spirit, Bella! Keep going until you have no chance of winning!" he says gleefully and I grit my teeth together. This guy...he's not just like Drake, he's worse than him.

I took a deep breath, ignoring the pain in my side as I focused in on Duke. I couldn't let him think he intimidated me, because that would only make him even more eager to hurt me. I tightened the grip on my sword, giving Duke a glare as he continued to smirk at me. 

"What do you mean Drake was right? He's dead!! He's been dead for years!" I shout, wanting to know what Duke was trying to pull. He just laughs, holding his stomach as he threw his head back, laughing harder than I thought he would at such a question. 

I ran at him in anger, letting out a shout as I sliced at him with my sword, but my eyes widened whenever he brought his sword up, blocking my attack easily. He looked down at me and I felt my heartbeat speed up at the dark glare I received. 

"It's not very nice to attack someone when they're unprepared, Bella." he says darkly, pushing me back and I blocked his next attack, gritting my teeth as his weight began to feel heavy. My arms were shaking and he continued to glare at me, the smirk gone from his face, his blue eyes chilling me to the bone.

He swung his leg around and I tried to block it with my arm, but whenever his leg hit me, he took another stab with his sword and I gasped as it hits my side, barely missing puncturing my stomach. I stagger back, looking down at my side to see blood dripping down. Grabbing it with my free hand, I look up at Duke, who has a dark smile on his face.

"I can see why he liked you, Bella. You're a real fighter. But sometimes people who don't listen aren't worth keeping around. I'm glad he didn't kill you, because he's given me the chance to do so." Duke says lowly and an involuntary shiver goes through my spine, making me shudder. Duke caught it and began to chuckle.