A Deceptive Beauty

Chapter Nineteen

"You know it's his birthday in three days, right?" Sebastian asked, picking up little shards of wood that were scattered across the floor.

Belle glanced up with surprise.

"Really?" the same surprise entered her tone. Kaiden's twenty third birthday was in three days? "Should I give him a gift?" she asked, uncertain if he had any problems with presents.

Sebastian snorted, making her dread his answer. "I'm fairly certain that Mary is the only person who has sent him a gift in the last four years. I think he might appreciate the change," he rolled his eyes.

In response, Belle gave him yet another glare. "That's actually kind of sad. And you didn't give him a gift either," she scolded, but felt a little bad when his smile dropped.

"What do you suggest?" Belle decided to slightly change the subject. Sebastian looked relieved and started giving her ideas.

Belle absentmindedly thought about everything that had happened yesterday. Except for the wolves part. Thinking about that mystery only gave her a headache.

She glanced down at the object in her hand. The longer she looked at it, the messier she thought it was. It was pieces of rock held together by wire to form a small sword-shaped item.

Getting the idea from Kaiden's story about his childhood, she had collected some rocks, polished them up, and grabbed wire that she could find. The hard part was wrapping the wire around the rock pieces so that they wouldn't fall out of the gaps.

But now that she looked at it, the less excited she was about giving it to him. It was more of a lumpy dagger rather than a small sword imitation. But at least the tip was purely wire so it bore a better resemblance to a dagger.

And she didn't know if Kaiden would like it. Maybe he would think it was a foolish, childish gift. Or it might be sensitive, considering how his story ended.

Sighing, she placed it down on the desk. She will decide what to do with it later. Because if Elizabeth caught her giving something to Kaiden...

Her hand rose to her neck. When she looked in the mirror this morning, there had been a purple-ish ring around her neck, from where she had been choked. It was slightly sore and tender.

That morning, Charlotte, with wide-eyes, had helped her frame her hair in a way where it would cover most of the bruised line. After her friend had examined the way her hair flowed around the sides of her neck and over her bodice, she demanded for Belle to tell her what happened.

When she had finished telling her, Charlotte looked furious and appeared as if she would blow up any moment. Belle had to calm her down, before she did anything rash.

As much as she secretly wished for retribution, she knew Charlotte would regret her actions afterward. Even if was toward someone as horrible as Elizabeth.

Belle reached into her pocket, feeling around for a familiar chain. Her necklace was now in her pocket, and was not on her neck because it was a little soon. But as long as it was on her person, she could be comforted.

Or at least provide some memories for her to think about as she cleaned. She felt as if she needed to think of her mother again, especially after the story Kaiden had told about his parents.

But when she tried, it just didn't work out. So she kept on with the boring chores. She had finally finished the library, after many weeks, so then she only needed to dust it every once in a while. Gardening was done yesterday, and she had been politely asked to not go back to the West Wing, or more accurately, the secret hall.