The Destitute Queen || h.s. au

80. Belladonna/Louis

Belladonna

"What are you reading?" I hear Louis ask, startling me. I turn to him, not knowing he had woken up, and find him smiling at me. Looking back to my book, I close it and show him the cover art and title.

"It's a book my mother used to read to me as a child, before she passed away," I explain. "It's my favorite story."

He takes the book from my hands and examines it, flipping through the pages. "What's it about?"

"You really want to know?" I ask, surprised at his interest in my book.

Louis shrugs. "I'm a bit of a reader, myself. Mostly nonfiction, though. Not much for stories. So, are you going to tell me what it's about?"

He hands the book back to me, but not before he stares at the cover. "It's about a beautiful young woman who falls in love with a beast."

He furrows his brows. "What, like, an actual animal?"

"No," I laugh at his question. "Not an actual animal, but a human. Well, he's not completely human. He was, but then he got turned into a beast."

"That's odd," he responds with a chuckle. "Why did he get turned into a beast?"

"He was cruel as a human, so a witch turned him into a beast in order to...teach him a lesson, I guess, about being kind," I explain to him. "She said that the curse would only be broken by true love."

Louis bursts out into laughter. "Really? Who could ever love a beast?"

I shrug, staring longingly at the cover art, depicting the woman and the beast dancing. "Over time, he learned how to love and be kind. Thanks to that young woman, he found true love and the curse was broken."

He scoffs, and I turn to him.

"What?"

Louis looks at me and sits up. "So, he was turned into a beast because he was cruel, but someone fell in love with him anyways? That seems a bit far-fetched. Someone like that doesn't deserve love."

I furrow my brows. "Everyone deserves love."

"Not everyone," he mumbles.

"Well, it's a lovely story nonetheless," I comment, placing the book on my bedside table. I love reading in the morning, especially when the weather is cold and dreary.

Louis seemingly stares at nothing, as if he's in deep thought. Then, he takes a sharp breath and snaps out of his trance.

"So, how are we going to kill Father?" He asks, straightening and resting his back on the headboard. Now that I think about it, it's obvious that he didn't sleep much last night from the dark circles under his eyes, which is strange considering how he fell right asleep last night after we had sex.

I sigh, sitting up as well and mindlessly braiding sections of my hair. "You seem too excited to be thinking about murdering your own father."

"He's an ass who's treated me like shit my whole life," Louis responds, running his fingers through his brown hair. "Not to mention that literally everyone would benefit from him being gone."

"You've got a point there," I agree. I think back to last night, when we were talking. I was a bit harsh with my words when I said that sex is better when you're with someone you love. I was telling the truth, but I didn't expect to see the slight hurt on his face. I don't understand his reaction, were my words a stab at his ego?

This morning starts our first full day as a married couple. I never thought I'd end up married to a prince, yet here I am. If only he was the eldest.