The Beast Inside | ✓

4 | Beastly As It Comes

Three months had passed after her father had left the village and there had been no sign of him since. Arabella was worried but the mundane tasks of everyday managed to grab her attention enough that she was too exhausted to think about it at night.

"Deck the halls with loads of weapons,

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

'Tis the season of bloody splashes,

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Don we now our detective apparel,

Fa la la, la la la, la la la.

Troll the ancient murdering Harolds,

Fa la la la la, la la la la," Jennifer sang cheerfully making Arabella shudder.

"Jen, you really need to stop changing the lyrics of these beautiful Christmas carols with stories of murders and blood. It's not good for the baby," Arabella said fearfully, glancing at her sister whose stomach had become more swollen than ever.

In fact, Bella was certain that the baby was going to enter the world within a few days with the way her sister seemed to look.

"But she needs to grow up to be a detective. She can't be a detective in the future if ahe doesn't learn about all this from young," her completely crazy sister replied.

Arabella groaned softly, shaking her head. "When people say 'young', they mean from the age of around five years old or something. Not months before the child is even born!"

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter to me. I'm hungry, Bella. Is there any more strawberries left?" she asked, clutching her stomach in hunger, but softly so as to not hurt the young baby in her womb.

"No, Jen but I'll get you some from the market though. Just give me a few moments to do so. Meanwhile, you could always knit another scarf for the babe, you know. Winter is coming soon and it will not be as forgiving as last year. I'll only be gone awhile," Arabella said, wrapping her shawl around her body.

Autumn had turned out horribly this year. It was already hard enough to prepare for winter. The rains that seemed to pour on them daily now did not help at all. They could only pray that there was enough wood to last them at least the first month with the way things were going. Plus, the baby was going to be born soon and the house needed to be warm enough for a small, vulnerable being like that.

It was hard to keep up with her sister's daily cravings but she had learnt that the only way to keep Jennifer happy the whole day -which, in turn, kept the rest of the house happy- was to settle her cravings quickly so that her sister's anger did not have enough time to build up.

It was not healthy for her and the baby nor was it any good for the rest of the family, particularly since the foul mood of one could terribly dampen the cheeriness of the rest.

Closing the door tightly behind her so that the cold winds did not affect her pregnant sister who was now all alone at home, she trudged through the snow, forcing her boots to dig deep into the muddy lanes. The rain was being a huge pain to the entire village and Arabella could not wait for the bright summer to return and cast rays of hope over the villagers once again.

As she managed to haggle for the last remaining strawberries available, Arabella shrugged off a shiver. She needed to return home soon or she would get bitten by the cold. There was a name for it -frostbite, perhaps?- but Bella didn't care. She just needed to make it home safe and sound with those strawberries intact.

Since her home, along with every other villagers', was uphill, climbing up the slope proved to be tons harder than sliding down. After she managed to do so successfully, she heaved out a deep breath, before taking big steps home.

Just a few more and she would be home, she wondered.

The thought comforted her as she eyed the shut doors of all the houses around her. Everyone was fighting the disastrous cold and Arabella pitied her brother-in-law who worked as a woodcutter and had to make trips to the forest daily, despite rain or shine.

So lost in her thoughts she was, Arabella didn't realize when someone grabbed her shoulders causing the basket to fall to the ground (luckily the strawberries stayed inside), as he pinned her against the walls of a random house and covered her mouth with one hand.

Her eyes widened as she realized there was no one around to help. As she eyed the man standing in front of her, fear struck deep in her heart.

There was no one other than herself to save her from Cassius anymore and no matter how many times her loved ones had warned her to be, she was not at all prepared.

"Bella, we need to talk!" he whispered, his eyes staring coldly into hers.

----

Question of the Chapter: What is something that made you smile today?

Also, why is Cassius acting like that??

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