Blood and Snow

Chapter Four

"And this is where you'll be staying."

It was almost midnight when Belle was allowed out of the room she woke up in. Tyreke has determined that she didn't have a concussion, nor trauma. Apparently, it's just that easy for her skin to bruise. Now, Baron and Myckenzie were showing Belle her 'room'. It really wasn't what she expected, with her being a prisoner and all. It was small, but with a high ceiling and a one-person bed in the middle of the far wall. The floor was now made out of concrete, so Belle thought it was safe to assume that this is the first floor.

She relaxed a bit when she walked into the room, and she turned to look at Myckenzie, "Pardon me if I'm being rude, and I am most certainly not complaining... but... why do I get a nice room? Aren't I a hostage or prisoner, whatever word is appropriate for this?"

Myckenzie laughed, to Belle's surprise. Much not to Bell's surprise, Baron gave a disapproving huff. "Well," Myckenzie said between laughs, "If you must know, the boss always lets... guests... have rooms like these because they usually won't leave it for months."

"They choose to stay?" Bell asked, a bit confused.

"They're forced to stay. The door doesn't lock, but that doesn't do much good for them." Myckenzie replied. "Then what keeps them in?" Belle asked. Her gaze then drifted to Baron, giving her the answer before Myckenzie did. "Why do you think Big Bad Baron came with us? I'm your escort, he makes sure that you don't run away or try to attack me... Though given the fact that you're a lawyer, a fragile one at that, I highly doubt that you'd even try."

Belle threw her offended feelings out the window, "Oh, I see."

Baron, bored, went out into the corridor. Belle didn't know whether to be thankful or more worried. "Is he...?"

"No," Myckenzie caught on, "He won't be in the same room as you. He'll just be outside your door the whole time. I swear that man never sleeps. Oh, and don't try to run from him. He loves it when our guests run from him, it gives him a reason to kill them."

"Oh my..."

"Yep. Pretty sure he's got knives  hidden inside that trench coat of his." Myckenzie turned to walk out the door. "Maybe I'll see you in a week!" She called. Then she closed the door, and Belle was alone. She walked over to the bed and sat down, thinking about Lillian.

Belle chuckled, she could hear her now. The "I-told-you-this" and "I-told-you-that" remarks flying from her friend's mouth. Perhaps even a finger jab to the stomach with a "And-you-forgot-to-get-your-folder" for extra measure. Bell sighed and took off her white trench coat, using it as a blanket instead of the actual blankets on the bed.

"If I ever get out of this alive," she muttered under her breathe, exhausted, "Lillian's going to kill me."

Belle closed her eyes, then fell asleep.

}—————{

Bell woke up screaming.

She sat up and cried into her hands, terrified. She had a nightmare, a bad one. Everyone she cared about, or once cared for, had been dead, killed in a cruel, violent way, each one more gruesome than the last. And they were all strung up in a maze for her to see. Baron was there, too. Covered in blood, with bear claws and a near-severed jaw with long, sharp teeth. He was chasing her through the labyrinth, saying things about how she can't escape him and merrily hollering out all of the different ways he was going to kill her. The Devil's laughter was in the background.

In the end, Baron had caught her. He lifted her up by the neck, held her face close to his, and chuckled. And then he bit her head off. The laughter in the background growing from a taunting manner, into maniacal cackles.

Bell sobbed quietly, then heard a click as the door opened. She looked up with wide, panicked eyes. Baron was looking at her, clearly annoyed. She could swear that his eyes looked like they were glowing red in the dimly lit room. "Is something wrong?" He growled.

"...N-No... Sorry... J-Just a bad dr-dream..." Belle lowered her head, "I'm sorry f-for disturbing you... I'll sh-shut up now..."

Baron rolled his eyes and cursed at her under his breath, then turned away and slammed the door.

}—————{

[Day Two]

It was approximately nine O' clock in the morning when someone— who was not Baron, thankfully— entered the room she was in. It was Tyreke, and he was carrying a tray of food to her. "Good morning," he greeted her politely, "Sleep well?" he asked. Belle shook her head tiredly, "I feel like I haven't slept at all."

"Really, how so?" He asked as he set the tray down in front of her on the bed, there was sliced fruit and waffles on it. He nudged the tray towards Belle, who then took an apple slice and began to eat it. "I had a nightmare," she said, "After I woke up from it, I never went back to sleep. I think I've been up for a few hours..."

Belle took another bite of the apple slice in her hand. Tyreke tilted his head a bit, "Go on." he urged her. Belle looked at him then took the bowl of fruit and brought it to her, as she ate slowly from the bowl, she explained her nightmare to him. Tyreke seemed to listen to her story intently.

When she was finished, Tyreke nodded, stood up, and turned towards the door, "I'll be right back." then he left her alone.

While he was gone, Belle finished the breakfast that he brought her. Tyreke returned after nearly ten minutes. "Sorry that took so long," he said, "I had to find one that wasn't used."

Belle was about to question what he said when the green-eyed man put an empty journal and a pen on the bed beside her. "Think of this as a diary, almost." He said kindly, pointing to the book, "I want you to write down whatever bothers you or feels important to you in here, I've found that it's a good way to rant about your feelings to someone without Baron eavesdropping, like he probably is now."

"Damn right I am." came a muffled shout from the other side of the door. Belle internally panicked, hoping that he wasn't listening to her talk about the nightmare she had. That would be terrible. Tyreke waved his hand in front of her to get her attention again. She looked at him and he smiled, "Don't worry, he actually does that a lot."

Tyreke gestured towards the door, "Now please, follow me."

Belle was confused, but did as she was told and stood up. She wrapped her coat around herself and walked to the door behind Tyreke. When Tyreke opened the door, Baron was standing across from it, glaring at the two of them. "If she's leaving this room, I have to go with her." He grumbled. Tyreke sighed, "You actually don't have to, Flynn is supposed to meet us in the storage room. If I'm not there with her—" he gestured to Belle, "— in five minutes, he'll come to look for us."

Baron gave him a disbelieving look, but nodded, "Fine. But only because I don't want to be stuck with her for the entire rest of the time she's alive."

"Thanks." he said. 'Does he hate me that much? Just because I'm a lawyer?' Belle wondered, then pushed the thought to the back of her head as she followed closely behind Tyreke. "I'm sorry about Baron," he said quietly, "He just doesn't like anyone who has to do with the law in general; especially police officers."

"Why?" Belle asked.

Tyreke did not answer.