Blood and Snow

Chapter Ten

Belle stared at him for a moment, then shook her head and asked, "W-Why am I here?"

He smiled grimly, "I wanted to have a word with you."

The Puppet Master walked around his desk and sat down, looking at her. He gestured for her to come closer, and she obeyed, walking up to his desk and standing only a foot away from it. She may have been a bit taller than him when he's sitting down, but she still felt smaller than a mouse. He looked her in the eye, pink meeting crystal-blue, and said "So, I was in the dining hall with Baron and Tyreke, when the most interesting thing popped up on the news."

Belle didn't entirely like where this was going.

"I didn't know that you're twenty-nine years old, or that your last name is Dance. Pardon my rudeness, but I find your last name very peculiar." He said, an amused smile on his face. His smile grew wider, "Anything else you'd like to tell me? Where you grew up, who you know, how you know them, etcetera?..."

Belle was alarmed, but did her best to remain calm, "N-No, thank y-you."

'Nice, Belle, you sure sound brave... I'm going to need CPR by the time he's through with me...'

The Devil's smile fell, his expression became serious as he raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

"Y-Yes, I'm sure..." she managed to squeak out, crossing her arms in front of her stomach as a way of calming her nerves. "I see then..." He said calmly, yet in a dark tone. Then, fast as lightning, the Puppet Master lunged at her from behind the desk. Belle didn't have time to react as he grabbed her by the throat, pulling her towards him. He held her throat tightly, making it hard to breathe and impossible to scream. She couldn't hold back her look of horror as she felt cold metal pressed against her skin, where her neck meets her collarbone. "Now," he said, a cruel smile on his face, "You're going to answer my questions, and tell me exactly what I want to know. Am I clear?"

Tears began to form in Belle's eyes, "Y-Y-Y-Yes..."

His eyes narrowed, "And try not to stutter, please, it's really an inconvenience to my time. Now, first question, is Dance really your last name? Because that doesn't sound like a real name, though, I could be wrong."

Belle looked him in the eyes, "N-No, I had it legally ch-changed to Dance."

He smiled, pleased that she was being honest, "Why did you change it?"

The tears started dripping from Belle's eyes, "Please, I-I'd rather not talk... about that." She paused in the middle of her sentence when his grip on her throat tightened. She was pretty sure that he could felt her rapid heartbeat by now. Her eyes remained wide open. "Alright, I will grant you this one pardon, but from now on, answer me."

Belle shakily nodded, "Understood."

He still looked angry, but had a wide, tense smile on his face. "Good..." He said in a dark tone, "Next question, how long have you been living in Scott City?"

With each minute passing by at an agonizingly slow pace, and each question answered honestly, the Devil seemed to become calmer. They must have been doing this for twenty minutes by now. His grip loosened on Belle's neck, but not by much, just enough so that she didn't have too much difficulty breathing. "Well done, we're almost finished here. Last question," he said, his smile darkening more than it already was, "What do the police know about me?"

Belle's eyes widened, she didn't have enough to answer that question, just basic things that are pretty well-known about him. "I-I don't know everything," she started off, her eyes widening more when his grip on her throat tightened again, the knife seeming to press harder onto her skin, "I-I didn't have enough time to read the file they g-gave me, Flynn and Tyreke kidnapped me under half-f an hour since I got it! I d-didn't open it that night, I-I-I swear! I only know some things that my f-friend told me!"

His smile fell, he brought her face closer to his, and Belle had to set her hands on his desk to keep herself from falling. She could see the cruelty in his eyes, "Tell me."

"The-They said that the police have no clue as to what you l-look like or wh-who you are." She said quickly, tears still streaming from her eyes as her heart beat sped up even more, "The—The police susp-p-pect that you lead a group, b-but they don't know for sure... They th-think they know where you may be, th-th-th-though."

He looked very, very angry, and his grip tightened even more, making Belle choke. Belle was pretty sure that he was about to kill her. It was hard to get the image of her death out of her head. A deep, wide cut slashed across her throat, blood pouring from her neck, nose, and mouth. Crimson pooling around her body as she took her final breath. "Where?" He nearly shouted.

"I-I don't know!" She cried, "I-I-I only heard that the S.W.A.T. were going to infiltrate th-the pl-ace within a week's time of m-my abduction! I s-sw-swear, that's all I know!"

The Devil looked at her with rage in his eyes, yet they also had a calculating look in them. His eyes narrowed into slits, then, suddenly, he let her go, shoving her away. Belle stumbled back and fell to the ground, curling into a fetal position and holding her throat as she gasped for air. When she finally caught her breath, though her breathing was still ragged, she sat up. She look at the Puppet Master, who kept a serious, cruel expression as he stood up from his seat. "Thank you for your time," he said, his voice eerily calm, "You may leave my office now, Happy should be waiting outside the door."

Belle nodded rapidly, standing up and speed-walking out the door. She tried not to slam his door, but wasn't sure if she did or not, as she was panicking, thinking that maybe he'd shoot her in the head while her back was turned. She turned to the left and almost ran in to Happy, who had a grim, pitying look on her face. Happy held Belle gently by the arm, guiding her towards the room she's supposed to stay in. When Happy closed the door, and they walked to the center of the room, that's when Belle broke.

She collapsed to the floor, Happy going down with her as she wrapped her arms around Belle. Belle sobbed loudly, Happy's shoulder immediately becoming drenched with her tears. Happy felt remorseful, as she genuinely saw Belle as a friend. The only thing that she could do was comfort Belle as the poor woman had one of the worst breakdowns that Happy had ever seen.