Blood and Snow

Chapter Seventeen

There wasn't too much damage to the inside of her mouth, so Tyreke didn't have to give her any medicine, but he did warn her that she might get a sore where she bit her cheek. After he left, Belle felt tired. 'What if I have that nightmare again?' She thought sleepily, laying down on the bed again. She put her coat over herself, facing away from the wall. 'Let's hope that doesn't happen...'

Though it took a little while, she managed to fall asleep again. Luckily, she didn't have another nightmare. Instead, she dreamed that she was floating in a dark abyss, still wrapped in the black trench coat. It was oddly calming.

[Day Eight]

Belle woke up slowly, a slightly uneasy feeling crawling up her spine. She shivered and sat up on the bed. She looked up and froze, locking eyes with the man standing to the left of the door. "Morning." Baron said, leaning his back against the wall.

"Good morning," Belle responded, a bit nervous, "... How long have you been there?"

The big man was silent for a moment. "... Since after you fell back to sleep."

Belle nodded, not questioning him any further. There was a minute of awkward silence between them as the two looked away from each other. Finally, Baron huffed and turned toward the door. He opened it and left without another word, closing the door behind him. Belle looked at the door, 'That was... something. Why was he in here?'

Belle looked down and shook her head, 'Rephrase that; why would he want to be in here?'

Whatever his reason was, she would most likely never ask him directly. He might pull out a knife on her for suggesting that he cares or something. She laughed nervously at the thought.

}—————{

Belle admired the outfit she put on, looking at the decorated sleeves with a glimmer of happiness. It was a long-sleeved top the color of red velvet, with white-cream lines along the sleeves. She wore a long skirt that went past her knees, it was the same white-cream color of the sleeves' decorations. The lawyer smiled to herself. 'It's lovely. Lillian would probably ask if it's edible, since it looks like her favorite cake.'

Belle sighed, brushing her hair with a hairbrush that Happy let her borrow. She put the hairbrush down on the bed and pulled her hair into a tight bun. 'Always buns, nothing else. Maybe I could ask Happy to braid my hair...'

Belle shivered. It was a bit colder than usual. She grabbed her coat and put it on. Slipping her boots on, she summoned all the courage she had and walked to the door. She open it and looked at Baron. He wasn't looming like some sort of bear, but she should still be cautious. "Hey, Baron?" Belle asked quietly. Baron looked at her with bored eyes. "What?" He grumbled. Belle smiled shyly, "Can we go somewhere?"

Baron looked at her suspiciously, "I'll repeat myself. What?"

"I figured that you and I both are probably bored," his expression told her that she was correct, "So I was wondering if you'd like to walk the hallways with me?..."

"... Why are you asking me, of all people?" The big man asked. Belle's smile became genuine. "Well, you're the only one around right now. For all I know, we could be the only ones awake... What time is it, actually?"

"Probably seven in the morning. Now continue."

Belle nodded, "Thank you. I... also wanted to try talking to you. I mean, like, talking normally, since you're not as terrifying as before..."

Baron raised a brow, "I will give you plenty of reasons to fear me, if you're actually thinking that I'm harmless."

Belle raised her hands innocently, "I wasn't suggesting that. Trust me, you're still pretty scary."

She couldn't see it in the dim lighting of the hallway, but that got him to smile a bit in amusement. Just the tiniest bit. Like, for a millisecond. But it was still something. He huffed, "Fine. But only because I have nothing better to do."

Belle's smile widened, "Thank you, Baron. After you."

Baron walked past her, Belle turning around to follow him. She had to speed-walk to keep up with the man's long strides. They came up to one of the hallway-crossings and took a left. After about thirty seconds Baron noticed that Belle was lightly panting from how fast she had to walk, so he slowed down for her. "Thanks." She said, her breathing slowly returning to normal. "Sure." He responded.

Belle was quiet for a moment as they walked side-by-side. Then she asked, "Hey, Baron,... how did you meet Mason and the others?"

Baron slowed to a stop, then shook his head and continued walking before Belle could slow down herself. "I ran away from everything I knew." He said after a minute. Belle looked at him questioningly. "My city, my house, and my friends. Because I committed multiple crimes. About seventy-nine percent of them were homicides."

"Oh..." Belle responded, unsure of what to say. Baron looked at her with a blank stare, "You still want to talk about it?"

Belle frowned, "... Only if you want to."

The big man frowned back, "No, I don't."

Baron thought for a second. "Okay," he said, "I answered your question, now you answer mine. What in the hell were you dreaming about last night that made you scream like someone was trying to rip you in half?"

"I-I... uhm," Belle faltered, not expecting that question. Unsure of how to form the correct sentences, she started slowly. "You're right. It's only fair that I answer. I... was in my office, back at the law building," Belle spoke warily, fidgeting with her hands, "It was on lockdown and all the lights were off, but no one else was there... in one piece..."

The lawyer shivered, causing Baron to actually feel a bit pitiful. "I was walking around in a black coat, I don't think it was mine. It was pretty dark, but I found a flashlight at one of my coworker's desk. I walked towards the front desk to see if anyone was there..." her fidgeting became more panicked, "The secretary was torn to shreds... I went to my friend's office because I was so sure that she'd be okay... but what I saw..."

Belle stopped, making Baron slow down and turn around. A tear slipped from her eye, but she wiped it away like it wasn't supposed to be there. "Lillian was dead," she said, her voice shaking a bit, "It was awful, Baron. Something ripped my friend open and threw her insides across the room... her face... That's when I screamed in the nightmare."

Belle clenched her hands into fists, looking back up at Baron, "Something roared at me, then it jumped on me. I was trying to get away from it, then I woke up on the floor with everyone else." She looked away from Baron, almost embarrassed, and said, "I'm sorry. I know that it was just a bad dream, and that I shouldn't let it get to me. But it was so real, and seeing Lillian dead... like that—..."

She stopped. Baron had walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I understand." he said after a moment, "Nightmares are a bitch, it happens to everyone. Some are effected more than others."

Belle looked up at him, confused, but too relieved to care if he was serious or not. She gave him a small smile. Baron turned around and started walking again, pulling Belle along by her shoulder. "Come on," he said, trying to act grumpy again, "Let's go get coffee or something."