Blood and Snow

Chapter Twenty

"Gee whizz, Billy! That's one heck of a mackerel!" A young voice hollered from the television screen. "I'll say!" Yelled another young voice in response. Bradley, Happy, and Belle watched intently as a little boy, about Bradley's age, yanked hard on his fishing pole. A fish the size of the boy's companion flew onto the deck of their boat, body-slamming said companion into the water. Bradley and Happy both started laughing hysterically while Belle covered her mouth. The lawyer's shoulders were shaking with laughter as she tried not to laugh out loud.

She was failing miserably.

"Bobby!" Billy called for his companion in shock. His friend, Bobby, resurfaced a few feet away from the boat. His arms were flailing as he screamed a panicked, "Billy, help me!"

"Hang on, Bobby!" Billy cried on screen. As he threw a rope out to his friend, Bradley snorted. "Seriously, since when was there a rope on that boat? That just came out of nowhere!"

Happy opened her mouth to respond. After a second she finally said, "Holy shindig, you're right. Belle, Bradley found a loophole!"

Belle giggled, "A loophole?"

"Y'know, a loophole." Happy said quickly, "It's when a story or a cartoon or something makes a filming error. Like, say, a cartoon had a robot that's waterproof in the beginning, but halfway through the first season the same robot goes underwater and stops working."

"Oh." Belle responded, then smiled. "That makes sense. Nice catch, Bradley."

"Thank you! I have the sixth sense of finding loopholes!" The boy shouted enthusiastically. Belle and Happy laughed again, Bradley joining them a moment later. There was a sudden click, then the door to the room opened. The trio's laughter cut off as Flynn entered the room. Bradley's smile widened greatly, "Hey, Flynn! How was your trip?"

"Ahoy, BB. T'was a fruitless one, but that is no matter. How be ye' three?" The redhead replied with a smile. Happy smiled back, "We're doing great! Wanna watch cartoons with us?"

Flynn's smile turned into a slight frown. "I would, but the captain requested tah see th' lass." He said, pointing at Belle. Belle frowned nervously and nodded. Mason may have been acting nice towards her for the past two days or so, but that doesn't mean that he won't hurt her if he wants to. "Okay," she said, "Where am I going?"

"To th' captain's office. Happy can show ye' th' way if ye' don' remember how tah get th're."

"I think I can find my way, thank you, though." Belle gave the other three a smile, "Have fun watching cartoons."

Bradley smiled innocently, "We will! See you later, Belle!"

Happy smiled a little sadly as she watched Belle leave. She turned to Flynn a couple of second after the door closed and asked, "She thinks Mason's going to kill her soon, doesn't she?"

Flynn sighed, keeping his voice low so that Bradley couldn't hear them over the cartoon. "She doesn't think, Lassie," he whispered, "She knows."

}—————{

Belle knocked on the door to Mason's office. Pulling her hand back and fidgeting with both of them, she bit her lip. 'I just hope it's nothing bad...' she thought. The door opened, revealing Mason's tall figure in the doorway. He looked down at her and smiled. "Hello, Belle. Come in." He stepped to the side, holding the door for her. She nodded and walked through, Mason closing the door behind her. Belle looked around the room.

Not much has changed about it, really. The only noticeable difference was that the office was lit up better. She watched as Mason walked around her towards the desk. He stopped beside said desk and turned around, like he was about to sit down but decided against it. The tall man smiled at her, "So, how have you been enjoying your stay?"

Belle smiled nervously, "I-It's been alright so far... You guys are actually... dare I say it... really nice."

"Nice? Us? Really?" He said with a chuckle, "That's not what the others have said to us, but I guess we'll take it."

"Others; as in...?" Belle questioned. Mason nodded. "Yes, the other captives we've had." he responded in a monotone voice, "As I've mentioned before, you're different from them. For one thing, you're still alive."

He grinned at the joke. Belle, on the other hand, let out a nervous "ha ha" and looked away. "Somehow." She said after a moment. Her gaze lingered over to the bookshelves. Now that she could see them better, she was able to read the titles. She smiled a little, 'If Mason actually reads these, he's got a good taste in books.'

"Do you like to read?" Mason asked suddenly. Belle looked back at him and nodded. "I didn't really have anything else to do when I was younger, so I'd always spend the summers in my room reading novels."

"All summer long?" Mason asked, raising one eyebrow, "Didn't you have any friends?"

"Not until fifth grade." Belle replied, "Even then, I didn't see her outside of school very often."

Mason nodded to show that he was listening, "Go on."

The lawyer looked and put a hand behind her neck. "There's really not much else to tell," she said, "My life was pretty boring."

"I'm sure it can't be that boring," he replied. Belle gave him another nervous smile, "No, trust me, my life has been unbelievably boring."

Belle's smile disappeared. "So, was there something you needed from me? Why was I summoned here?" She was quick to change the subject. Mason seemed to pause and think. After about ten seconds, he said, "Oh! Yes, now I remember. The others and I are going to have a small celebration on the twenty-fourth."

"Really? That sounds fun." Belle responded. Mason nodded. "However," he said, "Because you're not one of us, you're not going to be celebrating with us. I want your word that you won't try to escape while no one's watching you."

Belle nodded, "You already have it."

'Even if I do make it out of the warehouse somehow, I have no clue where I am. I could get lost in the woods and starve to death before I ever find a city.' She thought gloomily. Mason nodded and stepped away from the desk. "Thank you," he said, "... You have been very cooperative so far. It must get boring sitting in your room all day. For your good behavior, I'll let you take one of the novels to read."

Belle's eyes brightened at that, "Really?"

Mason nodded again, "Really. Take your pick, any one of them."

As he said that last part, Belle walked over to one of the shelves and pulled out The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. It had caught her eye when she was scanning the titles earlier. Mason smiled, "Good choice, that's an interesting book."

"I'll say." Belle responded happily. She looked back up at Mason and smiled. Not a small, nervous smile like before, but a true, genuine, whole-hearted smile that radiated cheer. "Thank you, Mason. I really appreciate it."

His eyes seemed to widen a bit, but he quickly covered it up with the same charming smile he had used before. "Of course," he finally replied, "You May return to your room now. Enjoy the book."

"I will. Have a good day." Belle said. She turned around and left the room, still smiling that 1,000-kilowatt smile. After she closed the door, Mason waited until she was far away enough before lurching to the side. He propped himself up on his desk using his hand. He felt his cheek with the other hand. "What... was that?" He demanded from himself. When Belle smiled, something inside him was triggered. He couldn't tell exactly what it was or why it was there, but it was definitely not normal. The heat in his face started to fade as he calmed down, but the thoughts still lingered.

'That... what?... What in the fiery pits of hell!?' He stood up straight and huffed. "Whatever, it's gone now..." He shook his head and walked to the office door.

[Oh, how wrong he was!]