Blood and Snow

Chapter Twenty-Four

Mason was talking to Fredrick and Baron a minute ago when the three of them heard Belle crying. Again. They walked into the room, but she wasn't on the bed. She started sobbing louder. It sounded like she was under the bed. Mason sat down on the floor next to the bed and lifted up a part of the quilt. "Miss Dance, are you alright?" He asked. She didn't answer him, she just kept crying. And gasping. "Belle?" Mason asked again.

Still, she didn't respond. Mason furrowed his brows. Can't she hear him? She at the very least should still be able to see him. He was looking her in the eyes. But here eyes weren't focused. It looked like she was somewhere else. "Belle?" He tried again, a bit more concerned. Fredrick looked at Mason quizzically, "Can she not hear you?"

"I don't know." Mason answered. Finally he looked behind him, "Baron, can you help me get her out of there?"

Baron huffed and walked over to the bed. He got on his hands and knees and looked under the bed. "Alright, come here." He demanded. Belle didn't respond to him either. Baron growled and reached under the bed. He grabbed her arms and roughly pulled her out. The crying got louder. She was hyperventilating. Mason was almost sure for a second that she couldn't breathe. Baron looked at her and his eyes widened. "Shit," he swore, "She's having an anxiety attack or something!"

Baron actually looked more upset than anything. He'd never admit it outright, but he used to know someone who would get like this. She would have horrible nightmares and anxiety attacks, and he would always be there to calm her down. Until—.

The man shook his head and pushed Belle into Mason's grasp. "What are you—?" Mason tried asking, startled. "You need to calm her down. You're probably the calmest here right now." Baron explained quickly. He really hated this trip down memory lane. "And how, pray tell," Mason gritted his teeth, "Am I supposed to do that?"

"You have to hold her to your chest."

"Wha—?"

"Just do it! I know what I'm talking about! She has to hear your heartbeat." Baron growled again. Belle whimpered loudly. It was Mason's turn to huff as he held Belle up to his chest, making her grab tightly onto the back of his trench coat. The man tried not to look fazed as the woman in his arms trembled. He used one of his hands to keep the side of her head above his heart. After sitting like that for a few moments, it became apparent that this wasn't working. "Baron—." Mason started. The man in question cut him off, "Hold her tighter."

Mason took a deep breath to try and avoid getting irritated. He adjusted his grip on her, embracing Belle in a tight hug. She still seemed on edge though. "Tighter." Baron demanded. Mason hissed, "Any tighter and I'm going to asphyxiate her."

Baron and Mason glared at each other for the first time in a while. Mason's glare faltered as he held her even tighter, feeling Belle's grip on his coat relax after a few seconds. '... I can't believe that worked...' he thought. Fredrick looked at Baron strangely as the lawyer slowly started to calm down, "I'm going to avoid asking you how you know this out of respect."

Baron didn't respond to Fredrick, uncertain whether or not his answer might sound snappy. Mason rolled his eyes at the two of them and looked at Belle. "Can you hear me now?" He asked quietly. The woman remained silent. 'She's either oblivious to what's going on around her, or she's unconscious.'

The man looked at his companions, "... I think she might asleep now."

"Not yet," Baron said, "but she will in a minute."

Fredrick opened his mouth to ask something. Baron narrowed his eyes. "Anxiety attacks can take a lot of energy out of you, especially ones that are as bad as hers just was." He cut Fredrick off, "Don't ask me how I know."

Fredrick closed his mouth and raised his arms in surrender. Mason looked back at Belle. "Baron, if she's calm now, why can she hear me?"

Baron shrugged. Realizing Mason probably didn't see that, he quickly added, "No clue. Probably just a 'her' thing."

Fredrick looked at the other two, "What do you think caused her to have a panic attack?"

Baron shrugged. Mason narrowed his eyes at Belle, "She had to have been awake when she started freaking out."

He looked at Fredrick, "Which means that she must've heard our conversation."

"Or your screaming." Baron commented. Mason rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore his friend. "The only thing important about our conversation was the mention of Lefte's name." Mason said, "So, unless I'm reading this wrong..."

Fredrick picked up on what Mason was saying and looked at Baron, "Belle knows him."

Baron looked genuinely surprised (as much as Baron could look, at least). "How does someone like her meet a guy like that?"

Mason looked back at Belle. "I don't know," he said thoughtfully, "but I think we should find out."