Chapter 10

"Belle!" I heard Adam yell. He must have heard me, and thought that I was hurt. I tucked the key the witch gave me into my pocket and followed his voice hoping to find him nearby. I hated to leave the body there where it was sure to rot, but there was nothing I could do; she was locked in a cell.

I soon found Adam sitting unrestrained in a similar looking cell. He looked pretty worn, yet just as handsome as always. "Are you ok?" I asked.

"I'm fine," he said frantically. "You need to get out of here now! Dominick is threatening you, and I don't trust him." He looked at me with so much concern, yet I knew there was little that I could do to comfort him.

"I know," I replied. "He told me. But it will all be ok. He won't kill me. He still needs me. There's no way you can bow to him."

"I can't put your life in his hands." He grabbed my hand, instantly filling my body with warmth.

"I'll try to get out, but…"

"You just need to wait a bit," he started, seeming like he had a plan. "When my people come to the castle to see what Dominick thinks will be a demonstration of my loyalty, you just need to get out with one of them." It was a good plan, but I would still have to stay and help Dominick before that happened. I didn't want to think about it.

"Ok," I replied, very unsure. I wanted to tell him everything that Dominick and the witch told me, but I didn't want to worry him. I would be away soon enough, and hopefully nothing happened before then. I looked around the dungeon quickly, noticing that we were alone. "I'm surprised there aren't any guards around."

"They all stay by the entrance. I'm surprised they let you in."

"I must have come in through a different entrance, because there were no guards." It did seem a little easy getting in, but I guessed Dominick wanted me to see him to give him more motivation for obeying.

"I'm pretty sure there is only one entrance."

"There was no one there." He could have been mistaken. This wasn't his castle, so how should he know.

"If there weren't any guards, how did you even find the dungeon?"

"Well, a man told me where to go, but the door kinda jumped out at me. I don't know how I could have missed it."

"It's a plain wooden door," he replied, looking at me like I was crazy.

"It didn't look wooden, and it definitely was not plain," I corrected, remembering the ornate stone door.

"That's odd," he said, looking very confused. "What did the man look like? You know what, it doesn't matter. There just must be a different entrance." Something told me that he hadn't completely accepted this as the truth, but it looked like he had something more important weighing on his mind. "Belle, there are some things that you need to know. Things that I should have told you long ago." I fully agreed with that notion. I just hoped that he would finally tell me these answers before another interruption.

"I'm all ears." I looked up into his big, brown eyes once again. He grabbed my left hand with my right still enclosed in his from earlier. I was glad that I was finally getting answers, but slightly disappointed that we had a layer of rusty bars in between us.

"Where to start…" He seemed nervous yet excited. "By now you know that Dominick's family was cursed with not being able to kill. My family was cursed with something different. Ever since we were cursed, I have not had the ability to love. Anyone. Anything." I breathed deeply, processing what he told me. That's what Gaston meant when he said Adam could never love me. It wasn't that I was from a different world; it wasn't that we just weren't meant to be; it was that he was just incapable of love. This meant that we could never be anything. I tried not to react. I wanted to cry, especially after everything I went through, but I couldn't show weakness. I looked sad anyway. I couldn't stop it. I figured that even after hearing this from someone I hated, I shouldn't look giddy. I just hoped that my sadness came off as sympathy, not disappointment. I was no longer looking him in the eyes; I couldn't. But why would Dominick say that Adam loved me when he knew that he never could? It must have just been a cruel trick giving me false hope.

"When I fell in love with you, I knew that you were the one that could break curses." I reluctantly looked back up to his eyes, which I immediately decided was a terrible decision. What? Oh right, he told me I broke his curse a while ago. He loved me? I broke eye contact again, deep in thought. I was unable to process what he was saying for a moment. What? I didn't know what to do, what to say, what to think. I was excited yet scared, certain yet unsure. He moved his hand from mine to under my chin and slowly began to take back my gaze. Our eyes once again locked, and there was no more hiding my emotions.

I tried to say something, but no words came out. I was unable to think. Before I could regain my senses, he slid his hand onto my cheek and said everything for me: he kissed me, and I kissed him back. I no longer had to think, I no longer had to worry. Nothing else mattered. No more curses, no more monsters, no more evil kings trying to kill and the man I loved. I finally had all the answers I needed. There was still so much that I didn't know, but that didn't matter any more. I was safe as long as I was in his arms. It was just the two of us, and all I had to do was melt in his warmth.

He was simply hypnotic. His hand was soft and gentle on my face, warming me along with his other hand which somehow appeared on my waist. I never wanted the moment to end, and I didn't think I could stop if I tried. I couldn't even tell that there were bars between us. I felt closer to him then than I ever had. After several moments, our lips finally parted, and as soon as my eyes opened, they locked right back in on his.

"I love you," he whispered. I clung onto those three words like they were more crucial than the air I was breathing. I was about to say the same to him when the silence was shattered by a pair of heavy footsteps. No.

"Hey!" I heard a guard yell, causing Adam's arms to retract from me. My paradise was over. I stood up and turned towards the approaching guards. "How did you get in here?"

"Umm," I started, thinking that saying 'I walked in' would not be helpful. Before I could explain any further, I was being escorted out of the dungeon. I gave Adam an apologetic look, and he gave me one back. I really didn't want to leave him, and I knew that after this, it would be harder to get to him. I just hoped I would see him again soon. I tried to conversate with the guards to lighten the mood, but they did not seem to appreciate my efforts. I think I remembered one of them from the first group of guards I met in the tower who was probably not happy with me after that occurrence. They were so stern and serious, making me a little uncomfortable, but there was nothing I could do about it.

We left a different way than I came in, and I saw what Adam meant about it just being a plain door. Soon enough, we were back outside Dominick's throne room. I felt a little scared, like I was getting in trouble, but I didn't really do anything wrong. Yes, I visited Adam, but no one stopped me from doing so, so I didn't know it was a huge crime.

"How exactly did you get into the dungeon past my security?" Dominick asked as I walked, or rather, was lead, into the throne room.

"I went in through the back," I answered. It did not seem like that was the answer that he was looking for.

"There is no back! There's only the one entrance. Stop lying! I have tried to help you, but you have given me nothing in return." What did I do? From my perspective, I was very compliant.

"Look," I started, unsure of how to convince him that I was telling the truth. "I just opened up a door and walked inside. How else would I get in?"

"You must be more proficient in your magic that I initially predicted."

"What!?" This guy was obviously crazy. "I don't know how to use magic! And even if I did, I was only in the magic forest for like ten minutes! There's no way I could have enough power to do anything."

"Not everyone receives their magic from the trees like my foolish rivals. People like you and me are born with it." Why did he just assume that I was the same as him? He had just met me. I suppose what he said about himself made sense, considering that his castle was not surrounded by the magic trees.

"Either way, I still didn't magically enter the dungeon. Or if I did, I didn't cause it." I thought about it a little deeper if I said this. What if I did use magic to create that door, and just didn't realize it. It was exactly what I was picturing it would look like. Although, I figured that something that big and extravagant probably couldn't be done by someone like me with no experience, and if I did, I probably would've feel something. Then I remembered the man on the staircase. He told me exactly where to go, so maybe he created the door. "I met a man right before I found the door who told me where to find it." Dominick looked interested, probably believing me finally after seeing my confusion.

"Can you describe this man?" I didn't really take a close notice, but I had to say something or else he would think I was lying.

"Umm, old." I wasn't starting too strong. "He had a beard and short brown hair. I don't really remember much."

"You don't think it could be-" one of the guards started, but stopped himself.

"I thought he was dead," another guard added.

"There has been more than one sighting," the first one asserted.

"Why would he be helping her so openly?" another asked.

"Enough," Dominick beamed, ending their discussions. "If anyone sees him again, it should be reported to me immediately, and he should be apprehended if possible. Belle, I will have someone stay with you as you wander the castle to make sure he doesn't try anything." Something told me that this stranger was not the only reason that I was going to be watched.

"Who is this guy?" I implored. "Should I be worried?" This guy seemed to be on my side, so I thought I could trust him, but maybe if I made Dominick think that I wanted protection from the mystery man he would trust me a little more.

"If it is who I think it is, then yes." I wasn't concerned about him. Any enemy of Dominick was a friend of mine.

As I just started to think that Dominick was about to let me leave, another guard rushed into the room and said, "The witch is dead!" I almost forgot about her. "She slit her own throat." I wished that Dominick wouldn't have found out so soon because I was sure that he would detect my involvement. Dominick did not look happy, and he turned to me, just glaring with his cold, black eyes.

"What exactly happened while you were in the dungeon?" I didn't want to tell him about my conversation with the witch, but I knew that if I didn't he would probably know that I was lying. I didn't really get much information out of her anyway. She didn't say anything that would change Dominick's opinion of me. I decided to tell him the truth, but changed my mind as the words started coming out of my mouth.

"I just talked to Adam." For the first time since I met Dominick, I felt bad for wanting to lie. I finally had an opportunity to lie to him, and I took it, but it just seemed so unnecessary.

"I know you're lying," he muttered calmly. "I can see it in your eyes."

"I might have seen a woman down there, but she didn't say anything important," I responded carefully.

"I highly doubt that," he countered.

"It was just a mad woman's ramblings," I tried to convince him. "She just said that I need to go back to earth."

"I know there must be more," he demanded.

"There really was nothing else! She told me who she was and how she was feeding you information, but really nothing important." I knew that what I was saying was the truth and I had nothing to hide, but I still felt like I should be lying. I felt like I shouldn't be giving Dominick what he wanted, even though I was sure that the truth was not as exciting as what he would have wanted to hear, and it didn't work out so well the first time. I remembered the key that she gave me in my pocket and knew that I probably shouldn't tell him about it, but it was a minor detail anyway.

"If you have nothing to hide, then why did you lie?" He had a point there. I probably shouldn't have lied, because I just looked like I was holding something back.

"I don't know," I responded. "Because I don't trust you!"

"Well, you better start." That was not likely to happen.

"You have no leverage over me!" I shouldn't have provoked him, but Caleb's murder was still weighing heavy on my mind. I felt bad for letting myself ignore his death until that moment, but it seemed like there were more important things to think about. The procrastinated grief filled me with anger, which would not help me against Dominick.

"I still have Adam," he countered.

"You already said that he was too important to hurt." Dominick couldn't do anything to control me, and he made the mistake of telling me. I finally felt like I had a little power. The only thing that he would do was throw me in the dungeon, which would put me closer to Adam. It was a win-win situation.

"Yes, and he was, but you suddenly became more important. If she had to kill herself to keep me from knowing something about you, then you obviously have something that I need. I'm perfectly fine with having to go to war against Caleb's people if I have to. No matter what you do, I will find a way to get what I want. One way, you will have riches and power, and the other will leave you only with misery. You had better choose wisely." It seemed like his cold eyes were staring right into soul, and I was relieved when his stare shifted to the guards. "Get her out of my sight."

A/N I am so, so, so, sorry! It has been three months since I promised the next chapter… Oops. It's just so hard to write now when Belle is still so weak and naive. Everything feels so cliche and it's no fun to write. I just want to be done with this section and move on already! It will probably be a while before I post again, but eventually, when it gets to the good part, I will probably update a lot sooner. Thanks for reading, and sorry again!