A.N. – My 5 year anniversary of being here on FanFiction is coming up! (July 7th) Yay! Also, happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans. Anyway, please read, review and enjoy :) (Here's a picture I found that made me think of Belle and Blade! It's on my Twitter. *Type twitter .com before the rest*) /HaylijahIsLife/status/746393132330160128
"It will end when it began, but not by your own hand. Hearts are not the only things that will ache, for your body and will, too, shall break. Razor teeth and crimson eyes will hold more than one deadly surprise. Betrayal, lies and deceit await. Choose wisely, for actions, not words, will decide your fate." Belle had repeated these words to Freya multiple times, even written them down on paper for the both of them to read, but they still failed to comprehend even a fraction of what it meant. Well, aside from the two obvious points: death and heartbreak were definitely in the cards for her. Hopefully, with Freya's help, she could avoid the former. The latter was, as she saw it, inevitable.
" ' It will end when it began '; hear that: when, not where. It's the time. The date, perhaps," Freya said, continuing to pace the length of Lucien's living room. Lucien was work, so Belle took the opportunity to invite Freya over.
"Yes, but what is 'it'?" Belle added. She bit her thumbnail absentmindedly, eyes fixed on the empty space before her as her mind reeled.
Freya took a seat at the opposite end of the couch, snatching up the paper with the words from the coffee table. Belle couldn't help but notice how she kind of resembled Klaus when she focused intently on something; they had the same expression, and it made their similar features even more pronounced. "Do you think it's referring to your life?"
"What?" Belle's brow furrowed. She look over to Freya, who was still focused on the paper.
The blonde witch turned to face her, a curious spark in her eyes. Although she and Klaus bore some of the same facial features, their eyes were still their own. For this, Belle was strangely grateful; if Freya had the same eyes as her younger brother, Belle couldn't guarantee that she would be able to keep herself from staring longingly into them. That would be painfully awkward. "Do you think 'it' could mean your life? Meaning that your life would,"
"My life will end on my birthday: the day it began," Belle interjected, scoffing under her breath. "Seriously? What a bunch of shit."
"I don't think she was lying, Belle," Freya interjected.
Belle shook her head, holding up a hand to silence her. "No, I know that. I just mean that...ugh." She groaned, leaning forward over the edge of the couch with one hand under her chin and the other running anxiously through her curls. "That's so close."
"When is it?"
"February 9th. I'm turning 956. You know, assuming that I'll actually survive the day." She groaned inwardly and put her head in her hands. After a few seconds of deep breathing, Belle got to her feet and looked down at Freya. "Have you found a cure for the curse yet?"
Freya shook her head. "No, Belle. I can't say that I have. I've been rather busy lately for some reason," she snapped, rolling her eyes.
Belle rolled her eyes right back. "Okay, jeez."
The blonde witch let out a sigh and opened one of the tattered old spellbooks she'd brought. "I'll keep looking." Her voice was softer this time, apologetic, almost.
"Why?" Belle couldn't help but ask.
Freya looked up from her reading, confused. "What do you mean?"
"I mean why are you helping me? I know that I asked you, but it's not like you have any real obligation to do so. I mean, it's like Klaus and I are still together." It physically pained her to force his name through her lips. Even the mere thought of him, of his name, hurt her. But he was always on her mind, especially since the vision. She even dreamt about him, often waking up crying and unconsciously whispering his name. It was both agony and ecstasy. She cleared her throat and continued. "You and I aren't family, so why did you agree to help me? You didn't even know me when you agreed; you barely know me now. Why would you waste your time, let alone your power, helping me?"
The look of confusion vanished from Freya's face and was replaced with what looked like...understanding. "You are family, Belle," she said.
Belle's eyes widened. "Ummm, if you're serious, like we're distant cousins or something, I swear to God I'm gonna loose my fucking sh-"
"No, no. God, no," Freya interjected, laughing. "I just mean that, you may not be family by blood, thank God, but you're family by relation."
"Oh, good." Belle let out a melodramatic sigh of relief.
"I, on the other hand, am family by blood, but not so much by relation," she said. Freya looked away. She looked like she was tearing up.
"What do you mean? Of course you are. Your siblings, your niece and your nephew, they all love you," Belle said, putting a comforting hand on Freya's back, before she shrugged it off. She and Klaus really were two sides of the same coin, always acting braver and stronger than they really felt. Or maybe that was just a Mikaelson thing, a pride thing.
Freya shook her head. "I know that, but it still doesn't make me feel...I don't know. Forget it, okay?"
"You feel like an outsider, right? Like, even though you stay with them, even though you love them, and they love you in return, you can't help but feel like you're not entirely welcome?" She smiled a little, shaking her head. "Story of my life."
Freya smiled a little, before returning to her reading.
Belle's phone buzzed from its place on the table: Hayley had texted her. "I think I'll take you up on that drink now," it read.
She chuckled under her breath before typing her response. "It's not even 3:00 in the afternoon. You sure?"
Hayley sent back a "yes".
Belle turned to Freya. "Hey, I've gotta go. Hayley wants to meet me. You can go home, if you'd like. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone."
Freya nodded before getting to her feet to gather her books. "Day-drinking? Is that a part of supernatural motherhood?"
She scoffed. "Yeah, something like that."
They met up at Rousseau's about 10 minutes later. Hayley had already claimed a booth for the two of them and ordered them each a glass of Scotch.
"Hard liquor? For day-drinking?" Belle raised an eyebrow,
"You like Scotch, right?" Hayley asked, sounding almost nervous. She looked like utter hell. Her hair was pulled up haphazardly into a ponytail and her eyes were bloodshot, either from exhaustion or crying, she couldn't tell.
"Yeah," Belle said, nodding. She took a small sip of her drink; Hayley, on the other hand, downed hers in a matter of seconds, signaling for the waiter to bring her another. "You okay?"
Hayley nodded, slowly lifting her eyes to Belle's. "Yeah, I guess."
The waiter came over with a bottle of Scotch and filled Hayley's glass a bit more handsomely than he probably should've.
Belle narrowed her eyes. "That was more of a formality. I can clearly see that you're not. Tell me, what's wrong? Is it Elijah?"
Again, Hayley nodded. "Yeah."
"Well what's wrong? Is it about the wedding? Does he not want to go through with it, or something?" Belle was trying not to press too hard, not wanting to upset her.
"No, it's not that at all. Elijah's actually really involved with the whole wedding thing. He's really excited." Hayley twirled the ring around on her finger, almost like she was debating whether or not she should take it off. This worried Belle; Hayley was acting like Belle had the night she left town. There was no way in hell she was going to let Hayley pull the same shit she had. She wouldn't let her friend throw away a chance at happiness. And she didn't want Elijah to have to feel the way she was sure Klaus had when she'd left. He was a good guy; he didn't deserve that.
"And what about you? Aren't you excited, too?" Belle asked.
Hayley took another sip of her drink – not quite draining the glass this time. "Honestly, I don't know. I mean, I love Elijah, but I'm just...afraid. We're both immortal, so, once we get married, we'll be husband and wife for...forever." Belle could hear the apprehension creeping into Hayley's voice. She had to stop it. She had to put her fears to rest. She refused to let her friend make the same mistake she had made.
"Isn't that what you want? You do love Elijah, don't you?"
Hayley nodded. "Of course I love him." There wasn't an ounce of doubt in those words. Good.
"Okay." Belle nodded. "Just think about that. Don't think about how long forever is, or whether you'll still love him however long down the road. Just focus on right now and how you feel and what you want in the present, not the future, because the future is just...unpredictable." She nearly laughed at that last part. In some cases, particularly in her most recent experience, the future was, in fact, very predictable – frighteningly so.
"Is that why you left? Because you were afraid of the future?" Hayley asked. She seemed calmer now, more collected.
Belle shook her head. "No, I wasn't afraid of the future." It was true. She knew that her feelings for Klaus wouldn't fade; they had only gotten stronger with time. And she had known then that Klaus had felt the same; although, now she wasn't so sure.
"Then what? What were you so afraid of that you had to leave in the middle of the night?"
She hesitated. It became apparent to her that she hadn't told a single living soul why she had left. Not Blade, not Lucien, not Klaus himself. She could hardly admit her own fear to herself. Perhaps it was time to admit it, to divulge the truth that had eaten her alive all those months ago, even if it was just a small piece of it. "The past," she finally said. And she said nothing more on the subject after that.
They stayed in their booth and talking until sunset. As she was walking back to Lucien's, Belle spotted Aurora across the street: a hint of vibrant red hair and a black peacoat. She was talking to a man, a tall bald man. Belle didn't recognize him. She couldn't tell what they were saying; everything around her was too loud. But from the look of things, it looked like they were talking business. Serious business. Aurora leaned in and whispered something to him as she slipped a small piece of paper into the pocket of his leather jacket before turning around and waking the other way like nothing had happened.
As she watched her and the strange man part ways, Belle couldn't help but wonder if her suspicions about Aurora weren't entirety wrong. Perhaps there was, in fact, something off about the redheaded psycho who shared Klaus's bed. Perhaps it wasn't just jealousy that fueled her paranoid and distrust. What was she up to? Belle decided in that moment that she would make it her business to find out.