The Beauty and the Beast (1st book of Fantasy Series)

Chapter 19- Belle

An hour or so had passed after Louis found me training with a bow and arrow, and I was working with Riser, braiding his mane and tail while I tried to calm the urges that I still felt. I had no idea what it meant and wished I could explain it to someone, but I had no idea who I could ask, who I could trust enough to tell them.

"I have a question," Louis said, pulling from my thoughts. He leaned against the stall door and watched me braid Riser's mane with such skill of a person who had done it for years. "Can I ask it?"

"You already asked me a question," I replied, not looking at him. "Did you want to ask me another one?" I looked up and gave him an innocent smile when I saw his deadpanned look. "But yes, go ahead and ask it, I don't mind."

"How did you learn how to shoot a bow and arrow, and why?" he asked. He raised his hand when I opened my mouth. "If you are going to say something along the lines as 'that is not one question,' please close your mouth. I know it wasn't one question."

I closed my mouth and turned my gaze back to my horse, thinking of the answer. I had wondered why my father taught me how to fight for as long as I could remember. I knew that my mother didn't appreciate it, but she didn't stop him from teaching me.

"Well?" Louis asked when I didn't answer him off the bat. He raised an eyebrow when I looked up, and I knew that he wanted me to answer the question.

I licked my lips and turned my attention back to my horse. "My dad taught me how to use the bow and arrow, and he taught me how to fight," I replied, not looking at him. "I think I started around four or five doing stuff while I learned how to ride horses."

"Your father taught you?" he asked, and I nodded my head. "That portly looking man taught you how to fight."

"And use a bow and an arrow," I replied. I looked up and noticed Louis staring at me in shock. "Don't give me that look. He wasn't always that... fat." I chose my words carefully. "He had been a very active person when he was younger, but something happened before he met my mom and... ya." I shrugged. "I think he wanted to train me so that I could "fit in" with my cousins, but my grandparents on that side disowned him. I hadn't met anyone from that side of the family."

"Why not?" Louis asked. "I thought that even humans had tight family bonds."

I pursed my lips and shook my head. "No," I said solemnly. "My family does not have a tight bond. My grandparents hate my dad's choice of wife, and my dad didn't care and married her anyway." I shrugged. "They tried to meet me after Mama died, but Papa didn't let them. Even though... he was going through a hard time, he didn't want them to have any contact with me."

"Is that why you have a closer bond with Peter?" Louis asked.

"Had a closer bond," I said. My heart ached, and I missed my cousin even more. All I wanted to do was ask the king why he took away my cousin from me, but I had a feeling that he wouldn't answer me. "I had a closer bond with my cousin than any other family member."

"Including your aunt and uncle?"

I nodded. "My aunt was nervous around me and my dad for some reason," I mused. I rubbed my horse's neck after I had finished braiding his mane and went to the gate. "I don't know why. I never bothered asking because I had a feeling that she wouldn't answer. She hated Peter hanging out with me, afraid that I would hurt him."

"Even though he is a wolf," Louis said, chuckling. He moved away from the gate, and I walked through before closing it behind my dog and locking my gelding into the stall where he had been chewing on some hay. "I do think that you would be dangerous if you were provoked, though. I am impressed with the way you know how to handle a bow and an arrow."

I ducked my head in modesty, a blush forming on my cheeks. "I'm a little rusty," I said. "It's been a couple of years since I had picked up a bow and an arrow and tried to shoot at a target."

"Seriously?" Louis asked, looking shocked. He shook his head when I nodded, impressed. "I wouldn't have known if you hadn't told me. I thought you had done perfectly when you shot an arrow and hit the bullseye."

"Thanks," I mumbled and rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. I cleared my throat and licked my lips. "Why is it that you were the one that went to find me and not someone else?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Peter asked me to check on you," Louis said simply, and my heart ached because I missed my cousin even more. "When you weren't in your room, the library, or the kitchen, he got worried."

"Did the king order him to stay away from me?" I mumbled, barely loud enough for Louis to hear. I kept my eyes forward, not knowing if I wanted to know the answer or not. A part of me did, and I wanted to ask the king himself why he had done, but I had a feeling that he wouldn't answer.

He didn't seem to be the type of person to answer anything, and he hid behind the pain and anger that he felt. He was scared; I could tell, but I had no idea if he knew that he was scared or not. He didn't want to get attached and grew jealous when someone else, me, looked in the direction of another male.

Louis sighed and pulled me from my thoughts. He looked tired and sad, as if he hated what the king had done to me and hated watching me sink into depression, not knowing how to help. "Yes," he said, sadly. "I think he did, but he will not answer me or anyone if we ask." He looked and studied me with dark brown eyes. "Is that why you haven't been eating?" he asked, his voice soft as well. "Because you miss your cousin?"

I chewed on my lip. "It's not just that," I said, choosing my words carefully. "There's more to it besides not talking with my cousin. It's..." I shook my head and let my voice trail off. "It's nothing," I said, not knowing how to tell him about the depression that I felt and how it felt as if the world was closing in on me.

I had never been good at talking about my feelings, and I had no idea if Louis would understand me. I knew that Peter would. I had told some of what I had been feeling to him, but I hadn't told everything. I hadn't told him about the scars on my body or how I had known about Werewolves in the first place.

Louis frowned, and I could tell that he didn't believe me. However, he nodded his head and dropped the subject, and we walked back to the castle in silence.