“Now, you…come with me.” The yeti grabbed Bellamy’s wrist and began to drag him towards the door that led to the dungeons.
“Bellamy!” Doris cried over her shoulder.
“Mother!” Bellamy couldn’t help but call back as he was dragged away. He was taken down into the dungeons and tossed into the cell next to the one that his mother had been in earlier. The yeti shut the cell door and used a large padlock to lock it.
Bellamy flinched at the sound of the padlock clicking into place. It reminded him of a death knell.
The yeti stared thoughtfully at Bellamy for a moment as he stared back at her through the bars. Her gaze left his face and traveled down to his chest. That’s when the yeti noticed his open shirt and the small red marks on his pale skin. She frowned, wondering what he was doing in such a state of undress. Surely, he hadn’t been outside dressed like that. He must have had a jacket that had somehow gotten lost in the mansion during his rescue attempt. “Why are you dressed like that?” the yeti girl couldn’t help but blurt out, her curiosity getting the better of her.
Bellamy closed his shirt with his hand and smirked. “Sorry, but I’m a gentleman. I don’t kiss and tell.”
The yeti raised a bushy white eyebrow at his words. “Were you having fun with your girlfriend before you came here?”
“She is not my girlfriend!” Bellamy panted, suddenly wild-eyed.
The yeti girl took a step back in surprise at the young man’s venomous tone. “Oh. Well, that’s a strange thing to say. Dressed like that you’ll probably catch a cold down here. Sucks to be you, idiot.”
Bellamy’s brow furrowed in confusion at the yeti girl’s odd behavior. “Why would you care? I’m your prisoner, remember?”
“R-Right…who says I care? I don’t care. You can freeze to death for all I care. Idiot. Hmph!” The yeti flipped her long white hair over her shoulder, turned on her heel, and stalked away in a huff, leaving a bewildered Bellamy behind.
What the hell? Bellamy thought and the corner of his mouth twitched. I feel like I was just talking to a girl my own age…and not a monster.
He shrugged lackadaisically since there was nothing he could really do about it, and walked over to take a seat towards the back of the cave. He rested his back against the hard stone, drew his knees up to his chest, and wrapped his arms around his legs for warmth.
Now that the adrenaline had left his system and he’d managed to save his mother, he felt physically and emotionally drained. He was also chilled to the bone. “It’s so…cold,” Bellamy murmured to himself softly with no one to hear him except for the rocks on the floor as he began to shiver violently.
***
Abigail Snow a.k.a the yeti girl burst into the living room with a frustrated growl. “Ohhh, that nerd is so irritating!” She didn’t get him at all. He’d surprised her by bravely and selflessly taking his mother’s place in the dungeons. Her expression softened. He must really love his mother. Both of Abigail’s parents were dead. She couldn’t help but envy him a little.
There were other things about Bellamy that had surprised and intrigued Abigail. Like his reaction to finding out that because his mother had stolen a tiny rose quartz stone she’d wound up with a sentence of life imprisonment. She’d expected him to object to the unfairness as his mother had…but he’d seemed to calmly accept it. Why? Abigail remembered Bellamy mentioning he had a stone collection. Did he know the true value of such stones?
Abigail’s blue lips dipped into a thoughtful frown. She couldn’t seem to predict his actions or words. When Abigail had asked Bellamy about why his shirt had been ripped open like that and obvious love bites covered his chest, why had he been so adamant that whoever did that to him wasn’t his girlfriend? That just made things weird.
He’d also said something about not wanting to cause his mother more suffering. What had Bellamy meant by that? What kind of suffering had Bellamy caused for his mother in the past?
Several strange ideas flitted past her mind due to her overactive imagination. Was Bellamy some kind of male gigolo? Did he seduce rich women for their money and that’s what had caused his mom suffering? Or had some old woman attacked him at work? Or maybe even a man? The possibilities were endless.
He was such an enigma when men were usually so easy for her to figure out. Abigail began to nibble on her claws. He must be cold down in that cell. She thought. What if he gets sick and dies? I shouldn’t care about a low-class thief’s son! Abigail began to pace across the living room, back and forth.
“Is something troubling you, Milady?” a rich, velvety male voice with a British accent asked.
Abigail turned to face her loyal Head Butler, Jett, who was now a living onyx statue. “No. Why would you think that?”
“Your claws…” Jett pointed out keenly.
Abigail looked down at the claw she’d been nibbling on. She’d nibbled away an inch of nail! Oops. “Oh, ah…it’s just…you don’t think he’ll die of hypothermia down there, do you?” She tried to keep her tone nonchalant.
The corner of Jett’s lip twitched. “Ah, you’re worried about the young man. Bellamy was a tad underdressed to be outside driving a dogsled in this weather.”
“I’m not worried,” Abigail huffed quickly. “Just concerned that my prisoner will die before he’s suffered sufficiently for his crime.”
“Milady, in case you haven’t noticed - your prisoner happens to be a comely young man…” Jett trailed off.
“I am aware of that.” Abigail narrowed her eyes at her butler. “What are you getting at, Jett?”
Jett sighed. “He could be the one to break the curse.”
Abigail blinked. “Th-That nerd! Did you see those glasses? The one to break the curse? Ha! You forget, Jett…I have to fall in love too for the curse to be broken, and he’s so…” She waved her hand through the air. “Uncool and low-class. He’s beneath me.”
Jett frowned. “Considering your own appearance at the moment…perhaps, it would be prudent to not be so…picky.”
“Picky? Hmph!” Abigail huffed. “You can’t control who you fall in love with, Jett. And you know I’ve only dated handsome guys with nice faces before.”
“Yes. Your past boyfriends were all extremely attractive young gentlemen. However…” Jett trailed off.
“However?” the yeti snapped irritably.
“Forgive me for saying so, but…they were all a little vapid, weren’t they? They had no notion of who they really were. No real sense of individuality. When you asked them who they were they would spout a long list of their riches and assets.” Jett shook his head disapprovingly.
“Vapid?” A dark cloud fell over Abigail’s face. “Then…so am I. I don’t really know who I am either, or what I really want in life. The only thing I do know is that I must break this infernal curse somehow. I must regain my former beautiful appearance so I can get my perfect life back. And get my friends back too.”
“Then why not give the boy Bellamy a chance,” Jett suggested sagely. “I noticed that he has a muscular physique. He was a little on the plain side with those glasses, but certainly not unattractive, Milady.”
“So what you’re saying is…I should just try and use Bellamy to break the curse, and for that to happen I need him alive.” Abigail nodded to herself. “Jett, you’re a genius! Come, we must go and fetch him, and take him out of that cold dungeon at once!” The yeti spun on her heel and headed out of the living room with purposeful steps.
A sly, secretive smile curled Jett’s lips. “As you wish, Milady.” Jett followed Abigail down into the dungeon, and watched as she approached Bellamy’s cell.
Abigail stepped in front of Bellamy’s cell door, cleared her throat, and placed her hands on her hips. “Hello in there.” She tapped the bars to get his attention. “Prepare yourself to be eternally grateful to me, your beautiful and benevolent benefactor.” Without waiting for Bellamy’s response Abigail continued in a haughty tone. “Out of the goodness of my heart I have decided to allow you the great privilege of having one of the guest rooms in my mansion to stay in. Oh, yes, I know, you’re incredibly grateful. But that’s to be expected. I knew you must have been freezing in here, so I just…Jett, why isn’t he saying anything?” she demanded irritably.
Jett walked over to stand next to Abigail and peered into the cell. He searched the cell for Bellamy and noticed the young man collapsed on the floor towards the back of the cell. He frowned as he took in Bellamy’s flushed cheeks. “It appears he fell unconscious due to a fever, Milady.”
“What!” Abigail exclaimed and narrowed her eyes, looking into the cell and allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness therein. That’s when she spotted Bellamy collapsed on the floor. She quickly took off the ring of keys that hung from a chain around her neck and unlocked the cell door before rushing inside.
Abigail made her way over to Bellamy’s fallen form and sank to her knees beside him. “Hey, wake up.” She shook his shoulder. But Bellamy did not stir. His face was flushed and he was panting for breath. Abigail touched his forehead and gasped. “He’s burning up! That nerdy idiot! Jett, help me get him to one of the guest rooms!”
“Yes, Milady.” Jett walked over and scooped Bellamy’s unconscious form up into his arms, displaying a good deal of strength.
With Abigail leading the way, they headed back upstairs, and to one of the guest rooms. Abigail opened the door to the guest room and ushered Jett inside.
Jett strode inside the bedroom that was decorated with a pale blue and gold theme, and deposited Bellamy on the large, four-poster, Queen-sized bed. “I’ll go fetch a basin of cold water and a towel. I shall return shortly, Milady.” The butler turned to go, but Abigail called out to him.
“Ah, wait, what should I do until you get back?” Abigail questioned as she nibbled on the end of her claw nervously. She was staring down at Bellamy with a concerned expression on her face.
Jett noticed her expression and tried not to smile. “Get him under the covers and keep him warm. We need to get him to break the fever,” Jett directed.
“Oh, yes, of course…” Abigail agreed absentmindedly. With some clumsy maneuvering she managed to get Bellamy under the covers. Jett left the room and shut the door behind him. Abigail impatiently waited for Jett to return, and when her butler did finally return she took the bowl of water and towel from him. “I’ll do it, Jett. You can go now.”
Jett bowed and it served to cover the wide smile that had spread across his face. “As you wish, Milady.”
Comments (0)
See all