Beast in Shining Armor (16 page)

“Shut-up.” 
Belle said absently, her attention still on Avenant.  “And finally… because I’m
pretty sure that’s a rabbit hole, right in front of you.”  She pointed to a
shimmering spot on the ground.  “If you fall into it, there’s no telling where
you’ll end up.”

Avenant’s
eyebrows soared, catching sight of the mirrored pool.  It was only about a foot
wide, but it was far more dangerous than even the minotaur had been.  Rabbit
holes were dimensional vortexes that made black holes seem predictable.  They
led to places you certainly didn’t want to go and which you probably couldn’t
get back from.

He
glanced down at Belle, confused as to why she’d just saved him from toppling
through the looking-glass surface.  Given her mood, it seemed more likely that
she’d shove him in.

“I
hate you with a festering passion.”  She said softly.  “But, I don’t want you
lost forever somewhere in space and time.  I think I might miss you.  A little.”

Avenant’s
mouth curved, realizing that was the sweetest thing Belle had ever said to him.

Lancelot
used their momentary distraction to take off in the opposite direction.  “You’ll
never defeat me, Beast!  I’ll claim this kingdom for all the Good men of the
realm!”  He ran down the path, the hedges shifting behind him so no one could
follow.

Not
that Avenant even cared enough to bother chasing after him.  Instead, he stared
down at the rabbit hole.  His own face gazed back at him.  He’d always hated
mirrors.  All he saw was his father.  Logically, he recognized the fact that he
was handsome, but what difference did it make?  It certainly never got him what
he wanted.  Belle would choose a Good man over an attractive one, any day. 
Beneath the surface, she knew he was…

His
head tilted, a new thought occurring to him.  “Read that journal entry, again.”

Belle
quickly backtracked to grab her knapsack, following his logic.  She got the
book out and flipped to the entry he meant.  “A prince must have faith in those
around him and not in a mirror.”  She read.  “Otherwise, he will be lost in the
darkness for all time.”  She looked up from the page.  “You think Adam means
the rabbit hole?  You think we’re supposed to go through?”

“Only
one way to find out.”

His
parents knew Avenant was Bad all the way through.

It was why
they detested the very sight of him.

Many
nights I was dragged from the cupboard and lit up, so his mother could read to
him about his ancestors.

She hoped
that if he heard about the royal line, he’d try to live up to their example.

Or at
least not to be such a total disgrace.

Testimony
of the Palace’s Talking Candlestick
- The People of the Northlands v. Prince
Avenant

Five
Years Ago

“The
woman is making a goddamn fool of you!”  Vincent, Prince of the Northlands
threw the newspaper at his son and heir.  “She outsmarts you at every fucking
turn and you do
nothing
to stop her.  How do you think that makes us
look?”

Avenant
didn’t even bother to duck as the day’s headlines rained down.  He could read
them as they drifted around him, the typeface three inches tall:

Belle
Bests Beast!

She’d
singlehandedly stopped Avenant from strip mining the Great North Mountains. 
Her environmental appeals and legal tactics had scuttled the project for good. 
Millions in gold would be lost so that Belle could protect the homeland of some
rabbits and owls.  The minerals would stay trapped beneath the rocks, the
wildlife would frolic, and Belle would win.

And
his father would kill him.

Avenant
eyed Vincent, prepared for a fight.  His father was the one who’d wanted the
mining deal to go through, even though he’d made sure Avenant was the face of
the project.  He might despise the fact that his only child was Bad, but he
knew how to use it to his advantage.  All the family’s unpopular actions were
blamed on Avenant.  Strong-arming uncooperative teddy bear shop owners… 
Jailing people for picking the royal roses…  Seizing orphanages so the land
could be used for lucrative property deals…   Everything that would necessitate
threats or extortion or heartless greed.  Vincent liked to keep his hands clean
with the citizens, wearing a façade of princely nobility.

But,
within the castle walls, the mask fell and he was free to be his cruel self.

“Were
you even trying to defeat her or where you thinking with your cock, again?”  He
demanded nastily.

“I
was trying.”  Avenant said.  Belle had just out-maneuvered him.  “I didn’t
anticipate her getting the funding for those ridiculous commercials with the
crying chipmunks.”

The
public hadn’t liked the idea of making the chubby little rodents extinct. 
Especially not when Belle got done editing videos of the fuzzy bastards
frolicking to mournful music.  Then, she showed some photos of what their homes
would look like after the bulldozers came through and rows of little chipmunk
graves and hearts broke throughout the land.

The
woman played hardball.

“You’re
an impotent moron.”  Vincent leaned forward in the Icen Throne, looking so much
like his son that Avenant hated his own reflection.  “That girl is
laughing
at you.  The whole kingdom is laughing at you.  And you stand there like the
failure you are.”

Avenant
didn’t respond to the insults.  He was used to his father’s hatred and scorn. 
It had been heaped on him every day of his life.  This was just the warm-up to
the real reason he’d called Avenant into the throne room.  Vincent wouldn’t
have summoned him for a private audience unless there was something far bigger
brewing.

Something
to do with Belle.

His
father wasn’t an idiot.  Over the years, he’d watched Avenant interact with the
girl.  Vincent knew that Avenant enjoyed Belle’s antics.  Even when he lost,
Avenant loved that they were
playing
.  He loved the fact she’d ruined
his father’s plans.  He loved that she fought back against people who could
crush her.  He loved that she wasn’t afraid of him.

Not
that she had reason to be.  Belle could’ve set him on fire and Avenant wouldn’t
have harmed her.  He put up a front, but anyone paying attention would’ve seen
the truth.

And
Vincent was always paying attention.

“That
do-Gooding commoner is your True Love.”  It wasn’t a question.  “You get her
under control or I
will
.”

Avenant
stared at his father and felt the Beast stir.  “No.”  He said quietly.  “You
won’t.”

Vincent
didn’t like being contradicted.  “None of this would be happening if you
weren’t so weak.”  He snapped.  “When her parents died, they were so in debt
you could’ve
owned
that girl.  Instead, you ensured she kept
everything.  The house and the lands.  Then, you secretly set it up so she’d have
backing for that fucking bookshop.  You think I don’t know that was you?  You even
closed the library to help her with sales.”  He snorted.  “At least
that
idea showed some business sense.  But, of course, you screwed it up and gave
her a
new
library the minute she got in your face about it.”

“She
sued us to have it reopened, remember?  How could I stop the judge from ruling
in her favor?”

“You
could’ve bribed the prick.”

“I
tried.  She bribed him more.”

“With
the money
you
made sure she had!”  Vincent shook his head in disgust. 
“The point is, you should’ve used Belle’s misery to your advantage.  That was
your opportunity to bring her to heel.”  His hand fisted.  “To
break
her.”

“I
don’t want her broken.”

Belle
had been far too close to shattering when her parents died in a carriage
accident the year before.  Avenant had done everything he could think of to
shore her up, but he’d felt helpless in the face of her grief.  For the first
time, Belle had seemed fragile to him.  Of
course
he’d covered her
parents’ debts.  He couldn’t let her lose her home on top of everything else. 
He would’ve done anything to make her feel like herself, again.

Even
if it meant giving her new reasons to hate him.

She’d
been furious when he won everything she owned in that auction and then handed
it back to her.  For the first time in weeks, she’d been shouting at him and it
had been like old times.  Belle had eventually bounced back, more bitchy than
ever.  Over the past months, she’d been twice the foe she’d been before. 
Tougher.  On the offensive.  Harder to predict.  Every day, she seemed to
wake-up and devote all her energy towards scheming against him.

Avenant
was so delighted he couldn’t stop smiling.

Belle
attention was fixed on him and he’d never been happier.

“If
you don’t break her, she’ll break you.  That’s the only way you get ahead in
this world.  You have to crush the competition and take what’s yours. 
Otherwise, you’ll just look weak.  Is that what you want?  The woman to think
you’re a pussy?”

Avenant’s
jaw ticked.

“Rosabella
Aria Ashman is Good.”  Vincent reminded him smugly.  “Do you think she’ll
ever
willingly have you?  Prince or not, you’re a beast and the whole kingdom knows
it.  If you ever plan on owning the girl, you’d better start thinking like a
man.”

His
father thought of everything in terms of ownership.  It was no wonder his
mother had jumped off the highest turret in the castle when Avenant turned
eighteen.  She’d no doubt been looking for an escape.  His parents were a
classic example of what happened when people married for position instead of
True Love.  They cared for nothing but power and it had rotted them from the
inside out.

Listening
to Vincent talk about love was like trusting a fish to give you rock climbing
tips.

“I
know what I’m doing with Belle.”  Avenant told him shortly.  Sooner or later,
she’d surrender.  It was inevitable.

Vincent
scoffed.  “If you know what you’re doing, why isn’t she here in the castle,
pregnant with my grandchildren?  Providing me with an heir I could actually be
proud of.  Why is she living in the village, organizing fucking protests
against us?”

“She’s
not ready.”

“Not
ready?”  Vincent repeated incredulously.  “She hates you, you twat.  And who
can blame her?  She’s probably down there screwing every man in the village,
hoping to find a True Love who isn’t a dickless monster.”

The
Beast snarled.  So did Avenant.  “Belle is
my
True Love.  No one
else’s.”  He ground out.  “Deep down, she knows it…”

Vincent
cut him off.  “Good folk don’t know their True Loves until they’ve bedded
them.  That’s what you need to do.  Fuck the girl. 
Now
.”

Avenant
blinked.  “She’s not ready.”  He repeated.  Even the Beast knew that.

“Who
cares?  Hold her down and take what’s yours.  Once you’re inside of her, she’ll
know who she belongs to.  They’ll be no more of her meddling in my business
plans.”  He waved a hand at the newspaper.

Avenant
couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  “You want me to rape my True Love?”

“I
want you to stop being a failure.”  Vincent jabbed a finger at him.  “Show that
woman you won’t be beaten and she’ll respect you for it.”

“Even
if that were true, how can I show her I’m a winner by hurting her?  She’ll
never care about me if I do something so horrible to…”

Vincent
cut him off.  “She’ll never care about you,
anyway
.  But, if you take
her hard enough, at least she’ll fear you.  It’s about as much as you can hope
for.  Force her and she’ll submit.”

“You’re
insane.”  Avenant knew the words would just piss his father off more, but he
couldn’t stop them.  He’d endured Vincent’s punishments and sadistic commands
all his life, but
this
….  Not even Avenant had ever considered something
like
this
and he was a goddamn villain.  He gaped at his father, seeing
the man for the first time.  “You’re
fucking insane
.”

“And
you’re Bad.  Stop trying to pretend otherwise and go do what needs to be done.”

Vincent
knew nothing of Bad folk.  By and large, they were fanatically obsessed with
their True Loves.  No matter how evil, they treasured what was theirs.  They
protected it.  It was their primary drive.  A threat their True Love was a
declaration of war.

Rage
filled Avenant, feeding the Beast.  “‘That woman,’ as you call her,” he gestured
in the direction of Belle’s house with a desperate swing of his arm, “is my
goddamn
wife
.”  Even if it wasn’t official yet, Belle was his one and
only bride.  She had been from the moment he saw her coloring with crayons at
the kindergarten table.  “Do you think I’d
ever
harm her?”

“If
you’re going to be all weepy about it, you can tie her down with pretty silk ropes
and hand her a pillow.”  Vincent sneered without a drop of compassion.  “Just
so she knows who she belongs to when it’s over.  I’ve had it with that bitch
making me a joke in my own kingdom.”  He arched a blond brow.  “Either you
handle her
education
or I’ll have my men do it.  I have them standing by
to pay her stupid bookshop a visit.”

The
Beast surged forward.  It happened so fast, Avenant almost lost control of the
chains.  As it was, the monster was less confined than he’d ever been.  It
prowled towards the man who’d targeted Belle, wanting blood.

…And
Avenant let it.

Vincent
leapt to his feet, seeing the change come over his son.  “What are you doing? 
That
thing
is getting loose…”  He trailed off with a yelp of panic as
Avenant seized him by the front of his suit and hauled him closer.

“If
you threaten my princess again, I’ll stake you to the front gate with an icicle
through your heart.”  He said, meaning every frosty word.  “Belle Ashman
belongs to me
.
”  He paused, making sure his father saw the Beast’s cold
rage.  “Actually, she belongs to
us
.”  For once, he didn’t even bother
to try and contain the monster.  It felt liberating.  “Understand?”

Vincent
looked up at him with pure hatred, but he gave a curt nod.

“That’s
what I thought.”  Avenant dropped Vincent back onto the throne.  In that
moment, the man stopped being his father.  Stopped being his prince.  He was
just the son-of-a-bitch who’d planned to harm Belle.  “Nobody touches what’s
mine.  Remember that, because you don’t want to see my Bad side.”

“You
think I’m sacred of you?”  Vincent spat out.

“I
know
you are.”  Avenant had known it from childhood.  His parents were
repelled and fearful.  The citizens of the Northlands were cowed and bitter. 
There was only one woman in the world who’d ever showed him any warmth.  Who
treated him like a person.  The only woman who mattered to him.  And
no one
was going to hurt her.  “You’re right to be afraid of me, too, because there is
nothing I wouldn’t do to keep my True Love safe. 
Nothing
.”

“She’ll
never love you.”  Vincent spat as Avenant turned away.  “No matter what you do,
she’ll always see you as the monster you are.”