The Secret Diary of Belle (Grimmoire Series)

Entry Twenty One

"Belle?" I heard a little voice ask, as I entered the house. It was my dearest, little sister Henrietta, looking rather flummoxed. She raced over to me, embracing me with the warmest hug I had felt in sometime. "Oh Belle, my beautiful Belle! We've been worried sick about you. Are you alright?" she said, desperately looking me over, to make sure I was all in one piece.

"My darling Henrietta. Yes, I am alright, it is indeed a long story, but I am fine and I am here, at last," I said, my eyes finding their way around the room, as I hugged her.

"It looks quite a fright in here," I said, referencing the varying state of mess around the sitting room. "Well I've been doing the best I can," Henrietta snapped back at me. Only at that moment did I truly look at Hen and see just how worn her face was.

"Oh I am sorry Henrietta, I did not mean it like that. Where is Chantelle? In town?" I asked, changing the subject to a more neutral topic. "No... oh, of course you don't know. Chantelle and Pierre set off to find you some time ago. I imagine they would be halfway across France by now."

That was quite the surprise. Chantelle had very little to do with me. When people found out we were sisters, they were quite perplexed as it appeared as though we had only ever just met. To hear that she would up and leave just to search for me is quite a shock.

Henrietta continued, "Chantelle said she would send letters home from each village, but so far I've only received one. I'm not worried or anything, I'm sure they're fine. Pierre will look after her. She will be so relieved to hear you're alright."

"I have to ask, Belle, what on earth happened to you? We just woke up one morning and you were gone... and you remember what happened to mother and..." tears welled in Henrietta's eyes.

"I promise I will tell you everything soon," I said, grasping her hands. I didn't want to alarm my family, so before I told anyone anything I wanted to make sure that Papa was back to health so that when the time came, we could leave at a moment's notice. I also wanted to make sure that Papa and Geroux had never met and that the story he told me was nothing more than a flam.

"How is my dearest Papa?" I asked. "He's not terribly well, he..." Henrietta began crying. The bags under her eyes were quite pronounced with the tears. "When was the last time you slept?" I enquired, gently taking Henrietta's face in my hands.

"I... don't know," she managed between blubs. "Look," I started, "You go rest right now and I will tend to Papa." A smile came over Hen's face. "Oh Belle, I've missed you so," she said, grabbing me again for a considerable hug.

As Henrietta went off for a well deserved rest, I walked down the hall to Papa's room. My insides whirred with disquiet. I put all the doubts out of my mind, for, regardless of what may or may not have occurred, this man is still my father.

I crept in, hoping not to wake him - I could hear the snoring from the hall. Unfortunately, the door creaked as I opened it. He woke, blinking and looking about the room.

"Papa?" I asked, my voice cracking. "Hen?" he replied, croaky and groggy. "No it's Belle," I said, moving to his bedside. "Belle? Belle? Oh Belle?" he said with a mix of confusion and relief. He put his hands out to mine, his eyes finally focussed on my face.

"I'm here now Papa, I'm back" I said, my hands meeting his, "Everything is going to be alright."

"You... you can't be here, its not... its not..." he tried to finish the sentence, his breathlessness getting the better of him. "Shhh. Save your strength Papa. I need you to get better, I need you to get stronger," I said, stroking his head.

"What? What are you talking about?" he said, sounding a little more lucid.

"I need to hide papa, but I cannot leave you and Henrietta here. You will not be safe. We are going to go away, far away, very soon. Somewhere we will be safe, Papa, all of us," I had entertained a plan in my head for sometime, I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I said it.

The relief was momentary.

Papa gripped my hand, looked me dead in the eye and said, "No Belle. We're not going anywhere."

______

Reminder to vote and/or comment if you enjoyed your read! Thanks for reading!