The Secret Diary of Belle (Grimmoire Series)

Entry Twenty Five

I had not quite realised just how late it was. Not that it would have changed my decision.

My feet decided to walk me back into the forest. If I had any sense I would have swallowed my pride and stayed overnight at Papa's, but I could not. I do not believe I could ever sleep one wink under that roof again.

Reaching into my bag, I withdrew the mirror and looked into its reflective surface. As I opened my mouth to speak, my chin began to quiver with emotion, "Geroux," is all I could muster. I did not know what else to say.

Orange smoke filled the reflective part of the mirror, spinning like two tiny tornadoes and with a puff, the mirror was back to normal. I hoped that Geroux received my message. I was still not entirely clear on the inner workings of magic mirrors.

A wave of gratitude washed over me, again so pleased I had refrained from smashing the mirror.

As I lay amongst the flowers and trees, I closed my eyes.

The thought did cross my mind to go out and find Pierre. But he and Chantelle, well, they could be anywhere and I had no money and no support. And if Geroux tracked me down... well, there's no telling what he might do.

My wishes for Pierre to find me were feeling more and more futile as time passed. Maybe he will find me, maybe he will not. All I know for sure is that right then I was alone. Alone in the forest, alone in the world, alone in my life.

For the first time I could finally hear the stillness of the forest. Aside from the odd animal noise, it was silent.

Silence and loneliness are a terrible mix.

I could not help but ponder, what will life be like now?

Everything I ever knew has gone, with the exception of Pierre. But who knows how long until he comes for me. And what if Geroux moves us. I would be gone without a trace. Pierre will never find me and I would never see my family again. Not that I care to see those wretched two again. Chantelle, though, who so graciously joined Pierre in his search to track me down. I would cross a river of fire to embrace her again.

I would not dare allow myself to get my hopes up, thinking this is temporary, so I made the decision to resign myself over to this new life.

So many thoughts in my head to rearrange. My family tree was rather bare now. Quite tragic.

Feeling sorry for oneself can be very tiring. At some point I dozed off under the moonlight.

* * *

The house was shaking, all around me. Every room I ran to, crumbled. There was no escape. I called out for help but nobody answered. Nobody could hear me. I heard the most thunderous sounds of walls collapsing.

But it was not the a house collapsing, rather the gallop of the horse that woke me up from my nightmare.

"Belle, Belle!" I heard a man calling out from a distance. The sun felt it necessary to temporarily blind me as I woke from my outdoor slumber. The hopeful version of Belle could have mistaken the voice for Pierre's, but this new version of Belle knew, without looking, it was Geroux approaching.

He dismounted the carriage top and ran over to me.

"Belle, why are you out here? You know its not safe," he said, helping me up. I had entirely forgotten about my own safety. Survival seems somewhat unimportant when there is nothing to live for.

"You rode all night?" I asked. Strange how my brain was able to work out the timing of his trip and it must really have put him out, to leave as soon as I "called" for him, despite everything that had gone on.

It was at that moment he saw the tears streaming down my eyes.

"Your father?" he asked, tepidly. I was too exhausted and too emotionally drained to correct him, so I simply requested, "Take me home."

With a arm around me, Geroux helped me into the carriage and with a quick flourish of the reigns, we were off.

* * *

Geroux did not question or pester me on the ride home. One would put it down to his character, but Pierre used to do this too. Whenever I had a problem, a big problem that nobody could help me with, I would deal with it on my own because what help would it be to burden another with my troubles. So I would simply be the crying, sad girl until I was no longer sad.

Although every prior instance of me being sad seems so trivial now. Except, of course, when mother left.

The ride home to Geroux's seemed to take a much shorter time. Not that it bothered me, perhaps it was the anticipation of seeing my family that made the journey to Papa's seem that much longer. On reflection, those feelings of anticipation were dreadfully misplaced.

* * *

Upon arriving home, Geroux offered to take my bag, but I had already begun lugging it with a determined silence. He let me be. I appreciated his ability to reserve his gentlemanly customs when the time called for it.

When I walked into my bedroom I was stunned. Candles had been lit and placed all around the room. A cheese and meat board was waiting on my bed. There was even a warm bath drawn off to the side of the room.

I noticed all my favourite ornaments were in my room, candelabra with candles burning strong, the mantle clock and the teapot and teacup next to the cheeseboard.

And I almost did not see it at first, overwhelmed by the extravagance and warm gestures Geroux had done in my favour. There was a card on the bed that simply read, "Belle." Then behind it, in the middle of the bed, laying down was the most beautiful long stemmed flower I had ever laid eyes on.

A red rose.

________

Hope you enjoyed this larger than normal update! BethanyFerson guessed the correct amount of chapters that would be posted, hence the dedication!

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