Beauty and the Damned

7 | A Sort of A Deal

Ariadne was used to getting whatever the hell she wants. If she wants it, she gets it. By any means. This time, she is going to get what she wants and that is to stop Rowan from leaving. She can't let him leave. Not when the witch told her that Rowan knows something about what she needs.

She stormed out of the room after minutes of contemplation. She has to convince him to stay. She won’t allow him to leave. Rowan, whoever he is, is the key to finding the cure for the curse: the Dragon’s Heart.

“Wait!” she shouted as she grabbed the man’s sleeve. Rowan looked at her, baffled. And she had to give it to him for waiting patiently as she catches her breath.

“Wait,” she rasped, still out of breath but better than earlier. “You can’t leave.” Her grasp tightened around his sleeve.

“What do you mean I can’t leave?” Rowan asked her and she had no answer. What would she tell him? That she is cursed and he knows where the cure is? What would he say if she tells him she was cursed? Would that frighten him enough to run as fast as he could? Would telling him the truth lose her chance of getting the cure she so badly wants to have?

She looked at Rowan who was still waiting for her answer. She swallowed hard and lifted her chin. “You can't leave unless you pay for what you owe. Nobody stays here and leaves without paying,” she said and she couldn’t believe she just said it. But she thought it was quite a solid reason.

“A p*****t?” Rowan’s brows raised as he looked at her.

She crossed her arms and scoffed. “Don’t act like it’s too much. My hospitality isn’t free. A lot of people have been dying to live in this place—“ She sighed. Why is she talking too much? “You will pay for your stay. A month for a day of your stay here.”

“A month?” Rowan’s jaw dropped. He faced her and looked around. “What in the seven kingdoms are you talking about?”

But she gave him a grin. “What? Are you expecting me to accept that little p*****t you did back in the gazebo?” She stepped closer to him and Rowan gave her a baffled look. “Listen, Rowan from far away land, other women might accept that kind of p*****t but I don’t. You will serve me for a month of each day of your stay and since you have stayed here for two days, that means you serve me here for two months.”

But Rowan’s expression became even more confused. “What I did at the gazebo?” He placed his hands on his waist and looked at her, chuckling. “You think I was doing that to pay for my stay?”

Ariadne looked at him. She isn’t sure what he meant by that. If he wasn’t doing it to pay for his stay, what was that for? 

“Delilah!” she shouted and Delilah was already running down the stairs. Her gaze remained at Rowan’s eyes as he gave her a look as if saying he couldn’t believe what she was doing.

“Are you forcing me to stay here?” he asked and just raised her brow.

“Indeed. You have to pay for what you owe,” she said and turned her back. But as she walked three steps, she felt her arms on her neck and his warm breath on the side of her face. His one arm was wrapped around her body, preventing her arms to move.

“What are you doing?” she asked. She heard Delilah gasp behind them and then she felt something sharp on her neck.

“Are you sure you want me here, Ariadne?” he asked and she closed her eyes as she felt his breath on her skin. She doesn’t know why she’s thinking about it now with a knife on her throat.

“I could slit your throat if I want to,” he whispered but she knew he wouldn’t do it. She doesn’t know where she got that confidence but she just knows he wouldn’t do it.

Ariadne didn’t say anything. Rowan’s grip tightened on her body and she didn’t mind.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Rowan asked while still pointing the blade on her neck.

“I don’t have to say anything, Rowan. You owe me and it is only right you pay what you owe.”

Rowan didn’t say anything but she could feel how his hand trembled as if contemplating whether to slit her throat or not. In the end, the latter won. He let her go and inserted the knife back to where he strapped it before, hidden and unknown.

“And I also need something from you,” she said and before he could even open his mouth and speak, Delilah hit his head with a piece of wood and Rowan fell to the ground with a thud, unconscious.

She looked at Delilah’s frightened face. She could see her hands were shaking as she was holding the piece of wood. Ariadne walked closer to Delilah and tapped her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. After all, she was the one who told her to do it.

“He isn’t dead, is he?” Ariadne said as she stared at the unconscious Rowan on the floor.

“Your Majesty!” Delilah exclaimed. “I did what you told me to do. I just hit it enough to make him unconscious and not…dead,” Delilah answered but she could hear the nervousness in her voice. So she crouched down and checked the man’s pulse. She then looked at Delilah.

“He’s alive. Good job,” she said and stood up.

It was a challenge to bring Rowan to his cell. He’s a big man. Not too big but he had enough muscles in the right areas. Ariadne could say he is fit and he is someone enough to ignite something in her and he even managed to sneak into her dreams! And that was because of a simple touch he did at the gazebo! She has never felt that way before. Ariadne has never thought of a man like that. She has never dreamt of a man like that! What is with Rowan that he managed to make her feel things she never thought were possible? How could he even have that kind of effect on her?

“What do we do now, Your Majesty?” Delilah asked and she stared at the unconscious Rowan on the haystack. She was thinking if the hay was enough to keep the cold away. She heard from the guards before that the dungeons get too cold at night.

“Get a blanket,” she said and looked at Delilah. But her servant was giving her puzzled looks.

“A blanket, Your Majesty?”

“Yes,” she said. She gestured her hand towards where Rowan was lying. “The floor here is too cold and he might get sick. Get some pillows too while you’re at it.”

“But he’s a prisoner…” Delilah trailed as if trying to remind her of something. She gave her a look.

“The last thing I would for him to happen is to get sick. He can’t get sick. I need something from him.” She faced her servant. “The witch showed herself to me earlier, Delilah.”

Delilah’s eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth.

“She said my visitor knows the cure,” she said and looked at Rowan. “The witch said my curse will be cured if I get the Dragon’s Heart.” She walked closer to Delilah and whispered. “And he knows where the Dragon’s Heart is.”

Delilah gasped and delight filled her eyes. “That’s good news!” she exclaimed. “Your Majesty, you—“ She sighed. “You will finally be free from the curse!” Delilah was clearly delighted and for the first time, Ariadne felt delighted too as she has never had someone feel that happy for her. It was only Delilah. The one who stayed with her to the end.

She clasped Delilah’s shoulder and smiled at her. She wasn’t the cruel Queen she was many years ago. Ariadne knows she has changed. She knows it was the reason why the witch finally gave her a clue about the cure. And she plans on remaining that way. It was Delilah who helped her be a better person.

“I had so many realizations after I was cursed,” she said and Delilah looked at her and she knew she was listening. Really listening. “I realized beauty isn’t something that would last forever. It could be taken from you.” She chuckled. “I realized why my people have left me and abandoned me. I realized how cruel I was when they treated me the same way I treated them before.”

Her hand tightened around Delilah’s shoulder. “But you stayed. And I guess the heavens doesn’t totally hate me as I still have you.” She sighed. Ariadne was never someone who expresses her feeling through words. She was cruel and she was used to having people guessing what she wants. But that was before. She has changed now. “Thank you for staying. Even if that was because you have nowhere else to go.”

“Your Majesty—“

She chuckled. “I know, I know. You didn’t want me to feel alone and yes, my answer is still the same. I don’t need your pity, Delilah.” She smiled at her and Delilah looked at her. Tears are welling her eyes and they were threatening to fall.

Ariadne groaned. “How many times have I told you not to cry? You know I hate drama.”

“But Your Majesty—“

Ariadne waved a dismissive hand. “Go cry in your chamber or somewhere—“

“Can I hug you?”

She looked at Delilah, horrified. “Absolutely—“ But it was too late as Delilah already crossed the distance between them and gave her a hug. “—not.”

“I believed in you, Your Majesty. And I will do so until the end,” Delilah said and she fought the tears that were threatening to fall.

She cleared her throat when Delilah pulled away from the hug. But then her face was filled with horror as she realized what she just had done. “Your Majesty, I apologize with my brazenness—“

“That would be the last time I will allow you to hug me, Delilah,” she said but a small smile was plastered on her face. But it was too dark and she was looking at the unconscious man on the ground that Delilah did not see it.

“Go and get me some pillows and a blanket,” she said and Delilah immediately obliged.

When she was finally alone, she sat on the wooden chair just in front of the cell. Moments later, Delilah arrived with some pillows and a blanket. Delilah left her alone.

It was almost half an hour before Rowan finally gained his consciousness. She heard him groan as she struggled to get up. Ariadne gulped as Rowan finally got up and was rubbing the back of his head where Delilah hit her. When he looked around, he saw her and it was not too long before he realized where he was.

She heard him mutter something but it was too low for her to comprehend.

“What the hell—“ Rowan muttered and tried to stand. He was rubbing his head as he was taking a deep breath. “Why am I in a cell?”

Ariadne did not show him how fazed she is just by looking at him in his black undershirt. The buttons were undone and she could clearly see what’s lying underneath. They removed his cloak and his weapons while he was unconscious leaving him with only his unbuttoned shirt and pants. She cleared her throat and focused her gaze on his irritated face.

“I told you I need something from you,” she said. Rowan sighed exasperatedly.

“Then for god’s sake, tell me what it is so I can give it to you!”

She gave him a look as he yelled but Rowan looked pissed too. “The Dragon’s Heart,” she started. Rowan furrowed his brows as he looked at her. And he rubbed his head even more as if what she just said made his headache worse.

“I need the Dragon’s Heart. But I don’t know where it is or what it looked like.” She stepped closer to the cell but not close enough for him to grab her. “Someone told me you know about it.”

But Rowan just sighed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She crossed her arms and gritted her teeth. “Fine,” she said. “You can stay here until you know what I’m talking about. Adieu, Rowan,” she crooned and gave him a smirk. She could see the horror in his eyes as he realized she was serious about leaving him there.

But she figured it is good to take a break from Rowan. After her dream and her constant distraction just by his mere presence, she realized she has to continue this tomorrow.

Ignoring Rowan’s shouts, she walked out of the dungeon.

* * *