Hard to Love
1427 Words
Noel shuffled lightly and frowned at the ceiling. He was too nervous about the plan he had made with Nora.
The plan was simple. It was to bribe a group of g**g to dress up as villagers and attack the Bluebeard mansion.
To insure the safety of other members of the families, he had to go out of his way and ask Bluebeard to sent them to the summer house.
Bluebeard desperate to please him in any way possible, agreed to his request in a heartbeat.
He turned around and gasped when he saw Bluebeard looking at him.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Bluebeard asked. His voice deep with sleepiness.
Noel wanted to ignore him but he ended up nodding his head.
Noel felt Bluebeard slip his hands around his waist and pulled him closer. Noel gripped Bluebeard's arm and tried to push away but stopped when Bluebeard spoke.
"We used to be so close, Noel, why are you so cold now?"
Noel felt the silent hurt in that question but chose to scoff.
"My lord, you committed a murder in front of my eyes and force me to marry you," Noel said, in a firm voice. He looked up to met Bluebeard's eyes.
"Doesn't that give me enough right to be cold towards you?" He asked.
"Then just this one night," Bluebeard pleaded, his eyes reflecting the light of the lamp, "Just this one night let me hug you while we sleep. After this, I will let you go."
"You will give me a divorce?" Noel asked.
Bluebeard weakly smiled, "I cannot bear to part away from you."
Noel sighed, "Then a separate bedroom."
"I only see you here in this bedroom and the rest of the day, you are never with me," Bluebeard said.
"A separate bed then, I do not wish to sleep next to you," Noel said and hurriedly added, "Or we can just sleep like we always used to."
"A separate bed it is," Bluebeard said, and pulled Noel closer to his chest and rested his chin on his soft curls.
"No nightmares will haunt you now," Bluebeard calmly said and ran a hand over Noel's golden curls.
Noel hummed and closed his eyes. He soon fell asleep.
However, their night was cut short.
The screaming of the servants made Noel wake up with a start. Bluebeard was sleeping soundly with his arms around Noel's waist.
Noel slowly lifted Bluebeard's arm to escape his embrace, only to drop it in surprise when he heard, "Are you going to open the door for the mobsters?"
Noel directed his gaze to Bluebeard who was watching him with a blank look.
"You knew?" Noel asked.
"I overheard you discussing your little plan with your sister, must say she is quite quick to act."
Bluebeard sat up and leaned against the headrest and picked up a book from his side table and flipped through it.
"You are going to be punished for what you did," Noel quietly said, as he got off from the bed.
"You are acting like my salvation," Bluebeard muttered.
"I am not!" Noel hissed, "I am not doing this for you! I am doing it for the families of those who trusted you with their daughters!"
There was a knock on the door and the captain of Bluebeard's guards poked his head out.
"The preparation for departure is ready, my lord, we will leave on your command." The guard spoke.
Noel became confused. Belle gave him the notification that he completed his second mission. However, he had no idea what to do. He was told, he would be sent to another world but he was still here.
"Why can't I leave?"
[You have to give the story an ending, host.]
Noel pursed his lips, and thought.
An ending.
What ending should he give to this story?
He looked at Bluebeard, who was putting on his coat.
"Noel, let's go," Bluebeard said, as he raised his hand for Noel to hold, "We will leave somewhere far and quite."
A happy ending. Or a tragic one.
Noel backed away from Bluebeard and loudly declared, "I am not going with you."
"Noel," Bluebeard's voice held a tone of warning and somewhere within those blue eyes, a pled too.
"Why didn't you killed me?" Noel asked, "You killed all of your wives! Why didn't you killed me too!"
He wanted the story to end fast and go far away from Bluebeard but he also wanted answers.
"At first I married you because of my obsession," Bluebeard began, he took a cautious step towards Noel.
The screams of the servents and the angry crowd got louder. Noel would now hear them.
"Punish the killer! Punish the killer! Avenge our daughters!"
"But now?" Bluebeard said, with a weak chuckle, "I think, I am more than obsessed! I am in love with you!"
Noel staggered lightly before getting a hold of himself. The noises around him muted and he took in a deep breath. His mind was reeling because of the confession.
He had expected the wildest of answers from Bluebeard but not this.
Noel watched the man in front of him, his handsome face contracted in a desperate plea. Noel smirked in an unkind way.
"A mad man in love? Please stop joking, my lord."
Bluebeard felt something inside his chest hurt. It clenched and twisted and it felt broken.
A heartbreak.
He weakly held his chest, his eyes getting blurred as he looked down at his own bare feet. He let out a weak chuckle when he felt tears roll down his cheeks. He looked at Noel who had no empathy in his eyes.
"So apathetic." Bluebeard mumbled.
"My lord, we need to leave," the guard's voice rang from outside.
Noel looked at the door and back at Bluebeard.
"I am not coming with you!" Noel declared and ran towards the door. He flung it open, surprising the guard who was about to bow but Noel ran passed him. He headed towards the grand hall downstairs.
"Your grace! It's too dangerous there!"
The guard yelled and was about to run after Noel but Bluebeard beat him to it.
"Noel come back!" Bluebeard called, his voice scraping with desperation.
The crowd Noel was running towards was blind and angry, they did kill anyone without thinking right now.
And Noel knew that.
As he approached the crowd, a bearded man pointed his finger at Noel and yelled.
"It's that killer's friend! They must be together in this!"
Noel kneeled on the floor as the crowd ran towards him, yelling and waving their weapons in the air.
Somebody hit him with a shovel, the impact had him landing in the floor with a loud thud and a c***k.
Noel heard somebody scream and weakly turned his eyes.
Bluebeard held a long sword in his hand and was stabbing people blindly. His eyes was however fixed on Noel.
Noel closed his eyes.
"Noel!" Bluebeard screamed as he ran down the stairs, slashing his sword at anyone in sight.
Somebody, stabbed a dragger on his shoulder blade but Bluebeard's sight was only on Noel.
Along the way Bluebeard received more and more injuries but he only stopped when he was in front of Noel's body.
He weakly slumped down and held him.
"My precious," Bluebeard whispered.
A single tear slipped pass his eyes. He held Noel's limp hand and kissed it lightly.
Noel stirred lightly and opened his eyes. He was surprised to see Bluebeard crying.
"Was it so hard to love me?" Bluebeard weakly whispered, his question.
Noel looked at Bluebeard searching for any kind of excitement at seeing such a bloodbath and when he found none, he gave a weak smile.
"Yes." Noel answered.
"So cruel, even in the end." Bluebeard muttered.
Bluebeard held Noel's hand tighter when somebody ran him through with a sword. Hot blood trickled down his chest and soaked his clothes.
He met Noel's eyes one last time. Bluebeard fell on top of his chest and slowly closed his eyes.
Atleast, we die together.
[Host, mission complete would you like to leave the world?]
Noel did not answered Belle for a while, he weakly raised his hand and placed it on Bluebeard's head who was still weeping quietly as he waited for his head.
Bluebeard reached for Noel's hand and held it tightly.
"My love," Bluebeard said with a deep shaky breath.
"Belle, I would like to leave this world now."
[Yes, host.]
Noel closed his eyes, the scream of the people around him fading away.
- Writer
