Capturing The Little Belle

Chapter 6

In the dimly lit room, the air was heavy with grief, and a haunting silence hung in the air. Belle sat numbly by the bedside, her gaze locked onto the lifeless form of her beloved aunt Lucy. Her mind struggled to process what her eyes were telling her – that Lucy was gone, forever.

" m Bel...le, " Peter spoke in a low tone. His voice trembled as he gently shook her, trying to pull her back from the abyss of shock. Belle's vacant eyes slowly turned towards him, and reality crashed over her like a tidal wave. Lucy, the vibrant and warm soul who had been her anchor, was now a motionless figure before her.

Lucy's gaze seemed fixed on the door as if she were awaiting Peter's arrival. But time had slipped through their fingers like sand, and Peter had arrived just moments too late. In that brief span, Lucy's fragile thread of life had frayed and snapped.

Belle's tear-filled eyes remained transfixed on Lucy's face, now a mask of eternal slumber. The disarrayed strands of hair framed Lucy's pallid features, and her lifeless form appeared both fragile and unsettling. Peter reached out, his touch gentle and compassionate, and closed Lucy's eyes with a tenderness that contrasted with the harshness of the moment.

" Aunt..." Belle's shock turned to sheer panic. Her voice quavered as she reached out, her fingers trembling as they brushed against Lucy's cold hand. " Peter, please, tell her to wake up... She's scaring me....." Her words caught between sobs, Belle's voice was a desperate plea that echoed in the emptiness of the room.

Peter's own eyes glistened with unshed tears as he watched Belle's pain unfold before him. He sat beside her, his presence a small refuge amidst the overwhelming despair. Cupping Belle's tear-streaked face in his hands, he gazed into her eyes with a mixture of sorrow and determination.

" She's gone, Belle...................., " Peter's voice broke, the weight of the truth heavy in his words. He wanted to shield her from this unbearable reality, but honesty was the only way forward. Peter himself was grappling with the shock of Lucy's sudden departure, but he knew he had to be strong – for both of them.

Belle's heart-wrenching cry cut through the room like a knife. " No... you're lying..............., " she protested, her voice carrying a hurt that ran deep. Peter's attempt at comfort was met with a wall of disbelief, her grief-stricken heart unwilling to accept the harsh truth. His soothing touch seemed distant against the tempest of her emotions.

" You're lying... Let me go! " Belle's anguish turned into a desperate struggle as she pushed against Peter's arms, her desperation to escape the reality she couldn't bear evident in her every movement. She pressed herself against his chest, her sobs resonating through the room as she sought solace in her resistance.

Her eyes, once vibrant and full of life, were now red-rimmed and clouded with tears. The weight of her loss bore down on her, threatening to engulf her in an abyss of sorrow. In this single moment, her world had shattered. The only family she had, the one person who understood her completely, was now gone.

And during this raw, unfathomable pain, Belle clung to her denial. For to accept the truth was to acknowledge a void that could never be filled, a wound that could never truly heal. The room seemed to echo with the sound of their shared anguish, two souls grappling with the enormity of their loss in the face of harsh and unrelenting reality.

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The moment the car came to a stop, Ashton's heart raced as if it were trying to escape the confines of his chest. The journey had been a tumultuous one, a rollercoaster of intricate and unexplainable emotions. The uninvited bond he felt with this small expanse of green land had been a constant torture since the beginning of his arrival. Each step had sapped his strength, leaving him feeling weaker the closer they got.

Ashton stepped out of the car, his thoughts in turmoil. He had no concrete plan for what lay ahead. He had arrived like a wary predator, desperate to reach her before she slipped through his grasp once more. Years had passed since he last laid eyes on her; she was just a child then, and now he anticipated a teenage girl in her place. Yet, he sensed a looming surprise, a revelation that she was no longer the timid little girl he remembered. Ashton understood her worth, recognized the power she held, and was well aware that keeping her by his side would be a task far more complex than he had initially envisioned. He was prepared, however, to engage in this treacherous and ceaseless game. After all, she was both the beginning and the end of it all.

Standing outside the wooden perimeter of the small town, Ashton gazed around. The place was eerily quiet, an unusual hush that set his nerves on edge. From a distance, a group of men emerged, making their way toward him. These were his men, stationed here to keep watch over his hidden gem. They informed Ashton that a letter had been dispatched, and they had tried to apprehend the foreigner on their own, but he had escaped with the letter. The only pawn in their hands was poor Peter, unwittingly ensnared in this dangerous trap spun by Lucy. Little did Peter know, his aid to her cause would soon become a source of deep regret.

" The lady is no more, sir. She passed away yesterday. The girl grew furious and distraught, and the townsfolk are requesting a funeral. The lady's actions have caused irreparable havoc....... " One of the men spoke with a tinge of disappointment in his voice, delivering the sombre news,

Ashton's face remained neutral, but his eyes blazed with a sudden intensity. The man's words were cut short by a powerful grip on his neck, fingers digging in with ferocity.

" What were you doing while all of this was unfolding? " Ashton's voice was a dangerous growl, his anger manifesting in the tightening grip that turned the man's neck red and suffocating. The frustration and fury he had been harbouring erupted in that instant. If only they had intercepted that boy before he reached the foreigner, none of this would have transpired.

" Sir..................., " Ashton's other man intervened, his breath ragged and his left hand dripping with blood. He had been running ceaselessly. Ashton's attention snapped to the man behind him.

"Sir... she's been beating everyone with a heavy rod. You instructed us not to engage aggressively, to merely observe, but she's far more dangerous than we anticipated... she—" The man's words trailed off as Ashton's eyes bore into him, a mix of disbelief and seething rage. His men had held her captive since the previous night, and even Peter, the key player, had fallen into their grasp. The situation had spiralled beyond his control. The intensity of emotions swirled within Ashton, an intricate tapestry of anger, frustration, and an undercurrent of apprehension for what lay ahead.

Ashton hadn't laid eyes on her yet, nor had he ever desired to, but circumstances had escalated to a point where he could no longer remain on the sidelines. The time for playing this prolonged hide-and-seek had ended. The barriers that had kept them apart were now being shattered, and the inevitable confrontation was finally upon them. Hate or pertinacity, it no longer mattered; they were bound together by an intricate and inescapable fate that had woven its threads since the moment that girl entered the world.

His gaze shifted towards the small, somewhat dilapidated house nestled in a distant corner. Though its details were obscured, he knew it was the place he sought. His men stood vigilant outside its door, keeping any interlopers at bay. Yet, the safety of this location had waned, and they needed to relocate her to their territory, a domain where their actions would go unquestioned and unchallenged. The observing crowd here posed a risk, and they needed to leave as swiftly as possible. As for Lucy, there would be no ceremonial send-off. Her betrayal sealed her fate; her body would languish within this house, a grim monument to her treachery.

" Start the cars. We're leaving this place.........., " Ashton's command echoed with authority, causing his men to jump into action. With a calculated blend of danger and caution, he advanced towards the house. His eyes carried a mixture of curiosity and simmering anger as he drew nearer, the door to the house swinging open under the watchful eyes of his men, forming a protective perimeter around the structure.

" Where is she? " Ashton's voice emerged with an unexpected calmness as he inquired, yet an undercurrent of tension resonated within his words.

" Sir, she's hiding somewhere. Each time someone approaches, she retaliates............, " a man responded in hushed tones.

" Find her............., " Ashton's voice thundered, prompting his men to embark on a search. Meanwhile, Ashton himself remained a vigilant observer. The room felt charged, every corner pulsating with a mix of suspense and expectation as he stepped inside. Lucy's lifeless form lay before him, a testament to the destruction she had wrought. Ashton regarded her still figure, a myriad of thoughts cascading through his mind.

" That old witch... she's destroyed everything.............., " he thought bitterly, his rage and frustration simmering just below the surface.

As he stood there, an inexplicable sensation washed over him. A shadow flickered in his peripheral vision, cast by the window's light. Instinct took over, and he spun around just in time to grasp the rod that was hurtling towards him. When the rod made contact, he experienced a sudden and intense shock that travelled through his arm.

His fingers closed around the cold, unforgiving metal of the rod, and his gaze met a pair of green eyes filled with defiance and something else—something he hadn't expected. Despite the anger and tension that hung heavy in the air, there was a spark of recognition, of shared history, that resonated between them. For a moment, time seemed to hang suspended, the weight of their intertwined fates pressing upon them.

Emotions surged within Ashton—anger, betrayal, but also a twisted form of admiration for the audacity of this girl who had refused to yield even in the face of his arrival. The clash of their wills intensified, each refusing to back down.