The Beauty and the Beast (1st book of Fantasy Series)

Chapter 52- Belle's POV

"Oomph." I groaned and moved to the side when Leo tossed me to the ground next to my father with ropes binding my wrists and ankles together.

"Shit," Leo said under his breath and furrowed his brows while he pressed his lips into a thin line. "Are y-"

"Not yet, Leo," I said, my voice barely above a whisper while I interrupted him, feeling the gaze of my ex- on us from wherever he hid himself. "Later."

"Bu-"

"Leo, please," I said, interrupting him again. I stayed in the position that I had been tossed in and didn't look at the other male, closing my eyes ever so slightly. "Go do what else you were told to do. We can talk later. Ok?"

Leo set his jaw but slowly nodded. He glanced behind me toward my father before he started to walk away, his whole body tense.

"Belle?" my father asked, sounding shocked and surprised that I told someone to do something, and they went to do it. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

I hesitated and licked my lips, not knowing what to tell him and how to tell him what happened to me in such a short time.

"Belle, please," he said and moved closer to me. "Are you ok? Why did you come here? Did he let you go?" He paused and cleared his throat. "Are you able to look at me so that we can talk?" He paused a second time and cleared his throat. "Please?"

His voice broke when he asked that, and my heart ached and became filled with pain. He sounded old, tired, and I didn't like how old and tired he sounded, even though I understood.

This aged him just as much as it had aged me...

I hesitated and made sure that it was safe before I did what my father asked me to do and turned to face him. My heart pounded hard in my chest, and there was a small lump in my throat when I saw how sullen and pale he looked. "Oh, Papa," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Tears pricked the corner of his eyes, and he blinked them back before he gulped and took a deep shuddering breath. "Oh, Goddess," he said, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat and shifted on the ground, trying to inch his way closer to me. "Are you ok? How are you feeling, my dear child?"

I licked my lips, the urge to cry growing stronger before I cleared my throat. "I am ok, Papa," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Are you ok? He didn't hurt you too bad, did he?"

My father bit back a small chuckle and shook his head. "No," he said. "It's just a scratch." He flashed me a small wink, and I held back an eye roll while I pressed my lips into a thin line, not believing him.

He bit back a small chuckle before he closed his eyes just a tad. "I am serious, my love," he said and opened his eyes so that he could look at me again. "I am ok. I have stopped bleeding from the wounds that have been bestowed on me."

Again, I hesitated before I slowly nodded. "Ok," I said before I cleared my throat and licked my lips. "If you are sure..."

"Hmph." My father bit back a small smirk before he grew serious and inched closer to me, concern appearing in his eyes while he studied me. "Now, how did you escape?" he asked while he raised an eyebrow in question. "Why are you here?"

"Riser led us here, Papa," I said before I hesitated and shook my head, "and I didn't escape."

My father raised an eyebrow in question. "You didn't?" he asked, and I shook my head, no. He frowned and narrowed his eyes while he stared at me. "Then what happened?" he asked. "How did you get out from under that wolf's control?"

I hesitated again and licked my lips. "The king let me go," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "He knew that I was worried about you, so he let me go."

"To find me?" he asked, and I nodded in confirmation. "Why?"

I bit back a small sigh and closed my eyes, and my heart yearned to go back to the beast that seemed to have captured my heart. "Because he changed, Papa," I said and opened my eyes again so that he could see what I had to say. "He isn't the same "man" that you have been in contact with when he placed you in the cell..."

I hesitated before I cleared my throat and shifted on my side, furrowing my brows. "He lost the anger that he had carried with him as well as the fear that he had also carried."

My father pressed his lips into a thin line and slowly nodded. "Do you know when it changed?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

I hesitated and licked my lips, not knowing how he would react about me meeting my uncle and that side of the family.

"Annabelle," he said, pressing me gently. He moved closer to me and stared at me with wide eyes, pressing his lips into a thin line. Worry flashed through his eyes while he studied me, and I could tell that he thought something bad happened to me. "What happened? What caused him to change?"

I closed my eyes and cleared my throat, tucking my head closer to my chest. "Um... the king kicked me out of the kingdom the first time because I had done something that he told me not to do..."

"And what did you do?" my father asked, his voice turning a little darker, and I couldn't help but flinch and close my eyes tighter while I waited for my father to say something else. "What happened?"

I took a deep, shuddering breath before I cleared my throat and shifted some more, feeling very nervous. "Ummm... I went into his office when he told me not to, and I went into his desk and then took out a tiara so that I could look at it without his permission..."

My father's eyes grew wide and stared at me with a shocked look on his face. His whole body was tense, and his face grew pale while he studied me. "What?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Why?"

I licked my lips and cleared my throat before I shrugged and grimaced. "I was told to," I said honestly before I looked around to make sure that the Werewolves weren't paying attention to us, and thankfully, they weren't before I looked at him again.

"By who?" my father asked and narrowed his eyes, scowling. "Who told you to look for the tiara and go into this... king's office?"

I sighed and turned my attention back to him, my heart pounding hard and fast in my chest. "The Moon Goddess," I replied. I cleared my throat and shifted some more, my throat closing. "The Moon Goddess told me to find it."

My father blinked and blinked again, looking at me with a blank look on his face. He didn't say a word while he studied me, and I knew that he was trying to come up with a reason as to what I meant by the Moon Goddess.

"Like the actual Moon Goddess, Luna," I said and licked my lips before I cleared my throat and shifted some more on my side. "You know how there is a Sun God, whose name is Sol, and then I don't know who Selene is the Goddess of, but she is a Goddess, too."

My father pressed his lips into a thin line and slowly blinked. He didn't say a word while he stared at me, and I could tell he didn't believe me.

"I am telling the truth, Papa," I gently pressed, praying that he would listen to me and understand that what I was saying was true. "The actual Moon Goddess visited me when I was in the castle..."

"Why?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

"She wanted to talk to me," I said before I furrowed my brows and tucked my head closer to my chest, "and I think she wanted to see how I would be as the queen... if that is ever going to happen." I closed my eyes and grimaced, yearning to go back to the kingdom so that I could help not only the king but the kingdom as well.

"Queen?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question. "Like, are you saying that you are the queen of the Werewolves?"

I bit back a small breathless chuckle and slowly nodded while I opened my eyes and stared at him with a pained look on my face. "Yes," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I am the queen of the Werewolves, and I'm afraid that my kingdom and the king are running out of time. And in all honesty, I have no idea what I am supposed to do, now."