Belle and the Prophecy of Grey

Chapter 25

There was anger and argument, and a lot of talk about the law, but in the end they just could not banish Ares. The fact that Ares was now profoundly connected to both warriors carried more weight than Belle had expected.

One old man still dug furiously through his scrolls until Vikus said to him, "Oh, stop rattling your skins, we clearly have no precedence for this."

Gregor turned to his new bond. "Well, I probably won't be here much longer."

"It matters not," said Ares, wrapping a wing around Belle. He smiled down at her, then Gregor. "While I have flight, I will be here always for you."

"And I," added Belle, reaching to clasp her friend's hands. With a short 'goodbye for now', they parted so Gregor could visit his father and sister and Ares could sleep in his and Belle's room.

Belle spent the afternoon wandering around the palace, feeling happier than she had in several weeks. She was done worrying, for the moment at least.

As she was making her way back to hehr bed, she passed the room Gregor had been taken to as a prisoner the night he had tried to escape Regalia. Vikus was sitting at the table alone, surrounded by piles of scrolls and maps. His face lit up when he saw Belle, and he waved her into the chamber.

"Come, come, we have not spoken since your arrival," he said eagerly. "How do you fare, granddaughter?"

"Well. Very well," said Belle, sitting down across from Vikus.

For a moment they just sat there, unsure of where to begin.

"So, warrior...you brought us back the light," said Vikus.

"Yes, I suppose we did," said Belle, grinning. "It was lucky Ares was with us."

"Lucky for Ares, too," said Vikus. "Lucky for us all. Know you the rats are in retreat?"

"Mareth told me," said Belle.

"I believe the war will soon be at its end," said Vikus. "The rats have begun to battle one another for their throne."

"What about Ripred?" asked Belle.

"I have heard from him. He is assembling a party of rats sympathetic to his cause in the Dead Land. It will not be an easy task, to take leadership of the rats. He must first convince them that peace is desirable, and that will be a long and arduous struggle. Still, he is not an easy rat to ignore," said Vikus.

"I will say," said Belle. "Even other rats will not cross Ripred."

"With good reason. No one can defend themselves against him," said Vikus. "Ah, that reminds me. I have something for you--the council asked me to present you with it."

Vikus reached behind the table and brought forth a long object wrapped in very thick silk. Belle unrolled it and found a stunningly beautiful bow and sheath of arrows, studded with jewels.

"It belonged to Bartholomew of Sandwich himself. It is the wish of our people that you accept it," said Vikus.

"I cannot take this," said Belle. "I mean, it is too much. Besides, my mother barely approved of me having a pocketknife, and never liked the idea of my bow." This was true. Clara Harker had never approved of her husband teaching their daughter to shoot. And on her eighth birthday, her uncle had given her a pocketknife with about fifteen attachments, which her mother had put away until she was twenty-one.

"I see," said Vikus. He was watching Belle carefully. "Perhaps if it was kept in the museum, you would feel more comfortable."

"Perhaps. But there is another thing..." said Belle. But she didn't know how to say it, though it was the main reason she didn't want to touch the object in front of her. It had to do with Tick and Treflex and Gox; it had to do with all the creatures she had seen lying motionless on the trip back. It even had to do with Henry and the rats. Maybe she just wasn't smart enough. Maybe she didn't understand. But it seemed to Belle that there must have been some way to fix things, so that everybody didn't end up dead.