Beauty & Her Beast

Chapter 14: Bathtub Bonding?

"I guess I'll find out soon enough."

Sy runs off into the gardens. The main doors open and I see the maids again.

"Oh, we were just coming back to get you. Well, apparently our prince did that for us. Ugh, he's going to be mad at us again," One of the maids says nervously.

I look down as they wrap my arms around their shoulders. The maids walk me over to the staircase.

"Girls, I can take her from here. Why don't you two call it a night? Besides, you shouldn't have to worry about Sylas. He won't hurt you, you know that," Elijah says reassuringly.

The maid nods as they then say goodnight and run around the corner to go downstairs.

"Wait right here so I can at least throw on something underneath, then I'll walk you upstairs. Okay," he speaks softly.

I nod as I look down. Elijah runs upstairs as I sit on the stairs to wait for his return. Something white moves out the corner of my eye. I look over towards the throne room, but nothing was there. Hmm...

I thought I saw something. After a minute or so, Elijah runs downstairs, then swiftly picks me up.

"Ah! I thought you were going to help me walk! Not pick me up," I exclaim. He chuckles as he cradles me in his arms like a baby.

"Well, my dear, this is easier for the both of us. And around here, you may have to worry about us picking you up. It'll happen a lot. We like to test our strength. Though, because we're werewolves, we're as strong as at least five men. But if you've ever seen a werewolf pissed off, he's as strong as ten," Elijah states as he smiles softly.

I smile as I look down at the staircase.

"Hearing that makes me feel a lot better about my body. That's crazy though. I knew you guys were strong, but that strong?! That's amazing," I exclaim quietly this time.

Elijah chuckles softly as he walks me into the room across from his and escorts me into the bathroom.

"It's just part of our curse. Now, I think your leg is healing nicely, though I'd like to examine it further once it's cleaned. I can run bath for you, if you'd like," he speaks softly.

I nod and say, "Yeah, I'd love to clean up. I got a little too scratched up tonight."

Elijah looks down as he turns on the water to the bath.

"Did he hurt you again? Because of me?"

I freeze as I then avert my eyes to the door. I hold my arm close as I fill with discomfort and uneasiness.

"Would you believe me if I told you, no," I question nervously.

Elijah shakes his head as he speaks solemnly, "I'm sorry, I knew I should've stuck around. He overheard our conversation, didn't he?"

I nod as I look down and play with the bottom of my shirt. Elijah sighs as he looks up at me.

"You're free to do whatever you want, though next time, you may not be too lucky. If Sylas weren't there to help
you, we wouldn't have stepped in. Okay, then again, I will have Damien or Oliver watching over you from now on." Elijah states.

I look at him curiously as I ask, "So, what are you trying to say?"

Elijah meets my gaze as he steps closer to me.

"You can stay here for a while, until you make up your mind. If you decide to stay with us, I'll send Damien and Oliver to go with you to retrieve your belongings. As far as you going back to stay with your father, that's up to you. I'll still keep tabs on you, though, I don't expect you to visit anymore, since he'll be watching your every move," Elijah speaks in a quite serious tone.

I look down as I say softly, "I'll stay for a couple days, think things over. During this time, I need to go back and retrieve that vile. It fell out of my poncho after you showed up. I need that vile, Elijah."

He soon stops the water as he states sternly, "You're not going back tonight. I will put my foot down on that. I'll have Damien and Oliver retrieve it."

I nod as I look down at the ground again. A slight smile crosses my face as I grip onto the bottom of my shirt.

"Thank you," I mumble.

Elijah gives me a nod, then walks over to the door as he says, "I'll wait outside the door in case you need
anything."

I nod my head as I smile softly. Elijah walks out the door, closing it behind him. I carefully stand up to strip down. I get into the tub and relax. I begin to replay everything that's happened tonight. All the sudden, I begin to feel as though someone's choking me.

I start coughing as I press my hands to my neck and chest. I can't help but cough. I'm suffocating. Elijah swiftly opens the door and rushes over to me. He grabs my wrists to pull my hands away from me.

I start to hyperventilate. I can't control my attack. Elijah rubs the side of my head as he tries to calm me.

"Missy, you're okay. Calm down. He's not hurting you anymore. Don't think about it," he whispers softly as if reassuring me.

Elijah pulls me closer to him only to rest my head against his shoulder. He rubs the back of my head, hoping to calm me down.

"You're okay. Don't worry about him for now. He won't hurt you anymore. I won't let him hurt you," Elijah whispers softly.

I begin to cry as he holds my head closer to his chest. After a few minutes pass, I soon calm down as I listen to his soothing voice.

"Will you stay in here with me a bit longer," I ask him nervously.

Elijah nods as he lets go of me. He sits back as he holds onto the edge of the tub.

"Yeah. I'll be right here," Elijah states solemnly.

I nod as I lay back in the tub again.
Thankfully he put enough bubbles in the tub so I could hide my breasts. Elijah turns around to lean his back against the tub.

"I'm sorry I freaked out. I thought about it too much and it took me back to when he did that. I felt like I couldn't breathe," I speak softly as my voice becomes shakey.

I place one hand on my neck again as Elijah turns to the side to face me. He gently grabs my wrist to remove my hand from my neck.

"Don't apologize. It isn't your fault. Besides, you're dealing with the aftershock of the situation. It happens. Just try to forget about it. You've definitely been through enough tonight."

I look down as I nod my head slowly. I cup my hands together and twiddle my thumbs.

"Thank you for saving me back there as well. In that moment, I kept thinking to myself, why do you guys care so much as to help me? I just don't understand. I'm not important," I speak solemnly.

Elijah swiftly averts his attention to me.

"That's where you're wrong though. Missy, I thought I explained this to you. Look, you're like my own. Like the daughter I never had. But now that I have you again, I'm trying my best to look out for you. I have been for years. I just haven't looked out for you like I should have, otherwise I would have put an end to this years ago. Missy, do you know what your mother wanted for you?"