The Twisted Chain || A Disney Fanfic [discontinued]

20. the mistakes

I was holding a sword. I could have ended his life right then and there.

Well, why don't you? He abused Belle and basically murdered her husband. He deserves it,.

"And what, pray tell, are you going to do with it?" Gaston challenged through a gritty wince. "You aren't going to kill me, are you?"

"Look," I snapped. "I have been through a lot of shit in the past few days. And I do not want to end my night by killing someone, but if I have to-"

"You wouldn't. You wouldn't kill me. You may be stubborn and uncontrollable, but you wouldn't stoop so low as to actually end my life."

"Is that a challenge?" The world was slowing down, and the realization was dawning on me that I was actually holding a sword to someone's face-

"No. It's just an observation." His smile sliced into my skin. "If you want to kill me, Ivory, I suggest that you do it now. I've been sentenced to death, anyway. If you'd like to do the hangman's dirty work for him, be my guest."

He crossed his legs and let his head drop onto the ground, expecting a show. "I dare you."

Time stopped.

Had I actually told this man that I wouldn't hesitate to kill him?

"You're going to be hanged, anyway. What's the point?" I was trembling, and he could tell. "I'll make you a deal, okay? Go back to your, uh, chamber, or wherever you're being kept, and don't tell anyone about what happened. And I'll let you live."

"No."

"No? What do you mean no? This is the part where you say 'yes'!"

"No. I refuse." He put his hands behind his head, smiling contently. "It doesn't matter whether I'm killed today or tomorrow or next week- my fate is already plotted out for me. It's in your hands now, mademoiselle."

"And what if I drop the sword?"

"Then I'll kill you."

"You wouldn't kill me."

"I've killed thousands of wild animals before. Why are you any different from them?"

"Because I'm human."

"That's debatable."

"What if I drop the sword and let you run off to wherever you were running off to?" I was desperate now, frantically sifting through my brain, searching for a suitable option. My hands glistened with sweat.

"You already said that you would kill me, Ivory. A heroine should always carry out a deed that they've promised to carry out."

If I had let him live, he would have killed me.

My heart was pounding far too intensely, ringing around in my ears and destroying any other sounds. Bang, bang, bang, bang...

I closed my eyes and lifted the sword.

And I slammed it down.

And it dug itself into the grass.

I opened my eyes. He was gone.

I fell to my knees, forgetting about the test and the palace and the Disneyverse and Leah. The world was spinning and my throat was backed up with ice and my veins had been cut open and my stomach was littered with tight knots and I could hear nothing but the screaming of my own heart and I was going to kill someone.

I didn't know how long I sat there, on my knees, staring at my hands without dropping my eyelids. It must have been hours. I sat until I was numb. I sat until my blood ran cold and my knees disappeared.