VII :: Healing

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MORBID BITE

Chapter Seven :: Healing

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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The sky was far too blue and the day far too bright. Belle's heart ached. It should have been grey, she thought as she stared up at the mid-afternoon sky. There was a slight chill in the breeze and Belle tugged the corner of her cloak across her chest. A vast row of tombstones lay out in front of her, their icy, stone depths freezing the ground. Belle could just hear the murmuring of the priest as he stood over the flower covered coffin.

Belle's sisters stood in each other's arms weeping and pretending that they cared for him, rather than the money he had lost. Her sisters had made it clear they were ashamed of her, they thought she should have told Nicholas of her engagement. To them, Belle had disgraced the family name by staying with an unmarried man. Belle had been supressed and she was not allowed to say or play anything at the funeral. Belle knew how her sisters saw her; she was an unshakable nuisance that was not getting younger, had no dowry and was the main focus of scandalous gossip.

"Let us commend André Novacek to the mercy of God," the priest spoke with such a soft tone it was almost taken away with the wind.

Alisha wailed like a banshee as she threw her arms around Adele holding her even tighter than before. Belle watched as the priest's lips moved in prayer but all she could hear were the cries of her sisters, their red faces staring down at the coffin from the other side of the pit. Belle's sisters' weeping dulled down for the last few words.

"We therefore commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life."

The sleek black soulless coffin was lowed into the grave and the priest threw a handful of dust before humming a tune to himself, the whole event just another of his many errands.

"Accedamus ad verbum Dei, in pace vivunt," Belle spoke, her hand letting go of the white rose she had picked from Nicholas's garden; it stood out on the bleak background like a small piece of hope that was soon crushed by the avalanche of mud.

The priest burst into the final hymn pulling everyone but Belle into a chorus of voices. After everything she had witnessed a hymn seemed so...useless. Instead she ran her eyes over the stone wall that surrounded the church yard. Poppies grew around the edge speckling the ground with red.

On the opposite side of the graveyard Belle could see a woman lying on the freshly covered ground, her head pressed against the cold cheap stone. It gave her a strange feeling of peacefulness to see another damaged soul.

The priest's orotund voice stopped, and the murmurs of the small group interrupted the peace the melody had brought. The gathering dispatched quickly; most of the attendees were estranged family members who had barely known their father and thus did not mourn for him like he deserved. They had been unable to take their father back to the family crypt, so he was buried here among the dead of Chartres, the cheapest option.

"My dear child." The priest placed a tender hand on Belle's shoulder, removing her from thought. "I can see the torment you must bear. If you wish to share anything with me, you know where to find me." He smiled, his grey hair short on his wrinkled chin.

"Father, I fear I have lost God's love," Belle could feel her words chocking in her throat, her guilt of denial, her anger towards herself and her father and her lust for something more than just this life.

"My dear child." His body took a genuine upset posture. "God loves all, knowing that you feel this way simply shows him how much you love him."

Belle stared at the old man, her mind going back to her life over the last month. She had left her father's body to rot in a mausoleum, which had led to him having to be dug up from a temporary grave. Her sisters had looked at her with such hate it had made her want to slap them - what kind of person wants to hurt her own sisters? She turned her face away from the priest and looked back again across the graveyard, forcing her mind to the events of now and not the past or the future.

"Thank you, father, although I fear I am not ready for confession just yet," her words slipped out of her mouth and she had forgotten their meaning in an instant.

She walked away from the old man without a glance back and headed towards the road, trying her best to dodge around her sisters and their new admirers. Alisha may have been married but she was cuddling up to Sébastien and crying – very passionately – into his chest as she ran her hands over his back. He caught Belle's eye and gave her a sideward smile, showing her, he knew exactly what her sister was up to. She returned the smile, but it vanished as she noticed Adele's venomous glare concentrated on her.

Belle shook her head and changed her direction, out of the gate and along the mud road. Tears burnt behind her eyes and she broke into a sprint, unable to be around any of her family. The tears were flowing now, and they stung her face as they ran down her cold skin. She carried on along the boundary of the churchyard until the stone wall stopped and the forest edge was all that stood in front of her. She only ran a few steps into the woods, but it was far enough for nobody to hear her screams.

For what felt like an eternity Belle sobbed and once her body could produce no more tears she began to hit the trees, making the palm of her hands red and raw. She could not feel her superficial pain but as her adrenaline wore off, her hands stung and slumped into the tree, her head pressed against the trunk.

Gradually, Belle made her way back to the glares and backwards glances of disproval. Her name drifted in the wind as her friends and family searched for her. She stopped just before reaching the end of the forest and leaned against a tree, sliding down to the ground. Footsteps sounded from behind her but before she could turn to look a stern deep voice sounded.

"Hallo again." Raoul towered over her and under one arm he held a pile of fire wood.

Belle did not answer. She wiped her tears and hurriedly got up from the ground. She was in no state for this man's rudeness.

Before she could walk off he gently grabbed her arm, his eyes concentrated on the group of people who were calling her name. Her sisters looked annoyed as they elegantly called Annabelle, their voices unheard as the wind took it away. Nicholas and Sébastien were yelling louder, their hands clapped over their mouths, but every few shouts they would rub their hands together for warmth. The rest of the assembly had dispersed back to their lives.

"Have you decided on my offer?" he asked his voice low and confident.

Belle had thought about his offer to the festival but since her sisters had arrived so unannounced she had not given it a second thought.

"Not yet." She needed an escape and a celebration seemed the best option.

"See you tonight then Belle."

He dropped her arm and lumbered back into the forest but not without one last look back at the group. His face held so many scars, they were written over his rough skin, in his words when he spoke and in the essence of his soul. Belle was intrigued by him, he no longer scared her like the rumours had and his forward nature no longer offended her, but he held such mysterious it helped her numb the pain of her own life. Forgetting about the evening ahead she headed back towards her disapproving family.

The party sat in Nicholas drawing room, the sun was beginning its decent, but it was still light out. Half eaten patisserie lay around on the tables as the thought of food had gone down like lead butter. The room was spacious Belle's sisters still occupied the main space.

"Aunt Clara is happy to take you in," Adele bickered, her patience slowly drifting into nonexistence.

"And she has a lovely little place in Paris," Alisha added.

"She can help you reinsert yourself back into society."

Belle stared blankly at her sisters. They had decided to leave after the funeral, but the chance to argue about Belle had drawn them back into the house. She had not listened to them since getting back and her mind was still deciding if she would meet Raoul. In this moment it was the more pleasant option than the conversation she was locked into.

"Listen!" Belle shouted and they both stopped. "I know both of you see me as a massive problem to our ruined family name, but I am happy here and I am going to stay here." Belle was breathing fast as she kept her stare connected with her sisters.

Adele and Alisha were both so shocked at Belle's sudden outburst that neither of them said another word for the rest of the afternoon. Silently they finished off the food and then collected their things ready to leave. They both kissed Belle goodbye but neither of them gave her their love. Belle followed them out of the mansion, her arms wrapped around her body. Adele shouted something from the carriage and the driver cracked his whip. She watched as the carriage sped off out the grand gates and down the muddy road:

Nicholas had ridden towards the house and waved at the window of the carriage as he passed. Belle waited outside as he approached. He called out to her and stopped just in front of the stone stairs. He was dressed in ridding gear, prepared for a long journey. The thick coat and dress hat were far too overdressed for a simple trip to the local village. He did not dismount and as she rested her hand on his horse's neck Belle could tell Nicholas was anxious to get away.

"Are you going with them?" Belle asked, she had not spoken to him since her sisters had arrived.

"Yes. I need to collect some important belongings from Paris and Sylvia wishes me to collect some dresses or something like that."

He said nothing else, turned his horse around and followed the carriage, his horse kicking up the dark mud. As they both vanished around the corner Belle noticed the sun was just dipping behind the trees and she quickly turned on her heels and raced back into the house. She clambered up the stairs and into her room. Flinging open the almost bare wardrobe, she stared at the dresses that hung there.

Deciding on a plain blue high waist dress, she tugged off her black morning dress and quickly stepped into the soft material of the least expensive clothing she could find. Belle also grabbed a bonnet and then sprinted down the stairs and back out of the front door. She hoped she wasn't too late.

It was very cold evening and Belle realised she had not brought a coat or some kind of shawl. Before she could decide whether or not to turn back she heard a pounding sound and a massive shire horse cantered towards her, its hooves covered in a black feathering that was thick with mud. It drew to a halt in front of her and Belle ran her eyes over the great beast that stood before her.

Raoul stared down at Belle, his intense almost uncomfortable gaze, concentrated on her.

"Your dress is very expensive," he sounded almost joke like and Belle thought she saw a glimmer of a smile, but it did not last.

"I had nothing else." Belle shrugged, not understanding his problem. It was just a dress.

He lent down, offering her a hand.

"I know he's not much of purebred like your Nobleman's stallion, but he does the job."

Belle eye's sparkled as she looked up at Raoul. She placed her hand in his outstretched palm, feeling the coarse textured skin. He pulled her up, his strength surprising her as she swung her legs over the bare back of the horse.

"There was no sign of a festival at Chartres when I was there before, is it a simply occasion?" Belle asked, wondering what sort of evening she was getting herself into.

A deep infectious laugh rumbled Raoul's body and he closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm not the most popular person here, so no, we are going to ." The horse leapt into action and they were off towards the neighbouring village.

Belle suddenly realized she was sitting on the back of a horse with a man she had only met, and she felt more alive than she ever had before.

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I am so so sorry. This is such a late update, I have had a very busy last month with exams and some other tiring tasks but I hope to update much more regularly now but I can't promise anything.

Enjoy, vote and comment as I really hope you liked it!

p.s. over 8,000 reads OMG thank you <3