Chapter 20

Belle's POV

Belle frowns when she realizes she's been reassigned.

She stares at the floor longer than necessary, fighting the urge to break down, her kissing her teeth at the unnecessary frustration.

They didn't even value her enough to tell her directly. With Miss Stella gone on yet another assignment, she only hears about it through the petty rumors.

'They say she's messed up the Prince's work several times.'

'The prince must finally be tired of her incompetence.'

'She's so lazy.'

'She can't do anything right, keeps messing up.'

'She's only still working here because of Miss Stella...'

These are a few of the things she's heard since the reassignment, and it stings to say the least. They should try waking up in a foreign land and still manage to stay alive for a month and see how well they'd do.

She scoffs under her breath.

Their mindless gossip however, doesn't get to her like the weight of the Prince's avoidance.

He was the one that kept pulling her back. The one that kissed her...twice! And now is suddenly pulling away like she never existed.

It stings more than she's willing to admit.

And now apparently, she's been reassigned to the north wing of the palace. No prince, no royals...just old libraries, stacks of books and old artifacts.

It somehow feels worse than hearing these maids whisper over her head everyday. At least then, she felt like she belonged somewhere.

"North wing, really?" She murmurs again under her breath, the absurdity of it making her stand frozen for a few minutes.

It makes another thought slide in; What if Kayla had a hand in this? She'd threatened her just two days ago after all, and she for sure had enough influence to...

Belle inhales sharply, forcing those thoughts down. She shouldn't think about them, or him.

She just needs to find a way back home. To her father. To get her revenge on James and Anna and try to pretend this crazy world never existed.

She draws in a long breath.

She could do this. Pretend nothing happened, forget the pull between them.

But could she really?

And what about the assassination? How could she even warn him about the potential danger if he clearly doesn't want her around.

The thought leaves a bitter taste in her mouth as she finally begins to make her way toward the north wing. Here it is much quieter, colder somehow. Very few staff here, only dust and old books.

She keeps her head down, moving through the artifact room, hands busy even though her thoughts refused to settle.

She's been on edge since the matting presentations. Looking over her shoulder in fear that they would somehow find out she knew about her secret and kill her. Or even worse, they'd kill the Prince earlier than planned, and she's left living with the guilt of not warning him beforehand.

Belle is still lost in thought, when the voice of one of the maids cuts through her thoughts.

"Did you hear?" One of them asks, the sound of dust brushes echoing through the almost silent room.

"Hear what?" The second one asks,

"The prince." The first one responds, and Belle hates the way her ears perk up instinctively. "He's left the palace grounds. He has a meeting at Nevros."

Nevros is one of their closest allies, a werewolf clan rich in gold and silver, one that usually trades with Moonveil. When a new king is coronated in Moonveil, he visits each of their allies, swearing and agreeing to continue the alliance of the king before him.

it is said if the new king doesn't go, then it is assumed whatever Alliance made by the old king is broken.

"Really?" The first one asks, "But I thought it would be after the coronation?"

"They pushed it up." The first one responds, "And no one knows why. There's also rumors that the mate choosing ball will be moved forward too."

"He's eager to pick a mate now?"

"Apparently."

Belle's heart squeezes painfully when she hears it, but she continues to work as they keep on talking.

"Who do you think the Prince would choose?"

The second one hesitates. "I think Kayla, Noble Astor's daughter might be the Prince's favorite…but Princess Lira and Elise are also very pretty."

At that point Belle decides she's done listening. If the prince was out of town, then this is finally her opening to go back to the bath.

Definitely not because she's jealous.

She doesn't even realize she's moving at first, her feet moving before her mind catches up, carrying her down familiar corridors she knows she shouldn't be in.

The further she goes, the quieter it gets...less guards at the Prince's absence, and hardly any servants.

She keeps her head down, legs moving briskly until she's standing in front of a door she absolutely should stay away from.

The prince's bath.

Belle exhales slowly, heart pounding. This is stupid, reckless enough that if she gets caught...there's no telling what would happen.

She swallows hard, but stubbornly reaches for the handle anyways. It's unlocked, most likely for cleaning.

If she can just be quick...

She walks in, and it's exactly as it was the first day she woke up as Isabella.

Huge marble bath in the middle of the room, walks lined with exquisite paintings and scented candles. There's a rack of clean towels by the side, and wooden stools still littered with scented oils she's found herself using more often than not.

It's too large for just one person, but it still feels lived in. Warm. Just like him.

Belle shakes the thought away quickly, stepping further inside, gaze flicking around as if the walls might close up on her.

She's not here for him. She reminds herself, she's here to check.

Check for what exactly? She doesn't know.

But since she woke up here, nothing has made sense. All she's managed to gather is that the real Isabella had an accident too, and maybe most likely their souls were switched.

But does that mean the real Isabella is dead?

Would she even have a body to go back to? Because how could she have survived a fall like that?

She looks around the space quickly, leaning over the tub, staring into the clean water like it held all the answers. There has to be a clue, a hint, anything...

She goes to the walls next, checking. There has to be something, a door, a secret passage maybe?

There's always something when she used to read novels like these...

The space is quiet at first, completely still.

Then there's footsteps, and voices, mumbling. It's a little distant at first, but it gets closer. Close enough that she starts to panic.

Belle freezes, heart jumping into her throat. A mirror of the fear she felt the first day she'd found herself in this very room a few weeks ago.

No, no, but it was supposed to be quiet here today.

"He's back already?" A guard's voice murmurs from beyond the doors, "I thought he was supposed to return by tomorrow morning?"

Their voices are not too far off from the bath doors, so she knows the guards have returned to their stations now.

"Something is wrong." The second one responds, "Didn't you see his eyes?"

Belle's stomach drops. He's back?

But he's not...did he never make it to Nevros?

Outside the room suddenly goes quiet in a way that makes her pulse spike. Belle is already planning her escape.... when she suddenly feels it.

The shift in the air.

Unmistakably him.

She frowns slightly, something is very wrong today. His scent, it's too strong, but not in the usual way when he's angry.

No this one's different... different in a way that makes her hair stand on end, it makes her skin burn.

"I-I need to hide." She whispers as the scent gets even closer, filling the space rapidly until every inhale smells like him.

Her head spins faintly, but she eventually finds a small, cramped opening behind some stools. She slides in as quietly as she can, cursing at the Maid's dress for being so full as she struggles to hide it too.

Barely a minute after that, she hears footsteps. Ones heavier than the previous.

She knows it's him before he even opens his mouth to give an instruction to all the guards standing outside.

"Leave now." His voice doesn't sound like it usually does. Not sultry and captivating.

It sounds dark now, something slightly animalistic.

She hears the shuffle of feet quickly after, like guards are squirming away one after the other.

Her heart is thumping loudly now, fear making her fingers tremble. If he catches her here, she's definitely going to be done for this time.

But how could she escape without him seeing her? Smelling her?

There's no other exit.

She squeezes her eyes shut, hoping the Prince is in a good enough mood to let her go unscathed.

But when the door finally slams open and he steps in, she finally realizes why her breath feels heavier.

Why his smell is different..

It reeks not of anger, but of arousal so strong it makes her body react almost instantly.

Her thighs press together before she can fully register what she's doing, breath hitching as her chest rises and falls in hard waves.

The door is not even fully closed when the Prince turns, red burning eyes meeting hers where she's still hiding.

His voice a low growl.

"Come out, Isabella."