Moonfire Bride: The One they all betrayed...till she awakened

Beatrice stepped into the cottage and stopped. She looked around the room, and she had no words to describe what she was seeing.

The splintered door.

The overturned table.

The soup coating the walls and floor.

And blood.

One of the men was sprawled near the hearth, barely moving, while another was clutching what remained of his ruined nose and groaning through his fingers.

Beatrice’s gaze finally settled on Della. She was still unconscious on the floor, her dark hair spread messily around her head, one arm curled protectively toward her stomach.

Beatrice blinked, looked around the ruined room again, then looked back at Della, ”She did this?”

The surviving men exchanged looks, ”Yes, my lady.”

Beatrice’s lips parted slightly. She stepped closer, carefully avoiding the blood beneath her boots, and crouched beside Della. Her eyes travelled over the girl’s battered face, then down to her stomach, where she could feel the faint heartbeat coming from,

A strange little smile slowly appeared on her face, ”Well...” she murmured. ”You really are full of surprises, aren’t you, dear sister?”

Her attention shifted toward the dead man, and she barely spared him a glance. ”Is he dead?”

”Yes.”

”Shame.”

There was absolutely no shame in her voice.

Beatrice stood and dusted her hands together, ”Tie her up.”

The men immediately moved toward Della, and one of them hesitated, ”My lady?”

Beatrice looked at him, eyes cold, ”Did I stutter?”

”No, but...” His gaze flickered toward Della. ”Aren’t we supposed to wake her up, let her escape and hunt her down till sundown?”

”There’s been a change of plans,” Beatrice drawled, staring down at Della again, ”Today happens to be a very good opportunity and I do not want to miss it, you know why?” She arched a brow.

”W...why?”

”Because today is a very big market day back at Eclipse Crown Pack. The markets are gonna be packed to the brim,” She smiled.

None of them understood what she was saying.

”Don’t worry about it. Just tie her up and throw her into the carriage,”

Beatrice crouched and gently brushed a strand of hair away from Della’s face. Her eyes dropped to the faint curve beneath her clothes.

A pregnant Rotblood.

And suddenly, what she’d had in mind for torturing her sister seemed terribly unimaginative.

”No more running,” Beatrice whispered to her, then she stood up and looked at the men, ”Don’t wake her. Don’t hurt her unless necessary. I want her alive, conscious or not, until I decide otherwise.”

.

.

.

Della opened her eyes to meet complete darkness. It took her another second to realise wherever she was, or whatever she was sitting in...was currently moving.

A carriage?!

When she tried to move her hands, pain seared through her unmoving wrists. They had been tied together despite the break. Speak? No, there was tape against her lips.

She began to panic again, thinking back to what happened at the cottage.

Those men had taken her!

They’d probably gotten to Anne too!

Oh dear Moon Goddess, she really hoped Anne was ok.

”Oh! Looks like you’re finally awake,”

Della dreaded that voice with every living nerve she had in her body.

The sack over her head was yanked off, and light finally bled into her eyes, forcing her to squint her eyes.

She could not feel a bad sting on her cheek, reminding her that she was bruised there. And of course, the headache.

Next came off the tape, and it was torn off so sharply that her skin almost came off with it.

”Why am I still alive?” Della asked, not bothering to beat around the bush as she stared dead into Beatrice’s eyes whom was facing her.

”Is that how you were taught to greet growing up at the servants’ quarters? Hm?”

”Beatrice!”

The woman rolled her eyes, ”You’re being so ungrateful right now, you know that, right?”

”What?” Della’s right eye twitched.

Ungrateful?!

”I actually let you into my carriage!” Beatrice said, blowing out like she’d done her the biggest favour ever known to mankind, ”And I’m giving you a free ride, sister, so I think I deserve a thank you. Oh! And let’s not forget another thank you, since I didn’t kill you on the spot...and I haven’t killed you right now,”

Of course she wouldn’t kill her right now. Beatrice had always told her that she wanted her death to be slow and extremely painful and humiliating. She wanted to watch her groan and beg and cry and bleed.

She craved whatever twisted satisfaction came from the sight of it.

But right now, she had more pressing things to worry about, ”Was I the only one you so selflessly kidnapped from the cottage and brought into the carriage?” She hissed.

”Oh!” Beatrice laughed like a mental patient, ”You mean the Healer, right?”

”What did you do to her?!” Della snapped, leaning forward and wishing she could also tear off Beatrice’s stupid, perfect nose!

”I didn’t do anything to her,” Beatrice shrugged..

”Beatrice, I swear to the Moon Goddess—”

”I’m serious! I didn’t do anything to your little healer. We did meet briefly, and then I told her about her mother’s impending sentence and then she ran off like she was suddenly out of her mind,”

Lines appeared between Della’s eyebrows. What did she mean by ’impending sentence’ ?

”It’s so sad,” Beatrice continued, leaning back against the seat, ”Her daughter was found helping a rotblood, and the council are now taking every measure possible to see that everything and everyone associated with the Rotblood gets—” Beatrice’s hand moved like a blade across her neck, making the ’Cut one’s head off’ gesture.

”You’re lying!” Della cried, horrified, ”Moira is innocent,”

”Tell that to the council!”

Della still didn’t believe her, ”I know you’re lying, Beatrice. You lied to Anne about something like this?”

”I wish I could say I was truly lying just to mess with your heads, but I’m not, dear sister,” Beatrice said, letting silence fall inside the carriage while the galloping of horses could be heard outside.

Della was caught between disbelief and belief. Beatrice has always been very manipulative, which made it so hard for anyone to distinguish her truth from lies.

”If I find out you’re lying and Anne is actually dead or being held somewhere, I will strangle you the same way I did the last time and leave marks all over your neck again,”

That seemed to destroy whatever composure Beatrice had been carrying for a moment, and that raging, conniving, delivish looked crashed upon her face again.

Her hands twitched by her sides, itching to return the favour right now!

But then, she swallowed it all back down and shook her head once, ”Why so aggressive, sister? You need to relax. Calm down. Especially with that fragile thing inside your belly on the way,”

Nothing could compare to the joy Beatrice felt watching the horror crawl up Della’s face and down her spine.

”Congratulations, by the way,” She added casually, ”Have you thought of a name? If it’s a boy, let’s go with Jaime and if it’s a girl, how about... Beatrice?”

The horror on Della’s face was twisted with rage. She could feel the heat oozing off her pores, trying to burn down her skin before going off into her explosion.

Beatrice couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore, and this one was nothing like the empty smiles. This one filled the carriage, her eyes glistening with tears, ”What?” She continued to laugh, ”You don’t wanna name your child after your beloved sister or brother?”

”Beatrice...”

”I guess I went too far, there. I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” She said, wiping the tears from her eyes, ”Ah! How about your name her Evangeline if she’s a girl, or Garrett if it’s a boy?”

Della almost launched for her.

But not today. If she did so right now, she would end up with her head bashed and another broken limb. And she couldn’t take another pain because she’s been barely biting back the one in her wrist.

”Where are you taking me?” She asked, tasting blood on her tongue again from the way she had been grinding her teeth together.

Beatrice sat up again, gulping down heavy breaths away as she finally stopped laughing, ”We are heading,” She crossed her legs, ”to a marketplace,”