Royalty [Belle]

[Slash]

Somewhere to stay.

[/center]

Shisou walked lightly across the foliage, seemingly undisturbed by the humidity of the jungle around her. It was less miserable then it would have been during the day, but still unpleasant. The idiotic buzzing of insects surrounded them, and the light the moon provided was obscured by the trees.

The human was following not too far behind. She turned to look at the disgusting thing.

As long as it doesn't try anything, I will tolerate its presence a while before throwing it to that coward.[/color]

"Follow me," she said.

[Aerith]

From one strange locale to another.
--------

The strange woman, Shisou, had finally brought them out of that dreadful place. While this humid and insect-infested jungle wasn't her idea of a pleasant getaway, Belle could relax a little without all those unseen moans drifting through the air. She shuddered a little.

Even without Shisou asking her to follow, Belle would have. Otherwise, she would have been utterly lost in this tangled mess of foliage. She had read plenty of stories about people exploring exotic places like this, but they had done nothing to prepare her for what such exploration was actually like.

"Where are we going?"

[Slash]

I give no helpful answers.

[/center]

Shisou kept walking, completely inscrutable."Somewhere safe for you, human."

The black flame was burning a little stronger inside of her. Perhaps that was a result of all the flammable material around...although she could see some burn marks already here. Someone else had apparently enjoyed the sight of fire, too.

Here it was. A small cave, cleared out a long time ago by some body of water that had once existed here. Shisou walked inside and looked around, burning any and all foliage that had found its way inside. All that was left was smooth rock.

"This is where you will be. If you are uncomfortable, help yourself to the many large leaves around the area. I am sure they would make fine bedding."

[Aerith]

A cave? At least it's in the shade.
--------

Belle was never one to shirk the prospect of an adventure, but this was all a little too much. The humidity in this jungle was oppressive, and now they were in a cave that was the exact opposite of castle luxury. She had come from lowly beginnings, though, so she decided to make the best of things.

"Why are you helping me? I mean, if you had just wanted to ruin that man's plans, you could have killed me instead."

She almost bit her tongue. What if she had just given this strange woman an idea?

[Slash]

And you ask no meaningful questions.

[/center]

Shisou shrugged. "Keeping you alive is a much better form of mockery."

The presence of the human was only mildly offensive- nevertheless, Shisou wished to remove herself from its presence as soon as possible.

"Besides, you are important. And I am bored. I want to see who and what will come after me if I keep you away from the swine."

[Aerith]

I'm not above begging.
--------

Well, this was awkward. But more than anything else, Belle was worried about Beast. She just had to get back to the castle.

"Please. I need to go back. I can't stay here forever. There's someone very important to me back at the castle."

She could picture Beast tearing apart the castle in his rage. Nothing would be safe. She thought of poor Lumiere and Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts. She didn't know if they would be able to find a place to hide.

[Slash]

...And?

[/center]

She shrugged, uncaring.

"Why should that concern me?" This human really was tiresome. What did this 'important person' amount to, in the long run? Nothing more than a speck of dust in a tornado.

Somewhat irritated and very bored, she summoned a small piece of the black flame in her hands and began twisting its shape for amusement.

[Aerith]

Am I blushing? I hope not.
--------

Belle tried not to stare at Shisou as the woman displayed some strange power. Maybe she was like the witches she read about in her books. Suddenly, she missed her library in the castle very much.

"I know it probably doesn't matter to you, but it matters to me. I...I love him. And he needs me."

She couldn't help but smile at the admission. It made her feel warm inside.

"There must be some way I can make you understand. Haven't you ever felt that way about someone?"

[Slash]

I'll have to take drastic measures.

[/center]

Shisou noticed Belle looking at her. "Stop that," she snapped. Arrogant little human. She furthered Shisou's bad opinion for her by asking if she knew what it meant to love, of all things. What would a Cursed One do with love?

"I have not! And I have no sympathy for those who feel such worthless things." She stood up with an air of cold, dangerous regality, and for a second it seemed like she was going to kill Belle.

Then she sat down and took a deep breath. "I will have to employ a most annoying tactic to deal with you. You brought this upon yourself."

She closed her eyes, and the black flame engulfed her for a second or two. When it faded, there was someone else there, someone who looked rather like a younger version of Shisou.

The new girl stretched and looked around. "Wow, it's been a while." She looked around, her large eyes wide with curiosity. "This was a weird place for Big Sister to leave me in. Say, who're you?"

She looked at the human, poking her with her staff to make sure she wasn't a ghost or something. Nope. She was made of flesh.

[Aerith]

And now for something completely different.
--------

Belle was ready to shield herself, as ineffectual as using only her arms would have been. But instead of feeling pain from the black flames Shisou summoned, she saw a different girl join her.

From her manner of speaking, Belle found this girl much more pleasant. And apparently, she was calling Shisou her "big sister" and acting very confused. Were they the same person somehow? Belle had read about people with multiple personalities, but this was quite strange.

She was being poked with a staff and couldn't stifle her reflexive, "Ow!"

Instinctively recoiling, Belle rubbed at her arm. "My name is Belle. What happened to Shisou? Who are you?" She didn't want to bombard the girl with too many questions, especially considering her obvious disorientation, so she stopped there for the time being.

[Slash]

Hi, nice lady!

[/center]

Shisou stood up all tall and put her hands on her hips, trying to look important but ending up looking absolutely ridiculous.

"I'm Shisou. Just like big sister. We have the same name! But you can call me Shi. Or Sou. Or Shisou, if you don't like nicknames! Or you can call me whatever you like, because I love new nicknames! Hi, Belle! Is that sort for Isabelle? You seem nice."

So nice, being little sister Shisou. Much nicer than being big sister Shisou. Big sister Shisou was nice to little sister but was mean to other people. Little sister Shisou took a big breath.

"Big sister Shisou went to sleep! She was really mad and annoyed so she went to sleep and I woke up. Then when she's less annoyed she'll come back and talk to you! But I have to look after you now."

[Aerith]

You seem nice, too.
--------

The girl was definitely talkative. Belle was almost overwhelmed by the flood of words. She preferred to read quietly most of the time, but that didn't mean she wasn't capable of carrying on a conversation.

"It's nice to meet you...Shisou. No, my name is just Belle. It isn't short for anything."

Maybe she would have a better chance of convincing "little sister" Shisou to take her back to Beast.

"Your big sister brought me here to hide, but I really need to get back to a very dear friend of mine. I'm afraid he'll be beside himself if he doesn't find me soon."