Belle’s Quest (Fairytale Bureau #3)

Chapter 5

5

I found myself in a strange place. Misty and yet, as the fog shifted in patches, I could see color. A green forest, then the white stone of a castle, the brilliant red of an apple in a tree heavy with fruit, the stillness of a blue lake.

Where was I? Had I teleported? I’d never heard of people actually translocating. Did I sleep? Seemed unlikely given I’d just been in my office doing stuff, and yet there was a certain dream-like aspect to my situation.

As I pivoted slowly, trying to figure it out, a figure strode from the mist, a tall person wearing a full-length cloak with a deeply cowled hood.

“Who are you?” I asked. “Where am I?”

“You are in the before place.” The voice emerged soft, neither feminine nor masculine but rather uniform with a lack of inflection.

“What’s the before place?”

“Where the stories begin.”

The odd reply led to my concluding, “I’m dreaming.” Odd because I last recalled being in my home office, wide-awake.

“This is not a dream but a warning. Do not go on this trip.”

“Why not?”

“Because it will not end well for you.” The statement sounded even more ominous for its flat delivery.

“And who are you to say that?”

“I am what you call the Grimm Effect.”

I arched a brow. “You look more like the Grim Reaper. Just missing the scythe.”

“You should not mock me.”

“Or what? You’ll curse me? Sorry, already dealing with it. Don’t recommend. Zero stars.” I mocked the cloaked figure because, hello, my dream, and I didn’t like to be told what to do.

“I won’t have the likes of you stopping me,” said with dripping disdain.

“That’s rich coming from you. After all, you’ve been screwing with my life,” I riposted.

“Your life is meaningless in my grand plan. ”

“Excuse me? Your plan that can go fuck itself,” my vehement retort.

“You will regret your obstinacy.”

“No. What I would regret is doing nothing, and the fact you think you can threaten me tells me I’m doing something right.” It felt necessary to put that out there just in case I actually talked to the person behind the curse. Could it be a wizard or sorceress? I’d been assuming the blame lay with an object this entire time, as it went with my theory of something being uncovered. However, it could be possible someone stumbled across some kind of spell book or power and started this mess.

“So be it. You’ve made your choice.”

The figure faded, as did the mist and everything else.

I suddenly found myself lying on the floor of my office, with hands pumping my chest rhythmically, but I blinked when a mouth pressed against mine and blew air. Nice lips belonging to a prince, and what did I do?

Nipped Killian’s bottom lip before murmuring, “Next time, start with a kiss.”

“You’re awake.” I went from having Killian’s mouth to play with to being dragged into his arms for a hug. He gave me a good squeeze and murmured, “You had me worried.”

“What happened? ”

“I heard a thump and entered to find you passed out,” Hannah’s flat response.

“You weren’t breathing,” Killian added.

I pushed out of his embrace and sat up. “Yeah, it was the weirdest thing. One minute, I was taking pics of my stuff, and the next, I was having a weird dream.”

“Weird how?” he asked.

Did I tell him? It sounded fanciful even by today’s measures. Not to mention, no one had ever claimed to speak to the person behind the curse anymore. More likely, I’d fainted due to all the excitement, and my subconscious had me imagining things because of my anxiety over the quest we embarked upon.

“Most likely just the excitement from the ball caught up to me.” I rose and wavered slightly, not enough to fall, and yet Killian was there to steady me.

“Easy,” he murmured.

“I’m fine. I’m almost done here. Where’s my phone?”

Hannah plucked it from the table with my notes and handed it over. “How much longer are we sticking around?” she asked.

“Just give me a second to change.” Because, while I’d packed, I’d not yet swapped my dress for something I could travel in comfortably.

Hannah followed me to the bedroom rather than sticking to the hall. As I rummaged in my drawers, she kept her voice low as she asked, “What really happened?”

I cast her a glance over my shoulder. “What do you mean? I fainted.”

“You didn’t just faint. You stopped breathing and went cold. The prince freaked.”

I lifted a sweater from the drawer and closed it before answering. “In that case, maybe my dream wasn’t a dream.”

“Explain.” Hannah crossed her arms and stared.

“I pricked my finger a few seconds before I passed out, and next thing I knew, I was in some misty place and some person in a cloak told me to not seek out the origin of the curse.”

“And you didn’t mention this because…”

“For one, it sounds crazy, for two, I have no intention of obeying, and three, I didn’t want to worry the prince.”

“Doesn’t he have a right to know?”

“Know what?” Killian stood in the doorway, and I sighed.

“When I passed out, I had a dream where someone claiming to be in charge of the curse told me I’d regret looking into it.”

“Someone threatened you?” Killian’s wide-eyed reply.

“I mean kind of. They told me I’d regret it, but I replied I’d regret more doing nothing. Which is the truth.”

“You shouldn’t be making light of it,” he retorted.

“I can and will because the idea of the curse threatening me is ridiculous. It’s much more likely a stress-induced episode.”

“And if it wasn’t?” Killian insisted.

“No one has ever talked to anyone claiming responsibility for the curse.”

“That you know of,” he pointed out.

“I’ll understand if you want to bow out of the trip.” I didn’t mention I’d be going anyhow. Time to stop gathering intel and act.

“Like hell. You’re not getting rid of me that easily. The fact the curser is worried is all the more reason for us to go.”

My turn to try and dissuade him. “It will be even more dangerous now that the Grimm Effect knows we’re looking.”

“More dangerous than hundreds of Cinderellas with weaponized shoes?”

My lips quirked. “So you’re still in?”

“Yup.”

I glanced at Hannah. “What about you and Gerome? It doesn’t seem fair to drag you along and put you in peril for our quest. ”

She snorted. “Honestly, this sounds way more fun than hunting some foxes and a noisy hen.”

Killian clapped his hands together. “Then we’re decided. If you’ve got what you need, what do you say we take to the skies?”

His eagerness proved contagious.

“I’m ready. Let’s go.”

We had only a slight delay on our route. As we sat at a red light, a swell of water suddenly washed through the cross street, the wave carrying a large tub with three men inside. One of them faced backwards waving a cane, and I wondered why until a shark emerged to snap its teeth. They passed out of sight, and Killian murmured, “Was that… Did I see…”

“A shark chasing a bathtub? Yes.”

As for the water, it dissipated as quickly as it came, and we made it to the small airport without further hindrance. Seeing the jet on the tarmac, I did have a question.

“How is it you have a plane here when you arrived via commercial airline?”

“The jet had some landing gear issues, and I chose to not delay my trip. Mother had it sent once the repairs were completed.”

Which led to me asking another question. “Whatever happened to your original bodyguards?” I recalled mention of him having a pair when I’d tackled him at the terminal.

“They got snagged by the Grimm Effect. Tom suddenly shrank to thimble size and ran away before the bureau could capture him. While Horace ran off with the woman who cleaned my suite.”

“The curse trying to render you defenseless?” I opined.

“If true, then why weren’t the Knights affected?” Killian countered.

“Because they defeated their curses.”

“But we know now that some people can get afflicted with a second bout,” he reminded.

“Then maybe it’s because they’re now heroes, fighting injustice, meaning they’re still part of the stories?” I spit-balled something plausible.

“Maybe.”

“Gerome is going to check on the plane. You two try to not steam up the windows so I can keep an eye on you,” Hannah warned before getting out to stand by the car.

“She’s not funny,” I muttered.

“I don’t know. Her brand of sarcasm is unique. Most people are leery of teasing me.”

“Afraid you’ll scream ‘off with their heads’?”

“Don’t even mention that story.” He shuddered. “Can you imagine if we had a mad Queen of Hearts? ”

“I’d hope to meet that caterpillar who smokes the good stuff. He seemed very chill and relaxed.”

Killian laughed so hard Hannah popped her head into the car to eye us suspiciously before ordering us out. “Let’s go. Gerome says the plane is ready.”

Our luggage got loaded while we embarked, the interior a luxury I’d never had the pleasure of enjoying before. Buttery leather seats, the fat and comfy kind that could recline. Two couches that faced each other. Chilled, bottled water. A tray of snacks which Hannah insisted on trying before us in case of poison.

I smirked as I flopped into a chair. “Now this is what I call travelling in style.”

“Perfect for our honeymoon,” Killian declared. “Although you’ll have to forgive me. I forgot to pack my lingerie.”

My lips curved. The man did have a better sense of humor than I expected in a royal. “I think you’d look dashing in a black lace teddy.”

At the back of the plane, Hannah coughed.

Killian outright laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind. Anything I can get you?”

“A prince serving a commoner?”

“A prince should always service his princess.”

And he meant it. I didn’t have to lift a finger. If my water got low, he replenished. He made sure the snack tray remained full, all the while providing witty banter .

I reclined and sighed. “This is the life.”

“Have you ever been married?” he asked out of the blue.

“Nope. Can’t. The curse isn’t happy I jilted the beast, and since then, any attempts at being amorous are met with a new beast.”

“Hold on. Are you saying you don’t even date?”

“Not anymore because a single kiss and, bam, suddenly I end up with a hairy jerk who wants to do the horizontal, bestial tango.”

“Yikes,” he replied, only to add, “We kissed, and I’m still me.”

I’d thought about it and come to a single conclusion. “Probably because you’re the prince of another story.”

“And the curse doesn’t like to double up.” He nodded. “This town we’re visiting… Anything I should know about it?”

“It’s not real interesting other than the fact the first confirmed Grimm Effect case started there, although that wasn’t known for a decade due to poor record-keeping in the beginning. One Deborah Goodwin woke up and ghsindopliink—” My words suddenly emerged garbled as my mouth twisted violently and my jaw cracked. All of me torqued something odd.

Should I mention it hurt? Like really hurt! Not that I could scream. My entire being went rigid, and I was momentarily blind.

When the pain subsided, and I spoke, my voice emerged huskier than usual. “That was weird.”

“Um, Belle…”

“What?” I asked, eyeing him across from me and wondering at his shocked mien.

“How to say this?” Rather than tell me, Killian held up his phone, and I wondered why until I saw the monster reflected on the screen.

Wait, not just any monster.

The beast with the furry face and mane?

That’s me.