Cinder X Bella ~ Ten!

*Knock.*

The single strike against her door woke Bella from a dead sleep, and she blearily sat up. “What? Why? What time is it?”

“Bella, I need you to come out here right now.” Alaric's voice came through her door, and the young woman swept her covers to the side and launched out of bed. It had been several days since he’d thrown her out of his study, and in the entire time, he hadn't said a word to her. Peering out her window, Bella saw it was still full dark outside, several hours before dawn at the minimum.

“You're not leaving early, are you? You weren't supposed to leave until the overmorrow at least.” Checking her nightgown to ensure she was decent, she threw open her door to find her father framed by light, far more than should be illuminating the hallway at this time of the day. “What's going on?”

“I'm sorry to say,” Alaric stiffly informed her, his face seemingly carved from stone. “There's been an unfortunate accident.”

A deep pit opened in Bella's gut, and her hands began shaking as she waited for more information. Instead of speaking, her father simply motioned for her to follow him, and led her down the stairs… then down again, into the servants area. As they got closer to the kitchen, Bella felt as though each step required twice as much effort as usual.

“-ate bad mushrooms. Thank goodness she had a habit of sampling the meals she prepared for us before serving them, or this could have been all of us.” Matringa was solemnly finishing a conversation between the maids and her daughters as Bella was led in. “Ah, there's the last of our family. Why don't you sit down, child?”

The polite words were offset by the fact that all the chairs in the area were pushed in under the servants’ table, and atop the table was the too-still body of Cook. 

Bella's eyes were drawn to the corpse like iron to a lodestone, and anything else which was spoken was drowned out in the deep *buzz* filling her ears. Something touched her, and Bella jerked away, her eyes going wide as she realized she’d just flinched away from her father's hand on her shoulder. “I’m… I-”

“I understand, Bella. It's not the first time I've lost a servant, and I know Cook was especially important to you. She's been here since you were born, and I’ve always turned a blind eye toward her making you special meals. I understand this will be hard, but it is the duty of the family to take care of issues like this.” Alaric’s words practically bounced off of Bella as she turned her eyes back to Cook laid out on the table like one of her fancy meals.

“It's a true tragedy, Bella.” Matringa’s words cut through the haze around the young woman's mind, and she slowly turned to look at her stepmother, who, as always, was wearing a slight smile. “I know she was your most trusted confidant, and you would speak to her about practically anything. Hopes, plans, even gossip and wild tales. A young lady needs someone like that in her life. I know this might be too soon, but I hope eventually I will be able to fill that role for you.”

The pit in Bella's gut suddenly felt very full, and she had to breathe deeply so she didn't lose what little there was remaining in her stomach. “This is… this is how I'm punished for speaking to my father?”

Even though the words came out as a whisper, she immediately had all eyes on her. Matringa shook her head sadly, sending a significant glance at Alaric before speaking gently, “Sweet child, I had just explained what happened before you got here. Cook had been preparing a stew, or perhaps a roast, I'm not certain. I have no culinary skills, after all. As far as we can tell, she was preparing everything and testing her food to ensure it was to our standard. There are mushrooms on her cutting board still, and she must have tasted them without realizing they were poisonous. I'm told they can look very similar.”

Matringa stepped forward, opening her arms as if offering a hug, but Bella took a sharp step back, eyes never leaving the older woman. The stepmother dropped her arms and pulled a sad face. “I hope you realize, she saved all of us. Her final act, though fatal to her, saved the entire family from succumbing to deadly mushrooms as she did. Even though she'll never know it, she's a hero.”

Bella took another step back, then another, and suddenly she was running out the door and pounding across the lawn. 

A call came from far behind her, but she was already too far away for them to easily catch. “Not the barn, that's the first place they'll look. I don't want to be dragged home and made to act like everything is normal. She killed Giada! There's no way around it. She killed her because I told Father what I heard.”

Finally reaching the edge of the maintained lawn, Bella pushed through the underbrush, tearing small holes in her nightgown as thorny brambles tried to slow her. Her heated breath formed clouds in the night air, each exhale sharper than the last as panic filled her to the brim. As soon as she’d stepped off the lawn, she was in unfamiliar territory—Bella had no idea where she was going, and she didn't care. “I need to hide… I can't let them take me back there!”

She repeated those lines over and over again… and the forest around her came alive. 

The night descended into chaos as squirrels chittered furiously, screeching as they left their burrows and tree nests to dart from branch to branch, adding to the noise. Small birds were roused from their sleep, not daring to fly but still filling the air with piercing calls and flapping of flustered wings. Normally silent hunters, such as owls, hooted loudly to draw attention. Rabbits and other small creatures rustled through the underbrush—all in all, a massive distraction for anyone who might be following after her.

After running for several minutes, Bella tripped on an extended root and fell into a small clearing. She tried to catch her breath, but couldn't think straight to get it under control. “She had her Advanced Skill at Perfection. Herbs and fungi! Fungi means mushrooms! Cook Perfectly understood what mushrooms were dangerous, poisonous, this can't have been an accident!”

She felt something and sucked in a breath as her hand shot out. Her fingers met soft fur, and she let out a deep sigh of relief as she petted a rabbit, which had hopped into her lap. Moments later, there was another, then a squirrel. Ever so slowly, Bella felt her heart stop racing as she drew her fingers through the silky-soft fur of the creatures, which were now surrounding her on all sides. Without meaning to, she dozed off, only waking up as the sun began to rise.

Disoriented, sore, and what felt like an unnatural numbness filling her whole body, she looked around and found herself surrounded by forest animals: squirrels, rabbits, porcupines, raccoons, bluebirds, sparrows, and one owl perched above, which was looking at the feast below with hungry eyes. “Was I singing in my sleep? Or was it just the rhythmic breathing of sleep that drew everything in?”

Now that she was awake, the skittish wild animals began to scurry away, vanishing into the growth around her as quietly and suddenly as they had arrived. Bella looked up, meeting eyes with the owl. Ever so quietly, she began to speak, knowing the creature would understand her intent, if not her words. “I lost a friend today, Mr. Owl.”

*Whoo.*

“Giada… our Cook.” She hung her head, but her eyes remained dry. “I was careless, and I underestimated my stepmother. I don't know what she's doing, but I know she's doing something terrible. She's a terrible, wicked person, even if no one will believe me. Even if… even if I don't have any proof!”

Deflating slightly, Bella ever so slowly shook her head. “Going by Father's reaction, if I brought this to the constable, my family would be destroyed. Worse, they might not believe me,then they’d punish me for trying to bring down a noble house.”

*Whoo.*

“The kingdom would punish me, Mr. Owl.” Bella sadly stated. “I'm sure there are laws against this sort of thing. It would be all too easy to point at how I've been treated and say I was bringing the information forward only out of revenge. That is… unless I did manage to find proof about what she's doing.” 

*Whoo.*

“Matringa, my stepmother.” The beginnings of a plan were forming in Bella's mind, and her breath started to steady. “If I hadn't been so blatant about working against Matringa, if I’d been able to hold back just a little and be subtle about what I was doing, maybe none of this would’ve happened. Maybe that's what I need to do? Pretend to give in, to give up? Be the perfect daughter, the perfect… servant. Ugh. Then, when I have proof, I'll figure out a way to get it in the hands of someone who can stop her. Like the king, or… maybe I could talk to her and have her advance my class as a reward for bringing down this fell plot.” 

*Whoo.*

“The Queen.” Her head slowly began to nod, and Bella placed both hands on the ground, pushing herself up to a standing position. “That's something they do. They have the power to advance classes, just like a Class Shrine, but they only do it for people who have earned their favor. If stopping some cursed artifact from being used against the kingdom wouldn't earn that favor, I don't know what would. Thanks for listening.”

*Whoo.*

“You.” With a slightly wet chuckle, Bella firmed her heart and tried to figure out how to get back to the house she’d fled hours ago. After a few steps, she found herself scratching at her arm, finally looking down in annoyance… only for her eyes to go wide as she realized she had an update to her skill waiting for her perusal.

Skill increase! Minor Creature Control [Level 6 (Considerable) → Level 7 (Proficient)]!

Requirement to advance to level 8: Issue a long-term command or set of instructions that a small animal will carry out over an extended period.

“An ‘extended period’?” Much as she appreciated the boost to her overall capabilities, Bella couldn't help but be annoyed by the vagueness of the skill increase requirement. “How long is that? Hours? Days? Years?”

Deciding there was nothing she could do but start practicing, the Beast Singer began an impromptu melody. “Oh feathered friend, what do you say, could you bring me home to where I usually lay? I'm lost in the woods, now it's just you and me. Let's go, pretty please, without delay, so I don't end up in a bear's buffet!”

A cardinal zipped down through the trees, bright red feathers standing out among the greenery of the leaves. *Cheer, cheer, cheer!*

Bella followed along after the happy bird breaking through the underbrush only a few minutes later—finding herself slightly flustered at how little distance she’d actually put between herself and the house before passing out. “To be fair, I was still mostly asleep, and that was a pretty big shock to the system.”

Arriving at the servant’s entrance, she pushed in, accidentally knocking the door against the wall in her haste. A loud *bang* announced her arrival home, and she found herself frozen in place as four sets of bleary eyes turned to her. Out of sheer surprise, Bella found her mouth opening. “What in the world are you all doing at the servant’s table?”

“See, there she is.” Matringa tiredly said to Alaric, who had deep bags under his eyes. “I told you she hadn't gone far; I know you could feel it as well. Young ladies need privacy when they grieve, that's all. Bella, for your part, I know this morning was difficult, but we’ve all been worried sick about you.”

The young woman simply closed her mouth, letting her eyes drift over until she was staring at her father, who simply watched on as Matringa launched into a full-blown lecture. Bella tuned out most of it, until one sentence caught her ears, and she jerked her head to stare at her stepmother. “-I know the cook's position must be filled, and as you can see, Dedee tried to fill in. While we are all very grateful, the food is… rather simple. I think Bella should take over the duties of the kitchen. She spent so much time with the cook, she must have learned something from her.”

Without thinking, Bella scoffed and muttered, “Pretty sure you don't want me anywhere near your food. I'm a big fan of mushrooms.”

“Excuse me?” The tone of the question was a bit off as it rolled out of Alaric's disbelieving mouth. 

Bella froze in place, cursing herself for already forgetting what she had promised herself in the woods: she would act as though she’d been broken and gather enough evidence to destroy Matringa for good. Then, she realized everyone was waiting for her to speak, and they actually hadn’t heard what she’d said. Trying to hold back her sigh of relief, the young woman cleared her throat and spoke louder. “I said, I'm not a very good cook. I don't know if you'd want me anywhere near the food. Plus, now I'm terrified of mushrooms.”

“So don't use mushrooms, that's easy enough.” Cattiva rolled her eyes and half lifted a hand while looking at Malvagio, as if to say ‘can you believe her’? 

“I have become quite used to good food in my household.” Alaric, surprisingly, was the one to speak against the idea. “I really don't think-”

Matringa smoothly interrupted him, “Don't worry, darling, since you leave tomorrow morning, you won't have to think about this for a long, long time. By the time you return, perhaps you'll have even met a cook that you'd bring home with you. As for you, Bella, I'm sure you’ll learn. You're a smart girl; you don't often make mistakes twice. Do you?”

“No, stepmother.” Bella's gaze dropped to the ground, and she forced herself to swallow the words she had actually wanted to say. 

“Good girl!” Matringa practically purred. “There, that's all settled. Let's all get some sleep… well, Bella, you look well-rested. Perhaps you could look through the recipes and figure out how to prepare some bread for a mid-morning breakfast?” 

“I… of course,” the young woman ground out as she felt the weight of her stepmother's stare. As she washed up and prepared to start the day with yet another burden on her shoulders, Bella whispered to herself, properly under her breath this time. 

“This might just be harder than I thought.”