Evil's Love

                                    

                                          
Sophie let out a breath as she fumbled on the cuffs. Belle raised red rimmed eyes to glare at her. "Get on with it," she said, though her voice caught at the end.
                          
Sophie finally managed to force the cuffs back on. "There," she said. 
                          
"Now what?"
                          
"We wait for your jailer to come."
                          
Sophie drew the snakeskin around her, fading into the shadows. The girl instinctively strained against her restraints, wrists once again becoming bloody and raw. "Stop moving," Sophie said. Belle peered her eyes to where she knew Sophie was. 
                          
"I can't help it," she said. 
                          
Sophie waved a finger and the girl became still, though her eyes still glared into the darkness. 
                          
They waited, Sophie tense and the girl still. An hour later, they heard footsteps as someone came down the steps to the dungeon. A man appeared, holding a pail of... whatever it was. He grunted, unlocked the rusty door, and tossed the food in. It splattered down at Belle's feet, but most of it remained in the pail. Most of it. He then relocked the door and walked away without a backwards glance. 
                          
Belle shifted. Sophie hushed her. The man disappeared from view. 
                          
Then Sophie pointed her finger. The door magically opened, slamming against the wall. They both froze, waiting for the jailer to come back. But no footsteps appeared, no shout of alarm. Sophie then waved her finger again, letting the girl out of her chains.
                          
Belle blinked rapidly, trying to get the slop out of her eyes. "We could have just taken him down and left him here," she said sourly.
                          
"Someone would have noticed," Sophie replied, sweeping out of the cell. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up in my room."
                          
The girl coughed. "I can't exactly saunter out."
                          
Sophie looked at her with displeasure, and then at the snakeskin cape. It'd get all dirty. But then, it was her idea in the first place. "Fine," she said, throwing it at Belle. The girl caught it and vanished from view. Sophie could hear her pass the door and go up the steps. She waited a moment before following her.
                          
Sophie passed the lit lantern that indicated she was about to leave the dungeon before opening the door. She breathed in fresh air and stepped out -- 
                          
"Sophie, what were you doing down there?"
                          
She stopped. "Oh, love, you know how it is," she laughed. "Just wanted to look at all the exciting, erm, walls and prisoners."
                          
"You do love torture, don't you?" he asked, amused. The School Master held out his arm, giving her no choice to take it and follow him to his room. She could only hope Belle would have enough sense to stay in her room while she was gone. Sophie opened her mouth to answer him, but then remembered.
                          
The Beast.
                          
"Oh, well, you know how it is," Sophie said airily, hoping he wouldn't notice the fact that her voice was much higher pitched than usual. They turned an unfamiliar corner and she frowned. "Where are we going?"
                          
The School Master's handsome face turned to her. "Oh, Sophie, I wanted to show you something. I've put it all here showing all our times together."