THE PROMISES MADE TO BELLE LOVE #ONC2024

Chapter 2.

For the rest of the day, Jade begged Gen for more details. But the truth was that Gen had none to give. The last thing she remembered was putting her clothes back on and finishing a bottle of champagne while lying on Dante's chest in the grass. She knew that the night had continued after that, she just couldn't remember it.

In snippets, her mind fed her images: a forest, a dare, a god, and bleeding hands. But her hands were unmarred today, so it must have been her imagination.

All Gen wanted at the end of the day was to snuggle up beside Belle and tell her everything. But Belle still hadn't made an appearance all day, and Gen was beginning to worry. It was extremely unlike her best friend to miss class, even when sick.

In the earlier years of their schooling, it would have been easier for Gen to check on Belle. They would have woken up together, in the same room. But now, in their final year at the Palace, each girl had a room to themselves, and it was not appreciated for students to go wandering into others' rooms. If they wanted to meet it had to be done in a communal area.

Gen was ignoring that rule tonight, though. After dinner, she walked Jade to her room, and then continued down the hall, in the opposite direction to her own. Belle's dormitory was on the other end of the wing to Belle's, so if anyone caught her traversing the wrong corridors, she'd probably just be turned straight around and sent away.

So she was cautious. She avoided the sounds of footsteps or voices, ducking into corners when they approached her. The corridor was well-lit and decorated – Roman busts, classical paintings, book cases. This building was as comfortable to her as the halls in her home estate in England were.

Gen reached Belle's room without, thankfully, any interference. It was not her first secretive trip here. In fact, most nights the girls were traipsing between each others' rooms with secrets or homework answers to share.

Gen hammered on Belle's door. She pressed her face to the crack and said, "Open up! I have something important to tell you."

Normally this would prompt Belle to leapt to her feet, fling herself at the door and whip it open all in the span of a second. Gen could picture it in her mind and found herself smiling. But a second passed, then another and then ten, and there was no response.

"Bellllle. Let me in." She knocked again, harder this time. As loudly as she dared. She glanced around to make sure she was alone. Even once she'd done all that, there was still no response.

She tested the knob. Unlocked. This was not technically unusual – it was mostly forbidden to lock doors without reason. But Belle was a rule breaker who liked her privacy. Still, Gen didn't find it odd until she opened the door and busted in, only to find that she was still alone.

Gen blinked at the vacant space before her. Belle's room was exactly as it always was, pink and pristine. Bed made, homework finished, curtains open so the moonlight could wash in. The only thing missing was Belle herself.

"Belle Belle?" Gen checked every corner. She opened the closet, as if Belle would really stoop to hiding from her. Uncertainty gnawed at her gut. It was viable, she reminded herself, that Belle had run away from campus to meet up with someone – her boyfriend Jordan, maybe, or a friend from town. She did it often. But she always told Gen where she was going.

Gen checked for a note. For anything. She noticed, after checking the closet again, that Belle's sparkling dress, which she had worn to the festival last night, was missing. Gen checked the laundry hamper, and the dress was not in there. Other clothes from earlier that week were, however, indicating that laundry hadn't been done. If Belle had returned to her room and taken off the dress, it would be in the hamper. It wasn't. Belle hadn't come home since the previous night.

Now Gen was worried.

Frowning to herself, Gen left Belle's room and shut the door behind her. She suddenly didn't care about being caught, or about dobbing on her best friend. Something was amiss, and Gen couldn't just brush it off.

A light rain had started when she burst out of the dormitory wing and into the courtyard. It was frigid and sharp, and only got heavier as she ran. Her blazer did nothing to protect her.

Gen raced all the way across campus until she got to administration. She bounded through the door, ignoring the disgusted looks of the other girls who were waiting inside when they saw how drenched she was. She pushed through them. "Sorry," she gasped. There was a lineup but she ignored it, going straight for the front desk.

"Genevieve," the lady behind the desk said in a warning tone. "You'll have to wait your turn."

"No," Gen panted. "No, please. This is quick." She didn't wait for permission. "Belle is gone. She hasn't come home since the festival last night."

"That's absurd," the receptionist said. "Somebody would have noticed."

"I'm noticing," Gen snapped, then rolled her shoulders back, composing herself. "I'm worried about her."

The lady narrowed her eyes, but did not make another attempt to dismiss Gen. "Okay, then. Why don't you go back to your room, I'll sort out the rest of these girls, and then I'll investigate the matter?"

Gen hesitated. "Do you promise? This could be serious."

"Yes. I promise."

Gen was not comforted by these words, and yet it was clear she had no other choice but to obey and return to her dorm. The dirty looks from the girls in line hadn't ceased and she knew she couldn't take much more of it. "Okay," she breathed. "Thank you."

Slowly, and somewhat pathetically, Gen left the office and began her trek back through the rain.

By sunrise of the following morning, everybody had heard: Belle Love was officially missing.