The Muse // Benedict Bridgerton

An Unusually and Unreasonably Large Maze

Warning: mention of blood & violence.

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It had been just over two weeks since Henry had finally managed to kiss Beatrice St. John - there had only been one other opportunity since then at another ball, and he found he was growing weary and needy. The first time they kissed, it was otherworldly. The second time left him feeling even more ravenous than the first. Seeing her at Eleanors wedding, in a pale pink dress that was overshadowed by the fire that was her hair, made him want her even more.

His escapades - or sexcapades as one would call them - had completely come to an end when he met her. She made him want to abandon his roguish ways once and for all, to become the perfect gentleman. To put away his boyish side that was always ready for either sex or a fight. But the night of Eleanor's wedding was not the time to abandon those ways just yet, not when he noticed Bancroft dragging his sister into the maze of the royal gardens.

He set down his drink on a nearby table, anger beginning to surface from within. When will he give up, he thought. He searched for Benedict in the crowd, as he knew their father would be no help in the situation. He finally spotted him standing with his brothers and Kate in a corner conversing, but he had a slightly concerned look on his face. Henry noticed his eyes scanning the place, and his face becoming more frantic as he approached the Bridgerton brother. Henry knew he had noticed Lucy was missing and had gotten worried.

"I know exactly where she is. Come with me, Bridgerton," Henry spoke as he tapped Benedict on his shoulder. He whipped his head around at Henry in confusion and concern. He followed his brother in law.

"I just saw her a second ago, she was speaking to Eloise after a dance - what happened?" Benedict asked worriedly. Henry shot him a look that he knew meant nothing good.

"Bancroft, the slimy shit - he dragged her in here when she was at the edge of the dance floor. Probably thought no one would be paying attention in the chaos of it all," Henry spoke softly as they entered the maze, careful not to be too loud. He thought that maybe Bancroft either wanted them to be found or not. If it was the latter, then Henry needed to be as quiet as possible to find his sister before something terrible could happen.

———

They walked for what felt like a millennia and Benedict began to grow restless. His mind became frantic and scrambled, he couldn't think straight. He had been silent since Henry had brought him into the maze in pursuit of Lucy, imagining the worst case scenario. He kept his silence as they searched, cursing the royal family for having such an unusually and unreasonably large maze.

He cursed himself for allowing this to happen, for allowing Bancroft another opportunity to harm his wife, his love. Whatever the man had or hadn't done that night, Benedict was going to make him sorry either way. He had laid a finger on Lucy, and if he had it his way he would rip it off and feed it to him. He would make sure that the man would never even dare think of her again, let alone touch her.

Benedict was following Henry closely behind, Henry being the faster of the two since he had the advantage of slightly longer legs, and almost crashed into him as he came to an abrupt stop. He ran his hand through his mousy curly brown hair and whipped his entire body around, looking possessed.

"We are never going to find her in here," he said, one hand gripping onto his hair for dear life and the other placed on his hip. It occurred to Benedict that his brother in law may have had too much to drink once again - which usually meant two glasses of literally anything. Benedict knew he had to be the voice of reason, judging by Henry's stance and the glazed look in his eyes.

"It might take some time, but we will-" Benedict began but cut himself off when he looked down and noticed something shiny on the ground, reflecting the moonlight. He bent down and picked it up, recognizing the piece of jewelry immediately - the necklace he had just gifted Lucy. He released a breath of relief that he hadn't realized he was holding. He held the necklace in his palm, a symbol of hope, and continued on the path that he had found the necklace on, dragging Henry behind him.

"What is that? What did you find?" Henry asked. Benedict opened up his palm and held it out to Henry, allowing him to see the necklace.

"It's Lucy's. I had it made for her, I just gave it to her, so he took her this way," Benedict responded in a matter of fact. Henry nodded, but Benedict couldn't see. He was leading the two of them now, determined to find his wife. His concern and worry was completely overshadowed by the anger he felt at seeing her necklace on the ground. It meant that Bancroft was being rough with her, being ungentlemanly. Benedict decided that he had to return the favor.

After a few feet, walking down that path that had the necklace on it, he heard a feminine voice panting on the other side of the maze wall and immediately recognized it as Lucy's. He ran to the end of the path, Henry alongside him, and took a left at the end. The sight before the two of them was not one they were anticipating on seeing.

Lucy was standing there over a body that was lying on the ground motionless - Bancroft's body. She was breathing deeply and crying, but they were tears of shock. Her eyes were completely wide and her face was not contorted in the way a face usually looks like when someone cries, but tears were streaming out of her eyes. Benedict inched closer to her, taking in the scene before him, and then enveloped her in his arms.

"I think I killed him," she cried. Her voice was a panicked whisper.

"What happened, Luce?" He whispered back calmly. He squeezed her in his arms affectionately, rubbing her back with one hand as the three of them looked down at Bancroft, still lying on the ground. His eye was swollen and some blood was pouring out the back of his head, but it did not seem like enough to be fatal.

"I just decided to punch him and then he fell backwards and hit his head on that," Lucy said, her voice shaky, as she pointed to the long candle holder made of stone. Henry then bent down to check if he was actually dead. He placed two fingers on his neck and then looked up at his sister.

"Don't worry, he's alive. He'll just have a nasty bump when he wakes up. You two go back to the party, I'll wait with him," Henry spoke. Lucy looked unsure.

"I don't want him dead at all, Henry," Lucy warned making Henry laugh.

"Don't worry, I think he's learned his lesson thanks to you. Im just going to make sure he goes away for good," Henry responded. Benedict wanted to be the person to do that, but he knew that he needed to take care of Lucy at that moment so he did not debate anything and began guiding his wife through the maze, in search of the exit.

After a few minutes of walking, he noticed her tears finally drying as they stopped flowing as freely. He held her hand firmly in his, tightening his grip to reassure her that she was okay. She looked up and turned her face towards him and they shared a soft smile. She wasn't in the mood to talk, or to be talked to, and he knew that so he let her be as they meandered through the endless maze. They eventually found their way out and rejoined the party, but by that point both Benedict and Lucy simply wanted to return home. They said their goodbyes to everyone, including an emotional one to Eleanor and her new husband, before finally departing for the night back to the safety and comfort of the Bridgerton home.

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A/N: Hiii everyone sorry i kinda disappeared ramadan tings yk, im not even that religious but this month has been very long and very tiring because i also had midterms at the same time yay! Short chapter but i think things are gonna probably be more regular from now on so hopefully 1-2 chapters per week. Anyways i hope you enjoyedddd <3