(Previous chapters are 1-10 available here.)
Beatrix opened her eyes and yawned. Golden sunlight filled the room. She turned to see the other side of the bed empty. She sat up quickly, and looked around. Arthur was nowhere in sight. She stepped out of bed onto the cold wooden floor, and walked to the bathroom. The door was open, so she peered inside, only to find it empty as well.
She sat back onto the bed. Worry filled her thoughts. She wondered if he had left for good? Did someone or something capture him? “No” she thought. That didn’t make any sense. If they took him they would have taken her too. She tapped her toes on the floorboards, watching the little clock across the room. Seconds felt like minutes.
The door to the room slowly opened, startling her. Beatrix nearly fell off the bed! Arthur walked in to find Beatrix awkwardly reaching for the bed post, in an attempt to not fall onto the floor. She regained her posture, and quickly brushed her hair with her fingers, as Arthur turned to close the door. He walked over to the bed carrying a tray of food. “Thought I might get us some breakfast” he said. Beatrix gazed at the tray which was overflowing with all kinds of scrumptious food; pancakes topped with fresh cream and strawberries, scrambled eggs, waffles with syrup, toast with jam, and a mountain of bacon.
“Thank you” she said, smiling at him. He grinned and passed her a plate. They began to dish up their plates and suddenly someone knocked on the door. Beatrix dropped the fork she was using to move a large portion of bacon from the tray to her plate. She looked up worried. “No, no. It’s ok” said Arthur. “It’s just room service. I ordered us beverages.”
Arthur walked over to the door, opened it, took the tray, and set it on the dresser. He rushed back to give the man a tip, but he had already gone.
Beatrix looked across the room at the curious beverages that rested on the little tray. “These are a specialty in our world” he said, as he handed one to her. Beatrix studied the beverage. It looked like a faint blue shake, and had a mysterious fog that fell from it. “What is it?” she asked. “The drink is called Sephutoh. It is made of ice cream, milk, vanilla, and petals from the sepholumn flower.”
Beatrix lifted the drink to her lips and took a sip. It was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted! She looked over at Arthur who had begun to enjoy his, and was already half done with it. The two of them sat and ate their breakfast; neither noticing the dark figure looming outside their window. “Well,” Arthur said, “we should be on our way.” He and Beatrix began packing up their belongings. Beatrix went into the bathroom and fussed with her hair, while Arthur finished packing up their things.
Arthur sat on the bed and waited for Beatrix. The room was silent. Arthur started to hear a faint sizzling sound. He looked around the room in an attempt to figure out where it was coming from. The sizzling sound grew into a loud crackle. A loud “SNAP” rattled the artwork on the walls, and the curtains suddenly drew shut. The room was pitch black. “Beatrix, are you alright?” Arthur yelled frantically. He heard the bathroom door open and footsteps across the floor. “I’m alright” Beatrix replied in a shaky voice.
Arthur fumbled around the room to find the light switch. He hit the switch, but nothing happened. He walked over to the windows, and tried opening the curtains, but they wouldn’t budge. A deafening scream erupted from across the room. “beEAATRIX!” yelled Arthur in a worried voice. The room was silent again. His heart pounded in his chest, as he grasped around the dark air for her. He frantically paced the room from one end to the other; reaching all around for her. He bumped into the little side table in the corner, and heard something clang on the table top. He searched the surface with his hands, and grasped a letter opener. Arthur went over to the window with it, and began shredding the curtains. Light slowly illuminated the room as he tore down handfuls of fabric. He turned around to unveil an empty room. He ran and looked in the bathroom, but it also was empty. “Beatrix?” said Arthur exhaustedly into the quiet room.
Tears began to well up in his eyes. His throat felt tight. Devastation overwhelmed him. Then, he noticed something on the floor. There next to the bed, lay a single silver quill. Arthur knew what kind of creatures it came from, and where to find them. He gathered his and Beatrix’s things, and walked over to the door. His heart filled with a fiery rage.
The tears burned away from his eyes. He knew what he had to do.
I am using the tag "beatrix-percival", so you can easily find all the previous chapters, as well as see the new ones as soon as they are released!