#bdrplottie

@sweatinlikeasinner

Second day of classes and things were already ridiculously busy for Belle. It did not matter that she had read ahead in all of her classes. There was a part of her that already felt like she was tripping one, two steps behind. Everyone was so much younger than her, and most had come straight from their undergrad or transfer programs. 

No one else in her classes were married for heaven’s sake!

Which meant she already felt like an odd duckling, made only worse by the fact things had changed, just in the seven years since she’d been at school last. Mainly the fact that she was most likely going to have to invest in a proper computer. Not her terribly old laptop that didn’t work if it wasn’t plugged in. She preferred taking notes by hand, but it was impossible to follow along without it pulled up for reference. Not to mention, she had almost tripped two people on the cord, which had been horribly embarrassing. 

Which meant she was flustered, heading out of the main castle corridor. Her bag swinging heavy over her shoulder, feet moving quickly. She needed to make it to the library before Milo and Jane’s wedding this afternoon. 

Because, yes, on top of starting classes, Belle had been last-minute invited to a wedding. Which honestly cut into her study time, but it was fine--she quite liked Milo...and Jane. She did. And she felt rather flattered that Jane wanted her there despite everything. 

So, she hurried along, pulling out her phone and texting Hades to ask him if he could just meet her at Town Hall with her dress and shoes (because Belle would never wear what she was wearing to a wedding to class). As fate would have it, she knocked right into someone, sending her phone sprawling across the floor mid-text message.

“Shoot,” she mumbled and groaned, hoisting up her bag so that she could lean over without it clouting her on the back of the head. “I’m so sorry about that,” she said as she leaned over, and noticed a familiar pair of shoes--attached to a familiar pair of legs--

“Oh! Hello, Lottie! Fancy seeing you here!” Belle said breathlessly, with a little smile as she finally snagged her phone and stood up. The corridor was near empty, since most had gone home for the summer. She brushed some of the hair back from her face. “How are you?”  

@sweatinlikeasinner

Minnie had about a couple of more hours left to her shift. 

This was an extra shift that she had picked up upon the begging of the charge nurse who had called her. It wasn’t terribly busy, but the ER had a couple of call outs and that had left them sort of short for the evening and so Minnie went in. 

She was discharging a patient when she was told that she would be receiving an admission, which she was okay with! It simply made time move all the much quicker. 

The brunette did her due diligence once her patient was discharge and the rest stable, looking up the new patient she’ll be receiving from triage into room three. Her name was Charlotte Labouff and it was awfully familiar to Minnie. 

Where had she heard that name?!

It kept pressing on her head while she looked up the rest of her information and made herself aware of the situation for the woman’s visit. Minnie did some last minute charting on the computer, got a hold of a vital sign machine and made it to the room knocking on the door before entering. 

There was a blonde woman, very pretty, sitting on the patient bed the slight look of pain visible on her eyes. Minnie offered her a warm and gentle smile sliding her equipment in as she did. 

@sweatinlikeasinner

After Belle had gotten off the phone with Lottie, she’d texted Hades: one down, two to go. I love you.

Then, she’d pulled the comforter off the bed, draping it over her shoulders as she darted to the bathroom and stood shivering, waiting for the water to get warm. (The house was old and the water ran from a well.) It was the middle of February, and she was getting married. Did people even get married in the middle of February?

They were mad if so. 

But, then again, her and Hades were a bit mad, weren’t they?

Once she was showered, she was just standing in her towel in her bedroom, shivering again, hair dripping onto the floor, looking at her closet. What did one wear on the day of their wedding? Was there something specific? Was she overthinking this? (Yes.) 

Eventually she settled on a warm sweater and a pair of old, comfortable jeans, complete with ratty trainers she wore down to Philippe’s pasture most days. Might as well be comfortable while she was being tortured with hair and makeup! 

There was a knock at the door just as she finished tying her shoe and she clomped down the stairs and opened the door, mentally preparing for the hug and squealing she was about to be greeted with. 

Belle: Question:

Belle: was up with sunrise, of course. To say good bye to Hades for the second to last time. After he had faded from view (and Belle had stopped crying), she'd pulled her phone off the charger, rolling over in bed and snuggling down onto Hades' side, where it was still warm. She pulled her knees up and made herself small, chewing on her lip.

@invisible-violetparr @sweatinlikeasinner

Well, it had taken some convincing--a little pouting on Belle’s part and a little tough love on Violet’s, and maybe some sheets literally ripped off the bed--but they’d gotten make up on Lottie, got her to shower and brush her hair and put on something that wasn’t a sweater and yoga pants, bundled all up and headed towards the train station. Belle’s stomach a flutter of nerves--she didn’t do well in crowds. Not that...Violet and Lottie were a crowd, especially like this with Lottie hardly talking (at least Violet and Belle were united in their attempts to help cheer Lottie up.) But, there would be plenty of crowds once they got to London.

She was excited as they pulled into Waterloo Station and excited as they transferred to the tube, coming out right at Piccadilly Center--and yes, it was certainly bustling. Belle was jostled as she stopped abruptly at the top of the tube stairs breath caught a little as she looked around.

“Oops! Sorry!” she said sheepishly, moving off to the side and pulling out the map she’d bought in the tube station--of course she wasn’t going to use her cell phone. “Where should we start? It looks like they have a little farmer’s market right here in the square! Though, really shops are good too, I suppose. Paul said to stay away from regular shopping like Harrod’s, but he’s a bit of a snob, so--” she said, meaning it in the best possible way, of course.

@sweatinlikeasinner

Right.

Belle was headed to a sleepover. 

Sure. This was a totally normal thing, that totally normal people did. Except that Belle was not normal. Not anymore. Her life was not normal. Nothing about her was normal these days. She’d died and come back to life. Her boyfriend was currently trapped in the Underworld. She had a disguised demon dog that followed her around for protection.

Belle’s days of dreaming about adventure were over. Well, honestly, they’d been over for a while, but now they were really over. 

But, life turned on without her. Without Hades. (She felt a pang of guilt in her chest and she swallowed it down as she clutched the little paper with Lottie’s address that she’d scribbled out in her hand as she walked up the long driveway and to the frankly gargantuan house. 

It was actually just about as big as the Bonfamille house (though, maybe just a slight smaller.) Only a few blocks away too, Belle noted. She’d only ever come to the Woods when she was very little, when she’d go to visit Adella. So, now, this was--so strange. 

She looked at the number on the side of the house and down at the paper possibly a hundred times before she stepped up onto the porch, attempting to shift her blanket and pillow under her arm (Belle didn’t like the idea of sleeping somewhere else without something from home with her, not right now, not these days. Though, she doubted she’d sleep much regardless.)