The Ruins

After she finished eating, she returned to her room once more and prepared. She knew Mikhail will uphold the element of surprise when he speaks of it.

Belle got dressed in a blue long dress with long sleeves. She wore a veil which covered her beautiful face and only to show her eyes. She wanted to hide her face for the rest of the world. Belle knew that the old man Lewis is looking for her and for what reason, she only thought that the old man Lewis hated her for stabbing Misha on her wedding day.

That was she thought and that alone, she will hide her face and presence from the rest of the Lewis and Lincoln.

When she arrived at the main entrance of the palace, she saw that Mikhail had already got their ride.

He drove a 4x4 off-road jeep. His hands on the steering wheel but his face was facing her. She approached the man without any haste.

Mikhail ignited the engine the moment Belle alighted to their ride. He drove off with a care and she enjoyed the scenery before her. The man did not like to talk about random things but she liked the idea of just being beside him. She did not know why but she felt comfortable being with him.

They drove off far away from the city. The scenery in front of them were lush green and there were wild flowers along with it. The wind blew off her dress and it fluttered. She looked like a native Sumerian with her entire get up.

The jeep halted on a green platue and Belle got off from their ride when Mikhail stopped.

"Where are we?" she asked the man. She smiled at him sweetly but it showed in his outer appearance that it did not appalled him. He just stared at her with those golden iris.

"Close your eyes first." said the man after a long silence between them. He did not want to spoil her excitement, so he did not answer her question earlier.

Belle followed his instructions without any qualms. She knew that she could trust the man with her life. True enough, they walked further away from the jeep an the grasses got taller as they proceeded.

Mikhail stopped guiding her and removed his big hands from her face.

"Open your eyes. We're here!" the man said in a low gruff voice which Belle find sexy. Belle did as what Mikhail told, she opened her eyes and was blinded by the sudden change. She closed her eyes once more and gasped upon the site in front of her. She wanted to exclaim from excitement but all she did was to pull the sleeve of Mikhail because of her excitement.

Ruins! She love those kind of scenery and places. Probably, if she was born in a different persona, she will be a tomb raider. She wanted to excavate those ruins and find something interesting in there. She hugged the man because of his surprise.

"Thank you." she said while tearing up.

Mikhail kissed her forehead and she accepted it while closing her eyes.

"Anything for you." the man said. "Let's go?"

She nodded furiously and descended the small hill where they stopped. Upon arrival, Belle got her DSLR camera from her bag and began snapping photos around. Mikhail just followed her quietly. He looked at her back with undescerned emotion. His golden irises stared at her like he wanted to swallow the woman whole. He clenched his fist which is inside his pocket.

***

When they finished excavating the ruins, it was already late in the afternoon. They alighted the 4x4 and drove off towards the city.

Belle dozed of because of fatigue. She's hopping here and there inside the ruins and began brushing the walls and ceilings.

It was a temple that was built in the late 506BC and it is surprising that it was still there untouched and most of the treasures were still there. Belle's eyes were sparkling but she did not take any of the treasure. She's not a tomb thief. She just wanted to know about the story behind the fallen temple. So she snapped photos around and that alone were treasures.

She's in deep slumber when they arrived at the palace and she was carried by Mikhail to their room and the man placed her carefully in the bed. He covered her with blanket before he went to the bathroom to shower and change clothes.

He pressed the button for warm water to wash his fatigue away from his body when he heard Belle scream. He dashed out from the bathroom to see if the woman is alright.

He immediately covered his wet body with a robe and sat beside the woman who was still sleeping. She's having a nightmare again.

She wrinkled her brows and sobbed.

"No... no... Please... don't hurt me.. Please... don't..." she mumbled with a pained expression.

Mikhail caressed her hair and wiped her tears.

"It's okay... I'm here. Don't worry. No one will hurt you..." he whispered in her ears and with that, Belle eased her brows and began sleeping soundlessly again.