Midnight Rose

[Belle]

"Again."

Belle panted, the stitch in her side stinging. Every muscle in her body was trembling. Sheened in sweat, she looked up at Yuki, standing across from her in the garden,  and attempted her best scowl. She managed to hold the expression for just a second before giving up, hanging her head again.

Yuki twirled the small flower she had pinched between forefinger and thumb with a smirk. "Giving up?"

The old woman sounded almost thrilled at the idea. Fucking old bag, Belle thought. "No, sensei," she said instead, throwing as much mocking into the word as she could muster. She took a few more breaths, steadied herself, and straightened up.

"Well, then?" Yuki held up the daisy. "Again."

Closing her eyes, Belle reached out for the power that was becoming more familiar with every passing day. She felt it in her belly, the warmth that spread through every fiber of her muscles, soothing the aches. But it was raw, frayed, and weak. When she had first touched it, it had been like grabbing hold of a live power line. The energy she felt now was like a static shock by comparison.

Gathering wisps of power into her legs, Belle's eyes narrowed as she turned her focus outward. She burst forward, air blasting out of her way as she closed the distance between herself and Yuki in the blink of an eye. The little trick she had learned on the Spirit's island failed to impress - Yuki almost lazily moved the daisy just out of the way of Belle's accelerated, grasping hand. 

Belle's momentum sent her flying past. She turned, skidding several feet, her sneakers leaving another deep set of tracks in the garden soil. She sprang again, this time not for the flower, but aiming directly for the woman. 

Yuki's small frame whispered with movement. She hopped, just the smallest tap of her foot sending her flying several meters backward. Belle gave chase, circling around the interior walls of the garden. The rest of the world was a blur, Yuki the only point of clarity in her vision as they approached one of the walled corners. The old woman was smirking. 

Almost ... Now!

Belle lowered her body, gritted her teeth, and surged to the side, cutting at a diagonal. Yuki was now between her and the garden's corner. Like a boxer on the hunt, Belle pushed forward, and Yuki stepped back, her shoulders bumping against the corner's walls.

"Got you," Belle breathed. 

Yuki glanced left, then right. She smirked, holding the daisy up to her nose. Her eyes sparkled. "Do you, now?"

Belle's legs felt dull and heavy, but to Hell with them, she didn't need them anymore. Channeling every last remaining iota of energy she could dredge up, she funneled them into her arms. "I do!" 

Belle's hand snapped forward, fast enough to make the air whip and crack. Her fingers clenched on empty air. "Now give... me... that... flower!" she yelled, punctuating each of her words with more strikes, accelerating until the space between them was filled with her hands.

Yuki's own moved fast, but not as fast as her's. 

There!

Belle hand snapped forward like a striking cobra... And plunged right through the flower as if it wasn't even there. It, and Yuki, had vanished. "Whuh?" Belle numbly blurted, then yelped as something hard smacked against the back of her head. Belle staggered, lost her balance, and sprawled into the corner as the old woman landed lightly behind her, still holding the flower up to her face. 

"Better," Yuki said, offering a rare encouragement, "but not nearly good enough."

The nibble of carrot and two-by-four stick routine.

Belle tried to sit up, but her body refused. She reached inside herself, but that power, too, flickered away, a small ember fluttering just out of reach. 

Yuki crouched down. Taking one of Belle's arms in her free hand, she lifted it up, then let it go. Belle's arm dropped to the ground with a thud, flopping like a dead fish. She 'tsk'ed. "Again?" She stood. "Mister Pickles."

There was an affirmative bark from somewhere nearby. The small dog came charging out of the bushes and to his master's side. 

"Take her in."

Another barked affirmative. Darting over, the canine grabbed the back of Belle's shirt in his mouth. Unceremoniously, he began to drag her across the garden, towards the double sliding doors that opened into the house.