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The Trade	By : sandyl666 Category: +1 through F > Coraline Views: 11933 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: Coraline book-verse is owned by Neil Gaiman and part of movie-verse is owned by Henry Selick, I own nothing. I make nothing whatsoever by writing and posting this on.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
Disclaimer: I seem to be getting lazier. Coraline. Neil Gaiman. Henry Selick. Everybody happy?
Chapter 15: Rescue

Coraline let the coolness of the bathroom tiles eradicate the heat in her cheeks. Her breathing slowed as her body calmed after her sudden burst to the bathroom right after waking up, not wanting to taint the bed with last night's meal... And god knows what else.
She groaned as she repeated her usual routine, brushing her teeth carefully, then moving down the stairs to eat breakfast.
She flopped onto a chair and promptly collapsed her head onto her folded arms. The cutlery on the table clanked from her violent movement.
"Have I mentioned how much I hate being pregnant?" she asked.
He chuckled lightly. "Not really, but I'll keep it in mind," She moved her head on her arms so she could watch him as he continued to prepare breakfast. "You're up early today," he commented.
"Morning sickness," she answered, admiring the expert flips of the pancakes, and their graceful landing back into the pan. Her eyes moved to the father of her child preparing the pancakes. "You look better," she noted, he was in human form and had those dark, practically black orbs for eyes instead of the buttons.
"Fully recharged," he smirked at her, glancing at her briefly over his shoulder.
Her eyes stayed on his motions, hypnotised by his practised skill at preparing food. As usual, he had eyes in the back of his head.
"Yes, Coraline?" he asked, without turning away from the food, bending to check the pie in the oven.
"Nothing," she replied. "Just wondering if I could ever cook like you,"
He paused at the wistful tone in her voice. "I could teach you," he answered before resuming what he was doing. She was instantly suspicious.
"What, like the last time you taught me something new?" she asked dryly. "Non-school related, of course," she added, remembering that they still had daily lessons, with him helping her catch up on her work.
He laughed. "No, nothing like that. Plus, you were the one who said, and I quote, that you could 'handle it',"
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. It was disgusting. I never want to do it again,"
He smiled slightly to himself. "But it was so incredibly erotic, dear," he said teasingly.
"To you, maybe. It was just plain disgusting on my end," she said.
"Hmm," he answered, amused. "So, any plans for today?"
"Eat. Sleep. Learn. Walk in garden. The usual," she shrugged. He nodded. She frowned, realising something was missing... A certain activity that used to be slotted neatly into her schedule every day, in fact, several times a day. She wondered why it had suddenly disappeared. It was now a week... And he hadn't so much as touched her once.
Not that she was complaining.
"You certainly love staring at me, don't you, Coraline dearest?" Bel said in an amused voice, his back still towards her.
"I don't have anything else to stare at," she answered.
"The walls are lovely,"
"...I'm not so sure if you're kidding or being serious," He smiled at her before laying more food out before her. The proximity of the dish allowed the delicious smell to waft over to her faster, in strong waves. As soon as the scent of it hit her, she groaned, before running out of the room to once again throw up everything she had.
Bel watched her go with a sigh. He knew he shouldn't have bothered cooking breakfast that morning.
Coraline slipped through the front door, a wide smile on her face. The garden truly was fantastic. After what had to be the most horrible pukefest she'd had so far, her daily stroll in the gardens was a sweet relief, and served to nurse her weary soul. She stepped back to her room, wondering what Bel was doing. She paused abruptly when she realised the door to the sitting room was open. She frowned, wondering if he was in there or something. As she stared at the room, something she had least expected to happen took place.
Coraline froze in shock as her eyes lay upon the opening door.
A curly-haired head emerged from the tunnel, and Coraline's heart dropped.
"Wybie?"
"Coraline!" Wybie cried out, his face breaking into a relieved smile. He moved forward without her noticing, and embraced the girl. "I've been so worried," He pushed her away from him abruptly and surveyed her carefully. "Are you alright?"
Her face had gone ashen white and she stared at her friend in horror. "You shouldn't be here. How did you even get here?" Her voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper.
"Well, see, I had this great idea. I made a mould of the key hole and-"
"You forged a key," she finished, sounding more horrified than ever.
"Yeah," he nodded. "Come on, let's get you home," He tugged on her arm and bent down towards the tunnel. Coraline let him pull her for a second, before digging her heel into the ground, stopping him from pulling her any further.
"I can't," she said. "Wybie, I can't go home with you!"
Bel could sense the exact moment Wybie entered his realm, and he took off running towards the little door.
"Wybie, I can't go home with you!"
He stopped abruptly and decided not to reveal himself for the time being, too curious to interrupt them.
"Why not?" Just the sound of the intruder's voice caused Bel to see red.
"Because-Because he has a key too! He could come after us, Wybie!"
Bel felt a tinge of disappointment at her reply. However, the stutter made him curious as to whether she had a different answer. He stopped his thoughts right there. Why did he care about what reason she had about wanting to stay? In fact, why did he care about whether she stayed or not?
Because she's mine. He reasoned, but was left with a strange sense of dissatisfaction at his own excuse.
"We'll fight him off," Wybie argued urgently.
"With what, our bare hands?" Coraline retorted. "No, I can't. Also..." she hesitated. Wybie stopped pulling her for a second. He could almost sense what she was going to say next. "I'm already pregnant," she blurted out in a shaky voice.
Bel got a glimpse quickly and couldn't help a smirk of triumph at Wybie's horrified face. Wybie closed his eyes in resignation, before re-opening them mere seconds later and maneuvering her to the door.
"It's alright. We'll get you an abortion, find a way to get that... thing out of you,"
"But-"
Wybie held onto her shoulders and stared straight into her eyes. For a second Coraline forgot to breathe, as she wondered when exactly he'd grown so tall.
"We'll find a way out of this, Coraline. I promise. Just come back with me,"
Coraline stared at him, her mind going around in circles. Finally, she looked away. "Alright," she said in a low whisper. He smiled, briefly, before releasing her and moving to the door. Bel felt his gut clench, and for a moment he froze, unable to do anything.
"Ladies first," Wybie said, gesturing to the door. Coraline shook her head.
"No, you go first," she said firmly. "Don't argue," she ordered sharply when he opened his mouth to protest. He shrugged and dropped to his knees before moving through the door.
Sensing that it was time to make his entrance, Bel moved towards the doorway. He hurried his steps when Coraline bent down... Then paused in surprise when she slammed the door shut.
"Coraline! Coraline?" Wybie pounded on the door, his voice high and panicked.
Coraline grunted with exertion as Wybie tried to force his way back through.
"Move," Coraline jumped in surprise at Bel's voice and the non-human being took the opportunity to push her aside. He then gave the door a sharp kick which reverberated around the room and forced Wybie to give out a shocked shout that seemed to fade into the distance.
Coraline watched as Bel began hacking out the key, before inserting it into the keyhole and turning it. It clicked three times. Coraline stared at it, realising she'd missed what might have been her only chance at leaving this wretched place. The gulp of Bel swallowing the key only assured her that her fate was sealed.
"He won't be coming back," Bel informed her, only confirming what she already knew.
"Did you hear everything?" she asked.
"Almost," he answered truthfully.
"Are you angry?" She still couldn't bring herself to look at him. At first, he didn't answer and Coraline was starting to think he wouldn't, when he did.
"Yes,"
She sighed. "I'm sorry,"
"You almost left,"
"Yeah..."
"You were about to break our bet,"
"I know..."
"Why didn't you?" he asked, genuinely puzzled. The action of staying behind seemed completely unlike her. She was creative, intelligent and strong-headed. She could always find a way out of things... their previous game excepted, of course. Why didn't she leave?
"Like I said... You could have come after us,"
"You would have found a way to stop me,"
"How do you know that?" she asked impatiently, finally turning her head to look at him. "And why do you care why I didn't leave? I didn't. That should be all that matters to you, shouldn't it?"
He had no answer to that.
"Shouldn't it?" she asked, prompting him.
"...Dinner should be ready soon," he said and proceeded to leave the room. He expected that to be the end of their conversation and was more than a little surprised when she grabbed onto his arm to pull him back.
"Answer me, Bel!"
"Coraline," he said sternly, his eyes widening at her defiant behaviour. She had been so docile in front of him lately that he was surprised at how strongly she was suddenly fighting back.
"Come on, Bel, tell me what's the reason you want me to stay? And don't say our bet... You've never cared about honouring promises, and even so the reason I stayed wouldn't have mattered if that was all there was to it."
"Co-"
Coraline clutched his arm more tightly, seizing this opportunity. "Bel, do you care for me? Tell me the truth,"
"That's enough, Coraline!" Bel practically yelled back to her. She was sure she was pissing him off like crazy, but at this point she didn't care.
"No, it is not enough!" she yelled back. "It is not enough that you're always confusing me, playing around with me and constantly, constantly changing the subject!" She sucked in a deep breath to replenish her air supply before begging him with her eyes for an answer. "Tell me, Bel. It doesn't matter if it's yes or no. Just give me a straight answer."
They were engaged in a staring contest and Coraline contemplated backing down a few times, only to remember the little being in her womb and the promise she had made to it.
Finally, Bel grasped her hand and pulled it off his arm gently, before leaving the room without so much as a word. Coraline sighed before collapsing into one of the armchairs with an even gustier sigh.
She would never know of the storm she had awakened in the Beldam's head, and his heart.
- 14
- 15
- 16
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The Trade