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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
- 3
- 4
- 5
Disclaimer: Coraline (movie-verse) belongs to Neil Gaiman and Henry Selick. Have you noticed that saying 'Gaiman' out loud many times sounds kind of funny? No offence to the guy. He didn't choose his name, obviously. Unless it's his pen name.
Chapter 4: Relinquish

Coraline never gave up, not till the end. She continued stringing the sticky strands together, her determination shining through and blocking out all her surroundings. She concentrated all of her being, her mind, her skills, her abilities, on this single task.
One more strand. All she needed was one more strand, and she would complete her task - and win. She quickly glanced at the window. It was close - the moon was almost completely covered. She'd managed to complete the second web much faster than the first - her past experience acting as a sort of warm-up. She was almost glad she made that mistake. Almost.
She quickly turned away from her ticking hourglass and scanned the area for one more strand. She found it - lying on the ground ten feet beneath her. She cursed - she'd already used the rope she had climbed up using, it was threaded securely into part of the web.
Beneath her, the Beldam smirked. This was perfect. The girl didn't have more than a minute to complete her task - and no way to get down. If she were to get down, she would have to undo one of her precious web strands to climb down it - using up time she couldn't afford to. This was the Beldam's victory. And there was no way she would offer to help the girl.
Coraline took in a deep, audible breath. The Beldam looked up at the teenager, wondering what was going through that head of hers. Then Coraline jumped. The Beldam sucked in a shocked breath as she watched Coraline's fragile body plummet to the ground.
She didn't make it in time. Of course she didn't. The Beldam planned it that way. But she was going to try no matter what.
That was the sole thought on her mind as she closed her eyes and leaped to the ground.
She didn't remember much of the fall - she must have blanked out mid-air, but the landing wasn't as painful as she thought.
Scratch that, it bloody hurt. She looked to her arm, the greatest source of her pain, and grimaced at the blood there. The pale gash there was quickly turning redder as blood rushed to that area in an attempt to start the healing process. She mentally checked the rest of her body and realised she was fine. How did she get that nasty scratch anyway?
She froze and looked up into the glaring face of the Beldam. Never in the limited time she'd known the Beldam had she ever seen that look on the creature's face. It spoke of anger, concern and most of all - fear. Coraline stared back at the Beldam, confused. Why would her arch-enemy be fearful? Unless... Unless the spider actually cared for her.
You know I love you.
"Why..." the Beldam asked, her voice shaking with anger. "Why did you jump, Coraline dearest?" her voice was low and deceptively calm, but Coraline could sense the underlying rage.
"T-To get t-to the strand," Coraline stuttered, trying to re-orient herself. As soon as she'd spoken those words she remembered her mission. She bolted up, but was obstructed by the Beldam's thin, sharp arms wrapped around her, one of which was dripping with a red, viscous liquid.
"Coraline, love, if you ever die without me being the one who caused it..." The Beldam paused to tilt Coraline's face up, forcing the girl to look her in the eye. "I will never, ever forgive you,"
Coraline felt a shiver creep up her spine at the intensely serious expression on the Beldam's face.
But as soon as the Beldam registered the shock and fear on Coraline's face, she smiled sinisterly. "Got it, hon?"
Coraline nodded wordlessly, and the Beldam released her. She got to her feet, her knees shaking and almost buckling beneath her weight. She staggered over to where the last strand lay and picked it up just as the Beldam let out a harsh bark of laughter.
"Oh, look Coraline," the Beldam said, holding out a thin finger to the window. Its smooth surface glistened in the little bit of moonlight left.
Coraline, with much dread, swivelled her neck slowly so that she could see what the Beldam was pointing at. Her eyes turned glassy as she focused on the button-covered moon, willing the button to remove itself.
"I win, my dear Coraline. Fair and square,"
Coraline's eyes slid slowly to the Beldam's triumphant expression. Then she turned away and hoisted the last strand over her shoulder before flinging it upwards to her partially completed web. She missed her target and it dropped back down to her feet. She threw it again, and missed. The Beldam watched quietly, before speaking:
"You're too late, Coraline. You've lost,"
"No. I still have some time left. You cheated," she answered in an almost mechanical voice, glaring fiercely at the rebellious piece of rope before throwing it up once more.
"No. I simply outsmarted you, love," the Beldam answered. Coraline ignored her answer and flung up the rope - to no avail. She cursed miserably under her breath, before continuing her fruitless atempt. The Beldam finally snapped as she watched Coraline continue to throw up the rope in denial. In a flash, she was beside Coraline, pinning her wrists above her head. Blood trickled out of her wound and tears started to gather at the corner of her eyes. She blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of it. "Enough, Coraline,"
"No. I can make it! There's still time!" Coraline shouted at the Beldam, struggling in the Beldam's secure grip.
"No, there isn't!" The Beldam roared back.
Coraline cringed at the heightened volume of her voice. Then her face screwed up and a single tear slid out of her eye and down her cheek. Coraline tilted her head to the ground, deeply ashamed of her traitorous tears.
The Beldam sighed and gathered the young woman up in her arms, where the girl cried silently.
Mere minutes later, Coraline spoke into the Beldam's chest.
"Please. Please, I'll do anything. Just don't touch my loved ones," she begged.
The Beldam froze and shoved Coraline away from her chest. "Going back on our deal, Coraline? I thought we had an agreement,"
"We did. We did, but I... I... Please. I just don't want to see them get hurt. You can do whatever you want with me. Just don't hurt them." she said.
The Beldam frowned, pretending to mull it over in her head. But truth be told - she knew this would happen. She had been counting on it.
"Anything, Coraline?"
"Anything. As long as the people I love remain safe,"
Coraline regretted those words as soon as she saw the Beldam's face melt into a victorious grin.
"Well..." the Beldam said, circling Coraline like a predator slinking around its prey. Coraline straightened her back and tried to regard the Beldam with bravery - something that she was definitely not feeling.
"They say even the proudest spirit can be broken with love." the Beldam said idly, repeating something she'd said before. "I've always wanted to know if that was true. And so I figured children would teach me that," She reached out one of her thin, metallic fingers and ran it through Coraline's hair. Coraline shivered, a fearful chill running up and down her spine. The sixteen year old resisted the urge to slap the Beldam's sharp fingers away. "Unfortunately, I could never control myself," she laughed, a soft, cruel chuckle. "They were just too tasty,"
Coraline bit her lip, trying to control herself from blurting out something stupid in her anger that may cause her parents or friends to be in danger.
"But perhaps I've been going about this all wrong," the Beldam said. "Perhaps the reason I could never bring myself to love them properly is simply because they weren't my children," she paused, leaving a space for Coraline to say something. Coraline didn't. "Of course, making children isn't like making dolls or rats - I can't do it alone. Not real ones at least,"
Coraline whipped around, gaping at the Beldam's ugly, thin, metallic form. "You want me to bear you children?"
The Beldam nodded with a smile. What an intelligent girl. She thought to herself almost gleefully.
"In case you haven't noticed," Coraline said, willing her voice to remain unwavering as pain from her wound started to set in, and stress as well as fear threatened to distort her voice. "We're both females,"
The Beldam chuckled, then her form morphed - her organs and limbs moving in a liquid manner as she changed. The Beldam's form became more human-like, losing four of her eight legs and flesh filling out the gaps in her metallic body. Her face changed to become more angular, yet with actual flesh, buttons turned into black pools of eyes. Her hair shortened slightly, and her torso filled out to become larger, more muscular. The Beldam continued to transform until she no longer held any features that were female. The Beldam, now a he, smirked at Coraline's half-surprised, half-fearful look.
"Any other problems, Coraline?" he asked, his voice silky and seductive as he took a step forward towards Coraline. Coraline stepped back as the now male Beldam towered over her. She had no problem associating the male Beldam with the female Beldam, despite the obvious changes. They looked alike, had the same air about them. Both were scary, intimidating, commanding, sinister - and yet there had always been something pitiful, almost pathetic about the Beldam.
He continued to advance on her as she continued to back away until Coraline hit the wall. She hissed in pain as her injured arm came into contact with the wall. The Beldam closed the gap between them while she was distracted, and held onto her arm. She looked up at him fearfully as he produced a bottle of mud out of nowhere and rubbed some over her wound. She squeaked in surprise at the dirty substance coating her open wound, then relaxed as the pain started to diminish.
Then she looked up at the creature who'd haunted her dreams, caused her to continuously peer over her shoulder whenever she walked through dark places. Except that now it was male - for the sole purpose of impregnating her.
"Why me?" she asked finally. The Beldam looked up from her wound, straight at her.
"Because I love you," he answered, the sinister grin on his face making Coraline frown. "You know I love you,"
Coraline didn't answer. She sighed and closed her eyes in resignation. "Fine," she whispered. "I'll have your child in exchange for my loved ones's lives,"
She could tell he was smirking triumphantly without even opening her eyes.
"But," she continued, opening her eyes to glare at him. "When I've given birth, let me return home. With the key. Don't come after me or my family, or my friends. Those are my conditions,"
"I don't think you're in the position to be making demands of me, my dear. But I'll humour you. Just this once,"
Coraline nodded once, but said nothing more.
"Don't worry, Coraline love," he whispered into her ear, his breath tickling her. "I promise you'll enjoy it,"
She gave him another hard glare. "I doubt it," she said.
He simply chuckled darkly again before lifting her up in his arms before the room morphed, shrinking in height and the open door lowered down to them. Coraline shrieked and struggled in his arms but he was much stronger than she.
The Beldam stepped through the door and continued to walk through the house, Coraline bouncing in his arms at the force of his steps. She trembled at what was to come, almost regretting her decision that led to her impending fate.
He paused at the threshold to her parent's room and she gasped. He was going to take her in the bed her parents slept in? No! No, that was wrong. She struggled harder in his arms and cried out.
"What's wrong, Coraline?" The Beldam asked, genuinely amused at her pointless struggling.
"Not here," she moaned. "Please, not here."
He lifted an eyebrow. "But why not, Coraline?" he purred. He knew the answer, of course he did, but he wanted to hear her say it.
"It's my parent's room..." Coraline whispered desolately.
"No, it's your other parent's room. They're not the same, dearest,"
"They look the same! Please, not here, Beldam," she begged.
The Beldam's whole body went stiff at the way her voice uttered his name. Sure, he'd heard his name called many times - but never in that way. He loved her name, he loved the way it rolled off his tongue like the sweetest honey - it was the motive behind his constant uttering of her name. But never once did he expect her to say his name. Even if she was only saying it to persuade him.
"Alright then," he said, shrugging. He stepped away from her parent's room and she sighed in relief. Then he got to her room, and she tensed up. She didn't exactly want her first time to be in her childhood room either!
But it was better than her parent's room, so she kept her mouth shut.
The door swung open as the Beldam stood before it, and they entered the room, Coraline in his arms. There was no flying bug toys this time, no talking playthings and Coraline's mind idly flashed back to a recent memory where her mother had taken all her toys and sent it to the charity shops. Coraline didn't mind, she no longer played with them.
The walls of the room were still a ridiculous pink, and there were no toys in sight. What there was were a dozen rose petals - white, pink and red. The bed was larger than her own, done up with satin bedspreads in pink and mauve. The canopy fluttered over the bed, its flimsy, delicate material was translucent, and bathed the image of the bed in a tinge of pink.
Coraline felt her breath hitch in her throat. She was far from girly - exactly the opposite in fact, but recognising beauty was something innate within her. Then she realised that though the Beldam had brought her to her parent's room first, it hadn't been done up like this room. He never planned to bed her in it.
Boy, she knows you like the back of her hand.
She shook her head, trying to get the Other Father's voice out of her head.
The Beldam felt a strange sense of pride at her reaction. He'd spent a long time re-creating the room in a way she'd love. No, he had never planned to torture her parents and friends. He just said that to see make her desperate - make her beg for an alternate punishment. He liked, no, loved the extra friction of non-consensual sex, but overall he preferred that she surrendered and came to his bed willingly. It was difficult making love to a wild, thrashing animal.
It took longer, and more effort, sure. But the Beldam had an abundance of patience. He always had. Which is why he always got what he wanted. With one exception, of course. But he was about to correct that.
By the time he was done, Coraline was going to regret ever going against him.
- 3
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- 5
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The Trade