Bella Burrows's Arc

Chapter 6 of 9

Bella came back to the pasture the next morning expecting the half-elf to be waiting at the fence. He was not. A note sat folded on the vine chair. It said he had walked down the road to see what the noise was. Bella read it twice. She heard the noise herself then, a low rumble coming from past the tree line, like a crowd settling into seats. She followed the sound across two fields. A theater stood where the empty lot used to be. It had curved tiers of seats wrapped around a long runway, and a single spotlight cut down the middle of the stage. Bella had never seen the building go up. People filled the seats already. At the end of the runway stood a purple-skinned woman in a short dress, belly out in front of her like a prize melon. The half-elf sat in the front row with his hands on his knees. Bella climbed the side steps. The woman turned and looked her over without hurry. "You must be Bella," she said. "I'm Sara. I heard you from my kitchen yesterday." She lifted a polished medal off a velvet stand beside her. The crystal in the center pulsed once. "Loudest belly in the county gets this. I had it made this morning." She held it out toward the half-elf, not Bella. He leaned forward in his seat. Behind Sara, a stone pit burned with something that wasn't wood. Strange mushrooms grew right out of the coals and gave off orange sparks. A long table beside the pit held roasted gourds, jugs of dark broth, and a row of soda bottles taller than the ones Bella used. Sara picked up a bottle, popped the cap with her thumb, and drank half of it standing. Her belly pushed forward another inch. She burped without warning. The sound rolled through the theater and came back doubled off the curved walls. The crowd clapped. The half-elf clapped with them. Bella stepped onto the runway. Her belly was still tight from yesterday and she had not eaten yet. She took the bottle Sara offered and drank it down. She waited. Nothing came. She drank a second one. A small burp climbed out, then nothing. Sara watched her, then drank again and let out a burp longer than her first. The medal in her hand caught the spotlight. The half-elf stood up from his seat to see better. He did not look at Bella. He looked at Sara. Bella set the empty bottle on the stage and walked off the runway the way she had come. Behind her, Sara was already lining up the next bottle. Bella did not turn around. She knew the count would keep going without her, and she knew who was counting.