Bella Burrows's Arc

Chapter 8 of 9

Bella walked the long path past the marsh the next morning with the purple bottle warm against her ribs. She meant to find the half-elf alone, the way Scarlett told her. The road bent past a stand of pale trees and opened onto a clearing she had not seen before. A stone cottage sat in the middle of it, walls rounded smooth, windows full of blue crystal glass. Bella stopped at the edge of the trees. Smoke rose from the chimney. Someone was already living there. She stepped closer and heard a slow burp roll out from behind the cottage. Not hers. She knew the sound. Sara. Bella followed the wall around and found a corroded fountain spilling glowing water into a wide basin. Sara lay back against the rim of it, purple skin shining in the morning light, her huge belly bare to the sun. Aldric knelt beside her with both hands flat on her stomach, moving them in slow circles. He smiled at every gurgle. Sara burped again and he laughed. Bella's hand went to the bottle. Her own belly was still flat from the night's sleep, soft and quiet. She pulled the cork with her teeth. She drank the whole thing. The potion hit her like a kicked bucket. Her stomach pushed out against her shirt in one long heave. The skin went tight. She felt the pressure climb up her ribs and stop at the base of her throat, waiting. She walked out from the trees with her belly leading the way. Aldric looked up first. His hands stayed on Sara, but his eyes dropped straight to Bella's gut and stuck there. Sara turned her head and saw what he was looking at. Her mouth went flat. "Move," Bella said. She did not wait. She stepped between them, planted her boots, and shoved her round belly two inches from Aldric's face. He let go of Sara. Both his hands came up on their own and pressed flat against Bella's stomach. The first burp tore out of her so loud it bounced off the cottage wall. She did not aim it at him. She turned her head and aimed it straight down at Sara, who was still flat on her back against the fountain. The burp hit Sara in the face and blew her hair back. Bella burped again before Sara could close her mouth. Then a third. She lost count after six. Sara sat up coughing. Aldric stayed on his knees with his hands locked to Bella's belly, counting under his breath the way he had at the pavilion. He did not look at Sara once. Bella looked down at the top of his head and felt the next burp building. She did not swallow it back. Sara stood up, wiped her face, and walked into the cottage alone. The door shut hard. Aldric kept counting.