If Only

Chapter 12

"They put a love spell on you." You say annoyed.

"What?" V says surprised.

"Yes we did!" Rolt says as he turns and high fives Soy.

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"But I don't feel any different," V says as he looks questioningly at you.

"Trust me, your way different." You say. "It's the way the spell works, you think you've always loved me so you don't feel any different."

"But I have always loved you," V says looking at you and smiling.

"Exactly." You say as Rolt and Soy cackle next to you.

You look down at them annoyed, "so you don't know how to put him back to normal?" You ask.

"Nope!" Soy says smiling mischievously.

"We stole the powder from another traveler who stayed the night in our barn, we only figured out it was love powder after we spilled some on the barn cat. She followed the traveler out the door and we've never seen her since." Rolt says matter a factly.

"Wow...how romantic," V says dreamily.

"Alright, I think I've heard enough." You say as you stand up and put your bag over your shoulder. "I think we should leave V."

"Alright my love," V says as he stands up and puts on his bag.

You both walk toward the barn door and open it, letting the bright morning light shine in.

"Well, it was so nice meeting you Rolt and Soy," V says smiling.

"Nice meeting you too Mr! Have fun with your lady," Soy says, as he and Rolt stand on the barn floor waving at you two.

You both walk out and close the barn door behind you. You walk back to the path and start heading southwest again.

As you walk determinedly, you feel Vs hand intertwines with yours.

"Hey!" You yell as you rip your hand free and look at him.

"What?" He asks as he reaches for your hand again.

"No way." You say as you stuff your hands in your pockets.

V looks at you pouting as you turn away and continue walking. You think of any way you could take the spell off of V. But Nothing comes to mind and you worry he'll never be fixed.

As you walk on you pass a stream. V stops and walks to the water taking a drink and splashing some on his face. You walk over and do the same.

V turns to face you smiling as you look up from the water. His eyes are dark and hold so much depth. You stare into them, lost.

V takes your head in his hands and reaches his lips down to yours. Your eyes grow wide as you realize he's kissing you. Your heart begins to beat fast and your cheeks flush an embarrassing scarlet.

You almost kiss him back, but then you remember that it's fake. It's an artificial love. You feel a glass wall between you and him. He doesn't know what he's doing, he's just being controlled. You push him off of you and stand up walking away.

You turn back around to look at him as you wipe your lips. He's sitting at the water's edge looking at you smiling.

"I love you Y/N." He says as he stands up and walks toward you.

"No, you don't." You say as you put your hands on your cheeks to cover your blush.

"Yes, I do," V says as he walks closer to you.

You walk backward slowly, away from V. He continues towards you looking down at your lips. He's only a couple inches from you when you hear a loud roar.

"What was that!?" You say as you and V look around.

V spots a footprint behind you and points it out.

"I guess this is ogre territory," V says as you look down and see the footprint.

You look up at V scared, "we better get out of here, ogres are way smarter than trolls." You say as you adjust your bag on your shoulder and start walking away fast.

V grabs you by the arm and pulls you back saying, "you're afraid of ogres Y/N?"

"Yes, I am! Now let's get out of here!" You say seriously as you try to get out of V's grip.

"If my love is afraid of something, I will defeat it so she never has to fear again," V says as he pulls his knife from his bag and starts running to where the terrifying roar came from.

"V! No!" You yell as you watch him run towards the ogres.

You groan in frustration and run after him.

He runs a lot faster than you, driven by the goal of the spell to kill ogres. You quickly lose sight of him, but you keep running towards the scary sound.

Another roar rips through the forest as you run closer to where the ogres are. You slow down as you get near a clearing and hide behind a tree. You look around and see 5 ogres standing around V.

The ogres are all fairly uniform. They're 6 ft tall and about 300 pounds each. They have meaty arms and legs with long fingers and toenails. They are completely hairless and like trolls, have a taste for human flesh.

You cover your mouth as you try to quiet your panting. You sneak your head around the tree and spot V standing amidst the ogres.

"Alright, you beasts! I'll vanquish you all!" He shouts as he runs at one with his dagger.

The ogre smirks as he picks up a log and whacks V with it. You gasp into your hand as you watch V fall to the ground unconscious. The ogres all gather around V's limp body and discuss the various ways to divide up his flesh for eating.

You feel fear begin to boil in your stomach, and an unexplainable urge to run away pulls at your feet. But when you see V crumpled on the ground, your feet run towards him.

You scream at the ogres who turn and spot you running at them.