''Flying''

Please, Don't Judge Me

TW: Mention Of Graphic Death

For the last week, Bella and Henry spent as much time as possible building their new friendship, either by going out on rides or just spending some time together in the garden.

Henry has decided not to mention his request again, not wanting to make Arabella feel pressured in any way. Even if she doesn't accept, he still has her friendship and that is enough for him.

Bella, however, can't seem to think about anything else other than his request, going back and forth with herself on whether she should or not accept his request.

They are out riding, one morning, when they stop by a small creek near the Castle so their horses can have some water. Sitting on a rock, side by side, they stay silent for a moment, just enjoying each other's company.

Bella is the one who, eventually, breaks the silence.

-"Can I ask you a question?" - She sees him nodding and signaling at her to go ahead. -"What happened with your wife?"

Henry takes a deep breath and looks towards the water, a shadow appearing across his face.

-"We had left the Castle to go on a picnic. It was Sloane's idea. She loved that type of thing and I loved to see the happiness it brought her. It was such a beautiful day that I didn't have it in me to refuse, so we went. Looking back now, I should've insisted we stayed within the Castle's walls."

"We left with just a couple of guards with us, thinking that nothing would happen. We set up a little blanket and after a little while, Sloane told me she had something she needed to tell me. She looked so serious, that I thought it had something to do with her father."

"Her father had been pressuring me into accepting an alliance with a foreign King that I didn't trust, so I figured he had spoken with her to speak with me about it."

"I told her that if it was about her father, that my answer was still no, but she said it wasn't. She said that she had gone to see the Royal Healer that morning and that he had confirmed what she had been suspecting for a while."

"I remember not fully understanding what she was trying to tell me, and began believing the worst, but when she placed her hand on her stomach, I knew. We had been trying for a while and hadn't been able to get pregnant, so for her to actually be expecting was a gift."

"I didn't have time to fully process what it meant for us, because that was the moment everything changed."

"We heard horses approaching and when I looked over, I saw six men getting closer to us. At the time I had no idea who they were, since they all wore black and it had been my Commander's responsibility to keep the Rogues away from the Castle."

"I barely remember what happened next. All I do remember is that, eventually, I was overpowered and brought to my knees in front of her, one of the men holding her tight. I can still see the terrified look on Sloane's face and the way she kept shaking and holding her stomach, a feeble attempt at protecting our child."

"One of the men told me I should've stayed in the Castle were they couldn't get to me, right before the two men that were holding me began beating me. I can still hear Sloane's pleas for them to stop and how scared she sounded."

Henry shakes his head, trying to push the memory away before continuing.

-"The man lifted my head at one point and told me that before I die, I was going to watch my most prized possession die as well, almost as if she was nothing more than an object."

"I tried to convince him not to kill her. I told him I would give him anything he wanted, but he said that all he wanted he already had right there. That was when he... That was when he slit Sloane's throat."

Bella holds his hand, trying to provide what little comfort she can.

-"The image of Sloane, my wife, the woman I loved more than anything, gasping for air and choking on her own blood still haunts me every night."

"The men beat me up and left me for dead. If it hadn't been for a farmer finding me and alerting the Castle, I wouldn't be here."

"It took me a while to recover, but once I did, I set off to hunt every Rogue I could find. Eventually I found the man that killed Sloane. I managed to capture him and brought him back to the Castle. I spent the next three days torturing him for what he had done."

"I'm not proud of what I did, but at the time I was blinded by grief and anger, and all I cared about was getting revenge." - Henry looks back at Bella, tears in his eyes. -"I know that everything I did back then, and since, makes me a monster and I understand if you never want to see me again."

Bella squeezes his hand, wiping a stray tear from his cheek with her free hand before speaking.

-"You are not a monster. You are just a man who lost the woman you loved and who allowed his grief to take control. I don't judge you for what you did and it's going to take a lot more than that to scare me away."

Henry doesn't say anything, just nods at her, before squeezing her hand back and looking away from her. This is the most vulnerable he has been in years and he is grateful that Arabella understands why he did what he did.

Bella sits next to him, their hands still holding each other, and understands why he did all that he did when his wife died. She can't really blame him for it, since she knows all too well that kind of pain.

Bella and Henry stay by the creek, both lost in their own thoughts, holding each other's hand and feeling comfort in each other's presence.