Wolf Love

Chapter 14

It's been a week since Ben was murdered. Instead of just burring his body, we decided to bring it back to the village. We are a couple days away. I guess somewhere along the way, we somehow turned around. I haven't eaten or slept in that week, and I didn't stop either. Ash did stop every once in a while to get sleep and eat, but he caught up with me and started walking again. He kept on trying to get me to sleep or at least eat, but the problem is that I haven't talked since Ben died. I just kept riding, kept walking.

We were almost at the village when I smelled smoke. I let go of the horse and started running. The village was completely destroyed. I looked around and all of the people were dead. I frantically searched until I found them. My parents, at least the people I thought were them. Even though the memories were fake, the grief and heartbreak was real. Ash finally caught up with the horse that was carrying Ben. He came to comfort me immediately. I started putting all the bodies in a pile. When I got done with that, I put Ben on top. I couldn't do what I had to, so Ash set them on fire. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, but I didn't care. I walked around and started remembering all the things that happened while I was actually here, and all the people that I loved and cared about.

~FLASHBACK TO WHEN I FIRST GOT THERE~

Ben and I were running around a tree and acted like little children. We were 18 at the time. All of my friends were married and had kids as young as 2. I was the oldest bachelorette in the village. My cousin was 15 and she was married with a 6 month old baby girl. I wasn't worried about getting married, and my parents knew that; therefore they took matters into their own hands.

"Elizabeth and Benjamin, come here please," my mother said.

"Coming," we both said at the same time. Ben was a couple of years older than me and we knew we would friends forever when we met when we were young.

"Yes mother?" I asked.

"As you know darling you are 18, and you're not even married much less have children. We know that you aren't even thinking of marriage as well, so we have decided that you and Benjamin will get married," she said with no emotion in her voice. 

"MOTHER NO. I WILL NOT MARRY HIM. I REFUSE TO!!!!" I yelled, clearly frustrated my mother thought nothing of my feelings. She only thought of herself. Ben just stood there not saying a thing. "Ben you are not agreeing to this are you?"

"I am," he said, without hesitation.

I ran. I ran somewhere that no one dared to go. I made myself a little place to go when I get mad. Ben didn't even know where it was. Only my father did. He discovered it a while back and knew to come here.

"Lizzy bear?" I heard my father call me.

"I am not marrying him. How could he just agree to that?" I said.

"Lizzy, you don't have a choice. You have refused every other suitor we have shown you. You told us you wanted to marry for love. Your mother and I as well as his parents thought it to be a fitting match. You already knew each other and everything. Darling," he touched my face and ever so slightly and turned me to face him then he held my hands. "You should already be married with an heir to the village. This is for the best," He said sincerely. 

I knew he was right, but I was still mad. Everything was going to change between Ben and I. I went to my mother and agreed to marry Ben. It was going to be two years before the wedding would happen.

~BACK TO THE PRESENT~

Ash later joined me by the tree I was standing at.

"This was the tree that we were playing at before my mother told us we were to be married. This was the last memory I had with him that was us being just friends. I didn't want to marry him at first, then everything was changing. I started having feelings for him. He's gone, Ash. He's really gone," I said, talking for the first time in a week.

I cried all night not wanting to go anywhere or do anything. Ash finally got me to eat something, and afterwards I went to sleep crying.