Into The Woods He Sang

Chapter 7: Regret and Resentment

I now stood in that hall, still thinking of the dreaded information I'd now learned... The woman I scold... The woman whom I have been forced to endure... She has felt a similar stab of my father's arrogance... I truly pity her now... In this moment of undesirable pain... Of the reality I now face... I've been married to another agitated follower... Tired of rules they have no choice to follow...
I sighed as dread drips further and deeper into my subconscious... I... I truly misjudged her... As she has to me... I now pity her... But with this following knowledge... Perhaps... Maybe a solution can be found soon.
I walk into the room where Skoldolfr stood, turned away as he seemed deep in thought and annoyance, "Well... I've heard all I need to hear of this... Marriage..."
He turns towards me in surprise, annoyance now on me, "The hell?- How long have you stood in the shadows, Mason? What did you hear? It doesn't concern you-"
"The marriage of Abigale and I... My marriage doesn't concern me? You are using other packs as pawns... You truly have hit an all-new low. And here I assumed it wasn't possible!"
He steps back, "How dare you? You mistreat her as I attempt to get you a woman!"
"A woman isn't needed in life! I don't have to be married! I don't have to love some... Some stranger! You simply assume what I want! What I need! So you sicken me! Forcing that girl into an unwanted commitment as much as me!", I growled in disgust and resentment.
He froze a mere moment before I head to leave, "Now I have to clean your mess on top of my own! You're going to dig a very... Very... Lonely grave..."
With those last words, leaving him to stutter, I headed off to look for Abigale. No wonder she hadn't tried to love me... No wonder she was how she was! God... And he thought I would love her? No... But she deserves the acknowledgment of understanding...
I continue my search and she seems to have completely disappeared... Not a single trace of her... I sighed and looked around for what felt like unending hours, minutes slipping away into nothingness. After such a long search, I, at last, found her outside, sobbing her eyes out in her misery. Where I wasn't one best for comforting... I still attempt to go up to her, my form not being human now as through my searching nightfall seemed to slip into a midnight's embrace and full moon's glow. I finally found her as she whimpered, hiding in the elegant sways of leaves and blossoms of the brush.
She heard me approach and growled, "What do you of all people want now, Mason..."
I gave pitied glance as I approached, "I heard your... Discussion with, Skoldolfr... You didn't have to come here at all... Did you?..."
She seemed frozen in the mere moment as waves of sadness seemed released from her eyes, frustrations evident, "No Mason... And I don't want here... Your father is a halfwit..."
"I can agree with you there...", I chuckled slightly in reply.
She just rolled her eye, giving an annoyed scowl, "And what did you come to bother me for?... You've already told me to l-leave you be..."
I sighed, looking down, "I may have misjudged you to some degree... Where I don't agree with sleeping among others while in a marriage... You had your reasons for doing such... Which I find... Reasonable and deserving of an apology..."
"And What is that supposed to mean?..."
I felt like a fool but knew my behavior toward her own was somewhat unreasonable, "It means... I apologize for judging you on a marriage that we do not wish for. And I am willing to aid you in getting with who you wish by explaining our proposal was forced on both sides. "
She seemed shocked, eyes widening and head tilted like a pup being asked of favorite food, "R-really?..."
"It seems... Deserving after the nonsense the quoted "leader" has done."
She seemed to have a softened expression as rage melts away to overwhelming joy and she jumped onto me to embrace me with hope, "Oh Mason! You sweetheart! You're better than anyone here describes!"
I was in a bit of shock and chuckled rolling out of the tackle, standing, and smiling softly, "Well... I try to not be a manipulative asshole as he is..."
We shared our sweet moment a little longer as she finally let go, "Let's get going!"
"Right now?-", I ask quizzically.
"Oh- Right. Almost one in the morning I suppose?", she chuckled shyly.
I nod and she sighed, the two of us head to the house, mansion-like in appearance. As we walk in, there was the devil himself, my father... Skoldolfr. He seemed a bit surprised, seeing the two of us together. But here we stand... Giving that man the meanest stinkeye he has likely ever experienced in the seventy-something years he's had on this miserable planet. He visibly shuttered as we walked past heading to the kitchen, becoming our human forms again. I took off the ring, handing it to Abigale.
Looking at me quizzically, I answer the clear confusion, "You're gonna need it."
She blushed and nodded. In the kitchen, we got something to eat, for once having a mutual bond through the disgust of my father's behavior. At least that was something I suppose... With the moment feeling now comforting, we had breakfast before we turned in for the night. It felt as if things seemed to finally be calming down after this never-ending anarchy. I took this moment to show her a few of my cooking tips, making fluffy eggs and crisp fried deli meat we had to spare. I smiled at her softly as we enjoyed our meals, chatting about how we got in the mess and what my father tried to claim.