2 Hours Earlier. . .
"Who's Ella?" I asked curiously.
Jason's jaw clenched.
"The lady at the restaurant? I'm not sure." He played it off. Why was he lying?
"Jason, please don't lie to me. I just want to know." I begged.
"Does it matter?" He asked with a hint of attitude.
"Obviously if you're lying to me then it does!" I pointed out. Jason glared at me.
"Why can't you just stay out of it?" Jason said angrily.
"I think I have a right to know. I am your fiancé." I defended.
"That doesn't mean you get to know every detail about me!" He shouted.
"Why is it that big of a deal?" I yelled back. What was going on?
"I don't even know her!" Jason yelled.
"You're lying! You said it's been a long time since you've seen her!" I said.
"God damn it, Ariel! Why can't you just learn to back off? Maybe I don't want you to be in my business all the time! Why don't you just be a good little princess and clean and cook?" He mused angrily.
I was hurt. Why was he being so mean? It was silent before I spoke.
"I'm going for a walk, I'll be back before supper." I said while getting dressed in my previous outfit.
Jason didn't even meet my eyes. I rolled mine and met Margaret on my way out.
"Dear, where are you off to?" She asked.
"I'm just going for a walk, I should be back in a little while." I promised. Margaret seemed to know that something wasn't right.
"Is everything alright? I heard shouting earlier but I didn't think too much of it." Margaret commented.
"No, everything's alright. But thank you for asking." I said quickly and exited the castle before she could question me further.
Present Time. . .
I had been walking for two hours, and my feet were slightly sore. I wasn't ready to go back yet. I found a small pond and had been sitting there for a while.
Was I rushing into this? Was Jason the right one for me? Of course he was. I knew he was, but was he the safest? What if we ever had children?
They would never be safe. My thoughts were interrupted by someone sitting next to me.
Will.
"Clearing your head?" He suggested.
"What do you want?" I asked rather rudely.
"So many things, but I want you in general." He spoke.
"Will, I don't love you. I love Jason, and I'm not leaving him." I spoke from the heart.
"He can't make you happy! Ariel one of these days that monster will hurt you! Do you want that? Do you think I want that?" He shouted.
"Jason would never hurt me." I tried to assure him.
"Ariel, I love you." His voice sounded so broken and defeated. I felt awful. I caused his pain.
"Will, I care about you, but I love Jason." I said softly, begging him to understand.
"Jason isn't a monster. He just needs a little bit of love. As for you, I know you'll find someone who loves you." I told him.
"So that's it? You're going to raise a child with him now? Grow old together?" He asked.
"Will I'm not pregnant, as for the growing old part-" He cut me off with hatred in his eyes and voice.
"Oh yes you are. You're carrying his child." Will snarled. I'd never seen him look so vicious before.
"Will, that's insane." I chastised.
"You gave your innocence away to a monster!" He growled.
Tears stung my eyes. Why was he acting like this?
"Yes, I did, but we're getting married soon an-" Once again he interrupted me.
"I could've given you the world. Your parents would've gladly blessed our marriage, it was supposed to be perfect. But you ruined it." He was speaking more to himself than to me.
"I didn't ruin anything. I found the man I was supposed to be with." I defended.
Will had such hatred in his eyes.
"You'll regret this Ariel, you really will. I'll have my way with you, then I'll kill your child, then you, then the beast himself. And it'll all be because of you." Will promised sadistically.
I couldn't speak, and I couldn't move.
"Tell him to be prepared, because we'll be there soon." He waved goodbye and walked the opposite direction towards the town.
I looked down at my stomach. Was I really carrying a child? Jason's child?
Slowly, I made my way back to the castle. Will was planning an attack, and I had an unborn child. A little baby was brewing. Our baby.
This wasn't uncommon at my age, but it was still a huge shock. Jason and I never really said we wanted one, well, he did, but I hadn't.
This was going to be rough. How would I tell Jason? Does he still want a child? I started crying as I realized that he might not want one. I cried the whole way back to the castle.
Upon entering, Margaret embraced me in a warm hug.
"Ariel, where were you? Master Jason was worried, he just left the house to look for you." She gushed.
"I didn't mean to worry him." I sobbed quietly. Margaret looked at me with worry.
"What happened?" She asked gently. I just shook my head and continued to cry.
"Please tell me. Maybe I can help." She pleaded.
"Jason's going to leave me!" I cried. Margaret's eyes went wide.
"Honey he would never leave you! Did he say he would?" She asked.
"No, but I know he will. I messed up, Margaret." I admitted.
"What could you have possibly done?" She asked. I just kept sobbing. Margaret couldn't get an answer out of me.
"Jason should be back soon. Why don't you just sit in your chair?" She suggested. I nodded and placed myself in the chair. I was only hoping that Jason wouldn't find out.
"Ariel, Jason has just returned." Margaret said before walking away. Jason saw me, and visibly relaxed. He came over and hugged me.
"Darling where were you?" He asked.
"I went to the pond." I sniffled. He seemed worried.
"Love, I'm so sorry about our fight earlier. I overreacted and I didn't want to hurt you. The truth is that Ella and I use to be a couple. We never made love, but my feelings were strong. I caught her in bed with another." He said sadly.
"It's okay, Jason. I forgive you." I said.
"Love, please tell me what happened." Jason begged.
"Will said he was going to hurt us. First he said he was going to have his way with me and then kill our child-" Jason gasped. I forgot that he didn't know.
"Our child?" He repeated.
I nodded slowly.
"You mean, that you're pregnant?" He clarified.
"Yes, I'm pregnant with our child." I whispered while looking at my stomach. Jason looked shocked, and I started crying again.
"I'm so sorry!" I apologized. Jason cooed gently in my ear to calm me down.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm happy that we're going to have a child." He assured me.
"I thought you would want me to leave." I whispered. He frowned.
"I would never, ever, want you to leave. We're going to have a baby!" He exclaimed. I smiled and kissed him.
"I thought you'd be upset." I said.
"Why would I be upset? We created a baby together. In nine months we're going to have a little child that we made from our love." Jason said.
I smiled softly.
He was right. We were going to have a child.
Boom!
Jason and I froze. What was that?
Boom!
The front doors shook. What was happening. Margaret ran out in a panic.
"Jason! There's an army!" She exclaimed.
"What?" Jason asked, puzzled.
"Look!" Margaret pointed to the window.
Jason took one look, and growled. His beast was close to surfacing. Slowly, I got up and looked out the window. A gasp slipped passed my lips. There was an army.
Tons of men surrounded our castle with torches.
Torches.
Some were helping hold a large block of wood that they repeatedly kept hitting the door with. They were trying to break in.
Was this what Will meant? Was this his fight?
"Ariel! I want you to stay here with Margaret!" Jason demanded. I looked at him incredulously.
"You're a fool if you think I'm going to stand here and let you fight them. We can handle this together." I assured him.
He shook his head.
"You're pregnant with my child, and you've never fought a day in your life. I won't let you start now." He argued as he started towards the door.
"Jason, stop!" I yelled. He turned and stared at me.
"You said you wouldn't fight. Jason they'll send more and more men. The fight won't end if you do this!" I reasoned. Jason didn't seem to care.
"The war will never be over. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to let them think they can do this. I won't let them get away with this." He assured Margaret and I.
I felt the tears in my eyes. He wouldn't stop.
"Margaret, take her upstairs." He ordered before turning to the doors. I hadn't time to argue as Margaret pulled me to our room. We were walking down the hallway when I heard it.
The loudest growl I've ever heard. It was so angry and intimidating that it almost scared me. But I knew better. Pulling away from Margaret, I ran towards the growl.
He needed help, I knew it.
I ran outside and saw them, all of them. Will and Monty were egging these people on as they tried to set fire to the beast. Jason dodged every poor attempt.
What scared me most, was the pure hatred in these people's eyes. They thought that Jason was the monster.
He wasn't even close.