Chapter 45: Eret's Promise

Takes place after the miscarriage, before the pregnancy with Ruby.

It's late on Berk.

"Eret!" I hear my wife calling me from upstairs while I'm preparing dinner.

I rush upstairs to find her sitting up in bed, wide-eyed and teary-eyed.

"What is it, my love? What's wrong?" I hastily make my way over to her and sit on the edge of the bed.

"He was hurting me…again and again…and he was branding you again and again. I was powerless to stop him. Eret…the pain…it's started up again. It hasn't been like this since before the miscarriage…before that pregnancy…"

"Oh, my love."

She starts having an anxiety attack, and starts hyperventilating.

"Hey. Hey, hey, hey. Look at me, baby. Look at me." Becky brings up her eyes to meet mine.

"I swear to you, my love, that one day you won't feel any more pain."

"How…can you be…so sure?"

"Because I've got faith that Eir will heal you. Can I touch you?" My wife nods, and I encase her hands in my own.

"Becky, my darling, you're the strongest woman, no, person, I know. You've been through so much, and yet, you're still here. If that doesn't show true strength, then I don't know what does. I am so proud to call myself your husband, and I truly, dearly hope that you're proud to call yourself my wife. Because I'm sure as Hel proud to call you my wife. No one and nothing will ever separate us again. No matter what occurs, I will be by your side. No matter where life takes us, I will always love you. No matter what we go through or who stands in our way, I will always always be there for you. If anyone can get through chronic pain, it's you. If anyone can defy a madman and live to tell the tale, well, it's not just you that can do that. But my point is, I am so proud of how far you've come over the past three years. I wouldn't have changed without you."

"But Stormfly saved your life that day. I didn't. I was just a helpless bystander."

"I know Stormfly saved my life that day, and that's the day I changed sides. But when I met you? You were the beginning of my change, Stormfly just solidified it, but you, you, my love, were and are the person who has truly changed my life for the better. I wouldn't be the man I am today without you. I wouldn't be loved by anyone without you. I'd probably still be hated and under you-know-who's command if it weren't for you. I know, I know, I'm making this all about me, and I shouldn't be, but I'm just trying to tell you all of the ways you've helped me throughout the three years we've known each other. I…I wanted to thank you for saving my life, and I want to return the favor."

"How?"

"By saving yours. By being by your side through good times and in bad, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health. By being your faithful companion throughout all of our adventures together, as husband and wife. By being there for you when you need me. By being the best person I can be for you. And for myself. You, my Becky, have changed my life for the better, and I will forever be grateful to you…and for you. You're a gift from the gods, my darling, and I couldn't have asked for a better life partner and wife. You're my everything, and that's one thing, in this everchanging world, that will never change."

"Thank you, Eret. I know that if you're by my side, we can get through anything."

"Exactly. I love you so so much, my love. I fall in love with you again and again, each and every morning and night, and every single second of every single day. I have never stopped falling in love with you, and I hope you feel the same way about me that I do about you."

"You really mean it?"

"I do."

"And I do, too. You're my person, Eret, and I'm so lucky to have you in my life."

"If you feel lucky, then I feel luckier. Luckier that I get to share my life with the woman I love. Luckier that I get to spend each and every day with you. And luckier that I get to be with you, no matter what we go through."

"I know, with you by my side, I can get through the smallest things, and the biggest things. And everything in between."

"That, my darling, is how I feel about you."