A Temporarily Happy Existence
About two months had passed and Pierce had come to see Rosemary every night since they officially met. He would stay with her all night. And to her surprise, she never had one night of pain while he stayed with her. Normally, she would be in pain at least two or three times a week. Sometimes even four times. She thought it was due to the fact that she had finally found happiness. It was as if they were meant to be together. They were like any normal couple. They’d cook and eat together, read together, make love then shower together… It was perfect… well, except for the fact that Rosemary still couldn’t leave the cottage. They tried. A few times in fact. He carried her, hid her under a cloak, walked beside her holding her hand… nothing worked. But together, in their hideaway cottage, they were perfect. She thought that, based on all the books she had read, that this horrid spell should have been broken. But it wasn’t. And knowing that she did this to herself made it even worse. She wondered if she should tell Pierce about that part.
“I like this story.”
“Which one, Rose?”
“This one.” She brought him the tale of ‘The Big Bad Wolf’ and sat down on the couch beside him. “It’s one of my favorites.” She took a sip of red wine then cuddled up next to him.
“Is it? How so?” Skeptical, he took it from her and skimmed through the pages. He realized it wasn’t the original version of the fairy tale that he learned to hate. Such a horrible depiction of a wolf. “This one is different.” He said, shocked.
“It is. The werewolf was misunderstood. I mean, okay sure, he ate a couple of people, but they were bad people. And the girl, she was the worst one of them all.”
“And you like this version of the story?”
She nodded. “Yes. If you don’t mind, I think we should read this one next.”
He sat up with the book in his hand, but kept a grip on her then nodded. “Okay. We’ll read this one when I come back tomorrow night. But I do need to leave soon.”
She sighed. “I know. But what if you just left early in the morning? She wrapped her arms around his waist tighter.
“Baby, I told you. I’m leaving early in the morning so that I can get back early enough to be with you tomorrow. Otherwise, I’ll have to spend the night far away and not with you.” He gently cupped her face in his large hands. “All I will be thinking about is you and counting the hours until I can get back to you.”
She smiled, closed her eyes and nodded.
“I need to get going.”
“You sure you’ll be alright walking alone at night?”
“I’ll be fine baby. Don’t worry about me.”
They kissed goodbye and he left her on the porch watching him as he walked down the path and out the gate. They both wished that she could go with him. Once he was no longer in her sight, he changed into Lux and off he ran at full speed to get back to the pack house.
“I’m going to tell her tomorrow night, and I will make her mine.” Pierce said to Lux. He let out a howl of satisfaction as he ran through the trees.
Rosemary heard the howl and was afraid that she would never see Pierce again.
The next morning, Rosemary woke up alone. She didn’t like the feeling and missed him being in her bed. And then she remembered the horrible howl she heard. It was determined and menacing. She hoped that he made it home safely but had an unbearable feeling that he might not have. She believed that whatever made her decide to be in this hell would also keep her from being truly happy. And Pierce made her happy.
She got up and did her morning routine, trying not to think about it and was positive she would see him that evening. She picked at her books, showered, put on her robe… then waited for the boy. Impatiently she walked out onto the porch. And looked down the dirt road… the trees didn’t look familiar. Then, as the boy walked up to the gate, she noticed that none of the trees were where they were yesterday. The cottage had moved.
“No!” She exclaimed to the boy. “No! This can’t happen now. No!” Fear of never seeing Pierce again gripped her.
He calmly handed her the basket and waited for the empty one.
“Please. Please tell that woman to put me back where I was. Please!” Her voice trembled as she spoke. “Tell her I want to know now. I’m done with this horrible game, this hell that I’ve created.” Tears ran down her cheeks. “What did I do? How do I fix this? Please! I want him back. I need him. He won’t be able to find me if I’m here. I need to know if he's alright.” She wept bitterly and was truly mad at herself for what was happening. How could she put herself, and Pierce through such horrible torture? He had nightmares and she was alone. Why would she choose this over being in his arms every night of her life?
“Please tell her. Please.” She pleaded with the boy. Once the empty basket was in his reach, he calmly took it and walked down the porch stairs, down the path and out the gate.
Rosemary ran after him, and, forgetting herself for a moment, ran to the gate and as she got to the opening a strong force knocked her backwards a good two yards. She landed hard on her bottom and stayed there… weeping. She knew there was nothing she could do. She was and felt completely helpless. She hoped and prayed that the boy could talk and would tell the woman to end this spell.
She was unaware that Pierce had found her the previous time her cottage moved or of how he did it.