"Being a monster meant insanity.
It was being no different from a beast.
An animal without a soul, a beast without a heart.
But one ought to wonder...
Who is really the monster...truly.
What is a monster in full honesty.
Who is the true monster?"

Rey's POV

Ben's heavy body collapsed to the cold snowy ground as I was carried with him.

I tried my best to support his weight on me as I dragged him for what felt like forever. Probably even days it's been...

With how thick the fog was I couldn't even tell what day it was anymore.

If it was dusk or dawn...or even the middle of the day.

Everything was so blurry and draining...all I wanted to do was close my eyes and sleep.

Sleep and never wake up.

But something compelled me to keep going until I reached a small cabin half buried in the snow.

I settled Ben down for a few minutes as I dug put a spot deep enough for me to yank the wooden door open.

In the process of almost yanking the door off its hinges from its frailty, I took Ben inside with a bit of a drag.

I then started a small fire to keep both of us warm as I slumped beside him.

I was beat.

Tired.

Hungry.

But most of all worried for him.

After all this time he still hasn't woken up.

As I smoothly my hand over my color bone I noticed my necklace was falling loose so I untied it from myself and retied it around Ben.

It seemed to glow as if to try and heal him like it did for me.

The cut from my face in which was inflicted by my grandfather had disappeared along with other minor injuries I had.

Finding a piece of thinner and longer wood, I poked at the fire restlessly as I tried not to focus on the gravity of my situation with Ben.

The fact that we were practically in the middle of nowhere in the midst of a snowstorm while being in a broken and abandoned cabin...

Ben's declining health....

I wanted to give up... it would have been so much easier that way.

But because I loved him I didn't want to give up, not when there was still a living chance of escaping all this together.

And especially after everything we had gone through since the beginning of our relationship, I'd lose too much if I were to just give way now.

"Ben, if you can hear me...I'll be back. I'm just going to see if I can try to catch something...anything."

After a two weeks of scrounging around for food, Ben finally awoke with less weight in his body than before.

"Easy, easy." I spoke with almost a whisper to my voice as he gave me a drained and weary look.

"You should've left me. After everything, after even knowing who you were...I shouldn't be able to be alive Rey."

"Don't say that! I don't care about any of what you've done wrong! You're human just as much as me, so there's no need to dwell on those things now. It's in the past so leave it there." I hugged him with a bit of a grip as if I was afraid to lose him from my arms.

"What matters is that you're alive. You're alive and that's all that matters to me Ben. After all we've been through we can't give up on each other now. So please, don't say u should've left you to die. Especially not after the fact that it took all my strength to drag your heavy butt here."

At that he chuckled while caressing the side of my face with his cold hand.

"You're warm and sweet." He spoke weakly as I smiled with tears brimming my eyes.

"I know."

"What a fox you are." His light wittiness made me smile as I couldn't help but part my lips to his.

Our kiss was warm and soft.

Ben's arms came out from the blankets I scrounged around for him, causing those same blankets to fall to his lap.

I lifted them and climbed in his arms to warm him up.

My face buried in his neck with his faint breath on my ear.

"Rey...you are far too kind sometimes...so much so that you always surpass my expectations of you."

"Expectations? What kind?"

When he didn't answer I looked up at him.

His dark eyes averted with a cherry-like tint appearing on his face as if he was embarrassed to say a word more about it.

"What expectations have I exceeded?" I poked the side of his face as to tease him.

"Your trust...the way you're loyal even more than I'd ever be. The way you are, who you are is what always astounds me."

His breath warm against my neck as his lips gently pressed against it.

"Everything about you is beautiful and astounding. Always impressing me without even knowing."

Just when the air between us was getting hot his head collapsed on my shoulder.

"Ben?"

I while him gently to wake him as he gave a lazy smile toward me.

"I'll be okay, just need rest."

"Before you do you need to eat and drink something. After all, I want you alive not dead."

"Yes my lady~"

———

After some time, a week then goes by within a blink of an eye.

Slowly Ben got better and as soon as he was able to stand and gain strength back we headed out of that cabin, traveling until we found an inn with warmer food to feed us and warmer clothes to cloth us better for the snowy weather.

Surprisingly enough no one took the time to identify either of us, which caused us to have a nice break from my grandfather and his foot soldiers.

Still we kept up our guard and caution so we stayed no longer than two nights and a day.

But even though we were as careful as possible, my grandfather still was on our tail like white on rice.

And still yet as my grandfather chases after me as well as Ben...no matter what I've heard and witnessed myself of him...for what he's done...I couldn't ever see him as the monster that even he painted for himself.

To me he was him alone...Ben.

The man I fell in love with and would even die for.