To Love A Villain

Chapter 231: Till Death Do Us Part

>>Pen (15 Years Old)

"Take an oath with me, Val!" I was desperate. I didn’t want him snatched by some other girl

"An oath?" He looked at me with a surprised look while we both were walking back to the house with the milk bottles we got from Mr Leiki, who owns a farm.

"You know, the ones they do at weddings." I said

"Hmm?"

"We can’t get married for almost a year, but we can make a promise amongst ourselves, right?" We were almost home when I blurted it out.

The truth is I just can’t stay away from him! I want him so bad!

>>Val

I’m really glad Pen suggested that. Once we both confessed our feelings for each other, I’ve been wanting to do something like this.

Pen’s so pretty, I’m always afraid someone better than me would come along and take her

"Okay," I nodded, "Let’s do this," We reached the porch of our house

Pen’s eyes shone, "Great!" She skipped inside in excitement, "I got something for this! Let me just grab that." She handed me the milk bottles she was holding and ran inside while I took the bottles to the kitchen.

***

It was just the two of us, standing on the hill we’d always called ours, surrounded by the whispering grass and the rustling trees. The sky stretched endlessly above, dotted with clouds so close it felt like we could reach up and grab one, but I wasn’t looking at the sky.

I was looking at Pen.

She stood there, her bare feet pressed into the earth.

She had a veil—white, made of some soft, thin fabric that caught in the breeze. It fluttered around her like something out of a story. I don’t even know where she got it. It wasn’t like this was an actual wedding.

Just a promise.

A vow that we’d be married one day, when we were sixteen. But still, somehow, she had got her hands on one and she was excited to wear it.

"Where did you...?" I started to ask, but my voice trailed off. I couldn’t finish the question because I was too busy being amazed by the way she looked, like something out of a dream. The veil framed her face, and though I could still see her eyes through it, it made her seem even more ethereal,

Pen laughed softly, "Does it matter where I got it?" She asked, her voice teasing but soft, like she was letting me in on a secret only she knew. "I stole it."

’Pen!!"

She laughed, "I’m joking!"

"Ah!"

"I found it in Mom’s closet when I was cleaning it with her."

"Oh," I took a sigh of relief. Sometimes she scares the living devil out of me.

She spread her arms around as the wind blew past us.

I nodded, swallowing hard, feeling a lump form in my throat. I’d never been nervous around Pen before—not like this.

Then, with a deep breath, Pen stepped closer, holding out her hands.

"Val," She began, her voice trembling just slightly, "I promise you that when we’re sixteen, we’ll stand here again. I’ll wear this veil again, and it’ll be real. You and me. Forever."

I felt my heart thudding in my chest, the words getting caught in my throat. I had thought about this so many times, imagined what I would say, but now that the moment was here, it all felt too big for words. But I had to say something. I took her hands, feeling the warmth of her skin, grounding me.

"I promise too, Pen," I said, my voice shaking more than I wanted it to. "When we’re sixteen, I’ll stand here with you, and it won’t just be a promise anymore. It’ll be real. You and me. Forever."

Her smile was wide,

"We’ll be together," I said, "Till Death Do Us Part."

She nodded, "We’ll be together," She repeated the words, "Till Death Do Us Part."

We stood there for a moment, neither of us saying anything, just letting the wind move around us. Pen smiled, and for a moment, the veil lifted slightly, revealing her full face, her eyes shining with something I couldn’t name. Happiness, maybe. Or something bigger. Something that filled the space between us with warmth

We stood there, hands clasped, as the wind carried our vows away,

There were no witnesses, no family or friends, just the two of us, standing on the hill we had always known was ours.

Forever

I repeated it in my heart

Until Death Do Us Part

***

>>Pen

As we walked back down the hill, I couldn’t stop smiling. My veil fluttered behind me in the breeze, and Val’s arm was warm under mine as I clung to him, like he was already mine.

It wasn’t a real wedding, not yet, but it felt real enough in my heart. I could feel his heartbeat against my side, steady and strong. We laughed about silly things—about the sheep that had run off the path earlier, about how ridiculous I probably looked with a veil blowing in my face—but I didn’t care.

Everything felt perfect.

The sun was setting behind us, casting the world in a golden glow, making everything feel warm and soft. It made the fields look like they were on fire, but in a good way, like the kind of fire that makes you feel safe. I felt like nothing could go wrong. Not today. Not when Val had promised me forever.

As we got closer to the house, though, something felt different. The laughter between us faded. My steps slowed, and I could feel Val tense under my arm. I didn’t know why at first. There was something strange in the air, a kind of heaviness that hadn’t been there before.

Then I saw them.

My parents stood outside the house, my father’s hand clenched tightly around a piece of paper, my mother standing beside him, her face pale.

Too pale.

They both looked like they had just seen a ghost but Mom was especially horrified.

Behind them stood a man. A stranger, dressed in dark traveling clothes, his horse tethered to the fence nearby. He was tall, with a serious face, the kind you didn’t see often in our village. He didn’t belong here, not in our quiet little countryside

"Pen..." Val’s voice was low, uncertain. His arm tightened around me, and I could feel the change in him, the way he stood a little straighter, his body tense, "It looks like a man from the capital."

My steps slowed as we approached, "The Capital? Why would he be here?"

My father’s eyes locked on mine, and for the first time in my life, I saw fear there. His face was drawn, and the hand holding the letter shook, just slightly, but enough for me to notice. My mother’s lips pressed together, like she was trying to keep herself from saying something she didn’t want to say.

Then they saw Val.

And I swear, the color drained even more from their faces.

We stopped in our tracks, Val and I, standing side by side just a few feet away from them, the evening breeze still tugging at my veil.

The man from the capital stepped forward, his boots heavy on the dirt road. His eyes flickered between my parents and me, and when he spoke, his voice was deep, "Are you Valenor, son of Adrian?"

Val stiffened, but answered, "Yes,"

"You have been summoned to the capital." He said, "Under the order of the king, I’ll be taking you back with me."

Val and I both froze. I shot my head at my parents but they looked away

"W-why!?" I looked back at the messenger

"Valenor has been chosen as the hero to fight the upcoming crisis." He answered, "He’ll be training at the palace starting tomorrow."

I looked at Val, He was standing still, his eyes on the man with lips slightly parted in awe.

I could tell he was confused.

"Can," His eyes wandered low for a moment before going back up to the man, "I not go?"

The man shook his head, "You don’t have an option. The witch of the Palace has seen and claimed you as the hero. You will have to go no matter what."

It was like the ground got snatched away from beneath us.

A blow directly from the sky.

Val and I slowly turned our faces towards each other and all we found in the other’s eyes were pure despair.