To Tell Her...Or Not to Tell Her

"To Tell Her...Or Not to Tell Her" is a series of oneshots written on June 22, 2015. 
== Summary ==
== Full Text ==
=== Part 1 ===
Blood…on his sword…on his hands…
He looked down…the body…the man he had just murdered…in battle
A man with brown hair…brown eyes…a beard…blood on his shirt…where his heart is…
He just killed him…
Tears ran down his face…He didn’t mean to…He didn’t mean to…He didn’t
Brandt…
He didn’t mean to…
Brandt…wake up…
He didn’t…mean to…
BRANDT!
Brandt Felman jolted awake and catapulted into a sitting position breathing heavily. Sweat poured down his face…mixing with the tears. 
“Brandt?” a voice suddenly said. 
He gasped and turned to the source of the female voice, and suddenly hazel eyes met brown eyes. A young woman staring at him with concern… She was kneeling down next to him. It was…
“Grey…” he said in a whisper. 
“What happened?” she asked. “Are you okay? You were crying and tossing and turning in your sleep when I came down here.”
Brandt stared at his fiancée in complete confusion. Crying in his sleep? He was sleeping? He then looked around and noticed that he was on Grey’s uncle’s ship. He wasn’t on that battlefield. He was with his master, and they had just arrived to the home of Chief Grey, his beloved future wife. “Uhh…y-yeah, yeah,” he suddenly said. “I’m okay. Just had a restless night…that’s all.”
“Are you sure?” Grey persisted. “You know you can tell me anything right?”
“Don’t worry, my dear Chief,” Brandt said before giving Grey a peck on the cheek. “I’m fine. Just a stupid bad dream. That’s all.”
The Chief wasn’t sure how to respond to this. She wanted to believe her fiancé’s reassurances, but she could tell that there was something lying deep beneath the surface. She could tell from the way he thrashed in his sleep and talked in his sleep. This was something that bugged him…haunted him, but what could it be? For now, though she decided to ignore it for now. He would tell her when he was ready.
“Okay,” she nodded before kissing him on the lips. “Get dressed and meet me on deck. Mom wants to get more preparations for the wedding out of the way, and then…” she caressed his cheek, “we’ll have the rest of the day to ourselves.”
Brandt smiled. “Sounds great,” he said.
“Good,” she said. She gave him one last kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you outside.” She then stood up and was about to leave. 
“Grey, wait,” Brandt suddenly said stopping her from walking any further. 
“Yeah?”
“I love you…very much.”
“I love you very much, too.”
She then walked out leaving Brandt alone in his room on the ship. As soon as she was gone, he ran his hand through his wet hair. That was the fifth time he had that nightmare… Ever since he saw that sketch Grey drew last time he visited, he had been haunted by that day…when the Barbaric Burglars attacked Grey’s tribe…when he killed someone for the first time. As if he wasn’t ashamed enough already of what he had done…that man…turned out to be someone Grey held very close to her heart… How could he ever get past the fact that he killed…his fiancée’s father…?
=== Part 2 ===
After Grey and Brandt spent a good part of the day with Grey’s mother, Ingrid, planning for the wedding, the lovely couple managed to finally break away from the craziness and went for a walk in the forest. Grey once again left Greg and Warren in charge of the village for a while. The young Chief wanted to spend as much time as she could with her beloved fiancé in the number of days they had left before the wedding.
After all, the bride and groom couldn’t see each other on the day of before the ceremony. These were their last few days together as an engaged couple, and Grey couldn’t be more excited. After all these years of waiting and wondering if there was someone out there for you, she finally finds someone, who loves and cares about her in a romantic light. It didn’t matter to him that she was the Chief or the Lady of the United Revolutionaries. He loved her for her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her just she did with him. 
Chief Grey was in such bliss that she laid her head on his broad shoulder smiling. “I don’t think words can even begin to describe how happy I am right now,” she said. “Just think, Brandt, in two days, we will be husband and wife.”
Brandt chuckled and kissed the top of Grey’s head before resting his cheek against it. It was one of the few times that he was thankful that Grey was shorter than him. She couldn’t see the smile fade into a frown. He was excited to become the husband of the Chief, but…how could he possibly enter into this marriage knowing that he killed his future wife’s father?
Should he even tell her? Or…never tell her and keep this from her forever? So far, he was loving the latter a lot better, but the other part of him…the part of him that listened to his conscience knew it was better to tell her. It would be good for both of them. Grey had always wanted to know who killed her father, and he could get all this off his chest. That, but there’s also the fact that he could risk Grey leaving him. He didn’t even want to think about losing the love of his life forever over a mistake he made in the past. Unfortunately, he let out a sigh alerting Grey. 
She looked up at Brandt. “Are you okay?” she asked worriedly.
“Y-Yeah…yeah, I’m fine,” Brandt said trying to rid the tears in his eyes. 
“Hey,” Grey said stopping them from walking any further. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s…it’s just that…” Brandt tried to say. This was his chance…he could finally tell her and get all this off his chest. He took a deep breath. “Grey…there’s something I need to tell you.”
“What is it?” she asked with concern. 
“Well…see…I have this friend back home, and…he’s actually getting married too!” he blurted out as he mentally kicked himself for chickening out. 
“Oh?”
“Yeah, and he asked me for some advice on something. So I’m trying to figure out what to tell him.”
“Well, what’s he asking about?”
“He told me that he had done something….pretty horrible in the past, and…recently he discovered that this something…has really had a bad impact on his betrothed. So…he’s wondering what he should do…tell her the truth and risk ruining the relationship…or not tell her and live with the guilt for the rest of his life.”
Grey grimaced. “Oooh, tough one. Well, it might be horrible…whatever he did, but I…think he should tell her what he did.”
“You think so?” This wasn’t the answer he was hoping for. 
“Well, yeah, if he doesn’t tell her, it’s going to eat him alive for the rest of his life, and it will be worse if she finds out that he knew for a while and didn’t say anything.”
“Yeah, true, but…what if…what if she gets angry with him…and ends the relationship?”
“Brandt, it might end the relationship, but your friend needs to be honest with her, especially if they’re about to get married. What if she found out years later that she was lied to by the man she loves? It would destroy her trust and make things worse.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“To be honest,” she reached forward and hugged him, “I don’t think she would end the relationship.”
“Really? Why’s that?”
“Because she probably loves him too much to lose him. Besides, what could he have possibly done to make her want to?”
Brandt sighed as he hugged Grey in return. “I don’t know. He didn’t tell me.”
=== Part 3 ===
After their walk in the forest, Grey had to get back to her chiefing duties in the villages while Grey’s uncle Einar needed Brandt to come back to the ship to help him with inventory. The whole time the future newly-weds were apart, all they could think about was each other. Grey just couldn’t shake the feeling that Brandt was hiding something from her; surely, this problem with his friend wouldn’t be enough to almost bring him to tears. Her heart broke thinking how upset he probably was, and he wouldn’t tell what it really was. So, she promised herself that she would do whatever it took to get him to tell her.
Brandt of course only could think about what the love of his life was going to think once he told her the truth. He thought about what Grey said about honesty and trust in a relationship, and he agreed. He and Grey told each other everything, and for him to enter into this marriage lying to his fiancee, there would definitely be some consequences. Besides, Grey deserved to know the truth about her father’s killer. He knew that Grey had been itching to know who was responsible. Maybe this could finally give her some closure. It was official. He was going to tell her the truth. 
When the day finally came to end, Brandt asked Grey to meet him in the house that he had built for them once they got married. Once they ate and cleaned up, Brandt decided that there was no more time to waste. He needed to take the opportunity.
“Grey…” he began, “there’s something I have to tell you…before we get married in two days.”
Grey stared at Brandt as her heart began to pound. “Okay…” she began, “w-what is it? Is everything alright, sweetheart?”
“It’s just…” he began scratching the back of his neck and gripping the table they sat at, “I thought about what you said earlier about trust and honesty, and you’re right. It would be wrong to enter into this marriage knowing that I’m keeping something from you…something that you deserve to know.”
Grey widened her brown eyes. “Brandt…you’re scaring me…” she said. “What’s going on?”
Brandt took a deep breath before beginning and took the Chief’s hands into his. “Grey, I only told you so much about my past when we first met…mostly because I was trying to run away from it, and it wasn’t until recently that I realized that my past affected someone I love more than anything. You see, I…I grew up in a village in the Wild East, and that village belonged to a tribe known as…the Barbaric Burglars.”
Now this was something Grey wasn’t expecting to hear. Her own fiancé…Brandt Felman was a part of the Barbaric Burglar tribe…actually grew up in that horrible tribe…the very tribe who attacked her tribe…and killed her father. 
“W-What?” she asked in shock. “Y-You were a part of that tribe?”
Brandt nodded. “Yeah…”
“Okay…well,” Grey tried to say processing everything he was telling her, “other than you were a part of the very tribe that attacked mine, I don’t see how…”
“Just…just listen. You see, I was trained to become a warrior for that village. And one day, I was finally allowed to go on a conquest mission, and the island we targeted was…” he took a deep breath, “Haligan Island.”
“You were…you were in that army…?”
Brandt nodded. “I didn’t see you that day because I was in the back, but I remember hearing your voice telling the men to leave. Next thing I knew, we charged. Most of it was…just a blur…I ducked and dodged weapons left and right. The only thing I remember…was this man coming straight toward me, and…I had my sword out…ready to fight. It happened too fast, but…”
“But…what?” Grey felt her heart pound in her chest. 
“But…next thing I knew, the man screamed and fell down to the ground…dead. It was a Haligan warrior…he was…a man with brown hair, brown eyes, and a beard…”
Grey’s eyes widened. Sure the description of the man was pretty vague, but there was a reason Brandt would give her that description. There was only one important person in her life, who looked like that, which only meant one thing.
“No…” she said. 
“Grey, that man…was your father…” he finally said. 
“No…” she stood up and slowly backed away, “no…y-you’re lying… You’re just pulling my leg… Please tell me you’re just pulling my leg! This isn’t funny, Brandt!”
“I’m not, Grey,” Brandt said slowly standing up and holding his hand up to calm his fiancee. “I’m…telling you the truth. I…I was the one who killed your father that day.”
“No…no…that’s…that’s not true…That’s not true!” Tears came to her eyes. She felt all the old wounds reopen…wounds that she thought were finally beginning to heal. “It couldn’t have been you!”
“Grey, it was…it was me,” he was trying to prevent the tears from his eyes as he walked closer and closer to Grey with his arms opened to her. “I’m…so sorry… I know this is a shock, but–”
“DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!” Grey screamed at the top of her lungs pushing him away. 
“But, Grey…”
“NO! Do you have ANY idea what you put me through that day?! What you put my mother through?!”
The apprentice didn’t yell back at the Chief. He knew that this was the response he was going to get from her, and it was completely justified. After all, she was now realizing that she was face-to-face with her father’s killer. “No,” he simply said, “but I can only imagine the pain you felt. I felt…and still feel horrible for what I did.”
“Well, congratulations, I suppose that’s going to bring my father back?”
“I didn’t say that it would, but, Grey, please–”
“And let me guess! Now you’re going to tell me that our whole relationship is a lie! That you pretended to love me to get closer to my tribe…to me, the Chief!”
Brandt let his jaw drop as he stared at the Chief in shock. This was something he didn’t really see coming. He could see Grey being angry with him, but…for her to suddenly doubt that he actually loved her… Then again, he mentally kicked himself. Her father had been dead for two years, and then a member of the enemy tribe suddenly came to her island and began to court with her. He could see why she would doubt him now. For all she knew, he could’ve been pretending to take over Haligan Island for the Barbaric Burglars, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to prove her wrong.
“No! No, that’s true!” He stepped forward and took her hands in his. He had to make her see. “I love you! That’s the truth! I love you, Grey, with all my heart! That’s why I told you this!”
Grey could only stare at the man in front of her as tears flowed down her cheeks. He might have been her fiancé…her lover, but right now, all she could see was the man who took her father’s life…took him away from her. All this time, he had been the one responsible, and not once had she noticed. How could she possibly marry her father’s murderer?
“After what you just told me, Brandt,” she began as she took her hands away and backed away slowly, “I’m not sure if I can believe that.”
“Grey…”
“Just leave me alone!” With that, she ran for the door and opened it.
“Grey, wait!” It was too late. The door slammed shut, and Brandt was left all alone in the house. Tears fell from his eyes as he slowly fell to the ground on his knees praying that this was all a bad dream. “Please, don’t leave me…”
=== Part 4 ===
Grey wasn’t sure where she was going or where her feet were taking her. All she knew was that she needed to be as far away from…him…as possible. The thought of being anywhere near Brandt…even thinking his name made her sick to her stomach. She couldn’t believe it. All this time…for the past two years they had been together, she had not once made any kind of connection that she had been dating the man, who killed her father. Not only that, but she was only two days away from marrying him…the man who killed her father.
She was probably barely a foot away from her and Brandt’s house when she suddenly found herself falling to her knees sobbing. Thankfully, there weren’t many villagers around, so no one saw their Chief sobbing in front of her fiancé’s house…except for a certain Night Fury who watched her rider from the roof. The dragon quickly ran over to Grey and nuzzled her wet cheek getting the young Chief’s attention. 
Grey gasped and jolted at attention when Shadow touched her half-expecting it to be the man she was just arguing with, but when she saw it was her best friend and sister, Shadow, she breathed a small sigh of relief and quickly wrapped her arms around the dragon’s neck and continued to sob. 
“Aw, Shadow, I need to get away from here,” she said hugging her even tightly. She quickly stood up and jumped on Shadow’s back. “Let’s go home. Hopefully, Mom’s still there.” 
Without any hesitation whatsoever, Shadow took off running through the village with Grey on her back toward the Bergman home. Grey kept looking over her shoulder to see if Brandt was following them, and thankfully, he wasn’t. She couldn’t stand to look at him right now. She needed time to think…time to figure out her next move, and she needed her mother. Soon enough, Grey and Shadow reached the Bergman household, and Grey ran to the front door with Shadow in tow and threw open the door causing Ingrid to jump in fright at the sudden entrance. 
“Oh, Grey, darling, you scared me,” she said. 
“I’m sorry,” Grey replied. “I…”
Ingrid immediately felt her heart pound as she looked at her daughter’s face. Her face was race and soaked in tears… She had been crying, but what could possibly have upset so much two days before her wedding? “Honey, what’s wrong?” she said. “I thought you were with Brandt for dinner tonight.”
Grey stared at her mother as more tears fell. “Mommy…” she said. Then without any warning, she ran over to Ingrid and gathered her into her arms hugging her tightly. 
“Grey, what is it?” the mother of the Chief asked completely shocked. “What’s wrong?”
Grey tried to answer as she hugged her mother tightly and continued to sob. Ingrid could only look over Grey’s shoulder at Shadow hoping that the Night Fury could somehow give some answers, but all Shadow was stare at the mother and daughter sadly wondering herself what made her sister so upset.
“Grey Hertha Bergman, you’re scaring me,” Ingrid said pulling her daughter away so that they were looking at each other. “Why are you so upset?”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t mean to scare you. It’s just…” She sighed. She had to tell her mother. Just like when her father…Ingrid’s husband died that day, she needed to know the truth.
=== Part 5 ===
Grey finally finished telling her mother about what had transpired between her and Brandt not too long ago and watched her mother. Ingrid Anderson-Bergman didn’t say or do anything the whole time Grey was speaking about the conversation. She sat next to her daughter by the fire and held her tightly, but as her daughter cried, she didn’t. It was not that she didn’t love her late husband. She was shocked. All this time, Sven’s murderer had been living right under their noses for two years. Sure, he never physically did anything to hurt Grey or the village, but still, what if he had been pretending to love Grey and had been planning to hurt her…the Chief of the village?
“You’re not saying anything,” Grey finally pointed out looking up at her mother as the tears rolled down her cheeks. 
Ingrid shook her head. “I’m…I’m sorry, dear,” she finally said. “I-I just…can’t wrap my mind around this. All this time…all this time…it was the man you’re about to marry who killed your father that day, and he just confessed.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I know. I can’t quite wrap my mind around it either, but he assured me he wasn’t kidding,” she said. “Mom, I…I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, Grey, you may be a bride-to-be, who had fallen deeply in love with the enemy of Haligan Island,” Ingrid said finally looking at her daughter, “but you are also the Chief. Anyone in your position could easily sentence him to death, throw him in jail, or even banish him.”
The Chief felt her heart pound as her mother spoke. Ingrid was right. She did have the power to sentence anyone to death or arrest them or even banish them, and that included her fiancé, Brandt Felman. He had committed a crime and murdered a member of her tribe…her own father. Not to mention that he also confessed, so there was no need to search for evidence. For the past few years, she had always wanted to find out who killed Sven Bergman, but she was never successful in her search. Now, the search was over. The killer came forward, and it was someone she loved more than anything. What could she do?
Despite her anger at the man, Grey felt her stomach churn at the thought of breaking off the engagement and punishing Brandt. Could she really just end what they had for something that happened before they even met? Did the fact that they hadn’t met at the time of that battle justify what he had done? No, of course not! Still…was it worth it to suddenly turn around and punish him a few years after the crime was committed…after they had come to love one another? At least after she had come to love him… He tried to assure her that he really did love her…that this wasn’t some conspiracy, but still…how could she just suddenly believe that? She sighed. 
“I know I can,” she said, “but at the same time, I feel like I can’t.”
“Maybe you just don’t want to,” Ingrid said rubbing Grey’s back. 
“Mom, I hate what he did,” she said leaning on her mother’s shoulder allowing more tears to flow, “but I can’t…I can’t hate him. What we’ve had…our love…it-it was the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and the thought of destroying that makes me feel sick. I don’t want to lose him.”
Ingrid used her mother’s intuition to sense that Grey wasn’t finished yet, so she held her one and only daughter tightly. “But…?” she said urging the Chief to continue.
“But…if I do just forgive him and let the whole thing slide…what would Dad think?” she asked. “I’ll be practically stomping on his grave…for a man who killed him. I already have been for two years and didn’t realize.”
Ingrid sighed as she realized the struggle the Chief was going through. Of course, Grey didn’t want to give up the first man she had ever fallen in love with. Brandt had given her something very special. She saw it. It was how she felt about Sven when they fell in love. At the same time, she also felt that loving Brandt and marrying him would be destroying her father’s memory.
Her daughter was too good of a soul to not want to disappoint or hurt the two very important men in her life or anyone close to her for that matter. To see her go through this hardship was enough to break Ingrid’s heart. She wanted nothing more than to turn back time so that Grey never found this out…that Brandt never told her two days before their wedding, but she couldn’t. She was only a healer…not a mage.  
“Honey, you can’t worry about what’s going to make your father happy,” she said angling herself so that she was looking right at Grey. “He’s not the one about to get married. You are, and I know for a fact that he wouldn’t want you to give up what makes you happy on his account. He would only want what’s best for you.” 
“I guess, but still even if I do forgive him, how do I know that I won’t put the tribe in danger? What if this all one charade or something?”
Ingrid sighed. “Grey, keep one thing in mind. This man has been courting with you for two years, and just when he’s about to marry you, he tells you the truth. Why would he do that if this was all a charade to take Haligan Island?”
“I-I know, but…”
“Listen to me. You have been so forgiving of people in the past, especially in that Rebellion. You have forgiven a demon, who had been torturing innocent people in that Dungeon and have formed a friendship with her. You have forgiven your King for pointing a sword at someone you see as a little brother and signed your soul over to Hel without your consent and have formed a friendship with him. You even forgave someone who tried to take your own life and managed to become friends with him. Let me ask you this. Have any of those three people let you down after you gave them forgiveness?”
Grey sighed. “No, they haven’t.” She then looked at her mother giving her a small smile. “I’ll go talk to Brandt.”
=== Part 6 ===
The walk from the Bergman household to the would-be/perhaps-might-not-be Felman household was usually such a short one, but now, it felt like an eternity. Both Grey and Shadow walked for what seemed like forever to the house as the Chief’s feet dragged down the path through the village. She had no clue how this was going to unfold. She had no idea what she was going to say to him or what he would say to her. She could feel speech leaving her as she got closer and closer to the house.
The next thing she knew, she was approaching the front door to the house, and she was slowly reaching for the doorknob, but…she suddenly stopped. Her heart pounded as she stared at the wooden planks in front of her. A part of her just wanted to run away and perhaps try again tomorrow…the day before the wedding, but the other part of her…the logical part knew this couldn’t wait. She couldn’t do that to the both of them. 
Both she and Brandt needed closure for this…needed to figure out a way to move on…to make amends…to figure out if they still could continue on with the wedding. Could Grey really live with herself knowing that she married the man who killed her father? She didn’t know. How could she? Her mother said that she shouldn’t worry about making her father happy, but still…
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when something bumped into her from behind. She looked behind and saw that it was Shadow nudging her. The Night Fury gave Grey an encouraging croon and gestured her head to the door telling the girl to go on. The Chief smiled at her sister and petted her on the head. 
“Wait here, okay?” she said. “This is something Brandt and I need to discuss alone.”
Shadow crooned in response and sat on the porch telling Grey that she would wait in that spot. Grey smiled and turned back toward the door. Then, she took a deep breath and opened the door slowly. The Chief peeked inside, and sure enough, there he was. Brandt was there in the house just as she left him…sitting at the table with his face buried in his hands. His face was covered, so Grey couldn’t tell if he was crying or not. However, she knew for a fact that he was clearly as upset as she was slowly defeating Grey’s theory that this was all an act, but that didn’t stop her from freezing in place.
She wanted to speak to him…to get his attention. She thought that once she saw him, she would know what to say, but she didn’t. And it didn’t help when he didn’t notice her coming in. The only thing she could do was silently walk in and close the door as quietly as she could. She took a deep breath and walked to where he was sitting. Even as she approached him, Brandt didn’t flinch. Grey had to wonder if he was even still breathing, but that question was answered when she was able to see his back rising and falling. 
She then gently put her hand on his back causing him to jump and turn around allowing Grey to see his face. Her heart broke when she saw his face streaked with tears, and he could see that she had been crying as well. The man’s hazel eyes widened at the sight of the Chief, and he quickly stood up. 
“Grey…you…you came back,” he said in complete shock as tears rolled down his face. He stood where he was. He was afraid to try to hug her and kiss her…afraid that this was either a dream or that she was here to end their relationship…or worse. 
Grey stiffly nodded. “You know as well as I do that we need to talk about this,” she said. 
Brandt slumped his shoulders. Of course this was coming, he had no doubt about that. Still…could he convince her to stay with him? Should he even try? There was no way she could find it in her heart to forgive him. Then again, perhaps, there was a chance…for things to be right again. 
“Yeah, I know,” he said as they sat down. “Look, when I told you the truth, you didn’t really let me fully explain what happened after that.”
“Could you blame me?” she asked irritably. 
“No, guess not,” he said. 
“Just tell me what you need to tell me,” she said. 
Brandt sighed. “I was trying to tell you that I was really and truly upset over what I did to him,” he began. “Even though I didn’t know you at the time, what I did that day…it…I felt so horrible… It was the very first time that I had taken someone’s life. I didn’t think much of it before the mission, but when it happened, I was shocked and upset. Here lying on the ground was this man, who probably had a family…a home…and I was the one who cut his life short.”
“So, what did you do?” Grey asked as the story started to sink in.
“I ran,” Brandt replied. “I retreated from battle and hid on one of the ships. See, the Barbaric Burglars have a thing against comrades retreating in battle. You’re labeled a coward and a traitor, and well, things don’t go well for you after that. Once the ship arrived back, I hopped on another boat and left never once looking back. I didn’t get to say good-bye to my parents, but I wanted to start over…to get away from that way of life.”
Grey widened her eyes as she remembered the day she met Brandt. “Is…that how you met my uncle? And became his apprentice?” she asked.
“I only told Einar bits and pieces,” Brandt replied, “and he helped me out by making me his apprentice. He told me how he and his brother sought to start over as well and took me in.”
“It sounds like you went through a lot after that day,” she said. 
Brandt nodded. “But I still can’t get over it, especially now that I know who that man was and that I was about to marry his only daughter. That’s actually what I dreamed about this morning.”
Grey sighed as she let his words sink in. It really did sound like he went through a lot after he did what he did, and things started to make sense now. Brandt was never one to talk much about his life before they met, and now, she knew why. He was traumatized by what he had done in that battle and sought a way to escape. She couldn’t help but wonder if that’s what she would’ve done if she ever was forced to kill someone during Ragnorak. Still…did it at all justify what he had done to a Haligan tribe member?
“You know, any other girl in my position would probably break off the engagement and either banish you or throw you in jail for what you did,” she suddenly said. 
“Yeah, I know,” Brandt said trying to sound as calm as possible despite his pounding heart as he turned away preparing himself for their fate, “and you have every right to do that.” Was this it? Was she really going to end their relationship and call off the wedding? He knew that she probably would, but…he didn’t want to believe it.
“Of course, I do. I’m the Chief, aren’t I?” she asked sarcastically. Her face then softened as she took a deep breath. “But…I’m not going to.”
He looked at her with huge hazel eyes. His face was a mixture of shock, confusion, and even a tiny bit of hope. Did she really just say that? Or was he hearing things? “What? But…Grey…I–” He was suddenly silenced when she placed a finger on his lips.
“I know what you did. You told me already. So, shut up and let me talk.”
Brandt nodded allowing Grey to speak.
“Good,” she said taking her finger away. She took a deep breath before speaking. “Look, I don’t like what you did. I hate what you did. I’m still going to miss my father, but I…” she looked at Brandt, “we…can’t let the past destroy everything we have…what we can still have.” She thought back on her conversation with her mother…how she was able to forgive so many people in the Rebellion after the horrible things they had done. “From what I experienced in that rebellion, I learned that people deserve second chances, especially those who are willing to repent.” She sighed. “Besides, not only was it before we met, but it was also a battle. Whether we like it or not, that’s what happens. Warriors fight other warriors for a cause, and unfortunately, it costs lives. It would’ve been no different if I Thor-forbid killed a Valhallan soldier during Ragnorak.”
Brandt stared at the Chief still unable to comprehend how someone like her could obtain so much wisdom. He knew she was right. It was before they met. He had no idea who it was or who Grey was, and he was doing what he was trained to do: fighting for his tribe…just as Sven was. That’s what happened on battlefields. Still, it didn’t justify his actions. “I know, but still…” he tried to say only for Grey to interrupt him again.
“I’m still not finished,” she said. 
“Sorry,” he quickly muttered.
“What I’m trying to say is…I forgive you, Brandt.”
Brandt was thankful he was sitting down because he was now sure that he would pass out from Grey’s words…words that he never thought he would hear. “What?” he managed to say.
Grey finally gave a small smile after what felt like a long time. “I forgive you,” she said. She took his hands into hers. “Brandt, I love you…too much to let something from the past tear us apart. I know you’re sorry for what you did, and I also know that my father wouldn’t want me to live in hatred and sadness on his account. He would want me to be happy, and that’s what I plan on doing…” her smile widened, “when I marry you in two days.”
It was finally Brandt’s turn to smile. “Y-You still want to get married?” he tried to say despite the tears forming in his eyes. 
“Of course, I do,” she said moving from her chair to his lap and pressing their foreheads together. “I love you very much, and I want to have babies with you and to grow old with you and to wake up next to you every morning. Nothing can ever change that. For all the gods’ sakes, you could be possessed by a demon or…arrested by High Central or whatever, and I’ll still love you. I may hate what you did, but I don’t hate you.”
Brandt finally allowed the tears…the joyous tears to fall as she stared up at the Chief…the love of his life…his future wife. “You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that,” he said. “I thought I was going to lose you forever.”
Grey gently wiped the tears away from his face. “You’re never going to lose me,” she said. “I’m not going anywhere.” With that, she brought his face up to hers for a kiss reassuring him that he did not to be haunted by the horrible past anymore.  
Category:Events
Category:Grey Bergman
Category:Brandt Felman
Category:EU