Shilo's New World

Chapter 16

Shilo woke with a start. She sat up and held a hand to her mouth to hold back the scream she wanted to let go of. Tears soaked her eyes in an instant. Her throat was tight and burning as if she had already been yelling.

Two large arms wrapped around Shilo as a comforting voice came to her. "Shy? Hey are you okay?" Bellamy was holding her, looking over her to see if she had been injured. "What happened?" He whispered.

Shilo broke down into painful sobs as she flung herself into Bellamy's chest, clinging to him. She rolled her head back and forth across his chest, trying in vain to shake the visions she had just seen from her memory. "He's going to die..." She cried out.

"Shilo it was just a dream..." Bellamy cooed to her. His hand ran over her hair as he held her tightly. "It'll be alright."

"But..But! Rowan...he..he was..Oh god no. Don't let that happen to him!" She cried harder into Bellamy.

Bellamy let her cry for a moment more as he held her and whispered to her. "It'll be okay, it was just a dream. I'm sure Rowan is okay...He's strong remember he can make it out of anything." He repeated this mantra a few times and noticed it wasn't helping. "Shy do you remember that day on the training field?"

She lifted her head slightly to look at Bellamy. "Whi-ch one?" She hiccuped.

"The one where you caught me staring at you...I was on my horse my lance at the ready."

Shilo giggled a bit. "Yea-h and when you noticed that I had waved to you. Your horse charged and bucked you off." She couldn't help but giggle again. "It ran across the yard and your training partner yelled at you for being distracted."

"Yeah and then the head knight came over and scolded us for arguing." He chuckled along with Shilo as her breathing returned to normal. "That wasn't the only time you had caught me..."

"I knew more often than I led on." She smiled up to him, her tears slowing down.

"And I stared more often than you knew."

"OH? WHen?" She patted at her eyes.

Bellamy withdrew a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Shilo. "Like at the grand feast. I pulled some strings and made sure I was the page to serve at your table just so I could talk to you but I ended up so nervous that all I could do was nod at you." He grinned.

Shilo laughed a bit as she blew her nose. "You did..I thought you were the most awkward boy alive when that happened."

Bellamy sighed half heartedly. "I miss those days..." He uttered softly. "We've sat here long enough. It's time we go again. Take a couple of minutes and freshen up then we'll move out. Is that okay?"
Shilo nodded and handed Bellamy his handkerchief back.

"No, please hang on to it for a little while longer. In case you need it."

Shilo smiled, Bellamy really hadn't changed. He was still the sweetheart nobleman he had always been. He just wasn't as awkward or weird as he was in his younger years.

He brushed the hair from her forehead and leaned in. Placing a gentle kiss there. "To help make the nightmares go away." He said softly before he got up.

Shilo sat there, fighting a blush. She held the handkerchief to her face and looked away as Bellamy moved to put out the fire. She couldn't hide the fact that she loved him. She had never stopped loving him. Was...was she falling more in love with him? She turned her head towards him. He slung his pack over his shoulder before grinning at her. Her heart melted a bit as his white teeth shone and his eyes glistened.

"You ready?" He asked. The wind blew, tossing his hair.

Shilo forcefully peeled her eyes away from him as she got to her feet, still holding the handkerchief to her face to hide her blush. Bellamy had always had this effect on her, no matter how bad things had gotten she could always depend on him to cheer her up. She had often wondered if he knew about this superpower of his.

The two journeyed beyond the forest and used old worn down roads, all in the hopes of meeting less people along them. They came across a small town and decided to gather more supplies for their trip. Bellamy had even managed to contact an old friend of his whom owned an inn just a few cities over. He promised Bellamy a room and safe passage.

As they were leaving town they had come across an old man with a cart. He was taking straw to the next village. Bellamy had mentioned to the man that Shilo was pregnant and asked very kindly if they could catch a ride with him. He had a hard time saying no to Shilo.

"So how far along are you? I forgot to ask." Bellamy asked Shilo. He was sitting with his back against a wall of the cart, allowing his leg to dangle freely over the side.

Shilo had curled up closer to the center of the wagon. Using some of the hay as a pillow for her back. She rubbed her belly and looked happily down at it before meeting Bellamy's eyes. "About four or five months now."

He smiled at her. She glowed whenever she smiled. "I remember when Elliora was pregnant with Timmothy, it felt like her belly grew everyday." He chuckled. "She got mad at me once. Even threw a shoe at me."

Shilo's eyes widened. "Why ever would she do that?!"

"I accidentally called her fat. She refused to talk to me for almost a week." He sighed and looked down at the ground rolling past them.

"You miss them don't you.?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah, a bit..."

She stretched out a bit and gave Bellamy a smile. "Don't worry we'll have you back to them in no time."

Bellamy cheered up a bit from that notion. Shilo was the sweetest woman in the universe. She could turn any unhappy soul around with just one conversation. She truly had a pure soul and heart. "And we will get you back into Rowan's arms."

Shilo nodded half heartedly. If he still has arms. She thought to herself as she sighed and watched the cute little hills, all covered in straw and cotton pass by. The day was clear, a nice cool breeze flew by gently picking up her hair and waving it ever so slightly.