Ophelia

Chapter 17

I had no control over my body, but then again, it wasn't really mine right now. I felt like I was watching everything unfold from the backseat of a car. After the chaos at Benjamin's, Luna ran back into the woods. She tore through everything in her path. I couldn't tell if her hunt was over and she was just running free or if she still had something to search for. There was no stopping her, so I just began to think.

Benjamin had known I was there, he wasn't scared. Sure there was a hint of fear there, but he hid it really well. He put on a brave face yet showed a little softness towards me that I haven't really seen before.

We neared a field. There was complete silence other than the sound of paws hitting the ground. The field was empty. The grass yellow, dead from the cold of winter. I could feel Luna's anticipation, she was waiting. But for what?

She sat in the center of the field. I tried to force my way forward to take back control but she shoved me back down, she wasn't finished. She tensed as a twig snapped from behind, but she did not move to face it. Instead, she let out a deep warning growl.

"Ophe–sorry. Luna, is it?" It was Benjamin. I could sense him cautiously walking  forward. "Thank you for helping us. We are honored to have you as an ally." Luna snorted. "...I'd hope to be allies?" Ben questioned, understanding Luna's tricky behavior.

In her... our... head, she was agitated that he assumed that by her doing one thing that they were in the clear. Luna cared for no one. No one got in her way. She didn't do allies.

Yet here she was softening up and slowly becoming less agitated and more at ease. Her muscles relaxed, even more so when Benjamin stepped into line of view. "Is Ophelia in there?" His eyes were soft but filled with worry. "Is she safe?"  Luna ignored him. "You being in control... does it hurt her?" Luna looked him dead in the eye, staring for a moment before giving a slight nod.

I wasn't hurt in here. When Luna was in control, it felt as if my soul just floated back. My consciousness was as light as air. However, once she let go of control... that's when the pain set in. Bones had to break and reform. The body of Luna needed to shrink and disappear while my bones and flesh regrew into a human form. It was agonizing then and for hours after. Elliot usually tracked me down and transported my body into my bed after the shift, as I wasn't able to move for hours, sometimes days depending on how long Luna was in control.

"Let me help her!" I was snapped out of thought by Ben pleading. "Is there something I could do?" Luna shook her head no. There was nothing he or anyone could do. It was part of the curse. Any normal shift was fine after the very first. But with Luna, because of her size and her spirit, it took a toll on me. "Please, then— give her back to me. Let me take care of her. You've done what you wanted to do, just don't hurt her anymore."

Luna sighed and pawed at the ground. But surprisingly, I felt her slowly start to let go. I felt myself getting sucked forward through consciousness, then through the shift. I caught a glimpse of Benjamin's face before I squeezed my eyes shut.

Pure terror. That's what his face held. Fear poured out of every fiber of his being. I could only imagine what he looked like as my piercing screams rang throughout the woods. Maybe he was running away? Of course he probably was. He wasn't looking for this.

But I was wrong.

Moment later, I'm left as a naked heap of flesh  and bones in the cold scratchy grass. I gasped for air, trying to regain my breath in my smaller human sized lungs. The cold air nipped at my bare skin until it was covered by cloth.

He had stayed.

I peeked from under my heavy eyelids to see that Benjamin had covered me with his own shirt. He was kneeling on the ground in front of me, concern written all over his face. Not disgust. Not repulsion. Concern.

His hand slowly came down, gently brushing hair away from my face. "Don't be afraid."

"I... I'm not," I said in between breaths. I cried out in pain as the healing process began.

"I'm going to tell you what I'm going to do before I do it okay? I will be doing everything out of respect, just to help you. No bad intentions." I couldn't say anything the pain was so bad. I couldn't even open my eyes. "I am going to pick the shirt up that way I can put it around you properly. Then I'm going to pick you up as gently as possible so I can bring you somewhere safe."

He waited a moment before I felt the cold hit my skin again. I couldn't tell if it was helping or making the pain worse at that point. Suddenly, I felt my weight being shifted around and my arm being picked up and shoved into a sleeve. I screamed in agony. Ben stopped but continued a moment later to get my arm in the other sleeve. The pain got so bad from being moved I think I passed out. It wasn't Ben's fault, he didn't know that it would worsen my condition. He was trying to help me. The next thing I knew, I'm was his arms, flush against his bare chest before I blacked out again.

"What happened? Is she okay?" A panicking voice rang. Elizabeth.

"I'm not entirely sure, this is a new situation to me. She's better than she was earlier... I think?" Ben whispered. "She needs rest. It looked..."

"Awful?" Elizabeth offered.

He sighed. "Yeah. I- I didn't know how to help her." I could feel his emotions stirring from wherever I was. He was upset and scared and worried. Nothing I would have expected after our last conversation. "It's late. I'm gonna go to bed. You should too."

"Yeah... take care of her, okay?" Elizabeth flit off down the hall. I heard the door close and the shuffling of feet.

I was sore everywhere. This was probably the worst shift-back I've had yet. I involuntarily let out a slight groan as I tried to move. My eyes fluttered open, scanning the room. The walls were a dark wine-colored red, almost a burgundy... like from my dream.

"Ophelia?" My eyes snapped over to a couch on the farther end of the room where Ben had already been laying. I tried to hoist myself up but I was still weak and fell back down with a whimper. "Hey, hey, easy!" He came over and sat on the edge of the bed. "Don't push yourself. Stay here. Just rest. Now, do you need anything? Water?"

"Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?"

His eyes widened. He was dumbfounded, didn't know what to say. "I... what?" He shook his head in disbelief. "I was just... I... What?"

"Thank you for bringing me back but you don't have to keep pretending like you actually care." I said.

"You think I'm pretending?" He said softly.

I looked up at him, "Well, aren't you?" We stared at each other for a good minute before he got up off the bed and headed for the door.

He stopped as he reached for the doorknob, pondering a bit before looking back over his shoulder. "I'm not."