A Simple Thank You
08-16-2013, 02:59 AM
Walk | Talk | Think Her offer, whether she realized it or not, was a lot heavier with meaning than what its simple words suggested. It was an offer not solely of equaling debts but companionship, an exchanging of lives that would transcend the normal realms of repayment for past actions. It surprised her that she had even suggested it. There was no denying that she was lonely, that what she longed for most of all was to have that void left by her passed mate to be filled, and the small spots within her heart to grow full with love for a family of her own. But in her society it had always been the male to make the arrangements, or the parents, rarely if ever the woman herself. And because of that she felt a small tremor of worry. Perhaps he would misunderstand. Or worse. Perhaps he would understand completely and deny her everything for her sudden inexplicable boldness. It was all she could do not to release a heavy sigh of relief when he responded, assuring her that she could trust him to be faithful and to deliver whatever she required so long as it was within his power to do so. And just like that things began to look up. A proposal. Not in the words she was most accustomed to hearing them, but the meaning was still the same. She could do nothing but stare across at him, her eyes conveying much more than she could say: surprise, relief, a quiet, underlying happiness. Her wait was, at long last, over. A short pause was followed by a gruff confession, the dark grey male admitting to her a part of his life that she would likely not have guessed though the thought had never once ghosted through her mind. Bane was a widower. He had lost a mate, to the birth of their children no less, and was alone because of it. The open admission touched her greatly, sensing a deeper kinship between them than she had realized. He knew. He knew what it was like to have your dreams taken away prematurely, to be left with nothing but empty wishes and scattered fragments of a dream that would be real no more. And though she could not profess to having loved her deceased husband too dearly - how could she when he had been so stupid to get himself killed during a routine hunt? - Tahlia knew the crippling sense of loss, the envy of watching the other couples dance about with their merry little lives, always wondering when, and if ever, it would be her turn again. The unanticipated story left the ground open to her, offering her a clear platform from which to admit her own past, the one she had failed to tell anyone within Seracia since she had arrived. Absently, eyes having fallen downcast again, she listened as Bane, in all his blunt and direct glory, requested her permission to make good on his promise of faithfulness either now or at another time of her choosing. She might have shown a little more embarrassment had her thoughts not still been preoccupied, her courage slowly being gathered until she felt brave enough to speak. "Before I consent," she stated, mirroring his word choice, "you should know...I am no fair maid. Like you, I have loved and lost." But though her love had been as minimal as her loss had been great, it was what she was because of it that bothered her most. Tarnished goods. In the eyes of the society she came from, she would never hold the same value as she had before her first marriage. And hoping that those views might somehow matter nothing to this scar-laden veteran, she added with a touch of his casual bluntness, "I am a widow, Bane." |