Benjamin’s voice wandered for a moment.
“Wait here,” he said abruptly.
Reaching behind my neck, into the elaborate braids, he pulled a bit of blue ribbon from the mess that had this morning been a beautiful lady’s perfumed and dusted hairstyle. A length of ribbon unspooled that he cut sharply into two pieces with his boot knife.
“Give me your hand,” he said looking at me solemnly.
All that time whe had spent riding through the woods, talking about growing up on Gilding mountain, all those moments came back to me, the memories he shared of the boy he used to be. He called himself Marcus then but my friend’s memories told of the life of a prince, an honest and kind person, the life of a man I could trust.
So I gave him my hand, even when I wasn’t sure what he was doing.
Taking the blue ribbon by one end, he wrapped it around my wrist and my ring finger as he held my palm. And then he wrapped the same ribbon around his own ring finger, binding us together.With a spinning twist, he wrapped the remainder of the ribbon around both of ur wrists. Holding the end of the frayed bit of blue, he looked me in the eyes, catching my wonder. “Briarthorn of the Rose Berwyn, will you consent to be my wife, to share all that I have, to carry me through sickness, and shelter our children in your heart?”
“Yes,” I said, without a seconds hesitation. “Yes, I will.”
The smile that lit his face was so filled with joy I would have thought the sun arose again, right in front of me. Any other day, I would have thought that two suns rode across the sky, filling the earth with light and laughter.
But it was only Benjamin. His love glowed.
I guess I was smiling though I didn’t realize it. I noticed the clouds rushing to our little meadow. “Oh dear,” I said, pointing at the air with my free hand,
Benjamin never took his eyes off of me. “What? What’s wrong?” He asked, concerned.
“Well,” I couldn’t stop smiling, “You are glowing Benjamin, Prince Benjamin. And I am too…”
The wonder, the joy in my heart spread through our clasped hands and lit both of us, body and soul. And the storm clouds rushed to gather where the weather magic called them. A downpour of celebration.
As the first raindrops fell, I laughed with a bit of an apology.
“Is it going to be like this every time you are happy?” he asked, chuckling.
“Are you going to summon a wind storm, hail, and lightning every time I kiss you or just the best times? We will have to live in a very high castle, I think. And weatherproof it all.”
“With lots of rugs and fireplaces,” I added.
The first raindrop fell as we gathered the blanket and ran towards the West, looking for shelter from the rainstorm I just … we just summoned.
***
We ran, holding hands, through the meadows, managing to stay just ahead of the rainclouds that followed us like puppies. I was blindingly happy. So was he.
The Axe rested in my hand, light as a feather, though I am not sure I would have felt anything at all, my footsteps were so light.
We reached a road and then a barn with no farmer. Opening the wooden doors, we peeked inside. No animals greeted our intrusion. Some hay still filled the rafters.
As soon as we slowed down and went inside, the weather magic gathered around us, concentrating on that poor wooden building. Thankfully, the roof was in good repair.
We didn’t notice.
Covered from the rain that fell in our happiness, Mar—Benjamin found a wooden ladder and waited for me to climb up into the loft. Outside, the thunder rolled. Inside, we threw down the blanket we had.
I fell onto the straw that was our shelter, laughing at the world colliding around us. I saw only him.
The way his eyes shone, Benjamin saw only me.
What else was there? A barn in a storm. A love that caught up my heart and shone from both of us, lighting our way.
Benjamin stripped off his ruined armor, one piece at a time. His muscles, the bruises, the cut of his waist, the line of his jaw... I watched it all, entranced.
“Let me help you with those,” Benjamin murmured looking at my muddied dress, seeing only the smile on my face.
One by one, he undid the laces, pulling off each binding on my dress and sleeves. Peeling off the outer ruined fabric, my inner skirt was still relatively nice.
Benjamin didn’t care.
Over my protest, he insisted on removing it, “This must dry too. Otherwise, you’ll catch cold. I won’t have that.”
“I don’t believe a word you say, sirrah,” I giggled.
His hands moved slowly across my shoulders, skimming my collarbone, caressing my chest, His fingertips lingered along my neck and then fell down my rib cage. One by one, he pulled loose the leather cords that bound my corset.
His eyes burned with desire.
My cheeks grew hot.
I shivered as he undid the last lace and my rib cage could finally breathe free. Benjamin gently removed even that, draping it with the other clothes to dry while we slept.
“The way you look,” he whispered, his voice tinged with awe. “Beautiful.”
“Magical.
“Perfect.”
With each word, his fingers tickled my ribcage. His hands searched for my waist as his lips covered my mouth.
His lips ignited the lightning still spiraling inside of me.
His lingering touch along my neck sent shocks of crackling energy through to my toes. His rough hands gripped my waist. In the grip of the magic, my mind did not need to understand what my body could feel. Light: everywhere, filling the void of loss that had held me a child for so many years, crippling my heart.
With a touch so light I barely felt the connection, Benjamin slipped my pants off my hips. The thin fabric slid down under the pressure of his fingertips.
I felt embarrassed. Flustered.
Suddenly uncertain.
Benjamin did not.
Calm as the sky after rain, he did not pause. Inch by inch, he worshipped my body. His happiness became my own. All of this… new, shining and bright.
“Benjamin,” I sighed as his lips found my breast. Supple and possessive, his tongue circling my nipple, flicking the roughness like a cat drinking milk. Benjamin sucked on my breast as his hands pulled my waist closer.
I…
My body filled with a certain kind of fire. Hotter than lightning, glowing like the stars, bright as noon day, everything Benjamin did burned. On fire, I became a creature of need. His kisses covered my skin, my bones, the air in my lungs, the way he adored me, I didn’t understand most of it.
The magic did.
Brighter and brighter the sun of desire grew in my heart. Strange and new, my body bucked under him. Benjamin pulled me to his lap with strong fingers. His mouth was everywhere and then, he pulled me on top of him.
Gasping, I swallowed his kisses and held my breath. His fingers searched along my waist and explored my back, dancing over my spine. Sweet and clenching, instincts alone guided me.
Benjamin’s eyes were wild. I knew the way the magic spiralled across his heart. It did the same to mine. The bear inside his spirit watched me. Shifting my hips a little forward caused a tremble of energy to spiral from him.
“Briarthorns, I must have…” He panted and groaned as my hips ground into his. “I can’t hold back the beast. I could hurt y-”
I understood. We didn’t need to use words.
Magic surrounded us.
All I saw was Benjamin. I needed him, rocking inside of me, something he could give me, filling this ache in my heart with fire and lightning.
He set my heart on fire.
“Please,” I begged him. Need poured from me, a wanting larger and deeper than I had ever known.
“Benjamin, I don’t know how..” I started to say.
Kisses silenced me. Worry fell away, into the pouring rain that surrounded the barn. I held onto Benjamin’s certainty, claiming his raging desire as my own.
That heat between us kept building, spiking hotter in my sex, concentrating in jolts and tingles with each rocking of our bodies.