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If she would let her hair fall over me, from peace I would sing.
The velvet of a new lamb cannot compare to her milky-soft skin.
Her scent draws me after her, forsaking my home and kin.
Moonlight maiden, soft and sweet, how can a mortal your love win?
If she would let me breathe her sweet skin, from love I would sing.
Her twinkling eyes put the stars and new life of Spring to shame
They draw me after her, consuming me in a passionate flame
Emerald eyes beckon me near. Time ceases. On my soul they lay claim.
If she would let me stay in the depth of her eyes, through eternity I would sing.
Diego finished his poem by bringing my hands up to his lips and brushing a gentle kiss against my knuckles. He didn’t break eye contact for a moment.
My mouth gaped, my heart soaring and soul roaring with overwhelming satisfaction. “That was… That…”
Were there words to describe this sensation?What are words?
“I believe he’s bewitched her,” Carrie declared.
Aya and the crowd laughed, but I hardly heard it. As I stared into Diego’s eyes and processed the poem, memories stirred. A dark-haired man with just as deep, kind eyes. A warm smile and skin different from most in Runavík; darker, more exotic.Ragnvald.
My mind swam with memories of fifteen-year-old me, an adult by those past standards, falling for a merchant’s son. Captivated by his different appearance and softer, gentler way of speaking, and creation knew he had a way with words.
He was so different from the men I was used to, I didn’t stand a chance resisting his charms. I’d found myself glad my previous betrothals had failed, and ecstatic when my father agreed to Ragnvald’s marriage request.
Why am I remembering him?Why did this moment with Diego make me think of Ragnvald?
Diego tipped his head. “Is it true, Sunshine? Have I bewitched you?”
My soul pulsed. He couldn’t… Diego couldn’t be…Could he?
I licked my lips to wet them. “I’m just trying to find the appropriate words to praise your poetry skills.”
“Is that so?” He kissed my knuckles again and leaned down, his lips brushing against my ear. He lowered his voice so only I could hear. “Or would you rather show your appreciation in a more… physical way?”
A tingle ran down my spine. Biting back the heating sensation building inside me, I pushed against his chest. “I think you’ve gotten a little ahead of yourself.”
He chuckled, that low rumble that got my lady bits all excited, and pulled away. “No, I don’t think I have.”
Diego continued to pull away, taking one slow step at a time. I cocked my head.What is he doing?
“Marriages happened quickly, and at young ages,” Aya told the crowd. “Living in such a volatile time of sickness and war, twelve became the age of adulthood, with most marrying by age fifteen, and no later than twenty. A wedding typically took a year to plan, but much could happen in that year.”
My pulse slowed as Diego’s fingers slipped from mine.No…
“And a carefully planned marriage could fall apart, especially if one of the soon-to-be-wed individuals met an unfortunate, untimely end.”
My soul writhed, flooding aching pain throughout my body.Aya… why?I knew why, but… why? Why did I have to remember this pain? Why did I have to relive seeing Ragnvald’s family be taken, one by one, by the same sickness that took my own younger sister, only for me to be by his bedside when he, too, succumbed to the illness?
What point was there, except to show me that as much as my past self had pushed away all that pain, I’d never truly gotten over his loss? How did that help me in any way?
I plopped down on my seat and rested my cheek on my palm. I heard the pity from the crowd, yet I didn’t want it. Just like I didn’t want to experience this sensation of anguish in my soul.Why is it reacting so violently?It was just Diego backing away.
