On Marriage

Roderick could not continue indulging in such pleasure between man and woman. With tremendous willpower, he helped Abbendis put on her nightgown, then kissed the girl in his arms. "You should rest. Shall I take you back, or...?"

"I want to be with you." Abbendis remained nestled in his arms. She did not want to leave this place, or Roderick's embrace.

"You're the leader of the Scarlet Crusade. Don't you need to consider what the others think?"

Abbendis knew that a twenty-year-old girl might have the right to enjoy her love, but a High General of the Scarlet Crusade did not have such freedom.

Roderick helped her to her feet. The girl before the mirror still had a flush of passion on her cheeks, and her sky-blue eyes shimmered with moisture.

Her full head of red hair spilled freely over her shoulders. The loose nightgown completely concealed her figure, though its front had changed somewhat, stretched upward slightly over her chest.

The man standing behind her seemed to have even fairer skin than she did. His black hair had grown much longer than when he had first arrived in Northrend, softening Roderick's cold and stern bearing. His dark brown eyes watched her reflection in the mirror with a smile.

Under his gaze, Abbendis tied up her hair again. She felt her heartbeat gradually steady, the heat fade from her cheeks, and the faint stinging in her chest begin to disappear.

She turned around and kissed him once more. "Remember to write to me after you go back. I'll miss you."

Abbendis returned to her residence alone. The weakness she showed as a woman vanished the moment she left Roderick's embrace.

She would only open her heart to the man she loved most, and she would be willing to give everything