Into My Arms

The sight of Sylvie in her dress, her hair brushed smooth and shining, took Beric's  breath away. He could not believe he was wedding this lovely creature who sparked so much desire in him and seemed to return his feelings tenfold.

 Beric was pleased when Thoros was gracious to her, and he hoped this marked a turning point in his friend’s feelings about the marriage. Parting from him was very difficult, though. Painful. He knew it would be a brief separation, but even so, things could never be the same between them.

 Beric cut these pointless musings off and carried his wife (wife!) to bed, where they spent the majority of the next two days. He felt he would never tire of her body, or of the soft sound of her voice. They claimed each other in every way possible, save one. He would not make love to her in the same way he and Thoros had made love. It didn't seem right, though he could not have said why. He did show her how to pleasure him with her mouth, though, and it was a very different feel from when his friend had done it. Different, but equally good.

They barely had anything to eat but did not feel deprived. At night they slept on the floor in front of the fire. When they were not making love, they talked about their lives, their upbringings and dreams. Beric shared with her how very little he could remember his childhood. This made Sylvie sad, but not as sad as when he described his deaths. He could not remember the first few, but Thoros had told him the stories many times. He licked her salty tears away, and they clung to each other like death was imminent, unwilling to be parted in this life or the next.

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The morning came too quickly for Sylvie. Her heart was heavy. She could hardly believe that Beric would really follow through on his plan to find her another home. She wanted to beg him not to desert her, but Sylvie knew this was as hard on her husband as on her. Almost as hard.

 “Are you ready, wife?”

She loved it when he called her that. “I guess so. I've lived here less than a month, but leaving it makes me sad. If I had not come here I would not have found you.”

Beric took her in his arms and said, “I'm the one who found you, remember?”

 “Yes. But I'm the one who seduced you,” she murmured, looking down.

Beric took her chin in his hand and tilted her face up. “And I am so thankful you did. I don't think I behaved like a gentleman-”

 “And I didn't behave like a lady,” she said, feeling ashamed all of a sudden.

 “No, but it was necessary, wasn't it? I never would have had the courage to approach you.”

 “Did you even want to? Did you think of me that way before I threw myself at you?” Sylvie hated that she was bringing this up now, sounding petulant to her own ears.

 Beric held her tighter than before. “Yes, I thought of you that way. In the kitchen. Perhaps even before you burst into tears and sought comfort. But when I held you,

I wanted to take you to bed. I never would have asked, though.”

Sylvie wiped away a tear that had begun sliding down her cheek. “You are such a good man, Beric.”

“I'm not sure about that...but I am your man, and we need to go now. You do know how to ride a horse?” She froze for a moment. “But I'll just be sitting on your horse while you drive it!”

“Don't worry,” he smiled. “I was only teasing. But I should teach you sometime.”