In a fury of words and her own emotion, she asked him to marry her. He closed his mouth and reached for her hands, cupping both of them in his. He looked down at them, his calloused fingers running over her smooth skin. Even now, they were stained from paints and berries and gods knew what else. "Delphine," He sighed, "I love you. I love you so much sometimes it hurts me. But, do you even feel that for me?" His question was honest, and raw, and vulnerable. He felt he already knew the answer -- the woman had disappeared from the tundra at the hands of a dragon and he searched and searched and searched and she...went for a vacation.
