She Walks in Beauty
She was an anomaly, the embodiment of everything a woman should not be. Though greatly admired for her handsome features, she was shunned for her improper conduct. Young ladies at the time were expected to be meek, polite and accommodating.
She, however, was everything a young woman should never be - bold, outspoken, and intelligent. It was these very qualities - so admonished by most - that drew him to her. He would spend hour after hour watching her from afar, admiring her elegant form as she walked through the countryside, her raven tresses framing her face and her thin hands picking flowers.
Weeks of watching in silence quickly became minutes of small conversations. He would try to charm her with a smile and a comment on her splendor, but was surprised to find his charms to fail him. She would remark on his stupidity and sizable ego and quickly walk away from him.
When he finally began speaking to her as an equal, he was delighted to find that she responded with a fervor that no other women he had ever encountered could match. They would spend hours walking about the countryside, discussing books and politics, even witchcraft.
When he confessed what they both knew to be true, she remained silent and looked at him with saddened eyes. It was the first time she allowed herself to be held back by the confines of social rules. It was the first time she didn't shine with life. They slowly began to grow apart. An entire year passed and spring was upon them once more.
They met again with the dawning of spring and the birth of new life, and once again, he was mesmerized by the flash of intelligence in her dark eyes. She always had an answer for everything and while that particular quality would have shamed others, it was what he admired most about her - her spirit, her intelligence, her ability to speak her mind.
His intelligence was no match for hers and she would often tease him about his ignorance of subjects both popular and obscure. He never minded, though. Her laughter - even if it was aimed at him - and her brilliant smile were more than enough compensation.
She was a creature of contradictions - both logical and emotional, hard and soft, guarded and free. When she finally allowed her cold, hard guard to fall and let him into her heart, he though he would burst from joy. She told him about her ambitions, about her witchcraft and how she had discovered a way to wield magic with a curious wooden stick. He, in turn, told her about the death of his father and how he had to work for a cruel, heartless baron who allowed his subjects to starve to death.
Even long after they had poured their souls to each other, they knew they could never be together. She would hesitantly propose they elope and built new lives where no one would be able to govern or dictate how they must behave or who they could love. He would smile and murmur his approval. She would even go as far as to set the date. They would go on in this manner, happily planning out their imaginary lives, both perfectly aware that they would never go through with it, both held back by their fears and uncertainties. Despite what writers claim, they couldn't survive on love alone.
But they were happy, even if they were forced to keep their relationship hidden from everyone. And he never once stopped thinking of her, even after they were forced apart, even after her disappearance. He never had the chance to find out about the child he had fathered, a beautiful dark-haired girl aptly named Helena.
He died about a year after his love disappeared, with the image of her face smiling down on him and her lips softly on his. She would always be his beautiful Rowena.