"Clemency!" Jessica said in surprise, gripping the handle of the door. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be on your honeymoon with Icarus!"

Clemency bowed her head. She was wrapped in a blanket she had taken from the inn room in the West, holding it tighter around her shoulders. Her hair was down, and she was wearing only her white nightgown. This paired with her pale complexion made her look more like a ghostly apparition than a human being.

Jessica could not help but feel concerned for her sister. Her face was gaunt, her eyes sunken deeper than usual. She looked haunted, frightened, even.

"Can...I come inside…?" Clemency asked, swallowing nervously.

Jessica looked taken aback. "Of course you can! Why would you even have to ask?"

"Because I do not live here," Clemency whispered. "And...you are a soldier and high in command. I could not just walk into your home whenever I please."

"Of course you can." Jessica scolded softly. "You're my sister. I couldn't not let you in."

"I...guess."

Jessica sighed quietly and put her arm around her shoulders. She led her inside, shutting the door to keep out the cold.

"Sit down- I'll get you some tea."

Clemency sat down on the low lying couch, cupping her hands together in her lap. Jessica disappeared into the kitchen for a moment, returning a second later with a steaming cup of her tea. Clemency gratefully as her sister sat down on the couch opposite her.

Although they were sisters by blood, born of the same mother and father, they always felt as if there was a distance between them. There was so much they did not know about each other, so much they wanted to know but were too afraid to ask.

But Jessica had a sneaking suspicion that she knew was troubling her sister. It was not difficult to imagine her problem.

Her life as a prostitute, fear of intercourse, and the current honeymoon made sense of the situation at hand. But she had to be sure, and the only way to be sure was to wait for Clemency to speak her mind. She would open up sooner or later.

After a moment of sipping her tea, Clemency finally spoke up.

"I...Icarus is expecting me to...to make love to him, a-and I should, I really should, it's our honeymoon, it's wrong of me to withhold that from him. I-I know it's the only way to make our marriage official, b-but...I-I don't think I can…" She broke off as tears began to trickle down her cheeks

"And, you think he'll force you to give it to him?" Jessica asked gently.

Clemency shrugged her shoulders helplessly, wiping her nose with her wrist. "I...I do not believe so...he never has before, even when he had the chance. He...he even made me a room where I can go to sleep alone if I am too afraid to share a bed with him. But, at the same time, I...I do not feel like I'm giving him enough. We're married now, and I've...I've never even given him the chance to claim me."

Jessica gasped. "Claim you!? Clem, is this what you're upset about?" As her sister nodded, she took a deep breath and shook her head. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. He doesn't need to, and I'm sure he doesn't want to, 'claim you'. Icarus loves you, for you. He could care less, so long as you're in his heart and he's in yours."

"B-But...I'm not pure. He deserves someone pure." Clemency sniffled. "I've got the stain of dozens of men on me. They haunt me and I can feel them sometimes when I sleep. How can Icarus love me if I'm always caught up on them? No man wants an already touched woman."

Jessica pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow. "Yet he married you. Why?"

Clemency shrugged helplessly. "I-I don't know...I'm not pretty, so it isn't that. I-I never finished school, and I can't do very much on my own. I...I don't know what he loves about me."

"I know what he loves about you," Jessica whispered. She reached out her hand and tapped a finger over her sister's heart. "He loves this. This is all he wants from you."

Clemency slowly lifted her head. "You...think so?"
Jessica nodded sincerely. "That's what he loves about you."

"Y-You're right. I-I should go back to him…"

"But?" Jessica pressed gently.

"...but I don't want to confront him alone," Clemency sniffed. "He'll be mad at me for leaving."

"No he won't." Jessica promised. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Clemency slowly nodded, reaching out to take her sister's hand. Jessica helped her stand and walked her to the West.

They slowly climbed the stairs. Beside her, Jessica could feel Clemency trembling like a frightened dove. She gave her hand a squeeze, reached out with her fist, and knocked on the door.
The door opened, Icarus' worried eyes looking out at them. His expression melted to relief when he saw Clemency.

"Clemency," He reached out and took her hand from Jessica's, then took her other hand. "Are you alright, my love?"

Clemency avoided his gaze, but nodded. "I...I ran away because I thought you were mad at me."

Icarus looked aghast. "Mad at you? Mad about what?"

"Because…" Clemency hesitated. "Because I am too afraid to make love to you."

Icarus' eyes softened, and he reached out and took his new wife into his arms. "Oh, Clemency- I'm not after your pleasure. I'm after your heart."

Clemency glanced back at her sister, who gave her the look of- I told you so.

"Can...we go back inside now?" Clemency whispered.

"Of course we can." Icarus said gently. He turned away with her, pausing to turn to Jessica and mouth- thank you.

You're welcome. She mouthed back with a smile.

The day had been saved.

...

This story was written by Mythicalnightguard.