It's bright now.
She can feel the darkness lurking just below the surface. It calls her name and offers her promises of strength and liberation if she just gives in.
It tells her that she could have everything, her son, her parents, even him forever. If she were to just bend a little, compromise a bit, get a touch dirty.
It's getting harder to ignore that whispering little voice in her ear. And every day she feels herself giving in just a little bit more, but not today.
Today her dress is as white and pure as wishes her soul could be. The sun is warm. The flowers smell fresh and sweet. Her family is off together, safe. And she is looking into two of the brightest blue eyes she has ever seen as they tell her about the love he feels for her.
Her caress her check, and compares her beauty to the roses he gives her. He looks handsome, almost royal, in his new coat but that rapscallion spirit lurks below, adding a dash of mischief and double entendre to all the things he says. It makes her forget the internal battle for good and evil taking place inside of her.
With him, in these royal gardens, she isn't the saviour or the dark one. She is just a woman on a date with the man she loves. She could just as easily be in Central Park on a summer's day.
She can feel the darkness in her stir, angry at the peace she is feeling, and she squeezes his hand tightly for support and like always, he squeezes back.
It's getting dark but, just for today, it is bright.
