Beauty
She really was beautiful.
John Sheppard had always been one to appreciate beauty, be it in a ship, a sunset, an ocean wave… or a woman. And this woman, alien though she was, certainly fit the bill. Her straight hair flowed down her back, long, loose, and immaculately kept. She had the figure of a dancer, and the grace of a yoga instructor. She was not, perhaps, stunningly gorgeous, but she was definitely striking.
Sheppard had mentally rehearsed what he would say to her over and over again, but as they stared into each other's eyes, he was momentarily dumbstruck. What stunned him was not so much her beauty, as the fact that he could look at her, of all people, and see beauty.
He couldn't suppress a shiver as she traced a finger lightly down his cheek.
It was not one of pleasure, but of dread.
Sheppard was forced to his knees as the Wraith Queen commanded, "Kneel…"
