He met her out in the courtyard for tea, and her flawless beauty stunned him.

The dark navy blue of her gown made her already creamy white skin glow in the afternoon sun, and her dark ebony hair caused this ghostly beauty to appear as if she were an angel on earth. Her dark eyes out lined by black eyelashes, and a small shadows underneath the bottom lids gave her an innocent look that made him want to protect her from the evils of the world. When she opened her crimson mouth and spoke to him in a musical monotone, it took his breath away.

But he could not let this infatuation show.

When they spoke over tea, her intelligence floored him; she spoke as if she were on the battle field personally, and her strategic know-how could surpass even his knowledge. This left him feeling challenged, and it made his blood grow hot in his veins. His father had told him that the Mistress of his cousin's house was a bit…queer, and that she didn't get many visitors other than her equally strange brothers; this made him want to kill his cousin for looking over such an angelic beauty that he had under his thumb.

Out of common courtesy, she asked him how her husband (his cousin) was fairing under the demands of the king. He told her that her husband talked about nothing but her, and she had given him a look that told him she knew he was lying. In truth, her husband had been committing so many acts of adultery with any common prostitute that they happened upon.

One of the house servants walked into their discussion of politics with a letter from his cousin telling his wife that he would be returning home on account of an injured leg. This news made her sigh lightly, and he saw that this saddened her. She then looked up at him with those innocent eyes and asked if he would come visit her again. He found himself nodding eagerly, and he knew that he would be waiting with bated breath for their next meeting.

She stood after dismissing the house servant, and walked over to him. With a fluttering of the eyelashes, he felt her soft lips descend onto his own in a breathless kiss. She smiled a small, barely there smile and wished him a good night, and that she couldn't wait until their next meeting. He nodded dumbly, and wished to God that this woman was his.

When they met again, she stood behind her husband. He and his cousin both laughed and joked lewdly, but inside, he felt as if he were betraying her.

Later that evening, he left his cousin in a drunken stupor; his breath stank of dark wine, but he desperately searched for her.

When he found his blameless beauty, the vision before him made him want to worship the very ground she walked on. She sat, seemingly waiting for him, on the edge of the estate's brick wall. Her dark as night hair was let down in sheets of shimmering ebony, and her moon washed skin glowed in the night's sheen. Her gangly body and limbs were covered by a sheer night gown, and her crimson mouth was open in waiting.

They kissed passionately under the moon's smiling face; their kisses tasted of hunger, worship, and fear. Their hunger for each other, his worship for her, and her fear of what would happen if they were found out.

His hand trailed down her soft arms, and up to her narrow heart shaped face. Cupping the sharp jaw line, his warm honey eyes searched her own onyx-grey. They whispered taboos as their bodies united in a way that God hadn't intended to them act upon in a situation such as this.

As they lay upon a bed of rumpled clothing, and soft spring grass, he trailed a masculine hand down her slightly flared hip, and up to her creamy breast that he had indulged in only briefly. Her dark eyes slid closed as he kneaded the soft flesh, and sweetly kissed her swan-like throat. They sighed as the sun drowned their midnight fantasy world in heavy reality.

When he left for business up north, he watched as his cousin barely glanced at the woman he had desperately fallen in love with; this made a sharp stab of anger well under his heart.

He briefly talked to a Priest about his sin of envy, and lust, but after his night of sweet bliss he knew wasn't meant to be, he didn't pay attention to the old man's words of forgiveness.

In the months that followed, all his nights were spent thinking of her, and how he would be able to fulfill the promises he had made to her under the moon lit sky.

After six months of waiting, he finally visited his cousin's home, and was surprised to find that his cousin had died of heart related problems. This struck fear in his bleeding heart, thinking that God was punishing his cousin's adulterous wife.

He found her again in the garden, seemingly in mourning garb, but he knew she was doing anything but. She looked up at him with her wide innocent eyes, and smiled shyly in greeting. She softly grabbed his hand, and pulled him down to her eye level; with a small kiss on his lips, she placed his hand upon her swollen stomach.

His heart fluttered in joy, realizing that she could now be his.

Three months passed in a blur of sweet happiness for the newly wedded lovers as the midwife announced that the baby would be strong and healthy; his sweet darling smiled more often, and a healthy pink glow came to her normally pigmentless cheeks.

He helped her when labor pains caused her to take to bed, and he called almost franticly for a midwife to help her during the birthing process. He held onto her thin hands as they shook from pain; her ebony hair was soaked in sweat, and her crimson mouth was open with pained screams. He kissed her forehead softly, whispering that everything would be alright; she smiled weakly but then screamed as another wave of pain passed through her body.

The baby came into the world with a loud wail; her dark eyes regarded the squealing and squirming babe tiredly, but she held out her maternal arms to hold the little girl. He helped her as she wiped away blood and other bodily fluids, and he watched in amazement as the baby opened its dark brown eyes to blink at the world.

He felt his lover and wife looking up at him, and he pressed a kiss to the corner of her crimson mouth. The baby had finally calmed enough to sleep, and he felt his fatherly instincts leap. He placed the baby upon her chest, and ran a hand lovingly through her sweat drenched hair as the midwife left without a word.

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So, this is my first one-shot of the New Year! Happy 2009 dowgs.