Seven Holy Virtues
IV. Fortitude: Strength and endurance in a difficult
or painful situation.
:
He sat alone, eyes closed, shaking as with ague, feeling quite ill. Well, it wasn't every day one acquired something as permanent and painful as a brand, was it? He knew he'd feel the shape for the rest of his days, forever smell his own burning flesh, speak with a voice hoarse from the scream he hadn't been able to keep behind his teeth.
They didn't know he'd barely earned it, that he was a rogue and a scoundrel and, yes, a thief, but no cutthroat, no murderer.
Not that it mattered now: he was marked.
But he would endure.