A/N – Harold and Marian have made both wonderful and painful memories in her girlhood bedroom. Seven recollections of longing, love, and loss in the tower. Written in the form of 100-word drabbles.

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July 1912
Trouble

Marian's tower room was supposed to be her haven, a dearly cherished spot where she could retreat from the unkind and disapproving world. Here, she could read whatever books she wished and dream those dear, secret dreams about white knights that she still foolishly ached would come true, even though she knew she was destined to be a spinster. But now, she could only think of him. His eyes, his mouth, his hands roaming freely over her body, fanning those deadly flames that had started burning in the pit of her stomach when he first stepped in front of her.

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September 1912
Temptation

Since his reformation, Harold had behaved impeccably during their courtship. It was rather difficult, because he wanted to make love to Marian even more. And now that she trusted him, it was clear from the longing in her eyes that she no longer had any qualms about dreaming. So he had to be extra careful – when he visited her on a stormy afternoon and common courtesy demanded she let him in even though she was home alone, it took his entire force of will not to take her upstairs and finally see what her tower looked like from the inside.

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October 1912
Troubled

Harold watched Marian's silhouette in the tower nearly every night. After they said goodnight, he'd linger on the porch until he got so agitated that he had to go right home and do something about it. He wanted her so badly at this point that it didn't take much to make him hard: simply unpinning her hair was enough. While he'd nursed far more explicit fantasies about her, this was somehow his favorite. So when he finally mustered up the gumption to marry her, the first thing he was going to do was bury his face in her unbound curls.

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November 1912
Anticipation

The night before her wedding, as she lay wide awake in bed, Marian placed a trembling finger between her thighs. The queer ache and wetness were now her constant companions, and they were driving her to distraction. But after a few clumsy explorations, she felt even more unfulfilled, so she withdrew her hand before she made a complete fool of herself. She had seen sketches of men in books and she had felt Harold's hardness pressed against her, but she didn't truly know what to do. She could only hope making love was as exhilarating as her body was expecting.

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March 1915
Moonstruck

Although they had been married for nearly two-and-a-half years and she had long left her maidenhood behind, Marian was amazed at how boldly and confidently she made love to Harold in her old girlhood bedroom, once she moved past her initial Victorian hesitancy. But as they moved together beneath the beatifying glow of the early spring full moon, she realized what she should have understood before, and wished that she had planned to seduce him. Because making love here wasn't a degradation, but the culmination of every dear, sweet dream they'd ever had about each other in this treasured tower.

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July 1915
Miscarriage

When Harold saw Marian lying ashen and listless on the bed, losing their baby, it was one of the worst moments of his life. At first he stood in the doorway, uncertain. Though he ached to comfort her, all he could think of was that this was all his fault, that he had done this to her. It wasn't until she sobbed his name and weakly raised her arms to him that he could bring himself to move. But as he held her, he refused to let his own tears escape, because he needed to be strong for them both.

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June 1916
Reunion

Harold and Marian didn't stay in the tower again until nearly a full year had passed. When they finally did, the silence between them was heavy as they unpacked their suitcases. This room now held some of their best and worst memories, to the point that the librarian feared it was permanently tainted as a trysting spot. But when Harold wrapped his arms around her and whispered that he had made sure to bring enough French letters for them to make love as often as they pleased throughout the night, she burst into tears of relief and kissed him passionately.