And She Was Beautiful
My Love was beautiful… beautiful beyond measure. Her face echoed the sky, a shining radiance in the mornings and a passionate dusk at twilight. At night, her sleeping face looked like the moon’s child. She was truly beautiful. And that was my curse, though I did not realize it when the days were still happy. Our love was not to stay untouched.
Do not judge me too soon. Many think that I did not love who she was; they believe that I loved only her beauty, and that is why our love did not remain undisturbed. But I loved her heart above all else, deeper than any other man. Yet she was beautiful, as I have said. And beauty such as hers does not go unnoticed.
The demons saw her long before I. Whether they were filled with envy or lust or something else altogether, I do not know. But they were certainly filled with malice and wicked intent, and such evil as theirs possesses neither a conscious nor respect for those who do.
I am convinced that they attempted to throw death upon my Love while she yet slept in her cradle, though they were unsuccessful because of her innocence. They waited for her to mature, and as she aged, her face grew even more beautiful. And their malice grew darker with each passing day.
When I first saw her, she was sleeping in the meadow, with the sun soon to set. I thought it unkind not to at least wake such a young lady, so that she should see the hour had grown late. As I have said, her face was the very child of the full moon, and I was dazzled by her beauty. When she opened her eyes at my touch, I began to love her; she began to love me, though I truly confess, I do not know why. We left the meadow, and our paths did not separate for some time.
Though I did not realize at the time, I had saved her life, for the demons had decided that her beauty was ripe for death, and they had gathered a mighty host of evil creatures to devour her as soon as the darkness fell, for that is when demons are strongest. From the shadows, they cursed me for robbing them of their long awaited prize. But as their voices died down, a new and horrible thought began to arise within their minds, a plot of the most severe pain. For even the demons knew that nothing can be so painful as love.
The demons waited until my Love and I had exchanged our hearts. Then began their assault, though they underestimated our strength in the beginning. They thought to plant jealousy inside of me and fuel it by their own wicked means, until finally it severed our trust and destroyed our love.
Word of her beauty spread like wildfire throughout the land, carried on the wings of the demons as they whispered of lust into men’s ear. Within days, a great multitude of men had appeared at our door, all seeking to take my Love away with them. Though she stayed hidden, I gazed out the window at all of them, calling out to her. Oh, how pitiful I looked compared to them! Some offered her wealth and titles, others offered her strength (causing a great many brawls), others offered her wondrous intelligence, and still others offered to show her the world. Many more offered her countless qualities of extreme value, of which I have neither the time nor the memory to list. The demons saw all of this and were well pleased with their efforts, thinking that their seed had been planted.
Yet their attack failed, for my love of her was selfless, and their jealousy would not grow in my heart. It is true, I felt small and invaluable after watching them from my window. But when I turned and my Love was gazing at me with a smile, all of those thoughts melted away, for I truly loved her. I loved her heart, and she loved mine.
Demons are stubborn, and though they tried many more times, my heart held no place for jealousy of any sort. At last, they relinquished their attack and drew to themselves, so that they might plot another flank to assault.
Oh, how vicious their attacks upon us were! We soon plunged into financial ruin, and sickness was soon to follow. Though I was unaware at that time, I began to suspect that an unseen foe was plotting against us. Indeed, I awoke one night and thought that I heard soft laughing. Not the pleasant sound of happiness, mind you, but rather a chuckle that sent shivers through my bones. The next morning, my Love did not awaken to my touch.
A violent fever had come upon her, and she lay quiet, though I could see agony upon her face. She remained thus for several weeks, and I could do little but stay beside her and hold her weak hand. Even the doctors refused my plea for charity, influenced by the demons, though I was still blind to their part in all of this.
One night, as I sat by her side, a terrible storm began to form, shaking the very timbers in our small house with its thunder. The night outside was illuminated with lightning, but I could see little because of the thick torrents of rain that saturated the air. Though the thunder was almost continuous, during a short lull, I thought I heard something close at hand, shouting and the clash of steel. Looking up from my Loves face to the window, I waited until a bolt of lightning revealed the night, as one shortly did. And behold! standing outside was a man bearing a sword, surrounded by dark shapes. I do not know how the darkness had hidden them, for white flame covered his blade, and his eyes poured forth fire. He shouted as he swung his mighty sword, and his voice was thunder, driving his enemies back. Suddenly, he raised his eyes to me briefly, and I was terrified, though I knew he meant me no harm. All of this I saw in a fleeting second, and then the darkness resumed. Although the lightning soon resumed, I did not see them again.
The next morning, my Love opened her eyes for a short while and looked at me. We did not say anything; she did not have the strength, and I was too puzzled by what I had seen in the storm. She slept peacefully after that, the fever defeated within her. For three weeks I had sat at her side, eating almost nothing. I don’t remember if I slept, though I am sure I must have. Despite her body being racked with fever, she looked healthier than I.
Once again, the demons had failed, and in more than one way. For now I had begun to speculate that I fought an active enemy and my senses were alert for anything out of the ordinary. But nothing prepared me for what was soon to follow.
The demons did not wait long. They had not been defeated by the angel, for that is what I had witnessed in the storm, but they knew that their evil deeds had been discovered and would not continue for long. The angel had been by himself, yet the next time he would surely return with allies.
A week later, I left the house to spend the last of our money upon food. Now that she had awakened, she was famished. As I walked back, a loaf of bread and several pieces of fruit in my hand, a shiver stalked slowly through my bones, stopping me in the middle of the street. Without another thought, I began to run home, the sun falling in the west.
I saw them when I was still far away, four solders in front of my house, two entering the front door; the remaining two stood outside. I ran towards them with a fire growing in my heart.
I was quite close when they finally seemed to see me. One stepped forward, trying to draw his sword and shouting at me to halt. I lowered my shoulder and sent him sprawling onto the ground, barely pausing to pick his sword from the ground before charging his comrade. But the solder was ready, sidestepping and drawing his sword in one smooth motion. When I turned around, he was evaluating me carefully. My breath caught when I saw his eyes; they were darkness. Here before me stood one of my enemies, at last brought forth from the shadows.
I heard a my Love cry out inside, and heedless of my own safety, I rushed the solder and thrust my sword into chest, twisting it violently when it would go no further. Not waiting for him to fall to the ground, I burst through the door and ran to where my Love slept.
She lay in the bed, unable to move. The two solders had each grabbed an arm and were pinning her to the mattress. Darkness in their eyes, looked up when I entered and seemed almost confused. Once again they had underestimated my love and the power it fed to me. As weak as lack of food had left me, I tossed one of them into the wall effortlessly. I tackled the second, still trying to draw his sword, and began beating his face with my fist, crying out to my Love to run.
She stood from the bed and would have collapsed had I not leapt up to catch her. I heard somebody coming in through the front door, and the solder I had thrown against the wall was standing up. Seeing nothing else to do, I picked my Love up in my arms and hurdled through the window, fleeing away from the house.
It was growing dark outside, and those behind me soon gave chase, howling in fury. I did not know where I was running or what I would do when I stopped, though I knew another confrontation would be lethal for me and worse for the precious woman I carried in my arms. Whether love had given me supernatural strength or the fever had sapped her body away to nothing, she did not seem to weigh anything, and I ran without tiring. If fear drove me, it was not fear for my own safety.
But at last, hours later, my strength began to fade from my limbs, and I knew I could go no further. I stopped on a hilltop, setting my Love on the grass; she had long since passed into a deep sleep. Gazing back the way I had come, I saw no less than five dark shapes sliding towards us in the moonlight, the mortal bodies left behind; they gave an eerie shout of triumph when they saw I had given up.
When I turned back to her, a man stood before me, the same who had fought in the storm. Though fire danced in his eyes, I gazed at him unafraid. He looked at those running towards us and unsheathed his sword, a white flame gathering around the blade.
I knew his intentions. I asked him if he could defeat the demons. The words sounded raspy in my throat, muffled by the blood pounding in my ears, and at first I wasn’t sure that I had spoken aloud.
I felt his voice echo through my chest, deep and powerful. He replied that he could not be harmed by them; we, on the other hand, were vulnerable. I looked again, and the demons were much closer now.
My decision came fast. Picking her up in my arms, I held her out to the angel. And I told him to take her away. He started to tell me that once he took her, she could never return. But he stopped when my eyes told him that I already understood. Time of the essence, he stabbed his sword into the earth and gently accepted my Love. I kissed my fingers and put them to her lips in farewell. And then the angel bore her away.
Grasping the flaming sword I met my attackers with renewed vigor, in part because I knew my Love to be forever safe. And also because revenge pulsed through my veins like a flood. Truly, I held the angel’s sword and fought with the demons.
I do not know if, realizing their prize forever stolen, they lost their resolve and strength. Or perhaps the sword was far mightier than the hand that held it. Whatever the reason, when the flaming blade touched their murky shapes, the fire utterly consumed them. I overcame them all.
That was some months ago, or maybe it was years…
Once, I held the gaze of the most beautiful woman. Once, I spoke to an angel and exchanged my precious Love for a flaming sword. And once, I slew the demons who had stalked my Love. But for all of that, what am I now? Neither completely joyous nor completely sorrowful. How can I be either? I defeated my enemies and saved my Love, but I also lost her.
Perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps my love for her is not as pure as I thought; otherwise, I would rejoice that she was spared. I am too tired to know anymore… I would give anything to have her back again, and I would give anything to save her again.