Anise swallowed the lump in her throat and gaped up at the man she was... meant to consummate a marriage with. 

They stared at each other for a long moment before she saw his lips curve up in a slow, warm smile. 

"Hello," Linden said before moving towards the bed. 

"H-hi..." Anise took a step back, her  heart frantically pounding in her chest like it wanted to escape. 

He sat on the edge of the bed and worked on unlacing his boots. 

The silence between them stretched long and awkward.

"Your house is lovely. And your staff -- Elaine. She seems kind... And very honest."

One of his boots clunked to the floor, then the other, punctuation marks to his rumbling laughter. It was barely audible, quiet and rolling like thunder. 

"Honest... That she is." 

With his feet bare, he undid the lace ties at the neck of his shirt.

Anise didn't know where to look. 

"Anise?"

She felt his large form coming nearer, his shadow dancing on the walls from every angle, the candlelight giving the impression that he surrounded her. 

It was difficult to breathe. 

"Sir?" 

"My name is Linden." 

Anise took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and turned around to face him.

He was...

"Oh..."

The soft sound slipped from her lips unbidden. Linden's full strength was on display for her, the muscles in his arms and chest finely shaped. Anise had seen shirtless men before, but... not like this. And certainly never alone in a room glowing amber with candlelight.

He was so close... and coming closer. He reached out to her...

She took another step back, nearly tripping over the edge of the bed that loomed beside them. 

Linden froze. She could feel him studying her though she was too afraid to look at him. 

He's going to be angry with me. A bride avoiding her husband's touch on their wedding night. 

The towering figure of her husband loomed over her. 

He'll beat me. He'll--

And then... he dropped to one knee.

He was kneeling before her, looking up into her face with an expression she had never encountered before. Gentle and kind, worry and guilt mixed in his face as he looked at her. 

"You're afraid of me."

Anise swallowed hard. "N-no..."

The silent look he gave her for that lie was enough to make her cheeks bloom hot with shame. 

"Anise." His voice was serious, steady. "I will not hurt you." 

Linden held out a hand between them, offering. 

Her blood pounded in her ears as she tried to breathe evenly. "E-everything's just... happened so quickly, sir..."

Some of the worry eased, tension leaving him. 

"I know it has." Linden closed his hand, ready to take it back.

"But--" She reached out and took his offered hand between her own, rambling to cover up her own guilt for believing the gossip about him. "I'm sorry for assuming the worst of you. I think... I just don't know anything about you except for what I've heard."

His hand was warm in hers as she held it. 

He held still, frozen almost, as if a butterfly had come to land on him and he was afraid of scaring it away.

"I am not what they say I am." Linden's voice was quiet as he stared at their joined hands.

"Then... I shall endeavor to learn more about you, and who you truly are. And... not judge before I understand for myself." She still felt guilt and that blush creeping up her neck. 

Linden gave a nod... and eventually, a smile. 

His smile... it seems almost... shy.

The bed beside them felt like a physical weight in the room. Seeing him shirtless and gentle, on his knees before her, looking up with that hesitant smile...

It was making her blush for an entirely new reason.

Her new husband's eyes flicked over to the bed, then back to her.

"You don't need to be afraid," he said gently. This close to him, she imagined she could feel his deep voice buzzing through her. "I will not bed an unwilling woman, Anise. I promised I wouldn't hurt you."

"Oh..." 

She couldn't look at him. Her hands tightened around his unconsciously and she bit her lip, face redder than she thought possible. She mumbled, barely speaking above a whisper.

"I'm not exactly... unwilling."