She has no concept of the things he talks about.
Her heart is a soft and timid thing and it lies untouched behind the vines and bramble of her rib cage. She keeps it away. She remains a quiet thing, mostly interested with spending time with her parents and her twin brother and the rest of their ever-growing family.
She has never thought about what lies beyond that.
Even though she feels a soft fluttering in her belly at the way he holds her close and presses kisses to the side of her cheek, she doesn’t understand what else there might be. She doesn’t understand that there could be anything beyond that. Anything that means more.
Still, she blushes and smiles at his touch.
She dips her head and lets her mane curtain her face.
When he replies, there is a laugh that blooms on her lips like a flower. It is quiet and calm and flutters just barely on an exhale. “Oh, I am not what you would call perfect,” her teeth flash white behind her graying lips as she looks up behind her lashes. He might be, she thinks. He is so handsome and bright and so kind, with the way that he cares about his sister.
The thought jostles her and she startles a little.
“Your sister!” she exclaims, but even this does not get loud. It doesn’t boom or take up any more space than absolutely necessary. “Shouldn’t we be looking for her? We still don’t know where she is!” Not that she truly desires to leave, but she also knows it would be the height of selfishness to stay and steal these moments with him when he is so worried about his family.
as the vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet