Sunset Valley Not Out of the Woods Yet

She tested him, words softly asking the pied piper why he played his song, what lie behind those calm notes and seducing dulcets. He did not like being tested in the slightest, but should she crave the truth, he’d deliver her the salvation she sought. “Then I would leave you to rot upon this open field, and mourn your decadent face alone.”

He had nothing else to offer her than his words, and those would be her lifeline should she take to them. Otherwise the cold would swallow her whole and spit out her body in another season. She would be found, eventually.

“Otherwise, I would keep you warm and fed, and ensure you need not labor anymore for yourself.” To some, this knightly proposal was the life, an easy one where only those dreamed to live such lavishness. But to Dawson, this was regular duty to women in general, so long as they settled in the roles they were meant to.