THE REJECTED BETA
"They are trying to bury the South in silence, Marie. But they forget one thing. The North does not recognise the Law when it is used as a leash."
I looked into her eyes, and for the first time tonight, the gold flickered, not with rage, but with a fierce, protective resolve.
"I am sorry for the pain I caused you tonight. But I promise you this, whether that tether remains or not, I will not let them erase the world you came from. And I will not let them turn your home into a graveyard."
Marie leaned her head against my chest, her tears wetting my tunic. I held her, finally, not as a prize I had won, but as a woman I was learning to deserve.