In that moment it felt to Wylyam as if he had known her all of his life – or that they were old friends becoming reacquainted. In any case he basked in the warm glow of this beautiful young woman as if she were a beam of light falling from the clouds above. Her words and actions told him that his moment in the sun was coming to an end, however. A pained expression came to his face as he retrieved his arms from the back of her gown. In the process his hands fell limply to his sides as if weighed down by lead ingots. As the two of them parted Wil’s flushed cheeks and shy eyes came into view.<br/><br/>“Ne’er would Ah act in a way ‘at would brin’ harm tae ye ur yer honor, m’lady,” he said with certainty. “Before we part may Ah have a boon?” he asked before breathing deeply and releasing a halting sigh.<span style="font-style: italic">I can face opponents on the battlefield… but not this? Why is this so hard?</span>he wondered to himself before his words returned to him. “Ye ur a wonderfully special person, Elisabeth. Ah hope we can spick more… an’ perhaps one day Ah may be lucky enaw tae become… your friend.”<br/><br/>By that time the candle on the floor had become a puddle of tallow and the wick was rapidly burning out, leaving the two of them to face one another in gathering darkness.<br/><br/>The greater part of Wil’s overwhelmed mind screamed at him that he should try to kiss her before it was too late. What if he never saw her again? Another part begged him not to move too quickly and spoil things. At the same time his self-doubt crept in and told him she was just being kind and would never want to be with a Garakin bastard. And even if he found the courage to try and kiss her, he reasoned, he had no idea how! What if she refused? The battle raging behind his eyes was brief but decisive. Beaten back by his sense of duty and his own inexperience, Will retreated away from her by a single step. He did so with an expression of sadness tinged with a flicker of hopeful expectation.