Behooved

by M. Stevenson

-You left your country and family behind for a marriage you never asked for, just to keep the peace. You risked your life to save mine, and now you’re risking it again to protect a land that isn’t even your home. And on top of that, you’re clearly in pain and should be in bed under the care of a greenwitch, not making yourself worse by riding through the cold, but you’re determined to push on anyway for the sake of your people. Most people would simply give up, yet you’ve never wavered. Only a monster would think a woman like that was weak.-

-Strength isn’t about what your body can do,- Aric went on. -It’s about how you respond to adversity. And I’ve never known someone so determined to do the right thing, no matter the personal cost.-