She is ready, her long, thick dark hair curled like a starlet from the ‘50s, classic and stunning. Her makeup is soft and not dark, just the way I like it. She doesn't see me watching her from the entryway of our room as she sits at the vanity I made just right for her—a place for my beautiful creature to sit and admire her perfection. 

“Close your eyes and do not open them.”

She jumps a little when I surprise her with my presence. Lizith doesn't hesitate, not even to look back at me. I smile proudly. She is so good. 

I walk to her in a few steady steps and cover her eyes with a long strip of white satin. 

“Xander, why are you blindfolding me?” she asks, but it’s pure curiosity that fills her voice, not fear. 

“You will see, eager little thing. Now stand.” I guide her, and she stands effortlessly, letting me help her and giving me her full trust. I remove the silk nightie she wears by dusting the thin straps off her shoulder. As she stands naked, I appreciate the view of her swollen belly; it’s truly magnificent. My life growing me another. Beautiful. 

I leave her standing and move to the closet to grab her white strapless bra. I don’t need to ask for its location, because she keeps her bras in color-coordinated order in the top two drawers of our walk-in closet island. I hook it into place, and she stays quiet and content, trusting me fully. 

“Good girl,” I praise when I slide on her white lace panties. 

She nods sweetly, a small smile gracing her face. Moving to the bed where the white dress bag lies, I unzip it, removing the beautiful handmade dress I designed for my lady. It’s a strapless wedding dress, fitted tightly around the breasts, then loose and flowing to the ground from the bodice. The entire bottom half of the back is covered in white feathers, representing her nickname. Little bird. Innocent and pure. 

“Arms up.” I resume dressing her. She follows the order and I slip the dress on her. 

“A new dress? Oh, I bet it’s beautiful,” she comments, as I zip it up. It fits her perfectly. I stand back and admire the vision. Lizith is a work of art. I swear there is a light haloing her entire frame, and I grasp my chest, trying to keep my heart from stopping. 

She has no idea she’s wearing the dress I will marry her in. She thinks it’s just another dress for another day. I buy her dresses often, but never one so elegant and beautiful. But it is not the ensemble that makes her shine; it is all her. No other woman could make this dress look as stunning as Lizith does. 

“Let’s go, my love.” I pick her up then, carrying her bridal-style from our bedroom suite. I go carefully down the stairs and then out the front door. There is a car waiting for us, and I slide her inside, climbing in after and shutting us in. 

“I can’t wait to see the dress and where you are taking me, my love.” She doesn't ask where we are going, once again trusting me and just happy to be going anywhere with me. 

Little does she know, she is officially going to start her life with me. She and I will finally be whole. My wife, my love, my little bird. 

“You will be pleased. I promise.” I kiss the tip of her exposed shoulder, watching goose bumps overtake her skin. 

“I know I will, because I am with you, my keeper,” she responds, leaning into me. Her hands touch the feathers on the dress and she smiles, whispering between us, “Feathers for me.” 

“They match your wings, little bird,” I respond, kissing the tip of her nose then her lips. 

“You spoil me,” she giggles. 

“Forever.” 

We fall silent as we drive farther out of town and closer to the farm. Today, I will marry Lizith under a willow tree.

We pull up and she smirks, staying reserved yet giddy. 

“We’re here.” I move to exit the car, my driver opening the door. I help her out and once again carry her to where the pastor is standing. My last surprise pulls up, Dennis and another man, who I paid to make the end of our vows even more special. “Ready, beautiful?”

She nods eagerly, and I slowly untie the satin and release it from her eyes. She blinks a few times and adjusts to the setting sunlight. The sky is a mixture of oranges and purples, and still, she shines vibrantly as if it were the middle of the day. She is the sun. 

When she looks me over and then notices her father approaching, I watch the knowing light in her eyes ignite as she peers down at her dress.

“Oh my…. Xander, I….” she stutters, unable to complete her sentence. 

“Let’s make this unbreakable. Give me yourself completely, Lizith, and be my wife.” I pull her into me tightly, without space between us, her bump pushing into me and giving me comfort. 

“I want nothing more than to be your wife.” She leans up and kisses me under my jaw. Her father comes to stand next to her, and she reaches out to grab his hand. He brings her knuckles to his lips and gives them a soft kiss.

“You look beautiful, my sweet girl,” he tells her, and Lizith’s eyes tear up. I hurry to catch the one that gets away, bringing it to my lips to kiss it off the tip of my thumb. Her father and her share a short moment, and then her attention falls back on me. 

“Go ahead.” I don't look at the pastor as I signal his beginning, my eyes staying glued to my life. The entire time he speaks, she and I share gazes filled with love. It’s nearly too much for me. I have never felt emotions this strong, a connection so deep, and I don’t want to ever lose this feeling. Ever. 

“Lizith, you can share your vows first, per Xander’s request,” the pastor says. 

“Xander, I don’t have anything prepared, of course, which is fine. Because I don’t need time or preparation to convey my love and promises to you. I feel them every day, every hour, every minute. I fell deeply in love with you before I even heard you speak a word. My eyes met yours all those years ago, and I felt myself come alive. I felt a purpose. I felt my soul awakening inside me. You were the first man I loved, the first man I would do anything for, and I want you and only you to be my last. I give you all of me. I am yours to keep forever, Xander, and I would steal every single part of you in order to keep you.” 

“Baby.” I lose it. I cry, feeling every emotion. I cry because I’m at her mercy. 

“Little bird, you are no longer Lizith Morrison. You are Lizith Stine. You are now mine to protect and hold and love. I cherish the very ground you walk on, and I live for all the crazy in you that calls to me like a siren. I belong in your soul, as you belong in mine.” I have to stop, because I can’t control the immense amount of love I have for her. I’ve tapped into a side of me I never knew existed. 

“Hey, it’s okay. Look at me.” She wipes my tears and pulls me through, leaving her hand on my cheek. I rub my lips together and clench my jaw, reining myself in. Once I am there, she nods and encourages me to continue. 

“I only breathe because you walk this earth. I only live because your existence keeps my heart beating. Without you, I would be a broken man. You are my very purpose on this earth, Lizith, and the life hereafter, I plan to make sure you are my purpose there too. I love you, my sweet, perfect little thing.” I squeeze her small, delicate frame closer to me once more and drop my forehead to hers. 

Our tears fall and collect on the fabric of her dress covering her baby bump. 

“And you, little Sparrow. You are the product of our love. You are the solidification of us. You are the concrete foundation and tangible proof of our two souls being one.” I back away a little and kiss her stomach, praising my daughter who I already love so deeply. Lizith gave me the one thing I wanted in life and then some. She gave me a child and her unconditional, devoted love. 

The pastor announces us as man and wife, and I kiss her with gusto. I give her everything in me. Our lips touch, our tongues grazing one another, our tastes mixing and igniting a fire. We are one. We are forever. 

The man with her father opens his box when we part, and three sparrows release and fly above us. Lizith smiles wide and her tears trail over her rounded cheeks, her happiness so apparent it touches me, and I grin adoringly at her. 

“A sparrow represents our freedom. We are free to be nothing but each other’s, Lizith Stine.” As I pull her into me, she smiles up at me wickedly. 

“All because I stole you.” 

“No, all because you found me.” I place my hand on her stomach and her lips against mine, and I take a mental snapshot of this moment to keep for all of time. 

Two dark souls, twisted and alike, somehow created something innocent and haloed in light. Lizith and I were fated, created by the dark and not the light. We were the things you run from in the shadows. I am hers and she is mine, never to part and always intertwined. She stole me like I stole her soul, and we will never give each other back.