Reaping of the Wives

ABEL, 1893.

The candlelight's flicker threw shadows against the wall that seemed to dance in celebration of his arrival. He stood just beyond the veil of her illuminated quarters, still cloaked by nightfall. The view of her glowing skin as she undressed beneath his watchful eyes made pride and gratitude swell within his chest. She was beautiful. Perfection wrapped in a soft, white chemise slip.

JOSHUA, 1914.

She set her corset aside, oblivious to his presence, but not for long. With unparalleled grace, she leaned one way and then the other, stretching her arms high above her head. How he longed to be the one to hold those delicate wrists in place. The primal need she so effortlessly stirred within him was almost as breathtaking as her angelic face.

ISAAC, 1935.

Pin after pin was pulled from the hair loosely piled atop her head, and he felt envious of every rich mahogany strand that brushed her shoulders and fell down her back. Wishing it were his fingertips trailing the length of her spine. His bare chest feeling the whispering graze of her soft tresses. When the sight of her was too alluring and the urge to touch her too intense, he stepped out of the shadows.

SIMON, 1954.

Large eyes, startled and confused, stared up at him. She stood frozen in her beauty like an autumnal rose after an early snowfall. Her plump, red lips parted slightly and her voluptuous chest rose and fell as her breaths quickened at the sight of him. His chest mirrored her's, and it was in that moment he knew she was every bit aflame with attraction as he. The temptation to caress her soft pink cheeks and tell her of all the wonderful things the Lord had planned for them was nearly prostrating, but he knew that would have to wait. He needed to bring her home first.

THOMAS, 1979.

The moment he reached forward, a wail ripped from her chest and she clung tightly to her sister. Hannah didn't want to be separated from Bethany, but a deal was a deal and she would come to understand that once she was a little older. He pulled her hands free from her sister and gathered her to his chest as she sobbed. She pushed against him futilely as her cries intensified when Bethany was taken away by his neighbor, but he continued to hold her, waiting patiently for her to calm her senseless fussing.

CALEB, 2018.

Once the tears stopped, she asked the same question they always ask: "What do you want from me?" He nearly laughed at how predictable it had become. After a few months spent in her company, he knew she wasn't the one. There wasn't a bright enough spark in her eyes. No fire in her soul that made his own burn with intrigue. She didn't challenge him the way he needed. Just as he knew the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, he was certain this one needed to be given back to God so the right one could come along. Throughout the trials and tribulations, he had learned to be a patient man, and as he awaited his divinely chosen wife, he knew the next best thing he could do was to aid his younger brother in the procuration of his own.

NOAH, 2021.

He ran his hand through her long, blonde hair. She stared up at him with stunning blue eyes, light in color and brimming with overwhelming trust. The softness of her felt like heaven as she clung to him for reassurance, needing his guidance and love as wholly as he needed her to be his and his alone. He never lied when he said he wanted to leave his family's home in Oregon and run away into the night with her. To live their lives differently. To spend the rest of their days, nestled safely in their own little home in the woods, hidden away from revenge and with nothing but their blooming love, was just as the Lord intended. After all, Genesis 2:24 says - 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.' His eyes trailed up to the face he adored and her brilliant smile made warmth spread throughout him the way only a divinely chosen wife's smile can for her husband. He ran his hand over her swollen belly and felt the miraculous movement of life beneath his palm. This was it. They were free. They were both finally safe. Though it came at the cost of losing one family to gain another, his Grace was living, breathing proof that the Lord rewards those who devote themselves to Him. For there she was, perfection wrapped in a soft white cotton dress. And he, from a lineage that spanned over a century, was finally a man turned husband. And despite how his hands being kinder than those that came before him left his worthiness under heavy scrutiny, a divine gift was still bestowed upon him for placing the utmost trust in the Lord, and trusting in the divinity of the Reaping of the Wives.

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