I cover my mouth in shock at my own impudence. No! Mother told me I had to be gentle.
"Sir please, if you'll forgive my impatience, may I ask you why you would wish such a thing?"
"Seems like an alright sort", he mutters, and sits down on some worn out steps. I rest on the ground beside him, careful to put some space between us. "Ever since I was young, I've felt an uncontrollable disgust at all forms of intimacy that other people talk about. I never felt the same urges that the other kids did. They caught on pretty quickly and never let me hear the end of it. As we got older, my instructors and other officials praised me for my sense of restraint, but that just earned me more ridicule. I'm preparing to join a monastery. Up in the mountains, far away from everyone but the brothers. I'll live in solitude and devote myself to worship.
"My, I do admire your resolve. But aren't there so many other monsters that might like to take a man from such an isolated place?" He gives me a look of defeat.
"Then is there nowhere I'm safe? Must I hurl myself off a cliff?"
"Nononono, I'd prefer you not do something like that", I add quickly, neglecting to mention how many aerial monsters might be able to catch him, or the undead kinds which could simply resurrect him if they wished. "But I do have something I might be able to do for you". I point toward my horn. "I have the ability to grant a type of blessing to any one man I wish. This marks him as my husband. But!" I hasten, as he tries to move away from me, "It doesn't mean I would force you to do anything. It will simply be a mark to any other monster, that you are not available to them".
"So you're going to put some sort of charm on me?"
"Something like that. But it has no effect other than to ward of other monsters. Oh, and it won't corrupt you or anything. My kind have protection from other monsters' demonic energy and this will protect you as well".
"Say I accept this charm. Are you just going to let me go, somewhere that I might never see you again?"
"That's correct".
"And if we never meet again?"
"Then I'll keep you in my thoughts until my last breath".
"And what if I somehow decided to marry another human?"
"Then I would wish you all the best".
"And if another monster did decide to take me? Sounds like that's something monsters are pretty interested in".
"Then", I felt my heart flutter, trying not to look at him as I thought about the story my mother told me, "I would try to find the both of you, and I would have my way with both of you, and allow myself to transform. I would change into a variant of my kind, one that is far more lustful. And I would see that even more monsters would know your love". We both went silent.
"Then I'll take your offer". I smiled, and knelt down so that I could touch the tip of my horn to his chest. There was a white glow that disappeared shortly after making contact.
"And finally...may I hold your hand? Just for a moment". He carefully extended it, and I took it, looking for a moment at the lines of his palm, then clasping his between my own. "Celeste", I said softly.
"Adin". I smiled, released his hand, then turned and departed. Hoping with all my heart that this could end well for both of us.
---
For years, I waited, trying to occupy myself with anything that I could, from speaking with other monsters, to practicing my healing, to reading. But I couldn't forget him. And one day, walking through the woods, I felt a stirring in my heart. I knew. There was only one thing it could be. I rushed in the direction that felt right, and there in the same place that we had first met, stood Adin, Just as strong and impressive as I remembered him. I slowed, and approached him carefully.
"Adin? Do you remember me?"
"I do, Celeste. You gave me a blessing, then I left with the intention of never seeing you again. But up in my new home, there was an attack. The men never stood a chance. Demons and devils and women that made a mockery of the Order's teachings. They descended upon my brothers, but they left me alone. They knew, there was a lady who had already given her heart to me, and I was a fool to leave it. I should come back to you. So I did. I had so much time to think about you on the way, I'm beginning to think that I might like your company. Or maybe those monsters did something to me". He chuckled, then drew nearer to me. I closed the distance, taking his hand, and feeling the exact sensations that I had dreamed of all of my years since our first meeting. He held my hand in turn, and I could tell his feelings had changed. He surprised me with a hug, and I embraced him.
"May I take you back to my home now?"
"I would love that". I led him back the way I came. The birdsongs were louder, the flowers smelled sweeter, and I felt happier than I had since first leaving my parents.
That night, he lay beside me in bed. I rested my head on his chest. I wanted him so badly but I was content to wait.
"May I take you on the first step?" I asked.
"That depends. What do you have in mind?"
"Let me show you". I leaned down, closer, until our faces were almost touching. I kissed him delicately, first on his cheek, then the other, and as he began to reciprocate, I kissed him on the lips, a soft, slow kiss that promised him I would take him as slowly as he wished.