Exhaustion, turmoil, dread. Never-ending hunger for an end to the relentless spiraling of thoughts which dragged his mind down into depths where he languished for days at a time, seemingly without solace or hope for comfort. These things were often not symptoms of his own failure, regardless, it seemed so when he painstakingly agonized over every detailed decision which had set their fortune into motion. Eyes stinging with tired, red with worry and hurt, he cast a glance out over the swaying greenery of the placid meadow. This was all his. It was all he had given any self-indulgence for: a noble title, a small but warm homestead, authority, the unquestionable respect of his tenants. It had all been gained in his effort to remain selfless yet admired and in undeniable control of those who would look to him. His connections and prowess in his career had granted him the usually scarce permission to select a wife - she, who was now his own, yet free from his callous judgement - the

Untamed. Waves of abandon. Independence unwittingly illustrative of the wearer. A coarse, coiling, tawny mane adorned where more refined strokes customarily lay. As a meek child; strands woven cacophonously together, demonstrating lack of awareness and care even when the delicate hands of mother tried their best to quell the stark flurry atop the crown. In her adolescence; tresses fell past her shoulders, coiling more and more tightly with experience, gradually alighting just to the waist. The golden locks thickly dense with divergence of shape and texture, never arriving upon the next day with the features of the last, serving but as a constant, familiar companion. Unparalleled. Elegant. Romantic cascades, flourishing freely and drawing the eye without endeavor. A mane of golden tendrils, agreeable to the silken greenery which capture silver beads of morning. In youth; busy, careless, disheveled. In adolescence; charming, striking. In love; alluring, whimsical, tender in