Later that night, as Stephen held a very sleeping Grace against him, his mind pondered over the changes in events of that afternoon. His mother was now in a relations.h.i.+p for the first time since their father left. And it was a good one, thankfully. He had been a little worried about how his wish for her might play out, but seeing how Jim was, and how he was a perfect match for her got him to thinking about all the other relations.h.i.+ps he knew about.From his mother and Jim, to Sh.e.l.ly and Jack, and even to Grandpa and Grandma, they were all, as far as he knew, perfect fits. Personalities that were meant to be together. He could, of course, say the same about him and Grace as well, but there was always a nagging feeling in the back of his mind when he compared their relations.h.i.+p with others: The other strong relations.h.i.+ps he knew were together because they choose to be. They loved each other because they chose to love one another. As strong as his relations.h.i.+p with Grace was, she was compelled to be with him due to her supernatural design.
It had been on his mind a lot lately, seeing Sh.e.l.ly"s wedding, and his grandfather"s recent pa.s.sing, and the nature of love. He admired greatly those that could sustain love willingly for so long, making a clear choice, from both people, to love each other. It was obvious to him that he loved Grace of his own free will. But could Grace ever love him the way he desired to be loved? Freely, and by choice?
He shuttered to himself, and the slight movement caused Grace to stir and press back against him more firmly. He felt a tear sting his eye at having such a perfect woman practically chained to him in slavery. Grace, despite stretching the limits of what was technically a woman, was incredible, and a perfect partner. A woman as amazing as Grace should get a say in the matter of who was her partner for life, not just because he had been lucky enough to open her portal and release her.
In that moment, Stephen felt ashamed. He felt no better than a slaveholder, who was keeping an innocent woman captive and in the illusion of love. Grace was too good for this, not to get a say in the matter, but the nature of her magical being dictated that she receive no choice.
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He sighed, knowing there was one option: set her free. Then she could decide if she truly wanted to be with him, and he could stop having the moral quandary such as now. Yet, Grace shuttered in true fear at the thought of freedom. Surely, it couldn"t be all that bad? He made a mental note to bring it up with her again soon. There was no problem that couldn"t be solved by talking it out, right? There had to be a way forward.
Pulling her in tighter against him, Stephen managed to find sleep at last. Yet, the one thing he couldn"t help but see was Grace"s face, from the last time he mentioned setting her free. The look of abject terror was the last thing he saw before falling asleep.