"I can't do that."

"I'm sorry." Sarah said slowly, reaching a hand out to touch Susan's cheek. The heat of her fingers made Susan want to flinch away, but she held her ground, her green eyes meeting Sarah's blue ones. She felt her heart hammering in her chest, the butterflies in her stomach, she looked at Sarah, and ached for her to say something different. But she knew that she wouldn't. Somehow, they both knew.

"What you want..." Sarah said slowly. "I can't be... Since I've come to this place, so much has been done to me. So much has changed in me. I'm not... I'm not that maid in the castle anymore, who dreamed of rich husbands and secret trysts in the wood. That girl is gone. Kanor killed her long before you arrived. M-maybe she could have given you what you're asking for. But I can't. I don't...my meaning... I'm empty, Susan. I don't have anything else to give but sex. I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry, but that's how it is. I can see how much you want someone to share this with, a partner, but I...I'm not that person. I'm sorry."

Sarah turned away, tears in her eyes. Susan watched her go, her body feeling numb. She wanted to cry, to heave and to beg, but she did none of those things. She simply stood, and watched the other girl move off, and for the first time since she had come to this hell on earth, she felt truly and utterly alone.