The Pledge (PG-13)

[seamus3333]

WOW! This is true insight into the depth of real love. You put romance novelists to shame. God bless anyone who has felt this enveloping power of love and you have been blessed with the talent and understanding of something so powerful. WOW!

[allegrita]

LdL, this is a lovely story. I want you to know that I never read it before, although I notice unnerving similarities to one of my own stories, which was written only recently. All I can say is that I truly did not know you'd written this story.

The thing I love about your story, and which was missing from mine (because mine takes place just after Beth learns that Mick's a vampire--very early in their relationship), is the love between them--Beth's caring and compassion, and Mick's acceptance and gratitude. In your story, the act of caring for him, the act of hurting him in order to help him, is the vehicle by which she comes to realize the enormity of her love for him. And I agree, your favorite line is wonderfully evocative of the feeling it describes. In another context, I wrote of a similar epiphany for Beth, the realization that she simply can't face the idea of living without Mick. What a rapturous, intense, huge rush of emotion that is.

I'm glad you brought this story here and I'm happy to have read it at last.

[Luxe de Luxe]

seamus3333 -- thankyou so much for reading and your lovely comments.

Alle -- thank you so much for your generous and lovely comments about this fic. Sometimes, I think similarities might arise because all our work is based on a common knowledge about the ML world.

[kpyle]

OK, after reading this and finding out that it had posted awhile ago somewhere else and that I had missed it, I went looking for it! Of course I didn't have to look far, and upon finding it, I read some of the original comments after the post! You said back then that you were considering another chapter to this at some point, and I was just wondering if that was something that was still an option for the future? This was such a touching piece and would love to see it develope! Just a thought! Thanks again for sharing this here, so that I did not miss out on it!!

Kelly

[helloeeze]

I have read your story four times I think. It's poetry, it's moving, it's profound ...it's Mick and Beth.

[Luxe de Luxe]

Kelly -- Thanks so much for reading and seeking this out. I did have a thought about a companion piece to this, but it wasn't fully formed. In some ways, I think this sits well as a one-shot.

helloeeze -- four times?! What an incredible compliment. thankyou.

[coco]

Luxe I'm so pleased to see this story here. It was wonderful to re-visit it again.

Truly a beautiful story and a wonderful example of the beauty of early Mick/Beth.

[Moonlightsonata]

This is a lovely very heartwarming story. Thank you for posting it here and even more so for writing it.

[Luxe de Luxe]

coco -- in some ways, the re-reads are even more special to authors than the first ones. thankyou.

moonlightsonata -- I'm really glad you enjoyed it... and this one practically wrote itself it flew out of me that fast.

[nutmegger911]

Luxe - This is FABULOUS! It is so rich and lush.

To write a story that is both so tender and so gut-wrenching is an amazing feat. The lengths these two go to for each other... You capture Mick's pain so perfectly that it is overwhelming. I absolutely love the way you demonstrate the depth of their love for each other in their silent deeds.

Thank you for posting this. It is new to me, and such a wonderful treat.
P.S. I started to quote my favorite part and realized it would just be a repost of the entire story. So yeah, that was my favorite part; the whole thing.

[Luxe de Luxe]

Luxe - This is FABULOUS! It is so rich and lush.

To write a story that is both so tender and so gut-wrenching is an amazing feat. The lengths these two go to for each other... You capture Mick's pain so perfectly that it is overwhelming. I absolutely love the way you demonstrate the depth of their love for each other in their silent deeds.

Thank you for posting this. It is new to me, and such a wonderful treat.
P.S. I started to quote my favorite part and realized it would just be a repost of the entire story. So yeah, that was my favorite part; the whole thing.

Wow.... thanks so much nutmegger. ... and I think it is the silent deeds that speak loudest of all.

[rijane]

I love vacations- they give me the precious opportunity to catch up on my reading and - since this one is being spent with red - to get her infinitely wise opinion about which stories are worth using this opportunity on. And this is certainly one of them.

This is so poignant, Luxe, and you do such a good job of it from both a character perspective and a literary one. Among my favourite bits are:

his eyes the colour of old gold

That is a brilliant selection in terms of visualisation, alliteration and weight of the phrase

He looked so sad; a lost little boy who knew his mother wasn’t coming for him. Ever.

That is another fricking amazing visual. Pulls at my heart strings :sniff:

Beth continued the leisurely cleansing of his back long after the last wound had faded and the last drop of blood that stained his perfect skin was gone. So engrossed was she, she didn’t notice at first the subtle shift in his posture, the tiny tremors in his sides and shoulders. His chest began to move up and down in silent heaves and his shoulders shook more forcefully.

I think this is the most powerful paragraph of the entire piece. Here we see every part we need - Mick's vulnerability, his sadness, his desperation for Beth, Beth's devotion, the simplicity of her love and her caring. So skillfully woven and really the siren song of the piece.

[Shadow]

I totally agree with Rijane about that most powerful paragraph - (hat's about when I forgot to keep breathing ...)
and the eyes the color of old gold ... what a perfect turn of phrase, gave me a shiver.

You've really captured the essence of the real love between Mick and Beth here. A beautiful story.

[wollstonecraft61]

God, I love this story! Great job!!

[AussieJo]

Luxe, It is my pleasure to reread it as well.
It's beautiful.