Knight of Valentine.

Knight of Valentine.

Susan looked at her idle doodlings, wondering why she'd enclosed the name Daniel in a heart. Perhaps because it was February 14th, and he'd promised to return for her on Valentine's day. But, alas, he'd only been a dream, gone with the morning light. She sighed and laid her pen and pad on the bed beside her. The bedroom curtains billowed in the gentle breeze, blowing through the open window. Susan slid from her bed and walked to the French doors that led out onto her balcony. The moon cast its ethereal glow across the white banisters. It was on a night such as this, in her dream, that Daniel had rode upon his black stallion. He looked like a highwayman out to steal a kiss from his ladylove before his pursuers overtook him. Black clothes gave the appearance that he was one with his horse; strong and muscular, with a savageness that could not be contained. He bowed low in his saddle and said, "Good eve, my most fair lady." A brilliant smile split his face, and a mischievous gleam twinkled in his dark eyes. The horse pranced underneath him. Daniel's hands tightened on the reins, taking control of the beast like he took control of Susan's heart. "Please, sir, you must not serenade me at my father's house. Go, before he finds you here." She shooed him away with a dainty hand. "I, Daniel Knight, will return for you on Valentine's day, a year from hence." He jerked the bridle. The horse reared up on its hind legs before galloping off into the night. With the memory of her dream to keep her warm, Susan stood on the balcony and waited for a love she knew wasn't coming. He was nothing more than a piece of her subconscious born to give her pleasure in sleep. Many nights she'd felt his lips upon her fevered skin; many nights his hands played her like a Master plays his violin; many nights she'd fallen asleep in his powerful embrace. How she longed for his shadow to fall across her threshold; how she longed for him to carry her away into the night; how she longed for the dream to become reality. The wind picked up and blew her nightgown taut across her slim body. A whippoorwill sang its melancholy song; the katydids added to the orchestra of the night. The moon released her from its mesmerizing hold, and she turned from the banisters. But wait! What was that noise coming on the wind? Her heart hammered against her ribs. No, it couldn't be. It sounded like the beat of hoofs.