“I wasn’t. Not until recently… Maybe you convinced me, and your family inspired me. Well, we can take it slow, so I can learn… One at a time. Three or four children would be good… But that’s only if you want them too, of course!”

He had added that last bit urgently, with that worried expression back again, as if just realizing he might be putting pressure on her. Cessilia smiled and nodded.

“I do want children too,” she said. “How wouldn’t I want them? But... maybe not right away. Let’s give ourselves a few years so the castle can be rebuilt and ready for them, and our Kingdom back on its feet too.”

Ashen nodded, but to her surprise, she saw a hint of disappointment in his eyes. He really wanted children... It was a good surprise to her. Cessilia thought that maybe she’d have them a little bit sooner than that, then.

“...Let’s go somewhere,” suddenly said Ashen.

He stopped walking, and wrapped his arms around her, visibly excited.

“Somewhere?”

“On a date,” he smiled. “Just you and me, while everyone is busy. After this, how many times will we be able to get away and fool around, just the two of us? I want to take you away, now, while no one’s watching and have you all to myself.”

“But where? The castle is busy, and the cave will be submerged at this time...”

“I have another idea,” he chuckled. “Can you call Cece? We’re going to need a bit of a ride...”

Of course, Cece was only too happy to answer the call. The majestic Silver Dragon appeared flying high in the sky, making Cessilia wonder what her friend had been up to so early in the morning. Had the dragon been extinguishing fires all night, or simply watching over the Capital? Maybe the dragons had enjoyed a late morning hunt together, before Kian, Krai, and Roun had been taken back home by Kassian. Cessilia realized, for her, home would be the Eastern Kingdom from then on... It was a bitter-sweet feeling. She’d never stop loving the Empire she had grown up in, but she had a lot of love to grow for the Eastern Kingdom as well. Especially if she got to shape it to her will, along with Ashen.

Cece began to dive, but fast, very fast. Seeing that the dragon wasn’t slowing down at all, and diving right in their direction, Ashen and Cessilia exchanged a worried look. Cece definitely had seen them standing there, right? Yet the dragon kept flying down, faster and faster, its silver tail whipping the air excitedly. Understanding at the last minute, Cessilia and Ashen suddenly grabbed each other and crouched down. Cece flew just an inch above them, and dove into the sea with a loud splash. A wave as big as the dragon washed over the sidewalk, rendering not only the two of them but all the people passing by completely drenched in sea water.

“Cece!” Cessilia exclaimed, shocked.

Next to her, Ashen was already laughing his head off, holding his ribs. He was also completely drenched, but absolutely fine with the dragon’s playful joke. The dragon, who had disappeared under water, suddenly popped its head out of the water, with those big ruby eyes pointing at them, a hint of mischief in them.

“This isn’t funny!” Cessilia protested.

In response, Cece spat another little jet of water from her mouth at her, but Cessilia jumped back just in time.

“Dran’s been grounded for less than that, Cece, you know that” Cessilia told her dragon, squinting her eyes.

However, Cece blatantly didn’t care, and kept happily swimming in circles in the water. The silver body was making little hoops under and above water, in a snake’s fashion, and was gathering a lot of attention too. All the people who had been doused before were now curiously staring at the gigantic dragon, having forgotten about their earlier protesting. Ashen stepped forward first, standing on the edge of the sidewalk, to face Cece with a big smile.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “There’s nowhere big enough to keep you grounded anyway, girl.”

Cece happily chirped, a strange sound that was a half growl, half high-pitched scream. That was the first time Cessilia heard her dragon make that sound, but no doubt it was all for Ashen. Having his attention was already making Cece happy, the dragon completely smitten with him. Cece approached, and Ashen put his hands on the dragon’s face with a smile. Despite Ashen having rather big hands, Cece’s face was still pretty large, making even him seem small. He scratched the dragon’s silver scales, which made it swish its tail happily in the water.

“Can you let us ride?” Ashen asked with a smile.

Of course, Cece happily answered, and turned around for the two of them to climb on the floating part of the dragon’s body, just behind the head. Cessilia sighed. She felt like Cece would always get away with things as Ashen was ready to spoil the dragon anytime... He sat first, and then extended his hand for her to take and climb behind him. By then, there was a whole crowd assembled on the bay, watching the King and his lady ride a dragon away from the shore. Cece happily swam away without Ashen even giving any directions yet.

Cessilia didn’t dare to look back. For sure, Tessandra would learn of this somehow and scold her later about running away from all that needed to be done downtown... She couldn’t help but feel unapologetic about it, though. In fact, it felt nice to just run away with Ashen and Cece, get away from all the chaos and commotion, and simply ride the waves, leaving behind all the troubles they would go back to later. For now, it seemed like they were free, swimming off from the world, into the unpredictable sea and its unruly waves.

They rode for a while. Cece seemed to enjoy the trip as much as they did, swimming effortlessly against the waves, and listening to Ashen’s simple directions at times. The dragon would sometimes even dart its head to snatch a fish out of the water, and happily snack on it. The journey itself wasn’t that long, and neither Cessilia nor Ashen said anything at all, both keeping silent and simply looking around. It was quite a unique feeling to be riding not in a boat but on a dragon above the water surface, their feet in the water at times, and being carried away from the land. Cessilia spotted bold fish swimming close by, unaware of the predator, and even bigger creatures that appeared on the horizon, smaller than Cece but still big enough to impress. She wondered if the Dorosef fishermen got this amazing show every morning at dawn. It probably wasn’t as peaceful and relaxing, though. She kept hugging Ashen from behind, not because she needed to hold on to him, but simply for the pleasure of sharing that moment with him. She silently hoped that they would take small trips together like this even when they got busier and older...

For a while, she wondered where they were going, especially since Ashen seemed to be giving rather precise directions. Then, she finally saw a piece of land, far ahead, popping up on the horizon. Cessilia was surprised. This island was so far away, they couldn’t see it from the shore... The closer Cece got, the more she also realized that part of the reason was because the island itself was quite small. It was about the same size as the Central Plaza, so Cessilia could still see both ends as Cece reached the shore. The dragon climbed on the beach, visibly curious to explore as well. Ashen and Cessilia barely had time to get off before Cece ran away, dashing between the trees. From the way her dragon was excited, Cessilia guessed it had spotted some prey to hunt... Soon enough, they only saw a silver tail, then nothing. She chuckled. At least Cece would stay entertained while the two of them enjoyed their little date.

“Another surprise?” she asked Ashen, a smile on her lips.

“It’s a place I’ve always been curious about,” he confessed. “This island is a bit of a local legend... They say fishermen bring their lovers here.”

“Oh, really?”

Cessilia looked around the island, surprised. She could see why. This place was so beautiful and quiet. It felt different from the mainland. The beach was full of white sand, and thousands of those gorgeous seashells she loved. There weren’t enough trees to call it a forest, just a few scarce ones, but a lot of green bushes and wild plants growing everywhere. It had many varieties she had absolutely never seen before, and if she wasn’t on a date with her lover, Cessilia would have definitely wanted to explore more... However, Ashen gently grabbed her hand, and they began strolling along the beach together, a strange and shy feeling growing between them. Cessilia was curious as to why he had brought her here, but she didn’t want to rush him.

“Are you sure we’ll be alone?” she asked.

“The fishermen are all busy at this hour,” he said. “Plus, we would have seen a boat...”

Cessilia had almost forgotten they just had quite a special ride. Indeed, with the size of the island, they would have seen right away that they weren’t alone. She was a bit more surprised about the nervousness in Ashen’s voice though. What was he thinking about? She didn’t ask, and simply kept walking along with him. At times, they heard the excited dragon from the other end of the island, when Cece wasn’t suddenly jumping out of nowhere to run back into the sea chasing water prey. Cessilia was happy to see her dragon having so much fun. For sure, her Cece deserved to have all the fun possible, and catch up on everything those years in the lake had taken away...

“So it’s your first time here too?” she asked Ashen after a little while.

“Yes,” he nodded. “I just heard about this place so many times... especially when I was a child. I used to listen to the fishermen’s stories, but this was the one place they always talked about to woo the ladies. They said if a fisherman took a woman to this island, it was with the intent for her to become his wife.”

Cessilia’s heart skipped a beat. Was that why he had brought her here...? To reaffirm his feelings? They had spoken so many times about her becoming his Queen now, but hearing him say the word wife had a surprisingly different ring to it. She felt her cheeks get a bit warmer, and Ashen’s fingers tightened around hers. He suddenly stopped walking, and she heard him take a deep breath before he turned to face her, looking serious like never before.

“Cessilia... I know we agreed for you to become my Queen and everything, but... I also wanted to let you know, I won’t just treat you like my Queen. I want you to be my wife, my one and only wife. There won’t be any more talk about concubines, favorites, and mistresses. Never again, not in my Kingdom. I will abolish the rule about the King being allowed as many women as he wants. I don’t want you to be my favorite, I want you to be my one and only woman consort.”

This time, Cessilia was properly stunned. So this was what he had been thinking about all this time? She had come here as a candidate bride, but all that fighting between women had been a race to become the King’s Queen, while most weren’t interested in anything but the position itself... In the midst of this, Cessilia had come, with her unwavering feelings for Ashen, and claimed the King’s heart for herself anyway. He was right; she had never aimed to be the first, but the only one in his heart. She wouldn’t have tolerated any other woman in his bed, and she couldn’t be like Jisel, ready to close her eyes as long as she kept the position. Cessilia cared little about becoming Queen. What she truly wanted was to be this King’s wife... and she would have wanted Ashen, nobody but Ashen, even if he had been a fisherman, a soldier, or any common man. He was no prince when she had fallen for him, and she had never seen him any other way.

Right then and there, she could tell they were really just a man and woman, a couple like any other, on a pretty island, just the two of them. Ashen suddenly took a deep breath, and put a knee down in front of her.

“Ashen, what are you…?” she gasped.

“There’s an oath knights make to a lady or a master,” he said. “I want to make an oath to you, Cessilia… I promise, from this moment on, I will never look at another woman the way I look at you. I swear I will never make another woman more important than you are to me. I swear I will never take another woman into my bed, or to be mine. I only want you. I’ve always wanted you, just you. I’ll be the most satisfied of men if you’ll make me your man too. I would do anything, absolutely anything, to make you happy as my wife. I will never let you feel jealous again, if you’ll let me take your hand. If you’ll marry me.”

Cessilia had tears in her eyes, and that terrible urge to cry. She had always been his, but Ashen’s oath was beyond all she could have hoped for. She loved him so much at this moment, it almost hurt her poor heart. She couldn’t handle the turmoil of emotions. She was happy; undoubtedly, endlessly happy.

Before she could think of an answer, Ashen took out a little box. She had no idea he was carrying this on him, or even how he’d hidden it all this time. The box was about the size of her hand, very simple and wooden, but when he opened it, Cessilia’s jaw dropped. A marvelous piece of jewelry was beautifully displayed inside. It wasn’t a ring or a bracelet, but something combining both. She immediately recognized the peculiar and beautiful shine of nacre pearls, assembled in waves and lines, shining with the most beautiful colored shades under the sunlight.

“Ashen... that’s...”

Without saying a word, looking quite emotional himself, he helped her put it on. He first put the golden bracelet on her wrist, and pulled the complex tangle of nacre pearls to cover the back of her hand, before putting the other end of the jewelry, a golden ring, on her finger. It was a beautiful, delicate piece. Cessilia realized, through the unique shape, the nacre beads were actually sculpted and expertly interlaced to replicate the appearance of dragon scales. They undulated with every movement, and were tightly bound in little waves. The nacre pearls shone iridescent, reminiscent of the beautiful columns in the Cerulean Suite. The jewelry had been beautifully crafted, looking simple, feminine, and delicate on her hand, without being too much. The contrast of the iridescent white pearls against her bronze skin was making it all even more perfect. The gold ring and bracelet seemed to be only beautiful accessories to this uniquely crafted piece. Cessilia was genuinely speechless. This jewelry seemed to be perfect, and... made for her.

At a loss for words, she glanced at Ashen, who smiled.

“You like it?”

“I absolutely love it,” she muttered. “Ashen, it’s beautiful...”

“I heard you loved nacre the most,” he smiled, relieved, “so I asked them to focus on it more than the gold.”

“But when... Just how did you...?”

She couldn’t understand. Gold was incredibly rare and valuable in the Eastern Kingdom. One piece alone would be worth so much, and he had found enough to make both a ring and a bracelet. Not only that, but the nacre piece was clearly designed for her...