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“Hazel,” I said, “will you do me the honor of being my empress?”
The word “empress” took her by surprise.
I suppose it wasn’t every day someone asked you to rule over sixty billion Titans. Although she was touched, she took a moment to take a sip of her wine and then placed her hands on mine.
She dropped down onto her knees in front of me.
I said, “You’ll ruin your dress—”
“I don’t care about my dress,” she said. “Ever since we’ve met, I’ve dreamed you would ask me this question. I want nothing more than to be your wife.”
“Excellent!” I said. “I’ll get the organizers to prepare the ceremony—”
She held my hands and prevented me from standing. There was a look in her eye I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
“Your proposal is… a little different from what I expected,” she said.
Was she going to turn me down?
My mouth turned dry.
“Different how?” I said.
“I never once, in all my daydreams, expected you to ask me to be your empress,” she said.
“But I am the emperor. When you marry me, you’ll become the empress.”
She pressed a finger to my lips.
“I would marry you in a heartbeat,” she said. “My answer to you is yes. Yes, I will be yours. I have been since we first met. I will be your wife. But I will not be your empress.”
Her response was… unexpected.
“I’m not sure I understand,” I said. “After the war and the devastation, the people need something to cling to, something they can look forward to, something that will give them hope for a brighter future.”
“I understand that, but I’m not sure… I don’t know if I can be the empress to so many people,” she said.
Of all the responses I thought she might say, I never thought it would be this.
“I love you,” she said. “But I don’t know if I can be the empress the empire needs. Back home, no one knows who I am. Here… everyone would know me.”
I was taken aback. She loved me and would marry me, but couldn’t be the empress?
What did that mean?
She wanted to be with me but she didn’t want to be the empress. It wasn’t a situation I’d even considered before.
I needed to give this some thought.
“Are you mad at me?” Hazel said.
“Never,” I said, taking her in my arms. “I could never be mad at you. It’s not an easy question to answer. It’s not about you and me. It’s about the two of us being leaders of hundreds of worlds.”
“I might be ready one day,” she said hopefully.
“But not right now.”
“I’m a regular girl with no background in taking care of entire nations—”
