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“More than half of this won’t even be of use until she’s at least twelve.” Aria chuckled.
“Time flies by fast when you’re a mother, and even faster when you’re a grandmother.”
“It’s not flying fast enough right now,” Travus muttered annoyedly, and Aria grabbed her nose to keep from snorting out loud. “Your Guardian Majesty, could you keep an eye on Ivy and greet the guests on our behalf while we take care of some things?”
“Oh, absolutely,” said the Fairy Guardian absently as she cooed over Ivy, completely taken by the child.
Travus hummed in satisfaction and pulled Aria away and outside into the gardens where they walked quietly away from the chatter. “Today must be overwhelming for you,” he said, to which she nodded. “When did we last see everyone?”
“I don’t think we met with anyone other than Arthur and Mierna since the Realm Collective Council meeting,” she sighed. “It was so tense when we signed the agreement. It’s strange to see them act so…normal.”
“They don’t have a choice,” he chuckled. “Two of the realm’s strongest individuals not only married but had a child who is expected to surpass even us. I’m sure they’re curious about how everything will turn out. They must tread carefully.”
He gently put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close, sensing that she still didn’t feel any better. She felt guilty of how anxious she’d become despite the affection he gave her. While he was more than capable of protecting her and Ivy, she didn’t want to be isolated from the rest of the realm like he was for centuries. Maybe he was okay with such extreme measures, but she wasn’t.
“One day, I’ll have to take Ivy to the Enchanted Forest,” she sighed. “There will be…expectations. I’m technically a Princess of sorts under my mother, and now Queento Eldoria, and probably the main voice to be favored in the Enchanted Forest as well regardless of the Council reformation. I fear that–”
“You’re lost in the future,” he said gently and turned her around to face him. “We’ll deal with it when the time comes, and it won’t be for quite some time, My Love.”
She blushed and glanced at him before turning her gaze to the roses peeking out of the snow. “Y-you, um…”
“What?”
“That’s the first time you addressed me like that.”
He blinked at her. “Do you not know that I love you?”
“No.”
Travus’s face grew red as he held her chin in his hand. “I thought that it was obvious given how well we complement each other. It would seem only natural for you to assume so.”
“It’s alright,” she said softly. “I don’t expect you to say–”
“Aria,” he said seriously, silencing her as his finger gently coaxed her chin upward. Her breath caught in her chest with the way he gazed into her eyes. He exhaled gently, deeply, with sincerity in his touch as his hand slid over her face. His thumb traced under her eye lightly as he smiled. “Do you remember how we first met?”
“Yes, I crashed us into a wooden house when you were invading Vih–”
“Goodness, no, not–” he groaned and shook his head, and Aria almost laughed. “I mean, yes, technically, but I couldn’t see your face then, so I doubt it counts. But even then, you were a force to be reckoned with. It left quite an impression on me.”
He sighed and continued. “The day you came to the castle, I remember thinking that you held the glow of the sun in your eyes.”
She could feel her cheeks warming.
“When I swam into the River of Mortality, the light was the color of your blue eyes. You said I forgot that I had to come back to you, but I didn’t. Those souls in the water, they tried to consume me, but it was the image of your determined gaze that got me through the last leg of the journey to the river.”
She wasn’t sure what to say and remained silent.
“Aria, you’re my source of strength,” he declared. “I look at you and know that whatever kindness I enforce upon my behavior, it’s not because you are delicate, but you are safe to do it with. We’re equals, and our vulnerabilities remain unexploited with each other because we truly respect each other.”
A tremor passed through her as he spoke, and she was left speechless.
“I may not have fallen in love with you immediately, but I think what we’ve grown into is what love is meant to be. I know I’m insufferable sometimes, and I admit that you get on my nerves on some days as well but…I can’t have it any other way. I’m used to doing things the hard way with you, so I don’t care how difficult it is for me to say it. I love you.”
By then Aria was struggling as she tried to hold back the tears. For the longest time, all the men that she’d ever gotten involved with at all were too intimidated by her to accept her for who she was. And though Travus was the last personanyonecould’ve expected to be her mate, it made sense.
She was glad, and also very relieved.
“Th-thank you,” she said awkwardly. “I know I haven’t said it much since the…the conundrum–”
