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Even with one of his eyes swollen shut from bee stings, Arthur would recognize Nyx anywhere. As he had suspected, the small, dark-haired mage was sitting in the forest by herself with a book. She liked to read by herself. And while Arthur had something very important to speak to her about, he decided to wait. He was a hero, and could ignore the throbbing of his bee stings.
Nyx saat on a stump in a clearing, the sun shining hrough the break in the canopy to shroud her in light. ‘She really is the light of my life,’ Arthur thought to himself.
“Arthur dear, you don’t need to wait for me to finish reading. If you came out here to fetch me, you can simply say so.” Nyx did not look up from her book as she spoke to Arthur. She seemed awfully intent on her book, but Arthur approached her.
“No, miss Nyx, I have not been sent to retrieve you. I am not here on a hero’s mission, but of my own volition.”
“Oh? And what do you mean by that?” Nyx asked, nonchalant.
Arthur went to one knee before her, and held out what he had been hiding in his hand.
It was a bee. It stung Arthur and flew off.
Nyx was frozen for a second, and neither of them knew what to say. Finally, Nyx jumped up. “Ah yes, you’ve been stung quite severely. You’ve come to the right place.” Nyx pulled a first aid kit seemingly out of thin air. She immediately began plucking out the bee stingers with one hand while applying ointent to the stings with the other. “Don’t worry Arthur, there’s nothing to worry about.”
Arthur did the best he could do listen to her, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the ring he’d lost in the forest.
***
“Setsuna, where are you?” Nyx called out as Arthur approached her. The tiny mage had been assigned to go looking for Setsuna, who was missing once again. Arthur, as a noble hero, regretted delaying the search even a moment. But his business with Nyx was pressing. He had not been afflicted by bad luck since his second attempt to propose to Nyx (which had ended as dismally as the first) so he knew it would happen any time now.
So, Arthur walked right up to Nyx, went down on one knee, and fell into a sinkhole he had not noticed.
Arthur managed to land flat on his face. The ring flew out of his hand, never to be seen again.
“Oh hello Arthur, what brings you down here?” Setsuna asked. She had not only fallen into the sinkhole. She had also caused the top to be covered back up. She would not have been found without Arthur.
Nyx called down to them “I’ll go get help from the camp.”
Arthur lamented the loss of his third ring.
***
Arthur was now on his fifth ring. Elise was starting to wonder why he had used up five years of advance pay, but Arthur had said he’d tell her if it went well.
This was the time. He fifth time has to be the charm. For most people it’s the third time, but Arthur has less luck than most. But this was Arthur’s time. He could feel it. Nyx was alone in the middle of camp, daydreaming. He would approach her, fall to one knee, not fall into a sinkhole, and then hand her the ring he had prepared. A ring, not a bee. Arthur looked down to triple check. How he’d given Nyx two bees he would never know. The first time was bad enough. But the second time it stung his tongue before flying off. That had been a less than heroic moment.
But Arthur knew he could not hesitate any longer.
He stepped out, fell to one knee, held out the ring, and opened his mouth to propose. .
Nyz cut him off. “I’m tired of these games, Arthur. I thought you, of all people, would be above this.”
Arthur was stopped dead in his tracks. “Nyx, I do not understand. A hero does not play games. Well, he plays games with children, certainly, but not any sort of malicious games.”
Nyx let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Come now. This is your fifth ‘proposal.’I can’t believe anyone would propose to me once, let alone five times. You are clearly baiting me to get a reaction. That’s cruel and-”
Before she could continue, Keaton called out to her. “Hey Nyx.”
Nyx turned to glare at him. Keaton did not seem to notice, as he was already busy avoiding eye contact with her. “You see, I found these pieces of junk that smelled like Arthur. And now they’re stuck to my fingers. You can help me, if you want. It’s not like I’m asking for help.”
Nyx stared at his hand, where four engagement rings were stuck to his fingers. With a hesitant snap of her fingers, Nyx transported them from Keaton’s fingers to the palm of her hand. “These smell like Arthur, you say?”
“Yeah, like he sweated nervously all over them. Hi Arthur! Well, I’ll be going now. You can keep that junk, I don’t want it anyways.” With that, Keaton left.
Nyx and Arthur were left alone, and did not know what to say to each other.
Finally, Nyx broke the silence. “I believe I owe you an apology Arthur. My insecurities have caused me to make rash judgements. I understand why you can’t go through with this. I’ll pay you back for the rings, so-”
Arthur was giving her a quizzical look. “Why do you think I would not marry you?”
Nyx blinked at him in confusion. “Because I just yelled at you.”
Arthur let out a hero’s bellowing laugh. “My dear Nyx, this was the best proposal so far! I am still physically capable of proposing to you! And I have all five of my rings! This is the best chance I’ve had.” Arthur, who was still on his knee, put on the most serious face he could manage. “Nyx, I love you. Even though you’ve been hurt in the past, you’re kind. I’ve never met a woman who has suffered as much as you, and still continues to do good. You’re my hero, Nyx. I want to spend my life doing good by your side.”
Nyx clutched the rings tight in her hand. “Arthur, are you sure? You’re so kind and good. You don’t let anything stop you from doing what’s right. You’re my hero! You’ll always be my hero. Even if you don’t love me, you’ll be my hero. I never expected you to love me back. I never expected anyone to love me. But watching you stride forward in spite of all your misfortunes makes me want to be stronger. You don’t need to force yourself. I’m happy as long as I can watch you take on the world.”
Arthur, overcome with emotion, wrapped Nyx into a tight hug. “Nyx my dear, I promise I love you. I promise I’ll love you to my dying day. I’ll be the hero you want. And if you simply continue to be yourself, you’ll be my hero.” Arthur was crying by this point. “Please be my wife. Let me prove to you that you deserve my love. Let me prove that I love you. Let yourself be happy.”
Part of Nyx did not believe it. But she had spent her entire life, her very long life, listening to that part of her. For once, she would listen to Arthur.
“Thank you for loving me, Arthur.”