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"Excuse me, Your Highness."
The group looked up from the heated discussion on marriage. The interruptor, a handsome blond decked in blue, silver, and gold, caught the stares of the various women in the group. He nodded to each of them, causing them to flush and giggle.
"Yes, Alucard?" the simply-dressed, elegant young lady addressed him.
"There is someone who wishes to speak with you."
Her brows lifted in question, waiting for whoever would like to speak to her to appear.
Alucard glanced sideways at the gaggle of women behind her. "He would like to speak to you alone."
The women tittered as Princess Silvanna excused herself, and hurried away with Alucard.
"Thank you," she breathed when the Valentine's party was out of earshot. "I didn't know how to get out of that one."
"Marriage again, my lady?"
"Oh my goodness, yes! They never get tired of grilling me about trifling things like that." She waved her hand dismissively. "If I could throw them out, I would do it in a heartbeat." She smiled up at Alucard. "Thank you again."
"It's not me you have to thank," he said, a rare smile gracing his features. He watched her frown, recognizing the cogs turning in her head, trying to figure out who it really was who pulled her out of that party. He gestured outside, and a lone figure stood among the Guardian Eagles in the Imperial Courtyard, his white coat glowing gold in the sunset's gentle light.
"Captain Tigreal has cleared the Courtyard for you," Alucard explained gently, "and we will make sure you are undisturbed tonight."
She faced him, her face in utter disbelief, and he gave her a knowing smile. He stepped back and bowed deeply, making sure not to touch her.
She was not his to touch.
"Excuse me, Your Highness." Without waiting for her reply, he turned on his heel and left. Silvanna spied two others that stepped out into the hall to greet him, and heard Fanny's light giggles, Harith's mirthful laughter, and Alucard's quiet hush.
Her thoughts came rushing back, and her heart beat in her throat like thunder in a storm. She faced the courtyard, smoothing the front of her blue, white, and gold gown to calm her nerves some. Her face was hot and her skin prickled. She was excited and nervous and oh, so terrified of what might transpire tonight.
It was as if time stopped when she looked at him.
The tiniest voice in the back of her head screamed at her to walk, but she was frozen in place, like a deer in headlights, entranced by the way he stood there, glowing in the fading orange light, then taking a step forward.
She snapped out of her reverie, and took a few tentative steps forward, out of the shadows of the castle. The sunlight hit her face, blinding her right side a little, but she didn't flinch; she was too focused by the sight coming towards her.
As he drew closer, she didn't greet him. She was scared the moment would shatter like fine crystal, like a beautiful vase that would crumble in her hands if she so much as breathed.
Granger ascended the first flight of stairs, and then the second, each step quicker than the other, hurrying to her before she reached the top of the stairs, not wanting to disturb her any more than he already did.
When he reached the top, they stopped.
They were closer than they had ever been in a long while. Granger had been busy completing missions, and Silvanna with her duties as princess and next in line for the throne. And now that they stood here, nearly face-to-face....
Granger didn't know what to do. He only got as far as coming to the big Valentine's party to bring her the best bouquet he could find in the Capital's busy, overflowing bazaar this morning, with the help of his however unlikely friend Alucard. His heart pounded in his chest for the first time in a long while, and fear and excitement coursed through his veins and prickled his skin, a feeling that not even the hardest of missions could incite. His fingers grew cold and clammy as the rest of him grew warm; he was glad he wore gloves this time.
"My lady," he blurted out, hard and fast, and he ducked down onto one knee. The ends of his tie nearly poked him in the eye, he went so fast. He flinched, and his ears pricked. He looked up, right at the source of the sound, and relaxed slightly.
Silvanna had laughed.
It was a soft sound, still very prim and proper as her etiquette called for, but he knew it was very rare for her to laugh of her own accord. He watched her enough times from afar as she entertained guests at a party, and she had never laughed the same way she had just now.
To him, it was the most amazing sound in the world.
"Granger," she greeted him for the first time. "I...heard you called for me?"
"Yes, my lady." He was astounded; his voice wasn't shaking. "I...would like to give you this." He presented the large bouquet without fanfare.
Silvanna would have been amused by the rough-handed way he produced the flowers from behind his back, but she was instead amazed by the sheer size of it...and the choices. Bright red carnations meant deep love and admiration, while amaryllis meant beauty, and yellow daffodils meant a new beginning.
What was he saying?
"I...I am but a lowly Demon Hunter," Granger started, "with the blood of demons and humans alike on my hands, and I know that I am unworthy of the affections of a princess. But for so long have I watched you from afar, and now that it's Valentine's Day...will you be my Valentine?"
He swallowed, bending his head down in embarrassment and frustration. That went way shorter than Granger and Alucard had planned it out to be. He was supposed to talk about how he had admired her intelligence, beauty, loyalty, and determination, among others—
"Of course."
His head whipped up to face her, and she giggled again. Did his ears deceive him for the first time? He didn't want to ask her again....
"I'll be your Valentine, Granger," she clarified for him.
He felt dizzy; his palms were sweaty, knees weak, and arms heavy. He was nervous, but now he was calm and ready. He put the bouquet behind his back again and out of the way, and reached up with his hand. She offered hers, and he gently took her fingers, lifting her gloved hand to kiss the back of it.
Too soon, she pulled her hand away, but she pulled him along to stand before her. He was much taller than her, but in her heels, she could just tilt her head, and seal his lips with hers.
He froze in shock at the touch, but she pressed closer, her gloved hands running over his clothed chest, and, throwing caution to the wind, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer. They stood together in the evening light, locked in a gentle embrace.
"That was my first kiss, you know," Silvanna whispered, her warm breath washing over his chin, her bright blue eyes peering up at him from long, black lashes.
His red gaze was usually hard and guarded. Here, alone with her, his eyes were soft, attentive, gently observant, and perhaps a little glossed over.
"I-it was?"
She giggled. The sound, up close, was much better than he thought. "Did you think I slept around?"
He tensed and stammered, babbling his reply, but she threw her head back and laughed. Her hands touched his cheeks and held his face, and she kissed him again. She felt him soften and relax under her touch, and she rubbed her thumbs across his cheeks.
He pulled away to breathe the softest, most tentative "I love you."
...at which he visibly panicked, having caught himself saying it out of nowhere—
"I love you, too."
His heart leapt, and for the first time since they met, the corners of his mouth lifted in a large smile. His happiness was contagious, and she grinned back at him with just as much joy.
"To new beginnings?" she asked, glancing over his shoulder, hoping he'd understand she meant the daffodils in his bouquet.
He did. "To new beginnings."
And when that, he ducked his head to kiss her again. And again. And again.