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It’s been quite some time since the Cradle had known peace like this.
Black and Red were no longer adversaries, but a united force for building the Cradle into a more prosperous world. Central even feels different, as if the once-neutral territory no longer has the function of separation, but as serves a hub of unity between the two armies.
It has also been quite some time since a certain King of Spades and Alice the Second has had a day off. Between restructuring the army and investigating the fallout from Amon, it seemed as if the constant workload would never end. They were fine, though, all things considered. They both had their jobs and responsibilities, after all.
As Alice the Second, she has become a sort of peacemaker between the two armies. A spark of light that seemed to brush away the darkness that, at times, taints the meetings between the previous warring states. Her gentle but firm resolution seemed to colour their tempers and, like a watermark, she sets the tone for the edifice of peace.
He rolls over, half-rousing at the action, and sighs when he sees the first rays of sunlight through his curtains. However, he can’t help but feel at peace at the light. He’s always liked sunny weather, but, recently, he started loving it even more. After all, sunny weather is her favourite type of weather too. The thought of her smile inadvertently makes him smile. He blinks blearily as he notices the sky’s rouge colouring. The red tint warns for rains later on and he makes a mental note to check for thunderstorms just in case.
He breathes deeply, content in the knowledge that he has the day off. It’s a bittersweet feeling though. He wishes Anne could join him all day, but they’ll only have a day off together in another month.
The knowledge that she’s been so committed always bolsters his own confidence and motivation to keep going. They were a good team. It was something he never really thought he’d find -someone he could really rely on.
He lets his gaze drift down to her, secure and asleep next to him. He smiles and sighs contently. This was probably the part of the day he looks forward to the most and, he can’t help but feel slightly giddy at the prospect that he’ll be allowed to wake up like this for the rest of his life. Of course, so far, they’re not officially engaged yet, as he’d wanted to create something special for her… but with both their lives in a seeming endless loop of busy, it all seems to have become a less and less of a priority. After all, everyone knew they were together and Anne does seem content in that knowledge alone... but for Ray, he wanted more. He needed her to know that too.
He wanted her to know, with not just a promise but with a vow, that he would always be there for her, no matter what.
She doesn’t have the hunter nor a soldier’s instincts that his army does, but her unconscious still has excellent instincts all the same, as the next moment her one eye slowly opens when she feels his gaze. She takes a breath before mumbling out, “Whrrr… hhmmm… you … why’re you awake… you okay?”
“I’m fine, go back to sleep,” he answers softly, conscientious of her sleepy state. He smiles affectionately and slowly runs a hand through her fringe, “I’m off today. I’ll wake you up when up when it’s time, okay?”
“… oh… ” she blinks sleepily, eyes drifting close. She takes a breath but suddenly bolts upright with eyes wide, “You are? That’s today?”
“Yes?” Ray answers, instantly on edge at her action, “What’s wrong?”
She jumps out and quickly dresses in her dress and apron as she explains, “I’m on morning shift today… If I can finish everything early then we can spend the day together,” she says, a grin on her lovely features as she practically skips around the bed to his side, “Why don’t you sleep some more until I get back?”
“But what about you-” he starts, but gets caught up in her kiss.
She doesn’t linger though and he almost falls out of bed as he follows her lips, hoping to make the kiss last, “I won’t be long.”
Her ponytail bouncing out the door was the last thing he sees of her as she closes the door behind her. He still can’t fathom, after all this time, how he’s been lucky enough to have met her.
Her charm, her kindness, her altruism, her laughter, her smile, her kiss, her taste. She weaves a magic all of her own, nothing like they possess in either Cradle or in her home world. This magic is something only she possesses and he’s entirely under her spell.
She so effortlessly and utterly overwhelmed him with her grace. The slight sway of her hips as she goes, the melodic tone of her voice like a symphony, her identity –not laced in rank nor station- all of her own making, has affected his own. Her intuitive patterns of knowledge that carve out a divine purpose in moments that he has always overlooked before. She had turned menial details into memories more precious than any amount of magic stones they could ever acquire.
He rolls over to her side, his face dropping down into her cushion. Strawberries and sunlight. It’s like the all his happiest memories somehow merged with her scent alone. Soft and sweet and warm.
For a quiet moment, he stays still. Breathing in. Exhaling out.
Slowly he feels the pull of sleep overtaking his form. The lull of consciousness that seems to be haven safe from sensation. A blissful feeling of slipping in and out of awareness.
He can hear the soft pat of boots on carpet outside his door and knows his troops from night shift have returned. Sirius should be attending to their report. He knows he should leave it as is, trusting his men to do their job well as they always do. So, he does.
That is, until his door bursts open.
“WAKE UP,” it’s Fenrir.
“Noooo…. It’s my day off-”
“Then whose butt can I kick at practice?”
“Try Sirius.”
“Oi, he might kill me,” Fenrir counters as makes a run for his best friend. He manages to launch himself right on top of Ray before the King has a chance to roll away, “Ah – you’re getting slow.”
“I told you, I’m off today,” Ray groans out, voice strained from the weight on his back, “You’re heavy, by the way.”
“Where are you taking her out to today?” Fenrir states, as if there were no other option.
“I didn’t say anything about that,” Ray counters slyly, shutting his eyes as he resigns himself to the crushing weight from his best friend. Of course, it’s highly possible the entire Black Army knew of his plans for him and Anne today. After all, they’ve all had a hand in investing in it.
Fenrir pouts, sits up a bit before plopping his full weight on Ray to knock the wind out of him for fun, “I’m jealous. Why didn’t you take me out like that?”
“Good question,” Alice the Second quips as she walks in with a tray of tea and cookies.
Pushing himself up at once – causing a very manly shriek to erupt from Fenrir as he’s launched sideways – Ray sits up, “Anne, you’re back~”
“I knew I’d find you here too,” she says with a laugh when Fenrir sends her puppy dog eyes as he looks at the delicious setup of treats. She sets the tray between them and steps back with a smiles at their unified thanks. They settle cross-legged next to each other and start wolfing down the tea and cookies she’s brought.
“Did Ray ever tell you though?” Fenrir asks, his words muffled from the large bite of the fresh sugar cookies she’d made. He dusts his hands off a moment later and pre-emptively puts his arm up as a shield from Ray, “That he practiced for weeks on - no- I’m telling her!”
The scarlet blush and indignant attempts to cover Fenrir’s mouth only served to fuel the other.
“He practiced asking you out for weeks! He even made all of us reject him so he could get used to it – HAHAHA!” Fenrir laughs at a narrowly missed pillow swing, “What -it was cute?!”
The absolute scarlet blush stretching from Ray’s neck to his ear tips were confirmation enough.
“… is that so…” she comments, a barely contained smirk on her lips now, “…. Well…”
Ray hangs his head for a moment before glaring at his best friend, “The next time we’re on the training grounds, I’m taking you down,” he snaps in embarrassment before downing the last of his citrus tea.
“That’s so hot~” Fenrir quips at Ray, winking at Anne as he rolls out of the bed –and out of pillow assault range, “… You should know though, Anne, you almost had competition. Ray’s an awesome poker buddy and -”.
“GET OUT!” Ray yells indignantly, throwing the pillow after his best friend, narrowly missing the closing door.
The soft chuckle escaping her form seeps his embarrassment out of him though. She seems adamant at least trying to muffle her laughter, but all it manages to do is highlight how absolutely entertained she was. Her nose scrunches, dimples showing and her shoulders shaking as she tries to keep her laughter in.
“You really practiced?” she says after a few moments, eyes shining in amusement.
“It’s not funny… and they all had the harshest rejections too,” Ray answers, moving the tray to his bedside table, “Especially Sirius and Fenrir…”
The giggles slowly become louder as she tries desperately to keep them in.
And, of course, seeing the control slip makes Ray want to tell her more. He loves this side of her, when she slowly shows her true colours so brilliantly.
“Luka and Seth were nice enough to just say ‘No’… or ‘Not today’,” Ray continues and non-chalantly rests his hand in his chin as he surveys her reaction, “The other two.. man… from ‘EW -old Man’ to ‘You look like a sleep deprived Racoon Dog, there’s no way in hell’… they had no mercy on my soul.”
At this point she’s laughing outright, flopping down on the mattress as her laughter escapes her along with a few snorts and coughs, “StOP-STOP –YOU’RE -HAHAHA”
“I’m SIRIUS-” he voices with infliction enough to make matters worse.
“OH wait … no I’m a RAY of sunshine,” he adds, grinning in victory as her eyes start tearing up from laughter.
“We’re going to have to have a LUKA-round today for out date-” he says, chuckling for a moment before pausing when he notices her giggles dying down.
“Hmm?” she says, smile still present as she wipes the tears from laughter away.
Ray’s smile is one of a bit of exasperation and amusement at her expression. He makes a mental note to surprise her like this more often, at least to the point where she’ll start expecting these types of gestures from him. It’s a challenge he’s looking forward to. He swings his legs over the bed and stands, “If you’re okay to go on a bit of a hike, then yes.”
“YES!” she quickly agrees, sitting up and takes off her apron, “Let me get changed.”
They head to the dresser together, making sure to dress for their trip. It didn’t take too long to get ready, as Ray’s normal military gear was replaced for his off-duty clothes. Anne’s usual dress has been exchanged for a her favourite sundress and boots.
“Ready?” he asks, turning back after having given her a bit of privacy.
“Sure,” she answers, grinning a bit at the fact that he still keeps her modesty in mind even after everything.
He suddenly kneels in front of her, startling her a bit, “Hold on a moment, your laces…” he states, as if it were an explanation in of its own. He double knotted both her boots for her, checking both before looking up. Of course, her blushing face looking down at him had him quickly looking down again as he stood. The view was certainly bringing up memories that would certainly bring an even more vivid shade of red to his cheeks if he strayed even a moment. He clears his throat in order to rid himself of his sudden embarrassment before holding out his arm to her, “Shall we?”
Almost as naturally as breathing, she slips her arm around his as they head out.
The horses and saddles were packed and ready at the front door. Luka and Fenrir stood side by side, doing last checks on the pair of horses’ hooves.
“I packed the booze, don’t worry,” Fenrir says and throws a thumbs-up at Ray as he waltzes past them to the training grounds.
“I guess the cat’s out of the bag,” Ray says awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.
“A picnic, I know, Luka told me… though I really didn’t expect you’d want to do it today,” Anne answers the unasked question, grinning happily when Luka joins her side, “I’m really looking forward to it.”
“Would you like me to accompany you as a bodyguard?” Luka asks, ready to take up his role as Alice the Second’s bodyguard once more. Seth has joined them at the entrance and elbows Luka in the side and pointedly looks at the pair, trying to convey their intention of spending time alone.
“No, we’ll be fine,” Ray says with a laugh when Luka doesn’t quite catch the covert message from Seth. The King of Spades can’t help but feel a surge of appreciation at both of their concern and consideration. He claps Luka on the shoulder a moment later, “So just relax. Thank you for everything.”
“My pleasure… ” Luka says and sends a smile to Anne before nodding to Ray, “I’ll be off then. Take care.”
“Don’t do anything too crazy!” Seth quips with a wink.
“We won’t,” Anne assures and smiles happily as she sees off her best friend, “And thank you, Luka!”
They head over to her horse first and Ray helps her up with one easy lift, chuckling at her usual protest.
“Alright, let’s go,” he says, and they take off to the Black Territory’s gate in an easy trot. He makes sure to match pace with her as they ride out, “So… I was thinking, we could try a Lin date…”
She tilts her head, making a noise of confusion at his statement.
“You choose a number between one and ten, then, at each fork in the road we flip a coin,” he says and brandishes a gold Lin piece from his pocket, “Heads for right, tails for left.”
“Oh… okay?”
“So, pick a number. The first crossroads is coming up.”
“Six?”
He nods and they take their time to make their way to the first intersection, Ray expertly flipping the coin before catching it in his palm, slapping it to the other before checking, “Heads.”
So, they make their way right. The dirt road was a bit rockier than the last, showing its age in the grooves the carriages left on the path. The path slowly narrows into a small forested area, casting shadows over them on the hot day. Progressively, from the first rays of sunlight, the temperature seemed to increase, a bit unusual for late autumn.
“I should’ve rather brought a hat,” Anne comments off-handedly, holding her hands to her cheeks to feel the heat, still aware of the sun’s heat on her face.
Ray sits back on his horse for a moment before checking the saddle bags, “… sorry, I don’t even have my Service Cap with me…”
She shrugs with a laugh, “Don’t worry about it,” she says when she spots the line of worry forming on his forehead, “It’s fine. Please don’t worry.”
“Hold on,” he says, standing up straight on the stirrups as he surveys the area from the higher vantage point. He holds on to the horn of the saddle as he checks the road behind them then to the front to get his bearings before grinning when he spots what he’d been looking for. He sits back down and nods to her as he flicks the reigns to gain speed, “Come on.”
Their leisurely walk turned into a trot as he leads them down the road and through a detour through the trees. Their gallop takes them to a small farmstead off the path. Certainly a vegetable farm, as crops lined the path that runs through the farm towards the main building.
“We usually get our corn and wheat from this family stead,” Ray explains as they make their way down the path together, his voice steady regardless of their pace, “After we dug water trenches for them a few years ago, they’re our main supplier and we’re fortunate enough to retain our original agreed price per bushel… in return, every year we make sure their trenches are cleared out and fortified.”
“That sounds like a lot of work,” Anne says, surprised at learning the intricacies of their supply routes.
“Sending a single unit might take about a week or two, depending the weather and erosion. It’s certainly well worth it though,” Ray says and raises a hand in recognition when the youngest son excitedly waves at them, “They’re good people, they take good care of us.”
The water trenches supplying a steady stream for the crops surrounding them tells the extent of the troops’ labour though. The channels of water flowed steadily through the lands, a sign of sure planning and efficient design.
“King Blackwell, good to see you again,” a man calls out, stepping out from the shed. The young boy, whom had called him, stands proudly at his side, holding onto his hand.
“Still, just Ray is fine,” the young man counters when they finally stop in front of the pair. He dismounts and steps over to Anne, holding his arms out to her, gently aiding her off her horse. He takes her hand and finally heads back to the older man, “Seems you’re keeping well. How’ve you been, Taylor?”
“Quite well,” the older man says and quirks an eyebrow at Ray’s partner. He’s only ever met members of the Black Army, whom accompanied Ray, up until now, and the sight was certainly unexpected.
“This is Anne, she is Alice the Second,” Ray explains, “And certainly in need of one of your wife’s wonderful sunhats.”
“Ah, I see,” Taylor says and bows, motioning for his son to join him, “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Alice.”
With an awkward smile, Anne curtseys. Being called Alice would certainly never feel quite normal, but she recognized it for what it certainly was for the people whom lived in the Cradle, a title of honour.
“Please come in,” Taylor says, straightening up with a smile as he ruffles his son’s hair, “I’m sure Clarisse will have something for you.”
They join the pair inside after tying off their horses’ reigns at the water trough. The main house was right next to the stables, typical for country living. The stable door stood open and Anne makes her way in first, unable to contain the blush that forms each time Ray would hold the door open for her and help her up the steps.
“Oh Ray! And, this is – Anne, right?” a woman, seeming to be in her late forties like her husband, steps forwards, “Welcome. I’m Clarisse.”
The older woman curtsies with a smile, “It’s wonderful to meet you, Ray’s told me quite a bit about you,” she says and chuckles a bit, “You’d be certain Ray has returned to being a smitten schoolboy.”
“Clarisse used to be one of my tutors at the boarding school,” Ray explains, a look of embarrassment on his face.
“For such a bright student, he was also quite the troublemaker,” Clarisse states pointedly and smiles back at Anne, “But it seems you’ve certainly managed to tame him.”
The pair couldn’t have matched their blushing faces even if they’d practiced it beforehand, which makes the married couple burst out in laughter.
“Anne, I’ve a few hats for you to choose from,” Clarisse says, taking Anne’s hand from Ray’s as she walks past, “Follow me, darling.”
Wheat makes a perfect substitute for straw and it was certainly a hobby of Clarisse’s to create hats. Her entire living room was lined with her creations. From boaters, cartwheel hats, mushroom hats, fedoras and Stetsons to sunhats. Clarisse explained the history of each, revelling in the details of how each had their own aesthetic value and charm.
“This would work well with your facial features,” the older woman says, her excitement tangible, as she holds up a boater, “Yes, and I have a ribbon that would match your necklace perfectly!”
“Clarisse,” Ray peeks into the living room, “Do you have a sunhat that Anne would like?”
“OH-” Clarisse pauses and giggles, “My apologies, I got carried away. A boater certainly won’t help with the sun. Anne, please pick whichever one you’d like best.”
It was an easy pick though, the closest hat to her was perfect, it seemed airy but wide enough in the brim to keep even her shoulders in the shade, “This one is beautiful… ”
With practiced hands a green ribbon with an embroidered edge is wrapped around, tied off into a beautiful rosette, “There we are, darling,” Clarisse says and smiles, “I hope you’ll like it.”
“It’s gorgeous, I love it. How much -”
“You can keep it, darling.”
“But-“
“You can tell your friends it’s your first wedding present,” Clarisse jokes, laughing even more once a surprised squeak erupts from the younger woman.
Anne couldn’t help but meet Ray’s eyes for a moment, gauging his reaction.
A relaxed smile, as if he’s planned it, rests upon his lips and he turns to thank Clarisse and her husband before leading Anne out, “It looks good on you,” he says and can’t help but have his eyes linger at her collar for a moment where the emerald necklace lies. He takes a quick look around to make sure they’re alone before placing a soft chaste kiss on her collar, “I think I should’ve rather gotten you a ruby necklace instead, to match your cheeks.”
“Ray-” she smacks his arm.
“What? You know I love to te-“ Ray pauses, straightens up suddenly and loudly announces, “WE SHOULD GET GOING.”
It was an odd outburst for a moment, but when she sees Taylor and Clarisse rounding the corner to join them at the stables, it makes sense. It makes her smile.
“We didn’t see anything, King Blackwell!” Taylor loudly counters, earning a hip shove from his wife.
Once the Black Army couple finally head out once more, it was midday.
It was a quiet ride through the countryside. It was warmer than usual for late autumn, but it was occasionally broken the soft breeze rolling over the hills. Soft clouds flowed over the sky, offering a bit of shade every now and again.
“Okay, last one,” Ray says, tossing the coin up, “… It’s…. tails.”
They check the landscape for a moment around them. It was purely rocks, a bit more mountainous than would be ideal for a picnic.
“This… is not ideal,” he says, face dropping after surveying the spot.
“Oh, come on, this is where fate brought us,” Anne says, her tone serious and firm before she starts laughing at Ray’s expression of exasperation, “Let’s go find a good spot.”
This time she’s off her horse before Ray and takes off to the small mountain as Ray ties off the horses close to a nearby tree. When he finishes and grabs the picnic gear, he’s met with a sight that never ceases to amaze him.
Thirty feet up the hill, she’s climbing up a particularly steep rocky face, intent on reaching the Yew tree that has managed to grow within the rockface. This young, frail woman, with all the courage in the world, fearlessly swings her leg up and manages to pull herself up to the embankment. He doesn’t worry too much, at least, not after the incident where she’d attacked the bounty hunters with only a broom.
For the picnic, Ray was intent on finding a better spot, a softer spot. With flowers, maybe a river… and she just accepted their fate and did so with a smile. Fearless and reckless and charming.
“Do you have rope?” she calls, gesturing just in case.
He grabs the extra rope he ties at the back of his saddle and takes it with the rest of the packs. The path up the hill was riddled with loose stones and awkward slanting rocks. When he reaches the bottom of the steeper rockface she’d climbed, he tosses up the rope to her without a word. They work together to make a make-shift pulley in order to raise up the packs with the least amount of effort.
“Did Sirius teach you this?” Ray calls up once he helps up the last pack.
“… My father did…” she answers, a glimmer of a sad smile on her face before she hoists the pack up the last few yards, “We built a tree house together.”
Ray, whom was slowly making his way up in a free climb, paused, “What’s a tree house?”
Anne gapes at him, ”Do you really not know?”
“Just kidding,” he answers, finally making it to the top with a laugh. She was fun to tease.
They take a breather, clearing out the area of dead branches and leaves before sitting down to survey the scene.
“…. This…. Is beautiful…” Ray says, the astonishment clear in his tone.
“Sometimes just seeing the bright side makes a problem bearable,” Anne says and smiles at the scenic view, “Make the problem something fun, or find something useful to learn from it… I guess.”
He tilts his head, it sounded quite the same to him.
“… like… let’s say you burn a cherry pie, the filling is still good,” she says and shrugs, “Or… when you break an arm – that’s when you have time to read a book or something.”
He nods, smiling at her optimism. She certainly managed to do that quite often. She saw the world, not quite through an idealized view, but more through an intuitive utilitarian view. She managed to find the good in people, in places, in problems and in life in a way he’s truly envious of. Like the stars she creates light in darkness.
She had managed to find an exquisite location, one which he would’ve easily overlooked. She always sees the potential in everything and that was certainly a divine quality she possessed.
“Hey… isn’t that the farm… Taylor and Clarisse’s?” Anne asks, leaning close to him and pointing in the distance.
Sure enough, barely visible from the vantage point, but discernible nonetheless, “Yes, you have good eyes.”
The thought of them, their family… she smiles at the thought of maybe, one day in the distant future, to have that with the man next to her. She touches her sunhat and mutters, “They were nice…”
He looks over, expecting her to continue, only to watch as several emotions wash over her face before she finally takes off the sunhat and sets it down with a smile.
“Let’s get started…” Anne states and stands, brushing off her dress before heading over to the packs.
They work in tandem, slowly unpacking the picnic setup. The blanket and throws first, then the plates and cutlery, the glasses then wine, the fruits and finally the two wrapped lunches.
“I asked Luka to make these,” Ray says unfolding the tea-towel from the box, “It’s Shepherd’s Pie.”
Her eyes light up and she smiles, “Wow… really?”
“And for dessert, Syllabub… Sylab….” He pauses and grimaces, “I’m not sure how to pronounce it…”
“The first time was right,” she says, barely containing her excitement. When she returned to the Cradle, she’d brought a couple of her recipe books from home, especially for Luka. They cooked well together and she enjoyed learning traditional food from Cradle, but, having food form home made especially for her… She takes a deep breath, pressing her lips together to centre herself. It meant so much to her that, even after all this time, they still took her in consideration for things like this. It meant the world to her that they would try to bring a bit of London to her new home in Cradle. She swallows hard, forcing down her tears before smiling brightly in appreciation, “Thank you… Ray… thank you so much.”
He nods, understanding the feeling. That homesickness. The only time he’d felt it in his life was when Anne had returned to London… for that month, he felt it every second. He never wanted her to feel the same again and he never wanted to feel it either. So, he made sure to make it his job to make Cradle into a world that she would want to stay in, to call her own, to call home.
The muscadel, a sweet dessert wine, was certainly a good fit for the occasion. He checked the packs for a bottle opener, but found none. He checked again as Anne busied herself dishing out for them. He sighs and walks back to her, “Small problem.” He knew he could dig out the cork with his pocket knife, but floating bits of cork was certainly never an appetizing idea.
“Oh… that’s okay… um… did you pack a candle and matches?” Anne says and takes the bottle from him.
He tilts his head and fetches the matches and candle from the pack. It wasn’t very windy, but it was certainly not an ideal time yet for anything necessitating candlelight. But, she seems to have a plan and he makes sure to sit upwind in order to block the soft breeze as she works.
“I learnt this from the Head Patisserie at the confectionery shop,” Anne says and lights the candle. She holds up the edge of the bottle, close to the cork, to the flame. Slowly twisting the bottle to evenly warm the area, it took only a few moments before the cork popped out, seemingly without effort.
“THAT-” Ray exclaims, picking up the cork as she fills their glasses.
“Handy isn’t it?” she says and laughs a bit.
“You keep surprising me,” Ray says, a touch of fondness clear in his voice as he stares at him.
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“It is.”
The cottage pie was a bit spicier than either of them expected. They both ended up trying to see whom could finish theirs the fastest, only to end up only half finishing it before downing the bottle of wine in a vain attempt to dissuade the burn.
The Syllabub was a delicious counter though. A lemony tang with a honey and cream counter that was rich and a blissfully sour sweet mix to the palette. The King of Spades was certainly enamoured with it and, even more so when a certain lady with enviable charms, made sure to finish the cool dessert with a kiss that seemed to melt him from the inside out.
“You’re much too sweet for me,” he says once separate, leaning forwards until his forehead rests on her shoulder.
“Am I?” she teases back, making sure to run her fingers over the nape of his neck before kissing it.
He takes a breath, but once the breath turns into a yawn, she sits back and pats the top of her legs, “Lie down for a bit.”
The emerald-eyed soldier blinked tiredly and smiles awkwardly, “You wouldn’t mind?”
She leans back and pats her knees once more with an expectant look.
He leans down and rests his head on her thighs, sighing as the tension from his shoulders seep out of him, “… How do you do that… ?”
The young woman runs her hand through his hair slowly, aware of his sleepy state, “Do what?”
“You … calm me down and yet ...” he muses out loud before taking hold of her hand, holding it to his heart. The quickened pulse under her fingertips noticeable, “Every time you touch me… or I’m near you… you make my heart beat so fast.”
She smiles affectionately down at him, “Why don’t you sleep for a bit?” she says, chalking his words up to fatigue.
“It’s true though… that day when you first arrived here… you fell into my arms…. I’m not sure if my heart ever slowed down since then,” he says and chuckles a bit, closing his eyes, “… I love you.”
“… I love you too..” she says softly, closing her own eyes as she rests back.
It was beautifully shady and protected from the heat on their perch. The soft chirp of birds in the distance was the perfect accompanist to their serene atmosphere. The rustle of the Yew leaves above them brush against the bark in a melody that slowly seeps the tension from the last few week from their forms.
It was a beautiful afternoon. The striking blue above, slowly painted over with the occasional cloud, the soft white slowly drifting across the sky like a vessel upon the ocean.
Ray opens his eyes after a few moments, softly touching Anne’s cheek as he does to draw her attention, “I have something to give you.”
He reaches under the blanket, surprising her as he pulls out a couple of books that she hadn’t noticed that he’d stashed there before they set up. The first two books where books of military strategy, the ones she’s asked about a few weeks ago when Ray has used them as reference when he explained their plan to her. He knew she wanted to understand how they made their choices, and these were the same books that had carried his education until he became king. The leather-bound hardcover books were his great-grandfather’s manuals, hand-written and built upon in each generation, “I want you to have these.”
She opens her mouth to protest only to have him remind her that, as she’s his family now too, she’ll need to know their secrets too. She smiles at the term of endearment and thanks him so reverently, he can’t help but feel lightheaded.
“This… ” he sits upright, turning to face her fully before he holds out the third book and clears his throat a bit, “A journal… for your recipes and … everything else …”
She tilts her head and takes the book, a bit confused at the blush on his cheeks. She opens it up in the middle and smiles at the ideas of everything she could fill the pages with. The pages rustle in the wind as she leaves through them before closing it once more. The book was a black leather-bound blank paged book, a perfect companion size.
He seems like he wants to add something, but doesn’t. He’s silent for a moment before nodding, as if making an internal decision. He meets her eyes and simply smiles softly, “So… do you like them?”
“I love it – Ray, these are amazing!” she says, giddy as she hugs them close, “Thank you so so much!”
“I just wanted you to know… no matter in what world we’re in… or wherever we are… I swear on my honour… I will always be on your side.” Ray says, his voice filled with conviction and strength. He sits forwards, making sure to lean in just enough that their lips barely touch as he adds, “I will always be on your side…or bottom… preferably top…”
“RAY?!
He chuckles but takes her one hand in his, turning her hand around and slowly kisses the palm of her left hand. He looks up, smiling at her blushing face before adding playfully, “… I definitely need to get you a ruby one instead.”
She makes sure to wrap her books separately in one of the throws, intent on keeping them safe from dust and damage as they pack up for the day.
It was late afternoon by the time they’re saddled up once more and slowly making their way back from their picnic.
“I’m sorry it’s so short… ” Ray apologizes softly, reaching to take her hand as they ride side by side. He points to the mountain they were sitting at only half an hour ago, surprising her at the appearance of dark clouds above, “I knew it was going to rain today.. I’m not sure if there’ll be thunder but, I’d rather not take that chance.”
She nods appreciatively, taken aback by his consideration again. Finally, she shakes her head, “It’s alright. It was really lovely, I really enjoyed it today,” she says.
They make their way home, just in time for the soft rain to start. After a short bath and final dinner, they head back to their room.
“I shouldn’t have climbed that… “ Anne says, the spark of pain making her laugh.
“You looked like a mountain cat,” Ray says grins seductively at her, “It was incredibly enticing to watch.”
“You~” she smacks his arm playfully.
“Thank you… for going out with me today,” Ray says when they close their door, he rests his forehead on hers, eyes closed. “I can’t tell you how much it meant to me.”
“I think I have an idea,” she counters, aware of how softly he’s taken hold of her hands.
For a moment they stand in silence, simply reveling in each other company before they bid each other goodnight. Ray has a meeting the following morning and Anne wanted to start her first journal entries.
Of course, it would only be that night, once she sits at her writing desk ready to write on her first page, that she sees that there has already been an entry written. In perfect cursive, as refined in speech as he is in his writing, Ray’s words stand clear against the soft glow of candlelight:
For Anne, my future wife.