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Adder searched some corpses lying on top of each other on the road from him until Janosh, nearly some meters. Just in half an hour, he and Janosh have killed all of the mercenaries when they were returning to Devil’s Den.
One of them is likely to be wealthier than the others, or he is simply going to propose to someone, and carries a small wooden box containing a ring. Unfortunately, humans have such short lives, and that ring now belongs to Adder. At least he thought so, until he actually opened that ring’s box. The ring is, at first, nothing special but made of gold, and, an important thing, it has a letter ‘J’ on the face of the ring.
Janosh. Adder muttered to himself. He didn’t know how to read, of source, but he known how to spell Janosh’s name.
Adder didn’t give a damn about those corpses, he left them there for Janosh if they had something on their bodies because he had looted the most valuable thing. Janosh came from behind him after finished searching and wondered why Adder didn’t take more.
“Adder doesn’t need groschens to go to the bathhouse?” Janosh's voice rang behind his ear, making him jump off the ground and clutch the box tightly. Put it in his pocket, Adder instructed.
“I have enough money to fuck all the wenches in this world. The money left that’s yours.” Then he mounted the horse and returned to Devil's Den alone, leaving Janosh behind.
When he arrived, the blue sky had turned darker, similar to the dark purple sky. Adder opened the box again in his and Janosh's room, under the dim light of the moon shining down from above, and examined the ring. It glittered and flexed its own golden light. The letter 'J' was carved on the face of the ring, indicating that it belonged to someone stunning.
In Adder’s head, there is only one person. Janosh.
He closed the box, removed his clothes, and fell asleep. Leisure activities are meaningless to him right now. Adder shrunk his body like a newborn baby, clutching the box in both hands and fantasizing about his wedding day with Janosh, assuming he accepted his marriage proposal. He hoped Janosh would accept.
Wake up from dreaming about happiness, he started a new day by an ale then thought about what he should do today. Perhaps like every day? But every day, all he did was fuck the wenches and drink. However, today he did not want to do either of them. In the end, he still had no idea what to do.
While wandering through the Devil's Den, Henry came across him; he had a new job and wanted to do it with him. He had been requested by a nobleman, that his wife had been kidnapped by some bandits from nowhere hearing he was so rich and now wanted him to pay the ransom. The nobleman said he would give him everything that Henry wanted just to bring his wife back in one piece.
“So, you in?”
“There is a woman? Of course, I’m in.” Adder said, but he was not thinking about her.
They came near the bandits' camp not far away, the Devil’s Den to the west, just took them only half a morning riding horse. The camp was small, and some of the guys lacked proper armour. The nobleman’s wife is beautiful, a young and aristocratic woman, like a flower in the middle of the wolves. She is a gem, a hidden one in an inadequate dress. No wonder why that nobleman wanted back so much.
Henry looked at Adder as they dismounted, worried that Adder would bend her down once they were finished. But something was so strange in his eyes. They were so yearning for every woman in the world now looking at the camp with emptiness. Something had covered his eyes, forcing him to see that it was just a regular camp.
“You’re ok?” Henry asked, he worried about him. Perhaps Adder should not come here; he may need to rest, and Henry just slaughtered those bandits because they were not very strong.
“No, nothing. I’m fine.” Adder responded in Poland, then drew his weapon. He entered the camp without waiting for Henry.
They approached from both sides, unexpectedly attacking the guards with smooth strikes before walking toward the center. The leader unforeseen stranded up, unseathed his weapon, but not fast enough to realize his head is falling down.
The nobleman's wife was bound by rope and her mouth was gagged with cloth. After being released by Adder she immediately turned back to hug him tightly and mummered ‘thank you’. He let her do what she wanted. After a while, she finally got off of him.
“So, my husband sent you here?” She asked with a lovely voice, her words came out like honey made by the most hard-worked bees in this world. Adder shook his head. “Do you want anything?” If he were normal today, he would have ripped her clothes off and fucked her like there was nothing better to do. But, not today. All the women who existed in his eyes were not attracted. What happened to me? Then answering her with another shaken head.
Bored with Adder, she came to Henry, hoping he would gave her something… a woman, who had married an old man, needed. Same as his teammate, he just wanted to bring her back to her husband then take the reward. He needed a lot of groschens to travel with Hans, spent time together, and shared the same bed in the middle of nowhere because Hans seemed to be bored.
After bringing back the nobleman’s wife, he generously invited them some expensive foods and wine. He offered them a lot of things, but they were simple; groschen was all they needed. Really, nothing else?
A wedding. His thought made Adder’s face hot. Would he wear the wedding gown, Janosh, or no one? But he wanted to wear a wedding dress. Uh,.. not actually, but wanted… wearing a white dress. Adder was not sure whether his head had clicked or not, but the more he thought about Janosh, the redder his face became.
Henry seemed to notice, when riding back to Devil’s Den he looked at the road then how red Adder’s face was. Is he ok or just the weather too hot? He had no idea, but he would definitely ask.
At the Devil's Den, Henry invited him to an ale and then rambled on about everything, until Adder's gaze lingered in Janosh after both knights had finished the fourth cup. He knew it's time to not keep beating around the bush. “Are you in love with Janosh?”
Adder looked back at him with widened eyes. He thought he kept his love hidden deep within him, but Henry's eyes and those ridiculous glasses are too impressive. In the end, he committed. “Yes…”
“And?”
“I have one thing I want to give Janosh.” Henry waited for him to tell more. “It’s here.” Adder showed him the ring. Picking the box, Henry had no word to complain, that was a beautiful ring. Then he noticed the letter 'J' on it and realized what the problem was.
“You wanna get married?”
“...Maybe?”
“I think you should do it when you have enough confidence.” Henry gave him back the ring, with a nope he went to Hans was bored in the corner of the room, exactly he was jealous.
Adder was left alone, what should he do? He had more than enough courage to ask any girl to sleep with him, but not enough to give his lover a gift. Too nonsensical. He muttered to himself. He placed the box in his pocket and went to their room to wait for Janosh while still drinking with Kubyenka.
Waiting never was his strength, especially when he was about to propose a love of his life. Did he have enough confidence? No. But he needed to say it to him. If not today, how could he go to sleep tonight?
And then, Janosh came in, surprised by the red candles on the nightstand and rose petals. Did Adder do it? He might not. Henry? But why? Not important. Romance! Adder quickly turned back, got down on one knee, opened the box he had recently cuddled, and stuttered.
“Will you be… Will you do…” He didn’t know what to tell him. Then Janosh, down on one knee, took his own box, same as Adder’s and inside there was a ring, same as his too. Different from Adder’s ring, it had a letter ‘A’ on its face. When did he get that ring? And Janosh asked.
“Will you marry me?”
It took Adder one second to think. Two seconds? Three seconds? He spent a whole minute just to identify what situation he got in. They kneeled on the floor until both Adder’s about to get wet.
He said “Yes!”
Janosh wore the ring in his ring finger. Adder higher his hand to see the ring to remember what needs to be done.
“Um… hm…” Adder lowered his gaze to Janosh’s face. “Will you marry me, Janosh.”
And he said “Yes!” happily.