VIENDA | MORNING
The pianist tittered with nervous amusement, blushing uselessly as the tall wick beside her openly displayed he was just as much of a mess at the moment as she was, his glamour perhaps not as strong but definitely as jittery in his emotional enthusiasm. The Perceptive auras of mona mingled, entwined comfortably, drawing it seemed some form of calm from each other. Her violet gaze shifted sharply from Rhys to Sir Dunhill at the mention of vows, beginning to form a sound of stammered protest, when the Seventen piped up immediately. Yes, of course he had vows.
“Cheater.” She said softly, looking down as he patted himself for something. A small box. Rings. Tears stung her eyes, and Charity couldn’t help the soft hitch of her breath as warmth pooled in her chest. Damn sneaky bastard.
“Rhys I—” The currently brunette galdor started, shaking her head with a laugh and following as she was all but dragged away from the office. Climbing the small carpeted staircase, Charity tiptoed to plant a kiss on the wick’s cheek as they waited for Dunhill to open the door, grinning until her cheeks hurt. As they stepped inside, the room suddenly felt closer and more intimate. It was a simple affair, with a podium for announcements and speaker notes and such, and a collection of seating. The lights were powered with electricity, a new and exciting technology that some of the newer and fancier buildings were being replaced with. It was amazing, even to a sorcerer, to see the scones blink to life…but something also very cold about it. Artificial even.
Following Dunhill's gesturing, the couple moved to stand before the podium, Charity looking at Rhys with a nervous expression before looking back at Sir Dunhill again.
“Yes, yes of course.” The brunette said with a slight quaver in her voice, the shivery excitement unable to hide behind soft words. Her gaze followed the box with another laugh, nodding once at Rhys demand for her to ‘listen’, and taking his hands with a deep breath.
As the words the man had so carefully prepared came forth, Charity D’Arthe was powerless against the tears that came forth this time to escape and roll down her cheeks. She smiled, even if her breath hitched again with a sob—not of sadness but of love and joy. Her eyes held his, even as she cried through the beautiful words, unwilling to look away as Rhys Valentin poured his heart into the almost poetic speech. It was like all the romance tales, and all her dreams, all bound up in one giant package with a bow and delivered for their eyes only. Laughing a little with butterflies in her stomach and her pulse thrumming in her ears, the petite creature could her Sir Dunhill crying quietly, and it only made things harder.
“This was supposed to be the day I surprised you.” She breathed brokenly, catching her breath with another laugh and a sob. How could she ever find words as perfect as what the tall blonde had just delivered? It seemed as though he’d summed up everything that encompassed what they were in one beautiful sonnet.
Still. She knew was she wanted to say.
“Rhys—” The pale woman began, shaking her head and taking a few deep breaths before starting again.
“Rhys. I have spent most of my life living for someone else’s desires. I’ve been shrouded in darkness, and for a long time I lost my way. Somewhere along the way, I met you and everything seemed right. Everything made sense. I was happy, and I wanted that for ever. But…” Looking down at her hands, Charity shook her head before lifting her gaze back to the man before her.
“I let myself be ruled by fear, and for that I lost you, and I couldn’t see a world without you in it. Time moved on, but I didn’t, and Alioe be praised in the darkness you found me again. I’ve hurt you, and I’ve hurt myself, but every step of the way you have been there for me. You’ve picked me up when I am sure if I had fallen I would never get up again, and you’ve shown me love can survive even in the abyss of despair.” Squeezing his hands, the brunette stepped a little closer, speaking with firm determination.
“I will love you, till the sands of time stop falling and the clocks silence. No matter what the days bring, or the hardships that we might face. I will love you, above all else. Always—” The pianist smiled, tilting her head as she echoed his last words.
“—and forever.”