Chapter 68 - The Proposal

The act of throwing down a glove to someone of the opposite s.e.x. An act now used for issuing a challenge was once used as an indirect proposal. It hails from the now-extinct ancient civilization; the pioneers of magic to which to this day, their secrets remain tightly sealed by the ineptitude of the current civilization. Before throwing your glove to someone else, as told in fables about heroes and dragons, was about a hero throwing an apple to her highness, the princess. Though it changed throughout history, throwing apple changed from being something noble to barbaric. People instead threw gloves, and by people, it wasn't humans but demi-humans and the other races. Their histories were vast and complex that most of them were lost to time. Books, stories, sayings, everything ended when humans tapped into mana and its uses. No longer was it fantasy, it turned to reality and the other races as their abuse grew alongside the disparities, fled to Arda.

In this day and age, where throwing a glove at someone is considered a challenge, none would have known that this was in fact, a proposal. Not only did he agree, but by picking up the glove with his right hand, he also agreed to take care of the one who first threw the glove. Intriguing sounds of loud clothes, armors, and jewelry hitting one another made Staxius cautious. As anyone would, he looked up and saw people kneeling. It made no sense whatsoever, he thought Shanna had challenged him. Being right-handed, it made the situation even more complicated. Per how he was brought up to be, he picked up the peculiar object and now stood in awe. The pressure in the room grew tense, some snarled while others voiced their dissatisfaction by making a 'tsk' sound. Faint whispers were heard, it built up over time to the point it got to arguments.

he queen had clearly done something outrageous and unbefitting royalty. She informally proposed to a commoner; a foreigner to make matters worse. At regular short intervals, one of the many counselors would glimpse backward to check on the queen. They tried arguing but the sage stood, as imposing as a mountain and as cold as ice, his gaze felt like death. Feeble in appearance only made people underestimate him but tales about the battle he fought against vampires, werewolves, and beast-men were sung as poems by bards who traveled up and down the province.

"Excuse me but what is happening?" The long and painful silence broke, Staxius grew impatient. "Didn't you challenge…" He stopped midway, something brushed against his shoulder. Looking back, it was the sage, he moved or rather teleported. Same magic used by her majesty moments ago.

"Calm down," he said calmly, the eyelids remain so tightly together that it looked as if he had closed his eyes. Every single bit of facial hair had turned white. "I am calm, but what is the matter?" Instead of a reply, the sage nodded his head, the queen took charge and dismissed everyone. The footsteps echoed throughout the hall, and one by one, it grew empty. In the corner of his eyes, he spotted Aurora, she mumbled something and left with the others. Only Staxius, the queen and the sage were

left standing.

"Please follow me," the sage tapped his shoulder.

"Lead the way," Staxius thought best not to ask any further questions. Her cheeks remained flushed. Time and time again, Staxius tried staring her in the eye to get visual confirmation on what was happening. She always averted her eyes and left the room through a portal she conjured.

"Follow her, we'll explain everything." The old man reassuringly led the way. Nonchalant about the whole thing, Staxius neatly tucked the glove into his pocket and followed.

"My eyes, this is so bright." He stepped out into what looked like an indoor garden. In the middle, a tree, so majestic and beautiful he didn't know what it was. A blinding light came from what looked like a yellow orb, surrounded by a wave-like golden pattern. He stood on a stone path, that once reached the middle separated into three different directions, one forward, one left and one right. The middle tree looked more like a landmark. As he further walked, the sheer size left him speechless. It stretched onto forever, each path covered by trees, plants, and flowers. Nothing looked out of place, it was alienated from anything mildly dangerous.

"This way," they took a right turn and headed deeper inside. The queen was nowhere to be seen, "can you explain to me what happened earlier?" their walk slowed down in pace, the sage had intended for this. "As you wish," despite being indoors, a gentle breeze of which its origin remained a mystery, blew past them shyly. The temperature was perfect, it was hard to imagine a place like this existed. The sage proceeded to explain everything, from the origin to how it was changed from apple

to glove.

"In conclusion," their walked reached its end, the queen was spotted sitting underneath another giant tree. Her green hair complemented greatly the surroundings, she truly was a fairy, a beautiful one at that. "-after centuries of waiting, she saw something in you. Something genuine and something important, however you try to say that you're a bad person, deep down, the teachings of your father, not the ones about fighting but the ones about aiding people stuck. Yes, I knew your father, he was a prodigy, as well as my student many years ago. That's a story for another day, now, the moment of truth has come, will you accept the proposal?" Only a few meters stood between them, Staxius momentarily stopped. "This is a quandary; I have not thought of anything remotely that close to marriage or having a love life. Honestly, I'm not cut out for it, I'm not that great a guy.

However, that doesn't trouble me, I'll have to settle down sooner or later, and as they say, nothing ventured nothing gained." He replied with a smile.

"Well then, I'll leave you to it, go decide about what you want to do." *Poof,* he vanished, a whitish smoke was left behind. "I should probably turn off dark-arts," as he got closer to Shanna, he faltered and nearly tripped. "I-it's turned off," her green eyes looked joyous.

"You knew didn't you." He grabbed a seat next to her.

"What do you mean?" she playfully tried to avoid the question.

"You know full well, don't you. I mean," in an instant, he filled his thoughts with killing intent.

*Ancient magic: Forest barrier,* she yelled out of instinct. A wall made of wood sprouted from out of nowhere. "Ha-ha-ha-ha," he laughed. "I fooled you, now didn't I?" he leaned closer. She averted his gaze. "Don't worry about it," he relaxed into his chair and admired how bountiful the garden was.

"I guess we're cut from the same cloth aren't we," she looked out into the distance where he stared. "Nothing really, but we do bear similarities. You read minds while I toy with emotions." He answered.

"That is not exactly true," she was doubtful. "I cannot read your mind that clearly, I can only glimpse the strong thought such as that killing intent you showed earlier. This is the first time

anything of this kind has happened. I'm left breathless to how someone like you has such power.

And so is it vice-versa, you cannot influence my emotions that easily despite it working slightly." She stared back and snapped her finger. A maid dressed in black and white walked out of another portal, she held massive bunny ears. "Bring us some snacks and a cup of tea," she ordered and the table, once empty, got filled with whatever she requested. "From what I've understood so far, you're trying to say that you and I make the perfect duo?" he took a sip. "Yes, if put so simplistically, then that is what I'm trying to convey across. Also, isn't it a bit rude to unintentionally ask if a woman truly likes you?" she pouted then took a sip.

"I apologize if it appeared that way, but you did propose to me and I did unwillingly accept. I still don't think I'm cut out for this but I don't mind it, heck, I'm grateful for the opportunity. Knowing myself, I'd have died alone." He looked serious when he said it. "Being cynical isn't healthy, but you look different, my emotional control doesn't work on you - the perfect counterbalance." He ended and placed down his cup. "Are you sure about undertaking this, do you really wish to become my p-partner?" she asked unwillingly, she didn't want to bring up that subject despite talking about it.

"Yes, I do. Even if I barely know you, I do wish it. Let's not discuss this any longer, it's making both you and I uncomfortable." They didn't want to stare at each other, both were thoroughly embarrassed, even Staxius who thought had escaped his emotions fell prey to it.

"Then the matter is settled, starting today, you and I shall be courting one another." She sharply stood up, "as you wish." He whispered. One a fairy who turned into an angel while the other the heir to the god of death. One whose mind-reading powers can't affect the other while the other can't use manipulation to have their way. A perfect counterbalance with the same yet differing line of thoughts. Expecting to only give the self-proclaimed queen of Arda a piece of his mind, Staxius ended up in a courtship with her majesty. A relation he thought would have never happened, a relation that was given birth to a moment's decision. "this piece of garment," he held up the white and embroiled with diamonds and gold glove. It shone and reflected the light coming from orbs scattered around. "W-what are y-you doing?" he forgot she was present. "N-nothing, just thinking that's all." He stood up in turn.

"Xula, isn't this going to upset your council of nobles?" She headed back to the entrance, Staxius followed behind. "Obviously, you needn't worry. I shall take care of everything; all you need to do is but wait. Your standing as a noble does ease my job a little." The portal opened once more. "After we step foot through that portal, we'll part ways. After all, you're a queen, and I'm a foreigner."

"Foreigner?" she stopped his sentence, "I've proposed to you, and we've entered a courtship. Neither one of us is a stranger to the other, time will play its role, but we're bound by something more. Don't forget, you're my conduit." She smiled reassuringly. "You're truly an angel aren't you." He followed behind. Staying in the castle for this long was daunting, Staxius lost track of time completely.

"Staxius, remember the portal you found back at your noble district?" They entered a room, a bedroom that looked unoccupied. "Yes," he walked around. "I shall link it to this mirror here," she pointed in front of the bed. "Can I come and go as I please?" he asked while inspecting the rather gloomy and dimly lit room. "Yes, I can sense your mana more sharply now, thus I'll know when you've arrived." The bedroom in question wasn't that large though it could accommodate a small family of three. The bed was gigantic, the windows were hidden behind red and brown curtains. Few inches near said window, a small table with chairs. Opposite the window, on the other wall, wardrobes with stands and sheathes for weapons and armor. The wall leading to the bed held a mirror and was decorated with shields, portraits, and other miscellaneous things. On second thought, it looked more like a storage room, but he didn't mind.

"Alright then, I shall return to my duties, you're free to stay though I doubt it. You did mention one of your friends was on the verge of dying. It's partly my fault, I'll try and remedy the situation, I'll see you another time. Do visit often, we're courting and I'd like to know more about you." Her confidence grew as she could now hold a straight face while saying it.

"You've exceeded my expectations, master." Avon materialized. "Now isn't the time to joke around," he stepped through the mirror. The cold-chilly air of dawn took him by surprise. "How long has it been?" he asked not expecting an answer. "One day I think," Avon stood beside him, he had fully recovered. "Good to see you safe and sound," Staxius's body lost all its strength for a second and he fell from atop the church. "Ouch," he wasn't that hurt. A strange pulse caused that reaction, looking up, he saw it. A bloody looking shooting star. The tail was vermillion red, a bad sign. It flew over his head and disappeared behind Oxshield. The ground shook, the soil seemed to scream. A high-pitched noise practically rendered him deaf, it was continuous.

"No, this can't be possible," his heart sank, it got heavy to breathe, he slowly felt his mana get seeped away. "Lord Death was right; I don't know but I know that the god-slayer has come forth." The usual calm and soothing dawn changed to a waking nightmare. Everyone around Hidros felt it, birds flew, what was left of wildlife ran around aimlessly.

"It has begun," the sage spoke. "Indeed," the queen replied.

"Princess Gallienne," her envoy came yelling down the hallway. "I've told you to stop screaming." She opened her door. "I know b-but i-its urgent." He took her to the top of the castle. It was the southern province, Totrya. A province virtually untouched by human hands for resources are scares and hard to obtain. It's mainly valleys, mountain ranges and always snowing thanks to its height. Some nobles lived there but low-ranking ones, just so that the land isn't totally abandoned. Coming from behind one of its mountain ranges, a mushroomed shaped cloud as big as the mountain itself. It was unbelievable, she felt a sudden pulse and fell to the ground.

"This strange sound, can you hear it?" Eira spoke, "no silly, focus on the target ahead." A friendly

voice gently whispered. "As you wish," *Bang,* an explosion followed.

"This is interesting, you came earlier than we expected," Undrar landed atop a tree and stared backward. People, once naturally gifted in the arts of magic felt it that day. It was the beginning of the end, they had arrived. The harbinger of chaos and death, the god-slayer, and his minions. It happened so suddenly even the gods were taken by surprise. The normal populous only saw this as a sign of good luck, some took photos, while others made videos. The capital grew louder that morning, everyone was baffled by its sight.

"Master, master," Avon came rushing down. "Are you alright?"

"Define alright, are you asking physically or mentally because from what I just sensed, things are about to change. His prophecy is coming to pass, that devious and foolish god, my master. I highly doubt anything will come out of this little show of strength, we'll need to prepare. Even as I am right now, I'm pretty sure I'd get killed straight away. A true story about a hero and a demon, this shall be interesting." He sat upright.

"Aren't you going to become that hero?" Avon asked curiously. "Not interested, I want to watch this fable play out from the sidelines and help whoever the chosen one is. How ironic would it be if a hero was summoned from another world to come and save this one, just thinking about it makes me laugh. Who would in their right minds risk their lives to save another world of which they know nothing of? Maybe I just hit my head too hard, either way, that isn't of our concern. The Order will do something about it, I'm just a wandering noble.