Chapter 132: I’m Going To Marry Him!!
Koda;
I watched all of Elián’s walls crumble this afternoon.
Well... most of them. I’ve never seen him laugh so freely before. Something about seeing him that happy seemed... like a blessing.
Like I was lucky to witness it.
I know it seems silly, but... now, I constantly want to see him laughing. To see him happy.
I stare down at him as he flips through the book in his hand with his head against my chest.
After the kids left, he made me dance about a bit in the skirt. Normally, it would have been embarrassing, but seeing his laughter and how happy it made him, how could I not grant his request?
When he ran out of breath from wheezing, he had me stop, and only then could I change back into my Krompa.
Now, we’re both in bed, and surprisingly... he let me hold him.
He asked for a few books, and after I got them to him, he asked me to stay in bed with him.
"Well, that’s preposterous." He suddenly mumbles, and I raise a brow.
"What is?" I question, and he looks up at me.
"The lies. In this book. Goddess Thalyra never cursed all the Premodials. And the battle of blood didn’t happen because the Primordials waged a war against others. This is all wrong." He complains as he holds up the book for me to see, and sighs.
He’s right. These are all wrong... well, according to what Mother taught me. But how does he know that?
"How do you know?" I question, and he pauses as he quickly takes the book away from the front of my face.
He chuckles nervously and then shrugs.
"Who... doesn’t?" He replies, and I eye him suspiciously.
"The point is... the book paints Premodials and Goddess Thalyra as villains. If Gravemaw worships Goddess Thalyra, doesn’t that make having such a book blasphemous?" He replies, and I nod in silence.
"Rowan made a mistake. He got the wrong books for you. We keep these in our library to teach the young ones the lies that are told about Premodials and our goddess outside Gravemaw. Mother keeps the correct historical records. I thought Rowan would ask her for the books." I explain, and he falls silent for a few seconds, then he sits up and leans so close to me our faces are only a breath away.
"Can I get those? The ones with Mother." He asks, and my heart skips a beat at the fact that He’s once again called my mother "Mother" he’s started speaking about her like he sees her as his mother too. That makes me happy.
"Please..." he pouts, and I come back to the room.
He is pouting now, and it takes every bit of self-control in me to stop myself from kissing those lips.
"Why are you suddenly so interested in Premodials? Where did this interest spring up from?" I ask, honestly intrigued by this new interest, and he pauses.
Like he wasn’t expecting me to ask this question.
I tilt my head as I wait for an answer, and he suddenly smiles at me.
He moves himself, and my eyes widen as he suddenly straddles himself on top of me.
"Why all these questions, Alpha?" He asks as he slings his arms over my shoulder and sneaks his fingers into my hair.
"I’m trying to learn about my Alpha’s home tradition. I thought he’d be happy and give me his blessings. Seems like I’m trying too hard to be the perfect Omega for him." He whispers into my ear, and my spine goes rigid, and he plants a kiss on my cheek.
"If you don’t want me to learn about your home... It’s okay. I understand that I’m an outsider..." he begins, and I quickly stop.
"No. It’s nothing like that. I didn’t..." I begin but stop.
"If you want to read about Premodials, you can read about Premodials. I’ll go by myself and ask Mother for the right books." I speak, and he grins at me.
"Thank you, hubby." He replies before suddenly kissing me, and I stay frozen.
Hubby?
Why’d he call me that? That’s not my name...
"What?" He asks as he notices the confusion on my face, and I stare curiously at him.
"You called me hubby. But that’s not my name. Who’s hubby?" I question with mild discomfort growing in my chest.
He couldn’t have mistakenly called me someone else’s name, right?
"You’re joking." He says, like me, asking this question is a massive shock to him, and I just blink at him.
"You guys don’t use that here? You mean to tell me... that no one here has ever looked at their partner and said "hmmm. Husband is too long and boring. I’ll call him hubb,y Causeee sits shorter and endearing."?? " He demands, and my brows knot.
Wait. Hubby is his way of saying...
He just called me his husband!??
"You just called me your..." I begin, but he cuts me off as he gets off me.
"My bad. I don’t know why I called you that. It’s not like we’re married." He says, and my jaw drops.
I immediately grab his arm, and he pauses as he looks up at me.
"We can get married," I note, and he stares at me, frozen for the first two seconds.
"I can’t arrange our wedding however you like. If... if it’s what you want. Then you can call me hubby as many times as you’d like." I add, and a smile splits his face.
"Is this your way of asking me to marry you, Alpha?" He asks in a teasing tone, and I pause.
Is it?
Is that what I’m doing??
I guess it is. I didn’t think he’d want to be married to me before, but now that he’s brought it up, of course, I’d love to marry him.
It’s... It’s the first sign of love.
Mating, and marking... that’s all ownership. But him willingly agreeing to marry me... that’s love.
And when... if our baby comes, it’ll grow up knowing its parents love each other.
I nod in response to his question, and he smirks before leaning against my chest and staring up at me.
"How unromantic." He says, and my heart skips a beat.
"I’m not some booty call you’d give the bare minimum to." He adds as he turns. He rests his back against my chest and picks up the book he was reading before.
"If you’re gonna propose to me, Koda, it’s got to be grand. Beautiful. Worthy of me... I didn’t keep my virginity for all these years just to be proposed to on a bed, in a mud hut. There aren’t even flowers or music. You can do better." He says, and falls silent.
My mind wanders, and my hand find its way to his hair and starts stroking it.
"You’re right..." I mutter, and I stroke his hair, and he nods.
"I can do better..." I add with a smirk as ideas start forming in my mind, and Elián nods again.
He’s right. He deserves more than such a bland proposal. I truly want him to be mine. I want him to show me that he genuinely accepts me.
That must be evident in the way I ask him. After all... I’m asking him to spend the rest of his life with me. Such an important equest... should be treated as one.
***********
Queen Cassia;
"The festival of the Goddess is fast approaching. The flowers are blooming and nature is singing... It’s going to be an amazing year!!" Hilda squeals beside me as we make garlands, and I smile.
"Don’t you think it’s a blessing that we have master Elián here? Since he arrived, it seems like the goddess has been extra happy with us. Harvey has doubles, the fruits taste sweeter, and everything just feels so... blessed!" She continues, and I pause.
It is true. Since that young man set foot in the village, everything seems to have gotten better. The weather, the food, everything.
I haven’t even had to attend to any sick person. The goddess indeed must be very pleased that her beloved Premodial is here. Right under her close watch.
"You’re right. Elián is a blessing to all of us." I reply, and Hilda smiles at me with a nod.
Just then, the curtain and the entrance of my hut flies aside, and Koda barges in.
"Mà, I want to marry Elián. I’m going to propose!" He announces, and I pause.
The garland in Hilda’s hands falls to the tray in her lap, and she cups her hands over her mouth to stifle a giggle.
I stare at Koda in amusement, and he pauses when he notices that Hilda is in the room too.
"Oh, hi, Hilda." He greets, and I smile as I place the garland in my hand in the tray in my lap.
"Well, that was a rather spontaneous outburst. Why so sudden?" I question, and Koda shrugs.
"He mentioned it. He said he’s not going to agree to marry me if the proposal is not befitting, so I need your help. You’re the best planner I know." He explains, and I smile at him. That does sound like something that chaotic little racoon would say.
I look over at Hilda, who looks like she might soon explode from holding in a squeal.
"Of course, we’ll help you," I reply, and Hilda squeals like an excited child.
"Oh, this is going to be a wonderful year!!" She exclaims, and I can’t help but chuckle.
"But we can’t let him know, though. I intend to surprise him." Koda’s cautions and my smile grow as I see the happiness in his face.
I’ve never seen him this bright before. May light always be with Elián for giving my son this much happiness.