The next link of my Leviathan obsession! Enjoy, and PLEASE R&R! British words are very kindly accepted as suggestions, because the closest this American girl has ever been to an English-speaking country is watching Harry Potter. I confirm that I am NOT Scott Westerfield, and even though I would like to, I don't own Leviathan books. ENJOY!
"I missed you more than anybody have every missed someone before," Deryn told him, her head lying gently on his chest.
Alek pressed his face into her boy-cut, silky blonde hair, letting her sweet scent wash over him. "My apologies, Mr. Sharp, but I beg to differ. You could not possibly have missed me as much as I missed you," he explained, twirling her in a slow circle.
Alek, as emperor of Austria, had invited Deryn to his royal ball, a tradition in the Hapsburg family. Its purpose was to aid a single emperor in finding a bride. All the royal women had attended. Alek's letter to Deryn had stated that he 'needed her support and comfort in such an important matter.'
Deryn looked up, attempting a smile. "So, see any pretty lassie strike your fancy yet?"
Alek sighed. "Only one." He gave Deryn a meaningful look.
In return, she scowled at him. "You daft prince, you know I'm just a commoner."
"First of all, I'm the emperor, not a prince. Second, no amount of common lineage could make me forget that you were and still are my first and only best friend, you're the bravest soldier I've ever met, and you've kept each and everyone of my secrets. Not to mention that you've saved my life countless times, as well," He said, bring Deryn and himself to a graceful stop.
The royal women around them looked up hopefully; Alek had not danced with anyone other than Deryn the entire evening. The fancy lassies were all beginning to wonder just who this foolish woman dressed in trousers was.
"Aye, Alek, maybe I have. But that doesn't change the fact that I'll never be pretty or proper enough for a man who holds a throne." What she really thought was that she'd never be good enough for him, but she kept that inside. Deryn turned away from Alek, her blue eyes filling with tears as she broke from Alek's intense green-eyed gaze.
"Deryn Artemis Sharp, don't you ever say those words again," Alek growled. Deryn winced at both his anger and the usage of her middle name, the same of the first of her Da, who'd died in a ballooning accident years ago. Even though she was nineteen now, and the accident had been years ago, she still missed him.
Deryn gritted her teeth and turned back toward Alek. "Why shouldn't I? You even told me yourself that you could never do that to a child. Why should it matter if you break a lassie's heart? No, I guess you wouldn't think like that. I bet you still see me as Dylan. You think I can just dress up again and we can be friends, no problem. But I thought I made myself clear; friendship isn't enough for me anymore!" She yelled, a sob breaking off whatever other words she might have spoken.
Deryn ripped herself away from Alek, sprinting out the door and into the vast fields behind the palace. She crumpled to the ground, tears streaking her pale face.
Silent as a mouse (Or maybe a perspicacious loris), Alek left the ballroom and walked into the fields, finding Deryn with her knees pulled to her chest and her head in her hands. Alek sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulders.
"Did I ever tell you that you are the most beautiful soldier I have ever met?" Alek said, brushing a few strands of too-long blonde hair out of Deryn's face.
"Technically I would have to be, your princlieness, since I'm the only female soldier you've ever met," Deryn replied sarcastically, but Alek thought he could see a faint blush spreading on her slender cheeks through the darkness.
Alek ran his hand through his already wild russet hair, a nervous habit of his. Deryn, please, I can't stand to see you like this."
Deryn groaned and dropped her head onto his shoulder. "Why did you even invite me, then? Alek, I'm sorry to break it to you, but it's rather hard not to love you, almost as hard as actually loving you," Deryn smirked, but Alek's expression didn't change.
"Deryn, I have needed you since I set foot on the Leviathan. I will never stop needing you," Alek murmured, turning to face Deryn and pressing his lips against her forehead. "You are the only person who I know as well as myself. And I know for a fact that you know me even better than I know myself."
Deryn snorted. "You can find a young lassie that would be willing to learn. All those fancy ladies in there-"
Alek broke off her words. "Will never have a fighter's heart, like you. Not a single one of them has a squick of blood as fierce as yours, Deryn. That's really why I invited you here. You are the best of all friends, the best of all soldiers, and you definitely can throw one of the best punches I've ever felt. And there's something else I think you'd be best at…"
Deryn rolled her eyes at Alek's words. "And what would that be, you ninny?" But really her heart had just skipped a few beat and was now jumping around wildly in her chest.
Alek took a deep breath. "Derynsharpwillyoumarryme?" he blurted out.
Deryn laughed. "What?"
Alek smacked himself, and then pulled Deryn to her feet. He kneeled down before on one knee. Deryn's breath, which had initially quickened, stopped altogether.
"Deryn Sharp, brave women, fierce soldier, I promise fight ever battle by your side as an equal, until the day you cease to live, and even then we wouldn't be apart for long. I love you, and I always will. Will you marry me?" Alek pulled a black velvet box and presented it to her.
Deryn choked out something between a laugh, a sob, and a very hysterical 'yes'. Alek opened the box and took the ring, woven out of a very rare fabricated plant, red rubies blooming around it. He slipped it onto her finger.
Deryn pulled Alek to his feet, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing her lips to his. Alek's hands found their way onto the small of her back and her silky hair, pressing her closer.
Finally, they broke apart, gasping for breath, leaning their foreheads together. "Deryn, my soldier, my queen, thank you. It seems you have saved me again." Alek whispered.
Deryn touched her heart, then his. A gesture of unspeakable love. "Aye, Alek, we save each other."
And so there they stayed, the prince in the pauper, savoring each other's embrace.
Until the assassins came! Naw, just messing with you. Tell me, should this be a story, or just a one-shot? It's up to the readers! And my sister's comment doesn't count; she never even made it through the first book!