A/N: sooo kartik proposed to gemma. What is going on in everyones minds? Well…

ARE THEY INSANE? No. well, maybe. We'll seee…

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"Gemma, will you marry me?"

He was on one knee, for goodness sake. I plopped down beside him and wrapped my arms around his neck. I kissed his cheek and squealed, "Yes! Yes, of course I will!"

The tears of joy were dancing on my cheeks. Kartik wiped them away with his free hand. He then took the ring out of its compartment and slid it onto the middle finger of my left hand.

It was beautiful, with a small ruby in the middle and a small diamond on each side. It was perfect, a soft little ring that's big enough to notice, but not enough to brag. Kartik knew me well. How he got his hands on such a thing, though, I had no idea.

As if reading my mind, Kartik explained, "It was passed down in my family. Before I left with the Rakshana, my mother gave it to me. She would have given it to Amar, but being part of the Rakshana he would not take it. I didn't know much about the rules back then, so I took it. I guess it did come in handy when I really needed it." He chuckled.

I got up off the floor, only to be tackled down again by Felicity and Ann. "Congratulations, Gemma," Felicity said happily. I smiled. I could hear Kartik laughing at this display.

"Gemma, darling Gemma," Ann said, beaming. Suddenly an idea popped into my mind. I separated myself from the girls and went over to Kartik. I whispered my idea into his ear. He smiled and nodded his approval. I went back to them.

"Girls," I started. "We have been through a lot together, have we not?"

They jumped up and down gleefully, shouting "yes, yes!"

"And we are the best of friends, are we not?" They kept nodding until I thought their heads might pop right off.

"Girls, how would you two like to be my bridesmaids?" I asked. I barely took a single breath before I was tackled to the floor again.

Mrs. Nightwing, whom I hadn't noticed before, walked over to us. "Um, girls," she started. It was strange of Mrs. Nightwing to act this way. She was usually so powerful. "I think right now would be a great time to calm down a bit. You are frightening the other girls."

We got up off the floor and dusted off our skirts. I took a peek at Cecily. She was staring at me in shock. Elizabeth was looking longingly out the door. I hadn't even noticed her before. I wondered what was wrong with her.

Ann and Felicity went off out the door to get some good night's sleep. I walked over to Kartik and stood beside him; the way I would, hopefully, for the rest of my life.

Some of the younger girls wandered shyly up to us. "Congratulations," one of them said softly. She was simply adorable. I could not resist.

"Would you girls like to see my ring?" I asked enthusiastically. They shook their heads excitedly. I held out my left hand. They crowded around it and admired the beauty of my ring.

I yawned softly into my other hand. It was probably two in the morning. Kartik rubbed my back gently. "Why don't you go back up to your room and get some sleep?" he asked softly. I was about to protest, but he cut me off. "We'll speak tomorrow," he added reassuringly. I sighed and nodded.

"Yes," Mrs. Nightwing agreed. "Girls," she called out to the Spence ladies. "Go with Miss Doyle back down to the school."

"But what about those scary creatures?" Elizabeth asked. She sounded like she was five years old. I rolled my eyes and kissed Kartik's cheek.

"Good night," he said softly, kissing the top of my head. I smiled and nodded.

"Until tomorrow," I agreed. I then walked up behind Cecily and passed her when she was by the door without even looking back. Felicity would be proud, I thought to myself.

I ran up the path. It was dark and foggy. Suddenly, I bumped into two people. We all fell to the ground. My heart was thudding.

"Who is that?" said a voice I knew all too well. I breathed out a loud sigh of relief.

"Hey, Felicity," I said cheerfully. "Hello, Ann." They both sighed heavily, just as I had. I hooked both of my arms through each of theirs. "Felicity, would you like to join Ann and me in our room for a few minutes before we get to bed?"

"Why, of course, Lady Ramsbottom," she said in a deep voice, using the silly nickname Kartik had invented for me.

"It's an inside joke," I said simply. I could feel her shrugging through our linked arms.

We walked up the front steps. Ann opened the door. We headed up the stairs and down the corridor. Ann opened the door to our room. I stepped in and immediately felt cold. I ran to the open window and pressed it shut.

Felicity silently stalked into the room and sat on Ann's bed, while Ann lit a lamp. She plopped down next to Fee. I sat down carefully on my bed, folding my skirts down. There really was no point. We were all a great big mess.

"Wow," I said. I couldn't think of anything else to say. "We went through a lot, didn't we?"

Ann sniffled a bit and Felicity nodded. A tear trickled down Ann's cheek. I smiled softly. We had been through a lot, but we had done it together, and so that made us bond in a way that cannot be described. We were friends for eternity.

Suddenly, Ann perked up and jumped onto my bed beside me. A small "Eep!" escaped my lips as she landed. Ann giggled and grabbed my left hand.

"I want to see your ring!" she squealed. Her face went from excited to shocked and awed. "It's… beautiful," she said breathlessly.

Felicity plopped down on my other side. "Let me see," she said, impatiently grabbing my left hand from Ann. "Wow," she whispered. "It seems so small, yet so… unique."

I couldn't hold it back any longer. I jumped up onto my feet and started bouncing on the bed like a little child. "I'm getting married!" I squealed. My two closest friends started jumping on the bed beside me.

"Now, wot you girls doin' jumpin' on them beds?" asked someone from behind us. I stopped jumping and turned around.

"Brigid," I said in a surprised tone. "Why weren't you in the chapel?" It was surprising to see her, of all people, leave the chapel, considering the situation.

"Gemma," she said breathlessly. "Gemma Doyle. Tonight explained everyfing. I always knew there was somefin familiar about yer red 'air and brigh' green eyes."

I smiled and confirmed her assumptions. "Yes, Brigid. My mother was not Virginia Doyle. My mother was Mary Dowd. Brigid, you have gone through a lot," I said, trying to change the subject. "Why don't you go rest, and we'll do the same in just a few moments?"

But Brigid was no longer looking at me. She was looking at my hand. "Bloody 'ell!" she swore. "Wot the 'ell is that?"

I leaped off the bed and onto the ground. "I'll tell you in the morning," I promised. Brigid reluctantly nodded and headed back out the door.

I turned to Felicity. "Well, Fee," I said, "I believe it is time to get to bed." She nodded and headed towards the door.

When she was just by the door, Felicity turned around and said, "Until the morning, my beauties." And then, she was off.

Ann and I changed into our nightgowns. Before either of us went to bed, we dipped our hands in our bowl of water and washed our faces. We wiped the water off with a towel and went to our separate beds.

I thought about Kartik. We were going to get married. We were really going to be together forever. And we were going to do it in public, too! The problem was that we had to think of a way to tell my father, or, more importantly, I should say, Grandmother. After all that I had told Tom, I was sure he wouldn't mind, but my grandmother would have a fit of rage.

Suddenly, a fantastic idea hit me. It was simply perfect! I planned on telling Kartik in the morning. On that fantastically happy thought, I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

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A/N: its kinda a cliffy… but believe me, its building up to something great! Please r+r!!!!!