Disclaimer:
I do not own "Riviera: The Promised Land" or any of its characters.
Letting the Cat Out of the Bag:
With the arrival of Malice and another Grim Angel, Ledah, both of whom were enemies of Elendia at one stage, certainly did cause quite a stir in the peaceful little Sprite town. Lina had found two more people to pester and play with, something that Malice grew to despise and Ledah…well…Ledah remained just like Ledah. Cierra was interested to see some new people to test her potions on. Fia fussed about more than ever, cooking almost constantly to cater for the new arrivals. Serene and her brother mainly avoided Malice and the tension between them never lessened, despite Ein's efforts to bring them together as friends.
However, everyone now had something else to worry about. Elendia always has been short on the number of males. While Cierra and Soala were occupied with their studies, and a certain male, green-haired scholar at the Magic Guild, everyone else had Ledah in their sites. When Ein arrived, he caused quite a stir among his companions. However, at that time everyone was worried about demons. Now, with little excitement in their daily lives, Ledah quickly became the centre of attention, despite his emotionless attitude.
Aside from causing a stir in the female population of Elendia, Ledah's arrival, along with Malice's, caused another interruption: where were they going to live? Fia and Lina's house could definitely not take another two people to live with them. In the end, another house was built. Nearby to Fia and Lina's house, a house was built for the Grim Angels. Ein moved into it as well, and it was named the House of the Grim Angels.
Anyway, it was the dawn of another day and Ein was making his way to a clearing to train. Ledah and Malice have already left when he awoke and he hurried to catch up. He arrived and they were indeed training. To his surprise, Ladie was there as well.
"Good morning, Master Ein," she greeted, sparring with Ledah in the air.
"Finally," Malice remarked. "Hurry up!"
Ein scrambled up to her, muttering his apologies. Malice held aloft a wooden axe and raised it.
"Shall we begin? I've been anxious to spar with you…"
"Anxious…?"Ein asked. "Why…?"
"It may have something to do on the day of our arrival, where Malice and Serene were helping you down…" Ledah remarked, blocking a swing from Ladie.
Ein and Malice both turned red, resembling the colour of Ledah's cape.
"Malice…about that…I'm really…"
"Shut-up," Malice said, before grinning maniacally and swinging her axe at him.
---
"Sigh…it was an accident…" Ein muttered, nursing his arm.
It was just after lunch and Ein was sitting in Fia's kitchen. Fia was bandaging one of his arms, where Malice had swung her axe particularly hard at. Fia smiled.
"Perhaps you should spar with someone else…" Fia suggested.
Ein shrugged and replied, "I'm sure she'll cool down eventually but considering the fact that she has some icy attacks, it might be dangerous if she cools down."
Fia only chuckled and stood up.
"Well, all's good now. Just don't strain it."
"Thanks, Fia. You're a blessing," Ein said, not noticing Fia's blush when he said those words.
"N-no, problem," she replied, before walking back to the kitchen.
Suddenly, Serene barged in, followed by her brother.
"Hey, Fia!" she shouted, rushing in. "Is there anymore food? We're…AH!"
Not looking where she was going, she had rushed straight into Ein, effectively tackling him to the ground.
"Ouch…ah…sorry…Ein! What are you doing here!" she exclaimed, blushing as she lied on top of him.
"Nothing much, just getting some bandages from Fia…ah….can you…get off me?"
"Oh!" she exclaimed, before scrambling to her feet, her face turning red. "Ah…sorry…about that…"
"N-no…problem," Ein replied, giving a rather good imitation of Fia's earlier reply.
As they stood, avoiding each others' gazes, Ares looked from one to the other, raising his eyebrow.
"Serene…are you guys like…going out or something?" he remarked.
"WHAT!" they both replied, freezing.
Fia stepped out of the kitchen, interest and concern in her eyes. Lina had appeared from the top floor, staring at the pair with childish interest. Cierra had chosen this moment to bring in a new potion she had made and caught Ares' question before staring at Ein and Serene. Meanwhile, Rose had appeared at another doorway, a smirk on her face. Ein looked around, blushing and at a loss for words. Serene glanced at him, caught his eye and promptly blushed again.
"Of…of course not…" she mumbled.
"Serene's going red!" Lina exclaimed, jumping up and down, pointing her finger at her.
"My, my…" Cierra exclaimed, chuckling.
"So…you do…have feelings for him…" Fia mumbled, the concern rising in her eyes.
"Wow…my sister…liking a boy," Ares said. "Whenever anyone asked you out before, you bashed them up…"
"I told you! We're not going out! Tell them Ein!"
"Y-yeah…we're not…" he said, blushing as well.
"Ein's red too!" Lina exclaimed happily, now doing a little dance.
Fia looked aghast while Cierra smiled. Serene looked at Ein and then dropped her gaze.
"Ein and Serene, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Lina sang.
"Lina…don't start…" Serene growled.
"First comes love! Then comes marriage! Then a little baby, sitting in a carriage!" Cierra continued.
"Not you too…" Serene groaned.
"Ok, everyone, let's just...settle down…"
"Ein, my sister can be quite a handful…when you guys get married, be careful," Ares added.
"…"
"Ein, looks like your dreams are coming true," Rose put in.
Everyone stopped and stared at her before staring back at Ein and Serene. Serene was looking at Ein, a look of shock and perhaps a little…joy in her eyes.
"Wow! So Ein DOES love Serene!" Lina exclaimed.
"Serene, this is great!" Cierra exclaimed. "We really need to find a white dress for you…but a blue one would look good on you as well!"
"Whoops…sorry…I guess I let the cat out of the bag too early…" Rose mumbled. "Oh well, at least this time we didn't need a potion."
Fia looked like she was on the verge of fainting. Ein stood, staring down, avoiding everyone's gazes but especially Serene's. Serene bent down to look him in the eye.
"Is this…is this true, Ein?" Serene asked.
Ein looked into her eyes, his voice lost. Everyone fell quiet.
"Ein…?" Serene asked again.
Slowly, Ein reached into his pocket and took out something, holding his fist tightly around it. When he got down on one knee, in front of Serene, everyone gasped.
"E-Ein…?" Serene choked out, trembling, her eyes widening.
"Serene, I…" Ein began. "I…"
The room was completely silent. Cierra was not blissfully chuckling or making light of the situation. Lina was not laughing joking around. Ares was silent, his eyes wide. Rose looked shocked before she got out a notebook and beginning to write notes down, quietly, and dutifully recording this moment. Fia had fainted.
"Ein…what…?" Serene asked.
Ein calmed himself down and then there was a determined look in his eye.
"Serene of the Arcs," he began with his voice no longer hesitant, no longer trembling. "I…"
Serene's face was pale, her body frozen.
"…Ecthel of Asgard…"
With the use of his formal, Asgard name, the situation became all the more serious. No one dared interrupt.
"…ask for your hand…"
"Save it, lover-boy."
No one, except Malice.
