Hannah's P.O.V

I couldn't believe how fast the time was going by, it was already one more day until my nineteenth birthday and not long before I can take my defender exam.

On the morning of my birthday I jumped out of bed nice and early, I was washed, dressed and downstairs for breakfast by half eight. Kook was the first person I saw.

"Morning." I said as I sat down.

"Morning beautiful." Kook replied. "Am I right in thinking that today is someone's birthday?"

"You're right."

"Shoot, I knew that I'd forgotten something."

I chuckled at Kooks sarcasm.

"Don't try that on me Kook, I know when you're joking."

"How?"

"Your lips move."

"Hey, I can be serious when I want to. Which reminds me, I've got a little surprise for you tonight."

"What is it?"

"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise. But all I'll say is that stars are going to be shining bright tonight."

"Maybe fireworks too?"

"If things go to plan maybe."

"Ooh, looking forward to it already."

After breakfast Kook went straight on duty so I decided to go for a little morning walk, while on my walk I could hear the sound of church bells ringing in the distance, there must have been a wedding commencing, I couldn't help but smile, and looking at a number of young couples with little children made me finally realise what I really wanted in life, forget following my dream to be a defender, all I really want now is to have my own little family.

After an hour long walk I decided it was probably time to get back home, as soon as I walked through the gates I knew that there was something a bit off, there was no one there, the guards were on duty, but I couldn't see Ballista, or Gildar, or Kook anywhere.

"Excuse me." I said to a nearby guard. "Sorry to interrupt but where are the defenders?"

"They're all waiting for you in the great hall. Ballista said that they have a surprise for you."

A surprise? Have they been planning this? What if this is what Kook told me about, was this all his idea?

I almost ran to the great hall, I just had to see what the others had planned. I stopped in front of the doors and held onto the door handles, I stayed there in that position for what felt like minutes before finally pushing them open. Inside there were balloons and streamers all over the place with a large banner at the back of the room saying "Happy Birthday Hannah".

"Happy Birthday!" Everyone cheered.

"Aw thanks guys, but you really shouldn't have."

"We just wanted to surprise you since it's the first birthday you're spending with us."

I smiled and looked over at Kook, he slowly walked over to me and held my hands.

"Was this all your idea?" I asked.

"No, we've all been thinking about this for a few weeks."

"So this isn't the surprise you were telling me about then?"

"No, that's going to be later tonight."

"Erm Hannah, this is from all of us." Said Ballista, handing me a small box with a little red bow on the top.

"What is it?"

"Open it and see."

I gently pulled on the bow and slowly lifted the lid off, inside was a small silver circular pendant with two crossed arrows carved on the front.

"Oh wow it's beautiful guys thank you."

"We've all got one exactly the same, we normally give them out to new defenders, they're sort of like friendship necklaces but since you're already like one of us, we thought it would be appropriate to give you one now."

"Aw thanks guys."

"You should really thank Tinkor, he spent most of the evening making it."

The music soon started playing and one by one we all hit the dance floor, Kook showing off more than others, the whole party went on throughout the morning and through lunch until three in the afternoon, I was getting pretty tired and the sun was starting to set.

"Meet me outside the main doors at nine." Kook whispered as we left the hall.

"Okay."

I spent the time after dinner just getting ready, I reapplied my makeup and changed into nicer clothes before a quick brush of my teeth and hair and a little squirt of perfume.

Kook was waiting for me just outside the main doors like he said, I could feel a large smile tugging on the corners of my mouth as I saw him, he didn't really look as relaxed and excited as me...he looked a little bit nervous, like this was our first date.

"Are you alright? You look a bit nervous."

"Yeah I'm fine."

"Okay, if you're sure. Shall we go then?"

"Yeah, except for one thing first. I need you to put this on."

Look reached into his pocket and pulled out a blindfold, at first I was confused, but then again, he did say it was a surprise.

Once the blindfold was on I felt Kook's hand on my arm as he turned me to face him, I felt him turn around and slowly pick me up onto his back.

"Hold in tight babe."

"I will."

As we took off into the night all I could hear was the sound of the wind whistling in my ears and the cold air hitting my face, I clung onto Kook tighter taking in the sweet smell of his cologne.

We soon started slowing down and I could hear the rustling of leaves with the odd branch gently brushing against my arms.

"Kook, are we in a tree?" I asked.

"Just trust me."

This surprise better be worth it. When Kook finally landed on one of the branches, he slowly lowered me down onto my feet, as I felt the branch beneath me I reached out to grab a nearby branch.

"It's alright, you won't fall, I've got you."

Kook had a firm grip of my right arm and stood behind me, slowly turning me around.

"Are you ready?" Kook asked untying the blindfold.

"This better be worth it Kook, you're risking my life here."

"Trust me."

I sighed. "Okay, I'm ready."

Kook moved the blindfold away from my eyes revealing the view. What I saw made me freeze with amazement. We were stood in one of the highest trees around, looking over a nearby lake with the castle in the distance lit up with torches and the light from moon shining off the vast still lake below us.

"Oh my god this is amazing."

"You like it?"

"It's beautiful, thank you so much Kook, you really couldn't make this any better."

"Not even with a little light show?"

I froze and looked at Kook. "Where are you going with this?" I asked.

Kook just smiled and gently shook the branch above us, a whole bunch of fireflies shot out from behind the leaves lighting up the sky as they flew around us, I couldn't help but let out a small giggle.

"Okay I take it back, it seems that you can make it even better."

I looked over at Kook, he was just smiling at me, I could feel my heart pounding and my cheeks burning up as he gently held my hand, he had a look about him that told me he was trying to tell me something.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing, it's just that I brought you up here for a special reason, I wanted this moment to be special."

"Well this is pretty special."

"Just let me finish, there's something else I need to do."

My heart was starting to race as Kook gently held my hand and looked deep into my eyes.

"Hannah, over the past few months we've been through a lot, you've been through more than most, but I just want to say that...I'll never leave you Hannah, no matter what is thrown at us, I'm yours and I'll always be there for you, your shoulder to cry on, someone to fall back on, and I know that you'd do the same for me. I guess what I'm trying to say is..." he slowly lowered down onto one knee. "Hannah Victoria Limeburn, I love you more than anything else in the world, and you would make me the happiest man alive, just answer me one thing...will you marry me?"

I froze, now I must be dreaming, I held onto the branch tighter just in case I fainted, after a couple of seconds I found my voice again.

"No question I've ever been asked has been so easy to answer." A small rear rolled down my cheek.

"And? What do you say?"

"Yes. Absolutely, yes!"

"Fantastic!"

Kook grabbed me around the waist and pulled me into a tight embrace, I buried my face into his shoulder as I began to gently cry with joy, all my dreams were finally coming true.

Kook carefully put me back down and reached into his pocket, revealing a small diamond ring, I couldn't stop my hand from shaking as he slowly slid the ring onto my finger, this all felt like a beautiful dream and I never wanted to wake up.

I woke up the next morning in Kook's room, it was six in the morning so Kook would be out for his morning walk, it all felt like a dream and I was starting to think that's what it was, I looked down at my hand, there was the ring, nope, everything was true.

I got out of bed and got dressed, I was just smoothing down the bedsheets when Kook came back.

"Morning future wife." He said grinning wide.

"Morning future husband."

"Did you sleep alright?"

"Like a log. I guess all the excitement yesterday tired me out."

I followed Kook downstairs and towards the dining hall for breakfast, that's where we were going to be announcing the engagement.

"You two look happy." Said Skabb as we met up outside.

"Yeah, as well we should be."

"Why what's happened?"

"All in good time Skabb, all in good time."

We sat down between Ballista and Thorne and Kook gently held my hand. We didn't really say much for the first ten minutes, we were mainly just thinking about how we were going to bring up the subject of the engagement.

"You two are being pretty quiet." Said Shaiden.

"We're just thinking."

"About what?"

I looked at Kook and took a deep breath.

"About something that happened yesterday."

"Why what happened yesterday?"

"Well...after the surprise birthday party we had, Kook had a second surprise for me later that evening."

"Aw, what was it?"

"Well...first Kook flew us out into the woods where we ended up at the top of one of the tallest trees around, the view was amazing, the moon and stars shining bright, fireflies flying around us, it was just perfect."

"Aww, that's lovely."

"But that's not all, while we were up there, Kook started to give me the most romantic speech about us and how he'll always be there for me...which led to him proposing to me."

We both expected cheers and congratulations coming from the others but they didn't say a word, they all just stared at us.

"Well don't say your congratulations then." Said Kook.

"You're engaged?" Knightriss asked.

"Yes."

"You really should have ran this by me first."

"Why?" Kook asked.

"Look, I'm sorry but I just won't be able to allow this, it just wouldn't be right."

I could feel the tears stinging my eyes already.

"But I thought that the rule was marriage can't be allowed for qualified defenders but is acceptable for outside the perimeters, meaning that as long as I'm not a defender it will be allowed."

"No Hannah, it's nothing to do with the rules of the kingdom, it's to do with biological differences."

"What does that mean?"

"Well you and Kook are classed as two different species, it just wouldn't be acceptable."

"Well where does that rule stand on the concept of love? Doesn't that mean anything."

"I'm sorry but the only way that it would be allowed is if you two were the same."

"So if I was like Kook or Kook was like me, we could get married."

"When you put it that way yes, but no one knows how that can be possible."

As soon as the tears started to fall I jumped out of my seat and out of the room, I heard Kook calling after me but I kept running and slammed the door shut behind me. I walked down the corridor for a few feet and backed myself up against the wall slowly sliding down until I was sat on the floor, I closed my eyes, brought my knees up to my chest and began to cry. I heard the door to the dining hall open, followed by footsteps coming towards me.

"Babe it's okay, we'll get through this." Said Kook wrapping his arm around me.

"Why does this always happen to me? It's like I'm cursed or something."

"Don't be silly, we'll fix this somehow."

"How?"

"I'm still working on that."

I heard the door open again and saw Thorne walking towards us.

"Guys, I think I can help you."

"How?" Kook asked.

"Just hear me out, I was having a little browse through some of the books in my lab and if I remember correctly, there was a potion in there specifically for altering someone's DNA."

"Like the pollyjuice potion in Harry Potter?"

"Similar, except this one's permanent."

"So you could change me to be like Kook?"

"Yeah, not exactly the same, you won't be a Kookaburra, just a different bird."

"See I told you everything would be alright." Said Kook.

I wiped my eyes and we both followed Thorne down to his lab, I'd only been in once before but it was a lot cleaner this time, last time there was bottles and books strewn all over the place.

"Let's see, which one was it?" Thorne muttered as he started flicking through the books. "Ah, here it is, transformation potion, once completed the drinker can transform into any person or creature of their choice."

"I think that this could actually work." Said Kook. "Thorne if you actually manage to pull this off, how would you like to be best man?"

"I'd be honoured mate."

"So exactly how long will it take to make this potion?" I asked.

"About two weeks."

"Two weeks?"

"It's alright sweetheart, it'll give us some time to sort out other stuff."

"You're right, I'm just a bit wound up at the moment."

"Perhaps we should go and tell everyone that the wedding's still on."

Hand in hand we both walked back to the dining hall where everyone was just starting to tidy everything away.

"Are you okay now Hannah?" Faetal asked.

"Yeah, especially now we've got everything sorted."

"What do you mean?"

"Okay, after the whole running out fiasco we just had, Thorne told me and Kook about this potion he'd read about that could actually change me to be like Kook."

"So the wedding's still on?" Ballista asked.

"Yeah, and I was wondering if you Faetal and Shaiden would like to be bridesmaids."

Faetal squealed and jumped out of her seat, throwing her arms around me.

"Yes! We'd love to."

"Fantastic."

"Now we can finally make use of the family suite upstairs." Said Crocness.

"Family suite, no one ever mentioned that."

"Because we've never really had the chance to use it, the family suite is a small apartment on the top floor of the castle exclusively for married couples and families."

"Wow, it sounds amazing."

"It is a bit more rent than just having your own room though, as there's a lot more to pay for."

"Well how much is it?"

"It's four hundred dollars a month, the apartment has at least three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small kitchen area and a small dining and living area."

"Okay, that seems fair for all that, I guess I better start saving up, get a part time job in the village. Can't anything be simple?"

"It's called being an adult."

"You sound like my mother."

I went straight into the village to look for a job while Kook went on duty, at least things were finally starting to work now.

Nowhere in the village was looking for any workers, so we were back to square one, I couldn't let Kook pay for the apartment all by himself until I qualify as a defender.

I was walking through the corridors of the castle thinking about what I was going to do, I had to find a way of making money and soon.

I walked past the music hall and couldn't help but look inside, the piano was still set up, I took a slow step into the room, I have had some piano lessons in the past, but it's been a while since I've played it.

I gently ran my fingers over the smooth, shiny black and white keys, slowly lowering myself down onto the stool. I took a deep breath and gingerly began to play, after a couple of notes it all started to come back to me, a small smile started to tug at the corners of my mouth as I began to sing.

"Everybody needs inspiration, everybody needs a song, a beautiful melody, when the nights are long. 'Cause there is no guarantee, that this life is easy. Oh when my world is falling apart, when there's no light to break up the dark, that's when I, I, I look at you, when I look at you."

I started to really get into it, my fingers were starting to glide expertly over the piano keys, I could almost hear a band playing in the background as I sang.

As soon as I'd finished the song, there was a brief silence as I came back down to earth, shortly interrupted by a loud round of applause, I looked over at the door where Kook was stood with a beaming smile on his face.

"Babe, that was beautiful. Why didn't you ever say that you could sing like that?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, I guess it's because it would have brought back too many memories."

"What do you mean?"

"Well when I lived in Splazzer City, I would occasionally sing at some parties and at special occasions, it still feels a bit sensitive to talk about it."

"You should definitely think about going back into that, you're fantastic."

"Do you think so?"

"Yeah, I'm sure some places in the village are looking for some entertainers."

I decided that it was quite a good idea, so I went out straight out into the village checking in all the clubs and pubs to see if they were requiring any performers, I tried every place, the only place left was The Three Barrels bar and club, I noticed the notice in the window instantly, "performers wanted".

The bartender noticed me as soon as I walked through the door.

"Can I help you miss?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm here about the notice in the window."

"Oh do you perform?"

"Yeah, I can sing and play a bit of piano and guitar."

"Okay, I'll just go and get the owner."

He went through the back of the bar to get the owner, I was getting rather nervous, what if I wasn't as good as Kook thinks I am. The owner came through and smiled as he saw me.

"Hi, I understand that you're a performer."

"Erm…yeah."

"I hope you don't mind, but could you just sing us something very quickly."

I swallowed hard, I was petrified, I've never really had to take an audition before, I just decided to sing When I Look At You by Miley Cyrus again, my voice did tremble in a couple of places thanks to my nerves.

"You've got the job."

I froze. "Really?"

"Yeah, you're fantastic."

"Thank you so much, you've no idea what this means to me."

"You're welcome, when are you available to start."

"As soon as possible."

"How's Monday to Friday?"

"Sure."

I almost ran back to the castle to tell Kook the news. He was sat in the defenders lounge, with a small notebook in his hand.

"Kook! Guess what?"

"What?"

"I've got a job!"

"Fantastic!"

Kook jumped off of the sofa and threw his arms around me, lifting me off my feet and spinning me around.

"So what happened?"

"I went to The Three Barrels, and they were looking for some performers for the evening entertainment."

"Great, so when do you start?"

"Monday night, and for the whole month I'll be paid seven hundred spladoolicans."

"So on top of the fifteen hundred I get a month that's twenty two hundred."

"So if we take into account the rent for the family suite, including electricity, heating and groceries…we might be just be able to get by. But it might take us a while to save up for the wedding."

"Yeah I guess you're right…I guess I could take on an extra couple of shifts."

"No way, you already do too much. I could do something on a weekend for some extra money, I could sell some of my crocheted items in the splatalot market."

"Good idea."

Well we might not be there yet, but we were definitely making progress, we were over halfway to moving into the family suite. I could already see our near future folding out in front of me. We went straight to the bank that afternoon to apply for a joint bank account to save time, and we started moving some of our belongings up to the family suite, just little things like photos and decorations. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next.