A/N: At last, here we are! Our story is coming to an end, after everything that happened, our couple may be getting their 'happy ending', while it lasts. I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writting it. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad to be making something for this very unique couple. I'll surely not stop after this one, in fact I have some sort of short stories related to this one, I don't know if I'll actually write them and post them, but... who knows. Thanks so much for reading up until now! Stay beautiful~

This final chapter goes to everyone who managed to get to this part and to those who left their lovely comments. I want to dedicate it specially to presea221 in and raventsurara in Ao3, they kept commenting and sending good vibes as I edited & uploaded this fic. I would have probably given up half-way through if I hadn't recieved your support, thank you so much! I hope you've enjoyed it!

Chapter 10: Come Rain or Shine

The day was about to come. Natalia's hands trembled, as she stared at herself in disbelief in the mirror. It had been two long months since the damned engagement got settled, but the ceremony had been postponed several times. It was finally happening. The King hadn't been happy about the delay, since he wanted a rightful heiress and a sure shot on grandchildren one day, but he had no choice but to wait until things turned for the best. First was the strike and their break in Keterburg, then Jade's sudden decision to leave everything to the Princess' best judgement. Natalia hadn't given an answer yet, but neither the Necromancer or her were able to explain to her father that they had given it sometime before making a final decision. King Ingobert went on and planned the wedding without asking any questions, unaware that Natalia might be calling it off the day before the ceremony.

Her reflection in the mirror greeted her with a nervous smile. The dress hanged on the clothes rack behind her, but Natalia was unsure if she should be even looking at it until the ceremony was a sure shot. It was late, she should be going to bed if she wanted to keep her energies for the next day. Just as she was to make her way to bed there was a knock at the door. She walked towards it, knowing who was waiting behind the threshold.

"It's bad luck to see the bride a day before the wedding." She muttered, barely opening the door. Jade stood behind it with a grimace on his face.

"That's why I came a day and a couple of hours before it's time." Natalia looked at the grandfather clock on the wall. She opened the door to let him come inside. With a swift motion, he handed her a small bouquet of white roses. Natalia thanked him and sat on the mattress, explaining she was about to go to bed. "Then I'll be brief. I assume you know why I'm here."

"Are you going to jilt me again?" She answered back in anger. "If you didn't want to do it on first place you should have told me when I asked you about it. Don't go placing the responsibility on someone else." Jade sighed, standing in front of her and staring down directly on her eyes. He shook his head and walked away, towards the window.

"I thought you'd understand, but I should have also foreseen you'd still be angry." He pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to be patient with her. Sometimes, she got on his nerves quite easily. "I assume you're not taking me back."

"I want to do it." Natalia's voice was angry, but Jade also noticed she sounded incredibly sad. "But I won't if you're going to assume you're the only adult in this relationship and I'm just a child who needs to be scolded all the time."

"Then you shouldn't have stopped talking to me for two weeks straight." The Necromancer talked back, trying not to sound spiteful.

"I believed that was what you wanted." The princess stood up and walked towards him. She felt the urge to punch him, for leaving her when she became most vulnerable. Once the thing with the Gwynhams was settled, he ran away for two weeks. He went back to Peony's side, he never even sent a letter. It wasn't her fault. She felt as if Jade had ditched her when she needed him the most. "After all, you're the one who left."

"You needed time to think." Apparently, Natalia wasn't the only one thinking about recurring to violence. He wanted to slap some sense into her, but he had promised never to do that again. Just as she had said before, she wasn't a child anymore. "You were walking into this blindly. After what happened with Luke… I noticed I had become some sort of substitute for Asch to you."

"How dare you…!" Natalia's anger and indignation kept growing. She grabbed the collar of his shirt, making Jade lean down to her height by force. "Don't dare compare yourself to him!"

"You're just confirming what I said." He hissed calmly, but clearly angered as well. He grabbed her hands and placed them down roughly, looking at Natalia's watery eyes. "You're so obsessed with him you'd even go against me, no matter if we're getting married or not."

"What do you want from me?!" Natalia screamed, pulling her hands away from him. "I don't know what to do anymore… Asch disappeared and I couldn't do anything. The royals don't want me taking the crown and I can't do anything. You decide to call it off for my own good, and you won't let me do anything! I feel so… powerless…"

"Move on. That's what I want from you, just as you wanted me to do the same." He held her by the shoulders, trying not to squeeze her too hard. Natalia was about to break down in tears, Jade noticed that perhaps he'd taken it too far. He pulled her closer into his arms, and Natalia didn't resist. "And I never called it off. You needed time to think, I'd just be a burden if I kept reminding you of your responsibilities."

"Well, thanks for nothing." The princess sobbed, embracing him slowly. She drifted from anger to sadness quickly, but Jade understood the mood swing was caused out of frustration. He hugged her gently, the smell of her hair filled his nose as he rested his head atop of hers. "I've done nothing but think I'm unwanted by everyone. My father, my friends, my people… they could have so much better… even you."

"Don't say that…" The Necromancer sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically. "You become such a stupid child when you're under a lot of pressure." Jade pinched her cheek, pestering her on purpose.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, pushing his hand away from her face. "I'm not a child, nor stupid!"

"I'm joking, I'm joking." He laughed, holding each side of her face before kissing her gently. At least he knew he could manage to cheer her up by cracking bad jokes and giving her kisses. "I do have to apologize, perhaps I should have stayed with you and we should have talked with your father, but the damage is done already… do you think you can forgive me?"

"I'm not sure I want to." Natalia mocked with a fake tone of anger, recognizing he was being sincere. "I don't know if I can, after all, you ditched me when you said you had an obligation with me… I mean, I might even have to punish you from lying to your future Queen. In my country, it's penalized with death, but I might be benevolent and make you compensate for it…"

"Is that an offering or something?" Jade smiled mischievously, gaining a slap from the princess. He apologized, laughing. "Then… is the wedding still happening?"

"We have people coming from places outside of the country, I'd not like to send them back. You'll have to win my trust back, though" She kissed him again, raising on the tip of her toes to reach him.

"I'm sorry." He felt like a complete idiot. She didn't answer back, but she hugged him tightly instead. If he didn't know himself any better, he'd have broken down in her arms at the very same moment. He felt terrible for making her suffer like that, and he admitted he'd done wrong in trying to force her to reconsider her options. Perhaps he didn't want this for her, but in the end, it was her decision, not his. He embraced her tightly, resting his forehead against her shoulder. Natalia had never seen him so ashamed, but she didn't have anything else to say to him.

"… I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night."

It was a tradition in Kimlasca to marry dressed in bright, crimson gowns. Natalia never liked said tradition, because she insisted red was such a violent color for a wedding dress. But, alas, being the future queen of the nation allowed her some liberties when asking the seamstress for her new attire. She still have to marry in red if she wanted to respect her country's custom, though. In the end, she had a red dress with golden decorations, which dragged most of the attention towards them. Another concern she had was another custom from her country she'd left for the last minute: she had to make her fiancé's suit, and Natalia knew she wouldn't be able to do so herself. She had ordered the design and made some suggestions to the seamstress, but in the end, she had not seen the result and she had not seen him wearing it, just like he hadn't seen her wearing the dress. She asked for the suit the same evening Jade left for Malkuth, and ever since then she had no idea of how it ended up looking.

"Aren't you nervous?" Anise asked as she and the other girls helped her get into the dress before her handmaid fixed the last details.

"Of course I'm nervous!" Natalia answered, angered. Tear helped her to fix the back of the dress, making sure to cover the white corset she was wearing beneath it. "You don't get married every day, after all. For Yulia's sake, I'm not even sure if I can do this…" She panicked, which made Tear stop placing the pins.

"B-but there's a lot of people outside... the guards told me the townspeople are reuniting to celebrate outside the castle, you can't get cold feet now."

"I know, I know. I was… forget about it Tear, it's fine." Natalia answered, shaking her head.

"Hurry up! Hurry up!" Anise shouted, glancing through one of the windows into the main hall. "People are starting to take their seats already!"

"Go ahead. Give me just a couple of minutes, tell the priest to get ready, please. I… I need to take a breather before… well… before it's time."

"Don't worry." Tear placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "We're here with you, it's going to be fine."

"Besides, the General is not that bad of a catch, you may try to deny it, but we've seen you, how you react, how you change when you're with him. By the way, he looks dreamy in that suit you gave him!" Anise said as she noticed Jade had already arrived at the altar, accompanied by Peony. "Ohh, sometimes I tend to forget he's actually handsome, he looks really good with his hair up!" The younger girl exclaimed as she checked him out from afar.

"Don't spoil it, Anise! I want to see him myself, you know?" Natalia sighed, taking one long look in the mirror. Anise turned around with a quirky smile, to which Natalia noticed she had screwed up: she had just admitted she liked Jade in front of Anise and she had given her enough reasons to become a bother.

Tear and Anise exited the room and she could listen people chatter outside. One of the rooms to the side had been turned into a changing salon for the time being, the presents and some coats had been placed in there before the ceremony started. After her friends finished fixing her dress, her handmaid placed the lacy veil over her head and fixed the stray locks of blonde hair in their place. She was truthfully scared and unsure everything would turn up just fine. The thoughts in her head were keeping her anxious since past night, many things crossed her mind as she waited for the ceremony to begin. What if something spoiled the ceremony? What if another strike happened? What if Jade, or herself, got cold feet? Anything could happen, and she was truthfully scared everything turned up for the worst.

She'd hoped she'd only have to sign the final papers, but as custom dictated, a large, public ceremony was to be held where the couple would be presented to both the noblemen of the kingdom and the people of Kimlasca. They'd have had to repeat it all over at Malkuth if important members of the army and Jade's direct relatives on the Curtiss family didn't agree to come to Baticul. but fortunately, they did. Just as she had said, Nephry also confirmed her assistance, but her husband wasn't present nor a confirmed guest on the invitation list. Natalia wondered if something had happened between them, but she'd make sure to ask questions later. For the time being, she had a much worrying matter in front of her.

"You look lovely, Your Highness. I'm sure even General Curtiss will be surprised to see you like this"

"I don't know, Giselle, he's a little… hard to please." Natalia said, secretly hoping Jade would like her. She knew he'd probably be completely pissed off and he'd try to finish the event as soon as possible, which made it almost impossible for him to look at her with eagerness, at least until the ceremony and the reception were over. "Thanks anyway, it is indeed a beautiful dress… nothing should go wrong, right?"

"It's going to be marvelous, Your Majesty. Please hurry, the ceremony is about to begin."

"Thank you, Giselle."

Natalia waited in silence, with her eyes closed and her hands over her knees. She felt so unsure about herself at the moment, as if something was tying itself around her throat. She tried to swallow, but it didn't calm the sensation at all. It almost felt like drowning, or as if something was pressing hard against her chest from within her lungs. If it weren't from the music outside, she was sure she'd be able to hear her own accelerated pulse beating frantically.

She'd never felt nervous about public speech, in fact it almost felt natural to do so in most occasions, but that day wasn't the case. Anxiety started to peak and she felt cold sweat running down her temple, which she wiped quickly before it fell into her face. The moment seemed like an eternity, until she heard someone knocking slightly at the door. Natalia stood up and Giselle hurried to the entrance immediately, bowing to her as she made her way out. The light from the outside was so bright she was blinded for a few seconds, which lasted longer than she'd have wished. She felt someone's hand tug at her arm, but she didn't notice until she'd started to walk idly towards the altar that it was her father, the King himself who was leading her to her impending destination.

The door had opened and the Princess took a few seconds to emerge from the room. Jade wasn't feeling nervous or even angry about the wedding; in fact, he was quite curious of the outcome of the events. Even if he had agreed to all of it and he did enjoy Natalia's company, Jade still hated weddings. Even if it was his own wedding, he felt deeply annoyed from being the object of everyone's attention. More than anything he felt bothered that he had been pushed into it by the King and the Emperor. All the time, he had been used as a pawn of Ingobert and Peony's games. He was aware he was just a replacement in one of the Emperor's schemes in which he did not plan to participate directly. But since the situation had reached the point of no return, he might as well take the best out of it and enjoy the ride. From afar, Jade could tell the dress Natalia was wearing was quite luxurious and expensive, but the closer she got as Ingobert walked her down towards the altar, the more precious Natalia looked in his eyes. At least he still got the sight of her to enjoy through all of this. He found himself caught in surprise, with eyes wide open when she stood beside him without looking at him directly. The dress was colored a bright and dark shade of red, adorned with golden thread on her chest and her neck. Beneath the translucent veil he could see Natalia's flustered expression, accompanied by rosy cheeks that showed her embarrassment. She looked astonishing.

Natalia stared idly behind the priest's shoulder, as he begun to speak. Still a bit distracted by her eerie beauty, Jade turned to face the religious man and listened in silence, ignoring grand part of the speech the elder was preaching. Ingobert seemed awfully happy about having the complete ceremony take place in Baticul, whereas the couple had complained about the procedure. Neither of them wanted the religious event to happen, but the King insisted it was a custom to be followed, mostly to please the courtiers. All he wished was to avoid more conflicts.

So far everything had gone as Jade had predicted: Natalia was scared, perhaps she was worried something would go awry. He couldn't blame it on her, after all, during the last important even she had attended, someone planned a hit on her. Everything she had to say to keep the ceremony going on seemed like it was ingrained to her head and it came automatically out of her mouth without processing. From his part, Jade had kept a straight face and a tired smile while he interacted with the religious man, but he was already growing tired of it. He wished the priest would finish soon, or that at least that it wouldn't take much longer. Annoyance was about to show on his face anytime now. However, there was one thing that kept him interested the whole time. It wasn't her nervousness or her giddiness, he'd already seen this side of her plenty of other times. He'd even been pushed to make her to snap out of it by force more than once. That day, however, she had something else and he couldn't put his finger on it. She looked beautiful, he was unable to deny it, but it wasn't her beauty what kept him captivated. There was another fact that made him so interested on her, but he could not point out what was it that made him so distracted. He stared at her for a few seconds, unaware that the priest had been asking him to speak his vows at least twice already. As soon as he reacted and started to speak, he heard a small chuckle coming from Peony's side.

As the princess suspected, he had no intention of putting any fake emotion or make-pretend on the ceremony. If anything, he was swearing loyalty to the crown and Natalia's position as future queen of Kimlasca. However, the noblemen seemed to like those kinds of things. As Jade spoke, given the fact that Natalia had managed to calm down quite a bit since the beginning of the ceremony, or at least while she wasn't supposed to be speaking, she turned her head towards him. She hadn't taken the time to look at him at all, but Anise hadn't lied back then, he did look astonishing, clad in the outfit she'd gifted him as Kimlascan tradition dictated. It was a dark, ultramarine blue jacket mixed with a gray shirt and silver details on the flaps and the cuffs, almost resembling the military uniform she used to see Jade wearing all the time. His silver glasses were perfectly placed over the bridge of his nose, and a simple yet elegant decoration with blue beads dangled from one of the sides. His dark blonde hair was tied on a high ponytail, which made his features look even more graceful. For such a delicate, even feminine physical appearance he had, Jade was surely one handsome man. She blushed at the thought of it, unable to erease certain images from weeks before. Her concerns took hold of her again, but she tried to remain calm as she waited for her turn to speak.

Just as those thoughts invaded her mind, she heard the priest ask for her vows, for the ceremony to be over. Nervousness came back crawling into her body, as she felt the words get stuck in her throat. However, she also felt a sudden warmth on her left shoulder and a slight caress on her skin. Jade tried to ease her anxiety as she spoke, his thumb was rubbing her shoulder carefully, as if she'd break if he applied even a little more pressure. She'd believed he was unfazed by her fears before, but as she stuttered the first words of her speech, Natalia could catch a glimpse of her fiancé pursing his lips and staring nervously at her from the corner of his eyes. His hand never moved from her shoulder the whole time she had to speak. His worry, his attempts at comforting her, the sense of calm and protection he gave to her… it became the motivation Natalia was lacking at the moment. If he was besides her, she knew she would be able to manage whatever happened that day.

It ended quickly. A chaste gesture, a peck on the lips that didn't last more than a couple of seconds, and the ceremony was officially over. Barely any touching, no clinging into each other's arms, it was just a kiss, the first they had shared in public. They had to keep pretending it was nothing but an arrangement between two nations, but deep inside, Natalia was bursting up with joy. Her mouth was soft and her skin trembled slightly at his touch when his gloved fingers grasped her cheek for just a second. They were all watching them, but none knew anything about their relationship, about the tenderness and the closeness they shared in secret. If they only knew what she knew, or they felt the same way as the Princess felt, they'd understand the ceremony was nothing but an elaborate staging to satisfy the needs of two nations on the brink of war. Many of the noblemen and women were greeting and congratulating them as they walked down the aisle, escorted both by Peony and Ingobert, but Natalia's gestures shook them off and derailed them from their pompous flattery. Chatter started to arise once again, as the guests made their way to the ball room. The couple, however, had another stop to make before the reception.

Jade knew the main structure of the castle but he'd never been to the higher floors that went beyond Natalia and King Ingobert's chambers. He followed through the entire time, knowing their destination was the balcony on the main tower, which faced to the public plaza.

"Well, it's finally done. How are you feeling?" Jade asked on a hushed voice, leaning down to speak to her ear. Natalia was startled by the sound and jumped a little.

"I… I'm fine, thanks. I got nervous again, I don't know why." She explained, grabbing his arm as they made their way upstairs. "Thanks for having my back during the ceremony… I really needed it."

"Don't mind, that's my duty, after all." Jade answered with a radiant smile. Natalia could tell he was just as happy as she was, but he was letting it show now that he was away from the public eye. "Need to take a breath? I don't think they'd mind"

"Oh, no, everything's fine, I just needed to get away from the people in the ceremony, that's it. I… I didn't want to stay there, under prying eyes…" She admitted, getting nervous again.

"You're well aware of where we're going now, don't you? I'm afraid if you're suffering from a bit of social anxiety it'd be better for you to avoid this for the moment. Not to mention the reception…" They were making their way upstairs already. If Natalia wanted to call for a break, she had to speak then or it'd be too late. Deep down, he was afraid she might cower, or that her body couldn't sustain so much pressure.

"I don't mind talking with the townsfolk, they're perfectly fine. It's the nobles I'm worried about. What if… what if another strike happens? Wouldn't everyone be in danger?" She answered bluntly. Her response came out louder than she had expected, which made Peony and her father turn around to look at her, concerned.

"I can do the announcement if you want…" King Ingobert said, but Natalia shook her head. They had already reached the main room of the principal tower. It was too late to back down from this.

"N-no, father, I can do it. I'm just nervous, something may happen."

"Don't be." Peony said, stopping for a second to glance at Natalia. "The people of your country love you. Remember that they did not judge you at your worst, why would they criticize you when they believe it is your best? Right now, if anything were to happen, you have the support of all those townsfolk to help you in a dire moment. If another strike were to happen, the one responsible for it would regret it until the end of their days." He had a point, Natalia acknowledged with a nod. However, her body wasn't willing to give in to Peony's advice as easily. Her palms were sweaty and she almost felt her eyes watering behind her eyelids when she closed them in a failed attempt to regain her composure.

"Natalia, it's time." Jade pressured, offering a hand to her as the servants opened the wooden door before them.

"I know…" She walked towards him. The wooden door was only meant to be used whenever a ceremony of such importance was held. The portal creaked as the servants pushed the curtains away and a veil of dust flied away from them. Natalia's steps were reluctant and short, until Jade placed an arm behind her back and almost pushed her towards the balcony. He was clearly growing tired of her constant panicking, but he wasn't harsh in his actions. In fact, his arm pulled her closer to him with care and affection. He was good at playing his part, she had to give him that.

A bright ray of light invaded her eyes, the sun was setting just behind the horizon that pronounced Baticul's landscape. She was blinded momentarily, but a large roar of excitement and cheerfulness filled her ears in an instant. She glanced down to the crowd, averting her eyes from the sun and found the whole plaza was filled up in every corner with the peasants of Kimlasca and some malkuthians who came in as visitors just for the events, screaming congratulatory and encouraging words to the couple. Men, women and children were reunited down there, claiming her name with a smile as bright as the sun that shone above her head. Her fears ran away from her body as her eyes opened wide in surprise.

Jade watched Natalia transform in a split second from a scaredy girl that cowered inside the castle from the prying eyes of the court, into a Would-Be-Queen that showed courage to face her people with a smile on her lips in one of her direst moments. She grinned widely and waved at the people beneath her with eagerness. Jade kept holding her slightly and saluted as well, with least excitement that Natalia portrayed. The crowd cheered for some straight whole minutes, until the emotion faded out when Natalia signaled them to keep silent.

"People of Kimlasca!" She exclaimed with a very loud voice that resonated through the plaza. Jade was amazed she didn't need any sort of device to help herself, as everyone down below must have been able to hear her. "Thank you for your unyielding support and your devoted love for our country and its Royal Family. Tonight… tonight we celebrate! Tonight is a won battle for both Kimlasca and Malkuth, as both our nations join in holy matrimony for the sake of our much longed search for peace. I am glad to announce to you that I, Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear, Daughter of King Ingobert the VI and the late Queen Olivia of Lanvaldear, future regnant of our beloved country, have chosen the man that will bring light into both nations and rule by my side when the time comes. I hereby present to you General Jade Curtiss from the Malkuth Empire as my beloved husband. Together we…" Natalia hesitated for a moment, glancing at Jade for a bit. He turned his face to see why did she stop, but she turned her head immediately. "Together we'll change this country. We'll change this country and we'll help Malkuth in every way that's possible for us. We'll change it so no one has to suffer from poverty and hunger. We'll change both Kimlasca and Malkuth so that war never happens again, for all of our citizens to live in peace. We'll work to change our nations. For the rest of our lives… together." Her voice broke with that last statement and Jade could see tears streaming down her face. However, her smile was still as bright as the sun settign before them. Those were tears of happiness, and Jade was sure those words weren't improvised at the moment. Those words, at least to him, sounded like a promise, as if they were a pledge Natalia had made with her people without his knowledge. The crowd cheered loudly when she was finished, claiming her name with excitement. King Ingobert gave a small speech and along with Peony both offered to pay the expenses for the town's celebration in name of the Princess's wedding. More cheerful screams and laughter could be heard from below, but Natalia wandered back inside the castle immediately.

They went back inside and Natalia excused herself as soon as the butler closed the door once again. She said she had to get changed for the reception, but the tears in her face betrayed her. Peony let it slip as excitement, but both Ingobert and Jade knew she was lying. She ran away to her room, refusing to wait and give her father any further explanation. Knowing his daughter better, the King asked Jade if he could go after her to see what had happened. Jade had his own suspicions, but he would gladly talk to her. After all, of all people, perhaps it was him who Natalia would talk most willingly.

"Come in" Natalia said with a low voice after someone knocked twice at her door.

"It's me" Jade said, pushing the door open and waiting for her to say it was fine to get inside. "Are you sure you want me to come in?"

"Ah… y-yeah, sorry for earlier. P-please close the door, I don't want anyone else to come and see me like this."

"Don't worry, I told the maids to keep an eye on the hall." He assured, sitting in one of the couches in front of the bed.

"Did my father send you?" She asked, sitting in front of him.

"He did, but I was concerned as well. Do you mind to share what happened?" Jade asked with inquiring eyes. She was changing into a dark blue gown that quite matched his suit, but the princess kept struggling with some of the buttons of the red dress on the back of her neck she was unable to unfasten by herself. Jade sighed and offered his help to get it off with a slight gesture of his hands. Natalia turned around to let him work at it.

"I don't want to bother you with it." She said sincerely.

"You don't bother me; you can tell me." He answered calmly as he saw the cause of her struggle. The necklace she was wearing was tangled with her hair and the upper button of the dress. Thankfully, Jade was patient enough to try to fix it instead of ripping it off.

"No, really, it was nothing…"

"Don't tell me, then. I can assume it on my own, if you don't mind, Princess" He said calmly. Natalia laughed and nodded. "Your words were natural, even innocent. That speech sounded like something a child would promise. Perhaps a pledge made with a lost lover you expected to have taken my place today." Natalia turned around slightly, impressed by Jade's deduction capabilities. He placed a hand on her shoulder to ask her not to move around while he untangled the necklace, or it might get stuck in her hair.

"You're good." She chuckled in defeat. "But you have one detail mistaken, dear."

"Oh? Mind to enlighten me, then? You seem more cheerful than I thought you'd be, to be honest." Jade admitted, letting out a large sigh. He finally untangled the necklace, and proceeded to take it off her neck.

"It was a promise I made as a child, as you said. Indeed, it was to a lost lover. But you were wrong assuming I expected him to take your place. I must keep that promise to honor his memory, that's my duty after all. But I want to do it with you." Her green eyes posed on his, gazing at him deeply. There was anxiousness in her stare, but there were no traces of fear anymore. "I want you to be part of it, as much as Asch would have been, but I finally understood you're not, and you'll never be a replacement for him. In many ways during our trip to Keterburg, you became some sort of substitute for the affection I craved, which I never actually had. As time went by, and after we talked past night, however… I noticed I had been confused for a long time. You were not acting as a replacement for Asch… I was actually falling in love with you."

"I'm glad to hear it." Jade smiled widely, handing her the necklace. "Then, I pledge to keep that promise, if that's what you want." He held her hands and he gave her that kind smile he had reserved only for her. After a moment of silence, while he kept thinking what to say carefully, he finally spoke again. "It's good to know we're finally on the same page."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I meant to say I'm glad to know you feel the same as I do." It was so hard for him to say it directly. Natalia understood perfectly, but it was more than enough for her.

After the formalities of the reception, where Natalia decided it'd be best to keep her mouth shut and barely speak to any of her guests unless it was completely necessary, she had asked her friends and close family to remain once the celebration was over for a more private party.

Once the last guests had left the chamber, Natalia slowly regained her usual self and opened herself more to her guests, firstly introducing herself formally to Lord and Lady Curtiss, as well as Jade's elder sister from said family. They were very formal and serious, but they greeted the Princess as one of their own the minute she welcomed them. Izumi, who Jade had mentioned several times before while they were in Keterburg, was a tall and fit woman with dark hair and tan skin. Natalia noticed she had a fonic circle tattooed on her left wrist, which made her believe she had discovered an alternate way to draw fonons into her body, not just by opening one's fonbelts as per usual. Just as her adoptive brother, she was surely a master mage. Izumi came accompanied by her husband, a large man with a well-trimmed beard, who seemed to be in very good relationship with Jade. They both congratulated Natalia on their marriage and her future coronation, but otherwise they preferred to speak to Jade for as long as they were present in the room.

The princess decided it was better to leave them some time together and visit some other guests, now that she had the time to be with everyone at the party. Just as it was to be expected, her father was reunited with Duke Fabre and aunt Suzanne at the center of the room; Tear, Luke and Guy were talking with Anise about something at the food table, or whatever remained of it. The Curtiss family drank and made a toast in honor of their adopted son, hoping to welcome another member into the clan sometime soon. However, Natalia had someone else on her mind as she was walking around. She darted her eyes in search for someone who wasn't anywhere to be found.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Jade said, catching up behind her after some minutes.

"Ever since the private party began, I've not seen your dear sister around." She explained with a mischievous smile.

"Oh, how curious, I don't recall seeing Emperor Peony, as well." Jade returned the smirk, walking beside her in her quest to find them. An idea seemed to pop up in his mind, as he moved forward and signaled her to follow him. "This balcony leads to the inner garden, right?" He asked, opening the crystal door for her to go through before him.

"Indeed." The princess conceded, looking around on the patches of flowers beneath them.

"There they are…" Jade pointed right in front of her, but pulled her arm so she'd not loom over to eavesdrop. "But I wonder, Count Osbourne isn't here, why are they…?"

"Don't act like you don't know what's happening." Natalia interrupted with a sarcastic look on her eyes.

"You're meaning to tell me you set them up back together?"

"Not quite, I just pulled some of your sister's heartstrings when we left your hometown… Perhaps I insisted a little bit too much on getting back in contact with the Emperor… but I didn't say anything about kissing in secret, you know?"

"Now you're playing matchmaker too?" He asked, laughing. Jade had a cup of wine on his hand, and he turned it around playfully as they spoke.

"Let's call it revenge for what your dear Emperor did to us."

"I like the way you think, Princess."

The couple walked back into the main chamber, laughing mischievously as they gossiped about what they just had seen. Music kept playing and some of their guests were dancing slowly, almost idly at the tune of the violins. Natalia sighed, as she made her way to the main table and Jade followed right behind her. Just before reaching her seat, he stopped her and offered a hand, inviting her to dance. The princess looked at him, estranged, as he had refused to do so during the main event, in front of everybody else. She could imagine why he did so, but she never assumed he'd offer himself during the private reception.

"This is unexpected…" she admitted, but accepted his offering and walked into the floor with him.

"I'm not asking for a dance; I'm asking for a talk without anyone intruding into our conversation. We need to keep their eyes on us, so running away like my sister did is not an option." He explained and held the small of her back as he led her slowly to the rhythm of the melody. The others noticed they were dancing, but besides smiles and an occasional clap, nobody interrupted them.

"So, what's the matter?"

"I have two main concerns to discuss with you, dear… both worrisome and pressing, to be honest. I didn't want to bring them earlier because it'd stress you even more." Natalia nodded and asked him to proceed. Jade inhaled deeply and made her lean closer. "Firstly, I couldn't avoid to notice your peaking anxiety from today. You've been quite more nervous than I expected you to be… did something happen?"

"Huh? No, nothing…" Her words didn't sound sincere. Jade's grimace was enough to make her notice he hadn't believed her. She rolled her eyes and corrected herself, pissed: "Oh, fine. I keep forgetting I can't hide anything from you. I-I've not been feeling well since I woke up. Dizziness, nausea, lack of appetite… I don't get this nervous when social events come, you know me better than that."

"Those symptoms—"

"Exactly." Natalia interrupted before he could even mutter what both suspected. "D-don't even ask, I'm not sure of anything, but I began feeling terrible since then… and my mind run wild while I waited for the ceremony to begin. What if anything happened? W-hat if they had managed to plan another strike? I'd not know what to do... too many things crammed up and I began to panic."

"You should have said something. Then we could have thought of a plan together." Jade remembered she held her lower abdomen several times during the ceremony and some others during her speech at the main balcony. Perhaps unconsciously, she'd been doing that as a sign of protection whenever her anxiety grew unmeasurable.

"We had no time." The princess said, looking around to make sure nobody had listened. "I guess that answers your first question?"

"Indeed it does, though I wish you'd have had a different explanation." Jade looked down at her, concerned. "It opens a lot of other doubts."

"Well, the musicians seem eager to keep us dancing… so keep asking."

"Hmm… it can all be reduced to one simple question, actually." Jade moved calmly, avoiding bumping into others and keeping enough distance so that they'd not listen to anything they said. He knew Natalia wouldn't like anyone to suspect about her current concerns. At least coming from her family's part, she'd never hear the end of it. "What are we going to do now?"

"Explain further, please." She asked, confused.

"I firstly wanted to ask you in relation to our next plans. Where do you want to go? Are you staying here or do you…?" Jade stopped mid-sentence and glanced away from her, ashamed. Natalia smiled, amazed he could get flustered before asking something. "… do you want to come with me?"

"We have to talk to my father."

"I did that already." He answered bluntly, still avoiding her eyes. "Before the ceremony I caught him walking around the palace and I took my chance. He says he wants whatever you choose to do, if it's the best for you. Just as we talked, once he leaves the crown to you, you must come back and stay here, but until then, you're free to do as you wish."

"Oh…" Natalia opened her eyes wide, considering her options. Of course, she could go with Jade if she wanted, but she'd also have to leave her father behind. Things weren't safe anymore and her father wasn't getting younger each day that passed. It wasn't a decision she could make abruptly. "I'll have to think about it… for the time being, I think I'll stay here with my family. I… I hope you can do the same."

"You know my answer, Princess. As long as I'm able to go back to my research, I'll be glad to stay." Jade conceded. He stopped moving once the melody they were dancing to had stopped and walked her back to the balcony. If anyone asked, he'd say they were taking a break for the moment. Once they were outside, Jade placed his coat on her shoulders to shield her from the cold, then he resumed his interrogation. "Alas, I have to ask again… what are we going to do?"

"I can keep traveling, and I assume you can do the same if it doesn't stop your investigation… we'll find a way to make it work."

"I didn't mean that… if your concerns turn out to be true, traveling would be the least of our problems." Jade rose an eyebrow and tried to keep his cool the best he managed. "We'll have to consider many things if that's the case."

"Jade… you're actually worrying?" Natalia giggled, partially filled with joy and partially amused by his unusual behavior. "It's not like you. Relax, it's probably a false alarm, I had a bad night of sleep past night and I didn't eat much, it may be just that."

"Humor me here." He didn't admit it, but he was severely panicking. He had evidently considered the fact that he'd have to father a child sometime soon, after everything that had happened, but he didn't imagine it'd have happened so fast. He wasn't sure he was going to be a good example to follow for a child. In fact, he believed he'd be a lousy father. After many years of living alone and being the example of what a bachelor should be, he had eliminated every idea of parenthood from his mind. It was resurfacing now, wreaking havoc in his head. Natalia could be right, it may just be a false alarm, but he was usually careful enough to plan ahead of things, even if they didn't happen in first place. "What are we going to do if it's true?"

"Listen…" Natalia sat on one of the stone benches and asked him to do the same. "This series of events made me realize one thing. I've lost so many people during my life, to many of them I was unable to even say goodbye. Asch, my mother Olivia, Badaq, Sylvia, Ion, everyone that should be here, they're all gone. All of them were my family in one way or another, and I've lost them because I couldn't be there for them when they needed me. I don't want that to ever happen again. I want to be with my father, with my uncle and aunt, with Luke, Tear and the others… but most importantly, I want to be with you."

Jade opened his eyes wide as Natalia leaned closer, holding his hands in hers. She'd always been so sincere with her feelings it was almost bothersome, but she had a point and he had to give her that. She had lost so many people, and yet, she remained so calm and so strong when it came to facing her country as their Queen. She had one weakness, though: seeing the ones she loved being vulnerable. It made her frail and feeble, but at the same time it made he resolute and brave. Perhaps that was why she managed to face him and say everything so sincerely, even if she believed he didn't feel the same. Even if she felt he'd eventually leave her, just like everybody else did.

"Whatever happens, we'll stick together. If something… if someone else comes later, then we'll learn to live with it. If we must stay in one place or if we should travel to the end of the world, I'll make sure you're by my side. It's the only thing I want, to be honest."

Jade glanced away from her, completely flustered once again. How was it possible for him to say no to any of this when she was being so honest? He grew desperate, for he knew it was hard for him to express the way he felt towards her. It had started to become some sort of blind devotion towards Natalia, but now that something else loomed on the horizon, it also became a responsibility he'd never wanted to take on his hands. But whatever wish the Princess had, he felt forced to comply. Such was the power she had over him. Just how strong was her spell that she had managed to charm him in such a way?

"Nat, I…"

"Don't talk." She shook her head and placed a finger on his lips, knowing he'd screw everything if he tried to process everything with his usual logic and reason. "Whatever comes, will come. My mother used to say that."

"I know. I wanted to make a proposal."

"What is it?"

"Oliver if it's a boy. Gelda if it's a girl." He smirked, removing her hand from his mouth and he kissed her fingers gently. "If you're asking me to stay like that, I can't say no anymore. I'm yours, you know it."

Natalia didn't understand how did she manage to fall in love with him in so little time. It wasn't about longing for affection anymore. It wasn't about lingering on fading lovers from the past, either. Yet, it happened. She knew she had a certain control over him she didn't quite understand how it worked, but the fact that she had him tied around her finger was undeniable. She'd have never imagined seeing the Necromancer down onto anyone's desires, much less to hers, and yet there he was, promising a future together just because she asked gently for it.

They had to be brief or the other guests would start to wonder why weren't they coming back to the celebration, it'd be still a couple of hours before they managed to escape to Natalia's private chambers. But, by then, she didn't care anymore about anyone else's thoughts. He had finally opened and he had torn down every wall he had brought upon himself after two decades of remorse and self-loathing. Natalia hugged him before walking back to the ballroom. Jade latched his arms around her and rested his nose on the crook of her neck, smelling the delicate perfume she wore that evening. He felt grateful, an almost alien feeling to him; in the end, if it wasn't for all the adoration and compassion she'd been giving him for the past months, he'd have never discovered he still had some will to love in his heart.

Jade loved her. He truly loved her and he didn't know how he got there on first place. It all started as one of Peony's schemes and it ended somewhere completely unexpected, on him falling head over heels for the Princess. He didn't understand how it happened. He'd sworn to be by her side and he'd pledged to keep her promise to her kingdom. He'd vowed to protect her for any ill that may come her way, to be her knight in shining armor, to bring her with him to his nation and show her the world she had been missing while locked in her palace… he'd become everything he had despised in the past about other men, and yet, he felt utmost pleasure when it came to see her smile, her expressions of bliss and her happiness showing. Natalia had become, indeed, his every source of joy and hope, in a way he didn't manage to comprehend. In the end, he didn't want to understand any of it at all.

Final Autor's Notes: And so, it's finally done! A whole year it took, and yet I finished it on Halloween night/Day of the Death's eve, and that makes me so happy! I edited it all by myself, it took two weeks of hard work once it was done... I was afraid no one would read it, but as I said in my first comments, I wrote this for myself. There are no fanfics or fanarts of them, besides the adult doujinshi series drawn by Shuragyoku Mami (The awesome cover for this fic is an illustration of hers), and I needed to calm this guilty pleasure of mine. This is the result of an obsession with an unpopular ship and listening too much sad music for a prolonged time.

Through the whole story and up until the end I felt Jade turned quite OCC, just as expected. He's really hard to write without falling into the typical clichés of his character, yet, I tried to think of him as a redeemed man, who's obviously opening up to a single person in the story and to us, the readers. All of the other characters were really fun to write, Natalia was perhaps the one I liked developing the most, placing most of the events from her perspective gave some insight into the Princess' mind. She and Jade are perhaps my favorite Tales characters, so giving myself the chance to explore their personalities was also great.

I uh… I also tend to forget their age gap is around 20 years. Even if Natalia acts a lot older and mature, even if her romance with Asch usually turns her into a hormonal teenager, and Jade is quite of an ageless character to me, their age gap is undenyable. Surely he's the adult character of the party, but he behaves like an old man and a child at the same time during the whole story of the game. That added quite some trouble to writing the two main characters, but developing this kind of romantic relationship also presented itself as a challenge. I know that in most cases they're wrong, but I'm a sucker for age gaps, damn it. (... perhaps I shouldn't have been reading Lolita while I wrote the last chapters...).

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, please don't kill me for picking up weird and unpopular couples. I loved JadexNat from the minute I laid my eyes on it, as you can see by the story that you've just read. They have so much potential, simply as friends, or even as acquaintances, but I wanted to explore more on their relationship as a couple. Then that's it, I was just experimenting with a ship I randomly found and fell in love with. I will surely keep doing so, because they're so much fun and drama together!

Then, see you on the next one, guys! I hope you had a great time discovering this rare pair as much as I did!