Shuichirou continued to look at the dark sky. The snow had finally stopped and he was on the balcony, drinking some warm tea. He had returned from the violet country and told Kunimitsu and Syuusuke about his decision and the elf queen's acceptance on his resignation. They were terribly surprised and tried to persuade him out of that idea, but it was in vain. They shared a very silent dinner and he excused himself.

"We finally have some stars." Syuusuke said, gently. He stood by his side and looked up with a smile.

"Yes." He responded, quietly. "It is a beautiful night. I am going to miss this view when I leave to Alani."

"Shuichirou, did something happen between you and Yura? You would not make such decision out of the blue. You are sulking terribly since you return. You usually have a silly smile on after spending time with her."

Picking up her engagement ring from his pocket, he showed to Syuusuke, his head down.

"She broke up with me." He wondered how long it would take for those words stop hurting his chest. "Are you going to scold me?"

"Not at all." He kneeled down in front of his friend and looked at him, the blue eyes worried. "You look miserably enough. What happened? Does she know you resign?"

"She said I had never made an effort for us to be together. She was so angry with me; we did not even speak to each other when I left." He pressed the ring inside his hand. "She did not even say goodbye. I just… wanted to see her one more time."

"I am very sorry." Syuusuke said, sincerely.

"Thank you so much for everything you did for us. I really appreciate it."

"I really wanted you two to be together. I am a sucker for happy endings."

########

"What a pity." Ryuu said, as he and Amaya were on the stables of the castle. Rae was sleeping soundly in the middle of the hay. Every night he would make sure he was well and not affected by the cold, checking his temperature and changing the heavy blankets over his body. He seemed very comfortable and well. "Shuichirou-san and Yura-san seemed so close."

"Shuichirou-san is going to move away from the capital too. He must be extremely heartbroken."

"I can relate it. When you were with Kunimitsu-san I also did my best to not see you. It truly hurt."

"Oh, I am so sorry, I did not know that."

"Can I ask you something?" he cleaned his hands and was in front of his wife. "If Kunimitsu-san did not delay the wedding, would you still be with him?"

"I wanted him to hurry so I would not have the courage to back off. Even when we were together, he was so cold and distant, I am sure he was just fulfilling a duty by staying with me. All the time I spent with him, I was thinking about you." Her hands touched his face and she looked at his blue eyes. "You were the only one I ever loved."

"Did you listen to that, baby?" he touched her belly with a big smile. "You are very lucky. There is nothing but love between your parents. Your father's heart always belonged to your mother as well."

Amaya kissed Ryuu passionately and hugged him as close as possibly with a 5-month baby bump between them. The dark elf picked up his wife on his arms and whispered, in a loving tone.

"I think it is time for us to go to bed."

"I think it is." She smiled at her husband.

########

Ryoma caressed Sakuno's long hair. He was sitting on the bed and she had lay down, her head on his thigh and her body curled. After Shuichirou left, she was so heartbroken. The elf queen just informed Amaya quickly about what happened, before returning to the room with him.

"What are you going to do about the general's position?" he asked, gently.

"Syuusuke or Kunimitsu can have it." her voice was sad. "I was so happy to know about them. Shuichirou-san would be a great husband and father someday. He really deserved to be happy."

"There are things we cannot predict."

Sakuno sat down and looked at Ryoma.

"What if it also happens to us? What if we separate from each other?"

"It is impossible." He touched her face and showed her one of his discreet smiles. "There is no way we would ever fall apart. We are going to have a child and be happy forever. I will grow old and grey by your side."

He kissed the elf queen wanting to reassure his feelings, but Sakuno pushed him by the shoulders, in a sudden move.

"Let's get married, Ryoma! Now!"

"Now?!"

"Well, not now, I would probably freeze outside, but… soon! When the snow starts to melt we can go to the capital and I can find a priest there! We can get married in the same day! No one needs to know!"

"Can we do such a thing?" he was really confused. "Can you get married like this? I thought you had to wait until the meeting with the human lords."

"I do not want to wait anymore!" she grabbed his shirt and lowered her head, the scarlet hair hiding her face. "I… I want to get married with someone who truly loves me. Someone who I chose." Raising her head, she interrogated his expression. "You were the one who proposed to me before. Do you regret it?"

"Of course not. I will never take it back." He kissed her fingers. "I really want to be your husband, Sakuno."

The elf queen kissed him, gently, and Ryoma held her tight.

#######

Ryoma looked at Sakuno, he was standing near the door. It was morning. She was still sleeping inside the covers and he left the room silently, not wanting to wake her up.

Amaya and Ryuu here having breakfast and talking. The teenager approached them, politely.

"Ryoma-kun, good morning!" the dark elf smiled. "Where is Sakuno-sama?"

"Good morning to you two. She is still sleeping.

"Are you all right? You seem worried." Amaya asked.

"Amaya-san, can I ask you a favor?"

"Of course, sweetie. What is it?"

##########

"Shuichirou!" Syuusuke entered his room in a rush. The taller elf was organizing his clothes and stopped as seeing him.

"What is it?" he noticed the violet paper letter on his hand. "Did something happened to Sakuno-sama?!"

"What do you think about a wedding?" He had a wide grim on. "Yura would definitely come! And you will have the chance to give your daughter away for someone who really treasures her this time!"