Chapter 21

Drake

The next morning, Jimmy had to return to the palace, and Hana went with him, to do the press release statement. Iris was actually supposed to do that, being a Cordonian Duchess, but she'd made it very clear that she wasn't leaving Emma and me behind. In the meantime, Maxwell had driven back and forth between the palace, getting everyone a new set of clothes, and Iris and Tim had gone grocery shopping, making sure that there would be anything to eat, if we had to stay there for two more days. Emma couldn't walk, so she was relying on Tim or Maxwell to carry her somewhere. I couldn't bear any strength, and I could definitely not lift anything without trying not to scream like a little girl. It was already driving me insane, and I realised how often I used my arms.

Jimmy would, after he and Hana had finished the press release, travel to see his father. Constantine had been locked away until after the wedding, so he couldn't stop it in any way possible. Of course, in the end, we'd had to face bigger threats than him, but nothing can be foreseen, right? Jimmy would call us later that day, to tell us what he found out during the talk, and all of us were dreading the answer. We were scared of the assassins belonging to a larger group. A group wanting to hurt Jimmy, or maybe worse… wanting to take over Jimmy. From the moment we'd been in the safehouse, Emma had made clear that she was mad.

Apart from being happy we'd survived, I felt the same way. We were mad, instead of scared. We were furious, actually, that this had happened. I'd told Iris that the night before, and she hadn't been surprised. 'Anger is a way of coping with something traumatic too,' she'd said, and had pecked my lips. I had been scared, of course I'd been scared… but the anger suppressed it. With Tim, Maxwell, Emma, Iris and myself in the house, I had enough distractions not to be reminded of actually having been scared, yet I knew that I had to let it out at one point. I'd noticed that Iris had been somewhat nervous around me all morning, which she hadn't been the moment she'd woken up. I'd decided to ask Iris to go for a walk with me that afternoon, so I could talk to the woman I loved, get close and talk it through. But that wasn't the only reason I wanted to take a walk with her.

The attacks had made me realise that there would never be a perfectly planned moment. Our first date had been perfect, but not because I'd planned it like that… just because Iris and I were perfect for each other, which was about the only "perfect" she'd ever agreed to. I could plan an amazing proposal, and I could try to do everything right… but there was no such thing as detailed planning when it came down to being under attack by assassins, threatening the Kingdom. So I decided to take her for a walk, as I knew where to find a beautiful spot close to the safehouse, and ask her to marry me.

I'd been at the safehouse once before, years back when the palace was under attack. Jimmy and I had been taken to the safehouse with our mothers, Leo and Savannah, while our dads were fighting. Jimmy and I couldn't handle the stress, and we'd gone for a walk, finally stumbling across a beautiful meadow. He'd once joked to take his future love there, and propose. I'd only snorted at him… because I couldn't imagine ever proposing to someone.
Today was the day. I smiled, as I felt slight electric waves running down my spine.
We watched Hana and Jimmy doing the live press release statement, and we left for our walk after that.

We were walking down the path, and the sun was shining slightly. At first, Iris let us walk in silence, and after a while, I felt ready to talk. We had almost arrived at the meadow and I knew she was basically bursting with impatience for me to talk to her. 'I know I'd said that I was just angry,' I said, sighing as I pulled to a stop, feeling tired. The blood loss had left me weaker than I could've imagined. I gestured to the ground, and slowly sat down. She sat down next to me and took my hand in hers again. She nodded in response, waiting for me to continue. 'I'm not just angry, Iris. I was terrified,' I said softly, as I looked into her eyes. 'I was terrified of losing you… seeing that gun pointed at your heart… I couldn't think straight,' I admitted.

Her eyes were glistening in the sunlight, and I could see one little tear escape her eyelashes. 'Imagine seeing me fall down after being hit, Drake,' she said softly, and crept closer to me. 'I was freaking out. The idea of living without you…' she shook her head. 'That's not even an option, I'm not doing that.' I smiled slightly and cupped her cheek. 'You won't have to. I'll fight for you, you know that.' She nodded and swallowed hard. 'I'll always do the same for you, Drake.' We smiled at each other through glazed eyes, and put our foreheads together.

'You know how people say that they saw their lives, flashing before their eyes when they think they're dying?' I said, softly. Her eyes grew somewhat bigger and more worried. 'I didn't see that. I didn't see my life, Valentine.' She frowned slightly, 'what do you mean?' 'I heard your voice,' I said, sheepishly. 'Yesterday morning, you were singing a song in the shower… beautifully… and that's what I heard before I lost my consciousness.' Her eyes teared up, and glistened. 'Oh Drake…'

I shook my head. 'Valentine… Iris… you will always be the last thing on my mind. Before I fall asleep, when I wake up and realise I have to get out… when I was fighting those assassins yesterday… Everything I do is for you.' Another tear ran down her cheek, and I felt one drop down on mine as well. The lump in my throat grew bigger as I remembered the last thing I'd seen before I lost my consciousness. I'd imagined growing old with her. Seeing her smile every day… and that was what I'd tell her once we'd arrived at the meadow.

I stood up, and stuck out my hand. She looked slightly confused, but put her hand in mine. A few more metres before we would arrive at the meadow… It was time to propose. My heart was beating quicker and harder with every step. Would it still be as beautiful? 'Drake, where are you…' I led her past a tree and smiled. The meadow was breath taking. The grass was green, there were flowers everywhere… and Iris' personal favourite probably, there were many butterflies flying around. 'Oh my goodness,' she gasped, and looked around, her eyes big. She looked up at me, smiling beautifully. 'It's gorgeous!' I smiled at her, and cupped her cheek. 'Iris… When my eyes started to close… I saw you and me, in Piloude, raising a family.'

I gazed into her eyes, and swallowed the lump in my throat. 'My mind was only thinking about what I wanted to see most… and I saw your smile, over and over again. I saw us, raising two beautiful, healthy and happy children… and us growing old together.' I took her hand in mine, and her eyes grew big as she realised what was happening. 'Drake…' she whispered, her eyes tearing up again. 'I realised I didn't want to spend one second longer without you… ever. I'd take a thousand bullets for you any day, and I'll protect you forever. I'll love you every day for the rest of my life, and I'll never take you, our love, our family and our lives together for granted.' The lump grew bigger as I reached into my pocket, and took out my mother's velvety box. My heart was pounding painfully hard, and my palms were sweaty. I opened the box, and looked at the woman who, in my eyes, made even the most beautiful scenery fade away in her presence.

'Iris Naomi Valentine… will you marry me?' A few tears dropped onto her cheeks, as her eyes had almost gone doused… but then a dazzling smile broke through. 'Yes, Drake, yes!' She whispered, and put her arms around my neck, softly, trying not to hurt me. She closed the gap between our lips, and kissed me passionately, breaking my body into fiery jolts of happiness. 'I'll marry you, and grow old with you… and love you forever,' she said, as she tangled her hands in my hair and kissed me again, making all the jolts even worse. I smiled big into our kiss, feeling a tear drop down on my cheek too. The lump had finally gotten the better of me, releasing my emotions as well. She pulled me down to the ground softly, and we continued kissing, completely forgetting about our surroundings.

I broke away reluctantly, and held up the box. 'I was supposed to put the ring on your finger first, Valentine,' I moped jokingly. 'Well, have we ever done something according to the rules?' she teased, yet stuck out her hand, blushing brightly with a big smile on her face. I took out the ring, and put it on her finger, smiling at her. 'You know that you'll never get rid of me now, right?' I said, as I took my hand in hers, and kissed the ring. She bit her lip, and looked down at the ring. 'It's gorgeous… Drake, I…'

She looked up, her eyes still a little watery. 'From the moment I met you… it just felt right, even when you were still trying to be distant. Something in your eyes just told me I had to keep going… and that one day, you and I could be really happy together.' She sniffed slightly and smiled. 'Now we're going to get married…' she paused, and gazed deeper into my eyes, a sudden nervous flicker appearing.

'And we're going to be parents…'