Chapter Forty Three
A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs. Everything else belongs to either Disney or the Greek Myths.
Okay, okay, I promise you the next chapter will not be wedding related or proposal related! Originally Akiho proposing to Elle and Emir proposing to Emma was going to be in the same chapter. But then I realized that was much too long and I couldn't make each proposal shine the way it should.
But after doing some work around, next chapter will not be wedding or proposal related.
Thank you all so much for your continued support on this story! It's honestly hard to believe we're 33 reviews away from 900! I think the question will be if we can get to one thousand before the end!
Tracie Adams: I'm glad you liked the chapter! As much as I like the idea of a triple wedding, I don't think that would work as Ben is higher ranked than Emir and Akiho. Not that Ben would care about that of course!
Angel Cauldwell: I really need to see if mindreaders are reading my story!
OceanBlueSeaEyes: I think Emir would rather face Poseidon than face bows, arrows, and swords!
61394: I'm glad you liked the chapter!
AmethystDragon14: Yay! I'm so glad you liked it! And agreed, Emir needs to pick up the pace!
miranda88: Oh I'm so glad you liked the chapter! :D
Hufflepuff24: I have no shame in admitting that this review was what prompted me to have the twins in the last chapter of The Last Bridge. Thanks for the reminder! :D
danifan3000: Huh, that makes sense in a way. Though you'd think Cotillion wound be boring after a while if it's always on a yacht.
Urmimala Hazra: Oh thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter!
EllaBSinging: Oh thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter!
Shateu: I think we all would want to see Akiho do the rock ballad with the reindeer.
twilightgirl587: Oh I'm so glad you liked the chapter! Ooh an Akiho and Elle story…tempting tempting…
Hope you all enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think! :D
Emir sighed as he knocked on the door to his parents' study. It wasn't often he asked if he could borrow his dad's flying carpet. Normally he just took it and dealt with the consequences when he got back. But this was the one time he hoped beyond hope that his dad said yes.
It would completely ruin his proposal plans if he said no. The forecast was calling for a completely cloudless night with an almost completely full moon. There would be no better night.
Besides, he had faced his fears and asked Snow for her permission. There was no backing out now.
Emir sighed as he entered Snow White's castle. In all honesty he was more nervous than he thought possible. Yes he loved Emma with all his heart but he didn't really think her parents would necessarily approve of him proposing.
After all, he was only the second son of Agrabah while Emma was not only the heir to her throne but the unofficial heir to Auradon's throne. They'd probably want her to marry someone who was the first in line for his own throne as to make sure the guy wasn't trying to pull a Hans with their daughter.
Not that Emir necessarily blamed them for that.
"Your…your highness?" Emir asked as he walked into the throne room, a servant having let him in.
"Emir!" Snow said with a smile though Emir happened to note she was restringing her bow. If that was something she often did in the throne room, he had no idea but it definitely didn't help his nerves. "Come on in."
"Yes your highness," Emir nodded and he was thankful he pulled a Ben for this and wore a suit and tie. The last thing he'd want was to give the wrong impression even though he'd known the royal family for years.
"Emma's out right now," David added. "She's having a girl's day with Princess Elle."
"Actually I…I was hoping to ask you a question," Emir said. He knew Emma was out after all, Akiho had asked her to get Elle out of her castle so that he could ask permission of Ariel and Eric.
"Oh? What did you want to ask?" Snow asked, a small smile pulling at her lips.
Suddenly overtaken by nerves, Emir dropped down into a bow; one knee raised while the other rested on the stone floor and looked down at the floor. "I…I wanted to ask for your permission to…to ask for Emma's hand in marriage," he said.
"You want to ask for what now?"
"David," Snow said, a light scolding coloring her tone. She could see how nervous Emir was and it probably didn't help the fact that she was restringing her bow.
"Snow, you honestly think I'm—."
"Emir has never done anything to harm Emma and has brought her more happiness than I could think possible," Snow said. "It's clear that they love each other and I doubt they'd be getting married before King Ben."
Snow leaned forward and whispered in David's ear. "Besides David, Emir is one of King Ben's best friends. You honestly think he would try to pull a Hans?"
"…no," David sighed. "But…I don't want to see her grow up too fast Snow."
"Neither do I David. But you and I both know that if Emma finds out we said no for no legitimate reason, she'd never talk to us again. Or worse, she'll elope. I know you would rather walk your little girl down the aisle than miss out on that chance."
David sighed once more and nodded. Snow smiled and gently kissed his cheek before looking back at Emir.
"Emir, you know you don't have to bow," she said, amusement audible in her voice. "I think I speak for both David and myself when I say that we would be more than happy to give our approval of you proposing to Emma."
"You…you would?" Emir asked, looking up at the two royals with his eyes filled with hope.
"We would," Snow nodded.
Emir grinned. "Great…thank you so much your majesties. I…I hate to ask but may I ask one more favor?"
"Depends on what the favor is," David said with a slight grumble.
"Can you help me stand? I…I think I've lost all feeling in my legs."
David couldn't help but chuckle as he felt a bit of sympathy for the younger boy. While he may not have had to ask permission from Snow's parents, the dwarves were intimidating in their own right.
"Come on," he said as he got up from his throne and helped Emir to his feet. "Can't have my future son-in-law as a statue in the throne room now can I? Emma wouldn't stand for that."
"I wouldn't be too quick sir, Emma could still say no," Emir said with a small sigh. "I…I hope she doesn't though."
"Is there something you're wanting to ask, Emir?" Jasmine asked with a small chuckle as she noticed her son in the doorway.
"Oh! Yes," Emir nodded. "Um dad? I…I was wondering if I could borrow Carpet tonight?"
"What's the occasion?" Aladdin asked. "Security sweep for Ben?"
Emir shook his head. "Um…no. Nothing like that. I…I have a date with Emma and I…with how nice it's supposed to be tonight I just thought it was a good night for it."
"Relax Emir," Aladdin chuckled. "You're acting like I'm going to chop your arm off for asking. If you want to take Carpet out, you can."
"Really?"
"Of course," Aladdin said. "On one condition."
Emir nodded. "I'll make sure Carpet's as clean as he was when we left, I'll make it back for curfew, I won't have anyone else on Carpet other than Emma—."
"Emir, Emir!"
"…yes dad?"
Aladdin chuckled. "Gods, why are you so nervous today? I was just going to say don't go too far up. It's going to be cold tonight too and Carpet's probably getting up there in age. I don't know how he'd handle any icing that might happen and the last thing I want is for anything to happen to you or Princess Emma."
"Oh…right…" Emir nodded, feeling more than a little foolish for how jumpy he'd been. "Sorry dad."
"For what?" Aladdin asked.
"Being…being jumpy."
Aladdin shook his head and looked over at Jasmine before looking back at his second son. "Emir, you can't help feeling nervous. But is there anything you want to talk to us about son? You know you can always come to us."
"Um…actually," Emir said. "I want to propose to Emma."
He braced himself for the outburst, of his father insisting he was too young and his mother crying at the idea of losing her son.
"We were wondering when you might say that," Jasmine said with a small chuckle.
"Considering you were also out for two hours helping Akiho set up a picnic in the Enchanted Forest, came back, and showered for another two hours to quote 'get the stench of reindeer off of you' end quote," Aladdin added. "Something tells me you don't want Akiho beating you to the punch."
"Well I mean I'm not exactly in the mood to deal with advice from his love expert grandparents," Emir muttered but then paused. "Wait, you knew?"
"You two are not the most subtle," Aladdin chuckled. "Plus I got about five texts from Akiho demanding to know where you were to help set up for the proposal before he realized he was texting me and not you."
"He did?" Emir asked, wincing slightly as he pictured the embarrassed look on his best friend's face as he realized just who he'd texted.
"He did," Aladdin nodded. "Don't worry, Princess Emma's a sweet girl and we'd be happy to have her in the family."
"You would?"
"Of course we would," Jasmine said, walking over and giving her son a hug. "Any girl who can handle one half of the 'Chaos Brothers' is a girl we'd want in our family."
Emir chuckled but then tilted his head. "How'd you know about the nickname Chip gave us?"
"Because I'm your mother and I know everything."
"She asked Genie," Aladdin told him.
"Ah. That makes sense," Emir chuckled as Jasmine shook her head in amusement. "So I can have Carpet?"
"You can. No later than midnight and don't go too high remember."
"Right, right, the ice," Emir nodded and grinned as he scurried out of the study to get changed into something a bit more…proposal worthy than what he wore to set up Akiho's picnic or the day to day clothing he'd grabbed for after his shower. Before he knew it, he was at the front door of Snow White's castle once more; hoping beyond hope that the date would go well.
"Emir!" Emma said, grinning as Emir handed her a bouquet of flowers. "They're beautiful!"
"Only the best for you," he told her.
"Oh stop," Emma giggled before looking over her shoulder. "Mom, dad, I'm heading out."
"What time would you like her home by?" Emir asked. "Usual time of eleven?"
"Sounds good," David nodded, feeling his stomach clench as he looked at his daughter. She'd grown up too fast, it'd been as if he blinked and she went from a tiny baby he could protect with ease to a grown woman able to live her own life.
"Thank you sir," Emir nodded and slipped his hand into Emma's, leading her onto the Carpet.
"Pulling out all the stops tonight, aren't you?" Emma chuckled as Carpet took off. "When's the last time you took me on a carpet ride?"
"I think for our second date," Emir said. "Considering our first date was Family Day."
"You mean the day you spent with Ben and Akiho and I spent it chasing Neal around the school grounds for implying we'd be finding an empty classroom to spend time in?"
"The very same," Emir chuckled.
"I honestly thought I was going to kill Neal for that comment," Emma shook her head. "Honestly, it's one thing to make a comment like that in front of our friends but in front of our parents?"
"As much as I love spending time with you, I'm kinda glad he made that comment," Emir said. "I wouldn't have gotten to see Ben take down Leah otherwise."
"Wait, I missed that?" Emma asked with a slight pout.
"I'm sure it's recorded somewhere," Emir told her. "After all, all our cameras have phones. We managed to record Ben's song and dance number at the Championship Game didn't we?"
"By record, you mean give everyone a headache because we were all bouncing around and dancing to his song?"
"Of course I do! What do you take me for?"
Emma giggled and squealed slightly as Carpet did a loop-de-loop through the clouds. The clouds that were not supposed to be there. Stupid, lying, weatherman. "Seems Carpet has a mind of his own."
"Or he just wanted you to see the stars," Emir said, his voice soft as he took in the majesty of the night sky above him.
Okay, thank you Carpet for taking us higher than we were supposed to go, he thought, his hand clutching the ring box in his jacket pocket.
"You okay?" Emma asked. "You got quiet which isn't exactly normal for you."
"I'm okay," Emir said. "I just…Emma, I have a question for you. One I hope you'll answer honestly."
"Okay. Shoot."
"Marry me?"
Emma paused as Emir brought out the ring box and opened it to show her the ring inside.
"I can't get down on one knee in fear I'll cause us to spill out of the carpet but I mean it Em. Every day with you shows me a whole new world I never thought possible. The fact that you're fine with me spending so much time shadowing Ben, even if that means that sometimes our dates are spaced out. You're one of the best sparring partners a guy could ask for and your wit is outmatched by none. You've become more than my girlfriend, you're one of my best friends and there's no one else I want to spend the rest of my life with. Emma Mary White, will you marry me?"
"Yes!" Emma exclaimed without hesitation. "Yes Emir, yes I'll marry you! Was there ever a doubt in your mind that I'd say no?"
"Yes?"
Emma chuckled and gently kissed him on the lips. "I love you, you goof. The day we started dating, I fully accepted the fact that I'd be dating not only you, but technically Ben and Akiho too in a way. Elle, Mal, and I all have the joke that we gained three boyfriends for the price of one and now it seems like we've gained three fiancés for the price of one too."
"How do you know about that?"
"You and Akiho never do anything apart Em," Emma said as Emir gently slid the ring on her finger. She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder.
"Some day my Prince will come…some day I'll find my love," she sang softly as Emir held her close. "I was just lucky that I found my love within my friend group."
"You know Ben actually had to talk me into asking you out? I thought you deserved better."
"Who could be better than you?"
"Ben asked the same thing actually."
Emma chuckled. "Remind me to send Ben a thank you note then. Because knowing you, you would have dragged your feet until everyone in your life was set with their love lives before focusing on yours."
"The fact that you know me so well is a little unsettling."
"Is it really?"
"…no."
Emma smiled as she held up her ring to admire it. "I love the fact that you chose an opal instead of something like a diamond."
"Well it's your birthstone," Emir told her. "I wanted something a bit more personal than just tradition."
"Well you certainly did that," Emma said. "I've never seen a more beautiful ring. I think it even beats the ring Ben gave to Mal."
Emir grinned and kissed the top of her head. "You know what? Something tells me they'll be able to hear your mother's squeals from the Isle."
"Oh most certainly," Emma grinned. "The only squeals that will be louder will be your mother's."
"True, very true," Emir nodded as Carpet took them on another loop. "Think Akiho's managed to pop the question by now?"
"Considering it's nighttime I'd hope so," Emma giggled. "He's had all day to propose to Elle, after all…and judging by the buzzing of your phone, I'd say that's him confirming that he's asked Elle."
"You're more than likely right," Emir said with a chuckle as he pulled out his phone and hit decline. "I can talk to him in the morning. I'd rather spend time with my fiancée."
Emma smiled and rested her head on his shoulder once again. "I think that sounds like a great idea because I know I've got a pretty great fiancé myself."
"Well then sounds like we've got a plan," Emir said with a small smile as Carpet continued to carry them across the night sky—both royals content to just enjoy the view and the other's company.