Janai was pacing back and forth outside one of the council chambers in the palace. Not because she was anxious or disturbed. Quite the opposite in fact. The reason for her pacing was entirely positive in nature. She had worked for weeks to keep it a secret. Which wasn't easy when the person you're trying to hide it from is the most perceptive person around. Despite the fact that she was missing one of her senses.
Said person was currently debating and planning with high ranking members of Lux Aurea behind the same doors that Janai was outside of. It may seem odd to some that her Radiance wasn't present for such a meeting. Her presence had actually been requested. It was a deliberate action by Janai to have Amaya lead to meeting herself, to have her get used to Lux Aueras political system and their leading class. It wasn't the first time that Amaya had stepped in for Janai. By now it was clear to everyone that Amaya spoke with the same authority that her Radiance did.
They wouldn't question Amaya, not because she was their soon to be queen and betrothed to her Radiance, but because she proved time and time again that her intentions and actions were purely for the good of others. Proving once more that she truly possessed a Pure Heart.
The thought alone made Janai smile like a fool. She was utterly and completely in love with this woman. Never in her life would she have imagined such a thing. She used to think true love was nothing but a fairytale. How could such a thing exist in a world divided by hate and war? Preposterous. Childish even. It wasn't meant to be.
But she couldn't have predicted what would happen soon after her sister sent her to the breach all the years ago. That she would meet a human woman. A warrior. A leader. Someone who could keep up and surpass her in a lot of ways but never to a point where Janai felt that she was falling behind. On the contrary, she felt uplifted. Like nothing in the world could stop her as long as she stuck with Amaya. And she brought out a side of Janai that she didn't know still existed. A soft, romantic side.
And this was about to show once again.
Janai heard the sound of chairs moving and people getting up. She didn't want anyone coming out to notice her so she quickly hid behind one of the columns in the hallway. The door opened and dozens of elves walked out the room just as she slipped behind the pillar. All of them happily chatting with each other, looking very pleased with themselves.
Janai waited until all elves had left the room. Her plan was to approach Amaya as she walked out of the room, so as to not sneak up on her from behind. She had made that mistake once, early on in their relationship, and she didn't plan on giving Gren another funny story about Amaya knocking her out. 2 was enough. It didn't seem as any of this would happen though because by now the doors were getting closed and she hadn't seen Amaya leave the room.
Was she so distracted by her thoughts that she had missed Amaya leave the room? Surely not.
A human in a crowd of elves would stick out. Maybe she was still in the room? Going over some of the points that had been discussed?
She was about to come out behind the pillar and walk in the room when suddenly….
SMACK!
Someone had hit her on the butt. Hard. Janai spun around furiously to confront whoever decided that it was a good idea to hit her on the butt, only to find a smirking Amaya standing behind her, looking very pleased with herself.
"Did you have to hit me so hard? And on my butt out of all places?" Janai asked whilest simultaneously rubbing her buttcheek, "that really hurt".
Amaya smiled apologetically and signed: " Sorry. I saw an opportunity and I took it", her face quickly becoming mischievous again " would you like me to kiss it to make you feel better?"
Janai's face turned an adorable shade of red for a second before quickly composing herself again. She didn't get a chance to respond however as Amaya quickly followed up by asking "What were you doing hiding behind that pillar? Were you spying on me?"
"No nothing like that. I was waiting for you to finish your meeting so we could have an afternoon snack together. I had the cooks prepare jellytards for us." Janai wasn't lying. Part of her surprise was having some snacks with Amaya, it was however not the entire truth.
Amaya just raised an eyebrow. She knew there was more going on than that but decided not to push it. She had somewhat assaulted her fiance already and decided not to push her luck. And she could go for some jellytards right about now.
"Okay. I could go for a snack" Amaya promptly stated, her stomach slightly growling right after.
Janai chuckled slightly and held her hand up, inviting Amaya to take, just like she did in front of the Dragon Queen. Amaya happily took her hand, moving closer to Janai and they both began strolling through the palace. Janai ever so slightly leading the way, slowly directing them towards the royal gardens. One of Amayas favorite places in Lux Aurea.
Janai learned about Amayas love for flowers early on in their relationship. She always seemed to have flowers around her wherever she went. Be it in her room in Katolis castle or their now shared bedroom in Lux Aurea. Wherever she stayed,a pot of flowers appeared soon after.
Amaya had explained this to Janai with much enthusiasm. Her love of flowers started when she was just a child. She and her mum taking care of their garden in her childhood home together. Always finding a way to make it even more colorful with all sorts of flowers. Turning it into a nice place to rest and relax.
It wasn't far into their conversation until Janai asked her about her favorite flower. "! don't really have a favorite flower," Amaya stated and started smiling softly while she kept signing " but I have come to really like sunflowers. They remind me of you."
It was another one of those memories that sent a pleasant warmth through Janai's body and ultimately gave her the idea to surprise Amaya with flowers. A lot of flowers. Perhaps Amaya started suspecting something when she realized they were headed to the gardens. Only looking up at Janai's face once in a while to look for any hints. But all she saw was Janai looking back at her. A soft, loving expression on her face every time.
Everyone they met on their way through the palace could see it. Every guard. Every servant.
Every advisor. These two completed each other. They made each other happy, that is all that mattered. They would do everything for each other.
They both walked around the last corner on their way to the gardens. It was at this point that Amaya knew that Janai did something because the gate leading to the gardens, which is usually open, was closed. They stopped right in front of the gate .Amaya moved away from Janai for a moment and with a serious expression on her face asked: "What did you do to the garden?" Janai only chuckled and responded :" Nothing bad , I promise. It's actually a surprise for you. You'll like it, but I do have to cover your eyes for a moment", and pulled a blindfold out from one of her pockets.
Amaya eyed Janai with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you always have to blind me?" It was obvious that Amaya wasn't keen on giving up her sight even for a moment. Janai understood that completely. "It saved your life the first time didn't it? And don't deny that you enjoyed those other times it happened", and she added with a smirk " I distinctly remember you telling me how much you enjoyed it". Now it was Amayas turn to blush. She did remember how much she licked it.
"Alright I'll put it on. But no tricks! Or you`ll pay for it". With that Janai stepped behind Amaya and blindfolded her eyes. Stepping to her side again and signing 'you are cute' right in front of Amayas face. There was no response.
Janai moved towards the gate and pushed it open after looking back on more time to make sure that Amaya wasn't peeking. She then swiftly moved back to Amayas side and tentatively took her hand to not startle her. Leading her through the gate the warmth of the sun immediately hit Amaya's face. She could see how bright it was even under the blindfold. Much more interesting were all the different smells hitting her nose. It was almost overwhelming.
Janai could read all of that on Amayas face. Savouring this moment for a second she took one last look around before letting go of Amayas hand, which startled Amaya for a second. She then stepped behind her fiance and removed the blindfold. She knew immediately that all the secrecy and work was worth it after taking one look at Amaya face.
She was rarely at a loss for words. A woman of action who always had a smart reply ready, no matter the circumstances. But what her fiance did for her here left her speechless.
Looking around she saw all kinds of flowers that she talked to Janai about. All of the flowers she had taken care of in her childhood combined with flowers native to Xadia. Patches of fresh grass interrupting this symphony of colors only in a few spots. Mainly around the big tree in the center of the garden. This is where Amaya was really surprised.
A massive weeping Willow stood right in the middle of the garden like it had always been there. Underneath it was a small blanket spread out on the grass. A small basket rested next to a steaming pot of tea. She could smell that it was Janai's favorite. And right next to the massive tree trunk was a sleeping Inferno-Tiger. No doubt that it was Pyroh, Janais tiger.
After taking all of these impressions in for a minute Amaya turned to her fiance, who was just standing there. Admiring the expression on Amayas face.
"How?" was all Amaya wanted to know.
Janai took another look around before walking to stand in front of Amaya and started signing:
"I remembered with how much joy you talked about your garden from your childhood home and how much you enjoy gardening and taking care of flowers and plants. You spent a lot of time in the gardens you know? Creating time for yourself to just relax and enjoy the flowers, replanting a few here and a few there every once in a while. I admit that I walked in on you gardening more than once and just watched you do something you love. Something that isn't related to war or politics for a change. It was inspiring. So I took the liberty to rearrange the garden a bit. With a bit of help from our friends and family of course. I especially have to thank Callum for his help with the tree. It wouldn't have grown so fast otherwise."
She finished up the last of her signs, took both of Amayas hands and brought them to her chest.
Putting all of her love and devotion for the woman in front of her into her face, she said:
"I'd do anything for you" and softly kissed her knuckles while never breaking eye contact.
Amaya already had tears streaming down her cheeks. She knew that Janai was a romantic at heart, having been surprised by more than one grand romantic gesture over the course of their relationship but she never would have predicted something like this. The love radiating from Janai in this very moment was overwhelming.
So she just threw her arms around Janais neck and kissed her passionately. Janai was a bit surprised by this strong reaction and nearly fell backwards. Quickly regaining her footing however and holding Amaya tight whilst kissing her back. All the emotions that Janai let out during her speech were all replied by Amayas kiss.
They broke their embrace after a while, both of them gasping for air. Using this small window Janai moved quickly and picked Amaya up. She left out a surprised yelp as she was effortlessly carried the small distance towards the blanket under the tree. Not letting her fiance get the better of her she pulled Janai into another deep kiss right as she was about to drop Amaya off.
Janai didn't recover from the surprise this time and sent both of them crashing down on the blanket, with Janai landing on top of Amaya. Locking eyes with Amaya right after she got up from her fiance she only briefly saw the mischievous glint in her eyes before her soon to be wife pushed her backwards.
Amaya then trapped Janais arms above her head and leaned down for a slow, delicate kiss. Not as intense as the ones before but still full love. She pulled back from the kiss and let go of Janai arms so she could sit up.
"You did all of this-" she gestured around "for me?"
Janai started looking a bit sheepish with a light shade of red on her face.
"You gave up your home to stay with me in Lux Aurea. You gave up everything you knew just to be together with me." She tried turning her head away but Amaya guided it back so they were face to face again.
"I wanted you to have a small piece of home here"
"Home stopped being a place when you entered my life. I want to be with you. No matter what happens" Amaya softly grabbed Janais face one more time and gave her the softest kiss she could muster. Pouring all her love into the kiss.
They broke the kiss after a while but stayed together in each other's embrace with their foreheads touching. Just enjoying the closeness. Smiles on both of their faces.
They would have stayed like this for longer if it weren't for a somewhat bored Pyroh.
The Inferno-Tiger got up from his resting place and pushed his head in between Janais and Amayas. Both of them only noticed him when his fur was already completely covering their faces. They both laughed it off and gave him his much needed attention, petting his head and scratching his chin.
They both then moved to sit on the blanked and started unpacking the contents of the basket. Just like Janai said there were freshly baked jellytarts. Still warm, even after all their fooling around. Janai poured himself a cup of tea while Amaya happily ate one jellytart after the other, occasionally giving Janai a bite only to then kiss her right after.
Not that Janai minded much. She quickly finished her tea and rested her head in Amaya lap so she was looking up at her. Amaya stuffed the last of her jellytart in her mouth, a few crumps landing on her fiance's forehead. These were quickly licked off by Pyroh who was watching them both, just waiting for his chance to steal a bit of food. Janai wasn't too fond of this but Amaya seemed to enjoy it very much. Laughing at Janais inconvenience.
Janai only started pouting, more for show than anything else. Amaya knew exactly what to do in those situations. She removed Janais crown and started stroking her hair. It had the most comforting effect on Janai and it wasn't long until she closed her eyes and started drifting off to sleep.
Only barely noticing the soft kiss to her forehead.