A/N: Edge has been wanting to propose marriage to his girlfriend Rydia. The problem? Rydia's mother, Mist Dragon, always finds a way to prevent that from happening. His Young Highness must find another way to ask the big question to the Mist native - mind you, this has a small amount of drama in it. End game will be Edge/Rydia being married, with mentions of a child on the way.

Man vs (Mist) Dragon

Edge sees the same thing every day: Rydia, his longtime girlfriend, having a midday nap with the Mist Dragon, who is tied to her late mother. The Eblan Prince takes a quick look at the small black box he's been holding on to for the last few months, it was getting harder and harder for His Young Highness (according to Kain) to pop the question to the Mist Native. It was hard enough for them to become a couple for varying reasons, and yet Edge increasingly became more frustrated that he couldn't pop the question to his girlfriend. The ring itself contained blood free diamonds from both Eblan and Mist, a sign of their respective homes. According to some, they saw Edge's hesitant nature being the excuse of him not asking his girlfriend the big question - if they only knew the truth of what the delay actually is: it's the Mist Dragon and the requests for the midday nap with Rydia that was causing the problem. Something Edge has been trying to work out with said dragon to earn Rydia's hand in marriage.

With every time this midday nap happens, His Young Highness starts to wonder the true nature of the Mist Dragon, filling his heart with the doubt that no one saw coming. Whenever Rydia is awake, Edge has to hide this part of himself from her, pretend that everything is okay when it really wasn't. For the time being, the Mist native brushed it off by not pestering her boyfriend about the matter. The one person who Edge couldn't fool on the matter, however, was Rosa Joanna Farrell-Harvey of Baron. As part of royalty in Baron, Rosa understood the difficulties of a member of royalty being romantically involved with a commoner, since Rosa was a commoner in her own right before marrying Cecil despite her work as a White Mage. If anyone understood certain difficulties in the love department that Edge is going through it was Rosa. The blonde, alongside His Young Highness, tried everything in the book to help with the marriage proposal after Edge purchased the ring in Mist after he paid a pretty gil to have it made just for Rydia, yet nothing worked in his favour.

A newly developed strategy would be for Edge to leave them be and let the Mist Dragon figure things out on their own accord, so they can see Edge being The One for Rydia despite his status as royalty. The following days saw the Eblan native become the shield for Rydia and the Mist Dragon on their midday naps near Mist, so that way if anyone tried to harm them, they'll have to go through His Young Highness first. Each time, he had the small black box in his possession, which a handwritten note containing an affectionate 'ramble' of how much Rydia means to him within - the ring itself having the gems on it cut in the way that Rydia made varying remarks of that she wanted if any lad were to propose to her, yet it was simple. The Mist native having a particular weakness for simple but shiny things is another reason why His Young Highness wants her as his wife, if anything. It was one particular sunny afternoon that Edge had to forego his guarding duties to handle an emergency during the midday nap that finally got the attention of both Rydia and the Mist Dragon.

What they saw would change things.

XXX

Some people would say that the Mist Dragon may have an unhealthy 'need' for taking midday naps with Rydia, seeing that the dragon is tied to her late mother of all people. Those fears would be squashed when they saw the gesture of the duo and the reason why: the gesture of the Mist Dragon was in the form of protecting the Mist native, who was actually exhausted from her duties in Mist as the one in charge of a known orphanage being the reason. Whenever Edge would guard the duo during their midday nap, everyone eventually saw that Rydia's job was very tiring, thus the need for a nap to be constantly able to keep up with every child in that orphanage in Mist as Rydia's energy would go out kind of fast. In the recent days of their relationship, the dates Edge and Rydia would go on would involve the midday nap and Edge protecting both Rydia and the Mist Dragon. It was on sunny afternoon one day that after both the Mist Dragon and Rydia woke up from their nap, Rydia was sad to see Edge not there.

Edge's sudden absence, somehow, angered the Mist Dragon. Why would he leave us like that... Mist Dragon mused to themselves before barely being able to spot something on the ground that clearly didn't belong there near where they recalled Edge being at before his sudden departure. With Rydia being... well, Rydia, it was up to the Mist Dragon to go find out the contents of what they think they saw, who couldn't stop smiling with their eyes upon what they discovered: a small black box and a note that's clearly meant for Rydia to see. Oddly enough, it took the speed of lightning for the Mist Dragon to get Rydia's attention about the gist of things since Edge suddenly departed. Upon following the Mist Dragon to that spot, the Mist native saw what they saw: a small black box and a letter of an affectionate ramble, both meant for Rydia. It was the green haired lass who chose to read the letter first, for she knew that if Edge were to pop the question to her at any point, he'd need to write things down on paper first. Tears of happiness fell down Rydia's face upon seeing what he wrote:

My dearest Rydia,

Nothing in this world can ever be compared to you and your love for me. If it weren't for that fateful meeting in that cave, I would still be stuck in grief for my parents and not allowing myself to move on in my life and love people the way you see me do now. I owe you the world and my life for what you've done for me. There are times where I struggle to find the right words to say to you, the right actions to take to show my love for you - and yet, you, a commoner, don't seem to care about my status in royalty. You love me for me, and not for my title. If there is anything that would make me the happiest lad on this planet, it would be you as my wife. Rydia, you complete me. Sometimes I wish there would be more ways for me to show it. I love you, and please never change.

All my love,
Edge

XXX

"This ring?! He wanted to ask me to marry him...?!" Rydia asked the Mist Dragon, who couldn't stop smiling with their eyes upon seeing the exact ring that was in the box: the cut was exactly how Rydia wanted her ring to be, and the size was perfect. Without any delay, the Mist native proudly put the ring on her finger, showing the world that she is off the market, for soon she'll be helping Edge rule Eblan with the kindness Cecil and Rosa ruled Baron. It was the following day that Edge came back to join the duo for their midday nap, only this time the Mist Dragon wanted His Young Highness to join them. After explaining the emergency back in Eblan that forced him to depart early, the duo immediately understood what happened and why Edge had to take care of the emergency. It was after this particular date that preparations were made to have one take over the orphanage in Rydia's place, so that the green haired lass can start on her duties as part of royalty from a lifetime as a commoner.

Some time passes by before the actual wedding ceremony took place in Eblan but having Mist Customs in said ceremony. The Ninja Guard and Mist Dragon acted as security for the joyous occasion, with FuSoYa being the one to officiate the actual ceremony, for he knew the customs for weddings involving royalty and commoners the best (plus he asked the pair upon finding out they had gotten engaged). Regarding the ceremony itself, it was one for the record books at how many at the ceremony were crying or laughing somehow, for it was very Edge and Rydia throughout the event. After the ring exchange and later being given the okay to kiss after hearing them being pronounced husband and wife, the applause the now married couple was beyond deafening, for some of those in attendance saying 'it's about damn time' followed by loud laughter caused the Mist Dragon to smile. Rydia, you'll always be tied to me via your mother... but you sure know how to pick a good lad for you... they happily mused to themselves on the matter.

As for the reception - this being the in short version according to Kain Highwind, who served as Best Man for the event - was an amazing time. From the speeches made by varying people to the food and cake made just for them (neither were fond of a large cake but made sure their guests had more than enough food to eat) and later on the dancing, everyone had a great time. It was at the reception that Kain would be introduced to one who ensured him of a happy ending of his own, and he couldn't thank Edge and Rydia enough for this opportunity. The first night as a married couple was an interesting affair but in the best way possible for both Edge and Rydia. It would be less than a year later Rydia brought better news, that she and Edge would become first time parents to a healthy baby boy. It was the Mist Dragon who would watch the pair from near the Eblan castle while they slept, for they knew that Edge gave both them and Rydia the happiest ending they could get.

A place they can call home.

FIN

A/N#2: Next story is from the Paying it Forward universe within 'Yun-Farron Family' collection where Celes and Locke meet one Claire 'Lightning' Farron for the first time.