The group walked for days, with some of them on strange horses with horns on their heads, stopping to rest under the shade of the trees with some of the men staying awake as guards.
Eventually, one of the women scouting ahead shouted, "Come quick! I think I found something!"
Reyna looked at Diaz as he nodded. They all ran towards where the woman was yelling and eventually saw a town covered in ash. "This must have been a place where the Hammer of Dawn hit," one of the men said.
"Where are we exactly?" Reyna asked.
"I think we're in Gerrenhalt," Diaz said. "I remember hearing about a reporter that came out here about an hour before the Hammer strikes. Nobody ever really looked at it since the Hammer destroyed most main roads."
"But the roads look just wide enough to fit the horses," Oscar said. "If they were pulling a cart. We might need more than the four we have though."
"All in good time Oscar," Reyna said. "For now, we need to decide on a leader."
"I think he should lead us!" one of the women shouted, pointing at Diaz.
"Yeah!" another woman shouted. "You were the one who told us to stop listening to Ollivar! You should be our new leader!"
"I'm not sure," Diaz said until he felt a hand on his shoulder.
He looked over and saw Reyna smiling confidently at him. "You got this," Reyna said.
He smiled back and said, "Alright, if we're going to be a new faction, we'll need a new name. We can't go by Stranded anymore, since we ask left the one remaining Stranded colony. Does anybody have any ideas?"
"How about Raiders?" Oscar asked.
"That makes us sound like a corny Thrashball team. Anything else?"
Reyna thought about the question and asked, "How about Outsiders?"
"Outsiders," Diaz repeated. "Why that?"
"Because we're not stranded from the COG anymore, but we are outside of it at our own choice. We're Outsiders."
"I like it. Alright everybody, from here on out, you are no longer Stranded. We are the Outsiders and we will stay strong outside of the COG's walls!"
Everybody cheered in celebration and Reyna laughed before kissing him on the cheek. "I love you," she said, still laughing a bit.
"I love you too," Diaz said a he pulled Reyna in for a deeper kiss on the lips.
About six months later, Reyna woke up and rolled over in her bed, expecting to see the man she loved. But, to her surprise, she was alone in the bed.
Reyna got up and changed out of her pajamas, thinking where he could be. The most likely option was that he was with Oscar, training some of the men and women how to handle a rifle. Even though they didn't have much ammo, Oscar had said it was essential for all able bodied people in the village to learn how to fight.
This practice, however, was proving to be a waste of time. While being a great fighter, Oscar was not a good teacher and often got mad and angry at his pupils. His brother was a bit better than him, but for the most part, a lot of their people that didn't already know how to fight were still incompetent.
As Reyna changed, she grumbled at how most of her clothes no longer fit her. Being six months pregnant, her stomach had gotten significantly bigger and as a result, she needed maternity clothes. Luckily, some of the Outsider women had also had children, so they were nice enough to give her clothes.
Reyna personally didn't like the maternity clothes she had been given though. The colors were too bright and cheery for her taste, being mostly pinks and light purples. Nothing that went with Reyna's favorite boots.
As she headed towards the door and put the golden spike through her now braided hair, she noticed something seemed off. Normally outside of their private living quarters was loud with the sound of children playing and parents scolding. Today, however, all Reyna could hear was dead silence.
She walked outside and was even more confused by the red flower petals scattered along the dirt road. Reyna picked one up and noticed they were roses, which grew in some bushes deep in the forest.
She noticed that the rose petals were forming somewhat of a trail and she followed it into the meeting hall. She opened the door and yelped when about ten women pounced on her at once, pulling her into a side room.
"What's going on?" Reyna asked when the women let her go.
"It's a surprise," one of them replied. "But you're going to have to change into this."
She then held up a white dress that looked like it had been tailored for a pregnant woman. Reyna raised an eyebrow at this and the women giggled. She then sighed and grabbed the dress, making the women all leave her to change in private. Reyna looked down at her stomach and asked, "Why do I have a feeling you have something to do with this?"
She felt a kick in response and laughed at her unborn child. Once Reyna was dressed, she exited the small room that could have classified more as a closet than a changing room. All of the women had vanished, but she could hear voices carrying from the main meeting room.
She walked down the hallway and saw at the beginning of the room was Diaz, standing in a fancy black tuxedo. "You look amazing," Diaz said, smiling the smile she had fallen in love with.
"So do you," Reyna said. "Now can you please explain to me what's going on?"
"Well, Oscar and I discussed it, and we believe that this baby should not be born into a world where it's parents aren't married."
"Are you saying...?"
Diaz nodded and got down on one knee. "Reyna, will you marry me?"
Reyna's eyes immediately watered at the question as she looked at him. He pulled a small golden ring out if his pocket and showed it to her. "I know it's not much," he said. "But I hope you'll take it anyways."
Reyna's face broke into a large smile and, unable to say words, she nodded her head rapidly. The only reason she knew anything about what he was doing was reading books in the New Ephyra library and hearing Adam talk about his wife with a sad look in his eyes.
He laughed at her and said, "Well, let's do it."
He then walked down to the end of the aisle and got into position. One of the women, the same that had given Reyna her dress, handed the former princess a bouquet of white flowers. Reyna wondered how long it had taken for them to plan this, but she didn't care. This was by far the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her, and she was certainly going to enjoy it.
Reyna smiled and walked down the aisle. There was no music playing, but the sentiment was the same. She felt lighter than air, floating rather than walking down the aisle.
Once she reached the end, she handed her bouquet to a woman sitting in the front row, who smiled happily. Oscar was standing behind the podium and Reyna smiled at him, but was confused as to what he was doing.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of these two people," Oscar said, clearing up Reyna's mind. He was officiating the ceremony. "These two untied together in order to stand up to a big and powerful threat and stand by each other no matter what. Do you two have vows for each other?"
"I do," Diaz said, pulling out a card. He looked into his bride's brown eyes and put down the card. "Reyna, from the moment I saw you, I knew you were the one. I know you've had a rough life, but that's how war works. We all lost people, but I'm determined to not lose anyone else. If you'll take me, I'll always be yours."
Reyna was tearing up now and she sniffled and wiped her tears away. "Wow," she said. "Um, I don't have anything prepared, so I'm going to speak from the heart like you just did. For the longest time, I was distrustful of people for some personal reasons, but you opened my eyes. Diaz, I love you and always will."
"Alright then," Oscar said, wiping tears from his eyes as well. "Does anybody have a reason why these two should not be wed? Speak now or forever hold your peace."
When nobody spoke Oscar smiled. "Alright," he said, looking in his brother's eyes. "Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"
"I do," Diaz said, eyes welling up yet again.
Oscar then turned his attention to Reyna."And do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"
"I do," Reyna said, holding his massive hand in her small one.
"Than by the power vested in me by absolutely nobody, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Diaz then pulled Reyna in for a long and passionate kiss, to which she did not object.
The whole meeting hall cheered in celebration as the two continued to kiss. Reyna didn't even hear them. All she could feel was Diaz's arms around her small waist and his lips locked onto hers.
She didn't care what the future would bring her, because the present was so perfect at that moment.
*Sniff sniff* I'm not crying, you're crying! But in all serious, this was one of my favorite chapters to write so far, because writing schmultz like this is one of my favorite things to write. What can I say, I'm a big fan of sap!