The Past Is Prologue
Chapter 33: Proposal
Mi estimada profesora, in your last letter you inquired about the efficacy of the Night Singers. While they were not nearly as effective as they would have wished – Shuriki remained in power for forty-one years, after all – they were more of a thorn in the dark queen's side than was publicly known at the time. Shuriki's prohibition of music was no mere whim; music interfered with her magic in some way which I never really understood. So the Night Singers' impromptu concerts not only inspired Avalorans to keep the faith in secret; they disrupted long-standing spells of hers, forcing her to expend more energy to re-establish them. Queen Shuriki had plans for expansion; were it not for the Night Singers, I have no doubt that neighboring kingdoms would have fallen as well. – Don Esteban Flores, Former Chancellor under Queen Shuriki and Crown Princess Elena Castillo Flores; pardoned for treason by Queen Elena Castillo Flores. A People's History of the Reign of Queen Shuriki, compiled by Professor Catalina de Torres
Amidst the joyous chaos of the celebration, Elena realized she was enjoying herself. True, she had to prevent a food fight between Carmen and Lady Yolanda, had to stop Quique from popping wheelies with Cristina's wheelchair (Cristina didn't seem to mind, though), and was struggling to remain diplomatic with Archbishop Francisca's constant needling about the use of magic in her court, but aside from that Elena was able to dance, laugh with friends, and enjoy good food. It warmed her heart to see Isa and Esteban so happy. And she had never seen doña Paloma so relaxed and open. Julio was good for her. He, in turn, seemed to worship the ground Paloma trod.
Elena's mind, as always, was in ten places at once. An important skill for a queen. Though she did not put the upcoming conflict in Nueva Vista out of her head, and kept trying to figure out how her cousin Cristóbal had become what he was, she still kept track of her family, friends, and subjects, ready to fix any problems that might arise.
And so she noticed Esteban, starting to seethe every time Victor spun Feli out on the dance floor.
Felicia and Elena had once been the same age and best friends. But Feli had gone on to live a fully normal life while Elena had been imprisoned in a magical amulet for forty-one years. When Elena returned, they had reconnected and Feli often came to the palace to visit. Over time, Esteban began to find excuses to be around whenever Feli was visiting. And Feli did not condemn Esteban for his past. Elena was cautiously optimistic.
Then she sighed as she watched Victor, yet again, cut in front of Esteban to take Feli's hand and spin her out onto the ballroom floor. Esteban had been quietly furious when Victor had shown up to the wedding with Felicia on his arm, but Elena had managed to calm him down. She later asked Feli about it, who had told her conspiratorially, "It's flattering at my age to have two such handsome men flirting with me." Elena had just shaken her head. She wondered if Esteban and Victor would ever get along. With the closeness of their children, they would have to. She even complimented Esteban on how well he was taking his son's affection for Carla Delgado.
Her cousin smirked and said, "Not at all. That Delgado girl is entirely inappropriate for Davíd. And I have no doubt that Victor will find a way to end it. All I have to do is act as if I accepted the courtship, and Victor will be painted as the villain while Davíd will see me as the reasonable and supportive father that I am."
"I've never known anyone with a mind quite like yours," Elena laughed in spite of herself.
"This is true," he replied, stroking his beard.
Now Esteban saw his chance. Feli had begged off dancing and was now chatting with Marlena, who was complaining about her husband Armando's over-protectiveness now that Marlena was with child. Victor was making a beeline for Mateo's mom, Rafa. Esteban made his move.
"Will you dance the sambarosa with me?" Mateo was suddenly at the queen's elbow. The young wizard looked nervous as he shyly extended his hand.
Elena bit her lip. Mateo shouldn't feel shy around her, although she understood why he did. Regardless of what her family and friends thought, she was not blind to her wizard's feelings for her. But in a way Elena knew Mateo would never understand, he deserved better. Elena's first priority was the well-being of her kingdom. How could it be otherwise? She couldn't imagine marrying anyone, even one of her best friends, because she could never put him first. Mateo deserved someone who could put him in the center of his love's world.
Still, it was just a dance. And if she wasn't mistaken, the sambarosa had played a role in Mateo's and Sofia's quest to save her. Elena smiled and took the royal wizard's hand.
It was only as they headed to the dance floor that the queen witnessed Esteban's "revenge." Just as Victor made a bow to Rafa to ask her to dance, Esteban smoothly stepped in front of him and extended his own hand to Señora de Alva. Fascinated, Elena watched the little drama unfold, wondering if Rafa would turn both men down. She had little use for either, according to Mateo. The royal wizard's mother was a woman of strong convictions, and had neither forgotten nor forgiven Esteban's and Victor's past association with Shuriki. Rafa's lips quirked as she looked over both men. Shrugging, she accepted Esteban's hand, ignoring the look of shocked indignation on Victor's face.
Pablo Agama barked out a laugh and leaned back as if to enjoy the show. Elena had been a bit surprised to learn that he was Rafa's escort for the wedding; she hadn't even realized they knew each other. The whispers among the wedding guests rippled through the hall. As Professor Torres had been expanding her interviews, more and more of Elena's subjects remembered life under Shuriki and her Chancellor Esteban, as well as the work of the Night Singers, and rumors of Rafa de Alva having been the secret leader were running rampant. So it was a shock to see the two of them together.
The musicians played the opening notes of the dance. The younger generation, who had been taught simplified moves for traditional dances in secret, had never seen the sambarosa performed as it was meant to be danced. The sambarosa, properly danced, told a story, and it was a story of conflict. Both Esteban and Rafa knew how to dance it, and they danced it well. Soon all other dancers stopped to watch the former Chancellor and likely resistance leader reenact probable decades of moves and countermoves, plots and counterplots, all timed to the beat of the tambor. Only the musicians seemed unaware of what was going on.
Elena was dimly aware of Mateo standing next to her, open-jawed in shock. She knew how he felt.
As the music for the sambarosa ended, there was complete silence in the ballroom. A grinning Pablo Agama broke into mocking applause, followed by a belated scattering of applause from around the room and murmurs as guests began to discuss what they'd witnessed. Esteban and Rafa both coolly walked away, ignoring the stir they'd created.
Doña Paloma, never one to not be the center of attention, decided to assert her authority as bride. "All right, everyone," she called out, clapping her hands, "dancing is over." At the chorus of disappointed groans, she declared, "It's time for the tirón de pastel!"
The hall erupted in cheers and groans as a giant cake festooned in ribbons was wheeled out.
"Gather around, señoritas," the bride called out. "It's time to see who will win!"
"I will win!"declared Ixlan. "What is the competition?"
Ixlan's wife, Antonia, told her, "You can't play this game. You're already married. Drawing the dije from the cake is for unmarried women to find out who will be married next."
"I will win the cake for my mate!"
"That's not how it works," the guardswoman replied in a tone that mixed exasperation and repressed laughter. "It's for women who don't have mates."
"So they find their mate in the cake?" the Lightening Warrior asked dubiously.
"Close enough."
"It must be a very small mate."
Elena and Naomi looked at each other and chortled.
"Wait a minute," Antonia said suspiciously. "You've been to Avaloran weddings before. You know all this."
"Indeed," Ixlan replied impassively. "As you can tell from the expression on my face I am very disappointed that you believed me so foolish."
Doña Paloma stepped in. She put her hands on Naomi's shoulders, forcibly propelling her towards the cake and placing a ribbon in her hand. "Come along, doña Naomi. You too, Queen Elena, and you, Princess. Let's find out who is next to be wed."
As Isabel good-naturedly picked up a ribbon on the cake she called out, "Cristina! Amara! Tomiko! Olivia! If I have to be up here you do as well." The four young women all joined Isa as they picked up ribbons of their own. Elena was amused to see that Carla was one of the first to take up a ribbon.
Once all the unmarried women (and Flo) encircled the cake with ribbon in hand, the bride chanted, "Uno...dos... tres... Now!" At once all the ladies pulled on their ribbons, with those who pulled an empty ribbon responding with laughter or mock groans.
Elena and Doña Paloma were the first to realize that Naomi had pulled the tin ring from the cake. But just as the bride was about to announce the Chancellor as the next fated to be wed, Naomi said, "Ugh! I don't want this thing," and flung it at Elena!
On instinct, the queen batted it away, and it almost hit Tomiko, who threw it to Amara, who tossed at Cristina, who flung it at Olivia. The journeywoman wizard pulled out her tamborita and levaluqed the thing towards Carla, who decided to draw her own tamborita as well. Soon, a lively game of hot potato was in full swing, over the scandalized objections of Doña Paloma. None were more rambunctious that the chancellor and the queen.
Suddenly a hand reached out and snatched the ring from the air. "Let's stop disrupting doña Paloma's and Don Julio's wedding, shall we?" Gabe said.
"Thank you, General," the bride murmured.
In the brief awkward silence that followed, Ixlan's voice rang out. "I do not understand. Does the General win mating?"
Gabe's face turned red as many of the guard burst into laughter. Elena felt bad for Gabe, as well as for Naomi, who looked almost as embarrassed.
"Chancellor, may I speak to you a moment? Alone?" Gabe said in a tone that could be described as grim.
"Uh-oh! I'm in trouble," Naomi joked.
"Please, Naomi."
"Lead the way, General!" Sighing, Gabe escorted Naomi out onto the balcony. Elena wondered what that was all about. But she had no time to think about it before Paloma rounded on her and began to scold her for her "unqueenly behavior."
Gabe couldn't believe how nervous he was. He'd spent so much time with Naomi over the past six years; with friends and alone, fighting villains and playing olaball, in council and casually, as friends and as a couple. It always felt so easy. But now his heart was pounding as if he were surrounded by lizards. Now that they were finally alone Gabe did not know how to begin.
"So...Naomi..."
"I know what you're going to say," Naomi said at the same time.
"You do?" Gabe was stunned. Mateo wouldn't have told her...would he?
"Well, yeah! You're going to tell me it was selfish and irresponsible to disrupt doña Paloma's wedding like that." The young chancellor sighed. "You're right. I promise to make it up to her somehow."
"That's not what I was going to say!" Gabe responded defensively.
"Sure it's not," Naomi said as she patted his arm reassuringly. She turned to look at the sea behind the palace. "I wonder if I can see my mom's vessel from here. Yep, there it is!"
As a precaution, Scarlett had set the Royal Avaloran Navy to patrolling the bay and the sea around the peninsula of Avalor City. Not that it was necessary; Cristóbal lacked the forces to directly attack Avalor's capital. Still, it didn't hurt to be cautious.
"I wonder what they're saying," Naomi continued, referring to the flashing lights on the vessels. Since Naomi had invented the maritime lantern code, Gabe knew she could often work it out even without the code book, but this balcony didn't have a great line of sight.
"Don't worry about the ships!" That came out way harsher than he'd meant, and Naomi looked at him in shock. "I'm sorry." Gabe ran his hand through his hair. "I just have something I need to ask you."
"So ask it already." The chancellor's straight-forward bluntness was one of the many reasons he admired Naomi, but it definitely made proposing to her harder.
The speech he'd practiced so diligently with Mateo playing the role of Naomi went clean out of his head. He'd wanted to say how much he loved and admired Naomi, how they worked well together, how beautiful she was...It was a very long speech.
"I think you're amazing," he finally blurted out.
"Well, thanks, Gabe. You're not so bad yourself," she responded, playfully punching him in the shoulder. She went back to trying to decipher the code of flashing lights.
"Noams, stop looking at the sea for a moment!" He positioned himself between Naomi and the railing.
Now Naomi was beginning to get exasperated. Not what Gabe was going for. "Look, if you have something to say, just spit it out already!...Does that boat look fast to you?"
The General sighed. The speech was gone, the romantic moment ruined, but he would not give up! "Here," he said finally, reaching into his pocket to pull out...that blasted toy ring from the cake! Of all the rotten luck.
When Naomi saw that she burst out laughing. "What are you trying to do, propose to me?" She looked around him, her brow furrowed as she gazed out on her mother's ship.
Gabe hastily shoved the fake ring back in his pocket and pulled out the real one. "Actually...Naomi, will you marry me?"
"No," she whispered in horror.
Horror? Really? Gabe knew there was a possibility that Naomi might turn him down. He prided himself on being prepared for any eventuality. But he never thought she'd react in horror...
"Gabe, look!" Naomi forcefully turned her novio around to face the sea beyond the palace on the island. He wasn't as good with interpreting the flashing lantern lights as Naomi, but he could make out the word for "attack." And then he heard the unmistakable sound of cannon fire. They were under attack.
He grabbed Naomi's hand and ran back inside. "Brace yourselves!" He called out as they entered the hall. "We've got incoming!"
AN: A story cannot contain a song, of course. But if you would like one, imagine this: Esteban and Rafa, dramatically dancing the sambarosa, which in our world we would call flamenco. Even though our samba is completely unrelated to our flamenco, in the fantasy realm of Avalor the sambarosa is closer to flamenco than samba.
