Sandry bit her lip, tucking a stray curl of chestnut hair behind her ear and tugging at the blue-grey wrap she had selected. It would be cold up in Numair's tower, which was exposed to the elements and had no glass in the windowpanes. Although he was technically supposed to live up there, he had always staunchly refused to stay anywhere so cold, and had taken rooms in the heart of the palace. All the same, the altitude was a boon when performing certain spells, and Niko had been ecstatic when he had discovered such a well-equipped, high tower to play around in.
She felt Jon's warm hand squeeze her fingers slightly, and she looked up into his face with a grateful smile. He grinned down at her, the heat from his deep blue eyes warming her face. He placed one hand gently on her cheek, searching her expression for some sign of sadness or fear. "Are you worried?" he asked softly, exposing to her yet again the sensitive side to the arrogant prince, the part only she ever got to see. It always gave her shivers.
"No… I don't know. I know he'll be happy for me, but what if something's happened back home? What if he's ill? Not knowing where I was all this time might have made him sick with worry. He has charms to show if I'm alive and well, but he never really learnt to rely on them… I just wish we could have got this spell arranged earlier."
"A communication spell over this distance takes time to arrange, you know that." She sighed and shook her head.
"I know, and I'm not claiming Niko or Numair- they've done wonderful jobs, truly they have- but I'm worried all the same. I tried to put it to the back of my mind, but I love him so, and he must be in such a state… he was never strong."
There was a pause, and then Jon said quietly, not meeting her eyes, "Do you regret staying here, then?"
"No." The forcefulness behind her answer was surprising, and she took Jon's chin in her slender fingers, forcing him to look at her. "Jonathon," she said, firmly, but with a slight tremble in her voice betraying her emotion, "Before I came here, I knew how to love. I loved Daja and Tris and Briar and Lark and Rosethorn and my Uncle, and I was happy. I could sit all day spinning and weaving and chatting to them, and I would have counted it a good day. I had everything I could possibly need or want in the world.'
'And then I got dragged into this place with no choice in the matter, into a strange land and strange people and a whirl of confusion, and I met you… and suddenly I could sit all day spinning and weaving and chatting to my friends, and it would be an empty day if you weren't in it. I realised I could never just be happy again without you there, because you had become my happiness, the beginning of all my hopes and the end of all my dreams. I realised that all my life had just been leading up to this, because we were meant to be together, and that if the world ended tomorrow, my life would not have been wasted, because I would have loved with all the strength of my heart and the fire of my soul.'
'When you asked me to marry you, I thought that would be the happiest day of my life, but I was wrong… because those words were just words, and these rings are just rings, but every day I wake up beside you I feel happier than I ever thought it was possible to be. Every day I think I can't possibly be any happier or love you any more, but then you make me heart a little larger, and it holds a little more happiness. You taught me how to live beyond the measure of man, so that every day when I look up and see your face, I know I'm looking into the face of heaven.'
'I love you, Jon. I will love you when the sun falls from the sky and the stars turn black, and I will love you when we stand before the Gods together, and not even death will tear us apart."
The torrent of words that love and long waiting had torn from her lips slowed, and she spoke the last ones in a soft, choked voice, the tears running down her face. She was vaguely aware that their hands, still entwined, were crushing each other, and that Jon, the strong, hardened warrior who she had never before seen weep, was crying too. He opened his mouth to speak, but she shook her head. "It's alright, Jon," she said, her voice barely audible, "no words."
They stood together for a long time, at the foot of the steps leading up to the tower, just holding each other in their arms and being in love.