Chapter twenty has arrived, bringing with it the closure of this epic tale. I do hope you've enjoyed it so far, and I hope the surprise comes as a pleasant thing to you, when you read this last chapter. I know Raine is sad to see it end, aren't you, Raine?
Raine: Yes. But only because you threatened me with another fiction if I didn't say that.
You know I'm probably still going to write one, right?
Raine: ...You liar.
Yep, that's me. Okay, here we go!
------------------------------------
Another ball, just half a year from the last one? Well, it had been two years since they'd had any contact with eachother when the first happened; perhaps they were making up for lost time. But whatever the reason, Raine had received news of the celebration via one of Regal's weekly letters. She had spent the last fourteen days with Genis, for a little sibling...bonding? If Genis heard her call it that, she knew he'd deny any relation to her.
It had been nearly six months since Deryn, David, Eric, and Matthew had gone to Prison, since the rather painful incident in which her leg had been crushed beneath an enormous bookshelf. She had healed, though, rather nicely, and sported not even a scar. After finishing their tour of Symphonia, Raine had gone back to Altamira with Regal, and the two had continued to spend time together.
Now, in his second letter - which she was going over for the second time - she read about the party Zelos had arranged. "Guess we're going, huh?" asked Genis as he lounged on his bed. He was playing around with his Kendama while she read.
"Why wouldn't we?" mused Raine, folding the paper again. "Don't you want to see Lloyd and Colette again?"
"Of course I do. I was just wondering." The boy sat up, looking at her with a sly little smirk. "What about you - isn't there someone you want to see, too? A certain noble, I think, who sends you love letters when you're not with him?"
Raine, who had stood to leave the letter on the desk, gave him a sisterly swat across the top of the head. "And just what was that suppose to imply? They are not necessarily 'love letters,' you know," she said, folding her arms. Oh, yes, most people were aware of the relationship between she and Regal. But did that mean she had to take provokation from Genis about it? Oh, no.
"Nothing," he said, mischivously. "So, I guess this means you're going back to Altamira after the party?" He indicated the bag she was now packing.
"Yes, I am." She paused with a shirt in hand, glancing up at him through a thin veil of her own hair. "Are you going to miss me?" askd his older sister, trying not to smirk. But the smug expression was evident in her voice, if not on her face, anyway, she was sure of it by the look he gave her.
"You're my sister! It's my job to 'miss you.'"
"Is that right?" Raine's smirk changed to a slight smile, genuine. She packed away the garment, and came to sit next to him on the bed. "It was good to spend some time with you again," she said softly. "I've really missed you."
"You have?" asked Genis, blinking at her.
"Yes. I have." She made a futile attempt at smoothing his hair. "I don't have anyone to pick on, anymore." The smile widened a little as he gave him famous pout. It melted soon, though, and he wrapped his arms around her in a sibling-love kind of embrace. "Oh, Genis. I haven't left yet!"
He smiled at her when they drew back. "I know. But I wanted to make sure I got it done before you got too wrapped up in seeing lover-boy. Don't hit me!" He recoiled a bit as she gave him a teasing glare.
"That mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble, one of these days," she told him, shouldering her bag.
"That's okay, I'm used to it." Genis smirked as they made their way out of the inn, out of Palmacosta, and to a clear spot. He used a wing pack to bring out their two Rheairds, and both Half-Elves boarded.
Raine let her brother lead the way to Castle Tethe'alla when they had entered Meltokio, and changed into formal wear. She had to admit, she regarded her brother as "cute" in his kind of suit. She almost risked telling him so, but she wanted no comment from him on the clothes she was wearing, herself. A dress, she was in - not entirely by her own choice.
It was a rich, midnight blue, complimenting the opaline color of her hair, and blue of her eyes. She had seen the sly look her little brother had given her when he'd first seen her, but she didn't dignify it with a verbal comment. She was only wearing it for the ball, and as soon as she was free, it would be back to pants. Raine ignored the looks Genis kept sending her way, brushing hair from her face purposefully.
"Hey, Raine, it's your boyfriend," Genis informed her, in a stage whisper. He was silenced very quickly by the genuine glare she gave him, and trotted off to an ecstatically waving Colette.
"Raine," greeted Regal. A smile played on his lips as he took her hand and kissed it politely. They did make a point of practicing discretion regarding their personal relationship. "Did you enjoy your time in Palmacosta?"
"Yes, I did." Raine returned his smile, laying her hand atop the one he offered to her. Together they skirted around the crowds of people, and she returned a wave from Lloyd, who was standing across the room. "Did anything happen in Altamira while I was away?"
"Nothing particularly exciting," he mused. "I did miss not having someone to talk to, however."
"Oh? Is that why you sent me two letters, even though I'd only be gone for a couple of weeks?" She glanced sideways at him, the smile still present.
"Yes, it is. George is a nice friend, of course, but I cannot exactly have a deep discussion with him. And Alicia..." Regal trailed off, and she squeezed his hand gently, reassuringly. It was a rather touchy subject between the pair, but she knew it was worse for him.
The fact that he had, indeed, missed being able to talk to someone was soon proven as they sat together along the wall, engaged in stimulating conversation. Raine couldn't deny that she was enjoying it, either, though. Genis was intelligent - but not an adult. After much of this talk, Regal glanced up and around. People were pairing off to dance again, just like that first night, she mused.
"Raine, may I?" asked the Duke as he stood and held a hand out for her.
"Am I the only one experiencing deja vu, here?" she asked him quietly as they walked toward the middle of the floor.
"It does seem somewhat familiar, doesn't it?" Regal smiled at her, taking her waist with the unoccupied hand as she laid hers on his shoulder. They danced this way, slowly, gracefully, for several moments as the song progressed. She leaned her forehead against his shoulder, her eyes open but not really seeing much of anything.
When "their song" ended, Raine made to go back to their seats, when he caught her arm gently. "Wait," he said. "I have something I want to show you." She blinked at him, and nodded slowly. Hand still on her arm, he tugged her through the doors of the Ball Room, and up to the Balconey that overlooked it.
She peered over the railing for a moment, watching the other members of their group mingle and laugh together, before she turned to him. "Is something wrong?" she asked. Why would he want to bring her up here? What could there possible be to show her on the balconey?
"No, nothing is amiss," Regal assured her. "I want to talk to you."
"About what?"
"Raine..." He seemed at a total loss for words as he watched her. "The past six months..." The noble shook his head.
"What?" she prodded. She had an anxious feeling in her stomach, one that she'd had several months ago when Deryn was loose in Symphonia, one she got every time she was on a ship. She wanted to know that he was speaking the truth when he said "nothing was amiss."
Regal seemed to make a decision, and took her hand gently in his own. "Raine. The past six months with you have been...memorable. I want you to know how much I...How glad I am, that you convinced me to get close to someone. Without you, likely I would have spent the rest of my life in solitude and loneliness. Thank you, Raine. For everything."
Was he trying to say it was over? The anxiety grew, threatening to make her sick. "...I'm glad, too, Regal," she said, slowly. But what does that have to do with "showing me something?"
"Raine," he said again, like he was trying to remember a speech he'd written and wanted to recite. He looked down at the hand he was holding, and moved his other to clasp it too. "I have enjoyed the time we spend together, truely."
"If you're trying to say something, Regal," said Raine, looking downward, "I assure you I won't be angry."
She felt two fingers lift her chin to level their gazes again, as he looked at her, with a shocked expression. "That's not what I'm saying, at all," he told her, as though what he knew she was thinking was outrageous. "Quite the opposite, actually."
"Opposite?" she echoed, feeling a little better. He wasn't trying to end it...But then, what was he talking about?
He released her chin to put his hand in a side pocket of his formal jacket, bringing out a little, black, velvetty box. The mage stared at it for a moment, a vague idea forming in her mind. But it couldn't be - could it?
Yes, it could, she realized as Regal opened it. Inside, was a gemmed ring, catching the chandelier light from ceiling and glinting out at her. "I have cherished the last six months, Raine. I want it to continue...I want to share my life, everything I have, with you. Raine Sage...Will you marry me?" It could, and it was.
Her lips parted, her eyes widening. This time, it was her heart that pounded inside her chest. Regal had...proposed to her! He wanted her to marry him, he had made perhaps the greatest request in either of their lives. All time seemed to have stopped as she stared at him in stunned silence. She wasn't listening to the music playing below, the laughter or the chatter, she simply stared.
And he waited patiently, one hand holding hers, and the other holding the trinket that could change both lives forever. He knew he had caught Raine off-guard with his question, especially as she had suspected his wanting to break off their relationship at first. But that was the last thing he wanted to do...He wanted to spend his life with her. He wanted to devote himself to her, and know that that desire was returned.
Alicia was still there - Alicia would always be there. He would always feel remorse for killing her. How could he not? But he had another to love, now, and he had decided he would love her. Alicia would understand, he knew she would. "Please, Raine," he said, ever so softly.
"Regal, I..." Now it was her turn to be speechless. She blinked at him, feeling a blush creep up onto her features. Raine fought such a girlish reaction, but she wasn't at all sure it had any effect. The ultimate affirmation of her feelings for him. If she said yes, she would communicate just how much she really did care for him. Of course, the thought of actively refusing never crossed her mind. She was too surprised.
And why would she say no? She did care for him. She loved him, hadn't she learned that already? Yes, she had...And now she needed to tell him. "I...I will."
There was a moment of silence in which they stared at eachother like they had never seen the opposite gender before this night, until the awkwardness was broken by his bewildered smile. He wasn't quite sure why he was so surprised - had he expected her to decline? As they started to lean in closer, he remembered something. Looking at his hand, he took out the ring, and slid it onto her finger slowly.
Both smiling now, they went through with the kiss this time. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as if letting go would erase everything that had happened. And she returned it whole-heartedly, taking his head in her hands.
Her first love, and his second. And after all that had happened between them, he was ready to make it official - no, they both were. The "dating stage" as Zelos would call it, was over. Soon enough, they would be joined once and for all, at last. And though she would outlive him by several centuries, they were ready to take the time they had, and make the very best of it.
And so they had learned...To their relationship, there was so much more, than first meets the eye.
--------------------------------------------
And so the story of Raine Sage and Regal Bryant must end. Rest assured, however, that their love will continue on. After all, he just proposed - and she said yes.
Raine: -Blushing even darker than the last time- I-I-I'm engaged...
Yes, yes you are, my dear. -Huggles- Congratulations, you two! And to my readers...I really hope you liked it. And thus I must end this fanfiction, and bid you all a friendly adieu...Until my next piece of work! Adios! (Read and Review, por favor.)
