Eudial: Ok, how many chapters are left?
Black Ninja Star: Not counting the epilogue?
Eudial: Yes.
Black Ninja Star: This chapter included, right?
Eudial: Yep.
Black Ninja Star: um...carry the two, the nine cancels out...find the square root...
Eudial::blinks: wrong question to ask...here's chapter 13
Chapter 13
"You saw him?"
"Yes." He picked up the beer "He was going to ask the King about something."
"Hmm..." He scratched his chin "Do you think it was anything serious?"
"Considering the way he was acting... I doubt it."
"Did he recognize you?"
He shook his head and ordered another beer "Too preoccupied with whatever he was thinking about."
"Good. He might tell the king and that might ruin everything."
The bartender put the beer on his counter. He picked it up "We don't want that to happen."
The other man looked a bit uneasy "What about..."
"His friend? What about him?"
He took a sip "What should we do about him then?"
"Same thing we did with the son."
He put his hand in his pocket to pay for the beer, but was stopped.
"It's on me."
Nathan was busy working on a sketch in the studio when he heard a knock on the door. He stopped working on the sketch and opened the door.
James was standing at the doorway "Congratulations on your proposal, Nathan."
"Thank---"He paused "How do you know?"
"It's a small kingdom."
"I have noticed."
James cleared his throat "Anyway, the queen has requested to see you."
"At this moment, James?"
"Yes. It seems she has heard about your proposal and she wants to talk to you. Come with me." He started walking down the corridor
Nathan sighed "So much for getting work done."
Nathan stood at the door of the queen's chamber. He was very nervous and rubbed his hands together. He made his hand into a fist and stopped short of knocking.
James was leaning against the wall in the corridor "What are you so scared of?"
Nathan looked at him "I'm not scared."
"If you are not scared, how come you are still out here?"
"Um…" Nathan looked at the floor nervously and scratched his head "I was admiring the nice artwork of the walls and the ceiling." He looked at the walls and the ceiling of the hallway
James looked at him "There's nothing on the wall or the ceiling."
"Are you sure? I swore I saw…"
"Knock on the door and stop acting like a nervous kid." James folded his arms across his chest
Nathan nodded and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" The voice was muffled by the wooden door
"It's Nathan, your highness. You wanted to talk to me about something?"
There was some movement behind the door and the sound of a lock loosened "Yes I did want to talk to you. Please come in"
Nathan opened the door and walked inside the chamber. He looked around nervously and put his hands inside his jacket pockets.
"Please, have a seat on the bed. I'll be out in a minute."
Nathan walked toward the bed and sat down on it. He took his hands out of his pockets and put them on the bed.
The queen walked out of the bathroom in a light green bathrobe. She was wearing her hair out and it gently flowed over her shoulders and down her back. As soon as she stepped out the bathroom, Nathan stood up and bowed before her. "Nathan, this isn't necessary."
Nathan stopped bowing and stood still. "I'm sorry, your majesty."
The queen chuckled "You may sit down again."
Nathan sat down quickly.
The queen sat down beside him "I have heard about your plans to marry my only daughter."
Nathan nodded.
"You have thought this through?"
"Y..Yes your majesty. I have thought this through and I want to spend the rest of my life with her."
The queen nodded and got off the bed "Do you know the responsibilities that you are going to have when you marry her?"
"No, I don't my queen."
"When you marry my daughter, you will become next in line for the throne of Pluto. You will become a prince and some of the powers we have will be delegated toward you."
Nathan looked surprised "Really?"
The queen nodded "Are you scared?"
Nathan shook his head
It was her turn to look surprised and mumbled something along the lines of "Odd, this usually scared the other suitors…" She cleared her throat "Have you decided a date for the wedding?"
"I haven't decided on a date yet."
"I see. How about three days from now?"
"That's fine with me, your majesty."
She smiled "The tailor will be here to take your measurements tomorrow. You don't want to be married in that now, do you?" She made a gesture with her hand toward the outfit he was wearing.
Nathan looked at the clothes he was wearing "No I don't."
The queen nodded "The tailor will come for your measurements tomorrow in the afternoon."
Nathan got off the bed and prepared to leave "I will be there." He opened the door and his hand just touched the doorknob to close it when he heard the queen's voice.
"Congratulations."
Nathan smiled and closed the door.
Run, Running all the time
Running to the future
With you by my side
Nathan lay down in the garden. He put his hands behind his head and looked at the night sky. The sky was illuminated only by the stars and Pluto's nearby moon, Charon. He never felt this happy in his whole life. Looking back over the events that happened, he wondered if it was fate that brought him to the castle and if he would have survived. He closed his eyes as a tear ran down his cheek 'I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her.'
Me, I'm the one you chose
Out of all the people
You wanted me the most
He felt a finger wipe away the tear and opened his eyes. He found himself staring into garnet ones "You found me."
Setsuna sat down beside him "I did. Why were you crying?"
Nathan shifted his body so his head was in Setsuna's lap "A thought."
She ran her hand through his hair "Do you want to talk about it?"
He shivered slightly, but slowly relaxed "I was wondering where I would have been if I didn't meet you."
She nodded.
"I don't want to talk about that though." He turned his head and looked at the sky "You always look at the stars when you're a little child, but they don't mean anything until you're grown up. I wonder why."
We're running, as fast as we can
Do you think we'll make it?
"It's something you supposed to share with someone." She lay down on the ground, resting her head on his chest. Nathan straightened out his position and she continued "When you're a kid, you always want the world to revolve around you. When you become an adult and you found a special someone you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want them to be part of their world, and it's no longer about you."
Nathan nodded and kissed her hair. He pointed to the sky "Look, a shooting star."
Setsuna smiled "Make a wish."
Nathan nodded and closed his eyes. He opened them after a few seconds "you make one.'
She shook her head and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, she opened them and looked at the stars.
"Do wishes come true?"
Setsuna looked at him "How do you think I got you?" She snuggled into him and watched the stars.
We're running, keep holding my hand
It's so we don't get separated
Nathan smiled and looked at the stars. He mumbled something under his breath "It's so wonderful, I hope this doesn't fall apart."
End Chapter 13
Song Used: No Doubt - Running
Black Ninja Star: Don't get mad. I've been trying so hard to get this chapter out, but the one thing that kept giving me problems was the end. I had the idea, but no words came to mind, and when it did, it was one or two words, not a whole sentence.
Emperor Sidious: Popcorn::eats some: Thanks for the support and the popcorn.
Mistal: The Poisoned One::winces: umm….I know I have no excuse for this, but I hope it didn't take too long.
Eudial: It took 3 months for you to update
Black Ninja Star: I know, you're welcome about the cookie, and I wasn't planning on attacking the army of squirrels. If I was, I would keep an army of owls. I would just feed them.
Eudial: Now, you have to answer my question. How many chapters are left in this story?
Black Ninja Star: 2 or 3 including epilogue.
Eudial: That many?
Black Ninja Star: I don't want to drag it out.
Eudial: You don't want it to become a cliché.
Black Ninja Star: That too. I'm also going to put out 1 or 2 stories soon since this is winding down. Check them out. R/R