Inspiration: Rose

Submitted by: Rainpath

Category: Romance/Tragedy

Rated: T

"He had to return though, he had promised her forever, and he had only given her one night."

She held the rose as delicately as she dared, pinched between her thumb and forefinger and lifted it to the light of the open window. Crystalline blue sparkles danced across the walls as the flower itself stood at the point of the beauty, its turquoise petals shimmering with magic. Slowly the Queen-to-be lowered the flower back down, so she stared at only the pinpoint itself and not the illusions it cast upon the walls.

With one finger she stroked a petal absently, her mind swimming with the battle between somber thoughts and happy ones. Two weeks ago she had been given this rose by her lover, a symbol of their love and a promise he had yet to fulfill.

"Emily," his voice broke through the heavy silence in the room.

Timidly she looked up through tear stained eyes at him, standing by the window, the only light in the room coming from the full moon behind his back. In the light he stood proudly and certainly, but his face betrayed his fear. "Yes?" far from him she sat on the bed, shoulders slumped and her hair making a veil between them.

She looked back down as he approached, lowering himself on one knee before her and placing his hands on her knees. "Please, Emily, don't look so sad. I don't want this to be the image of you I take into battle," he smiled pleadingly at her and she smiled sadly back.

"I'm sorry Marlin,"

"Don't be, just smile for me for real, please Emily," She tried again but unsatisfied he joined her joined her on the bed and took her in his arms. Tears rolled down her face as she pressed herself against him.

"I'm scared Marlin, we've been fighting the Dark Sorceress for six years now and in two days, she will have won or we will have. God, Marlin, what if we don't?" Her voice cracked as she asked the dreaded question "What if we don't?" Fear hung thick in the air, so thick it was hard to breathe. In two days time, they might both be dead.

"It'll be alright," he assured blindly, she felt hot moisture on the back of her neck, his own tears spilling over. She blinked hard, thinking of her other friends, all of them were probably in somewhat the same state, wrapped in the arms of lovers, crying and saying farewells if there may be need. Tomorrow would decide the fate of a realm and all its peoples. "I'm scared too," Marlin confessed.

They stayed like that for a long moment, wrapped in each other so tight it was hard to tell who was who, their tears spilling onto one another silently as they thought morbidly and fearfully upon the day to come. Finally Marlin pulled himself gently away from Emily, just enough to see her face. "Emily, I love you."

"I love you too," she answered without a second of hesitation. His chestnut eyes were watery and strained with lines of red, his proud arrogance deflated from his face, she could see all of his terror and yet all of his determination as well. They kissed softly and purposefully.

"Emily if anything should happen to me," he paused a moment as the thought of laying dead within the next hours pushed through his speech and into his head, sending a tremor down his body. Emily laid her hand on his cheek and sent a soft wave of magic to him, calming him down. He smiled apologetically before continuing "If anything should happen to me, I want you to know that I love you, that I would do anything for you,"

She laughed bitterly, cutting him off "Had you never met me, would you be going into battle tomorrow?" Marlin paused and sighed.

"Most likely not, but that doesn't matter, you've done so much good for my life, God knows where I'd be if not for you. I'd probably already be dead either from my own stupidly or from a revolt of angry subjects," he smiled but she did not return it "Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I truly love you and I don't know what I would have done had we not been thrown together on that island six years ago," at this she did laugh.

"I will never forget that for all my life," she giggled, "I'm so glad we did meet though."

"Me too…" he trailed off a moment and then without a word, stood.

"Marlin?" she asked softly but he turned his back and walked toward the dresser and took off a small brown box, he had brought it in with him when he had come to her room that night. His back still to her he opened the box and lifted something out, then placed the box back on the dresser.

Turning back to her he had a blue rose in his hand. She had never seen anything like it. It was light aqua to dark turquoise and shimmered in the moonlight. Confused she tilted her head a bit to the side in inquiry. Marlin was back on one knee before her, holding the rose out to her. "Emily, I love you, and I want to be with you, forever." Emily looked up in shock from touching the rose's petals as she realized what he was doing.

"Marlin," she gasped as the rose slowly changed hands from his to hers.

"Emily, Aquatania could have no greater queen than you, and neither could I," she couldn't help but smile as Marlin tried and failed horribly to appear calm as he asked for her hand in marriage, anxiety and embarrassment were livid on his face and the hand he placed casually on her knee was trembling slightly. "Will you do both me and my kingdom the honor of being our next queen?" fear and excitement fought for a place in her heart. She couldn't be queen, she was the farthest thing from a queen there could be, but she had known all along that the thought came with the territory of being romantically involved with a prince. How could she deny him though? How could she deny herself? Hours from battle she knew that truly she had no choice and that was quite alright.

She slid off the bed and to the floor, into his arms. "I'm no queen Marlin, I know that, but I will marry you and try," her breath was cut off as his arms wrapped hard around her and his lips were almost vicious on her neck in his excitement.

"Marlin!" she rasped, trying to breath and he hurriedly and embarrassedly released her.

"Sorry," his eyes were on the floor and his cheeks were bright purple. She laughed and kissed his cheek.

"I'm breakable, remember?" she teased and even he had to laugh.

With an audible sigh Marlin looked back out the window at the moon. "I should probably leave you now, we have a big day tomorrow and I wouldn't want to keep you up," in a swift motion he kissed her and then rose to his feet.

"Wait!" she struggled to her feet with a little less grace and garbed his arm. He turned back to her expectantly. A blush rose hot in her cheeks as she thought quickly over what she was about to do and her stomach twisted in a not completely unpleasant way.

"What is it?" he probed gently, a little worried by her sudden anxiety.

"Well," she paused to swallow and gather her nerve "If-if we are to be married, then I see no harm in you spending the night here," her face burned but she smiled as seductively as she could to try to entice him to stay. Marlin stared at Emily in shock, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline.

"Really?" he asked hesitantly and she laughed.

"Yes, really."

He moved back to her and kissed her again, lightly and passionately, "I would love to stay," they both eased back onto the bed, his lips moving across her neck and ear "as long as you want me to."

"I do," she assured, running her hands through his hair. Her arms laced around his back tightly as he pushed her down, maneuvering himself on top of her and kissed her again. For a second she pushed away breathing heavily "Just remember," she huffed "I'm breakable," and he laughed.

Emily remembered waking up the next morning tired and sore, and completely naked. Bashfully she had pulled the covers up higher and looked around for Marlin only to realize in horror that he had already left. Beside her was a note, "Dear Emily, I'm so sorry I left without saying goodbye but I know that that will only lead to more pain and I'd prefer we part on a better note," here there was an ink stain as if he had paused in the writing and the ink had dripped "I love so much Emily and I know I'm not always the best at expressing it in most cases so I'll say it now. I'm so glad we met and I'm so glad you agreed to be my wife, no matter what you think you'll be a great queen. You're kind and caring and I think you could probably help me be king more than I can help you be queen. Also before I loose my nerve to say it I will admit that last night was the greatest in my life, for multiple reasons." At this Emily blushed severely with a smile and pulled the covers tighter around her though there was no one around "I still can't understand why you are so embarrassed about yourself, Emily, there is no more beautiful girl in Aldenmore. I love you Emily and I shall see you again after this war is over and won."

Two weeks ago she had awoken to that note and still Marlin had not returned. It had taken three days to defeat the Dark Sorceress and the Spider Witch and then a week more for the other battles to be won across Aldenmore and now there was all the cleaning up to do. Many lives had been lost and many more were wounded. Lyra had met her end at the hands of the Dark Sorceress. Emily knew that at this moment Kara was crying into Lorren's shoulder as he held her tight and whispered words of comfort. Also in the fight had perished many others of her friends, including Ariel the owl and Balthazar the winged pony, both of which had lived at Ravenswood with the girls for a while. But Emily would not allow herself to grieve, not until Marlin returned.

She twirled the rose in her fingers, imaging what could be keeping him and refusing with ever inch of her being to believe that he had not returned because there was no breath in his body to bring him back to her. She remembered Lorren returning to them, late as well. He had come back, bloodied, broken, pale, anemic, bruised and battered but he had returned to Kara's arms. He would never look the same after all of his wounds and battering but Kara hadn't cared one bit. Emily knew that she too wouldn't care what Marlin looked like when he returned. If he returned.

He had to return though, he had promised her forever, and he had only given her one night. A tear leaked out of the corner of her eye as she surveyed the rose, lowering her lips to it in a kiss. "I love you Marlin," she assured to him, wherever he was. Suddenly there came a knock at the door. In surprise she dropped the rose which landed gently in her lap. Fearfully she stared at the wooden door, again the knock came. Her heart pounded in her chest hard, the rose responding to her excitement and fear with a small pulse of its own.

"Come in," she breathed. The handle turned. Her jewel pulse, the rose pulsed and ever so faintly, so faintly that not even Emily herself sensed it, a small individual aura pulsed inside of her as well.

Fin

Dun, dun dun, so was it Marlin, returning to her to marry her as he promised? Or is it a servant or warrior coming to hand over Marlin's broken sword with all of his sympathy? You decide…

Also I have a few excuses for the OOC going on here, first of all, I'm a bad writer, haha, well that is partially the reason but other than that I assume since they are 18-19ish here that their personalities, especially Marlin's would have changed a bit and also since it is the eve of a great battle I'd also imagine that they wouldn't be quite themselves with the thought of death or the death of their friends fresh in their minds…