Cain walked back and forth along the soft carpet, trying to figure out a way to do it right. He'd messed up the first time he tried. He let his nerves get the best of him and he ended up acting like a fool, practically throwing the proposal at her like it was a ball to be tossed back and forth. Now, however, he'd do it right. He had the ring, he knew the answer, and all he had to do was get up the nerve to do it again. He considered just leaving the ring on her nightstand with a note that stated it was for her and she should wear it on her left ring finger. He quickly shot that idea down. He wished he had made it back in time to get some advice from John. After all, it was his fault Cain went out and ran to get a ring. He thought back that evening when he arrived back at the palace. The only person he ran into was the one person he knew could trust, but didn't really want to stoop to that level.
"Glitch," He murmured to the man that stood in the music room. Glitch spun around and grinned happily at the approaching man. Cain pulled out the ring and wordlessly showed the ex-advisor. Glitch's face filled with delight and his mouth formed a perfect O.
"Oh it's so shiny." His eyes gleamed and sparkled almost as bright as the diamond before him. His face fell fast though. "But do you really think DG would approve of you proposing to me. I mean I'm honored, but-"
"Can it zipperhead." Cain said with a roll of his blue eyes. Glitch clamped his mouth shut tightly and kept his eyes on the ring. Cain didn't mean to be rude to Glitch. The two had formed a bond or at least a semi-friendship over the past months. However, he was under the wire and he needed advise fast if he wanted to surprise DG that evening. "Sorry." He apologized. "I'm just kind of nervous." Cain back tracked quickly to erase his rudeness then sped back up to get the advice.
"So I need to know how to properly propose to DG." He said. Glitch's mouth seemed to turn cockeye as his head cocked to the right. He knew this, he'd advised many a man on how to propose to a woman. Now if he could just figure out what exactly what the advice was. Cain sighed loudly and muttered some obscenity under his breath; his hand waving in the air. "Quickly Glitch."
"I'm thinking on a knee would be best. Perhaps with terms of endearment?" Cain threw his hands up in the air and pushed past the man on the way back to his own room. He knew all about how to do it, the basics. It was the little things that he needed.
"It's all from the heart." Glitch yelled. Cain froze and turned slowly. Glitch gulped and expected a firm lashing of words from the stern man. Maybe he should try to restrain what he said and when he said it.
"What did you say?" Cain asked.
"It's all from the heart." Glitch repeated slower. Cain motioned for him to continue. "Well you have this new, FORGIVING, heart," he emphasized the important word, hoping the man would practice his own restrain and not hurt the bumbling help. "All I'm saying, is you have everything you'll ever need tightly packed up in there," he pointed to Cain's chest. "You just have to find a way to use it. What good is a new, forgiving heart if you never use it?" Glitch shrugged and watched as Cain processed this advice. The man thanked Glitch sincerely as he could then ran off, hunting for a place to be alone to think things through.
Now Cain was standing in DG's room, waiting for her to return from her long day. After a brief visit with the queen to get her permission to do it properly, he'd spent the past hour trying to find that part of him from within that would help him say the right thing. Now, all he seemed to have were butterflies. He thought he'd die the first time he proposed, but now he felt he would keel over right there on the carpet. He jumped as he heard the door knob jiggle. The opened with a start and DG walked into the room. She looked tired, her dark hair pulled back out of her face. She dropped a large pile of junk on a chair near the door and smiled over Cain.
"You would not believe the day that I've had." DG moaned as she walked into the room, completely missing the point that Cain was standing in her room, a big off limits according to the rules. She started to pull off her shoes, one by one, on her way to the bathroom. "After your little hissy fit, I was forced to endure hours of flowers and music and dresses." Cain overlooked the fact that it was in fact her own hissy fit that started the drama and kindly pushed it aside. He kept his eyes on her as she stumbled into the bathroom, hopping on one foot as she tried to yang a shoe off. He smiled to himself, man did he love her. He heard the water start in the tub and he knew he'd better be quick.
"Come to find out I am a very indecisive person," DG called out. She could almost see Cain roll his eyes back into his head. She smiled and started to unbuckle her jeans. "I don't know whether we should have red roses or pink tulips. I don't know if chicken or beef would be better." She kicked off her jeans and threw them onto a waiting chair.
"DG we need-"Cain poked his head into the bathroom.
"Why don't we just run away and get married?" DG looked at him, her eyes full of adventure. Cain contemplated it briefly, but DG shot it down herself. "Nah you're right. Mom and Dad would hate that." She threw off her sweater and stood half naked in the bathroom, her hands resting on her hips. Cain watched her tap her bare foot on the marble floor.
"DG can we ta-"
"But what if we don't need a big wedding." She walked over to a different chair and pulled on a loose robe, covering her body. Cain watched as she wiggled out of her underwear and then watched as she did some kind of magical arm thing and then out popped her bra. Men have been trying to come up with a way to unhook a bra with one hand and then women go and pull a move like that and men are back to the beginning. He shook his head, distracted by her techniques. He shook his head hard and looked squarely at DG.
"DG stop, we need to talk," Cain said sternly. DG turned to face him, her face filled with frustration.
"Can't this wait until after my bubble bath?" She asked. "If you're nice I'll let you join me." She played with the sash to her fancy robe. The soft blue silk brushed up against her skin, bringing out the blue in her eyes. Cain looked up and down and for a moment forgot why he came. His hand felt the ring in his pocket and he remembered quickly.
"I love you." He said. DG looked at him, her eyes softening. "I love you in a way I never thought a man really could. I love you in a way that I want to tell everyone and I want to do so even if it makes me look like half the man that I am. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you and never stopping. I love the way you drive me insane with independence and your indecisiveness." DG grinned. So he had been listening.
"I love the way you care about everybody and everything. I love the fact that you don't know what you want to do in this life, and that's ok. I don't care what you do, as long as I get to do it with you." He paused. He pulled out the ring and held it up.
"So, please marry me." He said at last. DG looked down at his eyes, ignoring the ring in his hand, completely entranced by his gazed.
"I thought we were getting married," she said softly. Had she misheard the question all those months back? Had he asked her if she was ready to be asked if she wanted to get married? Now a million thoughts raced around her head, all fighting for a way out.
"We are. I just thought I'd make it formal." He held the ring up higher.
"We aren't formal people Cain. We don't do formal. You don't even know what fork to use at the dinner table and I can hardly bow without toppling over. We are not formal." Her wide eyes grew even wider as she tried to explain this to him, fearing she was just explaining to relieve her own tension. Cain let out a frustrated grunt and shifted knees. He could feel the age of his knees as his weight pressed down and he felt like this was going no where.
"DG, please, the ring." He shook the ring in the air, emphasizing his frustration. She looked down at the small band. She had avoided it for a reason. If she accepted the ring then that was it, it was cemented. She wasn't the type of person to accept a ring and then throw it away at the first sign of trouble. Up until this point there had been no ring, no symbol, no cement. There was a way to back out. Now, looking at that tiny piece of metal, she was torn.
'Don't do this. You've already said yes,' She thought to herself. 'Just take the ring and go about your life as if it had been there when he first asked.' She looked at the hearts entwined on the sides of the ring, their hearts. She loved him, she knew she did, but why was this so hard. She'd been planning a wedding for months without a stupid ring, so why was this blocking her?
"DG," Cain whispered a hint of pain in his voice. "I think my knee is giving out." He leaned a little to the right, trying to stay balanced. DG smiled and took his hands, pulling him to his feet. "No-you, I, knee," Cain stumbled as he stood on both feet. "I'm supposed to be on one knee, in front of you. You're supposed to take the ring and then I stand." Cain looked down disappointed. He'd never be able to get it right.
"I'd be crazy not to say yes." DG said finally. "Of course I'll marry you, again" She laughed. Cain slipped the ring on her finger and it fit perfectly, as it should. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. "We're really doing this, right?" She asked, sounding more nervous than ever before. "The whole thing, right?"
"Yes," Cain said with a firm tone. DG nodded and put her head on his chest, closing her tired eyes. "Now," Cain whispered in a softer tone. "What did I hear about a bubble bath?"
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