silverchain.

chapter seventeen: a not immodest proposal

Shielding his eyes, Matthew felt a sudden wave of concern overtake him. His feet much desired to linger there, at the gate to Belinsk, and he felt that he had no choice but to indulge them. Pausing and squinting as though both dreading and hoping to see the young queen, he let his arm drop to hold the wall firmly.

"Are you alright?" a quietly strong voice said from behind him, and he nodded in reply to Karis. Tyrell, evidently sensing the young man's lack of confidence, clapped him on the back briefly.

"C'mon, Matt. We didn't come all this way for you to give up," he chided.

"Yeah, I know," Matthew said, squaring his shoulders resolutely. He looked back, and into his best friend's face. "Don't call me Matt."

"Well, Matty, start actin' like the hero and we'll stop," the deeper tone of Eoleo growled. Ivan merely stood by, but even the presence of the older man pushed Matthew into a stronger frame of mind.

"I'm going, I'm going," he muttered, and the young hero strode with bravado into the crowded center of town. A whirlwind of activity quickly began: musicians, townspeople, visitors, faces both familiar and unfamiliar swarmed around the group of travelers, praising, questioning, demanding the whereabouts of the rest of the party, mentioning Sveta (Matthew felt his stomach drop slightly, but he was determined to see this through); they were a hit.

"How about a song for our returning heroes?" someone in the crowd called out, and the band started up a lively tune—the same, in fact, that they had once danced to during the quest. Matthew grinned and turned to Karis, or rather, to where she used to be, for she had been swept up into the crowd. In fact, he realized as he scanned the mass for her that the rest of the traveling party had joined the wild dance.

A soft hand touched his, and the Venus Adept found himself face-to-face with a female beastman, somewhat similar in features to Sveta but (he thought) less beautiful. "Would you like to dance?" she asked, in a husky but somehow gentle voice, and he found himself nodding and soon afterward being pulled into the crowd.

Jenna was a firm believer in the merits of dancing, and so Matthew had taken lessons as a young boy, but this...this was entirely different. Perhaps it was due to the much more fast-paced music, perhaps because he was, in fact, in a country mostly made up of beastmen, but whatever the reason, he found himself blending with the crowd even in their unfamiliar movements.

His feet stumbled as the mass began to part, and he felt the touch of his partner draw away. Looking around for the cause of this disturbance, he soon discerned a figure making her way (yes, it was definitely female; he could tell by the way she moved) through the crowd. His palms felt sweaty, and only became more so when he realized he was looking at the queen. Her majestic silver locks and regal dress certainly called to the royal side of her personality, but her face was lit up with inextinguishable joy.

"Sveta!" Matthew exclaimed, and the group around them resumed their animalistic dance. Unsure of what was now proper, the young man was relieved when she reached forward to pull him into a hug.

"I hardly let myself expect that you would visit here," she said, eyes wide. "Are you alone?"

He shook his head. "No, I—"

The beastman took hold of his hand and led him out of the crowd. "I apologize; it was hard for me to concentrate."

"Karis, Tyrell, Eoleo, and Ivan came with me," he told her.

Eyes narrowing and ears pricking, she asked, "What is the purpose of this visit, Matthew?" At the look on his face, she quickly amended, "I am very glad to see you, but something seems to be...wrong. Is there trouble? I have heard nothing..."

"No, it's nothing like that. I...I came here to ask you something, actually." He hesitated, willing her to understand at least part of the nature of his unasked question. It seemed to slip past her, however.

"What is it, then?" Sveta's hands were clasped tightly, and he realized she was still expecting bad news.

"It's nothing bad," Matthew said hastily. "It's just...I..."

"Please go on. I am afraid that my gifts have made me impatient." She smiled gently, showing her teeth. "It is very hard for me to wait, and for something important enough that you must have traveled for days..."

He took a deep breath and felt the box in his pack. Although proposing with jewelery was uncommon in Morgal, Matthew felt that if he was going to ask a queen's hand in marriage, he would do it the right way. Looking deeply into her eyes, he asked, in a voice so quiet it could barely be heard over the ongoing festivities, "I came to ask for your hand."

She looked taken aback, and as though she might interrupt, but he continued. "I have loved you for awhile now, and while I know this is a little sudden, it seemed to be the best way. I will do anything I need to for this to be accepted by the people of Morgal, Sveta. I...I'll do anything for you, for this." He stopped, unable to gage her reaction by her wide green eyes.

"Matthew," she whispered, obviously touched, "I now see why you did not wish to ask immediately, but because you did, I think we should move into more private quarters. Should you ask the others?"

"They know why I'm here," he replied, never removing his eyes from her face, and inwardly despairing at her neutral reaction. The beastman nodded, and he followed her brisk steps into the palace. The servants eyed him with strange expressions, and he realized he must have looked a mess: tousled hair, sweaty from dancing and fighting monsters on deck, tired from the lack of sleep troubled seas afforded him—hardly worthy to propose to a queen. Matthew cursed silently at this oversight.

Entering a small, richly decorated room, he watched her as she closed the door behind them. Seating herself, she gestured for him to do the same, and he did so awkwardly. The silence was almost unbearable.

"I apologize for the interruption," she said, clearly feeling as out of place as he did, which comforted him little. He watched her, but she looked away.

"Sveta..."

"I love you," Sveta carefully confessed to the dark red rug beneath their feet, "but I was not expecting such a question as this."

While his heart lifted at her words, a lingering cloud seemed to menace him. "Is...is there a problem? If it is a law, or the people, I will do whatever it takes."

"No," the beastman said, and for the first time since they had entered the room she met his eyes. "I may marry whomever I wish, and there would be no objection to you, certainly. The people love you, Matthew. You're a hero."

His face heated slightly. "What is the...what is..."

"I am not ready."

They sat in silence for another minute, both pretending to be absorbed in the furniture.

"I believe that this is too soon, Matthew," Sveta specified. "I have deep feelings for you, and I do believe that destiny brought us together, but I am still becoming used to my role as ruler. Would you..." (she cleared her throat) "be willing to consider merely courtship?"

"Of course," Matthew said, feeling a rush of relief. "Whatever you want."

She thought for a second, and then nodded once. "I believe that would be for the best. I suppose we should meet with the others," she added with a smile, and he stood up.

"Wait...just making sure, that's not a no, right?"

"Right. That was a...'not now'."

He smiled slowly, and the queen held out her hand for him to take it.