A kiss

Sorry this took so long! The next will be up really sooon I promise!

3. Engagement

Dr. Deryn Sharp woke up, glided out of bed and slid into her slippers. She stood, yawning, and strolled to the window, opening the curtains. She saw it was a bright sunny day, not a cloud in the sky, very uncharacteristic for London, but the perfect day for her second graduation.

Deryn pulled on her robe, opened her bedroom door, and trotted downstairs. She went to the kitchen, turned on the stove and while it was heating up, went to her front door to gather the mail off the floor.

As she walked back to the kitchen, Deryn shuffled through the mail while making breakfast. "Congratulations!" from her Ma. She put a pan on a stove. "I'm so proud of you!" from Jaspert. She cracked an egg into the pan, "I will be there to cheer you on." From Alek. She stirred the eggs around the pan. Wait what?

Deryn set down the rest of her letters and took a seat at her table to thoroughly read her letter from Alek. He was coming in today! For the soul purpose of seeing Deryn graduate. Alek said he would find her afterward and take her out for a celebration.

Alek and Deryn had said goodbye last year after that one night, and hadn't seen each other since. They had exchanged letters plenty, and flirted through them more than they should have, but they hadn't seen each other for a year.

Deryn started to shake. She was so nervous! He would be in town by now; she could go see him before the ceremony. But did she even want to see Alek?

They had been so close for so long, then had one wonderful night together after years. Now they were flirting in their letters, which was nice, but it was also superficial. No actual emotion, just playful banter. Even so, they were always the highlight of her day.

What would she say to him? They had both changed so much. She re-reread his congratulatory letter. No flirting, no teasing, nothing about him… It was all about how proud he was of her and how much he wanted to see her. He was honest and serious. Deryn wanted to see him so much.

Abruptly, there was a loud bang bang bang on her door. The knocker didn't wait for a reply and intruded into the kitchen. The intruder ran to her stove and turned it off, picked up the pan and tossed it into the sink, turning on the water. Deryn realized that her stove was on fire, her breakfast ruined.

Mr. Barlow, the intruder and neighbor, had seen the smoke from his house and come over to check on the young lady-

"-about to get her second doctorate!" He said. He took her to a celebratory breakfast since her kitchen was burned. "Nora and I are so very proud of you. Though she is a little sore that you'll have more degrees than her, now." He chuckled.

Deryn had always liked Mr. Barlow. He was a simple, kind man. He always had a smile and was always an optimist, unlike his wife who was very much a realist. He and Dr. Barlow were independent from each other, but still managed to love the other unconditionally. Mr. Barlow was a very down-to-earth man. This is why neither Dr. Barlow nor Deryn wanted to tell him about Count Volger.

"Deryn, dear, are you listening?"

"Oh no, I wasn't. Sorry." Deryn sighed. "Actually, can I talk to you about something?" And she proceeded to explain about Alek and her feelings for him and asked him what she should do. Deryn didn't know why, exactly. Maybe she confessed to him because Mr. Barlow had treated her like a daughter since they met.

"Oh my," he laughed, "That's quite the story you have there."

"Well what should I do? I want to see him, but I don't know what to say to him. And I've missed him, but I don't know if he likes who I am now. I mean I've changed so much since the Leviathan and he knows that, and, I mean he has too! He's a barking EMPORER! How can I even be near him? But he came all this way to see me and-"

"Whoa! Okay, okay, just slow down." Mr. Barlow sat back and ran a hand through his hair. "Here's what you do. Prepare for your graduation; be happy that you are getting a second doctorate, be happy you are seeing your family and loved ones." He stood with a wink, paid the restaurant bill, and left before Deryn could finish her coffee.

Deryn took the omnibus back home. She spent two and a half hours picking out an outfit to where under her robe. By then, it was time to go to the ceremony. She took another omnibus to the collage. She pulled her robe over her dress and stood in line. Guess who was behind her! Jackson Smith.

"Deryn?" He tapped her shoulder.

"Yes, Jackson?"

"How was your first graduation?" He asked nervously.

"Pretty close to this one." He nodded, still anxious. "Don't worry, you'll be fine!" She patted him on the shoulder.

"Deryn?"

"Yes, Jackson?"

"There's something I want to tell you."
"What's wrong?"

"I've been meaning to tell you for a while." He shifted his feet before trying to look Deryn in the eye. "Deryn-"

"DERYN!" She and Jackson jumped, then turned to see a breathless 23 year old emperor running towered them, or, rather, Deryn. "There you are!" He trotted forward and gathered the surprised young women into a tight, warm hug. "I've been running around London for an hour looking for you."

Deryn's hands went to her face, trying to cover her blush. "Alek, you know where I live. Why didn't you check there first?"

"I thought you'd be here." Now he was blushing. "I didn't think to look for you at home." Then he noticed Jackson, glaring at him from behind Deryn. "Hello, Jackson, right?"

"Yes, your highness." He said begrudgingly and sarcastically. They glared at each other, till Deryn stood in the way.

"Alek, you shouldn't be here." Jackson grinned; she was going to tell him to leave.

"Deryn," Alek looked depressed. "Are… are you saying y-you don't want me here?" Alek felt heart broken.

"Why would you think that?" Deryn laughed. Jackson's face fell, Alek's face rose. "I mean we're getting stares from everyone else," Alek noted the shocked stares from the soon to be graduates, "and you should be in the audience waiting for the ceremony, you're an emperor, this is unprofessional." She spun him around and pushed him towered the chairs, "go mingle and talk to people, or whatever you do."

Alek turned back to her, holding her hands. "But I don't like talking to people here. Everyone keeps trying to convince to me become a Darwinist." He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her close to him. "I just want to talk to you." He whispered. Deryn blushed, again. Alek smirked.

They were leaning closer and closer, and just as Deryn was ready to kiss him, "I think they're about set to go, so you should be going, your highness." Jackson interjected.

"Right." Alek said his face inches from Deryn's. "Just give me a minuet."

"No," Deryn sighed, "You should get going." She pushed him away to Jackson's satisfaction. "I'll see you after, we can get dinner."

"Alright," Alek whispered.

Great, Jackson thought, she just stopped talking to how great he is and now he's back to kiss her and take her to dinner. I should just give up.

"Jackson!" he looked over to her. "It's time to go!" he followed her to the stage and watched her face beam when they handed Deryn her second doctorate.

Alek and Deryn walked arm in arm down the street. The day hadn't gone pear-shaped yet. The sun was still shinning and Alek was still charming.

"So, where do you want to go for dinner?"

"Where do you want to go? I live here; you've only been to London twice. You chose."

"It's your celebratory dinner."

"And I want you to choose!"

"Fine." Alek thought for a moment, standing in the side walk just staring at Deryn. "I want to go somewhere we can dance."

"What?" she asked.

"You heard me, I want to dance with you." He stared to pull her along again. "You know how to waltz, right?"

"Well, yes. Nora taught me, but I've never actually dance with anyone but her and Mr. Barlow."

"Don't worry, I'll help you along. Austrians invented the waltz." He had a twinkle in his eye as he looked over to her. It's true that Alek had grown, and was now an inch or so taller than her, but with her high heels, Deryn and Alek were the same height. "Where can we go to dance?"

"Well, there's the Angel. I've heard it has a dance floor and the food's really good. That's where a bunch of my friends proposed to their wife's." Deryn flinched. Alek wouldn't take her to a place as romantic as the Angel.

"Sounds dead romantic." He smiled at her. "I'm in. Where is it?"

"Are you sure? I'm mean, it's pretty expensive." He laughed.

"Deryn, don't worry about that. I'm paying." He leaned over to whisper in her ear. "I wouldn't want to go with anyone else." She blushed, and he smirked, but on the inside Deryn was a wee bit mad.

Just because he's an emperor and has money doesn't mean he has to laugh at her for considering it a problem. I liked him better when he was a sad, scared, wee lad trying to get over his parents death.

Dinner was amazing. Deryn was charming and loveable as usual, but Alek seemed to be a little off. Maybe he was just nervous about what he was going to do later. What would he say to her?

"Alek?" Deryn was staring at him with concern. "Is everything ok?"

"Oh yes, I'm sorry." He leaned forward and took her hand in his. "I was just thinking about how beautiful you look." Deryn blushed again, but Alek had no idea what made him say that. "Um," he cleared his throat, "let's dance."

He stood and offered her his hand. She took it and he led her to the dance floor. He helped her position her hands, and when the music started up again, they started to spin.

Deryn felt like the happiest girl in the world, even if it was super clichéd. As her prince spun her around the restaurant, he seemed to relax. His smile grew wider, his eyes shone brighter, he seemed to be happy; which made her relax too.

"Deryn."

"Hmm." She purred, resting her head on his shoulder.

"We should talk about something." He stopped the dancing and led her to the balcony.

"I knew it." She said, shaking her head. "I knew you didn't come here just to see me graduate."

"No actually, I just wanted to see you." Now they both blushed, leaning on the railing. The sun was setting on the calm perfect evening. "Right before I left something happened and… and we really need to talk." They remained silent. It was very uncomfortable. Deryn remember how he got her to talk about her Da's accident. She drifted closer to him and held his hand.

"Tell me." He turned to face her.

"You know how much I care about you. But you also know my position as emperor. So I don't know how to say this." Alek took a deep breath and Deryn got very nervous. He's going to say he can't see me anymore. "Since I am of marring age, my advisors have instructed me to become betrothed." He looked away from her.