Reviewers, thank you for making this story so much fun to write. There will be one more chapter, but I think this one has pieces that you've been wanting to see.

The Emperor's Mage
Chapter Thirty-nine: Push

There were many complicated arrangements to be made when two members of two different royal lines were considering a betrothal. The hardest step was often to make the initial agreement, and realizing that one member of the royal line would be permanently lost to her country. That step had been remarkably easy, and the potential bride and groom had both been very gracious in compromising on typical points of contention. It was simpler when the negotiations could take place over private dinners, and not through courtiers, as His Serene Highness Prince Kaddar had been staying in Corus while George and Sarge arranged the best timing for a return.

Kalasin was only two months from her fourteenth birthday, a rather typical age for a royal betrothal, and everyone but Kaddar agreed it would be best for him to ask her privately that afternoon before they had a ball to announce the engagement. Kaddar thought they should leave at least another day between proposal and ball to coax her into agreeing to such a permanent thing, despite all of the prior negotiations that had gone quite well.

Sarge had elected to take care of that last step, and for good measure he'd dragged both Kaddar and Numair into his private meeting room just after lunch.

"You're both too old for the usual speeches I give to Riders when they start making goo-goo eyes at somebody that's looking right back, so we'll keep it simple. Both of you have your eyes on a girl that has her eyes on you- different girls or we'd have a real mess. As it is... waiting won't help your cases, hear? Thayet and Alanna like both of you, and gods only know what other kind of approval you need. Jon's a softie when it comes to either of those girls, George already knows way too much about both of you, and if I didn't like it I would've had both of the sweet little things half in love with one of my Riders already. I expect that both of you can find yourself a pretty ring of some kind this afternoon and have the matter done by the end of the night."

Neither man interrupted him, for all that Kaddar would soon be one of the most powerful men in the world and Numair was already one of the most powerful mages out there. They even looked as if they agreed with his points. "Good lads," Sarge approved, clapping each of them on a shoulder.

That was the end of it, at least as far as Princess Kalasin's betrothal was concerned. Kaddar, of course, went the extra mile, but Sarge had expected no less. Kaddar walked the two-year warmblooded mare he'd been hand-training for eight months over to the palace, and tied a ring into the reins just before handing them over to Kalasin. The princess hadn't noticed the ring for a full two minutes, with the distraction of such a beautiful animal, but Kaddar admitted later that he would much prefer for her to appreciate the horse.

Of course, after Kalasin found the ring, the answer was a resounding 'yes' that brought several stablehands scurrying over to see what on earth had happened. Further announcements waited for the horse to be properly stabled, but neither would have left until the mare was settled. No one was surprised at the announcement, but several were very touched to hear about such a personal proposal and there was much admiration of the beautiful mare that seemed to know precisely what had happened. (If Kaddar had politely asked Daine to help him explain things to the mare beforehand, it was only a sign of how well he understood animals.)

Numair seemed to be the only person in Corus unhappy with the arrangement. The people at large were quite taken with the story of a foreign prince working in the stables and falling in love with their princess, and couldn't imagine anyone with sense not loving their Kalasin. The nobles were rather appeased to know that if Kalasin would marry a foreigner, he was one of more than proper rank and one of beautiful speech and manners. The royalty were all very happy with Kaddar, even if none of them liked knowing that Kally would be so far from her home. Daine was thrilled for both of her friends, the Riders were immensely pleased that one of their own would marry the princess they'd adopted, and even the conservatives kept their criticisms quiet.

Numair, however, had been spending the last week wondering why on earth Sarge, Alanna, and Thayet took it as a given that he should marry Veralidaine Sarrasri—or Lady Veralidaine Sarrasri of Pearl Cove, if you please. The conservatives still grumbled that a commoner had been elevated at such a young age, but they never said anything too inflammatory. Daine was similarly popular with the commoners and progressive nobles for her charm, compassion, and common sense.

Sarge was completely unsympathetic to his plight, and it was no use talking to Thayet. The queen of Tortall was walking on clouds out of pure happiness, and Alanna wasn't much closer to the ground. Of everyone, George was the one that took him aside an hour before dinner began.

"Last I saw somebody looking so nervous, she went running off to a Bazhir tribe for a time," George said, as if that was the natural response to feeling a little outclassed. "You thinkin' 'bout running?"

"Not exactly," Numair admitted. "I just feel a little outclassed, with Kaddar, and Daine alone... well, you know about her parents."

"Never thought you were the type to back off for a daddy-in-law you hadn't even met." George spun a knife around his hand, a full sign that there wasn't anyone watching. Lately, he'd been taking the persona of an idle noble-about-court to the last detail, and knife-tricks made most nobles cautious. "She likes you, and you know none of her guardians are hearing a word against you. What's really holding you back?"

"I'm nearly twice her age," Numair said, as if that were reason enough.

George only smiled. "Now that part sounds a bit familiar. I was seventeen when my Sight told me to say hello to the little red-headed boy with the purple lamps. At twenty-one, I was most of the way in love and she went running right to—somebody else, no need to bring in names all over. I had to wait a bit, maybe, but Alanna was a very different case. She was denying that she could be a lady and a warrior and a woman all at once. Daine's always been Daine first, and then a lady and a demi-goddess and whatever other title people throw on her."

"That's exactly it, though!" Numair took an almost involuntary step forward. "She could have anyone."

"Mayhap she don't want 'anyone.'" George's smile made it seem that he'd already won the fight, but perhaps he had. "She wants you, and if you were the betting type I'd make it a gold noble that she'll make her move tonight even if you don't."

"How is every last one of you so sure?"

"Well, besides us having eyes and knowing that girl from when she was thirteen and afraid of her own powers," George began patiently, "your lady Varice asked Alanna to take care of things. Varice seems to think that if there's anybody deserving of all your oddities, it'll be Daine."

Numair was visibly taken aback, which left George all the opening he needed. "We'll be seeing you at the dinner, now, but don't feel you need to do the proposing with all of us looking on. Really, propositioning is rather usual, with this crowd, but you're the one that's suddenly gone traditional." That had done nothing to lessen Numair's surprise. George flicked the mage's amber eardrop as he passed by, and it was several minutes before Numair collected himself to make his way into dinner.

There were many congratulations for the new couple, but Numair kept himself to small sips of wine for the increasingly long toasts. Kally was pink-cheeked from a combination of excitement and her first tastes of wine, and drew attention from even her mother. The princess's dress had been designed in elegant lines of dark blue satin that suited her perfectly, and had been pieced together by the maid of a friend of Prince Roald's. Kaddar was looking very regal in his borrowed finery, and he had surprised both Jon and Thayet by politely requesting something a little plainer than their original choice. It seemed that Kaddar had a much simpler sense of dress than most of his country, but no one could deny that the simple combination of a dark blue tunic over a white shirt suited him.

It would have been far easier to let the alcohol loosen or tie his tongue, whichever way it would draw him, but Numair felt as if every member of the high table save Kally and Kaddar was watching his every move. The queen and king were frequently distracted with the happy couple, at least, but all of the rest seemed to be judging every word he said and every gesture he made. It was a relief to watch Kaddar and Kalasin open the dance floor with a stately waltz, especially since Daine had looped her arm through his before the music even started. There were no worries that someone else would steal the first dance with her, and as it turned out they were left alone for the first eight. He stopped a passing squire for two cups of cider, and something about the moment felt right. It meant waiting for Daine to finish her cider, and to have a second squire whisk the empty cups out of their hands, but he had taken the time to pull a small velvet box from his pocket.

Daine had turned to thank the squire, but he hardly had to say anything after she saw the ring. It wasn't her birthday, yet, and it wasn't any kind of special holiday. If he'd bought her a present, he generally left it at her desk, or once in her boot.

"Daine, I'm sure that I'll think of all the things that I should have said later, but right now I just want to ask," he said, feeling lucky to get even those words out. "I love you. Will you marry me?"

Usually, she was very easy to read, but the next few moments stretched into an eternity when she bit her lip and tilted her head slightly, but didn't do anything that told him what her answer would be. When she gave her answer, however, he almost wished that she'd left him wondering in a less literal way. "Maybe," she said, after several seconds of thought.

"Maybe?" he repeated, unable to conceal his disappointment.

Daine, however, looked anything but sad to be asked. "My ma made me promise not to go agreeing to marriage until I was good and ready, see, and she said to take a bit of time with your engagement to be sure that you want the same sort of things." She laced her fingers through his free hand, which was enough encouragement for him to try again.

"Perhaps you'll take the ring, while you consider," he coaxed. He supposed that diamonds were traditional, but both of them agreed that the stones weren't always trustworthy. Quite a few came from Carthak, where both of them knew enough about the conditions in the diamond mines, and the rest were from similarly war-torn areas. Instead, he'd found a silver ring with a smoky blue topaz that sparkled in any kind of light.

Daine peered at it more closely, now that she wasn't distracted with offers of marriage and the gasps of everyone within hearing range, and he knew that he'd chosen the right ring, at least. Unless he was quite mistaken, she liked it quite a bit. "After all, how could you fully think about agreeing to a marriage when you didn't see how my tastes in jewels suited you?"

She blushed, at that, but let him slide the ring onto the appropriate finger without another protest. She splayed her fingers apart to admire the ring, but just seconds later she was looking up into his eyes with a disconcertingly mischievous expression. "Of course, there's something else that I need to ask you," she began in that innocent tone that guaranteed trouble later.

"What's that?"

"This dress is rather lovely, but I can't undo the back on my own. Now that we're engaged and all... maybe you can come help me out of it. I think that we've spent enough time at the ball." As if that wasn't enough, she pulled him down by the lapel for a kiss that made her true intentions more than clear.

He was a little starry-eyed as she sauntered away, looking far too self-aware for a seventeen-year-old that had only kissed him four times. When he was aware of his surroundings again, it was because the King's Champion had just about fallen to the floor from laughing. George looked rather contemplative, but Alanna could hardly draw the breath to continue laughing.

"Doesn't get much more direct than that," George offered, nodding in Daine's direction. "Go convince the girl to marry you, now, there's a good mage."

Alanna's only contribution came after she had gained some control over herself. "And here I was thinking I was direct—go on, Numair, Daine's a midwife's child and knows plenty about what she wants to be doing. And who!"

Obviously, he wouldn't hear anything constructive from their friends for the rest of the night, and he'd already extended his congratulations to Kaddar and Princess Kalasin. Later he could tell Kaddar that the next time he had some elaborate proposal ready, he could do Numair the honor of letting the person with the unplanned mess of words go first.

Overall, though... Daine hadn't said no, and wouldn't be eighteen for six weeks yet. She had to know that this would guarantee weeks of flowers and dinners and even horseback rides, even if he'd be criticized by Daine and both horses for his inability to ride properly. There was no use finding any kind of animal that Daine wanted and didn't already have, when she loved her pony and doted on her dragonet. He had managed to find jewelry she liked three times, now, and he was still finding new things about wild magic. Even if his proposal hadn't resulted in an imminent wedding, he had received a proposition. All things considered, he hadn't done poorly at all.