Hello guys, and welcome back! I know you have all been very eager for this chapter, and truthfully, I have not been. For the most part, I have no clue what will happen in this chapter. I only really know what will happen like weeks after last chapter took place. Well, lets take a whack at it! I am really surprised that nobody got the question right. . . I mean, it's like so cliché! You'll all see what I mean in a bit. So, as usual, any and all feedback is encouraged and appreciated, see you guys later!

See you guys later,

-Tytonic

Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.

Gregor and the War of the Myriapods

Chapter 35: Proposal

Luxa felt his breathing begin to fade, as if his light was dimming. Just as his breath was about to vanish, she felt something squeeze her hand slightly, hardly enough to notice.

She snapped her head upward, clinging to the speck of hope, the slight chance that he may still be alive.

As her head came level with his, deep violet eyes met creamy brown eyes.

-O-

No words in the English language could so much as hope to come close to successfully grasping the level of raw emotion that raked their bodies; nor were any words needed. Each others eyes told the entire story.

Luxa, unable to contain herself, thus failing to consider the consequences, threw her arms around Gregor as best she could, and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Minutes upon minutes passed by, or rather, would have if Gregor had been in so much as a semi-functional state, which, coincidentally, he was not.

She pulled back the second his face twisted up and became contorted at the sudden pain. Luxa removed her lips from his, and watched in horror as he entered a coughing fit. Clearly, the dagger had damaged a vital part of his respiratory system.

The first few coughs were nothing but normal coughs, but it was then that the blood came. Spitting out as much as he could, Gregor's mouth continued to fill with blood. Luxa would not sit by idly and watch her lover drown in his own blood, so she took immediate action.

The doctors, having left the room out of sheer respect, were not present to give Gregor the urgent care he needed. Apparently, the doctors were waiting on the ready, for ere Luxa could even shout out a plea for help, the doctors came rushing into the room.

Perhaps Mareth had gotten help, though whether he did or not mattered little, the only thing important was that help had arrived. When the doctors surrounded Gregor and began to inject him with many things, and began to drain the blood from his lungs, Luxa did not move. To have Gregor returned to her, and then torn away so suddenly would utterly destroy her.

While she did not move, the doctors did not bother to move her; they simply worked around her. Luxa continued to grasp Gregor's hand, as a method of comforting herself. It did nothing more than reassure her that this night terror was not a dream at all, not a figment of her imagination, but reality.

Gregor was still awake, and coughing madly, though the blood had ceased to come out every time he coughed. It was clear that he was disoriented, and would not be able to make sense of any of his surroundings.

As his coughing subsided, the doctors backed up a few steps, and Luxa knew that there was nothing more they could do at the moment. Gregor looked around wearily, his face pale from the obvious lack of blood.

His eyes landed on Luxa, and she felt him weakly squeeze her hand, before promptly passing out, and falling back onto his pillow.

Luxa swallowed the lump in her throat as she steeled herself for an answer. "Doctor? Is there anything else to do?"

The doctor looked sadly at her. "He will not survive with this amount of blood, and his blood type is extremely rare in the underland. It seems to be a more common type of blood in the overland, for we have seen many overlanders with it, but only ever one or two underlanders with it. His mother is present in the palace, but she is to far away. He has only minute to live. The overland girl,I believe her name is Zoey, is not the proper blood type, and Alex does not have enough blood to save the warrior."

Luxa knew almost immediately how to respond. Her bloodline was one of the purest in the underland, and has the most overland blood. "Doctor, what type of blood do I have?"

The doctor looked at her like she was crazy. "That is of no concern. You may have the same blood type as him, but the amount of blood required could put you at risk. I cannot allow it."

"Do it." Her answer was so quiet, the doctor barley heard her.

"Queen Luxa, I cannot. You are queen and I cannot put you at ri-" He responded, before being promptly cut off by Luxa.

"Do it!" She snapped.

"I cann-"

"Are you going to do it, or do we have to see how well I can do it myself? How would you feel to know that you could have prevented the queens suicide, but did not?" She was positively fuming.

While that had no been an empty threat, she would most likely be able to do it herself, but the doctor did not know that. Whatever got him to do as she ordered. She was not in the mood to argue, nor would she.

The doctor did not need another warning. He nodded to another doctor, who quickly produced a rather large needle. Luxa, when she was younger, was scared of needles. The thought of a metal spike going into her, and either taking something, or injecting something into her, was horrifying to her.

Truthfully, she had not completely gotten over her dislike of needles. While she was not scared of them, she just still hated them. Now, however, was no time for her to dwell on that hatred. In fact, the thought did not cross her mind even once.

She sat there as they took her blood. Three, four shots later, she felt extremely light headed, like she was about to pass out, but she smiled as she watched some of the color return to Gregor's skin.

Luxa blinked a few times, content with the work done. A few more moments passed before she gently squeezed Gregor's hand, and promptly passed out, falling onto the bed next to him.

Gregor's Point of View

Gregor awoke, his eyes slowly fluttering open, and the first thing he became aware of was soft hand entangled in his. He attempted to sit up on his elbows, but he did not so much as flinch. His entire body, save his face, would not respond.

As quickly as that thought entered his mind, it was blocked out by two strong arms lifting him up, so that he was sitting upright, and a pair of lips catching his. For a girl of her size, Luxa was surprisingly strong.

Be it a few seconds, minutes, or hours, it was not enough time. Gregor sighed inwardly as Luxa pulled away, and rested her forehead on his.

"I suppose you are wondering what happened, correct?" She asked.

Gregor responded with a small, hardly noticeable nod.

Luxa began to explain. "After Hayden stabbed you, you fell to the ground, unconscious. The doctors preformed surgery, but pronounced you as dead when they failed to succeed. However, when I went to bit my final farewells, you awakened. I know not whether you remember, but they had to do many things to save you, including take a good portion of my blood and give it to you."

There was no need for thanks, they were beyond that now. Gregor quickly sorted through his options of response, until he settled on the most cliché, basic response. "Well, that hurt like a bitch."

Gregor's voice sounded quiet, hoarse, and scratchy, but that did not discourage him. The very feat of survival in this scenario amazed him; the ability to talk was an added bonus. Luxa, not knowing what a 'bitch' was, smiled in response. It was used as though it was a swear, and therefore she took it as if it was so.

Without a word, her lips caught Gregor's once again. Unfortunately, they failed to notice Mareth walk in on them sucking faces. Luckily, he did not interrupt, and sat down on a stone bench, which was located along the wall, and waited patiently.

It was not until several minutes later, when Luxa and Gregor were forced to break for air, that they took notice of Mareth.

"Mareth! Oh. . . Um, h-how long have you been sitting there?" Gregor uttered, afraid of the response he may, or may not, receive.

"Long enough. Now hurry up, Luxa. The meeting is to be held within the hour, and you have not properly bathed or eaten for the past three weeks. And no, a rinse and a few bites of hospital food does not count. The queen of Regalia should not attend a meeting looking as you presently do." Mareth explained.

Luxa did not respond to this, but rather blushed lightly, so lightly that you could hardly see it, even with her extremely pale skin. Mareth failed to notice, but for Gregor, the sun in the underland wouldn't have been so noticeable.

"Really Luxa? I appreciate that and all, but you still have to take care of yourself!" Gregor proclaimed. "And what about this meeting? I wasn't told of it!"

"I was getting there. The underland council is holding a meeting to discuss the outcome of the wedding, and me, pertaining to marriage. I believe that they may be choosing a new Regalian council as well." She explained.

Gregor frowned. "You know, I should have guessed that. Now will I be able to go to this meeting, or do I have to stay crippled, in this bed?"

Luxa smiled at Gregor's eagerness to attend the meeting. He had never been one for meeting; perhaps it was just the particular topic. She then frowned at what her response needed to be.

"Gregor. . . your mother has demanded that you return to the overland. By way of law, your injury grants her temporary responsibility over you. I am sorry, but there is nothing that we can do to keep you here, at least, nothing that is within the law." Luxa internally sobbed. She knew that the second his mother discovered that he had awoken, he would be taken away from her. And this time, most certainly for the very last time.

Luxa became confused when Gregor's smile wavered, but quickly regained its previous state. "Who's to sat that I have awoken? You and Mareth, and I doubt Mareth will go running off to squeal on me, and I know you won't." He explained. "I presume that once I have regained enough strength to take care of myself, that my mothers authority over me is broken, am I right?" When he got a nod in response, he continued. "I'm sure that, given a day or two, I will be strong enough to take care of myself. Plus, if I have no choice but to leave, there are a few things I must do first."

Luxa tilted her head slightly. "Such as?"

Gregor chuckled in response. "Things. Can't tell you right now, but I think you'll understand when the time comes."

Luxa wanted to question him some more, since it was not like him to keep secrets from her, or to have private matters in the underland, but she knew she would not be able to get an answer out of him, so she let the matter go.

"So, about me going to the meeting?" He asked.

Luxa took a few moments to process her thoughts. "Yes, I believe you may be able to go, but you might need assistance to properly keep yourself standing. I assume that you have noticed that your body will not respond properly. The doctors did that as to control some random spasms. You should be able to move again within half and hour."

"That's good. I think I can already wiggle my toes." Luxa smiled in response.

-O-

Around fifty five minutes later, Gregor was walking out of the hospitals baths, which had been extremely relaxing. Not moving for weeks really knotted up your muscles, and the warm water worked wonders to fix that uncomfortable issue.

He had already eaten, which had proved to be more than he could handle. He had been extremely starving, and had eaten far to much. He had lost at least half of his meal in the bath, which had been immediately washed away by the current.

Even with how far behind in technology they were, the underland baths were still superior to the overland baths in every way, save not being able to install one anywhere.

His fresh clothing had felt nice on his skin, which had been stuck in the scratchy hospital clothing for so long.

While he he had been able to walk, albeit with difficulty, he was still under his mothers authority. His chest may be better, but he still had a long way to go, and would not be released from the hospital for at least another week. It would have been much longer, but the dagger had only slightly damaged his bones, and the poison, apparently, had a very simple antidote. Some weird, yet abundant, plant that grew in the underland.

Normally, he would go straight to the meeting, but he had something else to take care of quickly. Careful as not to be seen, so that he may avoid his mother in all ways, he made his way down to the museum.

The long distance walk he found to be very difficult, but he was amazed that he had even managed to get out of bed. Apparently, at least this is the way Ripred had described it before, he had been completely devoid of rager energy when he went down. As rager energy came from an unknown source, and not the body, it was returning while he was out.

Because of the energy coming to him, he was able to recover faster than normal, and regain his strength much faster as well. As awesome as it may be, it still didn't stop the pain in his chest.

As Gregor entered the museum, it did not take him long to find what he was looking for. It had been neatly set aside in the back of the room, in case he needed it in the future. Apparently that was a good choice.

Once he had obtained the particular item, he exited the room and began to make his way to the meeting. He knew he would be late to the meeting, but he did not mind. What he had gotten took priority over that. Plus, if he really needed to, he could always play the 'huge stab wound' card.

As Gregor walked down the hall, he had to duck into a random room to avoid people every once in a while. A few times he encountered something private, that he should not see, but he was never caught.

By the time he arrived at the council room, he figured that he had to be at least ten minutes late. As he entered the room, he discovered that being late was of no concern. They had begun the meeting, and the second they had taken notice of him, they all paused and looked at him, surprise plastered on their faces. Well, only Luxa and Mareth were not surprised.

Gregor smiled as he remembered the members of the underland council. Most of them were either his friends, or were friends with Lizzie. He knew that it would be important, and would help him very soon. If it was the normal council, he would not have had a chance at what he was going to do.

"G-gregor! We were not expecting you to recover so quickly. Frankly, we were not expecting you to recover at all." Nike, representative of the fliers, spoke.

Temp made a bunch of random clicking sounds that he did not understand at all, and Gregor nodded to him in response. He really hoped he didn't just agree to some crazy thing.

"What, did you think it would be that easy to get rid of me?" He said in response to Nike.

Nike let out a rare bat laugh in response, one that Gregor couldn't help but laugh along with. A few others laughed as well, but it was short lived, and they silenced as Gregor took his seat aside Luxa.

Nike filled Gregor in on the progress they had made so far, and for the most part Gregor agreed with it. They were discussing Luxa and rules pertaining to marriage. By law, she had to be married by the age of eighteen, else a king would be forced upon her, or the throne would be taken.

Gregor could hardly resist the urge to chuckle. It was always the same with the council, no matter the members. They always ran in circles, getting nothing done. The law already was established, so he did not get why the council was discussing what was already done.

In the end, the council decided that this case would be treated like any other, and Luxa would not have to get married until she was eighteen. Gregor did not understand Luxa's reaction though. She appeared as if she was happy with that, but he knew her better, and could tell that something about it was bothering her.

While he had a pretty good guess of what that may be, he did not dwell on it. He knew how to fix it, and he was going to do just that. He just had to wait for the right moment.

"Gregor, as warrior we believe that your opinion on this matter is very important. Your thoughts?" Nike asked, once they had come to a conclusion.

Gregor didn't know how to go by doing this, so he just went for it. "I think that this was all a waste of time. I have a better idea."

Nike looked slightly offended, but motion for him to continue anyway. "So, I know I probably need permission to do this, but at this point in time, and after all of what I went through, I could care less." The council members nodded in understanding. "I might also be doing this wrong, since it might be different here than in the overland, but it's not the way I do it that matters."

Everybody stared intently at Gregor. He knew there as no going back now, even if he wanted to. His stomach knotted up into a tight ball as he began to do what he had said. Though he already knew what the outcome would be, it did not prevent him from becoming nervous.

He stood up, and stepped forward a few steps. He stopped abruptly, and turned around to face Luxa. She seemed to be confused at his actions. He kneeled down in front of her. She gasped in surprise; apparently it was the same in the underland.

Pulling the item he got from the museum out of his pocket, he held up a small velvet box. Luxa did not seem to recognize what the box was, but he had figured that they did not have them in the underland.

Opening up the box, he revealed the most beautiful ring you would ever see. It had many diamonds inlaid in it, and even had an engraving on the inside of the band. It wrote "The course of true love never did run smooth - William Shakespeare" Honestly, nothing could describe their relationship better than that.

The ring itself was finer than any he had ever seen in the underland. He had seen Luxa's jewelry, and she was a queen, yet he had never seen a diamond here, only other types of jewels.

Gregor decided Luxa had had enough time to process what was happening, and began to talk. "Luxa, while our relationship may be very dangerous, and rough, I believe that we have gone through much together, more than enough to tie us together more than any vow ever could. Even so, I believe this necessary to complete that knot. Queen Luxa of Regalia, will you marry me?"

Come on, you can't say you weren't expecting that! Technically, I could just end off the story here, but there is WAY to much potential for me to do that, and I never would anyway. This chapter was very fun to write. I took my time on it, and wrote it over a three day period of time. This story is coming to a close. Expect no more than three chapters. Oh, and defiantly an epilogue. So, as usual all feedback is encouraged and appreciated, so give me any and all ideas! See you guys later!

See you peeps later,

-Tytonic

Question: What will Luxa's answer be? I swear, if any of you get this wrong, you owe me a cookie!

*CLICKCLICKCLICK*

*POOF*

Tytonic: Thoughts, ideas, concerns?

. . .

Tytonic: Hello?

Tytonic: Where the crap are they?

Unknown: Probably busy planning their wedding.

Tytonic: What the crap? Why is there a tiny, talking bat hanging from my room?

*Tiny bat fliers out open window*

Tytonic: Seriously need a software update. This things getting pretty glitchy. . .

I bid you all farewell,

-Tytonic