Chapter 27

"Darren!"

Luckily Jimmy caught him, but I was still panicky. "Guys, let me out of this! What's wrong with him? What's going on?!"

"You're back!" Alex exclaimed, crushing me with a hug.

"Um, I was never gone...well, besides when I was kidnapped. But tell me what happened," I tried moving my feet, "and please get me out of this!"

"Oh, yeah!" She replied, reaching for a spray bottle that was on a toolbelt which was secured around her waist. Where did she get that?

She sprayed some blue liquid at my feet, then the tar stuff disappeared. I used my freedom to run over to the unconscious Darren.

I bit my lip as I observed his pale face, the only part of him moving was his stomach, which was steadily rising and falling. "Is he okay? What happened?"

"Nick turned you into a Dark witch, and you followed his orders. You and Darren had a magic duel, then Alex trapped you with that tar stuff. Darren sent Nick to Limbo, then he saved you. He passed out from using too much energy," Jimmy replied forlornly. Then, he gave a half-smile. "But I'm beyond happy to see you back to normal, Rose."

"Me too," I smiled. I glanced down at Darren, frowning. "Is he going to be okay?"

"He should be, I don't think there's any internal damage," Jimmy answered.

Suddenly, a low moan was heard.

"Darren?" I asked, touching his shoulder.

He slowly opened his eyes. "Rose?" He frowned, "you better be back to normal after all that I went through." However, I knew he was only teasing with the way he smirked at the end.

I smiled, "yes, I'm back to normal. Thank you."

I leaned down, prepared to give him a reward, when Darren put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me.

I rose an eyebrow in confusion, while he merely looked behind me towards my best friends. "Um, yeah, thank you for everything. You were both great...but, you can go now."

"Wait, what?" Alex questioned.

Darren pointed a finger at the two of them, a burst of orange magic hit them, then they vanished.

"Where'd they go?" I asked.

"I sent them back to the dance," he replied. "Now we have some privacy. Um...do you by any chance know exactly who I am?"

The corners of my mouth tugged down as I thought. Then, the memory came flooding back to me.

"Yeah, Nick said that you were the Chosen One. Is that true?"

He nodded, "I am."

I breathed in deep. Hearing it was one thing, but for him to confirm it...

"He also said that you are the King of the Magic Realm...is that true, too?" I was afraid of the response.

Darren nodded again. "I am."

My eyes widened, I couldn't believe it. Darren? A King? "How?"

He took a breath, then let it out slowly. "When I was born, the Council immediately knew I was the Chosen One by a star-shaped birthmark on my foot. Around the time I was born, well, around when all of us were born, there was a growing threat of Dark witches and wizards who used black magic, a chaotic magic that is hard to control and dangerous, but very powerful. The witches who tried to use it would turn evil, the black magic would consume them. The Council needed a person to rise against this threat, to protect the Realm. Naturally, as the Chosen One, I was picked. Growing up I learned how to be a King, to make good decisions for everyone, and practicing my magic everyday. I know I was a jerk at school, but that was only a front; to escape from my kingly mindset and that."

"Is that how you know all those languages?" I asked quietly.

He grinned, "as King of the Realm, I need to be able to communicate with my people."

"So what languages do you know?" I questioned, curious.

"English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Dutch, Swedish, Chinese, Greek, and I've recently started to learn Arabic."

"Wow," I whispered in awe.

"Yeah," he smiled.

Another memory came to mind. It made me gulp, shying my eyes away from him. Nick was lying when he said I was the Queen. There's no way I can be.

"What's wrong?" he asked, serious.

"Nothing," I lied.

"You can tell me, Red," he rubbed his knuckles along my cheek, "I want us to start being honest with each other." I ignored the growing heat in my cheeks.

"Is it true," I paused, looking away, "that I'm the Queen of the Magic Realm?"

He didn't respond, until I heard a sigh. "Yes, you are."

My head snapped up to meet his gaze. "Wait, I am?! How? I didn't-"

"Let's start off by saying that I've liked you for awhile now." My cheeks burned at that admission, "last year, during the summer, the Council came to me saying that I needed to pick someone to rule by my side, to be my Queen. You were the first girl to come to my mind," he smiled. "I told them I picked you, but then we agreed not to tell you about it. I didn't want you to know because I didn't want it affecting your daily life. Also, I wanted to have us date, get to know each other more, so you would be more inclined to say 'yes, I will be your Queen.' I mean, I highly doubt if I just asked you randomly you'd say yes. But mainly, I wanted you to have a choice. You don't have to be the Queen if you don't want to be, you're free to make your own decision."

I bit my lip, thinking about everything he said. "What happens if I say refuse?"

Darren sighed, "well, I guess I'd rule the Realm by myself. At least, until I can find a witch suitable for the job to rule with. See, here's the thing," he rose into a sitting position, his blue orbs staring into my brown ones. His lips curved into a grin, "I want a Queen who I can love and is smart enough to be able to handle the job. I personally think you can fulfill those two things. I mean," his lips brushed against mine, "you already have the first step completed."

Oh my God. He loves me. Darren Blaze loves me. Me. Do I love him? I don't know. What if he gets mad if I don't say it back? What if he'll hate me if I don't return it? What if-

His gentle kiss disrupts my panicked thoughts.

Slowly, he pulls away, smiling. "So...would you like to be Queen? You can back out at any time, but this way, we can better prepare you for the role if you wanted to fulfill it."

"Prepare me how?" I asked tentatively.

"You would have to take 'Queen lessons,'" he rolled his eyes, "from the Council, mainly Barbara. Yes, Barbara is a member of the Council. Anyway, Barbara would tutor you on how a Queen acts, inform you of the duties one has."

"I won't have to learn all those languages, will I?" I asked. I didn't even know German all that well!

He chuckled, "no. If you want to, you're free to do so. Otherwise don't bother. It's only necessary for one of us to be bilingual. So...what do you think?"

I bit my lip again, gazing at the ground. Did I want this?

I returned my attention to Darren. His lips were upturned in the slightest smile, an encouraging one. I could tell he was hoping I would say yes, even though he wouldn't make the decision for me.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Honestly, I don't think I can imagine life without him at this point. Even when I hated him, it would still be weird if he wasn't around one day. I wasn't sure if this was a phase or puppy love or whatnot, but at this point I can't imagine life without him.

He said I could back out at any time, so I wasn't committed. My fate wasn't set in stone with this single answer, right here right now. Yet, a tiny part of me really wanted it. I wanted to be Queen of the Magic Realm, ruling by his side.

I didn't know what I would have to do, but that's okay. Darren said that Barbara would teach me all that I would need to know.

Maybe I can do this. Maybe I was meant for this.

I smiled, nodding. "Okay."

Darren's eyes enlarged. "Really?"

I nodded again. "I'll be your Queen."

He smiled brightly, cupping my face with his hand. He leaned in for a second, then stopped, looking around.

"We should probably get out of here, before a Dark witch shows up," he said.

"Yeah, I think that would be best," I laughed.

Grinning, he tele-transported us back to the dance. Music was still going. Looking at the clock, I saw that there was about five minutes left of the dance; time for one last song.

"My Queen," Darren held out a hand, "would you do me the honor of sharing this dance with me?"

I giggled, nodding and taking it. "Of course, my King."

I placed my arms around his neck, while his hands went to my waist.

I want you to know, that it's our time.

You and me bleed the same light.

He smiled, pulling me closer.

I want you to know, that I'm all yours.

You and me run the same course.

For the first time in awhile, I felt happy and content. Everything was going to be okay. Glancing to my right, I noticed Jimmy and Alex dancing together. Hm, didn't see that coming. Then again, we're all best friends, so it's not unusual for two of them to dance together.

Darren placed two fingers under my chin, directing my attention back to him. He smirked, then leaned his head down. Smiling, I kissed him back.

So far, I'd say this year is going pretty good.

I can't wait for next year.

A/N: So, here is the end! Well, sort of. See, I'm going to write a sequel ;D It was so fun writing this and I hope you all enjoyed the ride as well!

*lyrics are from Selena Gomez and Zedd's 'I Want You to Know'

So, I'm unofficially declaring 'I Want You to Know' by Selena Gomez and Zedd Roserren's song. Kinda like how I made 'Never Knew I Needed' by Ne-Yo Jemma's song ;)

5mairer: Thank you, hope you liked this one!

lostadventure: Thank you!

harmonizergirl12: This confirms it :)

delightisadream: Thanks :) I think this is the first time that a Miller is trusted X'D

JustAJaxLover: I thought so, but I wasn't sure.

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Jazmyn45: Omg thank you! To say that...it really builds my confidence of becoming a writer myself one day :'D Thank you!

TotallyCray-Cray: Thank you! I hope they're peanut butter ;)

amazing fan: Thank you :)

OhMyGigi: Lol XD

jemma fan: Thank you :) And don't forget that you're free to imagine the characters how you want :)

Jemma4evs: I always try to :)

jemma lover: Thank you :) And I already have a scene in the sequel that involves Darren having a chat with Jax ;D

Guest 19: He will ;)