Fire and Ice

CHAPTER 18

Joselyn awoke with the feel of sunlight on her face. She knew it was early morning and everyone would still be asleep except for Rowan and the kitchen staff. She laid in bed thinking about everything going on. Her mind was going through many different topics from war to love when she heard a knock on her door. The knock startled her as it was so early. She automatically assumed it was Rowan so she yelled “enter.” Joselyn still lay in her bed with her eyes closed when a familiar voice spoke, “Joselyn, were you asleep?” Her eyes flew open, she knew the voice belonged to Marcus. Joselyn sat up in her bed, “Marcus, what are you doing up at such an hour, is something wrong?” Marcus walked toward her bed, “No, nothing is wrong. I just wanted to see you for a short while before another hectic day begins.” Joselyn smiled at him as she pushed the covers down on the other side of the bed. Marcus pushed off his shoes, climbed into bed, and pulled the covers around them. “You’re freezing!” Joselyn exclaimed as she felt his cold skin touch hers. “Well then warm me up,” Marcus said as he pulled her body into his. Marcus pulled her so close they could feel each others breath. He looked into her eyes and he saw himself. Marcus leaned his head forward and began to gently kiss Joselyn. Their lips moved with one another’s and became more intense. Joselyn had never been kissed the way Marcus kissed her. Her entire body felt as if it were on fire. Marcus held her tightly and was trying his best to show restraint. He knew if she continued to kiss him this passionately with her body pressing against his he would lose control. Marcus pulled away from the kiss and said, “Joselyn, I’m getting to the point where I won’t be able to stop.” Joselyn felt embarrassed and ashamed at the same time. “I’m sorry Marcus, I should have had more self control.” Marcus was breathing hard as he continued to stare at her body through the sheer nightgown, “I’m sorry too. It isn’t fair for me to deny you.” Joselyn laughed, she loved how he could make any situation comfortable. “Well, my queen, you will just have to wait.” Marcus pulled his face up to Joselyn’s. “I think my lips are satisfied with yours.” He placed her tongue in his mouth and massaged her tongue. He smiled when he heard her let out a small moan. Before his kiss became too passionate he pulled back, “Joselyn, I just want to be close to you. You already know I am in love with you. According to your announcement to my father, you love me too. I wanted to wait until after the war, but that seems less and less important now. Joselyn, will you marry me?” Joselyn grinned widely, “Yes, I will.” Marcus smiled with tears of joy welling in his eyes. He hugged her tight and they spent the rest of the morning laying in bed talking about all the possibilities their futures held.

Joselyn and Marcus were still in bed talking hours later when a knock came at her door. “Joselyn, are you awake?” came the voice from the other side. “Come in Rowan.” Rowan entered her door to find Marcus in her bed. Rowan tried to avert his eyes as he continued, “I beg your pardon my Queen, I wasn’t aware you had company.” Joselyn laughed as Marcus vacated her bed fully clothed. “Don’t worry Rowan, there isn’t anything scandalous going on. Now, what is going on that requires my attention?” Rowan gathered his thoughts, “Oh, yes. The armies are assembled and I have a plan for the other two armies. You need to ensure all your weapons are ready. Additionally, a messenger arrived stating King Henry and King Aaron will be arriving tomorrow evening.” Joselyn stretched her muscles, “Alright Rowan, I will be down soon and we will double check my weapons as well as go over the battle plans.” Rowan nodded his head and left the room. He felt too embarrassed to have a conversation with the assumption he made earlier. Joselyn removed her covers and got out of bed. Her sheer nightgown made Marcus’s gaze follow her across the room. “I can feel you watching me Marcus” Joselyn laughed. He laughed, “Joselyn, I know we have many responsibilities that need attention, but I need to go into town today for a short while. I should be back this evening.” Joselyn was in her closet and had just finished dressing when she heard Marcus’s words. She came out of the closet, “Is everything okay?” Marcus smiled, “You know I tell you everything, but I can’t tell you this. What I can tell you is that you will soon find out.” Joselyn gave a suspicious look, but relented. “Okay, I will see you this evening.” Marcus went over and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “I love you, I will be back as soon as I can.” He turned and walked out the door.

Marcus went straight to his father. He charged in Leon’s chambers without knocking. King Leon was still in the bed and sat straight up startled by his son’s sudden intrusion. “Have you gone mad boy. I raised you to at least knock, apparently it didn’t take.” Marcus was in a hurry, he had to get to town. “Father I need one of the square emeralds from your crown.” Leon looked at his son as if he had two heads. “Have you completely lost your mind. I’m not taking an emerald out of my crown. I don’t care how many are in it.” Marcus didn’t have time to argue with his father and he didn’t want to tell anyone Joselyn agreed to marry him. “Father, you know that one day that crown will be mine as will Joselyn. I need a square emerald. It will not be missed.” Leon could see the seriousness in his son’s eyes. “Okay, pry one out with the tip of the sword Joselyn gave me. It shouldn’t leave any marks.” Marcus had the emerald out of the crown before Leon finished speaking. “Thank you father.” King Leon nodded his head. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but now you have your emerald so go do it somewhere else. I am still in need of sleep.” Marcus thanked his father again and left the room. His next stop was to Joselyn’s seamstress. He told her he required small diamonds from one of her dresses that showed her Kingdoms colors. The seamstress automatically gave him the diamonds, more than likely because he was royalty. Marcus was now ready to go to town.

Marcus rode quickly from the castle and arrived at the blacksmith’s in town. He walked inside the blacksmith’s work area. He automatically recognized him as royalty and stopped his work to bow his head. “Don’t bow to me sir, it is I who needs a favor from you.” The blacksmith looked surprised, “What can I do for you?” Marcus presented him with the emerald, diamonds, and a gold ring he wore on his own finger. “Are you able to attach the emerald to this ring and the diamonds around the emerald?” The blacksmith looked at the items. “Yes, I can. It shouldn’t be too difficult, the ring is already formed.” Marcus felt a sigh of relief. “How long do you think it will take to finish it?” The blacksmith looked at it, “It will take me about three hours to complete.” Marcus laughed and hugged the blacksmith. “Thank you. This has made my day.” “I will return in three hours for the ring.” Marcus left the blacksmith and strolled through town with a grin on his face, and the blacksmith got straight to work.

Marcus walked through town stopping at different vendors. He was browsing different trinkets at a vendor who sold various items when a particular item caught his eye. There was a small green box trimmed in gold, the perfect size to hold a ring. It held a pair of gold earrings, which were not what Marcus needed. “How much for this box?” Marcus asked the vendor. The vendor stopped situating his things and walked over to Marcus. “Ah, that is a beautiful pair of earrings, they would make any woman happy. They cost $45.” Marcus knew the man was trying to sell him the earrings, but he had to make sure the box came with them. “The box, does it come with the earrings?” The vendor could clearly tell Marcus wanted the earrings and the box so he made the price higher. “Well, that is a beautiful box, and the original price was for the earrings only. The entire package will cost $50.” Marcus shook his head, handed the man his money, and took his box. Along the way he saw a small girl helping her mother sell flowers. He took the earrings from the box and gave them to her. “Oh my goodness sir, that is too expensive a gift for a child.” Her mother exclaimed. Marcus stood and smiled, “Children should have something nice every now and again. If you would be so kind madam, I would like to buy the most beautiful bouquet of flowers you have.” The woman quickly grabbed a bouquet she had just made that morning. It had an assortment of flowers that were very bright and colorful. Marcus smiled, “These are perfect. How much do I owe you.” The woman looked at her daughters new earrings, “These are free to you sir, a gift for my daughters earrings.” Marcus knew the woman needed the money, “If I take something in return then it’s not a gift.” He handed the woman a small bag of gold which would equal more than ten bouquets. Before she could protest further, Marcus walked quickly back toward the blacksmith. When he walked in the blacksmith grinned and held up the ring. “It turned out better than I expected.” The blacksmith said. Marcus walked over and took the ring from the blacksmith. It was perfect. The ring was exactly what he had pictured in his mind, “How much do I owe you?” The blacksmith was hesitant about giving a price because he recognized Marcus as royalty. “I know your time is valuable, how much do I owe you for the ring?” The blacksmith hesitated again, “Well sir, if it were any other person the cost would be $50, but..” The blacksmith didn’t get to finish his sentence as Marcus placed 200 gold coins in his hand. “Sir!” the blacksmith exclaimed. “This is too much money for a ring. I can’t accept this.” Marcus smiled as he placed the ring in the green and gold box. “This ring is worth much more than that I assure you. I thank you again.” Marcus turned and made his way back to his horse hoping Joselyn would love her ring. It was getting to be about dinner time so he mounted his horse and rode as fast as he could back to the castle.

When Marcus reached the castle, everyone was going to the dining hall to eat. He raced to his chambers to put the flowers away, the ring however he kept close within a pocket on his clothing. He hurried downstairs just in time to see Joselyn taking her place at the dining table. Marcus tried to catch his breath as he walked over to sit next to his father, King Leon. Leon and Rowan had already taken their seats on either side of Joselyn. Marcus was irritated he didn’t get to sit next to Joselyn, but his mind was racing anyway. He wouldn’t have been able to focus on a conversation. Everyone was sitting when their first course arrived. “Where have you been all day Marcus?” Leon asked. “Oh, I had some business to take care of in town.” Leon was not satisfied with his answer, more than likely because he liked to get to the bottom of everything. “What business were you taking care of. This isn’t your Kingdom. What have you been doing all day?” Marcus had already became furious. His nosey father was going to mess his entire plan. “Father, I had personal business to take care of, and that’s all I’m going to say about the matter. Let’s please change the topic.” Leon looked at his son. It must have something to do with the emerald he wanted this morning. King Leon wanted to question further but his gut told him not to. “Well, while you were gone to town, Rowan had me secure all my weapons for fighting, made me practice every weapon I know, and I fought Leon with the sword and one.” Joselyn said as she laughed. “Now, I still maintain that wasn’t a fair fight. I tripped over a rock and it gave you the advantage.” The entire table laughed. “You have to be ready for anything, even rocks” Rowan said as he along with Joselyn and Marcus laughed even harder. “Well, it sounds to me like Joselyn got the better of you in the fight father.” Marcus said as he gave her a small wink. Leon shook his head back and forth to justify his loss when Marcus continued, “Joselyn, after dinner will you take a walk with me in the garden?” Rowan immediately raised his head, “We can go for a short walk, but then we must get back to work with Rowan. You missed quite a bit today, he will need to fill you in.” Rowan put his head down and continued eating. “Thank you, that’s all I want, a short walk in the garden.” The rest of dinner had a lighter tone to it, there wasn’t any talk of war. It was a pleasant change of pace for everyone. After dinner Marcus looked at Joselyn, “Will you meet me in the garden. I won’t be but a few minutes.” Joselyn shook her head yes and went toward the garden. Rowan and Leon went the opposite direction toward the training grounds. Marcus went as fast as he could to grab the bouquet he bought for Joselyn, then just as quickly made his way to the gardens.

Once he reached the gardens, Marcus tried to slow his breathing and began walking slowly toward her. She had her back turned to him and was sitting sideway on the fountain gazing out into the many rows of beautiful flowers. Marcus suddenly became nervous. He wasn’t sure why, Joselyn already agreed to marry him. He wasn’t sure if it was the sheer beauty of her or him giving her a ring to make their engagement official. It felt like forever to him, but Marcus made it to the fountain and sat down next to Joselyn. She looked at him and smiled, “What is this need for a short walk about?” she asked him. Marcus pulled the flowers out from behind his back and gave them to her. Joselyn gushed over how beautiful they were as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her reaction to the flowers he bought her gave him more confidence. “Joselyn, I asked for your hand in marriage and you agreed. Do you still feel that way?” Joselyn looked confused. “Of course I still want to marry you, have you changed your mind with regards to asking me?” Marcus could see the adorable yet worried look in her eyes, “No, I don’t regret asking. I do however want to give you a token that solidifies our engagement,” he said as he pulled out the green box. Joselyn’s eyes went wide as he handed the box to her. “What is it?” Marcus laughed, “Open it and you will find out.” Joselyn’s hands were shaking a little as she opened the green and gold box, the colors of his kingdom. When she saw the ring she gasped and placed her hand over her mouth, “It’s beautiful” she managed to say. “I wanted to give you something that represented us and our kingdoms together. The emerald is from my father’s crown, which will one day be mine. The diamonds are from one of your dresses that show your kingdoms colors, and the ring itself belonged to me. It is an heirloom that I wore on my finger, and now hopefully you will wear on yours.” Joselyn had tears streaming down her face after he explained the distinct parts of her ring and what they represented. Marcus had never seen Joselyn cry, “Are you happy with it?” he asked. “She nodded her head through her tears. “Will you wear it now, or do you want to wait until after the war to announce our engagement?” Joselyn held up her hand, “I want to wear it now.” Marcus almost jumped with gladness as he slipped the ring onto her finger. They both looked at it on her hand, then embraced one another. They sat for a few more moments in the garden holding each other and talking when a maid walked through the doors of the garden, “Pardon me my Queen, Rowan sent me to get you.” Joselyn thanked the maid and looked at Marcus. “We need to find Rowan and Leon. There’s much to discuss about war and future marriages.” Joselyn laughed as she and Marcus walked toward the training grounds.