Delkele and I were seated at one of the food houses, drinks in hand as he looked uncomfortable. He wouldn't look at me and it was weird witnessing the "big and bad barbarian" king, looking like someone spit in his cheerios. He kept fiddling with his hands, before he finally gripped his drink, sighing deeply. He then looked at me a frown on his lips.
"I don't really know how to say this, so I'm just going to go right in. I...value your presence greatly, even if you want to butcher me and lock me in a closet."
My mouth twitched, but being the great and wonderful adult I was, kept silent as I took a small sip of my fluffy drink, something, sadly, that Delkele had to pay for seeing as Joseph still had my cred card. "So, you value my presence? That's nice to know, seeing as you basically bullied me every time we were in each other's presence. Tell me, did you even acknowledge what I could possibly feel? I may be known as the ice king, but I still have feelings."
"And...I apologize, for that." Delkele admitted, looking sincere.
I frowned, confused as the redhead stared at me, a frown on his lips too. He actually apologized. This barbarian king...the same king who had bullied me for centuries, was apologizing...to me. I didn't know how to feel about it, and I could only sit there, tonguetied as he continued.
"I only acted the way I did, because of my reputation. I know that isn't the best excuse, and I wish I could actually prove to you how sorry I am, but I know you're pressed for time. As you know, I still have yet to take a consort, and I have...harbored feelings for you ever since we were children. I want to ask you, despite our mishaps in the past, I want to formally ask you to be my consort."
I could only stare at him in disbelief, my mind racing as fast as a spaceship. He...he actually was in love with me? Been in love with me since we were children? How did I not notice? And to ask me to be his consort of all things? Out of everything, this was the last thing I would have expected him to tell me. It was still all surreal that this...this barbarian king was in love with me. For goodness sake, he was asking for my hand in marriage! He wanted me to be his consort, and I had no idea what to say. I could see how hopeful he looked, how he nibbled his bottom lip nervously. I didn't want to tell him that I felt differently than him. And despite how he had treated me these past few centuries, I still felt bad that I had to turn him down.
Not to mention, embarrassingly enough, Joseph popped into my mind. What would he do in this situation? Would he tell him straight up that he wasn't interested? Or would he be nice about it and gently put him down? Well, knowing Joseph, he would put some creative insults in there as he rejected him. However, I didn't want to do that, not with Delkele looking so hopeful while he clutched his drink.
I sighed, glancing down at my own beverage before I closed my eyes, too afraid to see the dejection in his crimson eyes. And even though he had bullied me for so long, he had also been my very first friend. He was the only person who I had as a friend in my childhood years. I had no other person to call my childhood friend, and despite my current aversion to him, I couldn't help but feel bad for him. "I...I can't," I said softly, refusing to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry to let you down like this, but I'm not really ready for any kind of commitment. Besides, I don't think I'd be good for you, since I don't believe in love."
"I understand." I glanced up to see Delkele looking off to the side, his eyes sad as he stared at the fountain. "I kind of figured you would reject me. Afterall, I was such a jerk to you these past few centuries. Can we at least put our feuds aside, and become friends once more?"
I bit at my bottom lip, careful to not split the flesh as I nodded, glancing up at him. "I would like that."
Delkele smiled faintly at me, still looking dejected. He then glanced up, his brows pulling down in a glare as he stared at something behind me. Blinking curiously, I glanced behind me to see Joseph, who was sending Delkele a glare of his own. He held a small white bag in his hands, the other one holding the bag with his new boots. "The heck is the overgrown hedgehog doing here?"
"Nothing a worm like you needs to worry about," Delkele returned, glancing at me, his gaze softening. "I'll leave you to do your things. Perhaps we can talk later?"
I nodded, watching him smile briefly at me before he stood up, towering over Joseph, who was watching him like a hawk. He left and Joseph's eyes followed him until he lost sight of him. The human then took Delkele's seat, placing his bags on the table as he glanced at me curiously, placing my card onto the table. "What was that all about?"
I stared at Joseph after grabbing my card and tucking it away. "Well, it's a little awkward to say." I opened my mouth, and then closed it, nibbling at my bottom lip. "Delkele just...proposed to me."
Joseph stared at me, his mouth open as if he couldn't believe what I just told him. "Wait, wait. You mean that walking talking steroid asked you to marry him?"
"I don't quite know what a steroid is, but yes, he did. It surprised me, too, you're not the only one."
"And, what did you say?" Joseph asked, trying to appear nonchalant as he casually played with a napkin.
I raised my eyebrow, feeling like he was leading towards something. What that something was, I didn't know. "I rejected him, of course. He may have been my friend once, but I don't see him as anything more than that."
"Oh, that's cool. Anyway, I'm done, so are we going to check out more stores, or we going back to Glacion?"
"Probably Glacion. It's getting quite late out and I'm a little tired."
Joseph nodded and stood up, grabbing his bags before we left to my ship. I ended up dozing off on the ride back home, Joseph steering the ship, and woke up once we reached Glacion's atmosphere. When the ship landed, we stepped off and were surprised to see Olivia and Jack waiting for us, a smile on their faces.
"Yo, Captain! Guess what?!"
Joseph raised an eyebrow and glanced at me, making me shrug as he glanced back at his crew. "What is it?"
"It's done!" Olivia spoke, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "We can finally go home!"
When those words left her lips I felt a heavy weight fall onto my shoulders, my heart feeling as heavy a three ships stacked on top of one another. Did this mean that Joseph was leaving? What was I thinking, of course he was leaving. He probably wanted to get home. I didn't blame him. I wasn't exactly the best company. But, why did I feel like my world was crashing? Was it because I finally found a friend I could hang out with and relate to? Was it because I have had the most fun I had in a long time, with him? It seemed like only yesterday that my world changed, when these humans crashed onto my land. And it was in a good way. Instead of letting my feelings show, I glanced over to Joseph, surprised to see how horrified he looked. I furrowed my eyebrows, suddenly feeling worried. Why would he be so horrified? He was finally able to go home, wasn't he? Why would he look so scared to go home? Was he afraid to leave me too? No, I doubt his feelings went that far. Maybe he didn't want to leave me because I was his friend. Like me, he didn't have many friends growing up. To finally make a friend, only to leave them, made his horrified look make sense.
"Um...I'm glad you finally got your ship repaired. You can stay here for one more night and rest up for your journey tomorrow." I said, feigning indifference. I didn't want Joseph to know how upset I felt that they were leaving. He would probably think I was weird, anyway. I didn't blame him. I was quite weird.
Joseph seemed to sober up, nodding his head as he glanced down at his feet. "Yeah, sounds good. Rest up tonight, and we'll make our way back to Earth tomorrow."
Olivia and Jack nodded, talking animatedly as they walked back into the castle, talking about how excited they were to be able to go home. Joseph stood next to me as I shifted my weight, thinking of something to say. I then sighed and glanced at Joseph, smiling softly. "I'm sure you're excited to go home. If you want, I can give you my contact information so we can still talk to each other. Of course, you can't let anyone know when you talk to me, since I'm an alien, and all."
Joseph nodded, stuffing his free hand into his pockets. "I'd like that."
I nodded and gestured for him to follow me, each step feeling like I had boulders tied to my feet. My heart dropped with each step, and for the first time since birth...I wanted to cry. I was a weird child, one who barely cried even if I scraped my knee. The other kids used to call me a freak because I didn't cry. But now...at three hundred and twenty years old, I wanted to curl up and cry like a baby. I hadn't felt this upset in a long time, and I hated the feeling.
We made it to my room and I crossed the marble floor over to my nightstand, grabbing my tablet to get my information. I scrolled through the many apps, and found where I stored my information, turning to tell Joseph when I gasped, his lips falling onto mine. My tablet dropped to the floor as his lips worked mine, his beard brushing up against my face.
My heart raced in my chest, feeling as if it would leap from my ribcage any moment. His hands cupped my face, his eyes closed as his lips danced with mine. I couldn't believe it. He was kissing me! That meant that he liked me, didn't it? Did he like me like how Delkele felt for me? Since when? And why wasn't I opposed to it? All my life I had thought love to only be an obstacle, and yet, as he kissed me I couldn't help how my heart raced in my chest. I wrapped my arms around him, deepening the kiss. The world around us seemed to stop, the silence letting us focus only on each other.
When we pulled away to breathe, I felt slightly lightheaded and my heart only continued to race in my chest. I opened my eyes and stared at Joseph, who seemed to be out of breath himself, his lips slightly swollen from our kiss. I stared at him, wanting to kiss him again. So I did, I leaned in and kissed him again, his lips soft against my own as I rested my hands on his chest. Again, we got lost in the dance of passion, Joseph careful to not let his lips be cut by my teeth.
However...I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my neck, making me gasp and shove Joseph away from me, the force of it knocking me down. I tried grabbing my nightstand to avoid hitting the hard floor, only for the glass top to shatter at my weight, glass raining down on top of me. My hands shook as I grabbed at my neck, feeling a small tube-like thing sticking from my flesh. I shakily took the thing out of my neck, staring in disbelief at the small syringe I held between my fingers. My gaze rose to meet Joseph, my heart feeling like it had been shattered by the sad look in his eyes.
"Wh...what did you do to me?" I asked, my voice shaky as my body began to feel heavy.
Joseph bit his bottom lip, looking like he was about to cry. As if he has a reason, I thought disheartenedly. For goodness sake, the man just stabbed me in the neck with a syringe filled with who knows what.
"I'm so sorry, Asurah. I'm so, so sorry. I have to." He knelt down by me, and I wanted nothing more than to wish he was never born.
Have to? Have to?! He didn't have to drug me! He could have told me what was on his mind! Unless...unless he pretended to be my friend. Pretended to care for me.
I felt tears fall from my eyes as I was unable to move, Joseph gently brushing his fingers against my cheek, his eyes filled with tears. "I didn't want it to end up this way. I'm so sorry." He gently kissed me, his lips brushing against mine as he finally let his tears fall, the salty drops landing on my face. And it didn't take long for me to black out completely, going into the dark void of unconsciousness.
A/N: The pic above is my...meh drawing of Delkele