“We’re here,” he whispered, gesturing toward a gate so covered in vines, one couldn’t see the other side. They were almost an hour’s trek away from the castle, in a part of the court where nature roamed free.
“This better be good,” she muttered as she got on her feet, facing him with tired eyes.
Jasyn took one last, deep breath before pulling open the door to let Iskra through, and the way her face lit up would be stamped into his memory for the rest of his life.
She was blinking furiously, but she wasn’t able to stop the tears rolling down her face.
From her reaction, they got here at the perfect time. The sun just reached above the horizon, the field of sundrops opening in front of their eyes.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, so quietly, he barely heard it.
Jasyn joined her in the sundrop field, taking her hand again to encourage her forward.
“How is this here?”
Jasyn smiled. “It’s always been here. I discovered it when I was young, and when I told my parents, they said it was here even before them, a gift from Slone or something.”
“It’s magical.”
“I have so many good memories with my family here. And…” He cleared his throat, fully facing Iskra and taking both of her hands. “I want to add another.”
Her eyes were wide in anticipation. Her cheeks were still tear-streaked, and she was the most magical thing in existence.
He realized then that this moment was inevitable. There would have been nothing and no one who could have stopped the two of them from reaching this point, holding hands in a field of sundrops with the waking sun above them.
“Iskra, you dug me out of the dark. You reminded me how full life can be as long as I wasn’t afraid to live it. You gave me confidence to believe I could rule.”
“It was always in you,” she said, downplaying her magnificence. It would be his honor to ensure she was reminded of it each day—at least, if everything went how he hoped.
“Yet, there is one missing piece left to complete it all.”
Her eyes were wide and unsure through those tinted glasses, so he reached into his pocket, took out the small box, and got on one knee. Iskra gasped, her hands covering her face.
“I need my Sundrop, my love, my queen, beside me. Will you marry me, Iskra?”
As the sun rose and the sundrops bloomed, Iskra laughed with tears in her eyes. She responded so brightly, it could be heard across the continent.
“Yes!”
