Chapter Thirty-Five
Iris:
Cirdan has been acting odd since we left my room. We stopped first at his room because he said he needed to get something and then he came out and held my hand, not that I am complaining since it is nice, but he also refused to let go and he has been sweating a lot in his palm like he was nervous.
I have never seen him nervous too.
“What’s up with you?” I eyed him as he gripped my hands so tight that my fingers hurt.
“What do you mean?” He replied, not looking at me but looking straight ahead like he needed to keep his eyes on the road, a place he could go to with his eyes blindfolded because of how many time he sneaked into my room at night while I was still in the school’s ward.
“I mean you wanting to snap my fingers off.” I corked an eyebrow at him only for him to let go of my hand quickly.
“I am sorry about that, just…” He trailed off and
“Nervous.” I completed. “Why?” When he didn’t say anything I continued. “Is it because of your call with your father, you did not mention what he told you on the phone?”
“He did not really say something worth mentioning, just about the council and other races request to hold a meeting about us.”
“They cannot separate us right?” I asked alarmed at the thought of losing Cirdan, I just can’t. My brain tried to imagine Cirdan not being around us or being transferred to another school and immediately, my body started to shut down, protesting against it.
“Hey, Iris calm down, deep breathes.” Cirdan gripped my shoulders mimicking the actions he wanted me to do.
I looked at him while doing the breathing exercises until I got myself back in control and was not attempting to practice what would happen to me if my mating bond with Cirdan was reversed.
“They cannot separate us. The mating bond can only be rejected, and we will not do that right?”
“We won’t.” I affirmed fiercely; nothing would make me reject Cirdan.
Cirdan smiled at me even as one of his hands left my shoulders and went into his pocket. “We will not reject each other but others would try and if they put their minds to it. They can separate us for the now, there is only one way to show them that we are committed to each other.”
I frown in confusion, wondering what Cirdan meant when he went on one knee. My heart stuttered as I placed one hand over my mouth.
“Clam down, it is not that type of ring.” Cirdan warns.
“I don’t care as long as it is a ring.” I returned, my eyes still watching his hand move with the ring enclosed in his palm.
“I had actually prepared that I would do this in the sick ward, telling the nurse to give us some time to ourselves and then I give you this ring and what I am promising but somehow you have managed to scramble all my plans as I just cannot wait until I give you this ring. So here I am, kneeling in the middle of the hallway which anybody can pass by us at any time, with an heirloom in my hands. I would tell you the story behind the heirloom, but I am afraid that my shaking by the time I am done with the story would be too much.
“This ring is a promise ring, has rarely being used for the last two hundred years but still significant. I want to promise you Faery and Earth, but I cannot promise what I don’t have to give. The only thing I can promise you is myself if you will have me.”
I nodded quickly as I straightened my hand so he could slide the ring home and when the ring rested on my third finger, I fell to my knees so I would be closer to his height and then I kissed him, pouring the love and joy he made me feel into him, sharing without words the wonder he just did.
“When would you like to get married to me?” I asked him.
“When we are done with school if you like, then I don’t think we can be kept apart anymore, we would be seen as legal adults.”
I nodded. “I would like that too.” I replied then winced as a vicious headache assaulted me.
“And that is a warning that we need to take you to the ward immediately.” Cirdan stated as he stood up and holding my hands, led me to the ward.
This time, I was the one gripping his fingers tightly.
**************************
Meanwhile in the Council hall:
“They are just kids.” King Elros stated, refusing to even let the council talk as soon as they brought up iris and Cirdan.
“They are not just anything.” The fairy queen returned. “They are the children of the two most powerful bloodlines of Folks. If that is all they are, we would understand since there have been matches like that from time to time but then princess Iris is the most powerful dark witch ever and she also has two strong bloodlines in her.”
“So, what are you suggesting, you want to separate mates?” Queen Nambra snaps at the other queen. They were the only woman among the group, and she was not happy with the queen being the first to point out the reason why Iris and Cirdan should not be together. Granted she does not want them together, but she believed she had the right, but others didn’t because they were not Iris parents.
“We have to, the Folks would be too powerful if Iris and Cirdan do mate.” The Dark Fae king replied.
“They are mated already, there is nothing that can be done.” King Elros returned.
“I don’t see the reason why you all are whining, I should be the only one doing that, after all my bloodline will be used to enrich that of the Folks not the light fae but did you hear me complaining no.” Queen Nambra returned angrily.
“Then again, this whole thing is your fault.” The Fairy queen stated as Nambra’s eyes flashed in anger.
“Excuse me?”
“If you were not so power drunk and we had listened to your childish rumblings twenty years ago about wanting a powerful heir, this could have been prevented.”
“Are you trying to say my child should have never been born?” King Elros picked up the offense, facing the Fairy queen.
“Yes she should not have. The last most powerful dark witch also broke apart the world, just imagine what this one will do. Too much power is not meant to exist on this world and when one part is more powerful than others, it would lead to dictatorship. My people would not be dictated to.”
“Please don’t pour the anger of your people low ranking on my child, your people are already being dictated to, my child is not the reason for that.”
“Enough from you all.” The shifter king snapped and immediately the bickering reduced. “This would be voted on just like every other issue we come across and before you decide to leave here to prepare for a war, let’s do the voting and with each vote we make, we give a reason.” Then he pointed at the Fairy queen.
“Against.” The Fairy queen snapped. “Power is intoxicating. The grand children would be susceptible to abusing power because their grandmother passed it through the genes to them!”
“You bitch.” Nambra yelled, she stood up, almost attacking the Fairy queen but Elros held her back.
“Against.” The Dark fae voted. “She is already a hybrid, a dark witch. Her children should be birthed from another father.”
“For.” Nambra said angrily. “Because she is my daughter and she has been given a gift by faery, a gift most of us are still without. I choose for because she does not fucking deserves being without her mate when she knows who he is.”
“For.” Elros replied calmly. “Like he mentioned, she is already a dark witch, if her mate can calm her down, it would be unwise to separate them. Cirdan has already proven that he can calm her down.”
The shifter king sighed; the decision was back to him. “Against.” He voted. The room was silent for his reason. “I have asked the shifters I sent to observe them. According to their replies, she still makes decision based on her mates reply. So, until they leave school and reach the legal age, let’s hope that it would be enough time for her be well versed and considerate enough to let him go of her own volition.”
“Wait what?” The fairy turned to the shifter king. “This voting is not forever.”
“If you want Faery to punish your race then please it should be just your race. We are just stewards for Faery; we don’t have enough right to take away her gift which she gave to her children directly. The highest we can do is present other options to them and hope that they take it when the time comes for them to make a choice.” The shifter king added.
“I guess meeting is over, there is no need for us to pretend like there is no other agenda since the main reason we came together was to make plan to separate my child from her mate. Good job all. I wish your children to have the same fates and in fact, I would pray for it tonight.” With those words Nambra walked away.
“If they have the same fates then there would be no need to separate them from their mates.” The fairy queen said.
“Just wait. If your children see their mate, heaven help them if they are under aged, with my power as king of Folks, I would ensure they don’t remain with them, you three better pass that into the law right now because there is no other way I would separate my child from her mate unless it is the law.” With those words Elros also stormed off and while the remaining three members of the council argued and talked about the light fae queen and the folks king, they decided it was better to not get on their nerves by doing something which would make them retaliate in war.