Proposal

Astons POV

Ava runs to me and hugs me “do not blame yourself. This is not your fault.” She says. I wish I could believe her, but I can’t.
“It is my fault, it is always my fault. It always had been, even before I was born” I say more to myself than her now.
“What do you mean?” She said looking up at me with those beautiful wide eyes.
I don’t want to go there, I have suppressed this guilt for a lifetime, but she deserves to know. “I killed my mother” I say solemnly.
Ava jumps back from me suddenly, disbelief and shock clear on her face “What?!”
“She was pregnant with me in the war. Kato tried to take her hostage but my father interrupted, Kato stabbed my mother to give himself time to escape.”
Ava gasps “But that means Kato killed her, not you” she says confused.
“You don’t understand, my mother was not fae, she was a werewolf. If she had not been carrying me, she would have been able to shift and protect herself or heal, but she bleed out insisting that they deliver me. It is my fault she is dead. My father definitely blamed me, he still can barely look at me. He hid who she was and made his stupid rule about cross breading because he thought I was an abomination.” Words I have pushed out of my head for years are finally spoken and it is too much for me. I can’t look at Ava, I slump onto the floor and break down sobbing. This is why I shun all responsibility, so that things couldn’t be my fault anymore, but I couldn’t escape it. I may have saved the scouts, but now because of me, the woman I love is trapped here. It is even my fault that we are not allowed to be together, that my father’s rule forbids our love.
I feel her gentle touch on my chin, pulling my face up to look at her. Her beautiful face is looking at me with so much love that it stops my tears. “What happened to your mother was not your fault. She was a brave and strong woman who chose to give her life for you. Your father made poor choices blinded by grief. My grandfather made poor choices blinded by greed. Our families are far from innocent and our pasts are troubled because of it. The past is in the past, we can’t change it. We can either run from it or learn from it. You are a good man. You have to stop blaming yourself.” Ava says, her voice gentle and kind.
She is right, I have been running. I need to accept it and myself. This woman is wise beyond her years. I don’t deserve her love, but she offers it anyway. I pull her into my arms and hold her tightly against my chest. I feel her hand rubbing small circles on my back, calming me further.
“You are perfect. You always calm me down. It’s like you were made for me.” I whisper in her ear.
“I love you” She says shyly and quietly. My heart does a flip and I feel elated.
“I love you too” I reply looking longingly into her eyes and tightening my grip on her.
I wish we were somewhere else, somewhere we could be together and just be ourselves, not in this prison. I think about the future I want with her, the house, the children, the friends. A smile stretches over my face as an idea forms in my mind. I pull her up so that we are both standing. I take her delicate hands in mine and I slowly bend down on one knee.
“Ava, will you marry me?” I ask sincerely, trying to show her how serious I am about this.
She stares at me, her mouth hung open in shock. A tear falls down her cheek as I wait in suspense for her answer, doubts fleetingly cross my mind as I start to feel more vulnerable at her lack of response. She breaks from her trance and slowly nods her head. I jump up and pick her up, spinning while lifting her up with her in my arms. I feel happier than I have ever been. She still loves me and wants to be with me despite everything. I’m filled with a new determination to get us out of here. God help anyone that gets in my way.
“Do you think we can get the kings blessing?” I ask cheekily.
“If he wants me to do my duty, then he can do his first” she says, getting all feisty. She knocks on the door loudly and demands an audience with the king.
We talk for what seems like hours waiting for the king to come back. Ava shares ideas for her dream wedding and things she would like to do on honeymoon. I start to teach her how to dance as promised, she has natural rhythm and follows my lead and instructions well. I am twirling her around the small room when the door is opened and the king enters.
“What is the meaning of this?” He booms. Ava’s laughter immediately silenced, as all frivolity it sucked from the room, replaced by tension.
Ava steps forward “Grandfather, we would like your permission to get married. If I am to do this, then I want to do it honourably and when the prince learned I was a princess, he proposed a political alliance” Her tone is matter of fact, she sounds so confident. I look at her proudly as the king looks between us, assessing the situation.
“Absolutely not, I will not have any political ties to Loria” He says.
“If you want me to have his child, you will have them anyway. He does not care for his fathers rules. Having him on our side will be useful and he will give you the strongest heir. If you want me to do this, then I am doing it right. I refuse to have my child born out of wedlock” She explains defiantly, unfazed by his rejection or murderous glares.
The king turns his glare to me “And you, what do you get out of this?”
“She is my mate. I would die for her, I will give up anything for her” I explain.
An evil grin crosses the King’s face. “very well.” He motions for us to be released. “I will begin preparations for the ceremony. Be warned though, try anything to escape and I will have no mercy in my retribution”
I am ushered to a hospital setting and greeted by the healer who helped me earlier. She re-applies ointments to me and I feel the pain of my injuries subsiding. Ava was taken to a dress fitting, but I am just being measured by the old healer. I doubt Ava’s dream wedding will come true, but it won’t matter, we will be together and that is the most important thing. If we are not having to hide and sneak around then it will be a lot easier to plan our escape.
I am fed a good meal and instructed to drink various suspicious looking potions which despite their taste have left me feeling much better. I guess the king wants me at full health to put on a show for the guests. I am showered and cleaned and ushered into a suit. I am surprised that the King is so eager to wed us. I thought we would buy some time while he made arrangements and Ava planned everything, but in only a few hours I am being made ready for my wedding day.
In all honesty, it is not what I pictured my wedding as either. I imagined my father might actually have looked at me with pride and approval as I said my vows. I had hoped John would be at my side making jokes and embarrassing me with his speech. Having said that, it is better than I could have hoped for in some ways because I always assumed that the person I would marry would be someone my father picked who I definitely would not have loved. I am incredibly lucky to have found Ava and luckier still to be marrying her. The circumstances around our marriage don’t matter, our love is all that matters.
I take a final look in the mirror. I am remarkably well healed and despite a few bruises, I still look pretty handsome with my hair combed back out of my face. The suit even fits well, it is a three piece black tuxedo and black suede dress shoes. I thank the healer woman for her help. I take a deep breath to keep my emotions under control. I indicate to the guards that I am ready and walk with my heavily armed guard escort down the alter to await my bride.