As enthusiastic as Valnar had been about dancing earlier, nearing the dance floor now just reminded him…..he'd never danced before in his life. The little town he'd grown up in had a few dances and celebrations so he'd seen it done but he'd never actually taken part, even in practice. Approaching the dance floor with all the people apparently moving in random yet completely synchronous movement was intimidating. Valnar let his hands be placed where they were supposed to and proceeded to fall all over the dance floor.

Valnar laughed with Rose, if it had been anyone else he might have been more focused on everyone staring but he was here with her and nothing else mattered. "I ahhh, I guess it never came up before. No better place to learn than in the moment I guess, thank you for being patient with me." Valnar stood, straightened his mask and smiled. Under Rose's teaching he was doing much better, at least he hadn't fallen down yet, "I'd watch my feet but you're much better to look at, I'll practice later sometime." Valnar said.

As the night went on Valnar became more competent at dancing, though he wouldn't be winning any medals by any means. As he danced with Rose and watched the crowd and stared at the stars that filled the sky above, Valnar felt very blessed. The dance ended and everyone clapped, music began again as the next dance started but there had been something that Valnar had been thinking about.

"Let's go over here Rose, I just need a little air." Valnar walked away from the enchanted dance floor, leading Rose out into the meadow until the only light were the stars and a handful of fireflies. It had been fun and exciting dancing around the dance floor with Rose but it had been a little bit close. Valnar found a bench of polished marble and sat on it, taking Rose's hands in his own, "I know that I probably hurt you when I disappeared without a word and didn't return for a long time." Valnar was very careful to stare at their hands. "But all that time apart, more than anything, taught me just how much I want to be around you and never be away again. I want to go on adventures with you, I want to discover things with you. I just want to be with you." Valnar fidgeted slightly, this was proving to be a harder apology than he thought. "I'm glad that we released that lotus blossom…..devotion, something I want to be completely devoted to is you."

Valnar reached into his half-cloak and pulled out a small box and opened it revealing a plain band of metal, "Rose Wintercrest, will you marry me?"

“To be honest I figured you had never danced but I wanted to see just how naturally talented you are.” She laughed and felt utterly happy with him. She gave him a gentle blush before she nodded. “We have all the time in the world to practice. You can dance to anything.” She taught him as they went and slowly he got the hang of it. It was a lot like being a graceful tree runner and she was sure with his aspirations to being a ranger he would benefit from this fancy footwork. 

Tilting her head as every clapped she nodded and took his arm. “Sounds good to me,” she was content just being with him as they went out into the bare meadow where no one else was or at least they were scattered. She sat down on the bed with him and looked down at his hands. She looked sad as his words came pouring out. The oracle did not interrupt him. She just sat and listened and took in his words. She knew that not enough people listened to just listen. 

He was pouring his heart out to her. Her eyes caught the movement of his fidget and suddenly she was a bit more nervous. Something was putting her on edge, but it wasn’t a bad thing. If anything the emotion in the air was like electric to her. She about passed out on the spot as he began to reach for something. She didn’t need to be told what was going to happen next. She didn’t need a thousand visions to know the words that were going to spill out of his mouth.

She took a huge breath and held it after he asked her to marry him. She let it go and gave a smile. “Yes.” It was the only thing she could get out as she sprung herself onto him and kissed his lips. “So long as you promise not to leave me behind.” They had already decided to settle down together. This was just another step in that direction. Her eyes went to the pretty plain band and she smiled. The ring made her happy but not as much as Valnar did. “It’s pretty.” She let him put it on her hand and she stared at the silver glistening in the moonlight. “And it’s perfect.”

Then there was a sudden realization. “Well, now you have to meet Blaine and the rest of the family. Especially Blaine.” Her adoptive father would love to hear all about this. She had watched her mother go through the separation with her father but from what she remembered before Costel’s death they were happy. Estrella and Costel had been happy as well before their deaths. She felt her cheeks warm up as she blushed and held his hands as she scooted closer to him so she could swing his arm around her and put it on her hip. She snuggled into that embrace and smiled.

“You’ve made me so very happy.” She took a moment to gently caress his hands. “Next thing you know we’ll be talking babies and where our house will go.” It was mostly a joke but for some reason, it felt okay to say those things.

The yes came from Rose and then was followed quickly by the kiss on his lips and his world became entirely just him and Rose. This had become the greatest night of Valnar's life and it was looking like it was only going to get better as time went on. Valnar slipped the ring on Rose's hand and Valnar thought that there was not a thing that looked more fitting. "I'm so glad that you like it, if you can believe it I struggled over picking the right one." Valnar winked, "But I'm glad I went with this one."

Rose began talking about her family and everyone that he would have to meet and it filled Valnar with excitement, he wasn't sure if his parents were still alive though he figured that they were dead. Valnar was going to have a very large family and he knew his parents were proud. "I would very much like to meet Blaine, I had no idea that you had an adoptive father! I of course adore Toya, it was a relief meeting her when I got to Arri. Well the wedding's certainly going to be a big event." Rose scooted closer to him and under his arm, Valnar couldn't have been more comfortable holding Rose about the waist. A falling star streaked across the sky, a handful of masquerade attendees whispered nearby in the gloom of night, far below the crashing of waves could barely be heard.

Valnar smiled at Rose's comment, "I'm glad you're happy, you've made me happier than I've ever been and I look forward to being happy with you for a very, very long time." Valnar laughed at her comment on babies, "Well we could probably put in a good word with your aunt when we're ready for kids, does she still do that? As for the house we probably do need a home of some kind, I noticed a few airships on my way here the past few days. I think it would be great to have an airship as a home! Just think, a home that we could move around and bring with us on adventures and have all the comforts of home close by, certainly something to think about." Valnar got excited as he talked about his future with Rose.

Rose chuckled a bit and nodded. “I love it all the same. I think most men say they struggle with the ring they choose.” She listened down to the glistening silver band and smiled up at her. It was so perfect. She shrugged a bit. “Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen my own biological father. A lot of things happened. My mother was an alcoholic for a while… she might still be.” She thought about it but shrugged. “Blaine keeps her under control. Costel and I were from her first marriage. My brother and his wife died a while ago. Costel’s death was the reason why my mother went loony.” 

She looked up at the star and felt special to have been engaged on a night like this. “Yes, our wedding will certainly be a huge event. Oracles rather get married so it will be a special one for everyone.” She chuckled a little more. She kissed his cheek and snuggled into him more. 

“And I look forward to being happy with you for a very, very long time.” They were both creatures with long life spans. That alone made her feel better. “Angela still does it. We would probably owe her a quite a bit.” She thought about an airship and laughed. “We could bargain with my mother to lend us the money for one. I think I would quite like to have an airship home that we could take our family anywhere.”  She was just as excited as he was as she thought about it. Her hands went to his and gently held them.

“I had no idea you didn’t know Blaine was my adoptive father. Is there anything else you don’t know about me?” She tilted her head and laughed. “We’ve been in a whirlwind since we met. It is to be expected that we don’t know too much about each other. I don’t mind it, though. It just means it will be an adventure to see what you like.” She tilted her head. “We have a long life to look forward. How many children do you want.” She teased him softly. It was a very Rosenite question and Rose had never had anyone that she could ask that question to seriously.

Valnar sat thinking momentarily, "We could say that 4 or 5 for the first century or two could be reasonable, just as starters of course." Valnar winked at Rose. They both would live long lives and there would be plenty of time for children, "Seriously though, I'm not sure exactly. Hadn't really thought of it before." Valnar laughed, "Something we'll have to consider, how many do you want? In the mean time though we can have all the fun while we decide." The last part Valnar whispered into Rose's ear, the memory of them in the lake beneath Arri was still very strong, it had been one of their memories together that had carried him through the long absence from Rose.

Valnar smiled at Rose's question about there being anything else that he didn't know about her, "You know I'm not sure, but I do look forward to finding out and to meeting Blaine. It'll make the years interesting figuring all new things about each other, at almost every turn." Valnar was nervous to ask Angela for such a large amount of money, "You think Angela won't mind lending us enough for an airship? That must be quite a large sum of money, I still haven't met her and wouldn't want her to get the wrong idea." Valnar's upbringing had instilled in him a very strong work ethic and independence, his family maybe didn't have much but what they did have they had worked hard for and earned. The only time he knew his parents had gotten anything on a letter of credit was the house and pasture but nearly everything else had been gotten from hard work or passed down from Valnar's grandparents. It was very hard for Valnar to take something that he felt he hadn't earned.

The drow turned back toward to Rose, "Can we head to Arri as soon as this masquerade is over? Or I guess wherever we can meet Angela and Blaine."