Keziah -20 years old
(1 year later)
"Why did I let you and Victor talk me into coming to this event? I could be working on one of the many projects I have in the works. I don't think either of you like me," I whispered, then smiled brightly at two patrons who had been following my work since the beginning. They nodded in our direction but did not approach me.
"You know that I like you very much, so stop speaking nonsense. As for Victor, he doesn't have a choice but to like you. His fiancée, Callie, is your best friend, so while he might complain to me about your workaholic nature interfering with the socializing you need to do, that means he cares enough to be annoyed." Cy gave my hand a squeeze as he walked with me around the room.
We had been stopping and discussing pieces that interested us, drawing people's attention, but still, no one approached us.
"Cy, why has no one approached us since we were greeted at the door by the hosts of this event?" I asked softly, placing a token beneath a tapestry I wanted to purchase before we continued our circuit of the gallery.
"Mmmm, a few reasons come to mind as to why no one is approaching you." This silly man responded as he stared profoundly at a sculpture that honestly looked like someone holding their butt cheeks apart to display their anus.
I was trying my best not to burst into laughter, but it was increasingly a losing battle as Cy analyzed it with such intensity that it brought other people over, who began to discuss with him what they thought the artist's intentions were with this abstract art.
A few giggles escaped me before I grabbed a glass of wine to occupy my mouth. As my luck would have it, Amias came up beside me at the exact moment I was taking a sip to say quite loudly, "I don't see anything profound here. That is someone holding their cheeks apart and showing their hole to a room of strangers. Artistically done, I won't argue, but a butt and hole all the same."
I almost choked on my wine, I laughed so hard. Amias, like the good brother he was, kept me off the floor as I laughed loudly and uncontrollably in a very unladylike way. He had somehow grown taller than me now, so he was doing just fine as he grinned down at me while holding me up.
Cy came back over to me, chuckling. "You ruined it, Amias. I'm trying to help your sister develop the skill of looking at any piece of art and keeping her expression neutral while discussing it. Now, not only has she utterly failed in her training, but others must think she is uncultured. However will your sister find a husband now?"
I immediately stopped laughing and looked at Cy with a bemused expression, wondering how we got to this topic.
"Oh no, whatever can we do? Who will take this laughing master artist off our family's hands now? Is there no one who will still want her?"
From somewhere came Quinn, with my sister-in-law, Eliora, on his arm. She was looking very amused at Quinn's deadpan tone as he asked these questions. Standing up and setting myself to rights again with her help, we then hugged each other.
"I think our sister may indeed have trouble finding a man who will be patient, kind, and understanding of her behavior. I only know of one man who might be worthy of proving his worth in a long engagement with her. What do you think, dear? Do you think the man we have in mind might be compatible with her?"
"I do think he just might work. He has been very supportive of her personal and professional goals. Even when he must travel, he sends letters and gifts to make sure he is never far from her thoughts and to show that she is never far from his thoughts." Quinn responded with a thoughtful expression and a small smile.
The longer this strange act went on, the more curious I became about how this would play out and who exactly this man they were speaking about was.
"Let's go speak with Mother and Father. They are out on the terrace. Let's get their thoughts on the matter before we bring this up to Kezi," Amias proposed, then led the way to where my parents apparently were.
I linked arms with Cy, then followed behind my family to where our parents were.
"I didn't even know they would be here today. Why didn't they say anything when you picked me up earlier this afternoon?" I questioned Cy, but Cy just smiled at me, patting my hand. We exited onto the terrace, which was gorgeously decorated with all of my favorite flowers in a very tasteful manner. As we walked over to the table where my parents were sitting, I noticed there was a statue sitting on the table beside them. When we were close enough, I recognized it as the birthday gift I had given Mom last year. It was a sculpture of her parents standing next to each other with arms linked. I did well on the fine details, if I do say so myself. I couldn't help feeling very proud of this particular work, especially when Mother broke down crying.
I didn't know until I gave her the gift that Mom hadn't been able to look at any images of her parents for years. She thanked me for helping her accept that they were truly gone and for giving her the best gift she couldn't have imagined asking for. She also thanked me for carrying on both of their legacies and told me that my doing so was more than she or they could have ever asked for. I was reminiscing, but not for long. My parents were asking us why we had come looking for them when we should be enjoying the event.
"Mother, Duke Oberon just informed us that our sister Kezi may have trouble finding a husband one day because she was laughing too much and too loudly just now. We think it is time to start considering options before no one wants to marry her. Sister Eliora seems to have a potential candidate in mind. Do you approve of the candidate proposing to Sister Kezi?" Amias said clearly, obviously reading off a sheet of paper.
The rest of my family pulled out papers and then quietly conferred with each other about something while Cy and I watched on with amusement. "Do you know what is going on?" I asked him out of the side of my mouth. "Maybe," was the one-word response I got before my family seemed to come to some conclusion and waved us over. It wasn't until we were all seated that I noticed others had migrated out to sit at the other tables and that our table was in the center. Anxiety was starting to creep in, but Cy held my hand, keeping me calm. He gave me a wink and a squeeze of the hand just as my father spoke.
"Your mother and I agree that the candidate Eliora has in mind would possibly be worthy of Keziah and that a two-year engagement should do well to make sure of compatibility and to also give Keziah time to reach Premier status in one of her disciplines. Keziah, my daughter, please know that you don't ever have to get married. We just want to give this person a chance because he did come and ask for your hand." Father grasped my hand on the table, looking me in my eyes, letting me know he spoke the truth.
Looking at each family member, I saw that if I said I didn't want to get married, they wouldn't make me. Well, now I'm really curious as to who this candidate is. "I understand. I would like to know who this man is that you all seem to think might be worthy of me. You have spoken good things about him and, I'm guessing, have already spoken to him about a long engagement. So, I like what I'm hearing so far. Who is this mystery man?" I asked with a curious smile.
I felt a tug on my other hand, and when I turned my attention to Cyrus, I saw that he was kneeling in front of me with a beautiful ring held out to me. I gasped, seeing all the pieces they had laid before me come together. "It's you. You want to marry me. Why do you want to marry me?" I turned so my whole body was facing him as I tried to get my thoughts in order. I loved him as a friend, but could I love him as a lover and my husband? As I thought on this matter, snapshots of every interaction from my first life and this one ran through my mind. I felt a bit foolish for not seeing the romantic affection in his actions for what they were.
"Yes, it is me. I want to marry you because it has always been you. Since I felt something for anyone that was more than a crush, it's been you. I have loved you in every life, and I'm hoping that I can finally put a claim on your heart in this one," he said softly to me, as if it was just us here. I must have had the biggest shocked expression once his words translated in my mind. "You remember when I was queen . . ." Leaning forward, looking deep into his eyes, I whispered to him. His shocked face made me feel better, for apparently, he hadn't known before now. He quickly stood up and held out his hand to me.
"I think we must go into semi-private negotiations. What say you, Zizi?" he asked me with a watery smile. I stood up, taking his hand with an equally watery smile. "I think a walk around the garden in view of my family will suffice. Yes, it appears we have some details to iron out before I accept your proposal. Excuse us, family and friends." He bowed, and I curtsied, then we walked into the gardens to discuss the past and possibly our future.