A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

  The combination of those seven words in a sentence seemed rather foreign to you. It was as though you were behind a glass wall and couldn't hear them. Frozen, you just stood there with your mouth hanging open ever so slightly. Did you really hear Lucian correctly? You figured that ruling with him would imply such an arrangement, but it seemed so far off in your mind. Now that it stared you in the face, you were like a deer in headlights, caught off guard and utterly surprised. Your own words seemed to jumble themselves into incoherent sounds of stuttering while your hands suddenly sought pockets to hide themselves in. Finding the ability to breathe again, you glanced up at him and tried to form a coherent sentence. Still nothing would leave your lips and you watched as Lucian walked back towards you, closing the distance between you two with every step. Each step sounded loudly in your ears, but your heartbeat was louder. When his hands rested on your shoulders, you felt yourself tense up at the contact. Locking his gaze once more with yours, he gently placed his right fingers under your chin.

"Why, do you not accept the proposal?"

Why were words failing you at this moment? You were frustrated at your own nervousness and found yourself glancing to the left side of you, as if that would make this decision vanish into thin air. Knowing that such a remedy didn't exist, you stared back at him and bit your bottom lip while you contemplated for the right words. Lucian didn't take his eyes off of you for a single moment, as he tried to decipher what you were thinking. There was no doubt that you had fallen for Lucian, for you even announced your feelings for him back at the Venefici Ballatio, though were you really ready for marriage? Technically, the arrangement wouldn't be that different considering the fact that you already lived with him and had him almost always by your side. Maybe it was just the idea and the fact that he would be your husband. It seemed so odd and your mind was having difficulty processing the proposal. Noticing Lucian's gaze, you could tell that he was getting impatient with you and for a moment you saw a wave of anger cross his eyes. Seeing this, you knew that you had to answer his question. With a hesitant and almost unnoticeable shake of the head, you indicated your answer.

His purple eyes glanced over your (e/c) orbs, as if determining whether you meant your answer. Pinpointing no lie in your gesture, a gentle smile painted itself across Lucian's lips. Your simple and silent shake of the head meant more to him than you answering with words, for your gesture and the look in your eyes told him everything he needed to know. Moving his fingers from your chin to some loose strands of your hair, he pushed them back. The action caused a shiver to go up your spine, as you felt some heat rise to your cheeks. Soon his left arm wrapped around your waist and pulled you closer to him. Wincing slightly due to the bruises, you pushed the pain aside and rested your head against his chest.

You were tired from the encounters with the various creatures in the traps as well as the ordeal that occurred in the woods. Thus you just needed to rest your head and Lucian's chest seemed to provide the perfect comfort for that. Personally, you didn't know what consequences would come out of your decision. At the moment though, you just wanted to rest your eyes and Lucian's steady heartbeat seemed to lull you to sleep. When your body went limp in his arms, he picked you up bridal style and carried you the rest of the way to your room.

Waking up in the morning, you found yourself curled up in your greyish-teal sheets while your head rested in Lucian's lap. Yawning slightly while rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, you glanced up at him before sitting up in the bed. When you went to tell him 'good morning', you smiled to yourself, as you saw him already asleep. You went to get out of your bed and change, but you found Lucian's arms wrapped around you, keeping you where you were. At first you tried to remove his arms from you, but found that his grip was annoyingly strong. Sighing in slight irritation, you leaned back against the headboard of the bed and waited for him to wake up. Not having much to do, you lazily ran your left fingers through his long raven black hair. A few hours passed before he opened his eyes. At last, you were released from his grip and you got out of the bed.

Lucian muttered, "Sorry," before getting out of the bed himself and walking over to your bedroom door.

Before leaving, he stated that he was going to attend to his morning routine and then head to a council meeting. Furthermore, he mentioned that he wouldn't be back until late in the afternoon and that the documents of evidence were located in the library. Nodding in response, you realized that you had no idea where the library was. When you went to ask Lucian, you found that he had already left. With that in mind, you decided that you would ask Nafera or one of the other dolls. Hopefully, they wouldn't be hard to find. Thus after changing into a simple crimson short sleeved dress that rested just above your knees, you placed your black slippers back on your feet and headed to the dining room. The doll with curly bleach blonde hair and orange eyes was the one who oversaw the cooking today and she served you a fresh apple turnover with scrambled eggs and orange slices. A cup of coffee with just crème sat on the table as well. Overall, it was a rather simple breakfast, but it tasted amazing, for the simplicity merely allowed the flavors to shine in perfect harmony.

Finishing your breakfast, you asked for directions to the library. Thanking the doll, she bowed slightly before taking your empty plate and cup, and heading into the kitchen. Following her directions, you walked between the twin staircases in the foyer and headed to the very back of the hall. Taking a left, you went down until you reached the second door. Standing in front of the door, you noticed that it was made of Birchwood and had a silver doorknob adorned with rubies. Turning the knob, you found a comforting library greeting you. Four mahogany bookshelves lined each side of the library while books filled in the wooden pieces of furniture. A blue, red and crème rug lay out across the polished wooden floor while a rectangular wooden table rested on top. Up ahead was an unlit fireplace that had a blue arm chair in front of it as well as a brass bowl filled with logs. At the far left corner of the room was a winding staircase that led to the second story of the library. Two grand chandeliers and a paned window illuminated the room and its high wooden ceilings.

Going further into the room, you closed the door behind you and looked around for the documents. Heading up the stairs and onto the second story, you saw a rectangular wooden table that had papers spread across it. Assuming that to be the documents you needed, you scanned over one and did indeed find it to be discussing a monster attack. It was strange for the documents to be lying out like this, but maybe Lucian had removed them from their hiding spot in order for you to look over them. Grabbing the documents, you went back to the first floor and headed towards the rectangular table. You liked the first floor more due to it having more light. Thus you pulled the blue armchair over to the table before lighting the fire. Despite the fact that you wanted to read by the fire, you were worried that one of the documents could slip from your hands and be consumed by the flames That's the last thing you needed and so you were content with sitting at the table.

After reading the first document, you decided you would need a pen and paper to take down all the important points of the document in case you needed a quick review before the announcement. You had to go back up to the second story in order retrieve such items. They were kept in an old mahogany dresser in the top left drawer. Out of curiosity, you checked the other drawers only to discover that all the drawers held pens and paper. Taking a single black ink pen and multiple sheets of paper, you went back to your table and started once more on your work.

According to the document, the council had allowed a pack of dalaphnat to rampage through a small town, whose individuals were strong supporters of the Veneice family, however the council had managed to frame the occurrence on the Veneice family themselves. This terminated any and all support for the family and the villagers in turn banned any members of the family from entering the town. Moreover, the document detailed the timing of the attack as well as who was paid to lower the town's defenses. Everything about the incident was laid out in this document. There would be no doubt in the benefit that this would provide. Furthermore, you could prove that the document wasn't fake due to the paper beingg signed by each of the council members, who wished to support the crime. The council's formality in planning these wretched crimes would soon be a curse to them.

Time passed by rather quickly, as you read through the documents and took notes on them. Every piece of parchment was indeed authentic and held no falsity due to the signatures. As you read another document, you happened to realize that it had gotten dark outside. It seemed only a few moments ago that you had eaten lunch, which consisted of chicken tortilla soup and a glass of strawberry iced tea. Seeing that you had twenty-five documents left, you felt that you could end your reading session for today, since you had managed to read through five so far. You wanted to finish reading them by Thursday, so that you could discuss the details with Lucian on Friday and be prepared for the announcement on Saturday.

Putting the documents back where you found them, you traveled down to the first floor once more and saw that the fire was about to go out. Placing some more logs into it, you watched the flames grow once more, as you made yourself comfortable in the blue armchair. Laying your legs over the left armrest and resting your head on the right armrest, you draped your left arm over your eyes and just relaxed, though you became worried when you realized that it was night, yet Lucian hadn't returned. Hoping that nothing happened to him, you figured that he had just went to bed, though it was strange for him not to greet you first. Deciding this odd, you were about to get up before you felt hands wrap around your left hand. Startled, you were about to jump up, but stopped when you felt something slip onto your left ring finger. Looking up, you saw Lucian smiling down at you while his hands still surrounded your hand. You knew what he just put on your hand, but you were still slightly shocked from Lucian's proclamation. Casting your gaze onto your left ring finger, you did indeed see a ring resting there.