The Queen of the Waves

29: a Thin Line of Gold

Mara fell asleep with tears still studding her cheeks. She didn't awake when Bas closed the door behind him, the wind took it from his hand and it slammed. He winced as he removed his coat, hanging it on the coat hanger near the door.

Bas was careful to remove the precious little box from his pocket, sliding it into his palm before taking the stairs which would lead him to Mara.

He sat heavily down on the bed, it woke Mara with a startle but as soon as she saw it was him, her face relaxed.

"Bas," Mara began. "I-I'm so sorry for what I said earlier."

Bas cut her off with a kiss, soft and feeling before he pulled away. Her eyes grew with a gentle smile as she threw her arms around his neck.

Lightly patting her back, Bas told Mara to pull away and look up at him and she did.

"What is it?" Mara asked, her voice slightly high from distress.

"The decent thing." Whether Bas meant for it to come out as it did us unclear, but his tone towards Mara was cold and emotionless.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the box, the hinges creaked as it opened revealing the thin line of gold.

"Will you marry me, Amara?"

"Bas," her throat choked with hurt, "why are you doing this?"

Bas looked up at her but didn't speak, he had taken her question as an answer before Mara even had a chance to make her own decision.

"Bas?" Mara tried more firmly, both of them as hurt as the other, " are you just doing this for reputation?"

"Of course." Bas replied, it wasn't the only reason he was doing it of course, but Mara's reputation was an important factor for him. He wouldn't have her hurt by his mistake.

Mara began to sob as she abruptly stood from the bed. Bas watched open mouthed as she got on her hands and knees and began digging under the bed.

She couldn't believe he would be so cold, to only propose marriage to her to protect his precious reputation.

"Mara?" Bas called out in confusion as she found a bag underneath the bed and began to leave the room.

"Stop!" Mara begged, still weeping with a bleeding heart, "please just stop!"

Bas opened and shut his mouth in confusion, holding out the box pathetically in a silent last stitch attempt at righting the wrong he didn't realise he had made.

Mara huffed in anger, ready to scream with the hurt Bas was inflicting on her already wounded heart.

She grabbed the box and hurled it at the wall. Distracted, Bas scrambled to find it again and Mara seized her opportunity to disappear down the stairs.

By the time Bas' hand closed around the velvet box, Mara was gone. The door slamming behind her.

Bas cursed and headed after Mara, this wasn't how he planned the evening going. He knew it wasn't the most romantic of proposals, but his intentions were romantic and honourable. He just wanted to spare Mara any unnecessary distress, but he seemed to have caused more.

Stopping only to grab his thick wool coat, Bas was after Mara with only minutes between the pair. The problem was that Mara had been trained since she could walk to disappear in a crowd or a deserted street.

By the time Bas thundered onto the cobbles, but Mara was gone.

Bas swore at the sky and stared down the street in both directions. He guessed that Mara would head towards the poorer parts of Andonia, her reaction to his mother told him that she was uncomfortable in upper class society.

Listening to his instincts, he took off down the street towards the slums and dilapidated building.

Mara's breath ached in her chest as her eyes frantically scanned for a place to stay, to keep warm, to earn money.

Bas would be better off without her now, but she still needed to find a job. Rowdy men hollered at her as she dashed down winding street after winding street.

Hours past and Bas still hadn't found Mara, he asked every passer by he saw if he had seen someone fitting her description, but there was no word. She was too good at vanishing.

Mara had pulled on every item of clothing to protect her from the freezing chill of the Andonian coast. Even in the winter months in Zauros, it had never been this cold.

Teeth chattering, Mara reluctantly hesitated at the sight of a brothel. Warm and light bled out onto the street.

Her feet spun on the pavement as she thought it through.

Ciaran always thought she was a whore, and Bas clearly did too, maybe it would be better if just did what everyone thought she already was.

She lifted her foot to take a step towards the brothel, but a deep voice stopped her.

"Don't you dare." Mara whipped her head around and saw Bas standing a few feet away, anger glowering from his eyes.

"Bas." Mara whimpered, forgetting herself as she ran towards him and hid her face in his chest.

"I'm sorry, Mara." Bas' voice with heavy with tears, "I'm so sorry I hurt you."

Mara was still shivering and Bas took notice of it. Pulling her into his coat, he wrapped her in his warmth as he rocked her while she weeped.

"I don't mean to damage your reputation." Mara weeped, her tears soaking through to reach Bas' skin.

"My reputation? Mara I don't care what anyone says about us, about you."

"Then why did you say it was because of your reputation?" Mara mumbled, her lips still trembling from the cold and ill-suited clothing.

"I didn't? I said I didn't want to risk damaging your reputation."

"Oh Bas," Mara's face appeared from deep within his chest, she looked up at him with tear stained cheeks. "I don't care about any of that, I just want you."

"Really?" Bas' voice was laced with insecurity.

"I-I just wanted a romantic proposal, where you told me you loved me, and I told you I loved you too."

"You love me?" Bas stammered out.

"Yes, Sebastian. I do."

"I-I didn't want to say it too fast, I didn't want to put you on the spot."

"Oh, Bas." Mara sniffled and leant up to kiss his cheek. "What a pair we are." She giggled as Bas nodded his head in agreement.

"From now on, we are always honest. No miscommunication, please."

"Definitely not," Bas agreed, peppering her face with little kisses.

"Then sticking with the promise, I have a few things to tell you. One, don't ever run away from me again, if you're cross, lock me out of the room. Ok?"

"Yes." Mara squeaked out as Bas began to lead her towards home.

"Two, you tell me whenever I'm upsetting you. And finally, if I don't tell you I love you every single day, you are to tell me."

Mara smiled and nodded her head in agreement as Bas confidently took her down street after street, wrapped in his coat, until home was in sight.

Her home.