Dream Come True

Chapter 3

"They did the best..." Marigold started to say, feeling the need to defend her friend's choice.

"Would you have done the same to me?" Balder asked, his fists so tightly clenched that his nails cut into his skin.

"No, of course not," Marigold said, shocked by the mere thought of decommissioning her little boy even if he wasn't one hundred percent himself. "But we are not in their position. We don't know their reasoning. For that reason, we can't judge them for their decision."

"Fine, fine, let's not judge those horrible people," Balder said, running his fingers through his hair, tempted to pull at it in frustration. "What about the Marriage Act?"

"Are you sure you want to go down that road?" Jonathan asked in shock. "You are eighteen and could legally evoke it but as far as I know, you weren't even dating when all this happened."

"You don't know that," Balder said as an idea started taking form. "No one can tell whether we were dating or not. After all, we were together all the time. They can't prove that we weren't dating. I'll fill out the form saying we planned to get married upon my return, to settle down. Thus, I have the legal right to decide whether or not she should remain in the Castle of Doom."

"Don't you think that's too much to take on for your friend?" Marigold gently asked. "I know you care about her, but marriage isn't easy under the best circumstances. Marrying her just because you want to save her is bound to make everything so much harder."

"Don't you guys get it?" Balder asked, frustrated at his parents but more importantly at himself. "I do love her! I always have. It was just that I didn't have the chance to realize my true feelings because I was only thinking of my adventures and my dreams, never truly realizing that my dream was to be by her side. Forever."

Seeing the determination and affection in their son's eyes, Marigold and Jonathan hesitantly agreed to what he was suggesting. Lying to the governing bodies wouldn't be that much of an issue since they were the planet's royal family, even though they didn't have as much power as their ancestors had.

As parents, what they wanted was for their son to be happy. That was all that mattered.

Besides, Rose's gentle and kind nature was bound to temper any lesser instincts caused by her artificial parts. Also, her heart and brain, the two most important organs, were still her own.

"Very well, you can head to the Castle of Doom," Jonathan finally said after receiving a nod of approval from his wife. "I'll complete the form and send it to your virtual inbox. Just show it to the guards, and they will initiate reanimation immediately."

"With all her memories intact?" Balder asked, remembering that one horrible incident.

"With all her memories intact," Jonathan said soothingly.

The Castle of Doom was an old storage unit built so high that some people likened it to castles filled with poor souls whose augmentations exceeded the legal limits to be considered human. It was made even gloomier by enormous baobab trees hiding its ugly truth, never managing to fully conceal it but helping people ignore the cruelty of their own ways, which to Balder seemed worse than the viciousness exhibited in the Cyborg Wars.

When Balder reached the hidden entrance, a guard popped out of nowhere, bowing deeply upon recognizing the prince.

"We have already received the new orders. We only need the confirmation scan," the guard said meekly.

Balder used his eye augmentation to finish the additional scanning and was soon led deeper into the disturbing place with people randomly arranged around, not fully living and neither completely dead. It gave him a creepy sensation and a deep sadness that the woman he loved was in such a gloomy place.

"This way, Your Highness," the guard said, leading him to the dark corner with one spot of life. Rose. "The reanimation process has already started. She should be awake soon."

"Thank you," Balder said, his throat tightening and his heart beating a mile a minute. "You may leave us now."

"But, Your Highness , it can be dangerous," the guard said hesitantly. "She might not be the same person you knew. She may try to hurt you."

"LEAVE US!" Balder screamed in the guard's face, insulted that he would dare assume something like that about the gentlest woman he ever knew.

Slowly, life started coming back to Rose's eyes.

Her organic and inorganic body parts started regaining vigor until her eyelashes trembled, and her big brown eyes looked deep into his.

"Balder, you're back!" was the first thing she said. "I thought I would never see you again."

Rose.

His Rose.

How could anyone think of her as dangerous?

However, as she said so, a realization dawned on her, making her eyes bigger in fear.

"You shouldn't be here...I might be dangerous... I might hurt you," Rose said, her trembling voice matched by her shaking hands that kept reaching out but never dared touch Balder. "I can't allow that to happen... I love you too much for that."

As she said that, her face flashed bright red, embarrassment stronger than any other emotion because she hadn't meant to admit it like that, probably never.

"Rose, oh, my dear Rose," Balder said, crossing the distance between them and hugging her gently.

Even with all the augmentations and changes, she was still the same. They still fit perfectly.

He reverently stroked her beautiful dark hair as he whispered in her ear.

"I love you, too. I was just an idiot who needed to go to a whole new galaxy to figure it out," Balder whispered with all the love he felt for this person who was now both fragile and strong but still his Rose.

"But...That's impossible...You..." Rose said, stumbling over her words.

"I called upon the Marriage Act, and I wouldn't do that if I wasn't sure, would I?" Balder said.

Remembering how he often told her that marriage was vital for him and that he would never enter into it for anything but love, Rose was ready to believe him. However, there was another proof she needed.

"May I kiss you?" Rose asked shyly.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that?" Balder said as he gently lowered his lips on hers, tasting the sweet nectar of her lips for the first time.

"I guess I woke you up with a kiss," he said jokingly as they broke the kiss.

"What do we do now?" she asked hesitantly.

"I am not sure. I guess we'll figure it out as we go. Together," Balder said, hugging her firmly and taking her away from the dark and gloomy place that was supposed to be her eternal home.

Finally, they were together, and Balder was determined never to be apart from her again. And to love her so fiercely that he would make up for all the years she was deprived of his love.

The End