Lost Princess

Chapter 16: How It Happened

After accepting Hawk's proposal they had kissed for what felt like ages before the two of them broke apart. Finally allowing Rose to get a look at the ring Hawk had placed on her finger. The ring itself was gorgeous and seemed to be the ring version of Hawk's snow wand, making Rose wonder exactly how long Hawk had been planning on proposing to her if he had been carrying the ring with him. Oddly enough it filled her with joy instead of confusion, considering she had wanted to take things slow. Now however she just wanted to be married to Hawk as soon as possible.

"I guess we should head back to Snow White Castle. Your grandmother and Ariana are probably worried by now," Rose said as she reluctantly moved away from Hawk knowing if she stayed too close the two of them would just end up in each other's arms again.

Hawk looked just as reluctant as she felt, but agreed. They were soon on their way back to the Castle, neither talking as they basked in the feeling of being newly engaged. Rose knew they still had a lot to discuss about what had happened in the last five years, but she also knew as long as they were together that they could handle anything. She was also very glad that he hadn't asked her more about her death and coming back, she knew he had realized what she had said wasn't true, but he was fine with not asking. Knowing how empathetic Hawk was he probably didn't want to make her relive the worst memory of her life, not because of her death, but because she had known even then just how much danger their daughter would be in.

"They're probably fine, honestly considering we didn't leave that long ago Grandmother probably isn't even worried. Although I do really want to see Ariana and just confirm for myself she's fine. I trust Grandmother, but it's kind of hard to explain just how worried I am that something could have happened." 

"Welcome to parenthood Hawk, half of the time our feelings aren't rational when our children are in any kind of danger. Honestly I doubt it will ever get easier, but with us being together now it will be easier to manage my overthinking."

"Not sure if I'll be much help with that right now. I'm terrified of everything that could hurt her right now. Both of you are my world."

The look of pure love in Hawk's eyes had Rose's knees going weak. Smiling at him she hoped he knew just how much he meant to her, that her worrying hadn't been anything against him, but because that's just how her brain was wired. Rose always worried about things and over thought them. Always worried that one day she would wake up to find that her entire life as a Cinderella had just been some kind of elaborate dream. Even if at times it seemed more like a nightmare, the good far outweighed the bad. 

Plus she always worried that she wasn't good enough for Hawk. That he needed someone who had grown up knowing about the Fairy Tale Realm. Someone who could be the Queen he deserved. Most of the time she didn't feel worthy of having been blessed by magic. Living away from it for 5 years had been difficult and if she hadn't had Ariana with her it probably would have been a living hell. Knowing about magic and then losing access to so much of it had been hard, although not as hard as not seeing her friends. 

"You both mean the world to me as well. I do love you Hawk, even if I'm terrible at showing it. I know it's odd with how I never seemed to hold in my excitement of being a part of this world, but I just was terrified of letting you in to my heart." There was so much more she wanted to say, but she couldn't find the words. 

"All I need to know Rose is that you love me, I don't care if it took us this long to get here, because waiting for you was worth it."

Hawk was still just as capable of making her swoon as he was when they were younger. She wondered if it had been some kind of required Snow White training to learn how to disable your opponents with words. Or maybe a way to always make sure his future Queen would know how much she meant to him. He was a true wordsmith.