Gusion reached the top floor of Aurora's Castle.
The cold throne of ice glaciers stood proudly in the middle of the throne room, grave and serene as if it was demanding its owner's presence.
Gusion crossed the room, careful not to step on the transparent floor of ice overlooking the thousands of meter drop right in front of the throne.
He wondered if Aurora enjoyed watching criminals drop below it as she sat gracefully on her throne.
Knowing Aurora's ice cold aura, he had no problem picturing her doing it.
He went straight to the other side of the room as Lucas instructed, and entered the high and heavy door that led to a completely different room that he was almost convince he had stepped into another dimension.
As soon as he stepped inside, the temperature rose several degrees.
Inside were trees with shimmering leaves, grass that swayed with the nonexistent wind, and a small wooden bridge over a spring that steamed from its warmth.
At the end of the room was a gushing layers of waterfall, gathering right into a circular pool that had pink lilies and petals floating on the surface. Its water sparkled as if it was bathed by moonlight.
Gusion headed towards the bridge, which was the center of the place. He leaned against its railings and waited for Guinevere.
His heart was beating fast.
It was like those times he was still unaware of his feelings towards her.
He always felt excited at the idea of seeing her soon and thinking back, she seemed to be the reason he stuck to fighting all those evils despite his selfish nature.
Her stubborn and headstrong personality got him hooked right from that moment he watched her escape the castle guards from both of their houses.
He felt something trembling from inside his vest. He fished it out.
The Cube.
He stared at it. He could feel its power vibrating right out of its capsule and into his gloved hands.
He could do anything he desired with it on his hands.
But right now it looked useless.
Or maybe because Gusion wanted nothing more than Guinevere being with him.
He already got his heart's desire.
Had he acquired it months before, he would've been ecstatic.
He would have gone back to the Land of Dawn, showed everyone especially his family how trully skilled he was and how wrong they were of outcasting him.
But now all he wanted to do was hide away from the world.
With that thought, he realized something.
Something swelled inside him, and a rush of heat and breathlessness ran through his veins and lungs, gathering the newly found nervousness that had gathered in his gut.
His heart leaped as the door opened and footsteps echoed through the place, making him drop the cube as his fingers trembled.
He hastily picked it up before turning to the door.
A smiled crossed his face as soon as he saw who came in.
"I got lost a couple of times." Guinevere said as she headed towards him.
Her dress was now in her style; fully belled out and lots of room for her legs to move.
"I-I should've fetched you from your room." He said and met her half way. He couldn't believe he was stuttering.
And every step closer, Gusion became more and more certain of what he had just realized.
"No. I preferred meeting here. Gives the idea of a date and not just a tour of the Castle." She said as she clung her arm against his offered elbow.
This was Guinevere. She could make his head spin with just the right words.
She was capable of softening his maculine demeanor with just the touch of a finger.
"Gus?" She asked, staring at him with a concerned look. "Are you alright?"
He cleared the imaginary lump in his throat. "Of course, I am."
He certainly was not alright.
She was so close to him, she had her arm on his elbow, and he could see how deep her emerald eyes were.
They shone with wisdom as the stars that had been there for a thousand years.
And they were --as Gusion were finding them at the moment-- soul-stirringly breathtaking.
"So how are you today, Lady Baroque?" He asked, grinning. as he tried to lift the mood that was slowly turning tense because of him.
"I am great, Lord Paxley."
"I am pleased that you have accepted my invitation of a date." He kept on as he led her towards the bridge.
"I must admit I am quite interested to find out what you have to offer, Lord Paxley." She answered, a playful smile constant on her face.
Gusion couldn't help but grin wider as he leaned to whisper in her ear. "I believe I've already demonstrated the best that I could offer."
Guinevere giggled, making him laugh along, their sound echoing in the cave-like interior of the bath.
The sound seemed to have reached his soul, making him stop laughing just to simply stare at the wonder right in front of her.
She was just so perfect. So beautifully formed that he doubted he could ever find someone as perfect as her.
"Gus?"
She had to tighten the hold on his elbow to snap him out of his reverie.
"I'm sorry about that." He led her to the other side of the bridge.
"You seem to be out of it. Has the weather got on you?"
"Certainly not." He chuckled.
If only she knew the very reason he was so out of it.
He wondered how she would have reacted.
She would probably laugh the hell out of herself.
He did not want that, so he proceeded to walking her at the side of the spring, cherishing the calming sound of waterfalls in which direction they were headed.
"I would've stolen the idea of this place had I been given the chance to go ho--!" Guinevere caught herself, but Gusion was aware she was about to say home.
Home. The very place his love had cost for her.
He immediately felt guilty.
They had been in a lot of place together, and she had always seemed to appear comfortable anywhere that he sometimes forget she had a group of maids constantly at her beck and call back at Castle Gorge.
She gave up all those comfort and security for him.
"Do you miss home?" he asked.
"Of course not." she denied.
He looked at her, then sighed affectionately as he made her face him and cupped her face in his palm.
"You don't have to deny such sentiments from me."
"I am not denying." She insisted.
"Guin..." He muttered in a scolding tone.
"Gusion Paxley..." She muttered firmly as she pressed a palm on his cheek. "That place had felt like a prison the moment I was stripped away of the freedom of whom I was going to marry."
Her hand slid down to her neck and clung to the back, pulling him down so her forehead came pressing against his own.
"So believe me when I say, my home is right here." She planted a kiss on his lips, just an innocent and a quick one, but with that and what she had just said, it was enough to ignite a fire inside him.
He had to take a deep breath as he wrapped her arms around her, burying his face into her shoulder as he savored her warmth and how sweet she smelled.
But then he felt how she took a deep breath, and saw the same fire from inside him reflected in her eyes, followed by the embarrassment as both of them pulled away as they remembered how they had thrown every last drop of caution into the air the other night.
They walked towards the waterfalls with a small distance between them, finding the awkward air between them foreign.
"What are you doing?" He asked when she saw her kicking of her shoes and stepping right inside the pool the where the water fell into.
He saw how the hem of her skirt darkened as they dipped into the water, saw how her graceful movement created ripples across the shimmering pool, but more importantly, he saw how everything seemed to went into slow motion as she turned to him with a smile.
"We really should be careful around each other, Paxley."
"And why is that?" He asked, trying to calm his panicking heart.
"You don't want a little one tagging along our dangerous detours, do you?"
The thought struck him.
The thought of having a little Gusion...or a little Guinevere tagging along them...
It didn't seem so bad of a thought for him.
He knew it right then and there what he wanted to do.
"What if I do?" He asked, stepping into the water himself.
Her brows arched in surprise. "What?"
He crossed the distance between them, one step at a time, taking his time as he cherished her confused look.
"What if I could imagine myself having an offspring with you?" He cleared when he arrived right in front of her.
Her eyes were directly on him. And something swelled inside him as he saw that there was no fear in her eyes.
She was probably thinking of the two of them having a child and yet she felt no fear about it.
She was certain of him just as he was certain of how he felt for her.
And there was no need for her to answer.
He kissed her, her tongue meeting his in the same passion and heat that he was feeling.
There was this new feeling in their touch, sparking at every inch their skin made contact, different front that first night they made love.
That time was a mixture of fear and uncertainty and love. Different from the other night which was filled with lust and desire and passion.
This one had certainty, a firm affirmation of their feelings for each other, filled with assurance that one owned the whole being of the other.
Gusion curled his arm around Guinevere's waist, pulling her close as his other hand undid the ties of her corset, all so his lips could glide down to her chest and reach her bossom.
He was fully aware of her every sigh, of how her arms tightened around him for support, and how her fingers buried itself into his hair.
They reached the center of the pool where there was a platform where one could sit and be chest deep within the water.
He made Guinevere sit there as he knelt right in front of her, his lips still exploring her chest but his hand reaching down to her ankle, which he could now reach.
His fingers glided from there and up, to her calf, to the back of her knees, and slowing down as they reached her thigh.
That was when he stopped.
He stopped and got to his feet.
"Is something wrong?" Guinevere asked.
"This is wrong." He turned his back on her cause he doubted if he could ever compose himself with that image of her right in front of him.
"What?" She asked, clearly insulted.
"Guin, I want you to get up and fix yourself."
He heard her scoff, followed by the splashing of water as she moved.
"I can't believe you're insulting me like this."
"I'm sorry, Guin." He said and tried to look for something within his clothes.
Then he felt it.
The cube. Right in the pocket of his coat.
He took it out. It was the perfect thing.
So he turned to face her.
She had an expressionless look on her face, the same one she wears whenever she was dangerously pissed of something.
The sleeves of her dress were unevenly placed, her hair a mess and her lips red and puffy; all thanks to him.
He would've given anything to continue what they were doing, but he knew he had to make one thing right in this messed up life of his.
So he bent on one knee and held up the cube. "Marry me, Guinevere Baroque."