"What were you thinking? How could you let him put on the helmet?" Kid yells, once everything has settled down, and the villains taken away. I stare at the red-head, trying to keep the turmoil of my emotions deep inside. "Nabu will never release him now. Kaldur will be trapped inside Dr. Fate forever." He says. "I'll be the judge of that!" I snap. Everyone looks at me as I march up to Fate, revealing no emotion. I place my hand on the center of the helmet, closing my eyes as I enter Fate's domain.
When I open them again, I see Kaldur and Kent standing side by side. They have yet to know of my presence. "Yes, it is true, Kent. But do you know if she feels the same?" He asks. "Trust me, son. If I know her as much as I'm sure I do, she feels the same. Just be careful with her, though. She buries her heart deeper than her emotions, behind that mask of hers." Kent advises.
I realize that they're talking about me, but before I can let them know of my presence, Nabu's helmet appears where they're facing. "Ah, Nabu. Good job on that one. You did spectacularly, as always." "I have been ignored for far too long, Kent. The Earth needs Doctor Fate." Nabu replies. My eyes widen.
"Nabu. No!" I say. Both Kaldur and Kent turn to see me. I stand next to them. "Esmeralda, do not try to change my decision. I do not appreciate being placed upon a dusty shelf along with other 'knick-knacks'." He states. "Nabu. Please. After everything I've been through, don't do this to me. You know how hard it is for me to..." I trail off, looking down for just a moment. "You cannot take Kaldur. He is not the right deligate to wield your powers." Kent adds, looking at me in a sad way.
I take a deep breath, looking back up at the Lord of Order. "Release him, Nabu, and you would only have to wait a little while longer. Just until we find the right candidate for the helmet. I'll even look for them myself." I offer, placing a hand over my heart. "Do you mean this, Princess?" He asks, sounding unsure. "You have my solemn word. Avula teja kory'ish." I promise. It's silent as he thinks it over. I take Kaldur's hand, squeezing it in mine. My heart hammers against my rib cage with each passing second.
"With your word, I trust that you will do. Do not dawdle during your search." He tells me. I release a shaky breath, and turn to face Kent. He gives me a hug. "I'm proud of you, your highness. You've come even farther than last time we saw each other." I hug him back tighter. "I miss you, Kent. I miss our everyday conversations." I admit to him. "Hey, I'm always with you, you know that. Even if I'm stuck here in this helmet." He says, chuckling. I nod.
"You've grown into a beautiful woman these past eight years. You've matured greatly, and I can see that being with the team has helped you, changed you." He tells me, pulling away. "You've come out of your shell, and it's breathtaking to see." I stand by Kaldur, his hand taking mine once more. Kent sees. "And Esmeralda?" Kent says. "Yes?" I ask. He smiles bigger. "Tell Wally I said hello. I'm glad you got over your fear, Esmeralda..." His voice trails off as white light blinds me.
I open my eyes to see Kaldur taking off the helmet. His striking silver eyes meet mine. I never thought I'd be so glad to see those wonderful eyes of his. I smile, tackling him as my joy spreads. He falls back, onto his back with me to his side, my arms wrapped tightly around his chest. Tears pour from my eyes as my head lays against his chest, listening to his heart pounding away. I don't want to let him go anytime soon.
"Nabu let you go?" "He almost did not." Kaldur answers, looking up from me to Kid. His chest vibrates as he speaks. "But your friend Kent was most helpful, as well as Emma. They were very persuasive. Kent says hello, by the way." He says, sitting up, rubbing my back gently.
"We're done here." Batman states, and I turn my head to look at him. "The Super-Villain Secret Society has been neutralized. As for your performance..." He trails off, giving us a dramatic suspension, "It was satisfactory." I let go of Kaldur as he stands up, helmet in hand. He then helps me up to my feet, and I wrap my arms around him again, ignoring all the looks from the League. I don't care whether they're confused or not. They don't matter right now.
***
When we reach the cave, everyone kinda separates to go do their own thing. It's night, but I feel wide awake. I've barely left Kaldur's side since the helmet was taken off. I'm not complaining, and Kaldur isn't either. The very few times that I did pull away, even for a few minutes thinking that he might want some space, he pulls me back to his side by the hand. The entire ride back to the cave, we sat by each other, hands held tight. The others either didn't notice, or simply weren't going to mention it at the moment.
Anyways, Kaldur and I were walking around the mountain, enjoying each other's company. We'd be quiet when passing the others' rooms, but other than that, we'd share stories from our childhoods. I shared with him some of the games I used to play with Klarion, when we were still kids, and he shared with me the story of how he became Aquaman's apprentice. It was a rather interesting story, that grabbed my attention from beginning to end.
After a while of just walking around the hallways with him, I started to get tired. We soon stopped in front of my room, and we said our good nights. Before I could open the door, however, he stopped me, pulling on my hand to bring me closer. He hesitates, but leans in and kisses my cheek, sending my heart into a frenzy. Before I could say anything to him, he whispers one final good night, and walks away, down the hall, and around the corner before I finally come to reality. I sigh, placing a hand to my heart, a smile upon my lips as I enter my room for the night.
(A.N.: Hey, y'all. Sorry it's been so long since my last update. School's been crazy. But at least it's another chapter in the bag. And it's so cute. What do you guys think?)