CHAPTER 15: CHOICE
Love. Is it an emotion or something else? Can it be quantified? Seraphin had never known the thing called love nor did she want to. She always rejected boys’ advances ever since she was young. Lekas is no different. Although he almost died trying to save her and even lost his arm, she doesn’t intend on accepting any kind of proposal from him. A single thank you should be enough. He even stole her first kiss so even the thank you could be kept.
But right now, seeing him half-naked with the sun shining on his body. Moreover, his eyes…His eyes filled with love and desire. And his hand, his large and reliable hand... To think that she is the reason for such an intense look; for such suicidal behavior… she feels her heartbeat getting stronger, faster. Yes, she is falling as well, falling for her knight who faced death and broke her chains.
“Then, you better get stronger because I don’t intend on living a peaceful life.”
Seraphin releases Lekas’s hand gently.
“I would have preferred something else, though.”
“Don’t be too greedy or anything you want will slip away. That’s what my mother always told me. Also, you are sweaty, don’t dream I would do anything while you are like this.”
“Meaning that if I was not-”
“Go and bathe!”
Seraphin leaves Lekas and goes to her father who is waking up while blushing.
‘I definitively made the right choice. Now, I am sure of it.’ Lekas smiles happily while looking at Seraphin walking away.
***
“So, when are you going to ask for my daughter’s hand?”
“Eh?”
Lekas and Hithindil went to bathe in a nearby river after he woke up. Leaving Seraphin with some meat and firewood to cook for the breakfast. As soon as they reach the river, Hithindil takes the bull by the horns and asks Lekas the most crucial question for him right now.
“Don’t tell me you weren’t planning on marrying her after kissing her in front of her father, right?”
“N-no. I wasn’t. Just, I didn’t think you would be the one to bring the topic.”
“Good. I am a father. Of course, it is my duty to ensure my daughter has the right partner.”
“Though she is stubborn.”
“That’s part of her charm. You will learn to cope with it.”
“Wait. That means you…”
“I would be a fool to refuse after you have literally lost an arm for her. Everything you have done so far, I cannot repay it even if I was given another hundred years. Once again, I thank you.”
Hithindil bows down to Lekas, his face almost touching the water’s surface.
“Don’t worry about it. I did it because I wanted to.”
“Even so, I must thank you. However, as you said, my daughter is stubborn. If she doesn’t agree to it, I can’t be of much assistance. I will make sure to tell her how I feel properly, though. So don’t worry.”
“I see. Thank you in advance, then.”
***
After their bath, Lekas and Hithindil came back and it was Seraphin’s turn to bathe. She went and came back pretty quickly, though. Surely because she didn’t want to be alone for too long.
After they eat, Hithindil lies on a tree near the fire and looks at Seraphin. Feeling the seriousness in his eyes, Seraphin gulps down, afraid of the bad news he might give her.
‘Please, don’t say you will leave me. Please!!’ She prays in her heart that her father won’t say anything like this.
“Seraphin, my daughter.”
“Yes, father.”
“Lekas Valahal, over here, has come to me this morning. He came not as a hero who saved our lives, nor as a member of the Valahal family. He came as Lekas. A man, with only one desire.”
“No w-"
“To live with you for the rest of his life, cherish you and protect you, comfort you when you are in pain, and laugh with you when you are happy.”
“Father, I-"
“Listen first. I am not a father who would force his daughter into marriage just because he got his ass saved by a stranger. Nor am I the kind to send you to him just to repay a debt. You have the freedom to choose and I will respect it. But before you decide, however, I want you to know that I have agreed to his proposal. As long as he never makes you sad, I will give you two my blessing.”
“I…Da….Father. I understand.”
Seraphin looks at Lekas up and down then down and up. She looks at him like she is scanning him, like she is looking for something. Then she takes a very deep breath.
“Lekas, can I ask you something?”
“Yes, whatever.”
“Earlier, you said that you couldn’t tell us how you knew me. But you went so far for me and my father. Should I understand that you would do the same for anybody else?”
“No, I would most probably not.”
“Probably?”
“There are friends that I have. For them, I could probably do the same.”
“I see. Then, can you say that there won’t be anyone else in your life besides me?”
“I won’t do anything that you don’t agree to. That I can swear on my life.”
“I see, then, promise me one thing.”
“Whatever you-"
“Never sacrifice yourself for me like this.”
“I…”
“I don’t want somebody to come back bloody and wounded because of me. I wouldn’t be able to bear it.”
“I…I see. I am sorry but I cannot promise you that.”
“Why?”
“Because fate and destiny aren’t a single string. I will and I must protect you from harm because only when you are happy will I feel like it was worth it. it is for that reason that I have decided to live and I will abide by it.”
"Even if it makes me sad in the end?"
"You will live happily. That is a promise." Lekas's eyes have such seriousness Seraphin is almost afraid of them.
“I- I see.”
Seraphin stays silent for one, two, three… almost ten minutes. Her eyes closed, her lips sealed tight and trembling. Then she opens them and stands up. She advances to Lekas and sits with him. She brings her face up close and stops only when their faces are so close they can feel each other breath. At that moment, she hears it, Lekas’s heartbeat. Fast and heavy. Is he panicking because she is in front of him? Thinking that such a strong warrior could be helpless because she is in front of him makes her feel good, strangely good. Also, she knows for sure now.
‘He is a human, after all.’
“I will accept, then.”
Saying so, she gives Lekas a kiss on the cheek before backing away. On that day, under the sun, the couple later called the slayers of a thousand was born.