Marriage?

Days passed and Macha did not return. Tyr had waited at The White Rabbit for hours, but she never came. Now he remained torn between staying at home to wait for her and scouring the city. Luna and Krystof offered to search the city for him and told Tyr to wait at home for Macha.

The uneasiness of the situation drove him crazy, and he did not know what to do. Every time he closed his eyes he imagined Ullr's smug face. It always put him in a fit of rage.

A knock on the door caused him to jump to his feet. He hoped it was some news on Macha's whereabouts. When he opened the door, he found Ullr leaning against the doorframe. Tyr's eyes narrowed, "Where is she?" There was no doubt in his mind that this man took Macha somewhere.

Ullr ran his fingers through his copper locks of hair. He and Tyr were the same height and his grey eyes twinkled when they looked at Tyr, "Step aside I need to pick up some of Macha's clothes. She wanted me to get her one of her gloves and a winter coat so she can go outside." A devilish grin spread across his face, "We've had to entertain ourselves inside for the past few days." He loved the way Tyr's face looked at his moment.

Hearing Ullr's words caused Tyr to ball his fists. His knuckles became white. He thought about killing the man where he stood, but he still needed to find out where Macha was. Tyr's facial expression moved from annoyance to a mask of coldness. He blocked the door. "Where is she?" his voice seethed with danger.

Ullr tapped his thin lips with his forefinger, "Hmm... What should I do? Macha doesn't want to see you. That's why she asked me to come and get her things. By the way, we had a pleasant Boreas's Day. I spent it alone with her and we looked up at the stars. What was that saying?" He paused and looked up at the ceiling, "Oh yeah, one man's loss is another man's gain." Ullr's voice sounded innocent, but he chose every word with care.

Tyr took a step out of the apartment and closed the door behind him. His finger jabbed Ullr in the chest, "Listen, Macha's my girlfriend and I won't have you squirming your way in. Where is she?" The amount of patience he had for Ullr quickly reached its limit. He swore if the man did not tell him where Macha was he would beat him up so bad that Ullr would have to spend the next week seeing medics.

Luna reached the top floor and watched Tyr close the door behind him. Her brother looked like he was about to start a fight. "Ullr! You are just the man I wanted to see," Luna called from down the hallway. If Tyr fought with Ullr he would get in trouble. Ullr was the first son of the Rosenkrantz family and well-liked throughout the city. He often did charity work to help the lower class and understood how to act at social gatherings. His charm was known throughout the upper circles.

Ullr turned and found Luna waving at him. Putting on a charming smile, he bowed, "Luna, how are you? I hope you and Krystof had a pleasant Boreas's Day. I haven't seen you since then." She had always been nice to him and he enjoyed her pleasant personality. Whenever he came in to tutor, she always was the first to greet him.

After asking around Luna confirmed that Macha and Ullr left the city together. This news worried her and she planned to keep it a secret from her brother, but that was impossible now. By the way Tyr acted, he already knew. Masking her feelings Luna confessed, "It could have been better. I heard Macha left with you that day, do you know where she is? I wanted to ask her why my cake didn't turn out as well as I hoped."

Ullr's back was facing Tyr, "Indeed, I spent Boreas's Day with her. Something upset her and I offered to take her to my family's lake house to relax. She has been spending the past few days getting over her feelings for your brother." He wished he could view Tyr's face when he said that. Ullr continued, "Don't worry, I'll have her back by the end of the week. I just came to pick up a coat and some gloves for her. She wants to go outside."

At this point, Luna had to force her smile to stay on her face. She gave a light-hearted laugh, "Ullr, Macha and Tyr had a misunderstanding. Would you be so kind as to let Tyr bring her things to her?" This situation was dangerous. If Ullr denied her request she was sure her brother would beat him up.

"I'm afraid that would go against the trust she has in me. She doesn't want to meet him right now. You see, Fenrir's reappearance really upset her." After saying those words, he felt his body spin around as Tyr grabbed his coat.

Macha got out of the carriage because she needed to pick up some underwear. She could not ask Ullr to do that for her. Although the guards mentioned Tyr was home, she concluded the situation would be bearable since Ullr would be there with her.

When she ascended the stairs, she witnessed Tyr punch Ullr across the face. "Ullr!" She ran and crouched down to see if he was all right. She looked up at Tyr, "What's wrong with you? Why would you do that?" Although they had never been on friendly terms, they always acted courteous enough to one another.

The moment his fist smashed into Ullr's face was beautiful. It seemed as if the weight and annoyance of the past few months had been lifted, ever so slightly. He was about to continue when Macha ran next to Ullr and shielded him with her body. Tyr froze in place. His tongue felt too large for his mouth and his throat became dry. "Macha," now that she stood before him, he did not know what to say. In the end, he blurted out, "I... he started it."

Luna turned to her brother. Her mouth dropped open from shock. After all these days of searching, she was amazed at how ineloquent he had been. While her brother was never a smooth talker, she still expected better than 'he started it.' Shaking her head, she cried out, "Really? Macha, Tyr, can I talk to you two privately?" She opened the door to their apartment and entered.

When they were all seated at the dining table Luna explained, "Macha, please listen to my brother about what happened. You truly misunderstood the events that day. He planned to ask you a REALLY big question. There is no way he would have taken Fenrir back."

Tyr did not know what question Luna was talking about. The words seemed to peak Macha's interest, so he did not bother asking what his sister meant. Seeing his chance, he said, "One second, I want to get something from the bedroom. Macha, wait." He got up out of his chair and hesitated. Macha nodded, so he ran to get the rings out of his nightstand drawer.

As soon as Tyr had his back to Luna, she mouthed, 'marriage' to Macha and bounced up and down in her seat. A huge smile spread on her face and her green eyes twinkled.

Macha's lips parted. Her head whipped around to make sure Tyr was out of earshot. In a very soft whisper, she asked, "He's going to ask me to marry him?" that seemed way too fast to her. She did not even think she loved him yet, and he never said he loved her. Luna nodded her head so fast Macha worried it would fall off.

Tyr returned and Luna left them happily. After sitting down, Tyr reached out to hold Macha's hand. This was a conversation he rehearsed for days. "I'm sorry. When Fenrir said she could join the guild, I thought it would be good to have someone of that strength for the tournaments and missions. I realize it was a bad idea, but I shouldn't have even contemplated it as an option. I already told her she can't join unless you and Luna both approve. If for some reason you both approve, I'd veto it." He studied Macha's reaction. It took him two days to decide that these were all the points he needed to address.

The explanation seemed reasonable, but she still had expected him to do more. "Why didn't you do anything when she threw her coat on me? You shouldn't let her touch you like that either. I never let other people touch me like that." She withdrew her hand and looked to the side. Her lips pursed from her frustration.

After Macha withdrew her hand Tyr felt like he was losing her, "I believed you would stand up for yourself. You're usually such a strongwilled person. I also panicked when she acted how she used to. I swear, never again will I allow another woman to get that close to me. My past was never something I wanted to interfere with my present." He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "I don't know what else to say..." There was no other excuse. He realized he handled the situation poorly.

He noticed Macha's lips twitch as if she wanted to say something. Unsure if she would bring up something negative he pressed on, "Macha I love you." Tyr brought out the box with the rings and put it on the table. "I wanted to give you this on Boreas's Day."