Flynn's Gift

"Flynn, why do you keep complimenting me? I don't get it."

His red irises flashed with interest, then he hung his head with a short laugh. He looked up again and asked, "Do you really not understand, my lady? I am interested in you, of course."

Taken aback by how easily he handled her question (and by his response itself), Alesha was momentarily unable to say anything in reply.

Flynn got up from the couch and walked off, saying as he did so, "If that is not clear enough for you, let me further elucidate the matter for you." He retrieved a small, square-shaped box, wrapped in royal blue velvet cloth and tied with a bloodred ribbon.

He presented the box to her. "A gift for you, fair demoness Alesha."

She found herself irked by the fact that he called her a demoness, despite how she thought she'd gotten used to that by now. Instead of paying her annoyance any heed, however, she suppressed the emotion and tried to be curious about the box.

In reality, she was worried. She knew it was ridiculous and improbable, but her anxieties had already created the possible scenario where she opened up the suspiciously-shaped box and discovered a diamond ring inside. Wait, would that tradition even apply here in this world? Or did they have other, unguessable proposal traditions here? Things were clearly very different from her world here, after all.

Her heart pounding, Alesha tugged on one of the ribbon's strands and the bow came undone. She carefully unfolded the velvety blue fabric. Inside was a simple yet luxurious black box. She gripped the top of the box, and, finding it difficult to open, ended up grabbing the bottom as well. After a couple seconds of struggle, the box's lid hinged open. 

Inside, there was a single, ruby earring. 

Alesha grabbed the earring in fascination, her worries temporarily forgotten as she admired the beautiful handiwork of the dangling jewelry. The ruby was cut into the shape of a rhombus and held in the grasp of a dozen thin, delicate strands of some sort of black metal, shaped like roots growing over and around the jewel. The roots joined at the top, coming into the shape of a stump that grew into a loop. A small circle, a diamond metal bead and metal sphere then followed, after which came a closed clasp for hooking into the ear. These parts were made of the same black metal. Clearly this metal was something unique to this world, as it had a kind of iridescence that didn't seem to be a separate coat; instead, the purple-green hues it reflected appeared to be an inherent property of the metal itself. 

Gently, Alesha prodded at the roots of the "tree," finding them completely immovable despite their delicate appearance. "Flynn, what kind of metal is this? I've never seen anything like it, it's so strong!"

"That is Nether Metal, harvested from the depths of the Netherworld. It is as light and strong as you see. Strangely enough, it actually loses its strength the more of it is together, so it's quite often used in jewelry like this. It makes otherwise infeasible designs a possibility. Do you like it?"

Alesha paused, closing her mouth. She had been about to answer with an enthusiastic "yes" before realizing that her response could have implications she was unaware of. Instead, she replied with another question, "Flynn, does your world have any special meaning assigned to the gifting of jewelry between members of the opposite sex? I know this is probably a rude question, but I don't want my response to have a meaning I didn't intend."

Flynn laughed. "No, this gift has no special significance. I do wish to show you the sincerity of my feelings, but accepting it will mean nothing more than that you appreciate my gift. I will not force you into anything you do not want."

Her suspicions weren't completely assuaged by his words, but they did calm enough for her to accept the gift. "Alright. Thank you for explaining. And yes, I do like it, it's quite lovely. Thank you." She gave him a smile and set the earring down, moving to take out the stud she wore in her right ear.

"May I put it in for you?" He asked, looking genuinely eager to do so. His expression reminded Alesha of a puppy.

Alesha laughed at the mental image. "Sure, why not?"

He knelt down on the floor by the side of her chair, took the earring in his hands, held open the clasp and clipped it onto her ear, smoothly into the hole where her stud had been. Unexpectedly, he then leaned in and slowly kissed her ear. 

"Eep!" Alesha yelped, getting up from the chair and backing off in surprise, unexpected feelings welling up within. 

"Sorry to startle you," he apologized, bowing his head and looking up again. "How do you feel?"

Heart pounding, face flushed, Alesha didn't know how to respond. What was he even asking? More importantly, why was he asking? Did it have something to do with the earring, or maybe the kiss? She was flustered, sure, but not much else.

At least, that's what she thought at first.