Two Hearts Becoming One

POV Rio

I just left the meeting room and went to find Kirlia. She had some explaining to do. I found her in the music room. She was playing the piano. She had grown in the last couple of years. Not in the height department, but her body had started to show more mammalian traits. From what I read, she went through what is called a growth phase. It made her body mature, and she would have 2 or 3 of these throughout her life. But I focused don't the song she was playing. The song was somewhat familiar to me, so I decided to listen.

(AN: Play "Victor's Piano Solo" - Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (HD Piano Cover, Movie Soundtrack) on YouTube for the exact music, don't worry, there are no lyrics, just piano music. )

I sat down and smiled at her. She looked at me a gave me a smile that told me she knew I knew. Which likely meant she had read my mind again.

'You should stop reading my mind.'

'You were upset, so I just peeked to find out why. Sorry.' She said in my mind.

I just shake my head at her.

'Why didn't you tell me?'

'I-I was scared. I know you would be upset. And I was scared to tell you how I felt. I don't want to hurt you. But we can't be together. I read up on it. We can't produce children. I will also live far longer than you...' Kirlia says in my mind.

As she is thinking these things, she starts to tear up. I get up and just hug her.

"Stop it. You and I can't be together. Humans and Magical Creatures can't..." 

I stopped her by kissing her. She just freezes and looks at me with a shocked expression.

"You know, for a mind reader, you are pretty terrible at reading me. Kirlia, I have known you for almost my entire life. You helped me in my darkest times. When my Mother died... When I was attacked. You stood with me through it all. You put up with my rants, my quirks, and everything else terrible about me. I am not blind, I knew you had feelings for me since we were kids. I didn't say anything because I wanted to wait until we were older. And I wasn't really ready back then. But I really fell for you when we snuck out of the palace to go to the harvest festival. You looked beautiful in that black dress. But when I went to hold your hand and you recoiled. I was thinking you no longer liked me."

"It wasn't like that! I always liked you! I was just... scared. Radovid told me some things that I started to believe. I believed that you could never love me. That we were too different," Kirlia says.

"Well, he was wrong. I don't care if we have children or not. What matters is that we are happy. Isn't it great to be different? Isn't it wonderful to be exactly who you are? I think you are perfect exactly as you are, and I love you."

She kisses me and we embrace. Once she is done trying to eat my face.

Slap

"Shut up, you idiot. You were just as into it as I was," Kirlia slaps me and says that.

"Oh, and I love you too," Kirlia says that and starts to glow brightly.

Once the light fades, an 8-foot giant Gardevoir is standing there.

"Damn you're tall."

Slap

"By the Nine Divines! Assault! Assault!"

An illusory Imperial Guardsman comes to my rescue and is promptly launched out the window. I look back at her with pleading eyes.

"Have Mercy, please, please?!"

"There is no mercy," Gardevoir responds coldly.

"Pocket Sand!"

A barrier blocks my efforts.

"Oh poop."

Before she can try to assault me again, a group of 10 Imperial Guards breaks into the music room, and the leader shouts at Gardevoir.

"Stop, criminal! I've heard of you. Your criminal exploits are well-known. Pay the fine or serve your sentence. Your stolen goods are forfeit."

"You cannot stop the inevitable, Rio!" Gardevoir looks at me.

"Uh, for once, this isn't actually me. I have nothing to do with this."

She can tell I am telling the truth, and gets very confused.

'But she doesn't hit herself in confusion.'

Slap

"Ouch! Stop hitting me! And stop reading my mind! It's very rude."

Slap

I just look at her like she kicked my dog and just decide that she has this coming.

"GUARDS, HELP I'M BEING ATTACKED!"

"Stop! You violated the law! Pay the court a fine or serve your sentence. Your stolen goods are now forfeit."

20 I create Imperial Watchmen, and I run away. Gardevoir tries to stop me, but I just stick my tongue out at her. I didn't get far away before I heard the shouts of the guards.

"Someone's been murdered!"

Followed by several explosions.

'Well, here goes nothing.'

"Shadow Clone Justu!"

Poof

3 copies of me are made, and they all start to run in different directions. It was one of the techniques that my father wrote down in his scrolls.

"For the Empire!"

Boom

"Well, that's my cue."

That day was a very chaotic day for the palace. Gardevoir searched all day but was never able to find me. Once she was done being a jerk, I found her exhausted on the floor of her room. I gave her a few pokes to her cheek to make sure she was alive.

"You're a jerk." That was all Gardevoir said.

"You started it. If you didn't ruin our moment, I was going to do something that I wanted to do for a while. But now the moment is ruined."

She turns her head towards me and gives me the best puppy eyes she can manage.

"Sigh. Fine. I was going to ask you to marry me. I bought a ring and everything."

She jumps up from the floor and shouts.

"WHAT?!"

After I stop the ringing in my ears, I look at her with a frown, and she has the decency to look ashamed.

"Sorry," Gardevoir apologizes.

"To answer your loud question. I was going to propose to you. We live in a dangerous and hostile world, and we both love each other. We have known each other for a long time, so I wanted to ask you if you want to marry me. But then you went on a rampage and ruined my plan. I was going to take you to a picnic in the royal gardens and pop the question there. I had everything prepared before I talked to you because I intended to ask you after I learned that the old man kicked the bucket. I wanted it to be the first thing I did as the Duke. But it's fine. Not like I have been planning this for a couple of months or anything."

"To be fair, you started it by being rude," Gardevoir tries to defend herself.

"I was not being rude, I was complimenting you. And the guard wasn't my doing. It was likely from the enchantment that was made recently. Xena wanted to integrate my illusory guard spell into the palace defense array to allow an army of magical constructs to protect anyone in the palace. You decided to defenestrate them. And hit me over and over. At first, I was going to ignore it, but I will make a boundary now. No physical violence between us. Unless we ask for it and are both consenting to it."

"Okay, okay, I get it, I messed up and I won't do it again. But I can pretend that you didn't say anything, and we can still go to the picnic," Gardevoir offers.

"No, it won't feel right anymore."

I kneel and open the case I had made for this occasion.

"But it won't change my decision. Gardevoir, I have loved you for a long time, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you do me the honor and marry me?"

"Oh my god! Yes! Of course I will!" Gardevoir yells while I put on the ring.

Then she picks me up and kisses me.

"I will have to get used to being a few feet shorter than you, but other than that, I can get used to this."

She giggles and she sets me down. Once we are calmed down, we start to discuss the wedding and what it should look like. I insist on a grand wedding, but she tries to discourage me. 

"What others think of me or you doesn't matter. All that matters is that we are together."

"I know, but a marriage between a human of the Draconis family and a non-human hasn't happened in several centuries. And even then, they were only the second and beyond spouses. Not the main wife," Gardevoir says.

"If any citizen can marry each other regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity, then I see no reason the Duke can't either. And if someone complains, I will tell them to shove it where the sun doesn't shine."

"Is that... legal?" Gardevoir questions.

"I will make it legal."

Gardevoir just gives up and lets me do as I want. I kiss her on the cheek and then tell her goodnight. She looks at me with expectation, but I just walk away.

"Hey, aren't you forgetting something?" Gardevoir says while giving me bedroom eyes.

"Oh yeah." 

I enter the room and then extinguish the lights.

"Goodnight."

Gardevoir just sits there for a few moments.

"Wait, that isn't how this is supposed to go!" Gardevoir complains.

I just get into bed and sleep like a baby.

-------------------

Authors Note:

Yes, Rio did that on purpose. Just to mess with Gardevoir. Oh, and I won't be writing any R18 stuff because I don't think I could do that, and if anyone wants that kind of stuff, there are much better places to find it, I am sure. The next chapter will introduce the system. Until next time, Ciao.