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“So… Tomorrow, huh?”
They’re sitting on the edge of the fountain in the Imperial Villa. Shulk has his hand placed on top of hers, the one with the ring on her thumb. He’d given that ring to her months ago, and it’s no doubt lost its ether boosting properties by now, but Melia had cherished the gift so much that she refused to get rid of it. It was special to her for a number of reasons, but the most important was that it reminded her of Shulk. And while Shulk had mentioned that he wasn’t intending to propose, he also wasn’t opposed to the idea. He simply just wasn’t ready for marriage yet, and that was perfectly okay. She would wait as long as it took until he was.
Melia hums, considering Shulk’s words. He’s referring to her coronation, which has been scheduled for tomorrow morning. The reconstruction of Alcamoth is finally finished after nearly half a year of hard work, which means that the next step in restoring glory to the High Entia is for her to be crowned empress. Melia would be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous about the whole thing. She never did like being put on a pedestal, but she knows that this coronation is important. She’s as ready as she’ll ever be at this point.
“...Yes,” she finally answers, pressing her lips into a thin line. Shulk squeezes her hand lightly.
“Are you nervous?”
Nervous doesn’t even begin to describe it. In all honesty, terrified is probably a better word. Nothing in Melia’s life will be the same after today. She’ll no longer be allowed to wander around the Bionis Shoulder as she pleases, because it’s improper for royalty to mingle with the commoners. She likely won’t be able to leave the palace unless it’s especially important, which means that visits to Colony 9 will happen much less often now. She’s going to miss them terribly. Her friends, that is. Sharla, Dunban, Riki, Fiora, Reyn…
...and Shulk. Melia is worried about him most of all. She’s worried about possibly dragging him into the political affairs that come with ruling a nation. But more importantly, she doesn’t know what’s going to become of their relationship after she’s crowned empress. All she knows is that one day, she’ll be expected to have an heir to continue the Antiqua bloodline, and she doesn’t want to think about where that will put Shulk. He’s not High Entia. He doesn’t even have royal blood. It would be disgraceful for the next heir to the throne to be of mostly Homs blood. Melia can’t do something like that to her people, not after how hard she worked to restore Alcamoth and to help Tyrea and Teelan with their research. It would never be allowed.
And yet… she still loves Shulk. Very much. Enough to want to spend the rest of her life with him. The two of them have been through so much together—fighting the Mechon, taking down Zanza, defeating the Fog King… Melia can’t possibly imagine a life without him.
Which is why a part of her has been considering throwing caution to the wind. She doesn’t want the coronation to complicate their relationship, and yet she knows Shulk well enough by now to know that he would just tell her to do whatever makes her happy. And if that means ruling Alcamoth alongside him, then… Maybe making him emperor isn’t such a bad idea. The burden such a title would place on his shoulders would be immense, though. Melia doesn’t know if he could handle it.
Seeming to notice her spacing out, Shulk squeezes her hand again to bring her back to the moment. His smile is soft.
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” he whispers. “No matter what happens, I’ll be right there with you. There’s nothing the future can throw at us that we can’t handle.”
She heaves a sigh. “I am nervous. But… Not as nervous as I am right now.”
“What are you nervous about?”
Melia falls silent at this. Is she really sure she wants to do this? There won’t be any turning back, especially after her promise to propose months ago. She doesn’t even know if Shulk is ready yet—what if she pressures him? What if he gives her a different answer than back then when he still isn’t prepared to give it?
“Melia?”
“…Do you remember what I told you six months ago? It was just after we’d taken down the Fog King.”
“Oh! Uh…”
When she looks over, Shulk’s lips are pursed together in deep thought as he tries to recall the memory. After a moment, he chuckles sheepishly and shakes his head.
“Sorry. My memory’s a bit hazy right now. What was it?”
Melia can’t help but smile at his forgetfulness. She intertwines their fingers together.
“It was about engagement. Things were… complicated at the time, so I promised a proper proposal once the reconstruction was over.”
“Oh, right, I remember now,” Shulk hums thoughtfully. “Why bring it up now, though? Did something happen?”
Melia purses her lips. “Not exactly. What I mean is…”
She stands and makes her way to where she had been keeping a medium-sized box. Some time after she had promised Shulk a proper proposal, one of her primary feathers had molted off. She’d been saving it ever since, knowing that once the reconstruction was complete, she would need it in order to ask Shulk to marry her.
When she rejoins him at the fountain, she leans in for a quick kiss before slowly opening the box.
“Shulk, you are one of the most important people in my life. Truly. I know it may sound… overstated. But I do not know where I would be without you. You brought light into my life where there was none.”
She then carefully presents the feather to Shulk—dyed a sky blue, just like his eyes—along with a handful of night lilies. Melia remembers picking those from the garden this morning, and smiling as she contemplated their significance—black petals that are dark as night, where seeing any more than a few feet ahead is a challenge. Black petals that symbolize the future, something that is undecided and filled with possibilities. Something that holds limitless potential.
She wants nothing more than for Shulk to be a part of her future. To share that future together. And as Shulk accepts the dyed feather and the lilies, Melia’s heart flutters when his eyes light up in recognition. She hopes he’s thinking back on the first time she gave him one of her feathers—it was in this very spot, under the twinkling stars. She still remembers that day like it was yesterday.
“I love you, Shulk,” she continues. “I love everything about you. And nothing would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life with you. So, my question is—”
“Yes.”
Shulk is meeting her gaze with something that can only be described as joy, cerulean eyes sparkling in the light of the receding sun behind them. Melia blinks.
“Huh?”
“That’s my answer. Yes,” he clarifies. “I couldn’t give you one back then, but I can now. And my answer is yes.”
“But…” Melia frowns. “You didn’t let me finish.”
Shulk just smiles at this, pulling her in for a loving kiss. It’s hard not to melt into the warm touch.
“What difference does it make? I already know what you’re going to say.”
“Still…”
Melia thinks she’s allowed to be a little disappointed at being interrupted. She’s not mad, she never could be, not when Shulk is so enthusiastic at the prospect of sharing their future together. But it still would have been nice to finish everything she had been prepared to say.
Shulk gives a mirthful chuckle and takes her hand with his free one.
“Alright. Go ahead and finish.”
She sighs, and it’s laced with a combination of faux-annoyance and relief. It’s fond.
“Shulk… Will you marry me?”
And Shulk is all too happy to draw her into a kiss once more, and this time, Melia all but drowns in it. She gladly frames his face with delicate hands while he wraps his now free arm around her waist, pulling her closer. It’s longer than their other kisses, but it’s so comfortable and safe, and Melia feels like she could stay like this forever. She doesn’t stop herself from smiling into it.
They separate not long after, but only so they can rest their foreheads against one another. Shulk sighs happily, and it’s like a beautiful melody to Melia’s ears.
“Of course I will.”
And Melia hums contentedly as she absorbs her partner’s—her fiancé’s—presence. Their lips meet again soon after.
They remain like this for a few moments longer, exchanging soft kisses and drinking in each other’s warmth, until Shulk abruptly pulls away with knitted brows.
“Wait a minute,” he mutters, worrying his bottom lip. “I should get you a proper ring, shouldn’t I…”
Melia can’t help but swoon a bit at his considerateness. She shakes her head.
“There’s no need for that, love. This one suits me just fine.”
To demonstrate, she wiggles her right thumb with a sweet smile.
“Besides, I like the memories that came with it. You really needn’t bother.”
And then to further prove her point, Melia grants him another kiss, which Shulk leans into. When they part, the apprehension seems to roll off his shoulders, and he sighs dreamily.
“Alright. I believe you.”
By now, the sky is darkening even more as the sun descends into sleep, but neither of them makes any move to leave just yet. Melia knows they should get to bed early since tomorrow is so important, but if Shulk isn’t planning to drag them off to bed yet, then she’s not going to remind him. She’s content to watch him as he now inspects the feather and the night lilies, admiring them from every angle. The way his eyes gleam whenever he’s captivated with something never fails to make her heart skip a beat—it’s very cute, and it’s one of the reasons she fell in love with him. She’s filled with an immeasurable comfort at the notion that this is something she’ll get to enjoy every day, once they’re married.
Still, the moment doesn’t last forever, and soon enough, Shulk takes notice of her gaze on him. He smiles nervously.
“...What?”
“Nothing, just... Emperor Shulk Antiqua sounds nice, does it not?”
“Oh! Uhm.” Even in the low light, Melia can see how his face flushes for the first time that night. It’s cute. “Yeah. It does.”
“Are you sure you’re up to it?” she asks, her earlier anxiety still not quite flattened down into nothing. One can never be too sure. “I do not want to burden you in any way…”
At this, Shulk takes her hand again and squeezes it. His smile is enough to keep her warm, even with the sun down.
“As long as I’m with you, I’m up for anything. I don’t need to see the future to know that everything will be alright.”
And by the way he looks her right in the eye, she can tell he’s being genuine. He’s learned to overcome his instinctive pessimism after defeating Zanza, and it’s made him a better person and a better partner in Melia’s eyes. She returns his smile before meeting him for one last kiss.
He’s right. The two of them will navigate their future together, and they’ve got all the time in the world to do it. Melia wouldn’t have it any other way.