To Wive and Thrive

[Retroboy]

Apophe waited in the gardens of Yahmsborg, looking around. She had been called there, but for what purpose she had no idea. The past few weeks had been busy, requiring new administrative planning for the expansion of the city and the new administration on Zakuul, and as such she had seen Amelia quite infrequently. Even more, she'd barely seen anyone at all lately, outside of various administrators and servants. She was tired, but she found the work more rewarding lately, especially when she knew those few times she did manage to see Amelia and her family.

Apparently, whatever she was meeting for was important, as Apophe had been asked to dress up a little. Apophe had taken that as cue to go all out. She wore a long, red cocktail dress with a slit down one leg and a very deep neckline and had done up her face with crimson lipstick, dark eye-shadow, and some rouge on her cheeks. She also wore some black pearl earrings she had received as a gift from some dignitaries from Zakuul. She sat, legs crossed.

The garden had grown in splendor since she had been there last. More rare flowers had been discovered, as well as a tree with a particularly alluring, almost intoxicating scent that hung in the air wherever its pollen blew. It was easily the most colourful location in all of Yahmsborg, a place of greenery in a world of white and grey. It was, perhaps, Apophe's crowning achievement for the city.

Her gaze drifted around the garden. She had no idea who had called her here, though she had a pretty good idea. What was more confusing was the purpose. A servant had merely told her to visit the garden, get dressed up, and that someone had something important to say to her. It was exciting to be sure, although Apophe wished perhaps things could be less mysterious.

Idly, she tapped her foot on the ground, taking in the air. At the very least, it was nice in the garden.

 

[Phantom]

Amelia had been nervously pacing outside of the gardens for a few minutes now. She had been preparing for this for a week now, and now that she was about to do it, she was extremely nervous. Her ADHD did NOT help with her nervousness at all.

She had also dressed up nicely, wearing a sundress patterned with flowers, that stopped just below her knees. Her hair was braided to her right, the long rope draping over her chest. She didn't go overboard with the makeup, just some winged eyeliner, and some blush. In her hands, she was fiddling with a small black box.

She turned it between her hands for another minute before slipping it into the very conveinient pockets of the dress she was wearing. She then walked into the gardens, smiling when she saw Apophe, and waving to her her attention. She walked up to the redhead, stretching out her arms and leaning in to kiss Apophe. She would pull back and look Apophe up and down, "You really outdid yourself this time, I like it."

 

[Retroboy]

Apophe grinned as she saw Amelia enter, rising to meet her. She didn't mind that she had to bend down to meet her lips - that was something she had gotten used to in the months that had passed during their relationship. There were a lot of things to adjust to between them. One of them was monogamy. As a monarch, Apophe had always treated to herself to whatever handsome or pretty thing that caught her attention and was done with them after a night. That changed with Amelia, and although it took a little getting used to at first, Apophe was happy with it. She really only needed her.

Moreover, there were the rules. Apophe, since becoming Imperatrix, hadn't really ever had to listen to anyone. She could take whatever liberties she wanted and yes, while she sometimes listened to other's concerns, Apophe really didn't really ever be beholden to anyone. Again, that changed that with the relationship. But it was another change Apophe didn't mind. There was a structure now that she appreciated. Besides, it was fun.

"Hey beautiful," Apophe said. "You don't look half bad yourself."

She smiled at her.

"I've missed you a lot lately," she said. "Running everything's been a lot of busywork."

 

[Phantom]

"I've missed you a lot lately. Running everything's been a lot of busywork."

"I've missed you too. I've been busy with all of the missions and errands Arsolyn has sent me on for her new temple." She smiled back at Apophe and laced her fingers through her partner's talons. She began to walk around the gardens, pulling Apophe along with her.

"So, have you talked with your mama recently?" Amelia looked up to Apophe for a second and then looked back to where she was walking. She asked this question slightly out of curiosity, but mostly because Amelia had gone and visited Mara a few days ago to ask for her blessing. Which, fortunately, she gave and wished Amelia luck.

 

[Retroboy]

Apophe eyed the garden as they walked, her hands gently brushing some of the flowers as she passed. She plucked a particularly beautiful specimen - a yellow bell-shaped flower with a long petals that drooped as they reached the end of the bowl. She carried it, admiring its beauty. Zakuul had so many beautiful pieces of flora, all of which were diverse. It boggled the mind. The amount of plants she had grown up with were minimal, aboard the Fang.

She looked to Amelia as she was addressed. "I haven't had a lot of time," Apophe admitted. "I saw her... last Tuesday? We had dinner together but I had to go pretty quickly."

She shrugged. It made her feel like a bad daughter when she wasn't able to visit her mama, but she knew that Lazzis could pick up the slack when need be. So at the very least, her mother wasn't going to be spending all of her time alone. It made her glad, as well, that Amelia and her mother got along well too. Mara had nothing but nice things to say about her.

"So what's the big thing you called me for," Apophe said. "All cloak and dagger'n stuff."

 

[Phantom]

"So what's the big thing you called me for. All cloak and dagger'n stuff."

Amelia smiled, "I knew you'd ask about that." She let go and walked ahead of Apophe. "I love you so much. Probably more than I have ever loved anyone else. And that's why I called you here," She knelt down on one knee, and pulled out the box to reveal an engagement ring, apparently like the one that Mara had when engaged to Apophe's father. "To ask you to be my Wife. Apophe KeYahm, Will you Marry me?"

 

[Retroboy]

Apophe's went wide. She stared at the ring for a moment, dumbstruck. Of all the things she expected today, this was not one of them. A date? Yeah, maybe something lovey-dovey. But a proposal? Not in a million years. She felt excited, dizzy... slightly queasy.

"I..." Apophe stammered. "It's so soon, I mean..."

She decided to throw caution to the wind. She swept Amelia up, spinning her around.

"Yes," Apophe said. "I'll be your wife."

 

[Phantom]

"I... It's so soon, I mean... Yes, I'll be your wife."

Amelia smiled, laughing a bit as Apophe spun her around. She kissed her new fiance again before being lowered to the ground. Where, she slid the ring over Apophe's mechanical finger. She looked up and brought Apophe down for another kiss, not intending for it to be short. "Now, to be honest with you, I wasn't planning on proposing until after the date I had planned, but I guess this works too. Would you like to see what I had planned for us?"

 

[Retroboy]

Apophe nodded vigorously, excited at whatever Amelia might have planned. She felt exceptionally giddy now, wondering what the future might hold. Oh, oh wow, she was going to have to tell her mother, Lazzis, Eris, Markus...

Arsolyn.

No, she would cross that bridge when she came to it. This was going to be a happy occasion and she was not going to let her baby cousin's possible rejection of this ruin her perfect moment. This was _her_ time.

"So what do you have planned?

 

[Phantom]

"So what do you have planned?"

"I was thinking we could stop by the kitchen and grab the food I prepared, and then have a picnic in out spot. Sound good?" She grabbed Apophe's arm and lead her to the kitchen where she grabbed an insulated basket. Then the couple went to the garage where a speeder was waiting for them. Amelia allowed for Apophe to climb in first, and then she joined her fiance. The driver got the women to the cavern in quite a good time. Amelia lead Apophe over to a spot where a table and two chairs were set up, and began setting out food. 'What do you think?"

 

[Retroboy]

Apophe was surprised at having a driver. Normally, she was content to drive for herself. Having someone drive for her was an interesting change of pace, but given the circumstances, she imagined she could let it fly. She found her eyes occasionally wandering back to Amelia as they drove, her hand moving to cover Amelia's. She squeezed her hand gently, still excited. She really never imagined something like this would happen.

As they arrived, Apophe breathed in the steam from the hot spring within. It wasn't as thick as last time; the intensity of the heat and steam waxed and waned depending on the time of the month. Seeing the seat, Apophe took her place and folded her legs, grinning sheepishly. She didn't know entirely what to do with herself.

"I think this is all very romantic," Apophe said. "And I've pretty much, well... Well I don't think I've ever been as happy as this."

 

[Phantom]

"I think this is all very romantic. And I've pretty much, well... Well I don't think I've ever been as happy as this."

"Neither have I, which is saying something," she said as she set Apophe's plate in front of her. She set up her own plate and sat down across from Apophe. She reached out to Apophe, and grabbed her hand. "I know this is sudden, and quite honestly, a little soon. But, I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, even if I live longer than you. It's a bit weird, I know, but It's all I could think about for the past week or so."

 

[Retroboy]

Apophe squeezed Amelia's hand back, and nodded. "It is a little soon, yeah..." she said. "I don't care though. I know what I want, and I want you, so... I'm okay with soon."

She smiled shyly, but then an evil grin crossed her face.

"Since you're the one who proposed, does this make you the husband?" she said.

Normally she wouldn't assign gender roles to something like this, but she wanted to see the reaction on Amelia's face and besides, it was funny to her.

 

[Phantom]

"Since you're the one who proposed, does this make you the husband?"

"Only if you want another bruise," she said, there was no humor in her voice or her face. Taking a bite of her food, she poured two glasses of wine, handing one to Apophe before raising her glass for a toast, "To us, may we never have to see each other in a casket before our tenth anniversary."

 

[Retroboy]

Apophe snorted. "A little dark, don't you think," she said. "But I'll drink to that." Apophe rose her glass, and then touched it to her lover's glass.

She smiled at Amelia. "I really do wanna spend as many years with you as I can," Apophe said. She leaned in. "I... I think you add a lot to me. Before you I was just sort of drifting around, person to person, and I was becoming consumed by my job and I think... I dunno. I think you help me keep on the right track."

She shrugged.

"I..." she said, looking away. "I'm worried I'm going to mess this up somehow. You know how my headaches get and we haven't had any big fights yet and I'm worried you're going to see a side of me you don't like, sooner or later."

 

[Phantom]

"I... I'm worried I'm going to mess this up somehow. You know how my headaches get and we haven't had any big fights yet and I'm worried you're going to see a side of me you don't like, sooner or later."

"Well, I am fairly skilled with keeping my cool. Besides, I will always love you, and even if you do loose it, I will be there to calm you down. But trust me, I know what it's like to worry about things like this. The ADHD fits that you've helped me through were child's play compared to what else could happen to me. So, we both have sides of ourselves that we don't want each other to see."

She leaned in closer to Apophe, "But, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let's celebrate our engagement." She closed the distance between them and kissed Apophe, smiling as she pulled back. She would then sit back in her chair and eat her meal.

 

[Retroboy]

Apophe dug in, enjoying the meal. She was on her best behaviour for this - using utensils and everything rather than shoveling food into her face like she might in other circumstances. Apophe's table manners often left something to be desired, since the Yahm had very little conception of what table manners were. Among the Yahm, people shared glasses, took food off of one another's plates, didn't know what forks were and belched freely. It took some time for Apophe to unlearn that, and even then, she often slipped up. However, given the situation, Apophe put extra effort into being presentable for Amelia, even if it was just the two of them together.

Once she was done, Apophe picked up her plate to lick it, and then stopped, blushing. She folded her hands into her lap and then looked away. She wanted to be fancier for Amelia. Then, she realized something. Amelia had accepted her for all her faults, and it was okay that Apophe was going to slip up. After all, Amelia had a lot more years on her than Apophe. She'd probably seen everything by this point.

She watched her lover eat for a moment, having finished before her. She couldn't help but grin at her. They were so different... That was what attracted Apophe to her. The differences. There were similarities too, of course, but Apophe felt their differences complimented one another. Sure, they were both leaders, but their approach was different. Apophe was about magnetism and in a lot of ways, bullying subjects into doing what she wanted. Amelia was more... well, respectable. She also seemed so much less insecure than Apophe. She always knew what to say in those private moments. Apophe wished she could do that. Oftentimes it was clear to Apophe she was the younger partner, but she enjoyed that. Despite the size comparison, in a lot of ways Apophe felt Amelia was the one with the power in the relationship.

Apophe realized she had been staring in silence for a moment, and then giggled at herself.

"You know," Apophe said. "Now that we're going to get married, we're going to have to figure out your title."

 

[Phantom]

"You know, now that we're going to get married, we're going to have to figure out your title."

"Yeah, How are we gonna do that. I still like the sound of Dread Pirate, it has a certain ring to it. What do you think about that?" She smirked as she finished her food. She rose and started to pack everything that was not eaten back into the cooler, keeping the Wine and glasses out as she refilled Apophe's glass and returned to her seat.

 

[Retroboy]

Apophe smirked. "Well I mean, you're always going to have that," Apophe said. "But like... It's tradition. My mama was a Princess when she was married to my dad and now she's the Imperatrix Dowager. I mean, you wouldn't have to be a princess, but..."

Apophe shrugged. She didn't want to offend Amelia, and she knew just how girly Princess sounded, even if Apophe herself had been a princess at one point, and Lazzis wore the title with pride. But Amelia was a pirate first and foremost and such frou-frou titles seemed like they might not suit the Dred Pirate Swann very well at all.

"When we get married, you're going to be royalty," Apophe said. "Like you're going to get a crown and everything."

Apophe rarely wore her own crown, mostly because it was laden with enough gold and jewels to make it heavy and unpleasant to wear unless she was sitting down. For that reason, she reserved it for the most solemn of court functions, although some in the court were now pushing her to at least wear a circlet when she was out and about. The idea was growing more appealing to her over time.

"I know that might make you uncomfortable, but..." she said. "It's important."

 

[Phantom]

"I know that might make you uncomfortable, but... It's important."

Amelia sighed, "Well, I knew that part. But, honestly... I am starting to like to title of Princess. It may not be as intimidating as Dread Pirate, but your sister seems to make it work, so why can't I?" She was actually serious about this, because if it meant that she could be with Apophe, she was willing to relinquish some of her pride.

"Not to deter from the subject at hand, but I've got a really good chocolate cheesecake waiting for us in the room. Wanna go?"