(This Chapter this dedicated to @ScarletNyx, thank you for all the golden tickets and support. Much love.)

Xiran and Aselia held on tight as Tetris flew and headed for the breathtaking natural reservoir where waterfalls flowed, majestic animals dwelled and flowers blossomed.

Although Xiran was used to flying this was a whole new experience. Riding a winged horse, the crisp morning air flowed past them, laden with some pine-like scent. It invigorated their senses.

"You have a natural affinity with animals," Xiran pulled her closer to his broad chest. She could feel his warmth radiate through his garments and keep her warm.

"Yes, elves are closer to nature so animals feel at ease with them. They always come to me," she replied stroking Tetris, the wind ruffled her hair and they flew in all directions. Xiran buried his nose in them, rubbing her slender waist.

They were almost flying along the clouds, Tetris was a smooth flyer, his muscles flexed underneath them every time he flipped his wings.

Down below everything had become minuscule, a blend of greys, whites and blues could be seen as far as their eyes reached. Aselia never knew there could be so many shades of white, for everything seemed to have different tints of it.

"Xiran! Look," she pointed to a flock of white birds with pointed silver beaks and red eyes. Their wings glistened under the small rays of the white sun that filtered through the curtain of clouds.

"What majestic beings," Xiran’s gaze travelled to them and both of them watched the wonders of this pristine world.

Soon enough Tetris suddenly dived and began to descend. The wind rushed past them at the change in speed and direction. They held on tight with excitement rippling through their bodies and shining in their eyes.

The couple could hear the gushing of water in the distance, they were nearing the silverish ground. The soil here seemed to be made up of some kind of fine silver grains, like sand but much finer so they could blend.

Xiran held Aselia with one hand and placed the other on Tetris’s mane, easing him.

He loudly neighed before his hooves clomped against the ground and he ran some distance before coming to a halt in a clearing near majestic waterfalls.

Tetris raised his head and loudly neighed, announcing their arrival. "Good boy, you did great," Aselia lovingly thumped its back.

Xiran jumped down from the winged horse and helped Aselia dismount it too.

Tetris folded his wings at his sides and galloped away towards the nearby trees, leaving the couple to relish in the sound of rushing water that filled the air, echoing through the basin of the untouched wilderness.

Aselia gasped in awe, her eyes widening at the sight before them. The pearly waterfall cascaded gracefully down the silver rocks, creating a mesmerizing display of water droplets dancing in the sunlight. Cotton and silver-coloured plants, trees, and flowers adorned the edges of the basin, adding an ethereal charm to the surrounding.

"What a sight," Aselia’s eyes wandered in amazement all around her.

"I so want to pluck that fluffy flower and place it in your hair," Xiran’s hands snaked around her waist as he pinned her closer to him and straightened her tousled hair, finding her dishevelled state endearing.

"No, let them live for a few more days. Seeing flowers die makes me sad. They are where they belong," she answered, her gaze light and he couldn’t help but kiss her lightly.

At a distance, a soft white fabric had been laid out with a bushel-like basket which was covered with a baby blue cloth laying on top of it. The chosen spot was surrounded by an abundance of flowers and white glades of grass with the waterfall lying right in front of it and an enormous tree stood over it, dropping its snow-like flowers on the cloth below.

"Come, let’s take a look at what Uncle Sulran has arranged for us," he guided her there and they perched on the plush spread.

"This is like a picnic in the heavens," Aselia couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought. Xiran laid down in her lap enveloping it with his moonlight-hued locks. Both of them calmly stared at the cascading water that gushed past them.

A few fox-like creatures with bushy tails, slit-like red eyes and thick white coats with grey lines at their back, hopped around them and chased each other. The wind picked up and the silver leaves rustled making harmonious music, which soothed their senses and brimmed their hearts with harmony.

Aselia slowly slid her hand into his silken strands, her fingers deftly combed through them, slowly and softly.

"Leia! Would you like to live here? Have you reached a final decision?" Xiran asked in that angelic voice of his. Aselia continued combing his hair as the reels of her mind spun and she concluded.

"I love this place. It comforts me and brings me inner peace but I can’t leave my loved ones behind. We can build a house here and visit it now and then but eventually, I want to settle down in Altair. That’s where I want my home to be with you, in the city you have built to keep people of all species safe."

Xiran lifted his grey orbs and his eager gaze found her satisfied one.

"Are you sure, Leia? Because I will do as you ask me to."

"I am sure, Xiran. Our world might be messed up but it is ours and our presence is required to keep fixing it, to keep helping the people as needed. Let’s complete our ritual here and then we should return," Aselia replied, giving him a tender smile. Her raspberry-coloured lips spread to reveal her pearly whites.

"It’s done then, we will make our home in Fritez City, over a cliff and near a sea. It will be according to your wishes," he intertwined his fingers with her and bringing them closer to her lips Xiran caressed her knuckles with his sensual lips.

"I am looking forward to it," Aselia’s hair gently swayed in the breeze, and a smile was permanently fixated on her lips.

"And do you want to take the elixir? Because I know you don’t want to become a vampire," Xiran inquired next, his hot breath fanned the cold skin of her hand.

"If it means to be with you for an eternity then yes I will take that too. There is nothing I want more than to be with you right now," she answered without a trace of doubt in her heart. It was putting her at ease to finally tell him that.

The realization that she was committing herself to him for life jolted him to his core. Although he knew that she wanted to be with him, her saying it out aloud turned it into a dream come true for him. A sense of jubilation birthed inside him, travelling to his heart where it burst into complete euphoria and was reflected in his eyes where it danced like a thousand twinkling stars.

He jerked up from her lap and facing her before cupping her face. He heartily murmured to her:

"Leia! You make me happy and no words can reveal the love I hold for you," her heart fluttered at his words and she placed her hands on his and slowly answered:

"I know my old man," this made him chuckle.

"Well, he is your heart’s chosen old man so you will have to bear him," he amusedly shrugged his shoulders, his lips pulling up in a teasing smile.

"Yeah, who would have thought I had urges for one," she retorted and both of them burst out laughing. Their guffaws sounded loud and clear in the space they sat in and intertwined with the cascading water, forming nature’s unique song.

Once they were done laughing with each other, Xiran asked:

"Will you like to see the waterfall up close?"

"Yes!" Aselia nodded, her gaze travelling in that direction. Xiran gathered her in his arms and his angelic wings unfurled. They lifted them above the ground and flew towards the waterfall.

Xiran held Aselia by the waist as they neared it, the tumulting sound was deafening as the water sprayed in all directions.

Aselia held out her hand and touched the cold milky water as the small droplets settled in her hair like pearls and shone under the sunlight with a bright hue.

The smile on her face was priceless. She cupped her hand and filling it with water threw it straight in Xiran’s face. He didn’t dodge it and let her have this hearty moment, as she laughed and he followed with water dripping down his face.

"You look adorable when you are wet," she teased.

"And you look sexy when I drench you just by a touch," he retorted back with a devilish lopsided grin, tilting his head at her. Loving how the tips of her pointed ears went tomato red. She averted her gaze towards the water.

His right-wing bent and formed a chair-like shape and Xiran seated her on it. Aselia comfortably perched on the makeshift chair and kept playing with the water. She was distracted and Xiran took out the small silver box Sulran had given him.

Opening the box, he lowered himself in front of her as much as he could and extending it towards her he gently asked:

"Leia! Will you be my bride?"