A TMC Story

Chapter 2

When Alex arrived with Kaiden at Chateau Shondelle, she noticed it had changed considerably.

In the wake of Marcus's death, Natasha had been shell-shocked with grief. But with Jordan's help, she was now a better person, even though she would never forget her husband. Suffice it to say, Jordan's relationship with his mother was more genuine than it ever had been before, and Natasha had welcomed Alex, D.C., Bear and the rest of Jordan's friends with open arms to the Chateau. It was now a place of warmth and light, and although the Sparker name was still highly regarded, Natasha did her best to be kind. However, she was currently out of residence, which meant that Jordan and D.C. had moved in temporarily.

"Alex!"

Alex turned to see Jordan tearing down the front steps of Chateau Shondelle, a mad look on his face.

"Um, hey, Jordan," Alex said, looking at him quizzically. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just come walk with me for a moment," he replied impatiently. "Don't worry, Kaid, I just need to ask her something."

Kaiden winked at Alex before shooing her away. "Go on, don't keep Jordan waiting."

As Alex walked with Jordan in the labyrinth at Chateau Shondelle, she asked, "So, why'd you call me?"

All of a sudden, Jordan looked uncomfortable. "I was... going to... propose to Dix."

Alex stopped so quickly she almost fell over. "Really?" she squealed, loud enough to wake Xira up in Draekora. A grin spread across her face as she continued to walk. "Yay! When? Where? Here at the Chateau? At the palace in Tryllin? At Woodhaven? Can I see the ring? Have you already thought about the wedding? What are you going to say? Where's Dix now? Wait... does she know about this?"

Jordan had rapidly paled as Alex had fired question after question at him. Realising this, she said, "Sorry, Jordan. I'm just excited for you, that's all."

"No kidding," Jordan muttered with an affectionate eye-roll. "Dix said she'll be here at eleven o'clock, which is in five minutes... and yeah, I wanted to do it right here."

Alex and Jordan stopped at the centre of the labyrinth, at the lake.

"It's a special place, to both of us," Jordan told her quietly. "First kiss, and all that."

"Aww, that's adorable!" Alex gushed, feeling warm all over. "Now let me see the ring."

Jordan smiled and pulled out a small black velvet box from the back pocket of his best jeans. When he opened it, Alex gasped.

It was beautiful.

The band of the ring was a glowing rose gold, with the clearest and most radiant diamond Alex had ever seen. It wasn't small, but it wasn't overpowering, either. It was stunning, entrancingly so, but -

"By all the stars in the sky, how did you afford THAT?" Alex demanded.

"You've been spending too much time with those Meyarins," Jordan grumbled at Alex's oath. Louder, he said, "I'm a Sparker. I can afford it."

"Riiiight," said Alex. But still... 

"And anyway, I didn't pay a cent," Jordan continued.

"YOU STOLE IT?" Alex shrieked.

Jordan looked offended. "Of course not! The band is that Tia Auran gold from Zaylin. Kyia somehow changed the colour to this pinkish colour, free of charge, and she also gave me the diamond, which is really the Tia Auran equivalent of a diamond. Said it was the least she could do, after making us face those miserable Gates a few years back. So, ta-da."