The Royal Within

Chapter 31

At the top, right there ^^^ is Ruth's dress. :))
Back to Ruth's POV ;)

Calling me nervous would be an understatement. This would be my first date ever, and I was so excited!

Luke had his arms wrapped around my back, and we were staring straight into each other's eyes. "Are you excited?"

I couldn't contain my excitement, and nodded happily. "I'm kind of nervous! I've never been on a date before!" My eyes widened as I just realized what I admitted.

Luke smirked, and leaned on close. "That's adorable." He paused as if considering if he should say the next part. "I'm going to make today the best I can. I have something special for you."

I tried not to blush, and smiled at him. His eyes glanced to my lips, and I released a small laugh. "Really?"

He let out a cute chuckle. "I can't help it." He paused, and dropped one of his arms, and used it to grab my hand.

I leaned onto him. "I still can't believe this is happening." I said while gesturing to our intertwined hands.

He rested his forehead on mine. "Why not?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "The nerdy girl never gets the guy. Like, you practically could get anyone in school. I on the other hand-." I trailed off. I tried to think positive thoughts, and these were definately not.

"You could get any guy. I would prefer it be me, but I'm trying to make a point. You're amazing Ruth." He lightly kissed my hand. "And I'm lucky to be with you right now."

Delphine came into the room, and o was worried Luke would pull away, but again, he held onto me. She motioned to me. "Follow me. Luke, we have a tailor coming in and dealing with you."

He nodded, and gave me one last squeeze. I walked to Delphine, and she led me to a different room. The dress laying on the bed almost popped my eyes out.

"Is that for me?" I whispered on awe. Delphine smiled at my reaction, and nodded.

It was a long dress, that started off black, and slowly turned to a blue. It hung off one shoulder, and the shoulder strap connected to many others that covered the back of the dress. On the side, it was jeweled, Ns the strap was jeweled as well.

"It's beautiful." I gasped. Delphine laughed. "And ironic too." I just stared at her, and she clarified. "Blue and black? Your figures?"

I nodded in understanding, and stared at the dress. "Time to get ready!" Delphine cried, and rushed me to the bathroom.

When she was finished with me, I was showered, a light mascara was put on my eyelids, and my hair was curled. I put on the dress, and smiled.

"It matches your eyes." Delphine admired. I smiled, and continued to look at the dress.

When I glanced in the mirror, I saw myself, but my eyes were bright with happiness. I was glad this little makeover didn't change me. If Luke and I want to stay like this, then he needed to like me, for me.

Delphine grabbed my hand, and led me to a bigger treehouse. It had been decorated with fairy lights, and the inside was even better. It was dim, and in the center, there was a single table with two chairs. Two candles were lit, which radiated across the room.

The best part was the person sitting in one of the chairs. Luke was smiling, and he had a dark black suit on. I couldn't help but notice how they added a blue cuff to the suit. His hair was freshly combed, and he looked less tired. Delphine left my side, snd shut the door behind me. I walked to the chair, but before I could reach it, Luke got up, and pulled back my chair.

"My lady." He teased as I sat down in the chair. He pushed it in, and I giggled. "Thank you kind sir."

He laughed, and sat down across from me. He leaned forward, and intertwined his friends in front of me.

"Ruth, you look-" He paused, and looked slightly embarrassed. "You are beautiful."

I smiled at his embarrassment, and reached my hand to his. "Thank you. And you are-", I released a breath, "all I could ever ask for." I turned away, as I couldn't believe this was happening (yet again).

Luke smiled at the compliment, but then turned serious. He cleared his throat, and ran a hand through his hair. His foot started tapping against the floor, and I lightly squeezed his hand. "Are you ok?" I asked softly.

He nodded, and took my hand in his. "Ruth-" He paused, and took a deep breath. "-You can tell, I'm not very good at expressing my feelings, snd I realize that can leave you in the dark, and I'm sorry. But, I'm going to try to tell you tonight."

I smiled, which I hoped would help him continue.

"You are the kindest person I have ever met. You always think of others before yourself, and it never ceases to amaze me. You don't seem to realize how amazing you are. You doubt yourself, when I can only look at you in awe. You have cared for me, and supported me, even when I wasn't thinking straight. Ruth, what I'm getting to, is that I can't imagine my life without you." When he said the last sentence, my breath hitched. Was he going to ask what I was thinking he would?

He grabbed a box out of his pocket, and seemed conflicted. "I don't know if I'm supposed to get down on one knee or not." He said sheepishly.

My eyes widened, and I couldn't believe what was going on.

He stood up, and walked over to me. He opened the box, and a necklace was revealed. It was a plain silver necklace except for the main piece, which was a small heart that had waves of blue, that was rimmed with black. It was beautiful.

"Ruth, will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend? I know this may be soon-" Luke started to rant, and I smiled.

"Lucas, you are the bravest person I have ever met. Whenever I ran off to do something, you were the first one to arrive at my side. You were always there for me, and I can't describe how much that meant to me...how much you mean to me." I grinned at him. "Lucas, I would love to be your girlfriend."

Luke smiled, which only added to mine. He picked me up, which caused me to giggle, and slowly spun me around. When he set me down, he gestured to the necklace, and I nodded. He reached for the necklace, and brushed the hair off my neck. When his hand brushed the back of my neck, it sent shivers down my spine.

He finally secured the necklace on my neck, and I started to turn around, but he wrapped his arms around me. His hands rested over my stomach, and I leaned my head back on his shoulder.

If I saw a couple doing this, I would have thought that they had awkward silence. But, right now, the silence was comfortable. We both knew we had each other right there, and that spoke a million words.

"Ruth?" Luke's voice was soft, which made me curious. He almost sounded nervous.

"Yeah?" I turned around to face him, and his arms loosely stayed wrapped around me.

He couldn't meet my gaze. "When we get back...can it still be like this?" I reached my hand, and held it on his shoulder.

"Why wouldn't it?" I tried to keep my voice light, but the thought scared me.  What if when we got back, he realized he didn't like me?

He seemed to notice my concern, and his arms tightened around me. "You're right."

I lightly chuckled. "I know." I teased. He laughed, and the lights dimmed. I looked behind Luke, to see Delphine holding a thumbs up. Light music started to play in the background, and I moved both my hands to his shoulder.

We both swayed to the music, and I laid my head down on his shoulder. Nothing felt like it could go wrong.

Of course, I had to be proved wrong.