What Blooms At Midnight

Fourteen

"I am not sure I am understanding you, Your Highness... And I mean to cause no grief... B-But I- You want to keep him?" The way Jasper's Father has to grasp at straws trying to figure out how to process the information that we had just so patiently explained to him, discovering just how bad off his son's heart actually is had shocked both him and his wife, the tears they had shed upon discovering that a single more cardiac episode could possibly rob my Beloved of his adulthood ones filled with a devastating fear, my future mother-in-law jumping forward at the time to reach for the hand I had noticed Carilynn holding so that she might check to make sure that he is still among the living despite yesterday's episode.

"Perhaps keep wasn't the most correct way of phrasing things." My own mother had allowed me to be the one to do most of the talking, though I do believe that my words became somewhat minced as my focus kept slipping back down to the lovely soul cradled so safely in my lap as he leans into me for comfort and affection that I am more than willing and ready to offer, "Please forgive Prince Edmund. When we first discover the creature meant to be our Beloved we tend to become somewhat short-sighted, especially when the connection is still so new."

...

Jasper

...

"C-Can you explain it then? I think maybe that it-it's the concept of soulmates that we are not understanding, Ma'am. From how you all have phrased it, it makes it sound as though Jasper would be staying here for more than just his medicine... In my mind, it feels as though you're asking for him to be a-a pet of sorts in exchange for it?" I cannot say that my mind had not wandered to the same conclusion earlier before Prince Edmund had taken the time to elaborate just what this connection between us actually is. 

"Not as a pet! Heavens no! Jasper would join us as Edmund's Companion. His fiance. Normally we would not ask him to move himself here to the palace so quickly, but with his health in such a delicate state I am afraid we must insist. From what has been explained to me by our personal physician Jasper is simply too delicate to be separated from my son for any real length of time. It would cause him undue distress, and therefore-"

"It would hurt my heart, Mama." I am not sure what possesses me to interrupt Her Majesty in the middle of her sentence, but as soon as the thought enters my mind I cannot keep it from spilling from my lips cutting the Queen short... And instead of a reprimand, I find myself pulled closer by the arms holding me... Slim ringed fingers carding themselves through the hair that Prince Edmund had so sweetly asked to remain down instead of tamed and pulled away from my face by the ribbon that had been brought up with my borrowed clothes... A chilled set of lips finding my forehead in a way that makes me shy away from the room and focus instead on the calming scent radiating from Prince Edmund's collar. 

...

Edmund

...

It seems as though whenever Jasper has something to say he always manages to stop my heart with his words sweetness, and all I find myself able to do is hold him closer to me and revel in the warmth of his frail body and smile at the small grunt that clears the back of his throat when he accepts my affection by nuzzling closer to me in an effort to hide the sweet redness of his cheeks. 

It is easy to read the trepidation on the faces of Jasper's parents when I am finally able to lift my eyes from the Angel in my lap, but the slow understanding that starts to blossom is also starting to show through, his mother's understanding seeming to come first as she takes a moment to look at her own husband, her face softening as she gazes at him and reaches for his hand... A hand that once held is communicated to by a firm squeeze that draws his attention so that they might look at each other in the eyes before directing their attention back to me and then over to my Mother who is waiting patiently next to a very quiet Carilynn. 

"W-We do not have a dowry prepared for him..."

"We are not asking for one, I promise you." I had not needed to inform my parents that I would never ask for such from Jasper's family, the only thing I am after being his gentle affection and to be able to spend more nights with my beautiful soulmate held steady in my arms. 

"Would it be soon? The wedding, I mean. If there is to be a wedding... There would be, I suppose... That is what fiance implies..." It's almost as if Jasper's father is more speaking aloud to try and figure out the best path forward, though I try not to examine his phrasing... Of what his phrasing insinuates... 

I need not get my spirits so lifted without hearing the actual words that will allow my sweetheart to stay here wrapped up in my arms and cared for for the rest of his hopefully very long life, "The wedding would not take place until Jasper's heart is actually healthy enough for the occasion. Until then, allowing him to be my Companion will afford him the same level of care that he would receive as the Crown Princess."

"He's to be a Princess?! Did you hear that, Eustice!" The sudden excitement from Jasper's mother throws us all for a loop as she loses track of her manners, pride showing through on her face with an exuberance that has me mimicking her smile as she continues on in order to say the words that absolutely make my heart soar, "It's settled. He'll be staying. We cannot pass up the chance to say that our own son is to be loved by the Prince... But also that he'll eventually wear a crown on his gorgeous little head? Can you imagine what that wretched Nicollete Peterson back home that used to tease Jassy for being ill would say to that!"