For the rest of the evening, General Kieran found it difficult to keep his eyes away from the eldest daughter of the Rivera household. He just still could not believe that someone like her actually existed. If he didn't take his chance now, who knew when he'd find someone else as suitable to be his wife?

From a distance, Prince Luke Forsyth looked curiously at Kieran. He followed the object of his attention, and saw that it was Lord Rivera's daughter, who was currently standing with her father and the Commander.

"I can't believe my eyes." Luke breathed.

His servant, Enoch, was working extra that night, serving guests. Usually he was paid to serve only the Prince, but by taking on jobs meant for the other servants, he could earn a little more.

He was a skinny lad, though taller than the Prince, had a mop of dark brown curls on his head, and brown eyes. He was passing by, carrying a silver platter on which stood refilled chalices, when he was called.

"Sire," Enoch replied, taking a few steps back to stand beside his master.

"Look at that," Luke said, using his chalice to gesture towards Kieran. "Is Kieran staring or do my eyes deceive me?"

Enoch peered at the General, then at who he was looking at, back at the General for a longer time, and to the lady once again.
"He's definitely staring, sire," he replied.

"Very unlike him, isn't it?" Luke asked, his eyes narrowed as he enunciated each word slowly.

"The General never stares at women," said Enoch, now also watching Kieran. "He stares at birds, into space, sometimes you and I, but never at women."

"Exactly," Luke agreed, then raised his eyebrows in sheer surprise. "Oh my, look at that! Is he...is he smiling?"

Enoch was just as amazed. "I believe the proper term is 'blushing', sire."

"Ha!" Luke laughed out loud, his body bending backwards a bit.
"This is really a sight to see. I have to get to the bottom of this loverboy charade," he said, and began walking.

Enoch followed beside him, and when Luke came to a stop, he did, too.
Luke turned his head and looked at Enoch for the first time.
The servant was looking forward, at Kieran, with a serious expression on his face, clearly itching to scoop the gossip.

"Enoch, what are you doing?" Luke asked dryly.

"Hm?" Enoch said. "We need to get to the bottom of the loverboy charade, right?"

"We?" Luke echoed, raising his eyebrows. "I never said we, fool. And aren't you on duty at the moment?"

Enoch looked at Luke, who nodded towards his platter.
"Oh, right," Enoch suddenly remembered why he was at the party that night, and forged a smile.

Luke downed the rest of his drink and placed the chalice on his platter. "Off you go," he ordered dismissively, and Enoch went on his way.

Luke walked to Kieran, who was casually leaning against a pillar, his arms folded.
"Well, what's this, then?" Luke asked. "Never seen you look at anyone like that before. Well, once...but if I didn't know any better, I'd say you look like you've found your bride."

Kieran cast his gaze to Luke and said, "What if I have?"

The smirk was wiped off his face when he saw the steady look in Kieran's eyes.
"No way," he said, and immediately focused his eyes upon Elena. "She is gorgeous..."

"Not the point," Kieran said. "The point is, she is unaffected by my presence."

"I can see why," said Luke, "She's a goddess and you're..." He looked Kieran up and down."...a pig."

Kieran rolled his eyes at the lame insult.

"Hey hey, no one calls my brother a pig," Aaron approached from Kieran's right hand side, and grinned. "He's the most handsome man in the world."

Kieran groaned painfully as Aaron and Luke shared the laughter.

"Stop it, both of you," he requested, tiredly.

"Relax, brother. I just came to continue our conversation from earlier," said Aaron, smiling mischievously, "about how you are enamoured by Elena Rivera."

"He knows, too!" Luke exclaimed.

"Oh please," Aaron said, rolling his eyes. "Any moron can tell you've been looking at Lady Elena all evening."

"Was it really that obvious?" Kieran asked, glancing at either of them.

"Definitely." The prince affirmed.

"And you weren't exactly subtle about it at the Rivera banquet either," Aaron added.

"What!" Luke exclaimed in surprise, "So this whole rushed marriage decision actually has a history to it?"

"Marriage?" Aaron arched a brow.

"Ice Princess over here has decided to bring Elena home as his bride," Luke broke the news gladly. "You're going to have your first sister-in-law, Aaron."

Taken aback by the news, Aaron looked at his elder brother for confirmation. "Kieran is this true?", he asked, and got a positive shrug of the shoulders as a reply.

Just like Luke had done, Aaron's instinct was to focus his gaze on Elena.
"Well she's beautiful, no doubt. Proper. She's from a great family of nobles, and she's the eldest. I'd say she's a wonderful choice." Aaron said, then looked back at his brother. "Except I know you, Kieran. And that can't be the real reason you chose her. No, not this quickly. Do you really like her that much to make such a rash decision?"

"That's not it, Aaron," said Kieran. "I'm not attracted to her, and neither is she to me."

"Okay then," Aaron said, shifting his weight from one foot to another. "Explain."

Kieran sighed. "I'm only telling you this because I know I can't hide anything from you even if I tried," he said to Aaron. "But you must not tell anyone else this, alright?"

Aaron nodded.

"You too," Kieran said to Luke.

"Of course, mate." Luke agreed easily. His secret affair was safe with him and Enoch.

So Kieran narrated to them the events that had transpired between him and Elena, as well as his reason for picking her, and the two of them had a good laugh about him being rejected more than once, moreso by the same person.

"I can see why you don't want us to tell anyone," said Luke, amusement gleaming in his eyes. "Even if it's fortunate for you, rejection is still a pretty embarrassing thing."

"Especially if it happens to a man of your calibre," Aaron added. "But Kieran, are you really serious about proposing?"

Kieran nodded. "With all the pressure from father, if I don't take this chance now, I might not get one again, " he said. "And then our relationship will go down the drain, since I won't do what he demands of me. I'd rather avoid the hell that'll break loose when him and I fight."

"I don't even want to think about that future," Aaron mused.

His father and Kieran were both hard headed, each being used to having his own way. The only thing that could curb arguments between them was if one conformed to the other. Otherwise it would just be a spiral of endless fighting until a third party intervened. Usually, it was Alyssa, his mother who stepped up and beat the crap out of both her son and husband, before being the adjudicator. This time, however, it seemed she was on Xerthes' side.

"I'm getting old. I want another daughter, and I want grand kids," she'd said to Aaron when he'd asked her to mediate the matter.

"But here's another thought," Aaron said. "If Lady Elena's already rejected you more than once over these small things, what makes you think she's going to accept something as big as a marriage proposal?"

Luke and Kieran exchanged glances.

"I did not think of that." said Luke, and suddenly Kieran was tense.

"I've been thinking of how I'm going to propose," he said, "when I should have been thinking of how I'm going to convince her to say yes."

"Real predicament, isn't it?" Aaron asked. "So what are you going to do?"

Kieran thought for a while, his countenance pensive.
"I'll just have to talk to father," he said at last. "Then he'll talk to her parents."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on," Luke said, raising his palm. "Kieran, you know how I feel about arranged marriages. Even if your parents and her parents agree to have you married, there will be no wedding without Elena's consent." He said these words slowly and firmly, a sharp look in his blue eyes as they bore into Kieran's, and the latter knew at once that the Prince was issuing a command.

With that final condition from Luke, Kieran now had to focus on getting Elena to agree to his proposal.

***** ***** ***** *****

Kieran spent most of his night thinking of a solution to his problem, but was unsuccessful.
By the Guard's meeting the next afternoon, he was still green.

The Guard's meeting was a convergence of the heads/captains of the different regiments of the Prince's Guard to discuss matters of contention. The Guard consisted of the Long Distance battle regiment, Close Combat regiment, Espionage regiment, Weapons and Artillery regiment.

The weapons and artillery regiment had the least number of soldiers with mild combative abilities. Their job was basically to obtain the weapons and armour from the designated blacksmith, keep them and distribute to the other soldiers.

This time round, it was the captain of espionage, Sir Graham, that had called the meeting, and it was being held, as usual, at the Hammedatha Manor, in the Guard's meeting room.
The captains, together with the General, gathered and stood at their round table, and captain Graham spoke,

"The King's Army has been chasing down a thief who strikes at night for a while now. Except we've gathered information on his description, and I'm certain the description matches Alecuss Zorg."

There were murmurs of surprise.

"That's the assassin Lord Reid once hired to kill the Crown Prince," Joshua said. He was captain of the Close Combat regiment. "Lord Reid was executed for treason, but we haven't been able to track Alecuss' whereabouts for over a year now."

"Until today," said Graham. "We were able to track his movements and we're certain he's hiding out in the wilderness of the Northern sector."

"That bastard," Joshua growled, his leafy green eyes gleaming with anger. "He dare show his face in Rievelt after trying to kill our Crown Prince? Now he's even stealing from our people. Such despicable guts!"

"The bone of contention, General, is whether we should leave this to the Army since it is their theft case, or get involved since it also concerns the Prince," Graham said to Kieran.

"We must get involved since we've finally found the man who attempted to kill the Prince once before," Joshua said aggressively. "He might try again."

"He won't," Sir Harvey, captain of the Long distance battle regiment said. "Assassins don't kill without a pre-paid price. We know Alecuss had not received the full amount from Lord Reid by the time he was executed. Alecuss isn't a threat to the Prince currently. "

"General," Graham looked at Kieran, awaiting a command. Kieran had been looking at the table contemplatively, his arms crossed over his chest, and his eyebrows knitted.

"You did well by reporting to me first," Kieran said. "It still remains an undeniable fact that the assassin Alecuss Zorg made a murder attempt on the Prince. Any attempt, successful or not, is unforgivable. Alecuss will be annihilated by the Prince's Guard for his past transgressions."

He looked up at the captains, "I'll move with a small party from the espionage regiment. Sir Graham, arrange for three of your best men. We'll meet here first to determine our course of action, then leave immediately. Meeting dismissed."

***** ***** ***** *****

The Northern sector had some of the rarest flowers in Rievelt, and Elena had ventured into the wilderness in search of these flowers. As she crouched infront of a Redwood tree, she smiled seeing a bed of flowers amongst the thicket, with purple petals and a white centre. She thought they'd look wonderful in her hair.

Setting down her basket, she began to pick the flowers. No sooner had she picked a couple than she heard the sound of twigs snapping behind her. She turned her head and saw a tall broad man, wearing a worn out grey cloak, and thick woolen boots. His head was shaved, and he had a big red beard. She was only looking at his side view, until he turned his head a bit and saw her.

Elena suddenly felt wary of him after she saw the nasty scar across one of his eyes that had gone blind, the pupil silvered.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The man turned his body to fully face her, and she saw that his look was menacing, fixed in an intimidating sneer.

"You shouldn't be here," His voice was deep and gruff, and it sent chills down her spine. "You shouldn't have seen my face."
From beneath his cloak, he flicked a blade, and Elena gasped in fear when she saw it.

"Thus I can't let you live," Alecuss Zorg completed his sentence, stretching his neck muscles.
That was the only cue Elena needed to abandon her flower picking venture and run for dear life.

She heard his heavy footsteps follow behind her, but the sound was nearly drowned out by that of her own racing heart. Her limbs felt numb but shivered at the same time, warning her that if she did not move faster, death was surely knocking on her door.

She lunged forward and put more effort into her running feet, and as she turned her head to check how far along she was, she saw that her persuer was hot on her trail. Her adrenaline soared before she tripped over a buttress root and fell forward on her hands.

She flipped her body around easily, and upon seeing the blood thirsty man step towards her slowly, she crawled backwards on her hands and heels until her back made contact with the bark of a tree. Her heart skipped a beat on the realization that it was the end of the road. Right at her feet now, Alecuss flicked his blade again. Elena opened her mouth to scream but was unable to find her voice due to the shock she was in. She could only look at the blade in horror.

Before he could proceed with his murder plan, Alecuss was struck by an arrow in his right shoulder, which made him drop his blade and stagger backwards. Another arrow to his left shoulder made him yelp in pain and drop to his knees.

From behind the tree Elena was leaning against, ambled Kieran, a bow in hand, his quiver of arrows strapped to his back. His sheathed sword was secured in his baldric, which he wore around his waist.

He wasn't wearing his General's Cape like the previous times Elena had met him, but he did have on a pair of finger less gloves, his leather vambraces, along side a black jerkin vest; the silver buttons on one side. The vest had the Guard's emblem (a roaring lion behind a shield, an arrow and sword on either side of the shield.) His coffee brown breeches were tucked into his boots whose laces were at the front.

He stepped in front of Alecuss, who, with strain, lifted up his head to glare at him.

"General..." he spat, hatred burning in his hazel eyes, while Kieran looked down at him with nothing short of contempt.

Four other men dressed entirely in black, masking even their heads, appeared out of nowhere, and surrounded the scene.

"The score will finally be settled, Alecuss," Kieran said to the assassin, and raising his voice, commanded the other men, "Take him to the dungeon. His execution shall take place at dawn."

"Yes, General!" All four men replied at once, with a curt bow of their heads, and two of them forced Alecuss to his feet.

As they dragged him away, Kieran turned around and looked down at a still shaken Elena. His gaze softened when he saw her. She looked back at him, grateful and filled with relief that it was him who now towered above her and not that awful man.
He stretched his hand out to her, and she took it without hesitation, allowing him to help her up.

"You're okay now," he said to her in a reassuring voice that calmed her down a bit. "But do you not know how to scream for help when you are in such trouble?"

Elena opened her mouth to say something, but could not find her voice just yet.
That is when he remembered her words. She had said that whenever she got too startled, she went into a panic and lost words.

"I see you're still startled," he said.

Elena looked down at his hand that still held hers. The feeling that someone was there to hold her hand in a tough situation swooshed over her like calm waters. It healed her, and after giving his hand gentle squeeze, she let go and was able to speak.

"Thank you, General," she said, "You saved my life. Had it not been for you, I would have surely died. I owe you one, and I must pay my debt."

"Worry not, Lady Elena," said Kieran, "Your gratitude and his life are plenty."

Elena shook her head in disagreement, "Yet I cannot take lightly what has happened today." She said, "Speak and I will do what you ask of me."

"That won't be necessary as I was only doing my duty," said Kieran. "I was already hunting down that assassin anyway."

"Yes but any later and I would be dead," Elena argued, refusing to let go of the fact she had only escaped death because of him, duty or no duty. "Can you not understand that you saving my life means a lot more to me than you can grasp? Please, let me repay you. It won't sit right with me unless I do."

Elena meant those words with all her heart, because since she could not make up for what she had done to him a long time ago, she could do something for him atleast this time round.

Kieran looked at Elena's desperate facial expression. It was not the first time he'd encountered such a situation, but never before had he encountered someone so eager to do him a favour, almost as though it was guilt that was the driving force.

"It's getting dark. I'll take you home." He said, and turned around.

"I insist!" Elena said stubbornly. "I give you my word, I will give what you ask of me. Rivera's honor."

Kieran froze on hearing that. He knew what swearing on the family name meant. There was no going back.

Elena was prepared to pay his price. She could not live with yet more guilt of him saving her life yet she had ruined his.

"Alright then," Kieran finally agreed, and Elena anticipated his answer.
"Marry me." He added.

Elena blinked, unsure of what she'd just heard. "I beg your pardon?"

Kieran faced her and said clearly, "What I ask of you in return for saving your life, is that you become my wife."

Elena's jaw dropped. What was he saying?
"Y-y-you're joking,"she said.

"I've never been more serious in my life, m'lady," Kieran said, his gaze steady and unwavering, "and since you swore on Rivera's honor, that means you were also serious and you can't take back your word."

Elena felt trapped. She remembered her father always telling her only to swear on Rivera's honor if it was in the most dire of situations or else she'd be thrown into a consequence she could never come back from. She had thought this a dire situation, and indeed to her it was.

She just never imagined herself to be the price.

"Surely th-there h-has to be something else you want," Elena tried to bargain, following Kieran when he walked.

"There is nothing but that which I have asked for," Kieran replied, smiling when Elena couldn't see. He was feeling half-triumphant that he had finally solved his proposal puzzle, and half-amazed that she was still inclining to say no. In fact, he did not know whether to feel fortunate or unfortunate that she didn't jump on his proposal immediately.

"B-but marriage is a very serious issue," Elena said. "It is not a decision that is to be taken so rashly. I mean, how can you ask to marry me when you have only just m-m-met me?"

"I may have only just met you recently," Kieran agreed. "But I've been convinced by those few times I was with you that you are the best choice."

Elena was in disbelief. She looked at the ground, trying to process the situation, just as Graham brought Kieran his horse.

"Would you like a ride, or do you prefer we walk?" Kieran asked Elena.

"Let us walk," Elena mumbled the reply, still deep in thought.

After strapping Kieran's bow and arrows to the horse, Graham bowed to his General and left.

"General," Elena finally spoke up. "I really cannot marry you."

Kieran folded his arms and regarded Elena, whose eyes were downcast, her face expressing dilemma.
"Are you already engaged?" He asked.

"No."

"Are you in love?"

"No."

"Do you have a suitor in mind?"

Elena sighed and replied, "No."

"Is there any other reason why not?"

Elena bit her bottom lip anxiously. She had failed to tell him about their past and properly apologise, and now she couldn't imagine spending the rest of her life beside him in guilt. This reason failed to come out of her mouth as well.

"Then you can marry me, and you must," Kieran told her, as he ambled to where she stood. "You want to know why?"

He brought his face close to hers, causing Elena to look up into his intense cyan eyes. "Because you gave me your word."

Worry contorted Elena's face, and made her frown, and Kieran had to stop himself from smiling.

"This is why I want to marry you, Elena," he thought. "Instead of elation, you are in dismay at the thought of having to be with me."

***** ***** ***** *****

For the first half of the journey, Elena tried to convince Kieran to change his wish, but he was adamant to do so. The rest of the walk to the Rivera Manor was quiet, and Elena used this time to prepare herself and tell Kieran everything. Perhaps if he knew the truth, he would change his mind about marrying her. So she invited him into the compound to atleast have his horse watered.

A servant of the household took Kieran's horse, and as he waited, he looked at the great oak tree in the compound and admired the circular flower garden around it, his hand resting comfortably on the hilt of his sheathed sword.

Elena took a deep breath and said, "General I must tell you something before you go through with this decision."

Considering the tone of voice she used, Kieran wondered if at the last moment, Elena had a serious card up her sleeve. He turned around to face her and asked, "What is it?"

"You might not remember this, but..." she started. "You wouldn't want to marry me because....because I ruined your childhood."

Kieran arched an eyebrow and asked himself what sort of stupid reason that was.

Seeing that Kieran was lost, Elena added, "I was the one who cut your hair and tossed you in horse dung." She said it so fast, he almost didn't catch it.

He tilted his head and checked if such a memory existed in his head, but remembered nothing.

"I know I humiliated you infront of everyone and you had to leave the city because of it, but it really wasn't my intention!" Elena suddenly started to blubber strings and strings of words and Kieran had to pick out the relevant pieces and discard an insane amount of 'sorries' she uttered within her explanation, so that he could piece everything together to make sense.

That was when his memory was jogged, and vaguely he remembered an image of himself as a child, about eleven years old, sitting quietly in his instructor's compound. He remembered the sound the blade made as it shabbily sliced off his ponytail from behind; and his anger when all the other kids were laughing at his scruffy uneven hair.

In a change of scene to a farm, he remembered himself peacefully watching a flock of jays up in a tree. Without realising he was standing near to a heap of horse dung, he remembered tiny hands pushing him from the side. He remembered falling face first into the heap and struggling to get up only to slide back in while all the other kids laughed out loud. The echoes of laughter were fresh in his mind.

He remembered feelings of anger and embarrassment, and he saw his younger self glaring into ocean blue eyes, and remembered the little girl turning her back on him and running, the white flowers in her plait shining in the sunlight.

He now looked at that girl standing before him, all grown up.

"That was you?" He asked, incredulously. He wondered how in the world he could have forgotten the first person to make him experience feelings of embarrassment and humiliation. No wonder she had seemed familiar; her and her blue eyes...

"General, I am so sorry about wh-what I did," Elena said somberly, fidgeting with her fingers. "It's h-h-hah...haunted me for some time and-"

"Wait," Kieran interjected, suddenly remembering something else. "If you are that girl, then that means..."

He stepped closer to her and gazed into her deep blue eyes. "You are also the girl that I lost to."

"Huh?" Elena squeaked.

Before those catastrophic events, Kieran remembered having a staring competition with a girl with the same eyes. He recalled being mesmerized by their colour, and the glow in them, so much that he'd looked away first before he was bewitched by their owner. All the pieces of the puzzle about Elena fell into place at that moment; why he felt he knew her, and why he felt trapped whenever he gazed into her eyes.

"Staring competition," Kieran said in a low tone. "I was the best at everything until I Iost to you in a staring competition."

Elena nodded carefully.

"So you remember everything now," she said, apprehensive of his reaction and refusing to meet his eyes."B-because of the humiliation I put you through, you had to leave the school and Rievelt."

She breathed in and let it out before softly adding, "How can you marry me, then?"

Kieran looked at her as she played with her fingers.

Elena felt like a huge burden had been lifted off her chest, but still she felt uneasy. His rage must have returned after all, and he must have been angry with her all over again. She awaited his temper.

To her surprise, instead of a scolding, she heard him laugh.
She looked up and saw him laughing; a sincere hearty laugh that made him toss his head back and lay his palm over his eyes as he laughed.
He ran his fingers through his luscious locks, the action causing his unclothed bicep to flex, and let go of a breath.

"I'm more than certain now," he said and looked at her, a lop-sided grin on his exuberant face. "That you really are the best choice."

Elena widened her eyes in disbelief, "What!" she exclaimed. "How can you say that after all of this? After what I did to you?!"

Kieran sighed. "Is that what you've been worried about all this time?" he asked. "Your guilt and my anger?"

"W-well...yes," Elena admitted. "You must still be angry. How can you marry someone who ruined your childhood?"

Kieran looked at Elena, whose seriousness just made him awestruck. He pondered how someone could hold on to something so trivial and make it seem like the biggest hurdle in life. She was an odd one, and this seemed to increase his desire to keep her.

"That happened so long ago, Lady Elena," said Kieran. "I still want to marry you."

Elena was flabbergasted. "You are joking." She said.

"I am not," said he.

Elena glared at him. "I know you are joking."

Kieran smiled a bit. "I am not." He repeated, amused by her expression. She looked like she was struggling to find a different comeback.

In the end, she said, "Well you can't be serious!"

"I am!" he asserted, now chuckling.

"But you are laughing!"

"Because you are being dramatic!"

Elena folded her arms and pouted angrily. She remembered the numerous times Mara had told her she was being dramatic whenever it came to her issue with the General. Had she really been taking this entire situation too seriously when it wasn't even necessary?

"General Kieran!" Mara's voice hollered, and they both saw her tumbling down the steps of the house to where they stood. She bowed to him, and he greeted her.
"What a surprise to see you here," she said, beaming. "How did you know your family is here?"

Kieran was confused by that piece of information. "My family?"

"Your parents and brother, Aaron."

"I thought they were at the physician's home."

"Yes they were," Mara said, "but they decided to stop by on their way back home. They're almost leaving, though."

Kieran suddenly got a bright idea. He looked at Elena and asked, "You still think I'm not serious?"
He didn't wait for a reply and merely took her hand in his. "Come with me." He said, and led her along towards the house.
A curious Mara followed them inside.

The room that had been turned into a banquet hall for guests at the Rivera banquet had now returned to it's original sitting room setting, and the room that had been the designated dancing area reverted back to the dining area. It was Kieran's first time to see it as a home.
He saw everyone was standing except Aaron, who was sitting comfortably in a sofa, one leg crossed over the other.

Alyssa was the first to notice him.
She was a tall black haired beauty with well toned arms and legs, but delicate facial features and prominent curves. Her dark brown eyes always seemed to carry the stars in them.

"Kieran," she said, a surprised look on her face. "What are you doing here?"

At once, everyone's attention was drawn to him and Elena.

"I was walking Lady Elena home," Kieran replied.

Aaron looked at his brother curiously, and as Elena said her greetings, he noticed that her hand was in Kieran's.

"I'm actually glad that I found you all here in one place," said Kieran. "I have an announcement to make."

When he said that, a startled Elena looked up at Kieran, hoping he wasn't going to do what she thought he was going to do.

"That rascal," Aaron thought. "Don't tell me he proposed...and got her to say yes already..."

"What is it?" The Commander asked in his instructory tone, which was actually his normal voice, his hands folded behind his back and his back straightened.

"Father, I have found the woman I am going to marry," said Kieran, "and it is Elena Rivera."

Everyone in the room was taken by surprise, the loudest gasp emanating from Mara.