Say No To This

@ katahdin

Ceren tried, brokenly, to argue when Aerith moved towards her, knowing how filthy her clothes were, but she melted into her friend’s hug just a little as the tears kept coming and soon found her own arms around Aerith as well. “He knows I want to marry him. We were going to do it after you and Nyrel got back. The Council tried to send me away and make a political match with Elwin and we both ended up yelling at them before he sent them home, just the day before this happened, so we were going to do it earlier, our way. And then I froze, and he’s probably already told the Council.”

The tears didn’t stop, but she didn’t try to hold onto Aerith when her friend pulled away to draw a bath, instead trying to will the tears to slow down or stop as she sat in her room. Her face was still slick with them when she climbed into the tub, however, Aerith lingering near the doorway as their conversation continued. “I gave him the solution to that. I told him I’d keep working in the infirmary and manage whatever duties I’d have as queen. We talked about giving Nyrel his position as Baron back before that so I wouldn’t have to try and manage all three and because he was good at it and liked it. Elwin insisted I couldn’t do both and I’d have to choose, him or healing, and I couldn’t answer.” She felt tears sting her eyes afresh and scrubbed her face with a wet rag.

---

Seeing realization dawn and knowing he’d gotten through, Nyrel felt relief, although it was tempered as he soon realized Elwin had found new worries. Nyrel sighed, shaking his head. “You know, you could always ask her,” he suggested, an idea forming even as he said the words. “Actually, that’s exactly what you should do. Aerith and I decided to talk to you separately, but we agreed that we’d say you two should go to the gardens at sunset if you wanted to talk. The way you talked, it sounds like you technically aren’t even engaged anymore, so propose. From what I heard, she is miserable, and I’m willing to bet it’s because she wants to marry you. And this time she’s had time to think, so whatever answer she gives you, you can be sure she knows what she’s agreeing to.”

@ sun spirit

"Yeah, so he knew that you wanted to marry him before he brought up having to give up some of your duties as a healer, but I'm saying that after he saw you froze, he wasn't sure if you really wanted to marry him anymore. You love being a healer so much, and even before all this happened, he'd have to drag you away from the infirmary half the time just to see you, so it wouldn't be that big of a leap for him to make, thinking that you wouldn't want to marry him if it meant giving up your position as Royal Healer." Aerith explained with a frown as they walked to the bathroom, humming a little in thought as Ceren spoke again, surprised to hear that she wanted Nyrel to take his position as Baron back.

"Cer... I think Elwin has a point about you trying to manage both things.." Aerith began, glancing back at her friend worriedly. "Even before you were Baroness, you were kind of overwhelmed with work from the infirmary. And being a Queen is so much more work than being a Baroness, I just don't see how you'd be able to juggle both positions full time.. I don't think Elwin was trying to say you had to pick one and only one, but was suggesting that maybe you give your position to someone else, and you become a regular healer... Or stop doing all the work in the infirmary yourself, and delegate it to other people, so that there's less pressure on you. It's impossible for you to do everything, it's impossible for anyone to do everything."

---

Elwin looked at Nyrel as he laid out his plan, nodding slowly. "Yes.. Yes, that could work.. But I don't even have a ring, and I'm sure I'm a mess.." Besides feeling emotionally awful, he felt rather gross from not bathing in quite a few days, even if all he'd done was lay in bed. He rather liked being clean, unlike his adopted sister. "I'm sure I look less like a King and more like a beggar.. And what if she doesn't agree to see me? Speaking with Aerith might make her realize she doesn't want to marry me after all."

@ katahdin

Ceren stared down at the water in her bath, which had started to become clouded since she’d stepped in it, listening as Aerith spoke. “That’s… that’s… You really think he could believe that?” she asked, turning towards her friend, though she only saw Aerith’s back.

She pressed her head against the side of the bathtub, taking a deep breath as she closed her eyes. “I know… I know I can’t do everything, Aer, but I just can’t imagine not being a healer, which is what might end up happening later on, if I start letting go of it. Look in my room. All the books I own relate to healing somehow, and I’m growing in my window. I have so much magic, if I don’t use it enough, I feel it trying to heal me—make me less tired, erase little bruises or aches, that sort of thing. I don’t know how not to be a healer, I don’t know who I am if I’m not one, and my magic needs to be kept busy. I’m afraid of what will happen if I don’t have enough time, and I can’t be a healer.”

---

Nyrel waved off Elwin’s first two concerns. “It’s still a few hours to sunset yet. You have plenty of time to clean up. As for rings—you’re the King. All you need to do is send someone to look for options. Or I could hunt something down, although I thought you might like to pick it out yourself.” When Elwin then circled back to his personal doubts, Nyrel sighed. “You just go wash up. I’ll send word to Aerith to see how things are going on her end and fill her in. I doubt Ceren’s changed her mind, but Aer will know for sure. Does that sound alright to you?”

@ sun spirit

Aerith frowned a little as she listened to her friend, glancing back at her to try to give her some reassurance. "Ceren, you'll always be a healer, Elwin wouldn't ask you to stop doing what you love. Even if you have to cut back your hours when you have children, you'll probably have to be healing them constantly, and you'll always have me to heal, so it won't be like you won't be using your magic ever again if you married Elwin. Nyrel was telling me that it's hard for people who have magic to have children anyway, so you'll probably have a good long while before you'd have to give up anything in the first place." She gave her a little reassuring smile before looking away again. "You'll still be Ceren if you're not a healer, silly. Being a healer isn't what makes you you. Sure, it's an important part of your life, but not being a healer doesn't make you less Ceren."

---

Elwin nodded slowly, looking at Nyrel for a long moment. "Thank you, Nyrel... I know that I haven't really done anything to deserve this kindness, but I appreciate it.." he spoke soflty as he got out of bed, stretching with a little groan before heading to his wardrobe to grab a clean set of clothes, pausing at the door to his washroom. "Tell one of the guards to send for a jeweler, I'll pick out a ring and get washed up while you speak with Aerith... Will you go see Ceren yourself? Just to makes sure she's alright?" He was clearly very worried about her, antsy just thinking about her being upset.

@ katahdin

Ceren quietly listened to Aerith, returning the little smile her friend gave her as she glanced back into the bathroom. “Since when are you so good at all this?” she asked as she wiped the last of the tears from her eyes, taking a breath. “You really think it’ll all be fine if I just... explain to him that I didn’t hesitate because I was second-guessing wanting to marry him?... You don’t think he’ll be upset it took me this long to talk to him or that he’ll have already summoned the Council and told them or changed his mind?”

---

Nyrel shook his head. “You let me come back. You helped Aerith and I get married despite the Council’s wishes even though you had to have been wary of me. I’m just returning the favor and helping out my sister while I’m at it.” As Elwin stood and started to leave to get dressed, Nyrel got up as well, already halfway to the door when he paused to listen to the requests. “I’ll take care of it,” he said, adding, “I’ll send a message if I get caught up with Aerith and Ceren to let you know how she’s doing.” They parted ways after that, and after relaying to one of the guards outside Elwin’s door that the King was requesting the presence of a jeweler—who should bring engagement rings to the castle with them—he made his way to the infirmary, where he was informed that Aerith and Ceren had left some time ago, though no one knew where exactly. Nyrel tried the kitchens, since they were relatively close, and when that turned up nothing, he took a chance and made his way to Ceren’s room, where he knocked on the door and waited to see if there would be an answer.

@ sun spirit

Aerith smiled faintly as Ceren asked when she'd gotten so good at giving advice, giving a little shrug as she looked away. "I dunno. I'm a fast learner." She told him the same thing she'd been telling Nyrel over the past week, glancing back at Ceren in the murky water. "Of course he'll want to marry you. If he'd told the Council about this, they would have married him off to someone by now. He won't be upset, either, he'll just be happy you're ready to talk to him. Nyrel is talking to him now, and we can arrange for you two to meet in the garden at sundown, so if you want to meet with him then, you can talk to him there. But.. shouldn't you be doing more washing? You still look gross.. No offence."

She moved to find Ceren a washcloth when she heard the knock at the door, excusing herself to go answer it, shutting the door to the washroom to give Ceren privacy before moving to answer the door. She blinked in surprise when she saw Nyrel, but promptly smiled, taking his hands in hers before pressing a quick little kiss to his lips. "Hello. I didn't think I'd see you here... How is Elwin? Is he alright?"

@ katahdin

Ceren accepted the washcloth Aerith passed her, about to respond when she heard the knock at her door. In moments, she was alone in the washroom, scrubbing herself as she went over everything she and Aerith had talked about and the things she still felt nervous about. Despite her friend’s reassurances, she wasn’t entirely sure that Elwin wouldn’t be even a little upset that she’d taken this long to talk to him—not when this was all because she’d hesitated in the first place. She knew she had to talk to him and try though, and the first step towards that was getting cleaned up. If Aerith—with her tolerance for nasty things—was calling her gross, she knew it had to be bad.

Nyrel smiled as Aerith opened the door, glad he’d found her, and returned her kiss as he stepped into the room. “I was going to send a message, but Elwin wanted me to come here personally. He was pretty rough when I found him and entirely convinced Ceren would regret marrying him, but I managed to talk some sense into him. He’s getting cleaned up and prepared for their meeting now. He wanted me to come see you guys so I could see Ceren and let him know how she was doing. Something about her deciding she didn’t want to marry him after all, after her talk with you, which is ridiculous.” He kissed the top of her head as he glanced around. “Speaking of my sister... you didn’t lose her, right?”

@ sun spirit

Aerith happily let Nyrel into Ceren's room, nodding a little as she listened to him speak, fussing over smoothing out his shirt and and adjusting the collar. "Elwin's being silly, just like Cern.. She thinks he won't want to marry her anymore because she's waited too long to speak with him. They're both too stuck in their own heads to realize how much they love each other and that they ought to get married." She hummed a little when he kissed her head, looking up at him with a little smile, scrunching her nose as she tried not to laugh when he asked if she'd lost her. "No, I did not lose your sister. She needed a bath, so she's in the washroom. I'll finish helping her get ready, and then can we go back to our room? I'm exhausted." She whined a little as she looked up at him, pouting a little.

@ katahdin

Nyrel let Aerith smooth the invisible wrinkles in his shirt, reaching out to hold her close as he listened. “She really said that?” he asked and sighed. “Well, you’re right about them both being silly. Luckily, I managed to talk enough sense into Elwin that he’s planning on proposing to Ceren again when they meet. We just have to hope Ceren says yes instead of ‘are you sure’,” Nyrel told her, chuckling softly as she scrunched her nose at his question. “Just making sure,” he defended, kissing the nose in question. “And I know. I’m tired too. Let me get back to Elwin to let him know Ceren’s fine so he’ll stop worrying and won’t chicken out at the last moment, then I’ll meet you back at our room? We’ll get some food and sleep, and when we wake up, everything will be back to normal.”

@ sun spirit

Aerith was quite happy in her husband's arms, although she knew she'd have to get back to Ceren sooner rather than later but was reluctant to separate from him yet. "Oh, that sounds like a great idea, having him propose again. You're very clever, you know." She giggled as he kissed her nose, her arms tightening a little around his waist a little as he tried to pull away, keeping close. "It'll be nice to sleep in my own bed.. not that the one in Ashwick was bad, it's just nice being home." She sighed, tucking her face into his chest for a few moments before pulling back with a little sigh. "Ok, I'll see you shortly. Maybe I can stop by the kitchen on the way, get us some dinner? If you order everything I'll pick it up." She offered, pressing a kiss to his cheek before turning to head back into the washroom to help Ceren.

@ katahdin

"I try," Nyrel responded with a smile. When Aerith tightened her arms around him rather than letting go when he attempted to pull away, he stayed where he was and continued to hold her close, rubbing her back soothingly. "I understand. I like it better here too," he assured her, then nodded his agreement to her suggestion. "That sounds wonderful to me," he replied, pressing one last kiss to her lips before he let her go.

Nyrel did as she'd suggested, stopping by the kitchens to ask for dinner for him and his wife to be picked up by one of them later, then made his way back to Elwin's room, though this time he took the time to knock and wait for permission to come in. He didn't see the king anywhere though, so he guessed he was still washing up. Nyrel stayed in the main room, but called out loud enough to be heard, "I didn't get to see Ceren since she was in the bath, but from what Aer told me, I don't think you'll have to worry about her saying no. She apparently thinks you won't want to marry her because she waited too long to talk to you."

---

Ceren had finished her bath while Aerith was gone, and she'd just wrapped a towel around her waist and started drying her hair with a second one when her friend returned. "Who was it?" she asked, glancing over Aerith's shoulder as if she would catch sight of whoever it was still lingering in her room. She could only think of a few options, but given the way Aerith looked... "Nyrel?" she guessed, her stomach clenching. Aerith had mentioned he was talking to Elwin. "What'd he say?"

@ sun spirit

Aerith smiled a little as she kissed him back, waving a little as he left before she returned to Ceren. She blushed a bit as she looked her over before guessing it had been Nyrel, quickly brushing her fingers through her hair and adjusting her shirt, although it wasn't as if they'd really done anything wild and crazy. "Yes, it was Nyrel. He said Elwin wants to meet you in the garden at sundown, like planned. He really wants to talk to you." She reassured with a little smile, patting her shoulder gently. "He loves you, don't worry about it, Cer. Now, do you want help getting dressed, or are you all set? Not that I don't want to help you or anything, but I'm ready for dinner and to go back to my room..."

---

Elwin had finished bathing, but was taking his time shaving and making sure that he was presentable. He came to the door when he heard Nyrel, quickly pulling on his clean clothes before heading out into the main room, looking at him with a frown. "Really? But Aer said that she wants to marry me? She wasn't just saying it?" He knew he was being a bit ridiculous, but the last thing he wanted was to be rejected by Ceren.

@ katahdin

Ceren felt her shoulders relax a little in relief when Aerith said Elwin wanted to talk to her; it couldn't be anything too bad if he wanted to talk. She pulled Aerith in for a hug, squeezing her tightly. "Thanks, Aer. For making me leave the infirmary and talk about this and trying to fix everything. I'm so sorry it happened right when you got back." She pulled back and made a little shooing motion. "I can get dressed on my own. You go eat and relax with your husband. I'll be fine. For real this time." She wasn't quite ready to get her hopes up as high as Aerith's seemed to be, but she was feeling more hopeful than she had been.

---

As Elwin came out and immediately began questioning if Ceren had meant what she said, Nyrel could only shake his head. "Listen to yourself. What reason could she possibly have for saying something like that? Especially when she didn't know that you'd hear it. It was genuine, Elwin, I promise."

@ sun spirit

Aerith smiled as she hugged her back, pressing a little kiss to her cheek. "No worries, Cer. I'm happy that I could help. Wait, I'm your sister now, does that mean we can't be friends anymore?" She asked with a little frown as she looked at him. "Cause I like being your friend.. I don't want to stop being able to tell you about stuff just because I'm married to your brother.." She pouted a little, before shaking her head with a sigh as she headed toward the door. "Oh, never mind, I'm just too tired.. Have fun with Elwin, Cer, I'll see you around!" She said, waving before leaving the room and hurrying to the kitchen, very excited to pick up dinner for her and Nyrel and return to her room.

However, when she arrived at what she thought was her room, she found it empty, and after asking a maid what was going on she was shown to the new set of rooms that Elwin had managed to pick out for the two of them despite his funk. She was both surprised and pleased, and after setting the tray of food down she decided to explore the rooms a little, curious as to what these new rooms looked like.

---

Elwin ran a hand over his face with a little sigh, shaking his head slightly. "I know, I know, I'm a mess.. Sorry , sorry. I'll let you go, I'm sure you can't wait to get to bed. Oh, by the way, I arranged for you and Aerith to have a new, bigger set of rooms. They're a bit further from here, but I figured that might be better so you wouldn't have to deal with Aerith terrorizing the nobility across the hall. Consider it a wedding present."

@ katahdin

Ceren laughed softly--the first time in days that she'd shown any signs of genuine happiness or amusement--and shook her head. "Of course we're still friends," she assured Aerith, but let her go after that, seeing she was eager to be off, waving and closing the door behind her. Left by herself, Ceren finished toweling her hair, then wove it into its usual braid and started to get dressed, all the while very aware how close and yet how far sunset was.

---

Nyrel clapped Elwin's shoulder in a friendly manner. "I think love just makes people stupid. I'm sure everything will go great though, okay?" He blinked in surprise as he was told that he and Aerith had a new set of rooms. "Thanks," he said, a little stunned. "Aer was hoping to talk you into doing just that, actually, since she has to make room for me." He paused, finding himself at a bit of a loss, though a knock at the door saved him from trying to reply further. When Elwin answered, it turned out to be the jeweler he'd requested. "Well, guess it really is time to get going. Aer should have our food by now too," he said and gave Elwin a smile. "Good luck." He started to make his way out, but stopped at the door and turned around. "Green's her favorite," he said with a wink, then disappeared, stopping the first maid he saw to give him directions since he didn't know where his and Aerith's new rooms were.

@ sun spirit

Elwin chuckled a little and nodded in agreement, taking a seat in his usual chair by the fire, anxiously running his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, love does make everyone stupid.. And don't worry about the rooms, there's no need to thank me. It'll probably be for the best for everyone in the long run." He chuckled, looking up as the jeweler came in, nodding a little as Nyrel left. "Alright. Good luck." he said, standing to speak with the jeweler about the rings, hoping to pick one that Ceren would like. He wanted to spend his time picking out the ring, but also knew that sunset would be around soon, and he'd need to hurry up if he was going to be on time.

---

Aerith was waiting in the hall outside of their room, smiling widely when she spotted Nyrel coming down the hall. "Nyrel! You'll never believe it! We have new rooms!" She beamed, practically throwing herself into his arms as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing a happy kiss to his lips. "Can you believe it? Elwin gave us a brand new set of rooms. There's a bedroom for us, a sitting room with a bunch of chairs and a couch for us to sit in, there's an office for you to work in now that you're Baron again, and there's even extra shelf space even though all of my animals and plants and books are already here, so there's plenty of room for your things too!" She was obviously ecstatic about the new rooms, even if she had liked her old one, but it seemed right that now that she was starting a new life with Nyrel she'd also have a change of rooms.

@ katahdin

Ceren chose to dress warmly, given the cold weather, but made sure not to pick anything that she might usually wear to work in the infirmary, which was putting more thought into her attire than she usually did. But she wanted to prove a point to Elwin, that he was more important to her than being a healer, and she'd do just about anything to show him that. Once she was dressed though, the thought of sitting in her room and waiting for sunset, even trying to focus on reading until then, only felt like it was making her more nervous, so she went ahead and made her way to the gardens, where she had to fight the urge to pace and instead walk around the large, maze-like grounds.

---

Nyrel was surprised to find Aerith waiting for him, and before the maid who'd shown him the way to the rooms had left, he'd caught his wife, holding her in his arms as he happily returned her kiss. He listened with a smile, smothering a chuckle, as she began to describe the rooms they'd been moved into and what they entailed, though that smile slipped a bit and turned to confusion as she said he was Baron. "He told me he moved us into something bigger and more isolated from nobles. He said it was a wedding present. It's great that we have so much space too. I was worried I was going to have to get creative to move myself in," he said, pressing a kiss to her lips as he set her on her feet. "I'm still not Baron though, Aer. I'd be honored if Elwin ever trusted me with it again, and I'd love to take over, but even if he seems okay with me these days, I imagine it's going to take a little time before he even considers doing something like that."

@ sun spirit

After much deliberation, Elwin settled on a simple silver ring with a rather nice emerald set in it, knowing that he could always call the jeweler back so Ceren could pick out something she liked more. Once that was settled he finished dressing in his warm clothes, knowing it would be chilly now that the sun had gone down. Some were even saying it might snow, so he wanted to be prepared. After pacing in his room for a good five minutes he couldn't take the waiting anymore and headed to the gardens, wandering through the shrubs waiting for Ceren, although when he rounded a corner he nearly ran into her, immediately grabbing onto her arms to steady her as he looked at her with wide eyes. "Ceren.. Are you alright?"

---

Aerith was very happy in his arms, especially when he was kissing her, although she was also quite hungry, so once he set her down again she led him into the rooms and to the little dining table that had been set up for them, taking her seat across from him after dividing the plates. "You are Baron, though, Ceren said so. She said she and Elwin talked before their fight, and they agreed to give the title back to you, cause Ceren can't be Queen and Royal Healer and Baroness. So you're the Baron again. It's a bit more boring than Prince, I'm afraid, but I dunno how many people you could convince to call you Prince Nyrel.. Except maybe me." She grinned sheepishly before digging into her meal with a content hum

@ katahdin

Ceren still felt a little antsy as she walked around, the rapidly sinking sun not doing much to help her nerves, but she tried to convince herself everything would be fine anyway. Then, as she rounded a corner, she almost walked right into Elwin and was kept from stumbling back instinctually as he caught her arms. Despite every intention of having a calm conversation with him, as she stared into his eyes, she felt tears pricking in her own and suddenly wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight as she tried to bite them back. "El, I'm so sorry. I love you so much, and I didn't mean to make you feel like I didn't want to marry you." She pulled back enough to look up at him, eyes still shimmering as she said, "I'm resigning from being Royal Healer. I don't care about the position. It's just some pompous title anyway. Offer it to Taliesin. He's brilliant, and he knows when to stop, and he already takes care of anyone. He'd love it. I just want to be a normal healer who helps when she has time and-and in emergencies. No more late nights or trying to sleep there or doing everything."

---

Nyrel let Aerith drag him to their dinner, taking in as much of their rooms as he could on the way, then helped her separate their food onto their plates and sat down with her as she explained the news he hadn't expected to hear. "Hey, if you're Princess, I can be Prince!" he argued with a laugh. "I'm really... I can't believe they're giving me this chance though. I'll have to thank them next time I see them." Then, hungry after spending half a day in a carriage and then even more time helping Ceren and Elwin, Nyrel started to eat, finding that he didn't mind the burnt taste right then.

@ sun spirit

Elwin blinked in surprise as she almost immediately wrapped her arms around him, quickly wrapping his around her in return as he squeezed her a bit, tucking his face into her hair as he let out a little sigh, closing his eyes in relief. She didn't hate him. She wanted to marry him. He was surprised though when she said that she wanted to give up being Royal Healer, considering arguing with her for a minute before deciding against it, knowing it would be for the best if she were only a regular healer. He pressed a little kiss to her forehead before pulling back, squeezing her hands in his as he finally spoke. "I'm sorry for over reacting, I shouldn't have expected you to know what you wanted after immediately springing such important information on you.. I promise I'll be better in the future." He reassured her before kneeling down slowly, looking up at her with glassy eyes. "I love you with all of my heart, Ceren. Will you marry me?" He asked, fishing the ring from his pocket to offer it to her.

---

Aerith giggled a little as they argued over titles, shaking her head a bit. "Elwin would have to give you the title. You're only a Lord right now, and soon you'll be a Baron, but you might never be a Prince, even if our children are princess and princes." She smiled, not really minding the burnt food as they talked like this, having found everything to be a bit better now that Nyrel was her husband. "I'm happy for you, Nyrel. You liked being Baron, and you were good at it, and maybe you'll be able to make some friends, and we won't get burnt food anymore."