CHAPTER 49
Keenan
Keenan closed his eyes, basking in the early evening sunshine for a few moments before heading toward the bower in the middle of the castle gardens.
It had been a long, grueling day of convincing King Banri to let him stay in the guest room instead of throwing him in the dungeon.
He didn’t have his weapons back, but at least he was outside and alone.
The air was cool among the trees. As he rounded a bend in the path, he saw Sakura sitting primly on a bench beneath the boughs of a cherry tree.
Its blossoms were mostly gone, but a few still struggled on, clinging to life like he would have clung to his apron most of that day if he’d had it.
Heavens, how he missed the simple days of working at the smithy, when the most frustrating part of his existence was arguing with Geoffrey over how many special orders he could complete by the end of the week.
“I thought I might find you here.”
She glanced up at the pink flowers before smiling and patting the empty spot beside her. “Did Kasumi give me away?”
“She might have mentioned that this was your favorite place in the springtime. Back when you used to live here.” He lowered himself onto the bench, but his eyes drifted toward the front gate.
King Banri had stopped threatening to have him arrested again, but that didn’t mean Keenan had permission to leave the “safety” of the castle.
A hand gently wrapped around his. Two days ago, he might have pulled away. But the queen had declared them betrothed, the king hadn’t overthrown it, and if he ignored all the reasons he shouldn’t, Keenan wanted it.
“I’m sorry for following Mother’s instructions,” Sakura said quietly. She peeked up at him. “Right before you left the winter castle and again when I first caught up to you in the mountains. It was inexcusable.”
“Because cozying up to a commoner isn’t appropriate behavior for a princess?”
“Because intentionally leading someone on isn’t appropriate behavior for anyone,” she tartly replied. “I tried to justify it with her logic, but I never felt comfortable with it. I should have refused.”
He pressed her hand. “You made the right decision in the end, though. That counts for something.” Pausing, he added, “You did stop faking sometime on our trip, didn’t you?”
Sakura chuckled. “The waterfall. I couldn’t keep misleading you after that.”
“I should probably convince you to find someone else,” he said ruefully. “But I’m guessing it won’t work, will it?”
She raised an eyebrow. “If Mother hasn’t sent the invitations yet, she will tomorrow.”
“I’ve heard of meddling mamas, but yours may be the worst.” Squeezing her hand, Keenan huffed a laugh. “I’m surprised your father hasn’t protested, though.”
“We’ve spent the last three years expecting I would marry a common soldier.
” Sakura slid a little closer and leaned her head against his shoulder.
“He planned to marry me off to a hero. I suppose he’s simply as tired of the suspense as the rest of us.
And since there’s nothing clearly objectionable about you… ” She shrugged.
“So even though the prophecy isn’t real, he’s just letting your mother do whatever she wants?”
“If I asked him to tell her no, he might.” Tilting her head back, she peered up at him. “Are you upset by it?”
Keenan lifted his free hand, gently tracing the edge of her face. Her skin was soft under his fingers. “I’ll admit, it isn’t quite how I imagined my betrothal someday.”
“And how did you imagine it?”
Giving her a crooked smile, he said, “You wouldn’t be a princess, for starters. Even the daughter of a wealthy merchant would be out of my league.” But despite his words, he pulled his hand free and wrapped it around her waist.
She snuggled into his side. Most un-princess-like, he was fairly certain. “What else?”
“A proper courtship,” he said after a moment of thought. “Instead of spending our entire acquaintance hiking through the mountains, I would have taken you to visit every purveyor of mechanical goods I know of.”
“So romantic,” she laughed.
“You know you would enjoy it.” He grinned down at her. “And I would have given you flowers that you actually wanted, instead of ones that are apparently taboo in your kingdom.”
A pretty blush spread across her cheeks, and she opened her mouth like she was going to say something. But he didn’t think the words that came out were the ones she originally considered. “Anything else?”
He dropped a light kiss on her forehead. “Instead of letting your meddling mama declare it for us, I would have proposed to you myself. And then we would have told everyone else.”
Sucking in a deep breath, she sat back and met his eyes briefly before looking away. “Then why don’t you? There are—this tree hasn’t lost all of its blossoms.”
Keenan blinked at her. What did that have to do with anything?
“You didn’t know what you were offering.”
“I’m not asking you to give me cherry blossoms.”
“That’s why you didn’t take them before,” he said slowly. “Isn’t it?”
She stared at her lap. “Technically, sharing a meal as part of the cherry blossom festival comes first. But spring is a popular time for betrothals in Ryuni.”
He felt like a fool. According to her customs, he’d already proposed to her once. And in his ignorance, he’d been angry when she refused.
She twisted her hands in her lap. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I know I’m not what you hoped for.”
Letting his arm fall from her waist, he stood and plucked the freshest blooms he could find.
Then he settled onto one knee and held them out.
“You may come with a title I never expected, but you are everything I could ask for.” She began blinking rapidly, and he set his free hand over hers.
“You have a dry wit, a fascination with and skill for simple machines. You stood beside me when I faced my father, even after I had just terrified you with my uncontrollable temper.”
“Not uncontrollable,” she whispered. It sounded as if she couldn’t do more. “Just in need of a little less fear.”
Shaking his head, he continued, “You keep your head in a crisis, you are adorably clumsy, and I love the little wrinkle you get right here when you’re trying to solve a problem and you think no one is looking.” He traced the spot with a finger, and she batted him away with a light scowl.
Smiling softly, he moved his hand to cup her jaw.
“I like you best when you’re not trying to be perfect, because I don’t like the strain it puts on you.
You are more than the image your mother forces you into, and the real you is beautiful.
The real you is enough.” He leaned forward, making sure she could see the sincerity in his eyes.
“I may not have come to Ryuni with the expectation of getting stuck here, but there’s no one I’d rather be stuck with than you. ”
“The proposal of every girl’s dreams,” she said dryly. “How can there be any answer but one?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t mean it like that, Princess. I wish it didn’t cause problems for you, but otherwise, I’m happy to be stuck with you.”
Leaning into his hand, she reached out and took the cherry blossoms. Her soft fingers brushed over his, lingering a moment before pulling the flowers away. “And I didn’t mean it like that. Your phrasing at the end was less than ideal. But the rest was perfect.”
“Perfect?” Smiling, he slid back onto the bench, wrapping his hand around the one that held his cherry blossoms. Their faint scent wafted up to him, filling him with the sweet awareness that this time, she’d accepted.
So much more than flowers. “Sorry, perfection isn’t allowed here.
Only imperfection that is beautiful in its flaws. ”
She arched an eyebrow as she leaned toward him a little. “Is that how you approach your smithing?”
“Every one of my blades has something that could be improved.” Closing his eyes, he bent over her head, enjoying the lavender in her hair. “If they were perfect, where would the challenge be in the next one?”
“If you need a challenge, work on the conclusion.” He could hear the amusement in her voice. “Therein lay your imperfection.”
Pulling back a little, Keenan made a face. “And how many times do you expect me to propose marriage?”
“Ideally? Once.” Her black eyes met his as she raised an eyebrow. “If you’re as smart as you look?”
He wrapped an arm around her waist, smiling as he pressed his lips to her forehead, waiting for her to finish.
“Still only once.” She adjusted her hand, threading their fingers together. “Despite your appalling lack of social graces, your looks have never betrayed you.”
Keenan chuckled. “I’m not sure how to interpret that one, but I’m going to kiss you now,” he murmured. “Unless you object?”
“I knew you were intelligent.”
He brushed his lips against hers, noting how pleasantly soft they were while he contemplated his next move. He didn’t know anything about kissing; he only knew a deep desire to feel his lips pressed against hers.
He gave a mental shrug. As good a place to start as any, he supposed.
“Is that what kissing looks like? I’d heard about it, but it looks like a strange custom.”
Keenan jerked back, startled by the creaky voice above his head. Cherry’s green eyes blinked at him curiously through the branches.
He sighed. He was glad to see her safe, but she had terrible timing. A suppressed laugh came from the princess’s direction. Personally, Keenan didn’t see anything funny about it. “Did you need something?”
“That’s all right, I can wait till you’re finished,” the little dragon replied cheerily. “Oliver doesn’t expect me back until long after the sun sets. And I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to talk to you since early this morning.”