The Untold Story

A moment of happiness

It's been five years since graduation. Each of the guys found their vocation. Matilda took up painting and became an outstanding artist, Owain and Ezra achieved great heights in politics, and Elodie joined the League of Explorers and now travelled to various parts of the Free State. But this didn't prevent them from sometimes gathering in the evenings to socialize and just have a good time. Ezra and Elodie saw each other very often. Every day their love only grew stronger. Everyone thought that they would have a wonderful family. Today Ezra invited Elodie to a restaurant to relax and spend time together, as they had not seen each other for two weeks because of Elodie's trip.
"How was the trip?" - Ezra asked, kissing Elodie and helping her take off her coat.
"It's fine. Without incident" - Elodie smiled. The smile was forced. Something was bothering Elodie, and Ezra could see it.
"You don't look like it" - he chuckled, but when he saw Elodie's worried face, he immediately became serious and asked with a slight frown - "What happened?"
Elodie pursed her lips, clearly hesitating.
"Ezra, I'm not sure. I could be wrong..." - Elodie shook her head and bit her lip, not daring to continue.
Ezra smiled gently and covered her hand with his:
"Elodie, you are not in the habit of making things up or embellishing things. If something is bothering you, then there is a reason for it. You usually feel everything intuitively, and it has never failed you yet. You can tell me everything".
Ezra's words clearly calmed the girl down, and so, with a sigh, she continued:
"It seems to me that there is a betrayer among The Wundrous Society, and perhaps more than one. I know this may sound ridiculous, but during this trip, I came across documents that... oh, I... I don't know... these were some kind of agreements between the Free State and the Republic, but they were illegal, otherwise they would not have been so hidden and would have been known about them. You'd know about them, too. And Owain. But I didn't have time to look through them, other members of the League were returning. I wasn't supposed to go into that room at all, so I had to quickly put everything back in place and leave from there. I don't have anything else to say. I... I just don't know what to think. But I feel that something is wrong here and something terrible is coming" - Elodie shrugged and looked at Ezra, waiting for him to say something.
Ezra sat frowning. There wasn't a bit of fun left in him. He was well aware that these documents could only be illegal, and Elodie's concerns were well-founded. But to reassure Elodie, he had to pull himself together and smile. Ezra didn't want her to worry about it, he'd figure it out for himself.
"My love, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. But if it's so important to you, I'll try to find out for myself tomorrow" - he smiled encouragingly at Elodie, squeezing her hand. And the gesture helped her relax. Although not completely, she felt much better now. Elodie smiled back.
"Okay, thank you. I think you're right, and I'm really winding myself up. Today we need to rest and have fun. What interesting things happened during the two weeks I was away?"
Ezra nodded, clearly pleased that Elodie had come to her senses and had a genuine smile on her face again.
"Nothing special happened. Owain and I have attended several public events. I'll tell you a secret, they were boring to the point of impossibility. So I don't think it's of any interest. The only thing that deserves attention is the exhibition of Matilda. I'm sure you've never seen anything like this before. Paintings seem to come alive when you look at them. You really should see them. Mathilde has a real talent. What about your trip? Was there anything interesting? Well, except for the documents" - he asked, raising an eyebrow and smiling out of the corner of his mouth.
"We were in the Highlands. We studied the local flora and fauna. It's so beautiful there. You should have seen" - Elodie said, her eyes gleaming with joy - "We were in a valley where a river flowed, with weeping willows on either side. Flowers grew everywhere and life was in full swing. The weather was delightful. It feels like you're in a fairy tale".
Elodie spoke so enthusiastically that Ezra found himself admiring her. He shook his head to clear it. Now he had to gather his strength and do what he had wanted to do for a long time. Ezra reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a red velvet box. Elodie stopped talking when she noticed that Ezra was acting strangely. He was clearly nervous.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, not really" - he said, and then, clearing his throat, he continued - "Elodie, I was going to say that... We've known each other since we were kids. You've always been there for me no matter what, always believed in me. You're the best thing in my life. You made me happy and gave me hope for the future. I want to give you everything, I want you to be happy too" - he got down on one knee and opened the box that contained a ring with a sparkling diamond - "Elodie Bauer, will you marry me?"
Elodie gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. She clearly hadn't expected this. She was overwhelmed with emotion.
"Oh, if you need to think about it, I don't mind... It's not like I'm waiting for an answer right now, it's okay... I just..."
Before he could finish, Elodie threw her arms around him.
"Yes, Ezra. A hundred times yes" - She pulled back and looked at Ezra, tears streaming down her face.
"You... are you serious?"
"Of course, silly" - she smiled at him affectionately, stroking his cheek. There were tears in Ezra's eyes, too.
He leaned over and kissed Elodie. In that kiss were all the emotions and feelings that he could not put into words. Ezra pressed his forehead against Elodie's.
"You made me the happiest man in the world".
"And you made me the happiest girl".
Elodie kissed him on the lips. She loved him so much, and she wanted him to remember that.
"I think I should put the ring on your finger after all" - Ezra said, smiling.
Elodie held out her hand and he slipped the ring on her finger. Then they kissed again.
"I love you, Ezra".
"I love you too, Elodie. More than anything in the world".