Only You

Old Habits

Aelin's family were sat in their usual spots around the breakfast table. The room transformed from the evening before. Her heart twinged at the memory of such a wonderful night and how quickly it had all come crumbling.

She had decided on the walk down that she would not let herself mope or let herself be sad. He would come back. Rowan would come back and things would be fine again, they would have their mating ceremony, they would have their wedding and everything would be okay. So she smiled at her family, she let go of her anxiety of the future and settled into her seat.

Aedion was watching her carefully, like he knew something was up. She merely gave him her signature grin and went to work filling her plate.

Orlon cleared his throat, drawing her attention away from the pastries in front of her. She paused and looked towards him; then noticed the rest of her family smiling knowingly at her, her mother almost bouncing in her chair.

"Have I missed something?" She said, leaning back in her seat.

Aedion rolled his eyes, then pointed to her hand.

She had forgotten the ring that was sat very obviously on her finger. Her mother glancing down at it, her eyes watery, but a huge smile on her face.

"Rowan proposed to me last night?" She smiled lightly at them all, taking a bite of the flaky, buttery pastry.

"Oh it's so wonderful! Let me see the ring!" Her mother didn't wait before she had taken Aelin's hand and was admiring the ring, gushing over the colour of the stone, the intricate patterns engraved on the gold band.

"Congratulations, Aelin." Her father's words were soft, his smile small. But she could see the gleam of happiness in his eyes, the flash of pride as he gazed at her.

"Where is Rowan? I have to tell him what a wonderful job he did on the ring."

Aelin returned her hand to her lap, her thumb twiddling the ring as she tried to keep her smile.

"Actually, Rowan has had to go back to Doranelle. There's been some problems with Maeve and Sellene was keen for him to return to help ease the people's worries."

Orlon gave her a quizzical look. "I spoke with Sellene yesterday. She was under the impression that others would be taking care of it."

Aelin cleared her throat. "I assume Rowan had been given different information from a friend of his. He left for Doranelle this morning. He sends his apologies."

Her mother looked disappointed, her excitement dying. "What does this mean for the ceremony next week?"

Aelin swallowed back the tears that threatened to spill. "We will have to postpone. He said he would try to be here for Yulemas. He will write when he knows when he will be coming back."

Aedion was silent, examining Aelin cautiously as she spoke to them.

"Oh. Well, I suppose we can delay for a few more weeks. A Yulemas ceremony could be very nice. It'll be a busy few weeks for everyone then— if the wedding is to be two weeks after Yulemas too."

Aelin nodded. "What else is there to do in the winter here?"

"It's seems unlike Rowan to just leave without informing anyone else beforehand." Her father was also studying her.

"He informed me." Another bite of the pastry. "Like I said, he sends his apologies and hopes to be back soon."

Her mother sighed, taking a long sip of her tea. "I suppose that means I can postpone our meetings today. We can still have lunch together if you would like."