The Queen of the Waves

32: Sapphires and Diamonds

Mara couldn't quite believe she was once again on the deck of the Golden Promise. She stared down at the murky water in the harbour, it had a light scum to the surface and it made her stomach roll.

Warm arms encircled her from behind and she hummed softly, leaning back against his chest.

"Are you alright, my love?" Bas asked as Mara spun in his arms, pressing her face in his chest.

Her little head nodded, still burrowed in his chest, making him smile as he cupped her neck.

"Come with me." He murmured, leading her by the hand up a flight of steps to a higher portion of the deck.

Whilst the rest of the deck was bustling with crew, up here, there was only the sea breeze and the gull's cries.

Mara stared out at the vast, terrifying expanse of ocean as Bas nervously reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet box.

"Mara." He cleared his throat anxiously as she turned around to look at him.

"What's this?" She asked, fingertips stroking the blue velvet as her big eyes stared up at him.

Bas, with trembling fingers, opened up the box to revel a stunning necklace dripping in sapphires and diamonds.

"Bas." Mara's mouth fell open as she stared at the jewels.

She had never seen anything so beautiful or expensive in her life before.

"It's for you." Bas stated, even though it was fairly obvious who it was for.

"I love it." Mara stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his stubbled cheek. "It's too much, but thank you."

She hastily spun around, gathering up her hair so that the pale skin of her neck was exposed to him. Bas clipped the necklace on and when Mara spun around, she took his breath away.

The colours, the deep, rich blues, not only matched her dress but even her skin tone. Everything about her was perfect, and everything about her was his.

"Think of this as a promise." Bas mumbled against her lips.

"A promise for what?" Mara asked, her voice was breathless as he nipped around her pulse.

"Us. Us being together forever."

Mara's throat clogged with emotion as she smiled up at her Bas, her arms wrapped around his neck as she stared at him.

"I love you." She whispered, gazing into his eyes.

"I love you too." Bas replied, his voice full of earnest and affection.

Calls from the sailors pulled the lovers away from one another and Bas sighed.

"We need to leave." He explained but Mara already understood.

"Of course," she kissed his lips quickly just so she wouldn't forget the feeling of him close to her, "I'll be waiting in our cabin."

Mara couldn't know how her use of the preposition our made Bas' heart leap, but it did.

Bas quickly stepped into the role of captain and within minutes the ship was gleaming through the waves and heading back to Zauros. Every instinct in Bas' body protested to the idea of taking Mara back to that hell hole, but he also knew that leaving Mara in isolation was the worst thing he could do for her.

She needed him close, always. He was her mental stability as she was his.

Louis sidled up to his captain, he had been made first mate and was already well suited to the role.

"I'm going to be with Mara." Bas announced, "don't disturb us unless it's an emergency."

"Yes, captain." Louis saluted as Bas turned on his heels, his long coat flowing out behind him as he strode towards where he knew Mara would be waiting for him.

He knocked on the closed cabin door and then waited for Mara's response.

"Come in." Bas smirked at the tone of his needy girl, he knew exactly what it meant and was more than happy to provide what she was craving.

He opened the door and his jaw promptly fell open. Mara was stood before the bed, wearing nothing but the necklace.

Bas swallowed hard and quickly closed the door behind him, taking a moment to look the door behind him.

"Hey, beautiful." He stepped into the room, his fingers lightly tripping over her hips as he pulled her to him.

"I think you're a little overdressed, Bastian." Mara teased as she began to undo the buttons of his shirt.

"I couldn't agree more."

The pair of them fell back down on the small bed, both panting in each other's arms. Bas was completely bare and so was Mara, save for the necklace which lay against her heaving chest.

"Does it bother you that I can't get pregnant?" Mara asked suddenly, completely out of the blue.

Bas tightened his arms around her before taking a deep breath.

"Honestly, no."

Mara heaved a sigh of relief.

"I love all of you Mara, and I don't just mean I love you. I love you because of your every imperfection and entity, I don't love you in-spite of those things."

Mara didn't speak but she kissed his chest and brushed her fingertips through the splattering of hair that adorned his chest.

"That's not to say that one day I wouldn't want to raise children with you."

Mara shifted and sat up so she could look at Bas.

"B-but we can't, I-I can't."

"Mara," Bas sighed gently, trailing a hand through the loose tendrils of hair, "if the time comes where we both want to be parents, biology isn't going to stand in the way of our family."

Mara's face bloomed in a smile that stole Bas' breath as her entire aurora flowered further.

"Do you mean that, Bas?" She whispered.

"Are you wearing a sapphire necklace?" He replied, his fingers gently tracing the jewels that hung dangerously close to Mara's nipple.

"Yes." Mara giggled as Bas pulled her down to meet his lips.

"Then I guess you have your answer."

He kissed the tip of her nose, then both cheeks, her lips, even her eyelids before he pressed a final kiss to her forehead and got just a moment, everything in Mara's world was perfect.