Book Two: KOTLC One-shots and More

More (Kenric POV)

A/N: @KotlcSoccer requested Oralie or Kenric's POV of their wedding from my main story.

Kenric found he lived in constant flux--a crazy rush of highs and lows as he readjusted to life in the Lost Cities.

On the one hand, it felt like each of his dreams were coming true. He'd spent years--decades--desperately in love with Oralie, always wishing they could step down and be together. Decades knowing she felt the same way, but not quite enough to want to move forward. He had known she cared for him, but refused to step down so they could be together. It was partly--but not entirely--because of Sophie. But now? Now, they were together at long last. Now he could finally call her his, and hear her say that he was hers. He could stare at her all he wanted, and no one would think it strange.

But on the other hand, he couldn't forget the nightmares he'd endured, either. He lived in three different worlds: the reality of where he was; the memory of his capture, supposed death, and months of torment; and lastly, his time in the Forbidden Cities thinking he was a human.

Not to mention how out of step he felt with the rest of the Lost Cities. So much had changed in the few years he'd been away. Things didn't generally change very quickly in the Lost Cities, but between the Black Swan--Sophie in particular, the Neverseen, and Elysian, their world had been drastically altered.

But every day, Oralie was there.

She was there to hold his hand as he worked through his trauma.

She was there to kiss away the nightmares.

She was there to tell him everything he'd missed.

And she was there to laugh at him when surprises still caught him off guard, like the first time they'd gone to Atlantis and he'd discovered that the Unity Fountain had been replaced by a statue of Sophie, Keefe, and Linh Song.

He'd been told about the events and discoveries of that day, but no one had remembered to tell him about the statue being changed. He knew about—and had seen—the statue of his own likeness, but knew nothing of the new statue in Atlantis. He'd stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the fountain open mouthed, until the beautiful sound of Oralie's laughter pulled him out of his reverie.

"I guess I forgot to tell you they tore out the Unity Fountain," she told him in her melodic voice. He knew what had been hidden underneath that fountain--not that the rest of the world knew about that just yet--and fully supported the decision to replace it.

All in all, Kenric knew that he was slowly finding his way again. He saw Oralie's happiness at having him back—but he also heard the uncertainty bordering on fear when he'd be in another room for too long and she'd call out his name. It was like part of her still didn't believe he was really there.

It had only been a couple of weeks since he'd returned, but he knew what he wanted.

"What I want to know," he asked Oralie one afternoon while drinking tea in her ridiculously pink sitting room, "is how serious you were about being with me."

Oralie looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Do you doubt me?" She asked, looking puzzled.

"No," he promised. "I just...wanted to make sure. Since it would mean being a bad match. You already picked up all of your lists, and I hadn't registered, so I wasn't on any of them."

She leaned in and placed both of her soft, warm hands on his cheeks. "I love you, Kenric. Years ago you asked me to step down for love. I refused. And now...now I don't even have to choose." Kenric smiled. Sophie had asked the Council to reconsider their millennia-old policy stating that Councillors couldn't have families, and the Council had discussed it and ultimately agreed with the request. "But," Oralie continued, "I need you to know that I meant what I said that day at Aeternum. If I had to choose between you and my position on the Council, I would choose you."