Crazy Talk (CorVal)

Ch. 5 ▲ Zion

As Corvan held Valeriana close, comforting her as she realised how her father died, he had a million thoughts running through his head. The three bodies had all belonged to former Celeste Knights, two of which had been rather close to his father and therefore to himself. It had come as a shock when King Laedin had made them assume they were killed in Earth, and he knew Courtney, too had suffered when she'd been told her close uncle had been 'killed' by hostile Earthens. It was one of the reasons she'd hated Valeriana's guts when she first came to the Academy. 

They'd luckily made their peace however. They weren't close by any means, but it did help that Courtney no longer wished to slice her into a thousand little pieces. He sighed as he continued rocking the fifth-ranker, awkwardly holding her. He didn't have much experience with women, as he'd considered such matters trivial. He had been studying and training hard instead. After all, he'd look when he graduated. At least, until Alovia and Valeriana. He tried to convince himself it was temporary only, but . . .

A head peered round the half open door. He immediately placed Valeriana down, and straightened himself despite the matter he was still in his sleeping clothes. The box fell off the bed and bounced twice under the bed. Not noticing this, he approached the blue-haired lad, whose very name caused him to feel emotions he'd never felt before. Pushing them down, he forced a smile onto his face, and reluctantly said, through clenched teeth, "What is it Zion?"

(A/N: OMG WHAT! ZION? HOW'D HE GET THERE HMM? #TeamZion)

The non-ranker merely smiled, and said, "I heard Val was here. I wanted to give her a present. After all, it is Earthen custom to give one another gifts in celebration of ones birth date, is it not?"

Corvan was flabbergasted. He'd never head of such a custom. Where had Zion learned about this?

He smiled again, this time showing all of his teeth. He held out a simple wooden box, and gestured for him to take it. "Give it to Val, okay? I hope she likes it. I managed to sneak to Earth to get it too. Well, anyways I'm going to go now. Give her my love!" And he walked away, leaving Corvan completely dumbfounded.

He looked back. "Lord Corvan. You can't be given everything on a silver platter. Especially hearts of wondrous women. You don't deserve her." With a smirk he bounced off.

How did he get to Earth? And also, Zion normally had tricks up his sleeve. Perhaps he was going to prank them or something. He sighed deeply, and went back inside, to hand her present.

"Oh my gosh! It's so pretty!" Were the first words out of her mouth as she took out a thin, elegant gold ring out of the box. It had been wrapped in super soft cotton, but the box it came in looked oddly familiar. She took another look at the front of the box, and let out a squeal. "What! Oh my gosh this is like the coolest thing anyone's ever done for me. He actually got me a gold ring from Tiffany's! Where'd he get the money though?"

"I believe..." Corvan gritted out.

"What?"

"That he..."

"What!"

"Just, proposed to you."  He forced out, cursing Zion silently.

She blinked once, then twice. She blinked a few more times as she took in the information. Then she suddenly frowned. "But... Doesn't he know that I'm going to marry you? Why did he think I was going on tour anyways? As a friend?" She suddenly gasped. Holy shiznits. She was gonna marry this overbearing, arrogant A-hole. She was going to marry him.

Arlandian lords never did take their fiancées out to tour the continent. Too many complications and risks. However, Val was a tough woman who so far, had faced everything life had thrown at her, with her head held up all the way.