Beauty and the Magician (Tales of the Red Witch Book 1)

Chapter 39 - The proposal

"Rose."

Eben stumbled over to her. The chest dropped to the floor momentarily forgotten. He turned her over with his one good arm. She was limp but the gentle movement of her chest and the warmth radiating from her fur meant she was still alive. Had the protection spells worked? Who cares. She was alive. He checked her all over for injury trying to ignore the warm feel of her limbs under his fingers. Miraculously, nothing was broken. Her paw fell to the floor and opened. Grasped in her claws was the pendant on a broken chain.

His little kitten had saved herself. Without the pendant, Demelza could not break the natural laws and take a life with magic. Her ties to the dark magic of the chest had been broken.

Eben pulled her limp form to his chest in a one-armed hug.

"You foolish girl. You would risk yourself for all of us. That's supposed to be my thing." He just sat there on the floor rocking her until the sound of a voice coming from the middle cell shook him from the moment.

"Um, Can someone please let me out. I'm certain I can help with the fight. If someone has a sword or a pistol I can borrow that is." A deep man's voice said. It was a deeply familiar voice though not one he had heard in a long while.

"Yeah me too." Toby echoed from further behind.

"Toby? Oh thank the stars." He muttered. He was reluctant to put Rose down, but he needed to. He rested her in his lap and shrugged out of his tailcoat as carefully as he could. He folded it and tucked it under her head. He pushed his sore battered body up to his feet and limped over to the cell. His good arm was wrapped around his ribs. His burnt arm protested the movements.

The magic locks designed by Skywark and implored by Demelza were complicated but he had experience breaking them and was able to unmake it with a few words and a brush from an oak leaf that he had tucked away in his waistcoat. They were useful against locking spells and he was glad that he had packed it, though he wished he had also thought to pack a bone mending salve and a burn salve as well. He opened the heavy cell door.

He expected to see Toby and so his eyes were focused down at his apprentice's level, so he was quite taken aback to see a large manly chest clad in a tight purple robe facing him.

He lifted his eyes to a broad grinning face topped with mussed up golden hair.

"Andri?"

"In the flesh...quite literally, I'm afraid." The Prince smiled broadly and stepped out of the cell wearing nothing but Toby's large purple robe, though on Andri, it was not quite large enough.

Eben was confused. He was certain Demelza had not had Andri after what she had said in Hafenstadt and yet here he was. But before he could ask a soft shuffle sounded behind him forcing everyone's attention to the small crumpled pile on the floor...

"Ow, there needs to be an edict against that." Rose said as she brought a hand up to rub her head. She was still laying on the floor, her eyes staring unfocused at the ceiling. Her hair stuck out in every direction and her dress was utterly ruined... again. It was more mud than fabric and was torn in more than a few spots.

"Rose, are you alright?" Eben asked as he stumbled back over to her and fell to his knees at her side. He placed a hand on her cheek and gently nudged her eyes towards his.

"I think so. Did you get her?" She asked him with wide eyes. They were so full of hope and trust. He didn't deserve it. He had failed. He had let Demelza get away.

"No, I failed. I froze when you went down... I -." He wasn't sure what he could say. He didn't want to make excuses. If he had been a stronger magician, if he had only worked harder...

She smiled up at him and took his hand from her face and squeezed it.

"It's alright. We'll get her next time. Is Toby and Mr. Pig safe?"

Eben smiled and then frowned. Where was Mr. Pig? He hadn't seen him in the cell. He hadn't seen the pig anywhere.

"Yeah, we're fine." Toby said as he rushed out of the cell pushing Andri out of the way and made his way over to them. He fell to his knees on Rose's other side and pulled her up into a sitting position before throwing his arms around her. Eben opened up his arms and hugged his not-so-worthless apprentice and his cat with one less life to her name. He couldn't help but laugh and then he felt the slight sting of tears in his eyes. Rose's words sunk in. Yes, they would get her next time. And next time he would be ready. But right now, he would relish the moment that they were all together and they were all alive.

"I'm glad. I cannot say that I was completely indifferent to you being taken." Eben said with a slight laugh to the boy as he hid his face on the top of Rose's head.

"I'm gonna take that as a sign that you actually like me." Toby said though it came out muffled because his head was tucked somewhere between Eben's chest and Rose's poufy disheveled cheek.

"Of course, I like you. I—"

But Eben was interrupted by Rose. She had picked her head up and looked around.

"Where's Mr. Pig?" Rose asked suddenly worried. She broke their tight grip on her and pushed herself up to her feet with Toby's and Eben's help and scanned the room, her eyes alighting on the less than dressed man still standing by the cell door smiling at their heartfelt reunion. Her ears were blushing and her brows were furrowed in confusion.

It made Eben's stomach knot. He supposed Andri could be considered a decent enough looking man, but she didn't have to stare that hard, did she?

"Well, as to that... There's good news and bad news." Toby said. Everyone turned their attention to the smug little boy. He was dirty and dressed as garishly as ever. Though without the purple robe, he could almost pass for normal. Well normal in a circus anyway.

"Bad news... Mr. Pig is gone." Toby said as he crossed his lanky arms over his rainbow metallic waistcoat.

Eben watched as her face fell. He could see that she was thinking the worst but he knew Toby, he would not joke if Mr. Pig was dead. Blast his weasel apprentice for toying with her. He glared at Toby, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Good news... I found the prince! It was Mr. Pig all along! Mr. Pig was the prince!" Toby smiled broadly as he held his arms out to the golden man in the purple robe. "You don't suppose there's a reward, do you?" He added as he bounced in his excitement.

"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle. You really were a prince... Oh, I slept next to you!" Rose cringed as her knees went out. Eben caught her around the waist and hefted her back to her feet. It was completely worth the pain in his arm. He kept his arm around her as she held on to his waistcoat lapels.

Andri stepped forward and took her paws in his hands, drawing her away from Eben. Eben ached to pull her back to his side, but he didn't. Just what was Andri about? Rose was his cat. He didn't know what was happening, but he felt a sudden anger at his handsome friend and his ability to draw everyone, including a cat beast, towards his orbit. It wasn't fair to be gifted with looks, wealth and a title. The only saving grace was that the powers that be had not seen fit to grant Andri an overabundance of brains. Eben felt certain that Rose would see that as a fault.

Andri looked at Rose with his soulful, smiling eyes. Eben watched as she looked over her shoulder once at him with confusion before turning back to the Prince. All she had to do was say the word and he would jump and rescue her from the dimwitted, rakish prince who really wasn't all that good looking now that he had had the chance to really look at him. There was just too much perfection all mashed up together.

"My fair lady, You cannot know how much I cherish and admire you." The prince dropped to his knees before her. Eben looked on in horror. Just what was this about?

"Oh, that's... really unnecessary... there's really no need to get down on your knees to thank me. This floor is filthy." She said as she pulled up on his hands. She was trying to get him back on his feet but her pulling was about as effective as an ant pulling on a boulder.

Eben had never seen such a determined look on the prince's face.

"You saved my life, gave me hope and courage when I had none and I am most certain that I love you. Will you consent to be my wife?"