...We Could...

Fumi Forty-Two!

A few days had passed, and now Zelda was feeling a bit more at ease. Preuss had either forgotten about her late night adventures, or he had chosen to ignore it. In either case, she had been keeping her sneak-aways to a minimum, though now she felt that it was alright to start seeing Junpei more frequently.

Such was the case tonight.

She ran through the freshly fallen snow and looked around, keeping alert for him. Her ruby gaze flicked around her, looking for any dangers that might be lurking in the shadows. She didn’t know why, since she never encountered any while with Junpei. Why was that? Were they afraid of him? Zelda wondered if he had already cleared the area so she would be safe. In any case, she was keeping an eye open for any left while she looked for her love. Little did she know that he was already watching her.

Junpei smiled as he watched his Princess glide across the land, her long velvet cloak he had given her dragging across the snow. She was wearing her best dress, one right out of a fairy tale. The corset was snug against her torso, the purple ribbon that laced up the front fluttering delicately in the breeze. The tips of her black boots could be seen peeking out from under the black skirt with each step she took. Gently were her scarlet locks tossed about, the original shoulder-length hair now down past said shoulders, having grown out a bit from the long months they were there. Though while the hair was down, a few of the fine strands were pulled back into an amethyst bow just below the crown of her head.

Junpei itched to run to her and kiss her all over, but tonight, he had different plans. Zelda might be disappointed with the calmer evening (and he knew she would be), but she would also love it if she even had a trace of femininity. The male had started the preparations early for the night, which was evident immediately by his appearance.

Zelda heard soft footsteps and turned to see her love smiling at her as he approached. He was wearing a dashing tux that matched her dress: His black sports coat matched his black slacks and shiny dress shoes, while under the jacket was a purple vest with a matching tie tucked under. A plain black dress shirt was under all of this, while his long black hair was tied up into a ponytail with a purple ribbon, the locks flowing loose in the wind.

"My Lady," he spoke, his voice smooth and romantic. He bowed gentlemanly at her, at which she replied in a curtsy.

"My Lord," she returned, coming up and folding her hands in front of her.

He smiled in a way that made Zelda's heart beat faster. How could her brothers say that Junpei was up to no good? He was the most charming man she had ever met, next to Dastan. If he really was up to no good, Zelda would know. She had that ability to read others.

He extended a graceful hand. "May I have this dance?"

She blushed, but accepted his hand and was pulled closer. It was good that she had been taught how to ballroom dance by Uncle Arthur, Uncle Roderich, and Francis. Whereas before she just saw it as useless information, now she was finding it to become quite handy with Junpei.

I wonder what his last name is... she asked herself, coming out of a spin and feeling her skirt swish around her legs. Or where he's even from! He looks Asian, though, so it's probably Honda, Im, Xiao, or Wang. Who's his parents? Oooh, I know next to nothing about him...

These thoughts tumbled in her head while they danced pictures into the snow. She finally resolved herself to ask him these thoughts the first chance she got.

The wait wasn’t long. After the dance, they sat on a bench in Junpei's courtyard to talk a bit. Lights floated around them (undoubtedly magic), illuminating the snow in pale, yellow light. Zelda held one in her palm while she tried to form a question to ask him.