Blooming Emotions

~Δέκα

Hades cupped my face. "Repeat that," he demanded, a smile forming on his pleading face.

"I'll marry you," I said, also starting to grin. Hades made a choking sound and buried his face in my neck. He placed a soft peck there. I ran my hands through his silky hair. "Are you all right?"

"No, magnolia. I am not. I am better than all right; I am wonderful—better than wonderful, actually. I do not believe there is such a word to describe me. Elated. Euphoric. Overjoyed. Ecstatic."

I placed a slow kiss on his cheekbone. "I know what you mean. I am overjoyed, too."

"I have to get you a ring."

"Yes."

"And we have to start planning with haste."

"Definitely."

"It is late. We should begin in the morning."

"Sure thing."

"Oh, but how will I sleep? I cannot possibly do such a thing now..." Hades began to ramble and slowly slip into his native tongue.

"Hades! Hades! Calm yourself. Let's go to sleep. You're going to freak yourself out if you keep that up."

"You are right." He beamed and added, "My wife."

Red tinted my cheeks. "I'm not your wife yet. We have to get married still."

"Yes, but we did not have ceremonies back when the mortals created us. You were married when you decided to be with your lover."

The next morning, Hades told me that he wouldn't see me until dinner that evening, so I took my lunch in my room and ate with Sudie. Sudie, thanks to her connection to lilies, helped me decorate my bedroom with lilies and asphodels we picked. She loved hearing about my mother—although I didn't dare tell her about my mother's smothering.

That girl has an enormous infatuation. But I considered it sweet.

At dinner time, Hades waited for me at the table. He beamed. "Good evening, magnolia. I have something for you. Come and join me."

I obliged. "Is it what I think it is?"

"Most likely." Hades laid a ring box on the table, and my excitement skyrocketed. I flipped it open and gasped.

The ring was one of the most magnificent ones that I've ever beheld.

It was identical to the one I dreamed of a couple of months ago: A silver band with an opal center stone and pink tourmalines encircling it.

"How?" I whispered to myself. How could he possibly know the design that I dreamed of earlier?

"What? What is wrong? Are you not fond of it—?"

"No, no! I love it. It's just that I had a dream of this exact ring a few months ago."

"How peculiar."

"You designed this, right? How did you come up with it?"

"It came to me this morning."

"...Well, it doesn't matter. I love it." I slid it onto my finger.

Over the next few hours, we selected many things for our wedding: the gardens for the location, Thanatos for Hades' best man, and Kerberos for the ring-bearer. Then we had to choose the date.

"I've always wanted a winter wedding. What about you?" I asked.

"It does not make a difference to me, magnolia, as long as you are there—in white. If you wish for a winter wedding, we shall have one. How does holding the ceremony on the first day of winter sound to you?"