The Death of a Bachelor

Chapter Five

"You mean this marriage which you cannot back out from?" Kieran asked. "Not at this point, anyway."

"Why-", Elena started, and thought about a better way to ask the question, but decided to just come out with it. "Why me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean why did you ask me to marry you?" Elena asked. "Why do you want me, Elena Rivera, to marry you?"

"I already told you," said Kieran. "You are my best choice."

"Yes, but I'm sure you could have asked any body else and gotten a positive answer a lot more easily than with me."

"Lady Elena," Kieran said, a gentle smile stretching his lips. "By the time I asked you and said you are my best choice, it means that I didn't want anybody else. I wanted you."

Elena looked into his turquoise coloured eyes and saw the earnestness in them.
She clasped her fingers together and started twiddling her thumbs. She cast her eyes to her fingers and muttered,
"Are you really over my past mistakes?"

Kieran chuckled.
"Is that it?" he asked. "Is that what this is about again? You have mixed feelings about this marriage because you're not entirely convinced I'm not angry anymore."

"Well," Elena said, "you could be having some remnants of rage left."

"Oh, for pete's sake." Kieran tossed his head back wearily.

"Or forcing yourself not to when you actually do. I don't know," she quickly added.

"Look, lady Elena," Kieran said, causing her to peep at him through her lashes.

He took a step closer to her.
"You don't have to worry about that anymore," He made his voice lower and softer. "I already forgave you a long time ago. In fact, the day you pushed me into that dung, is the very day I forgave you."

Elena was confused. "Then why did you leave?"

Kieran made her sit down, and he did too, facing her.

"Back then," he began, "It was about time for me to begin my secret training out of Rievelt, at a place called Novoa. I already knew that that day at the farm was to be the last I spent as a student of Instructor Garilaya.
But since it was a secret training, no one except my family was to know where I was. According to Instructor Garilaya, I'd just resigned from his school and went to learn somewhere else."

"You were training even at such a young age?"

Kieran wore a one sided smile. "I've been training since I was born."

"Wait..." Elena said, piecing up his story. "So you didn't leave because I humiliated you?"

Kieran shook his head no.

She flash backed to the day Garilaya had announced that Kieran wouldn't be coming back. When the other kids had left, she had sobbed and lamented to him about how it had been her fault, and he had told her it wasn't, but she couldn't believe him. She never did, no, not until this day.

"So it wasn't my fault," she said, breathlessly.

"No, it wasn't."

Elena looked at Kieran, her feelings of regret replaced by those of relief. Overwhelmed, she grabbed him by the shoulders and repeated, "It wasn't my fault!" more excitedly.

"Yes," he concurred, pleased to see an expression that wasn't worry for the first time since he met her alone.

And then she started to laugh. He'd seen her laugh but never quite heard her until that moment. She cupped her hand over her mouth and continued to laugh. It was sweet and infectious,he ended up laughing as well.