Gia sat next to Mikey, watching him feed Sprout, when she noticed Vonn stand up from where he had been sitting next to Tom and head her way.
"Mikey, could you come here, please?" called Tom, waving for the boy to come over.
"Okay!" responded Mikey, gathering his food and Sprout up to moved over next to his father.
"Gia," whispered Vonn, once Mikey was gone. "Come with me. I found this beautiful spot I would love to show you."
He held out his hand to her and with her heart in her throat she accepted it. After all, they were married now, right? Surely whatever he had planned would be alright…
They sneaked around the rest of her family, who were being carefully watched by the lizard who was escorting them through the valley rift to the other side of the mountains.
"Where are we going?" she asked, looking up at the dark trees around them.
"I saw this spot on the edge of the cliff that had a beautiful view while I was collecting wood, and I wanted to show it to you," he insisted, squeezing her hand with a small smile.
"Okay," she managed, struggling to keep up with his quick steps away from the others.
Could there be another reason he was dragging her away into the dark? Her heart was speeding up at the thought. Surely, he didn't want to consummate the wedding? They had both agreed to wait until they reached their destination, so she didn't have to travel while pregnant, but could he have gotten impatient? It was taking a really long time to travel…
As they finally broke through the thick brush, she barely managed to keep from squeaking in surprise at the open view before them. There was barely a foot of rock between them and the edge of the cliff.
"See?" he exclaimed in excitement. His whole face was lit up as he waved at the view before them.
Tearing her eyes away from his face, Gia glanced out at the wide expanse and her breath left her all at once. It was gorgeous!
There was just enough light from the full moon to illuminate the forest and river below them. The mountains in the distance gave a dark backdrop to the valley that perfectly framed the view. The stars winked at her, as if admonishing her for her thoughts getting here. She was glad it was too dark for him to see her blush of embarrassment. Maybe it was taking her too long to get home, but he obviously wasn't planning on doing anything naughty as she had thought.
Pulling her down to sit with him on the edge, he grinned at her while holding her hand. "Isn't it beautiful? It was even better in the light, with the sunset colors reflected in the river below."
"It is beautiful," she agreed quietly.
"What's wrong?" he asked, taking her chin in his other hand and turning her to face him. "You've been really quiet every since we left the falls. Are you feeling alright?"
"I…" she began, but stopped. How could she tell him that she had been struggling with a feeling of not being good enough every since they had left the falls? That the trip was taking so long, she felt it was taking forever. That she just wanted to be somewhere they could have a home and start a family and not be walking on and on every day. How could she tell him that she had been trying to make herself a better person by copying a lizard? Even in her head, it sounded weird and crazy. Maybe she was losing her mind.
With a sigh, she looked down at their clasped hands and asked, "Are you sure you're okay marrying me?"
"What?" he cried with a laugh, before realizing she was speaking the truth. "How could you even think to ask that? I've been by your side as often as I possibly could, from the moment we first met as kids. Do you remember the trouble we got into running away from the city guards?"
"Do you mean the time they tried to follow us past the pig pens, or the time we ended up stealing one of their horses by accident?" she asked with a small smile, remembering both times.
"I would have kept that horse, if it hadn't been so striking in its colors. It was a fantastic beast," laughed Vonn.
"I was thinking today, while we were at the falls, how this trip just seems to keep going on and on. My dad has got his sight back, and my mom can walk without pain, but she's lost sight in one eye, and Mikey's bonded to a creature that could get him killed if it gets hurt. I wonder if maybe this is all getting to a be a little too much for me…" she tried to explain.
"Oh, my Giavanna," he whispered, pulling her into a hug. "Don't you worry so much! We'll get to our home eventually, and I'll build us a huge house when we get there."
"One big enough, that my parents have a room on the opposite side of the house from ours?" she asked with a small smile, remembering his words from earlier.
"Of course! You don't think I want to hear your dad commenting about things, now do you?" he asked, looking mock insulted.
"Oh? And what things would that be?" she asked, half egging him on. Was she the one wanting to hurry things along? Her heart was starting to beat faster again, and her face pinkened in the dark.
"Oh, you!" he laughed, repeating a phrase she and her mother used often, and it surprised her so much, she broke out laughing too.
"I don't want you to ever change, Giavanna. I love you just the way you are."
His words brought to mind her decision to make herself stronger both physically and mentally. Maybe she didn't need to get stronger, but just to be reminded how strong she already was. Turning to him, she threw both arms around him with a laugh and clung to him tightly.
Vonn grabbed her and leaned back, to keep the two of them from slipping over the edge, laughing as she held him tightly.
"Thank you so much for this Vonn! You have no idea how much I needed a moment to just clear my head and… and remind myself what was important!"
"Oh, my Giavanna! You are the most important thing to me! I know that your family is very important to you, but you will always be my number one! Please don't ever hesitate to come to me when you feel down, or troubled," he said, tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear as she pulled back just enough to look up into his eyes.
"We should probably get back soon, so we don't miss out on eating supper," she finally said, after several more minutes of sitting with him.
They stood up, taking turns to brush the dirt and debris from each other's backsides, before turning back to the much darker forest to return to the others.
"Um," said Vonn after a few moments of walking, glancing back behind them and then all around. "I think we should go that way."
"Don't tell me the big wood cutter has lost his way in the woods," she teased as they turned to head towards the others, but after a few moments, he paused again, and a frown creased his perfect face.
"Don't get mad at me if I tell you I'm lost," he said, turning around to look all around them. "I guess I was a little distracted being with you that I must have missed the turn to go back with the others."
"Well, let's just go back the way we've come, and we should find our way again," she suggested, not worried just yet.
After several turns and back tracking, they finally stopped and looked all around, trying to listen to see if they could hear the others, but there were only the nighttime noises of the forest all around them.
"I didn't think these trees were that big," said Gia, finally starting to worry a little.
A snap beside them caused them both to jump and swing over to look at what was approaching them. A small, adorable lizard child was approaching them cautiously, brandishing a spear.
With a feeling of relief, Gia and Vonn made their way in the direction the lizard child was guiding them. A few moments later, they broke out of the brush and found themselves at the campsite. However, when the lizard child saw their escort, he seemed to deflate and tried to run away. Their lizard chased him down and brought him back.
"What were you doing in the forest with my humans?" she demanded, holding the child up by the scruff of its neck.
"I wasn't sure if they were edible or not," he finally admitted, crossing his arms.
"They very much are, and if cooked right, are delicious, but these are mine," said the lizard that was escorting them. "Find your own!"