It had felt like a dream, Nesryn thought, thinking back to when Sartaq had gone down on one knee and proposed to her after dinner with her father and siblings finally back home. Her sister had screamed with delight, running out of her chair to hug Sartaq, to his great amusement, nearly tripping on the way.
"Say yes! Say yes!" Delara chanted, a pleading look in her eyes.
Her father had covered a hand to his mouth, shock and disbelief written across his face, and her Aunt and Uncle gripped each other for support. For a normal-born child of his to be married into the royal Khagan household, it had never happened before.
"Will you marry me Nesryn?" Sartaq asked, his eyes gazing at her with intensity, baring into her soul. "I wish to spend eternity with you by my side as Empress, and we would go into the afterworld together, as one, and be together there and forever onwards. For my love for you doesn't not hold any bottom. Do you wish it were so, Nesryn Faliq?"
"Yes" She had whispered, as if talking too loud would've scared him away. "Yes." For what else could she say? To a man like him? To whom she had laid bare her soul and received another one back.
Empress, but to be empress... She would think about that in the future, not when he was so elated at her response.
Sartaq slid an emerald crusted golden engagement and onto her finger, and with it held so many promises. Of love, someone to cry on, someone to hold. Of secrets and of hard work as the future Empress. Of the hard times and the good times and a life with Sartaq, whom she would've thought was her soul mate had they been fae.
"I will cherish this forever." He said in a voice so low that only she would hear, " What is between us, our love" He pulled her in for a kiss.
"Ewwww" Delara shrieked, running out of the room yelling "their kissing, get me away!"
Sartaq chuckled as he pulled away from her, a grin spreading from ear to ear as he took her face in. "You do realize you'll be Empress, right?"
She groaned, "Yes, I do."
"Don't worry about it, I'll be there to help you through it"
"And who said that I would need anybody's help?" She responded, a joke in her voice.
"Ah yes, the legendary Neith's Arrow wouldn't need anyone's help. But I'd be there for you if you ever want me."
"I'd always want you, Sartaq." She admitted. He was her other half. Without him, she didn't feel complete.
"Mmm," he said against her ear, "I want you too, Nes. I want you in my room at the palace. Or in yours." He teased, his breath on her ear sending tingles down her spine.
She pulled back before she embarrassed herself in front of her family. "We have an audience here" she hissed at him, before turning to find that the room was mostly empty. Only her father remained, an apologetic look on his face.
"I would like to send my blessings to you two. It brings my heart joy to see my Nesryn happy, and I can see that you made quite a difference in her life, Sartaq. I am happy to call you my son."
"Thank you Mr. Faliq."
"Please, call me Sayed. Mr. Faliq makes me feel old." He said with a smile.
"Of course, Sayed. I love your daughter with my whole entire heart, and I am so glad that you approve." He looked at her, "Although I think that I'd marry her even if you didn't"
He turned back to her father, seeing the amusement stark on his face. "Thank you for such a great dinner, dad."
Sayed teared up at the word, getting himself together before saying "anytime, my dear son. I supposed you will have to head back to the castle now?"
"Yes, I would like to break the news to my parents and sibling. Mind if I borrow Nesryn for a while more?"
"Of course."
And so they were off, riding on their ruks back to the Khagan's palace, the palace that was due to be hers when she became the Empress. She stole a glance at Sartaq, finding him staring at her atop Kadara. "What is it?" She asked, breath hitching at the beautiful sight before her, the sun directly behind him on it's decent, making his outline all the more striking.
"I just can't help but think of how lucky I am, to have you as my wife."
"Fiance," she chided, "Don't get too ahead of yourself here."
He laughed, "Fiance. As my fiance, what do you say to a night spent with me? I don't have any plans on going back to the palace just yet. Such a dinner has left me so full that a sight of Hasar would likely make me puke."
She chortled on her spit, to puke at the sight of his sister! Of her sister!. She was barely able to say her next words without choking. "What? Don't let her hear you say that!"
"I won't if you won't."
"I won't" She promised.
"So? What do you say? Spend a night with me?"
"And what might this night entail, Prince?"
"We could go sightseeing, stargazing. I know the perfect place at a clear night sky like today's." He looked up at the sky, darkening by the second, awe in his face. "I often go there when I want to feel at peace. It reminds me of how small we are in such a huge world, and of all the possibilities out there."
"What do you say? Come with me?"
That he was sharing a special spot of his, when he was normally so reserved with his secrets, said tons. And so she agreed.
That night had been one her favourites so far, it had been a rare reprieve from her responsibilities of being the future Empress that she had had since announcing their engagement. They had flown through the stars and eventually landed on a mountain peak filled with luscious grass and Queen of the Night flowers that she had only ever heard of. They were exhilarated, tumbling off of their ruks onto the soft bed of grass, laughing with each other.
This is what those flowers look like, so pretty!
She eventually found herself under Sartaq, his gaze suddenly intense, turning her limbs to liquid. It was a good thing that the floor was so soft, and that she was lying down, otherwise she might've fallen right over. He had put his elbows beside her face, smoothing her hair with one hand, the other going to cup her cheek. The night had been the perfect audience for what happened there. Long story short, they didn't only have fun that night.
No, other things much more special were present. But they hadn't done that last expression of love, for it was too early, and both of them were content to wait. "Until the wedding" Sartaq had promised.
She blushed at the thought of what happened that night, but quickly got herself together again. She couldn't be thinking of such things, not now at least. She was being fitted new dresses, and had to pay attention to what Hasar and the dresser were saying. Oh, Hasar! They had never told her what her brother thought of her, Nesryn thought, suppressing a smirk that was threatening to rise to her face.
"What do you think of this one? Majesties?" The dresser was saying.
"Too bland, get something bolder that would accentuate her eyes, maybe red," Hasar suggested.
"Right away."
"Oh, and don't you forget that other thing!" She shouted after him, muttering under her breath how useless these workers were.
"That other thing?" Nesryn asked. What did she mean? As far as she knew, they were here to get new clothing for the party next week. Really expensive dresses, that was.
"You'll see when he brings it out, darling Nessa" Hasar said, using that horrible nickname of hers. Hasar knew that she hated surprises, preferring to get straight to the point of things as opposed to waiting. But there was nothing she could do but wait. She would make it law, she thought to herself, that surprises be banned when she became Empress.
It was five minutes of torturous waiting later that she got her answer as to what the surprise was to be. The dresser came back, clothes and packages overflowing from his arms.
"Well, it's about time!"Hasar said, annoyance in her tone.
"I'm s-sorry. It took a long time to find the package you requested."
Hasar huffed before shooing the poor dresser away, "We're perfectly capable of dressing ourselves, thank you!"
"Well, what are you waiting for? Try on some of these and tell me which ones you like."
Nesryn took half of the dresses from the pile, going into the nearest changing room. She had tried on three already when she screamed at the sight of what was in the fourth bag.
"What? What is it? Is there someone trying to kill you?" Hasar demanded, flinging back the dressing room curtain.
Nesryn didn't even care that she was naked at the moment. No, there were bigger matters to attend to.
"What is this," She asked, hysterics in her voice.
"Why, it's your wedding dress of course," Hasar responded, a smirk prominent on her face.
"My- My wedding dress!?" She shrieked. "You never told me I had a wedding! We just got engaged!"
"You've been engaged for the customary three months. Really, Nesryn. I would've thought that you knew so much about our Khagan laws. After three months of engagement, the fiance is to be wed. After all, it's not like you don't want to be married to my brother, aren't I right?"
"The-the customary three months? I thought it was a year or longer!"
She huffed, "That's the normal period of time for average mortals. Khagan, however, has to be married three months after the engagement, it was a precaution put in place centuries ago, to guarantee an heir and heiress."
This was all news to Nesryn's ears. She had never known that she only had three months of preparation before being married. It explained why she had so many exhaustive lessons though, ever since the engagement. They had been preparing her for this since the day they broke the news to them.
Suddenly, it dawned on her. "And- and the party the next week?"
Hassar smirked, pleased that Nesryn finally got the point of things. "Why, that's your wedding party, of course."