Evening.
The sun was on the verge of disappearing from the horizon, bathing the vast coniferous forest with its orange, yellow, and red hues. The two lovers had spent the better half of the afternoon in each other's embrace, separating only after Julia was drained of her energies.
While the Knight princess rested, Alexander sat in one of the rocking chairs of the veranda. His gaze was locked on the setting sun. However, his mind was somewhere else. How was he going to pop the question to Julia?
He had come up with various plans and consulted the vast knowledge held in the universal records. Even then, everything he devised was not quite original enough. Alexander desired something extraordinary; something exclusively for them.
Keenly, his senses were drawn to the environment as the temperature gradually plummeted with the setting of the sun. A quick read of the surrounding weather patterns revealed an incoming snowfall, a light one.
Alexander thought back to the fun he and Julia had in the lake and drew some inspiration from there. With the incoming snowfall, Alexander pictured the scene, his thoughtful gaze shifting to the darkening sky.
'This might work.' He thought to himself, a slight smile gracing his features. 'A little bit of natural light here and there should do the trick. It doesn't have to be too fancy, especially when the theme for this getaway is simplicity.'
He nodded to himself, congratulating himself for devising something fulfilling yet straightforward. The idea was to make everything feel as natural as possible, while making sure it was suitable for the audience waiting at home.
With the plans made and news sent home, Alexander got up and went inside, heading for the kitchen. Food might not be necessary, but it was one of the simple pleasures of life he wasn't willing to give up.
***
When Julia woke up from her blissful sleep, a mouth-watering aroma wafted in from the kitchen. But then the memories of what transpired earlier in the afternoon rushed back to her, plastering a bashful smile on her face.
She took a moment to bathe in the afterglow of the embrace she shared with Alexander before going to clean up. In less than half an hour, she made her way to the small kitchen, where Alexander was seated and waiting.
"Took you long enough." Alex teased, winking at Julia as she took a seat across from him. "I was beginning to think you won't be waking up till daybreak."
"It's not my fault someone went on like a beast." Julia's cheeks turned red as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. While this was not their first rodeo, looking at Alexander after the bliss wore off left her bashful.
"Fish for dinner, huh. Can't say I'm surprised." Julia commented, unable to look Alexander in the eyes while he had that teasing smile on his face. "But how did you achieve this level of harmony between the fish and the side dishes?"
Alexander couldn't help but smile at her attempt to change the subject. Playing along, he looked down at the dishes on the table and replied. "I call it magic."
The Knight princess finally looked up at Alex with an expression that read 'Really? That's your response.' Nevertheless, Alexander's response accomplished the desired outcome, dispelling the awkward atmosphere.
"You don't have to look at me like that, Julia." Alex chuckled as he grabbed the fork and tore off a piece of fish to feed her. "Say ah..."
Naturally, the Knight princess had no complaint about her man's intention to feed her. With a smile and eyes locked onto Alexander's, Julia complied and opened her mouth to take the bite.
"There's a bit of snowfall this evening." Alexander said after a couple of bites fed to Julia. "What do you say we build a snowman after dinner?"
For a moment, Julia wondered why Alexander would want to build a snowman. However, after a bit of thought, she realised how quickly that could turn into a fun challenge.
"Ooh... Challenge accepted." Julia was all for the fun. "And this time, you won't escape."
"Hehe, sure." Alex let out a soft laugh. "But don't come calling me out when you lose, alright? I don't make the rules." He lied as easily as he breathed.
"We'll see about that." Julia was not buying those words, knowing Alexander had abilities she was still not clear about. Unfortunately for her, she had no way of proving otherwise.
Time slowly ticked as Alexander and Julia finished their meal. He took a few bites here and there, but mostly, the meal was for his beloved. Under his beloved's wistful gaze, Alexander tidied the table and plates before guiding Julia to the door, where he helped her put on her winter jacket and gloves.
They were not necessary, but they suited the occasion.
"What do you think?"
Stepping onto the veranda, the duo were welcomed to a mesmerising fall of cold brilliance. The only source of bright light in the clearing came from the veranda.
However, the atmosphere was lit up with the natural light from the aurora borealis and distant stars. Alexander had bent the rules of nature a bit, making the night sky look clearer than usual.
"You did this, didn't you?" Julia leapt forward, towards the snow-covered ground. With a radiant smile and arms wide, she danced around, closing her eyes to feel the snowflakes on her face.
"Yep."
Alexander followed behind her, stepping into the gentle snow and looking up at the night sky. It was just a simple bending of the rules, but it made such a difference, creating a night unlike anything nature had crafted.
"A tranquil getaway deserves a tranquil night."
He lowered his gaze and looked at his beloved, smiling as Julia continued dancing around. While it was not visible on his face, he was feeling a bit anxious deep within himself.
There was no chance of Julia ever saying 'no' to his proposal. But Alexander could not help himself. Perhaps it was because proposals had always been characterised by inexplicable anxiety on the part of the man, or it could be something else; he did not know its origins.
"Come on, Alex. Let's build a snowman!"
The Knight princess snapped out of her joyous dance, scrunching to get her hands into the snow on the ground. Alex didn't dally around and approached Julia to help. The duo would make small jokes and throw bits and pieces of snow at each other.
They had a mutual understanding to start their challenge once they finished the snowman. However, Julia couldn't help but make a mess here and there, happily laughing and smiling.
Gradually, a lovely snowman came into existence, the only thing left being the limbs, facial expression, scarf and nose. Alex got the limbs from the twigs lying around, while Julia went to get the carrot nose.
"Here you go."
Julia passed the carrot to Alex, watching from behind as Alex prepared to add the nose. Without even looking, Alex knew Julia was scooping and moulding snowballs in preparation.
Alexander slightly tilted his head to his left when he sensed Julia taking calculated steps back. Julia was letting out faint giggles as she widened the distance. "Hah... I'm not even done, Julia. Why the rush?"
"We both knew this was coming." Julia taunted smugly.
"You can only deal with the consequences of being the last to finish the snowman!" The moment the last of her words escaped her lips, she shot the first of her snowballs at Alexander.
The fired snowball closed in on Alexander in a split second, powered by the strength of an F-Tiered awakened individual. But Alex wasn't going to be outdone. He suddenly sprang to his feet and hurried away from that spot, leaving a sliding trail in the snow-covered ground.
"Cheater!"
Julia called out as she scurried after Alexander, who took several steps back after dodging the first snowball. Alex had made it possible for the prepared snowballs to float after their makers, making the challenge a lot easier.
"What are you crying about?" Alex yelled back with a. "No one said I had to stand in place and take the snowballs! You have abilities; use them!"
He swiftly reached the treeline, where several snowballs rose to hover around his body. The scene made Julia widen her eyes briefly.
"When did yo—" As quickly as the question came, the answer arrived. "When you went to gather the sticks!"
"Yep!"
Alexander smiled at Julia, took flight and spun around, hurling a snowball at Julia. The speed of the throw caused the Knight princess to bend backwards, disrupting her rhythm and breaking her second throw.
"Like hell, you are."
From the corner of her eyes, Julia spotted Alexander preparing for another throw. Unwilling to be outdone in this challenge, Julia spun around, executing a horizontal twist and hurled her second snowball at Alexander.
THUD...!
Two snowballs collided in the middle, scattering snow particles everywhere. It temporarily blinded Julia. However, it did not stop her from noticing Alexander disappearing behind the treeline.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
Julia did not hesitate and gave chase, disappearing into the dark forest with a childish grin on her face. The snowman was all but forgotten, barely given a glance after being completed.
However, to those set to watch the proposal happen live, the snowman was the first scene they were exposed to. For a moment, the spectators were left confused until the snowman suddenly came alive.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." The snowman performed a gentleman's bow, its stick arms surprisingly bending to achieve the gesture. "Welcome to this special evening of love..."
Coming from the forest was the cheerful laughter of the lovers as they played around, throwing snowballs at each other, the game gradually turning into a game of hide and seek.
"Tonight..." The snowman continued as if it were facing a camera. "We shall bear witness to Alexander Gray asking for Julia Knight's hand in marriage. Do well to wish our young couple the very best of luck."
With those words, the snowman gradually reverted to its former state as all signs of life vanished, as if what had just happened was a lie.