"What the hell is Alex doing?"
Olivia could not help but raise her brows sceptically as she stared at the holographic screen. The scene was gradually shifting from the snowman to the lovers flying around in the forest.
"Of all the places and plans he could execute to pop the question, this is what he's going with?"
The Gray family quickly gathered in the spacious living room when they received the notice from Alexander that he was about to pop the question. While the snowman took them aback, the setting was unexpected.
"Big Brother isn't generic, you know?" Aaron scoffed at Olivia's shallow thoughts, shaking his head disappointedly. "Taking your date to a fancy place to have dinner or a public space is old-school."
"Hmph! I beg to differ."
"Enough already." William stepped in before things escalated between the two. The old man, as usual, sat with his wife by his side, who looked on with an affectionate smile. "Alexander has his own plans, and as the snowman said, let's wish them luck."
"Luck, huh?" Olivia chuckled, leaning into her husband's embrace. "I doubt he'd need it. There's no scenario in this universe where Julia says no. If it were up to Julia, she would have tied Alexander down a long time ago."
"..."
The Gray family had nothing to say to that, knowing Olivia was spot on. Julia was one of a kind, and despite her overbearingness when it came to matters concerning Alexander, they loved her all the same.
Like the Gray family, the other members of the Knight family were watching the live event unfolding. The moment the notice came, Lord Lucas set everything aside to focus on the display, the proud smile on his face impossible to hide.
At the same time, in the far reaches of the universe, Lord Zol and his companions sat together in the briefing room of their spaceship, watching the scene of Alexander and Julia playing around.
"I guess congratulations are in order, Zol." Mason looked over to Zol and expressed smugly. "Your family is on its way to becoming one of the most powerful families in our universe."
"That's the only thing you could have come up with?" Sitting a chair away from Mason was Charlotte, who retorted with raised brows. "You could have simply left it at 'congratulations.'"
"What? It's true, isn't it?" Mason was at a loss, especially when Zol himself offered no response. "Every one of us here would have been thrilled if we were in his shoes."
"Tsk, so typical," Evelyn scoffed with a mean glance before turning her attention back to the screen, her remark as cold as her abilities.
"Thanks."
Surprisingly, Zol replied, prompting everyone to look over. They wondered if he was the same Zol they knew, or someone else masquerading as him. Naturally, there were moments when Zol did or said the unexpected, so it wasn't too far-fetched.
"You're welcome, Zol."
Mason's expression lit up with an arrogant smile. He looked at the others and snickered. "See...? At least he values me, unlike you lot."
To keep their sanity and his spirited nature in check, the others decided to ignore him and concentrate on the live event. This was the two lovers' moment; they wouldn't ruin it by bickering with Mason, even if Alexander were not there to see it.
***
"Ah!"
Julia tried to shield her face as rolls of snowballs came her way, fast and furious. She continuously flew backwards, trying to use the surrounding trees as cover. Unfortunately for her, Alexander was relentless in his assault.
"Payback is a bitch, isn't it?!" Alexander laughed as he prepared to shoot another series of balls Julia's way. "Take this!"
THUD! THUD! THUD!
"You're so mean...!" Julia called out desperately, trying to condense more snowballs as she flew around. However, the snowballs were coming in too fast, hindering her condensing process.
When she had the chance, chasing after Alexander, Julia did not hesitate to shoot with every snowball she created in Alexander's way, forcing him to fly around in an attempt to dodge.
Julia managed to condense six snowballs when Alexander finally ran out. Per the restrictions he placed on himself and Julia, they couldn't condense snowballs while shooting at each other; the two could not happen at the same time.
"Hehe, you're finally out!" Julia grinned devilishly as she spun around a tree and then charged at Alexander, who had turned around to escape the incoming onslaught. "Get back here!"
The Knight princess was unwilling to lose this competition like she had lost the water shooting games. With every bit of power she could draw from her restricted powers, she burst forward with greater speed, expertly manoeuvring around the trees like a goshawk.
But the unexpected happened, prompting Julia to break her high-speed chase.
"Where did he disappear to?" Julia had a puzzled expression on her face as she looked around the forest. Alexander was right in front of her when he suddenly disappeared behind a cluster of trees, not to be seen again.
"You better not be cheating, Alexander!" Julia expressed herself loudly, her vigilance on high alert. "Don't be a wuss just because you know you're about to lose!"
"..."
No reply came, causing the Knight princess to grow more vigilant. She hovered in place for a bit and then flew forward, gently and steadily. She ventured deeper, towards the direction she had lost Alexander.
But as she flew into the dense cluster, she spotted light in the distance, streaming from the sky, through the canopy and illuminating what appeared to be a cliff. The light had a special attraction for them that made Julia want to investigate it.
"Wow..."
Julia muttered in a daze as her eyes fell on a grand valley she didn't know existed before. She moved closer to the edge of the cliff, where the lights from the three moons, stars and strong aurora borealis cast a mesmerising and magical glow over the valley.
It no longer looked like night. Instead, the place resembled a night veiled in pale green colours. The snow, both falling and settled, gained a pale green glow as the sky seemed almost alive with shifting curtains of colours.
For a brief moment, Julia forgot about everything. The view was just that magical, more so than anything she had seen during her exploration of deep space. The universe was a place of wondrous hues if one had the eyes to see.
However, this place carried something to it that Julia did not feel from the universe: resonance. The Knight princess felt deeply at peace with herself, gazing at the valley and the changing hues of the night sky.
A sudden rustling from behind her snapped Julia out of her daze, prompting her to recall what she was doing earlier. With her snowballs hovering around her, now numbering fifteen, Julia was confident in taking down Alexander once and for all.
Without hesitation, the Knight princess leapt off the cliff and spun around to face the incoming Alex, one of the snowballs in her hand, ready to be unleashed with fury. She had a confident grin on her face as she looked on.
"Eat this!"
Julia bellowed and unleashed the snowball towards the treeline. Right on cue, Alexander emerged from the trees, shooting straight for Julia with a playful smile. He barrel-rolled to evade the snowball and moved in on Julia with the intention of tackling her.
His move surprised Julia for a second, delaying her reaction. She expected many things, but a spear tackle was not one of them. Perhaps it was payback for what she did in the afternoon. She should have known better.
"Ah!"
A light squeal escaped her as Alexander caught her in his embrace, spiralling with her deeper into the valley. While surprising, Julia enjoyed every moment of the contact, giggling like crazy as the two spiralled together.
"What are you doing, Alex?" Julia beamed with heartfelt joy, holding onto Alexander as he changed course to lift them upwards at a slow pace. She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. "Is someone scared of losing to me?"
"I just have a better idea..." Alexander replied smugly, returning the gaze with equal passion. "Why waste such a beautiful scene shooting snowballs at each other?" He directed his gaze upwards, prompting Julia to do the same.
"You took the words right out of my mouth." Julia agreed wholeheartedly.
For her, the games were simply a way to make their stay here more enjoyable; nothing more, nothing less. Still, she wanted to win one of these games. For now, however, she would enjoy the scenery with her beloved.
A sudden explosion of light from above took most of her attention, the exploding lights casting a colourful and serene atmosphere over the valley. Snow continued to fall from above, adding to the beautiful ambience of falling lights.
"You did this, didn't you?"
Her expression lit up as a radiant smile bloomed on her face. She didn't know when, but Alexander had moved back slightly, letting her stretch her arms to take in the atmosphere from the falling colourful lights and snow.
That resonating feeling she felt had increased several fold, instilling a sense of happiness in her that she didn't know was possible. Julia felt fulfilled, complete, like everything was as it should be.
Realising Alexander had gone silent, Julia turned around to get a reply to her question. However, her gaze did not immediately meet Alex when she turned to face him.
Instead, what caught her gaze and took her breath away was the glimmer of light that shone from a gem in Alexander's hand, resting calmly in the palm of his hand as he took a knee in the air, the smile on his face both nervous and vulnerable.
That same feeling she felt from the atmosphere felt more pronounced as she looked at the ring in Alexander's hand. Julia's heart started racing like never before, her entire body frozen in place from the intense rollercoaster of emotions she experienced in that short period.
"J-Julia of the Knight family..." Alexander almost stuttered at the beginning, swallowing to wet the sudden dryness in his throat. "Our universe may be young and fractured, but if there is one thing that made it perfect, it would be you in it."
Julia's body trembled as her hands unconsciously moved to cover her mouth, completely taken by surprise. It took everything she had not to jump into Alexander's arms. This was a defining moment for both of them, and Julia was not willing to ruin it with her impatience.
"Before I knew who you were, before I knew what love was, you loved me." Alexander continued with slightly shaky hands. "You, Julia Knight, loved me in a way I never thought possible. You were willing to give up everything to love me; you loved me when I was absent. You, Julia, loved me when I didn't love myself.
"On this day and night, I, Alexander of the Gray family, make this vow to love you forever; to cherish you across realities; to defend you against those who seek to do you harm..."
At this point, tears of joy were streaming down Julia's face, and she wasn't the only one. All the women watching as the moment unfolded could not hold back their tears, feeling every ounce of emotion Alexander poured into his words.
"Will you do me the greatest honour by allowing me to love you — to claim you as my own across all realities, now and forever?"
"YES...!"