I couldn’t process what was happening. But then the full impact of it came flooding in, and I thought my heart would burst with joy.
Ed had just come from speaking with Daddy, which had to mean that everything had already been worked out on the official side of things.
“Of course I will.” In a trembly voice, I managed to answer.
Ed broke into a huge grin and removed the ring from the box before sliding it onto my third finger.
The ring was a little loose, but Ed covered it with his palm for a second and concentrated. Then it was a perfect fit.
“I swear to make you happy.”
His red eyes were so solemn as they gazed into mine.
“Knowing that I’m going to die…makes me wish I’d chosen a completely different path. I wish I’d laughed out loud more…cried more tears whenever I was sad. Gone shopping in town, eaten the things I wanted to without care…even fallen in love! And then married my true soul mate…”
“You can still have all those things.”
“Heh. Oh, I’m sure. And will you give them to me?”
“Yes. I will.”
The conversation Ed and I had back in that dark dungeon…came back to me all of a sudden with vivid clarity. Overwhelmed by emotion, I felt tears start to slide down my cheeks.
“You promise?”
“Yes. I promise.”
Ed cupped my cheek with his hand and wiped away my tears. Then he pulled me reassuringly into his arms. I closed my eyes as our lips met.
When we finally pulled apart, we gazed into each other’s eyes and smiled. I lifted my hand and stared at the ring Ed had given to me.
“It’s beautiful.”
I meant that sincerely. The afternoon sun made the tiny diamonds glint. And in the middle, the deep red stone sparkled.
“You like it?”
“I love it! There’s no more beautiful Magic Stone in all the land.”
Ed smiled wryly at that.
“You changed my mind for me.”
“What do you mean?” I blinked up at him.
“I’ve always hated these red eyes of mine. They make me look like a demon. But you always said you thought they were beautiful. Do you have any idea how much confidence that gave me?”
I was at a loss for words.
People with red eyes tend to face prejudice. When I’d first appeared in this world and met Ed again, he’d worn his long bangs over his face in an effort to hide his eyes.
“Red eyes are said to be unlucky. They remind people of blood.”
“Yeah…” I hesitated before speaking again. “But red eyes are the color of miracles. After all, blood supplies life, does it not? And it’s also the color of beautiful roses. At any rate, I think that us meeting is a kind of miracle.”
I really did think that.
It’d been Ed who sent me to this world so that I could have another chance at happiness. When I’d given myself over to despair in that dark jail cell, he’d used some unusual kind of magic to save me.
Ed blinked in surprise for a few moments, then smiled.
“I agree. The greatest miracle of my life was meeting you, Princess.”
As I looked into Ed’s passionate eyes, I felt slightly uneasy.
I never imagined that such a happy outcome could ever be possible…
“I have to give you my own Magic Stone, too. I’ve never tried to make one before. I wonder if I can do it?”
“Of course you can. Simply focus your energy on your palm. Gather forth all of your magical power…”
Ed took my hand in his and showed me what to do. I concentrated, drawing all of my magic and trying to focus it on my palm.
“Remember how you showed me how to concentrate magic like this before, Ed?”
Creating a Magic Stone was similar to practicing how to evoke magic. I was struck by a sense of nostalgia for the old days.
“I remember. And I’ll always be here to help you out with anything else you want to learn.” Ed smiled, then raised one eyebrow. Looking down, he removed his hand from mine. “I think it’s done.”
“It is?”
I looked down to see a small Magic Stone was lying on my palm. It was the same green color as my eyes.
“Oh, wow!”
I’d never seen my own Magic Stone before. It was a fresh, vibrant green.
Hmm? Wait, this looks familiar, though…
I brought it closer to my eyes to get a better look.
“It resembles your mother the queen’s Magic Stone, does it not?”
“Hmm, I think that might be it…”
Yes, Mom always wore Daddy’s Magic Stone. It was green, like this one.
“It’s beautiful. I like green best of all the colors.”
“You do? Oh, that’s lucky then.” I smiled, pleased.
Ed chuckled, narrowing his eyes at me. “I like green best because you’ve got green eyes, Princess.”
“…Oh, right.”
My cheeks felt like they were burning.
“What kind of jewelry do you want to set it into?”
“Something I can wear for all occasions would be good. Hmm, a ring could get in the way sometimes…”
“How about an earring?”
“Hmm…an earring…?”
“Yeah!”
While Ed mulled it over, I suddenly remembered something. The Ed from the old timeline always wore an earring in one of his ears. I think he always had it on since the day we met. It had a green stone in it, like this one. It was probably some keepsake he’d had since he was a child and grown attached to.
“An earring sounds good.” Ed nodded, smiling.
“Okay, on your next day off, let’s go to choose an earring stud!”
“Yes. Let’s do that.” Then Ed seemed to realize something. “Princess…”
“Yes?”
“The Magic Stone you wear around your neck. You still won’t tell me who gave it to you?” He was looking at my necklace with the Magic Stone the old world’s Ed had given to me.
I hesitated. The story of who’d given me this necklace was a fantastical one, one that was hard to believe.
“If I told you…you might not believe me.”
But maybe he would? Didn’t I trust and believe in Ed? The thought gave me the courage to finally tell him.
So I started talking, all about the weird and inexplicable thing that’d happened to me. And I told him about the Ed of the old world, the one who’d sent me here. But I didn’t tell him about me being engaged to Daniel, getting thrown in jail, and all that. There was no need. And besides, it’d only upset Ed to hear of it.