It was during a brief warm spell, when the snow had begun to melt and the first whispers of spring started to grace the air, that Ed and I made our journey to Celestia to visit my mother’s grave. Standing before the weathered tomb, the name “Karen Sanchez” carved deeply into the marble, Ed and I both lowered ourselves to the ground, the soft grass tickling our ankles.
“Greetings, Madam... Um, Duchess Sanchez,” Ed began, his voice tinged with a mix of reverence and nerves. “I am Edward Ruby Martinez, husband to your daughter Lina... I—I’ve come today to pay my respects.”
Despite his verbal clumsiness, he spoke to the stone with the same gravity and sincerity as if addressing a living person, his posture firm, his gaze unwavering.
“This meeting... It should have happened much sooner,” he continued, his voice steadying in its earnestness. “But the empire’s power struggles and my own lack of time caused a delay. For that, I must humbly ask your forgiveness.”
He then bowed his head deeply. The naturalness of the gesture, his desire to treat someone with this level of respect on a first meeting, even if it was my mother’s grave, was so quintessentially Ed. The thought brought a gentle smile to my lips as I turned my gaze back to the stone.
“Mother,” I said, beginning my address. “Ed is a kind and compassionate man, and he treats me wonderfully. When I journeyed to Malcosias for the first time, I was alone and rudderless in a foreign land. It was his kindness and care that sustained me. Truly, I am who I am today because of him. So rest easy, Mother. I’m in good hands. The very best of hands, actually.”
As my words tapered off into a smile, I noticed Ed’s expression soften as well, reflecting the warmth in my own.
“Duchess,” Ed spoke again, his tone becoming even firmer with confidence. “I swear to protect Lina for as long as I live. To that end, I’ve come here today to seek your blessing. Perhaps you won’t grant it just yet,” he added, gently placing a bouquet before the tomb, “but I hope that when we return, I will have earned it.”
He rose, his movements deliberate, and extended his hand towards me.
“We can come back? To Mother’s grave?” I asked, taken aback. I had fully assumed this would be a onetime visit, and I had been very grateful to have been allowed even that. After all, I was now a Martinez, and it felt somewhat improper to frequently visit the grave of a member of my Celestian family, even if it was my own mother. Wouldn’t people question my loyalty to the imperial family if such visits became too commonplace?
But to my surprise, none of these same doubts seem to trouble my husband. “Why wouldn’t we?” he replied easily. “Though the next time I may be able to return is in the fall. I’ll likely be dispatched to deal with mana-beasts all summer.” As he said this, his face fell. I could sense his imagined and eternally wagging puppy’s tail falling still behind him.
“That’s quite all right!” I quickly reassured him. “The fact that we can return at all is already more than I ever expected, and I’m truly happy. Really, I am!” A genuine smile spread across my lips, the joy in my heart from this dream come true reflected in my eyes.
Some of my joy seemed to reach Ed, and he brightened once more. “Though I doubt we’ll ever be able to take our time,” he admitted. “We’ll have to keep sneaking around like fugitives. The king of Celestia might’ve discreetly sanctioned our visit this time, but the regular appearance of the Saint and a prince would cause quite the commotion if word got out.”
“And that’s perfectly all right as well,” I replied with a confident nod. “Better this than drawing all that attention to ourselves.”
With that, I finally took Ed’s outstretched hand and rose to my feet.
“All right, then. We’ll be back,” Ed promised. “For now, though, I think we should be on our way.”
“Ah, right,” I agreed with a nod. Remembering that a third, blonder, and less patient member of our party was waiting for us not too far away, it seemed wise to wrap things up. With a sense of finality, I turned to face Mother’s grave one last time.
“Well, you heard us, Mother. I hate to leave so soon, but we’ll visit again. Farewell for now—we’ll see each other soon.”
With a smile, and not a farewell but a promise to return, I took my husband’s hand, and together we turned and left that hallowed place behind, striding confidently towards our future...together.