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[IrelandKiss]

Rosaria stared at Derick in shock as he spoke to her again. She was even more soaking wet than before, her lips parted slightly and her brow furrowed as she listened to what Derick said to her. They were standing several feet apart. Rosaria was right by the opposite end of the creek while Derick stood in the middle of it. It was a wonder neither of them had been knocked off their feet by the current yet. She heard every word he said, and then she stared in pure shock at him. She was unable to react with words. There were no words in any language that could express the thoughts in her head, the emotions in her heart. But she had to do something, she couldn't just stand there like an idiot and stare at him.

He said he loved her. He said he was willing to do anything to convince her of it.

"Damn you! If you had any sense in you you'd have known that's all you had to say in the first place!" she screamed at him before charging forward through the waters and throwing herself into his arms, pressing her lips to his as she did.

[Losing Our Very Existence]

Derick caught her in his arms, holding her close as he pressed his lips firmly to hers, not daring to let go for a moment. She hadn't returned the words yet, but he hoped that she would in time. As long as she didn't leave him. As long as she was willing to stand by his side and at least pretend to (as long as she was happy) he was fine with that. Finally, he pulled apart and took a deep breath, almost laughing, the sparkle returning to his eyes.

"You should know that I don't have any sense around you, Rosaria. You make everything I know to be right, wrong. And all wrong to be right. Look, I'm standing in the middle of a creek, kissing the woman I love in public, and I don't even care. I don't care..." he said, pressing his lips to hers again before pulling her back to where Twilight was. She would freeze if she stayed in those clothes long enough, as would he.

When they reached the edge, he broke the kiss, and helped her on shore. "Maria is going to kill me for bringing you back like this. She really loves you. I can tell."

[IrelandKiss]

Rosaria accepted Derick's help back on shore, where they stood in their dripping wet clothes near Twilight. The stallion didn't seem to care much for them, as he merely bowed his head and started lapping the water from the creek. Rosaria smiled a little, shaking her wet hair back from her shoulders as Derick commented on Maria's loyalty to her. Rosaria smiled again.

"Her parents were among my father's closest friends. When they died of influenza, she was brought into the court as a playmate for me. I was eleven when she came, and she was hardly four. I took her under my wing, as I had long wanted a sister and she had no family to speak of. We bonded quickly. When she grew old enough, she was made one of my ladies, and we've been attached at the hip ever since," she said to him, explaining Maria's fierce loyalty to her. Several of her other ladies were envious of Maria's closeness to her and so the young girl was often isolated from others her own age. After all these years, Rosaria still viewed her as her younger sister. As fierce as Maria's loyalty to her was, Rosaria was equal in the strength of her protectiveness over Maria.

[Losing Our Very Existence]

Derick smiled in understanding, nodding. "I'm glad that you've had a companion like that for all these years. It seems to better people when they have someone to care about besides their own families." Pulling her into a hug, he breathed in her scent that was just hers, and took it in, before slowly releasing her. "Come, before you catch a cold," he said, pulling her toward to castle with one hand, and leading Twilight with the other.

[IrelandKiss]

Rosaria smiled and rested her head on his chest as he pulled her into an embrace. As he released her and took her hand, he pulled her onward back towards the castle. It was beginning to cool as autumn set in, and she did feel chilled standing in her wet clothes as the breeze circled them. However, she didn't want to return to the castle just yet. Those stone walls and towering iron gates made her feel caged and trapped, plus she loathed to return to the place where she and Derick would have to return to the rules of decorum and propriety.

She dug her heels in, pulling them both to a halt in the field. She smiled at Derick and shook her head slowly, "I don't want to go back. Not yet."

[Losing Our Very Existence]

When Rosaria halted the walk home, Derick turned to look at her, a confused look on his face when she said she didn't want to go back yet. He frowned at this, grabbing both of her hands. "You will fall ill if we don't get you out of those clothes soon. Autumn does not hold for love, Rosaria. It is almost as harsh as the winter, killing all of Earth's beauty under it's own." He kissed her forehead and brushed her wet hair from her face as he spoke.

Dropping the reins to Twilight, he turned back to her, sighing. She wasn't going to change her mind on this. "Why ever not? And besides, what are we to do out here with damp clothing? Hm?" he asked, leaning in to kiss her soft lips. Even in the cool air, they were still warm to the touch, and he felt most of his worries disappear as the kiss lingered, until he had to pull away to breath.

[IrelandKiss]

Rosaria held her breath when he kissed her, muttering about what they could possibly do with damp clothing on. She smiled and bit her lip reaching up with one hand and running her fingertips over his lips gently as she searched his dark eyes for any sign of what she looked for. When she found the tiniest hint, she smiled mischieviously before she replied.

"Do not ask me to answer that question, or I may tarnish your reputation beyond repair," she whispered back before setting her lips against his softly, reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck.

[Losing Our Very Existence]

At her comment, Derick could only smile in reply. "I care not about my reputation when I'm with you," he whispered just as she placed her lips onto his own, snaking her arms around his neck to pull him closer. In response, on of his hands went into her damp hair, while the other placed itself on the small of her back.

The kiss was magical; it wasn't feverish, or overly excited or passionate. It was that perfect balance of feeling and love that made his stomach produce butterflies, and his heart to beat out of his chest. He had to pull away after a moment to cool himself down, and gave a soft chuckle. "I, um...I suppose I should do this right, since we are to be married. I mean....I don't have a ring right now, but I can get one...." slowly, he got down on one knee, looking up at the woman who had stolen his heart, even if he had thought it impossible.

"Rosaria, you have made me the happiest man in the world thus far. I want to live a lifetime with you, and to wake up next to you in the morning. To have your name to call when I'm feeling lonely. I want a friend, a best friend...a wife out of you, because you're the only one I can see. You've stolen my heart, and all I ask in return is for you to marry me. Will you, Rosaria, please marry me?" he asked, taking her hand in his, waiting patiently for her answer.

[IrelandKiss]

Rosaria felt her kness buckle slightly at he kissed her back. Tears came to her eyes as she slowly closed them and realized that this was the kiss she had been waiting for her entire life. It was the kiss of true love, the kiss that only appeared in books and songs. But now it was hers. Hers and Derick's, and Rosaria knew she never wanted to feel this way with anyone else again.

The next thing she knew, Derick was down on one knee, her hand in both of his as he asked her to marry him with one of the romantic speeches she had ever head in her life. She laughed self-consciously, a couple tears dripping down her cheeks as she nodded at him, "Yes. A thousand times, yes!"

[Losing Our Very Existence]

Smiling, the prince released her hand and stood, pulling her into an embrace that was sure to let her know how happy he was that she said yes. "You won't regret this. I promise I'll be the best husband you could ever want. I'll make you the happiest woman alive, I promise." he whispered in her ear before kissing her temple, and picking her up and spining her around, laughing.

Not that he had expected her to say no, but he didn't expect her to be so excited about it. They would have to talk to his mother later that evening about the wedding plans, and then of course when the two of them would take over the thrown....But, that could wait. The wedding couldn't. He wanted to be able to call her his as soon as possible...

[IrelandKiss]

Rosaria yelped slightly when he suddenly picked her up and spun her around. The yelp quickly turned to a laugh however, a laugh that was truer than any she had given in court or surrounded by her ladies. She threw her arms around him again, and when he set her down she immediately kissed him once more. Kissing him felt so good. It was not just a physical satisfaction, but an emotional arousal that made her feel more alive than anything had before. Who could have ever thought that she would fall in love with this proud Prince of England, especially when their first interaction had ended in a screaming match?

[Losing Our Very Existence]

Breaking the kiss, Derick stared into her dark eyes for a moment before sighing and looking down at her still damp clothes. "Can I please take you to the castle now? You'll have a cold for sure starting tomorrow, and then Maria definitely will kill me." He laughed, giving her a pleading look.

They had a lot to do in preparation for the wedding. He'd have to talk to Rosaria about possibly letting go of her old staff, except Maria, and perhaps getting other girls who wouldn't be so cruel to the younger girl. Sure, she had Rosaria, but she did need other friends, especially when she is so far away from home. And, he also had to get her a horse, one that he himself would train, perhaps even with her. Not to mention all the parties and such that they would have in celebration of having a date for the wedding....

[IrelandKiss]

Rosaria smiled and rolled her eyes, nodding at Derick as he asked her again to go back to the castle. She took his hand in hers and turned back to Twilight, grabbing his reins and swinging herself up into the saddle. From her mount, she smiled down at Derick, reaching down and laying one hand against his cheek before she held out her hand. "Come on, then. You wanted to return to the castle so badly, hurry up!"

[Losing Our Very Existence]

Derick laughed as she saddled Twilight (like a pro) and then offered her hand to him, saying that he should hurry up if he wanted to return so badly. He took her hand, but kissed it before releasing it, and saddling the horse himself without her help. "What was that about outdoing me on a horse, my lady?"[/b he teased, wrapping his arms around her from behind before grabbing the reins and smiling. "Are you steering?"

[IrelandKiss]

Rosaria smiled as he kissed her hand before jumping up into the saddle behind her. He put his arms around her from behind, taking the reins and asking if she intended to be steering. The feeling of his arms around her and his voice in her ear made her shiver at the same time as it filled her with a deep sense of relaxation and safety. Rosaria giggled lightly and took the reins from his hands.

"That depends," she replied, "How well can you hold on?" Without waiting for his reply, Rosaria kicked her heels into Twilight's sides and sent the horse taking off at top speed. Rosaria laughed loudly as they went soaring down a hill, her damp hair flying off her back as she bent lower over Twilight's neck to help increase their speed.