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After a few moments, a slightly disheveled Aesculus came to his window, yawning as he opened the curtain. His short hair was tangled and mussed, and he wore no shirt, only some loose black shorts for modesty's sake. It seemed even when he was alone, he had a need for some decency. He looked behind him, as if considering getting himself a robe, but he was more concerned about Filix.

Throwing open the window, he extended a hand to her, ushering her in. The room was dark except for a few nearly burnt out candles on his desk whose pools of wax were eating up the wicks. Even though it wasn't dark out, he appeared to have fallen asleep.

"Please please, come in. You must be freezing out there!" Not to mention the wintery weather felt blistering cold to his bare skin.

Aesculus closed the window and latched it, pulling the curtains over the panes so as to not let too much cold seep through the glass. He then hurried over to his personal fireplace, putting a few logs in it and lighting it. Of course the fire was lit to help keep them (speicifically Filix really) warm, but it also added a bit of a romantic atmosphere to the dark room.

As he gently guided her towards the fire, for once his stoic visage faltered and he looked perhaps a bit bashful. "Well, I of course didn't mean to sleep in the middle of the day. I have been keeping all sorts of odd hours, I admit. I fear the king's absence has made me into undisciplined wretch." He pulled a chair over to in front of the fireplace for her to sit on, and then started to search for his robe.

The past few months Aesculus had been neglecting to keep his room clean. It had definately evolved into a bachelor's pad. Papers and books overflowed his desk onto the floor. Burned out and half-melted candles littered his desk as well. Clothes were splayed on his chest and hanging from another chair in the corner, and it was unclear as to whether they were flung there to wash or to dry. In addition, there were strange boards, plastic and metal pieces, and dice on the floor shoved in a corner.

A few of Aesculus's resident mice scurried towards the fireplace and sunned themselves in front of it.

He had paused in his search for his robe. Aesculus didn't want to make excuses for himself. Part of him had perhaps been a bit scared of his attachment, his romantic infatuation even, with Filix. He had always prided himself on logic, reason, and being level-headed. When he was in the prescense of his long-time friend, all of these failed him, and he found himself consumed and overwhelmed with irrational, VERY uncourtly thoughts and desires. The last thing he wanted to do was to say or do something to Fiilix that would upset her, or even worse, do something that would tarnish their reputations.

He knew he should follow his own advice of not running from a problem, but to confront it. It just was a lot easier to disperse advice at times rather than follow it himself.

Walking over to her, he wrapped his arms around her from behind. He could smell the fresh scent of winter still on her skin and in her hair. As he inhaled her scent, he scolded himself. Although she had not said it, he knew he had hurt her despite his attempts to protect her from himself.

"I apologize, my love. I... I fear sometimes what you do to me. I wanted to be sure that you were more than a mere infatuation in my mind... and I needed to distance myself so that I did not act rashly on my emotions." His husky voice was near her ear as he spoke.

He chuckled a little, some it of it nervous laughter. Inwardly he was sure she wouldn't like the rash actions that cycled through the male mind on a regular basis. "I don't think that acting on emotions, though, would be entirely beneficial to my position. Imagine if I, the high advisor, was prone to mad rages and urged the king into frequent wars?"

He made a small, visible hand motion to the tiny little mice that were near their feat, enjoying the warmth of the fire. One of them, a large grayish-white mouse, squeeked and scurried off towards the back of the room. She could hear his heartbeat accelerating through his chest that was pressed to her back.

Was he nervous?

"If you think you only affect me while you are around, you are sorely mistaken. I am not consumed with such rash urges, thoughts, and I dare say desires when it is convenient; I can be doing something mundane or or even something of great importance when my mind wanders for but a moment. That is all it takes." His eyes were on the flames as he spoke, although his mind was pre-occupied with more important thoughts.

The sound of tiny feet on stone and rug could be heard scurrying back over towards them. It sounded as if at this moment there was more than one coming towards her, but two or three mice. Aesculus had accumulated friends in her absence. He had not the heart to do anything but care for them, and so the small population had grown slightly.

After a moment she felt him release his grasp on her waist to lean down and pet the mice before he straightened back up. They rushed over to the fire, but the larger grayish-white mouse kept his eyes on the two, as if he were studying them.

"Are you warmer now?"

Aesculus fell silent, not beause he was ignoring her, but because he was deep in thought. She felt his heart racing again, the fast beating of it resonating through his chest and her back. As he put his arms around her waist again, he started to speak aloud.

"In these seven months I hvae done much thinking." He cleared his throat, and his mouth suddenly felt very dry. It was because he was nervous, of course, and he hoped that she couldn't tell. He took her left hand in both of his, and with his head still on her shoulder, gently slid a ring onto her ring finger. It was a polished brown ringring that was almost black, and some silver was affixed to one side, where it held a jade stone that had been carved into a leaf.

"The ring is made of an old oak tree that turned to stone it was so old, and so they had to use both skills in the forge and magic to make it, and furthermore to affix the stone. I wanted something of both of us in the ring... although the jeweler couldn't make a fern so much as a leaf." He spoke almost too quickly, his voice smooth but edged with nervousness.

He turned her around to face him, his hands gently holding her shoulders, his eyes mirroring his excitement, worry, anxiety. Although he would not admit it, he was barely able to keep himself from shaking with all the emotions flowing through him. "Filix... I wish to propose to you. Because in these seven months of abscence, my love for you has not faltered. I know this is perhaps rash... too quick... but I fear waiting. I fear what we could do if we fall prey to our emotions, and I don't want your reputation tarnished. And I promise you, I have thought of this, explored this thought thoroughly... and I look at other women, and not even the slightest stirring of desire is in me. You are the only woman who inexplicably has this effect on me. And so... so I beg of you to consider taking my hand in marriage."

Aesculus held her to him, but despite the fact he had proposed, he was surprised. He was surprised that she had accepted. After all, he was the one who had holed himself away, secluded. They hadn't even spent that much time together, but he felt he had to propose, even without his king's consent. Because he kept thinking about her, and after months apart, still wanted to be with her. He couldn't bear the idea of anyone else marrying her.

It had startled him, because it had hit so suddenly. They had been friends, and she was an enchanting young woman, and suddenly they were adults. He found her rebellion slightly refreshing, her honesty enchanting, her open nature and strong sense of self intoxicating. She had been born a countess, but he knew inside she wasn't the typical lady; she held onto the position out of respect for her ancestors. Her dreams... that is what he loved best. That she had high dreams, she had desires that were entirely the fruit of her heart and mind, and not of a position she was born into.

Filix was different. He sincerely hoped she would not change.

"All I ask," he said quietly, his voice cracking slightly with emotion, "is that you let me tell Cervus."