"Before we get to the Black Citadel, and perhaps lose our lives... will you marry me?" I asked her. I pulled out a ring of gold, a large sapphire inset, blue as Aloree's eyes.

"Yes. Yes yes yes yes yes. But..." Aloree said, trailing off.

"Wait. There are things I must tell you about myself, before you agree," I said.

Aloree looked at me, suddenly solemn. "Myself, as well." She then smiled her mischievous smile and said, "It's worse than when two ladies can't figure out who should go through a door first! Shall we flip a royalty for who tells first?"

I smiled and pulled a gold coin out of my purse, the one called a royalty for the king on one side and the queen on the other. "I'll go first for kings, you'll for queens. Stomp it on the the way down!" I flicked the coin upward with my thumb, and Aloree gave it a satisfying stamp with her foot. She lifted her foot, looked, and proclaimed "Queens."

"I know you're more than just a merchant, Vel. I felt it when I healed you, and knew it for sure when I kissed you for the first time, and felt your soul against mine. Myself, I am Princess Aloree, first daughter of the king of Talore. Diplomacy is something I have trained in since small, to be an asset to our kingdom, but I think they might have sent me also as a girl, hoping to forge an alliance by marriage. That's out, by the way. I won't do it, and they'd probably just disappear me into one of their secret harems instead anyway. Your turn."

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"I am First Crown Prince Velwin of Tarmel. Perhaps you guessed that. But you should know how my life is arranged.

"When I was born, eight brothers were made of me, growing in stasis. Every season, I enter a chamber to copy my memories to theirs. When I die untimely, the next, Veldin, will awake, with the copy of my memories, and a message from me containing my final notes as I die."

Aloree thought about this, and didn't react as I expected. If I'd known then how many timeloop stories she read in between her studies in politics and diplomacy, maybe I would've guessed. "Crown Prince Velwin of Tarmel, that is THE MOST LAME reincarnation power I've ever heard of! You mean to say if you die before getting back, a brother will awake who never married me, and just has a stupid note from you saying you made me a widow? AND you only have 9 lives? AND you don't reset to the past? It's worse than a bad timeloop amnesia plot!"

I sighed. "Yes, that's pretty much it. My mind goes into overdrive and the note can be very long, but... yeah."

"And I suppose your secret mission means you have to continue on to the Citadel just as mine does. FINE. We'll just have to not die. Give me that ring."

I placed the ring on the finger of her left hand, the gleaming sapphire matching the blue of her eyes, and suddenly, she melted. She kissed me fiercely, and time stood still in our embrace.

When we finally stopped kissing and returned to the wagon circle to make camp, the blue sapphire ring prominent on Aloree's hand, Pol once more gave me a grin and a wink, and nudged Jom. Jom gave him a silver coin and grinned sheepishly.