Oh My, I Messed Up the Story

They held hands as they walked and Abby was so happy to be next to him again that she wrapped her other arm around his bicep and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too. It's nice to be home," Blaise said with a content sigh.

Home? He thought of Ilmar as home now instead of Shibatsu? Or…maybe it was her who was home to him. A song lyric flashed through her head; she couldn't remember any other part of the song but the line "you put your arms around me and I'm home."

That was how she felt with him. Though Ilmir had become her home while he was off in Shibatsu, once he came back and inserted himself into the life she had built here it didn't feel the same having him gone.

She hadn't gone anywhere but home hadn't felt as much like home without him. He was her home too.

"Hey, Blaise?"

"Yes?"

"I love you. Just thought you should know that," Abby said quietly.

It had been true for a while now but she had never mustered up the courage to say it because their time together in Raisha was always so brief. But it had been building up inside of her since the day she last saw him and it had to come out.

Blaise stopped dead in his tracks and turned to hug her tightly. "I love you too Abby. I do not ever wish to be parted from you again."

He let go of her and got down on one knee in the snow, holding a beautiful ring obviously made with jewels from Kanta mines. She recognized the craftsmanship as belonging to the jeweler in Raisha.

Kneeling to propose wasn't a tradition in this world. He must have talked to Katie before this and asked her for permission. But when? They hadn't been in the same place for months. That didn't matter. He was proposing to her!

"Abigail Pullman, I cannot imagine living another day without you by my side. Will you marry me?" Blaise asked simply.

She nodded with a crazy grin on her face and took her glove off so he could slide the ring onto her finger. She admired it for 0.2 seconds before tackling him to the ground and peppering his face with kisses.

He laughed in delight and sat up to hug her properly. Abby was so happy that she didn't feel cold at all. That is, until she made it back to Katie's house and realized she had icicles hanging from her nose.

Oops. Love could make you a little crazy.

===

Abby and Blaise waited until the specialty training was done to hold their wedding ceremony. They wanted to have time to build their own house once the weather was nicer and to not have to worry about anything else.

They arranged for it to be right after the training ended so all of his fellow Warriors could be present. Well, former fellow Warriors. He had already submitted his resignation.

Six others had done the same because they either liked it here better than their villages in Shibatsu or had fallen in love. In total, thirty-three Warriors had come here and only twenty-five would be leaving. Poor Carrick had a lot of paperwork to do after all.

The wedding was nothing like Abby would have imagined her wedding would be when she was a little girl. Her parents weren't there. There was no fancy dress and no bridesmaids. Her bouquet consisted of wildflowers Sidi had picked.

Yet it was the single most beautiful day of her life. Al read the traditional Kanta wedding vows and declared them husband and wife. They kissed in front of a huge crowd of cheering friends and neighbors.

Afterward, everyone got to eat strawberry shortcake Sia made and danced to Kanta wedding songs. But Katie, that sly fox, had managed to work with Ayana so she could play the song Abby said she always wanted to have her first dance to before that.

Abby danced in a slow circle with her new husband, her head resting on his chest in pure bliss. No, it hadn't been the wedding she had expected but it was perfect all the same.

The Warriors heading back to Shibatsu left the day after. Blaise saluted Carrick and thanked him for everything he had done for the Kanta. He brushed it off with a shake of his head.

"If anyone should be thanked here, it should be you. This was entirely your idea even if you needed a bit of help to implement it. I am proud to have had a man like you serve under me. I wish you prosperity and happiness in your new life."

Blaise nodded with a lump in his throat, unable to say anymore but Carrick's smile indicated he understood. He gave a special farewell salute before beginning the trek down the mountain. They needed to get going right away to make it to the next ship home.

Abby frowned as she watched her husband watch them go. "…are you going to miss being a Warrior?"

He smiled at her. "I am still a Warrior. Just not a Warrior of Shibatsu. Now I am a Warrior of the Independent Nation of Kanta. I am going to help train the next batch of apprentices here, remember? Kel will take care of it in Raisha. I am confident that we will have a fully functioning army here within the next twenty to thirty years."

Blaise wrapped his arm around her waist and led her back toward the printing office. "Come on. We still have things to do today."