We were now standing inside the house with Aaron. Looking around I recognised it to be the couple's bedroom. I remember the living room to be downstairs so I started making my way towards it. Callan and Aaron followed me wordlessly. As I was descending the stairs, I turned to see Callan beside me. I was curious as to how Aaron will manage it. However, as I saw him, he simply vanished in front of my eyes and reappeared downstairs. I smiled and went towards the living room.

The door was open, revealing three people sitting inside. I went inside and first of all looked at the small girl. She was a brunette with a petite frame. Her hair was reaching her back and her eyes were closed as she slept with her head on her mother's lap as she caressed her daughter's hair. The woman was just an older version of the girl. Their hair and frame were similar. The only difference was in jewellery. While the mother wore a small ring around her finger, the daughter had a beautiful bracelet around her wrist.

I turned towards Callan to find him already looking at me. I pointed towards the girl and then towards my wrist. We might be invisible but could be heard. So, I mentally prayed for him to understand my sign language. Callan followed my line of vision and slowly nodded his head. He then quietly made his way towards them. Reaching there he looked at her wrist for a few seconds. Then he turned back and directly went out of the room. We both followed him to the corridor where he stood waiting for us. As soon as he saw me, he pointed toward his belt and flipped the fifth hook.

I followed him and we reached outside. I think the invisibility hook needed a repair. After every teleportation, I need to flip it again. It was so damn irritating. I turned it on and went towards Callan. He seemed to be deep in thought, so I didn't disturb him and sat on the ground.

"It was the stone alright," he said after what seemed like a few minutes.

"It's good news then. Right?" I asked in confusion. If we have found the stone then shouldn't we be celebrating?

"Yep," he said in a trance. After a few seconds, he looked at me with determination in his eyes "We need to trace the generations now."

"Now?" I asked

"Yes," he stated in the most obvious tone.

"I can't," I told him "I need to go back. Dora has an event in her life."

"So, should I do it alone then?" he asked.

"Can you trace the generations today and tomorrow morning I will come back so that we can find the stone together?" I asked slowly.

"Okay," he agreed. I grinned internally at my victory.

"Great! See you tomorrow." I announced and without waiting for his reply flipped the hook.

Reaching home, I quickly changed my clothes since that was the only thing, Dora had to do when I was gone. Hurriedly, I progressed towards the dressing table and gave away the control to Dora so that she can decorate herself. I wouldn't have minded returning for her makeup on any other day but unknown to Dora herself, she had a huge night today. So, it was better for her to look beautiful than answer thousands of questions.

After make-up and hairdo, she slowly picked up the necklace Lawrence had given her the other day and wore it, remembering him. I smiled at her behaviour. She was really love-stricken. After dressing up, she picked a book and made her way toward the garden. She sat on the swing and continued with her book when she heard the sound of a carriage. Curious, she made her way towards the front gate to see Lady Haddington and Lawrence getting down.

Excited she waited for some more time and then makes her way toward the living room. Her parents had arrived by now, so she made her way inside. After the initial greetings, Dora and Lawrence decided to spend some time together in the garden. There, Lawrence told her that today wasn't a surprise visit. Rather he and his mother have been invited to dinner since a long time has passed since the elder's last meeting. Dora happily accepts it and they keep on talking for some more time. Eventually, Edward joined them and the three of them stayed there till dinner.

They made their way inside and everyone settled down around the table. Dora's father sat on the head seat. Her mother, Lady Haddington, Lawrence and Dora sat on his left side while all her siblings sat on his right side. However, before dinner could begin Lawrence suddenly stood up. Everyone looked at him in confusion but he looked directly at Dora's parents before saying "Before we begin today's dinner, I would like to ask you something. Sir, Ma'am," he said bowing to her father and mother "I would like to have your permission and blessings to marry your elder daughter, Theodora."

As soon as those words were said, everyone's confusion morphed into other expressions. Dora and Beatrice looked shocked; her brother's eyes held concern; while her parents were more confused than before. Lady Haddington was the only one who looked calm. It's clear that she already knew about her son's plan.

"Do you know about her sickness?" her father asked him. Dora was kind of hurt at his question but decided to remain quiet.

"Yes sir. I do," he answered

"You are still ready to tie bonds with her? Knowing that she might die soon," he said in a cold tone. Lord Pembridge suddenly glanced at Dora and their eyes met for a second. At that second Dora saw an apology in his eyes as she understood. It was killing him to say these harsh words but he wanted to hear Lawrence's reply and see his love for her. Dora willed herself to see Larry and was surprised to find him smiling.

"With all due respect sir, my love for her cannot be clouded by her sickness. Her health issues in fact make me more eager to marry her so that we can spend the rest of her limited time together," he said with confidence.

Her father smiled at his response. "You have our blessings son. It will be our pleasure to have you in our family." Her mother also gave Lawrence a smile as he turned towards Edward.

"You are also elder to her. So, I would like your consent too."

"Keep her happy," Edward stated without any emotion.

"With everything I have," Lawrence promised without missing a beat which caused a small but genuine smile on Edward's face.

Lawrence then turned towards Dora and held out his hand for her. She instantly accepted it and stood up. They made their way in front of the table so that everyone can see them. Reaching there Lawrence gently held both of Dora's hands and went down on one knee as emotions started erupting in Dora's mind.

"I might be the first person in history who is proposing twice to the same girl even when she said yes the first time." Dora snickered at this. "I have loved you for as long as I remember. You stayed with me when I needed you the most..." Dora immediately knew he was talking about the time when his father died "...and now all I want to do is to return the favour. You deserve the world and all the good things it has to offer. If I fail to find that world for you, I promise to give you mine. We'll hang out like best friends, make love like soul mates, fight like enemies, and stay together like a family. Theodora Dace Pembridge will you marry me?"

Saying this he took out a small box from his pocket and opened it to present a really beautiful ring. The ring kind of matched with the necklace. It had a big diamond with the bands crossing on the sides. 

"Of course, YES!" Dora shouted and instantly a bright smile lit on his face.

He removed the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger.

"I only accepted because the ring matches the necklace," she whispered so that only he could hear. He chuckled.

"Well, I only proposed because I wanted to complete what we started last time," he whispered back which made a sudden deep blush appear on her cheeks. "Larry!" she cried, landing a playful punch on his shoulder. This caused him to erupt in laughter and hug her tightly. "I love you, sweetheart," he spoke in her ear.

"I love you too," Dora said, smiling widely while reciprocating his hug.

As they broke the hug, her siblings came to congratulate them. During the dinner, the adults were busy among themselves discussing wedding plans while her siblings were busy among themselves whispering into each other's ears. Dora however had eyes only on Larry. They both held each other's hands the whole time during the dinner while stealing side glances.

After Lawrence left, she was ready to plunge into her own happy world, dreaming about him but unknown to her, the night was not over yet. She reached her room and was about to change when she heard a knock on her door. She opened it to find Leo and Bea standing there.

"Hey sister!" he greeted as they both invited themselves in, closing the door behind them.

"Yeah, it is late night, you should both come in," Dora murmured sarcastically.

They both looked at each other and grinned foolishly. "What are you two doing here?" Dora asked.

"We are congratulating you obviously!" Leo said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Exactly! Congratulations on your engagement sister." Bea shrieked.

"You already did that downstairs," Dora said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah we did but not in the right way," Leo said grinning.

"Right way?"

"Yeah. Your engagement party is on us. The venue is Nick's room; the time is right now. You can change your dress if you promise not to take more than five minutes." Bea recited in a single breath.

Dora looked at them both, not moving at all, trying to figure them out.

"You know what!" Leo cried suddenly standing up "We are cancelling the dress changing part. Come on." he took Dora's hand and pulled her with him. It was then that she realised what they wanted.

"No! I will change and come." She said removing her hand from his grasp. Both of them shrugged and left the room.

Fifteen minutes later Dora was sitting in Nick's room with Leo and Bea with a glass of champagne in her hand.

"Why is Ed not invited?" Dora asked no one in particular.

"If we invite him, he would not even allow us to party," Nick told.

"Then should we not be in some other room? This place is closest to his room."

"Not inviting him does not mean he would not be here," Leo said with a smile.

Dora looked totally confused at his statement. She looked around to find Bea mirroring her expression. Nick on the other hand at the same smile as Leo. This made her realise about some boys inside jokes. She was thinking about it when she heard a knock. At this Leo's and Nick's smiles seemed to grow larger.

Nick opened the door to allow Ed to come inside. "What is happening?" he asked in a strict big brother tone.

"Dora's engagement party. You are invited." Leo said calmly.

"You are letting the girls drink?" he asked turning towards Nick.

"Well, Dora is elder than all of us and it is her party. I cannot really stop her. And Bea is just drinking juice." Nick explained while making his way back towards the couch.

Ed shook his head and also made his way towards the couch. When Bea and Dora kept on looking at him in confusion, he raised his eyebrow and looked at them. "What? Since I could not stop you, better enjoy with you now."

Hearing this Leo burst out into laughter and Nick started chuckling at his brother's habits. "You knew this would happen?" Dora asked the two.

They both nodded. "It always happens," Leo said between his laughs.

"Keep it down brother, someone will hear you," Ed said with a scowl. He was clearly not pleased. Hearing him even Bea and Dora let out a giggle.

"To a happy married life for Dora and Lawrence," Edward said raising a toast in order to silence everyone. His strategy worked and everyone subtly raised their glasses. Bea, Leo and Nick repeated his words while Dora drank with a smile.

All of them sat in comfortable silence for some time. "So, Dora you had your first kiss yet?" Edward asked suddenly, causing Dora to choke on her drink.

"Hey! No inappropriate talk in front of me." Bea shouted acting to cover her ears.

"Yeah, she is really innocent." Leo snorted. Bea turned towards him. As they got engaged in their own conversation, Nick whispered in Dora's ear "We are still excited for the answer."

She turned to give him a glare "I am not having this talk with my brothers."

Ed raised an eyebrow at her cheekiness. "What?" she asked him in disbelief. "I am not asking you about your relationships. Am I?"

"Our relationships are not open. We are not the ones getting married." Ed replied. Hearing him Nick suddenly snorted. "I am sorry," he mumbled realising his mistake.

When Dora and Ed kept looking at him questioningly, "I just meant for you to speak for yourself." he spoke almost inaudibly.

"I guess you have something to tell us," Ed spoke almost commanding him to continue. By now Leo and Bea had also stopped their conversation and were looking at Nick. Cautiously he took a deep breath "I am courting the eldest daughter of Lord Markle. I love her and also intend to propose to her soon. And that is the only details you all will be getting from me."

His statement was met with four surprised and awestruck faces. Leo was the first one to recover from the shock. "Wow." he mumbled "Does this call for double celebration?" he asked no one in particular.

"I think it does. You know I never took you for the one with secrets." Bea said.

However, it was Ed who answered "We all have secrets Bea. Some just run way deeper than others." he looked around to see Leo giving him a 'don't spoil this party with your deep shit' look so he continued "But I am happy for you brother. Just do not tell mother. Or she will start to find girls for my marriage."

Dora and Nick started snickering at him. The rest of the night passed in the same way; laughing and teasing each other as they all made more beautiful memories. 

This chapter was way too sweet. I might have to check in with my dentist. What was your favourite part of this chapter - adventuring with Callan, romanticizing with Lawrence or partying with the Pembridges? 

Highlight that star if you smiled even once while reading the chapter.