After too much dancing, Jonah let up on me and took me outside to look at the stars. It was beautiful, little lights twinkling among the hedges, the plants and flowers. Resting my sore feet, after having spent far too long on them dancing with my love, I looked up into the night sky. Even though I thought this night would be hell, I had enjoyed it. He loved me, I didn't need anything more. Jonah sat down beside me and kissed me below the ear.

"Are you happy my love?"

"Very much so."

He kissed along my jaw as he took my hand, kissing the palm.

"I know we've not seen eye to eye on a lot of things recently but we're getting better, aren't we?"

I grinned and nodded at him.

"All I want is to know that you are safe, you understand that right?"

"Yes Jonah."

"My life would be hollow without you, everything about that day..." he sighed "I know you are capable, I know you are strong. I'm not trying to be some macho man by protecting you, I do it because I fear an eternity without you."

"Eternity is a very long time."

I turned his head to me, his face was a little sad but there was hope in his eyes. A feint flicker of something wonderful.

"We have eternity together. We fight but we make up afterwards, we don't agree on everything but that's normal. I understand your fear Jonah because I hold those same fears. You walk out that door to instruct the guards on how to deal with the rogues, so close to the battle and I have to sit in that house wondering if you are ok. I would have no clue if you were alive or dead because I am so far away from you. Do you understand why I want to be by your side?"

He nodded.

"Together, always. I promise."

His fingers trailed over the edge of my jaw, pulling a loose tendril of hair behind my ear.

"You know that you are the light of my life, I would rather nothing more than to see you happy. My heart is yours."

He placed his hand on his chest over his heart, then moved it to one side to a lump.

"I have something for you."

My usual low heart beat kicked itself up a notch as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny velvet box, placing it in my open palm. I tried to steady my hand as I opened the box, inside is a square cut diamond on a white gold ring, beside the largest diamond was three more diamonds on each side, each of them descending in size.

"Ivy Madelyn Olivia Nicolai, would you do me the greatest honour by agreeing to be my wife, my lifelong love, mother of my children, by my side always?"

I fluttered my eyes as the drops of tears hit my cheeks, looking up at him, not realising that he had managed to get down to the ground, now he was on one knee.

"Yes."

He grinned and took the ring from the box, slipping it onto my finger, it was a perfect fit. When he sat back beside me, the box went back into his pocket and he kissed me sweetly.

"I love you, always."

I held him below his jaw, urging him to me for another of his sweet kisses.

"I love you too, always."

It was crazy, the one little thing that I had been driving myself crazy over, I now had. All of my thoughts and tears, they all washed away and I was left with the thought that I was being a fool. He loved me without question, I knew it. I looked down at the ring as I toyed with it on my finger. Stunning. With a crazy grin he leaned over, kissing my neck searching for a vein.

"I have something for you at home when we return."

"You can give it to me here." he murmured against the skin of my neck.

I could feel the grin, his fangs tracing over the vein.

"It's not that, this is something far better."

"I find that hard to believe. Better than sex with you? Unlikely."

Standing I tugged his hand and made him follow me.

"We can say good night and go home, I want to give it to you tonight."

"Well now I am intrigued." he grinned.

**********************************

Jonah and I stood by the book case in his study, he turned and looked at me with a frown. I pressed the button and his eyebrow raised, clearly he was shocked that I had found his little secret. He had obviously never gone in here since I first discovered it, he didn't know that I had been up to no good in here. After consulting with his mother about the room, she agreed that it had to be more decorated. A table and two chairs was not sufficient. I told her about the hidden card, about his fears and of course she already knew about that awful night. We sat down and she gave me a reading, producing a new future card. This one was far better, so much so that Miranda and I searched out an artist to paint the image onto the wall opposite the door. That way he would see it every time he walked into the room. The floors were laid to match what was already in the study, the remaining walls also matched the study. We had found a far nicer table and chairs and a matching sideboard too. Based on the image that had been painted, Miranda had made allowances for his future in the sideboard, several sets of phoenix cards. And that bare bulb was now replaced with a modern metal shade. I moved past Jonah and turned the light on, gently tugging his hand into the room. Wide eyed he stared at it, all that had been accomplished without his knowledge. He ignored everything and went straight to the mural.

"What's this?"

"Your mother did a reading for me, so you can get rid of that hidden card." I smiled at him softly. "She did our future, this is us. No death only life. Lots of life."

His fingers grazed over the images of our children, this image was of us one hundred years into our future. Very happy and very in love. There were five children around us varying in age and I was also pregnant in the image.

I moved to the sideboard, pulling open the wide draw, in it was several varying sets of cards nestled among the soft velvet. Miranda had never given him the entire set that were destined to be his. He had almost turned his back on his phoenix life. It had pained his mother to see him like this, all because of that one little card. She never knew why; he had kept it very well locked in his mind. All the offers and temptation she had tried to persuade him had not worked. She even had used me as a ploy once, suggesting to him that he should do my cards. I knew he had offered it not that long ago but I don't think he would have done it, I think he would have made his mother use her cards. Jonah moved beside me, looking down into the draw. As he gripped the front panel of the draw I wrapped my hands around his firm arm, looking up at him as I softly kissed him.

"I am safe; you can see our future right in front of you. Do not fear these cards Jonah."

He nodded and closed the draw.

"You know of the card?"

"The photo slipped in the frame and I went to fix it. All these years you've carried the burden of that card, why didn't you tell me?"

"I was eighteen when I did that, you were still under age Ivy. What did you want me to say? Hey look at this card, it says that you and me, we're going to be together forever but something bad is going to happen."

He sighed as he pulled me into his arms, wrapping them tight around me.

"I didn't need our parents yelling at me because I freaked you out, so I kept it hidden."

"Vowing to protect me."

"Yeah." he breathed. "Why did you do all this?"

"Because this is you, this is your life. Don't push it away, accept it and embrace it."

"Thank you Ivy, it is a wonderful gift. What would I do without you?"

"Well you probably wouldn't be so stressed."

He laughed, turning to the wall.

"Five huh?"

His fingers trailed a line along the back of the neckline of my dress.

"Some of those children look pretty old."

"They do."

"That must mean you will get pregnant soon."

"I guess it does."

"Well." he stood from me with a dirty great grin on his face "Best get on with it, can't make a liar out of the card, can we?"

"Definitely not." I grinned back.