Late summer, The Year Of Our Lord 1628
Stark Castle, Stark Lordship, Isle Of Stone, A province of King Edward I
Tony

I look over my people as they settle in for the evening meal. It's been a month since Stephen's clan arrived, Stephen and I have been growing closer and I don't think I can deny it any longer: I'm loving again. And I know I'm going to get hurt, but Stephen hasn't let go of my hand all day, saying that he likes the warmth. People have started cooling down about vampires, I'm not sure I'm ready to throw out more sparks. But now, Stephen smiles at me happily as he brushes his thumb over my knuckles, blushing softly.

I will have to ask him to court me.

Wait. How do vampires blush if they have no circulating blood?

Stephen makes a face at me and I stifle a laugh. Suddenly I hear his voice in my head.

"I guess blushing is an innate skill, you know." I stare at him. The voice hurts my head a little.

"How do you do that?" I whisper.

"Mindspeak is a vampiric trait just like mind reading. It's basically projecting your voice into someone else's head," he says in my head. I can feel a splitting headache coming on.

"Okay, please stop. This is hurting me." I blink rapidly as Stephen nods. He chuckles.

"It's okay, most humans can't hear it. I guess the ones that can get hurt. Now, food." He smiles as he begins to eat, always searching for the juiciest bits of meat and sucking the blood from them first.

"Wait, can you hear all my thoughts?"

"No, only the ones that are forefront in your mind whenever I'm touching you. The brain is not a book, it has layers." I smile, eating in silence, hoping that he can't hear how much I've fallen in love with just us spending time together. After dinner, I pull him aside.

"Stephen, I have to tell you something." He looks confused, slightly nervous.

"What's wrong?"

"Privacy, my chamber."

"Again? What's happening now?" Stephen looks almost upset, like he's expecting horrible news. I squeeze his hand in what I hope is a comforting way, feeling the cool chill of his skin against my own.

"Nothing, I just want to talk to you a minute." I pull him away from the others, speed walking to my chambers.

"Okay..." He follows me as slowly as he can go with me squeezing his hand.

When we get to my chambers, I hold his hands in mine and try to explain it.

"Stephen, I want to confess my intentions in bringing your clan here haven't been honest. Really, I wanted to make sure they all approved of me, because, and this might sound odd to you, I wish to court you," I say nervously. He lays his hand over mine and I smile lightly.

"Are you asking me to court you?" He asks, rather awkwardly, both of us suddenly very aware of my hands holding his.

"No, now I am," I say, looking directly into Stephen's eyes, about to take a huge risk. "Stephen Strange, from the day I met you, I was enchanted. You were beautiful, even laying injured and dirty in a forest. Then I started working with you, and seeing your kindness and compassion and, really, your hope, made me even more enchanted. But this is not a spell you put me under, it's me falling in love. I used to think love was bad, an attachment that would ultimately fail, but the way you've been with your clan all these years, then insisted on bringing them here, has shown me that neither familial nor romantic love is inherently bad. And that's what this is, I am in love with you.

"Now, Stephen, will you do me the great honor of allowing me to court you?" I smile hopefully as he gasps.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" He squeals as I wrap my arms around him and kiss him, all my troubles and past temporarily forgotten. He smiles and cups my face in his hands.

"God, you're beautiful," I murmur, my brown eyes staring into his deep red ones.

And for just a moment, life was perfect.

"So how are you going to announce that we're courting?" He asks after a minute. I notice him playing with the chain around his neck again.

"Tomorrow I will, tonight just stay with me, okay?" I kiss him again, holding his waist in my hands. He kisses back, and we continue kissing like that for a while. Finally we pull apart and take turns changing into nightclothes and getting into bed. I hold him close, nuzzling his neck.

He smiles, hiding his face in my shoulder. I give his neck a small kiss, feeling his body practically vibrating from happiness.

He slowly calms down, soon he's about to fall asleep. One problem, he is heavy and directly on my chest.

"You're too heavy to sleep on me, even if I'm in love with you." He looks up, sliding off my chest and curling up next to me. I lay on my side, putting an arm around him. We fall asleep together, foreheads almost touching.

The next day, I announce to the people that Stephen and I are courting.

"My people, as you all know, Sky Clan is here so that we may have peace. However, they are also here for a personal reason. I am happy to announce that I am courting Stephen Strange of Sky Clan." For some reason, the same people who wanted all the vampires dead a month ago are applauding our announcement loudly. I raise Stephens hand as he stands and nods at the crowd, although it's plain he's looking for his clan in the crowd. I already spotted them—Carol, Brunhild, and Loki sit next to Thor, one of my best warriors, Clint and Scott are sitting near Peter, Shuri, and Kamala, my protégés, and Wong and Wanda are sitting with Vision, my librarian.

I squeeze Stephen's hand to reassure him as I smile over my people. He relaxes a bit, but is still rather tense. I hope he'll calm down, I don't like seeing him upset. He turns to me and smiles as we sit back down.

I smile back at him, at his gorgeous red eyes, at his sharp cheekbones, at his carefully combed hair. He is so soft and sweet. He is amazing and beautiful and I would spend the rest of my life with him. He's obviously reading my thoughts from the way he blushes and looks down at our intertwined hands. I smile at him, letting him run his fingers across my own, enjoying the small moment where it's just the two of us, together.

After the evening meal, Stephen comes with me to my chambers, sitting on the edge of the bed as I change and use the water closet. He then takes his turn, smiling at me as he comes back in. I lay down and pat the spot next to me, inviting him to cuddle. He lays down, the locket clinking. I smile at him, leaning in to give him a kiss on the forehead. His cherry blush is adorable. Then he surprises me by kissing me deeply on the lips. I sink into it, cradling his face in my hands. The two of us kiss for a long moment before he pulls back with a smile.

"I love you."

"And I love you too."

He lays down again, resting his head in my lap as I brush his hair with my fingers. After a minute, he starts making a purring noise when I do it. He purrs loudly as I continue to play with his hair, whimpering softly when I stop. I run my hand down his jawline, loving the chill of his skin against my own.

"Humans are so warm," he murmurs, half asleep. I chuckle softly, continuing to trace the outline of his face. I watch his eyelids droop, making sure he's completely asleep before I stop. Then I lift him up so his head is on my shoulder and gently wrap my arms around him, holding him close.

"You'll always be safe with me. I promise."