Mark of the Fool

Chapter 606: To the Beach of Before

Alright, I need you all to squeeze in a little closer, Alex said, viewing the scene through the phones screen.

Like this? Thundar asked, suddenly body checking Isolde.

Oof! He certainly could not mean that, you ruffian! she complained.

Somethings poking me. Selina looked behind her.

Oh, sorry thats the hilt of my dagger, Theresa apologised.

How amusing! King Aksuma laughed. I cannot wait to see what wonder you are creating!

If were not all crushed to death first. Khalik winced as Claygon pressed against his back. My friend, you are not light, and your body is swallowing mine.

Sorryfathersaidto get closer the golem apologised, taking a step back.

No, no, no! Alex cried. Dont step back, Claygon! Come on, this is supposed to take less than thirty seconds!

We might not be alive in thirty seconds, Toraka muttered.

I heard you!

You were meant to! she fired back.

Alex sighed, peering into the artefacts screen. Why did I even bother?

The party had moved to a balcony at the King and Queen of Tekezashs direction, just outside the dining room. The outdoor space was accessed through a bank of glass doors overlooking the Prinean Sea, providing a view that stretched for miles from the castle-like restaurant.

It could make the perfect backdrop for a painting

or one of the curious images captured and stored on Hannahs device.

Alex aimed the artefacts camera lens toward his assembled family and friendsBrutus, Harmless and Najyah were at the fronttrying to get the unruly lot together for a group portrait.

He wanted the perfect memento of this dayif he could get everyone to fit into the image.

Grimloch, bend down a little, Alex said. Ive met shorter mountains. Your face isnt in the image.

No, Grimloch said. I do what I want.

Ill get your sister.

Grimloch stared at Alex for a long time. You wouldnt.

Im right here and I can hear the two of you! Nua-Oge reminded them.

I would, so dont test me, Ive done worse!

Im right here! Nua-Oge repeated.

Come on, Grimloch. Kybas looked up at the giant sharkman with huge eyes. Harmless wants to be in the portrait with you.

The sharkman growled and slowly bent down, allowing his face and enormous dorsal fin to fit in the image. Fine.

Oh, so you listen to him? Grimlochs big sister rolled her eyes.

Perfect! Alex said, before Grimloch could change his mind.

Everyone was in view now, pressed together like a great big, happy family that somehow included enormous, evolving stone golems, eagles, crocodiles, sharkmen and cerberi.

Finally, he could

He paused, rolling his eyes as he caught something in the corner of the screen. Oh, come on, Carey! We dont have thewaking sickness! Join us! I cant see you in the shot!

Oh, dont worry about little old me, Carey said modestly. I dont know everyone here that well, and I wouldnt want to get in the way.

Bah, thats nonsense! Thundar boomed. Youre one of us. You fought alongside us in the expedition, and youre trying to rip the Ravener in two. Come a little closer.

Yeah, squeeze in, Carey, Theresa said.

If youre not comfortable, you dont have to be in the portrait; but, wed love to have you, though. I mean, Im letting Khalik in

Hey! the prince cried.

Queen Ishtar laughed.

so you should join us, too, Alex said.

I Carey paused.

Come on, you should be with the rest of us, Selina said.

PleaseI would be happyif you joined us. Claygon said, his voice sounding like a sad childs.

Carey looked at Claygon and the otherseven those who didnt know her personallyas they waited for her to come closer. She sighed then squeezed in beside Shiani.

There we go! Alex cried. Perfect! Now give me some big smiles. No, not you, Claygon, youre always smiling. Kind of. Ugh, Grimloch, that smile of yours is the stuff of nightmares.

Deal with it, the sharkman said simply. You wanted me in the portrait.

Truealrightand click, snap! Alex pressed a button on the device.

And there.

The artefact made a loud lick and an image froze on its surface. There, on the screen were his friends, all close together and smiling with the backdrop of the sea and blue skies behind them.

Well? Show us! Toraka demanded.

Alex quickly went over, showing the image to everyone.

Gasps, shocked whistles, and exclamations of surprise filled the air.

What is this? Sim exclaimed. Its like an auto-portrait, but the detailsare astounding. Can I see it?

Where in the world did you get that thing? Toraka asked, looking at the Travellers artefact with curiosity.

Its a trade secret.well thats not quite right. Lets just say I found it, Alex said.

Oh, is this the item that allowed you to teleport around the island like you did? she asked as others crowded around, trying to see the image up close.

Lets just say the two things are relatedbut less related than youd think, Alex said.

So thats what that was! Selina said. I remember you pointing it at us one night: you were making a portrait, werent you? You never showed it to me!

Dont worry about it, Alex said. Im still figuring out how this thing works, and I dont know how to get images off of it yet. I wanted to show it to you when I figured that out, butthis moment was too perfect. I had to capture it.

Its wonderful, Carey said contentedly. You can see someones face, whenever you want to. No matter where they are.

Yeah, pretty great, isnt it? Alex smiled, looking at Theresa as the huntress admired the image. Weve got to keep our precious moments. We really have to. Theyre special for a reason.

As the Thameish wizard spoke, a certain location came to mind.

sometimes they could become even more special.

What is all this? Theresa laughed as Alex lifted a huge basket. What a surprise!

Yeah, wellnice surprises are a good thing, right? He cleared his throat, trying to calm his hammering heart.

Today was the day.

He was going to ask Theresa to marry him.

And everything had to be perfect.

A day and a half had passed since the celebration at the Golden Dragon, and Alex was getting ready for his date with Theresa. Yesterday was busy. Hed spent it in a whirlwind of get-togethers with different people.

The day had started early.

First, hed arranged an excursion to the countryside with Selina, Claygon, Khalik and Sinope, before heading to Khaliks parents' villa for a goodbye brunch before they returned to Tekezash. His afternoon was then spent scarfing down a massive lunch Kybas had insisted on buying him as a thank you for all the opportunities hed given him.

That evening, hed had a meeting with Lucia and Toraka to discuss business, and then he and Thundar had gone ale, and spirits sampling well into the night. Meanwhile, hed been subtly arranging certain matters so everything would be perfect for his plan involving Theresa and Brutus.

Finally, when he and Thundar had returned to the bakery from their night of drinking and hed used blood magic on both of them to escape the pain of a hangover from mixing, beer and spirits, hed wished the minotaur a good night, grabbed a couple of hours sleep, then loaded certain supplies into his massive picnic basket. Food wasnt the only thing hed be bringing along when they went on their picnic.

All in all, yesterday had been quite the day.

This morning, shortly after dawn, he helped Troy with the early morning breakfast rushnow even busier since the tournamentthen asked Theresa if she and Brutus wanted to go on a picnic to relax and spend some time together, since they hadnt had much time for dates lately.

He needed her loyal hound to accompany them so that he could give her his engagement present.

Now, finally, everything was ready to go. All he had left to do was to make it through his plan without passing out, or worse, chickening out.

Dont panic, dont panic, Alex thought. Shes probably not going to say no, but if she does, then the beach is right there.You can just throw yourself in the ocean and be done with it. Isnt that a convenie

Alex? Alex! Theresa clapped her hands to his cheeks. Are you alright?

Of course Im alright! he said, his voice shrill. Never been better! I am so alright, that I basically dont have a left hand! Or foot!

...what?

Because, er. He picked up his right foot and held his right hand in front of her face. Im all right. No left, get it?

Theresa looked like her brain was on the verge of abandoning ship. Alex, come on. Whats going on? You should be happy. We should all be happy. Things are going well. But you look terrified, like youre ready to collapse.

No, no Im fine. Everythings fine! he insisted. A little fresh air is all I need, I swear. Come on, lets get going. I could only book the gazebo for a few hours and I dont want us to miss out.

She gave him a piercing look, then sighed. Alright, but if youre sick, dont go through with this surprise, okay? Dates are niceand its been a while since weve gone on onebut I dont want you collapsing over it.

Im fine, Im not going to collapse. Right, Brutus? he asked the cerberus.

The three headed hound looked up from his bed, sniffing the air lazily.

Thanks for the support, Alex said sarcastically. Anyway, he walked to Brutus, placing a hand on his back, then reached for Theresa. Take my hand?

She raised an eyebrow. Youre not bringing your staff.

Dont need it. The trump card already did what it was supposed to do at the tournament. So why dont we give Hannahs power a bit of a work out.

Theresa smirked. Were going on a date, and youre already mentioning other women. She took his hand. What a bad man, you are.

The baddest, he said, not even convincing himself.

He cast flight magic on himself, Brutus and Theresa, then glanced out the window, choosing an empty bit of sky. Calling upon the power inside, he catapulted the three of them across the gulf between planes, covering nearly a thousand feet in an instant, appearing in the midst of the sky.

All around, sky-gondolas and flying beasts drifted past. People pointed as they suddenly appeared.

Teleportation wasnt rare in Generasi, but it was still powerful magic; even in a sky full of flying ships and beasts, they drew attention. But, they didnt linger long.

Turning his focus toward campus, Alex took them across the city in measured hops,appearing above the campus gates, then toward green spaces dotting the school grounds.

They materialised over the insula, and thenafter a few more hops appeared above the beach.

Oh my goodness, Alex, by the Traveller! Theresa exclaimed. This is where we had our first date!

Yep, he said, trying to keep the shakiness from his voice. And thats exactly where I thought we should spend the day!

Barking happily, Brutus dove from the sky, landing on the sand and immediately began chasing seagulls along the seaside. Giggling, Theresa landed beside Alex, watching her cerberus with a contented smile.

Yes, this is nice, she said, kissing him softly. The huntress looked up at the sky, letting the suns rays fall on her face and ebon hair.

As Alex had felt more times than he could count, he was struck by just howlucky he was; lucky that the woman there with him loved him enough to call him her partner. And had agreed to be his.

Id be crazy not to want this to last forever, Alex thought. Absolutely crazy.

Shall we set up for our little picnic? Theresa asked with a dreamy smile.

Yeah, definitely, Alex abruptly pulled himself from deep in his own thoughts.

Together, they floated to the gazebo with the sound of gentle waves lapping against the shore, and unpacked their picnic basket, laying out a spread of hot meats, roasted potatoes, different cheeses, crusty breads and pastries. Nothing fancy, but

Theyre all my favourites! Theresa exclaimed. Youre really going all out with this!

Yeahyeah you could say that, Alex said. Come one, lets dig in.

They sat together, enjoying their picnic, laughing at Alexs jokes, and feeding each other morsels of goodies. Brutus sniffed the air and bounded over, leaving the seagulls alone in favour of food he didnt have to chase and had little chance of catching.

Time passed with only their relaxed conversation, the call of seabirds, and the sound of waves washing against the beach, touching the peace around them.

Alex enjoyed the moment.

Theresa was enjoying the moment, her laughter drifting over the sand.

But no moment could last forever.

Its time, he whispered.

She looked up, a puzzled look on her face as she buttered a hunk of warm bread. Time for what?

He stood, offering her a hand then pointing to the sky. Come up there with me for a moment.

Alex Roth took a deep breath, as probably the most important question he would ever ask in his entire life played in his mind.

He just prayed he was ready to say the words.

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