Serpent's Deceit (Entry 017)

 

I check my reflection in the box mirror over the sink. The white frosting is coating the tip of my nose, my chin and the lower side of my forehead. The hair on the crown of my head has some as well. My cheeks are mostly clean, with a few smeared lines of white cream here and there. 

This is a horrendous sight. What about it has prompted Alfie to lick my face?

The cringe I feel after remembering the incident is something I have never felt in my entire life. And I definitely do not want to in future either.

I take the packet of wet wipes out of my pocket and pull out one. With it, I wipe my face as clean as I can. It takes three wipes to clean my face. After that, I turn the tap on and splash water on my face.

“Who was that?”

Noah’s voice comes out of nowhere and makes me jump out of my skin. Water splashes everywhere. I glare at him, pretty sure I am looking like I have seen a ghost. 

“Oh, my God. Where the hell did you sprout from this time?” I exclaim, tapping on my chest lightly to calm down the spiked heartbeat. I have been so close to getting a heart attack.

“I went to…” He pauses abruptly, staring at me with a vague look. I realise he does not want to say where he has gone and is about to lie. I wave it away.

“Forget it. No need to lie.” I turn off the tap before walking past him out of the bathroom. He frowns at me. “I haven't even said anything.”

“You're about to.” I notice that his face is clean as well, mostly because the side of his chin and the tips of his hair strands still hold the icing. He has probably used tissues. 

“Clean with water “ I gesture to the bathroom with my eyes. “You still have the cake.”

Still, frowning, he walks inside and checks himself in the mirror. While he is busy doing that, I pull the door and click the knob. 

Of course, he notices immediately and starts banging and shouting. I turn off the light switch as well. Stay there, you little bastard! His screaming and the noise of the banging on the door follow me as I leave the place with a satisfied grin.

After walking away from there, I realise that I do not know where I should go. It is more of a clueless thing. I mean, it is my birthday party, but it is a surprise. So I have no clue what I am supposed to do next. 

Should I go to the pool? Or should I go back to the living room? Is it—

Someone snatches me away and pulls me into a room. 

I start getting a feeling of déjà vu as I look up at the person who has pulled me. It is the same person, my dark-haired boyfriend. Compared to the last time, this room is flooded with light. It is afternoon, golden hour to be exact. Dax is looking ethereal, the golden light washing him over. 

He pulls me in by my waist, and I wrap my arms around his neck with a grin. He looks happy, a soft smile dancing on his lips as he leans down to touch his forehead to mine. I pull my face up to rub my nose against his. 

“Why is my boyfriend so romantic today?” I whisper the question against his lips. His grin widens.

“It’s your highness’s birthday after all.” He pecks my lips. “How can I not be happy when it’s my “Everything”’s happiest day?”

I giggle at his cheesy line. “Everything”’s happiest day? Don’t you think it’s a bit too cliché?”

“No, not at all. You are my everything.” I peer into his eyes as he does the same to me. If the look he has currently in his eyes is not the look of love, then I do not know what is. He continues with a whispering tone, similar to a soothing lullaby, “My forever and always. My sun, moon and stars. My galaxy. The one and only love of my life. The reason I breathe every day. I reason I will die if I need to.”

I frown, covering his mouth. What an unfortunate thing he is saying! “As if I would ever let you die before me.”

He looks serious all of a sudden. “You wouldn’t, I know. But if the situation ever arises, if it ever comes down to the choice of your life or mine, I would happily give up mine if it means for you to live.”

What is he even talking about? Is there any such threat lingering around that I am unaware of but he knows? My mind reels back to the moment spent with Alfie, and I cringe again. Has he something to do with this? If there is a death threat hanging around us, it definitely involves Alfie and his father, aka the Nidhraxis. 

I look back into Dax’s eyes. Should I inquire of him about it? But it is such a beautiful moment that I do not want to ruin it by asking something terrifying. 

So, instead, I tell him, “You said it’s my happiest day. Then why are you saying such sad things?”

His eyes focus back on me, the softness returning in them. He smiles again. “My bad, your highness. I won’t anymore.”

Then he presses his lips to mine. It is not a peck this time. It is a full kiss, slow and unhurried like we have all the time in the world. His lips are soft and familiar against mine, moving in perfect synchrony. It does not take long for us to get the tongues involved. He tastes like vanilla; probably the taste of my birthday cake still resides in his mouth. It is different from usual, and I like it. 

The kiss pauses just as abruptly as it has begun. He presses his forehead to mine again, sharing breaths.

He rasps after a moment, his voice carrying the heat of the shared moment. “I got something for you.”

Under my curious and confused look, he pulls out something from his pocket. It’s a small velvet jewellery box. He pulls up my palm and slides it in. 

With a questioning gaze in his direction, I open the lid of the box. Inside is a necklace; the chain has a rusty colour, speaking of old age, which forms into a similar rusty cage in the middle. Inside the cage, an oval-shaped amber-like gemstone sits twinkling in the warm afternoon sun rays. It does not look too flashy, but you can easily tell it is something old and is not available in today’s stores. 

The realisation of what it can be makes me gasp. I jerk my head up to look back at Dax. “Oh my God, Dax. It’s so beautiful. Is it…”

He nods, already guessing what I am thinking. “It’s a family heirloom, something my mom got from my grandma, her mother-in-law. She kept it in the hope that she would give it to her daughter-in-law one day. She didn’t live to see her, but I have. So, here I am, fulfilling her wish.”

He says it so simply, as if he is handing me today’s newspaper and telling me about the weather. He even smiles sheepishly as if he is embarrassed to make it a huge deal.

I feel a burning sensation in my eyes. When I speak, I feel the tremble of uncertainty in my tone. “That’s… so valuable. You sure I can…?”

He lets out a laugh as if I have spoken nonsense. “Of course, your highness. If not you, who else?”

I pull out the necklace with delicate fingers, my heart thumping wildly in my chest as if I will press too hard and it will snap. I lift the pendant before my eyes, catching Dax’s face on the slightly transparent surface. His face appears distorted and fractured like a memory seen through water. 

I cannot verbally describe the beauty of it. More importantly, I cannot explain how important and valued it makes me feel. 

I bring it up to my neck, trying to clasp the chain behind. Dax sees it and turns me around, taking the chain in his hands. As I pull my hair to the side over my shoulders and his fingers delicately work on my neck, a realisation dawns on me. My eyes go wide, and my heart starts beating even louder. Has Dax just—

I whisper to him in fear that it might not be real and it might just be my imagination, “Dax, are you proposing to me?”

His hands freeze whatever they are doing. The quiet moment stretches as if he has also just realised what this actually means.

Then comes his infuriating reply. “Maybe?”

Lesson for the boys: Never say ‘maybe’ to such a serious question to your girl.

I snap at him as expected, “Stop being a jerk. Say it properly.”

“If I choose to be honest with you,” he speaks in a softer tone now, finishing clasping the chain and turning me around to face me. “I’m not exactly proposing to you at this moment. I’m in no place to do that now. But if there is one thing that will remain constant in my future, it’s you. If I live up to that day, if I get myself to that day, I will definitely propose to you. But that doesn’t mean I can’t tell you this right now.”

He pauses to take a deep breath as if collecting his thoughts while I hold mine. He then continues, “If forever is real, it will be you. I will stand with you for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. There is no one else I would rather live with than you. I have literally no one on this earth other than you.”

As his words register in my mind, I let out a soft gasp. I do not mean to be dramatic, but hell, my boyfriend is bringing a whole-ass drama; how can I not be dramatic? 

I honestly do not think he realises what he has said. I decide to voice it out, “Dax, you have just read the wedding vows.” My voice trembles with emotion when I speak, and I have to blink several times to not end up sobbing.

His eyes go wide slightly. His lips press into a thin line. Just as I have assumed. What he has said has not registered in his brain until I have said it out loud. He looks away, covering his mouth with his hand and letting out a curse in a low tone in surprise. “Oh, fuck.” 

However, when he looks up and sees the look on my face, he smiles and admits with confidence, “Yeah, I did.”

I roll my eyes. “So much for not proposing to me.” Then I ask him with a grin and a newfound interest, “Do I say it back so that we get married?”

He laughs loudly, throwing his head back as if he has not heard anything this entertaining in a long time. I scoff, expressing fake annoyance, but deep down, I am enjoying it just as much. After the laughter dies down, he replies, “Technically, we can’t because there is no pastor. But for the love of it, you may.”

I giggle like a teenage girl. Well, I am sort of a teenage girl myself. But I never behave this cheesy. However, this moment is different. For God’s sake, I am exchanging vows with the love of my life. Can you imagine? Oh my God! Who thought something like this would happen? 

Even if it is just for fun, it feels just as real to me.

I clear my throat, preparing myself before repeating his line, “I will stand with you for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. There is no one else I would rather live with than you.”

Dax flashes all of his teeth to me, grinning the biggest I have ever seen him. “There is no one to announce, “You may now kiss the bride”. So, I’m just gonna do that myself.”

And he captures my lips for the second time, sealing our vows with it.