Rain Dance (Dear Diary)

Dear Diary,

Lydia here! I know you haven't heard from me in a bit. . . Okay, maybe it's been, like, a decade, but hey! I'm here now, aren't I? I know I don't usually write, but I just need to vent for a bit, okay?

It's been what, six months since I went through the portal to Cachonei? I can now confidently say that what Lorelei and I did was, in fact, what we needed to do. Thanks to that, or maybe to Cachonei, I no longer dream that I'm flying away at night, so that's great.

Sakura and Yasmine helped me make my debut in high society. We've actually been spending a lot of time together. Turns out, Sakura's freaking phenomenal at improv once she gets into it. Yasmine has been introducing us to new foods (cooked by her, of course). Last month she made an amazing rabbit stew. Last week, though, was kebab week. I think she said they were Turkish kebabs?

I would kill for a kebab, right now.

On another point, Lady Sophia Fikhan was put on trial. Prince Akira ended up deciding (because I guess the king of this place doesn't handle trials) that Sophia was too much of a danger to be left alone. I guess Sophia didn't like that and tried to escape. Next thing you know, everyone's talking about how she died after she was caught.

Lorelei's a bit of a legend with the nobles now. See, half of the people remembered her, and half of them didn't. Those who do know she was real, but a chunk of those who don't think that she was just crazy on the day of the ball. The big thing is that the Aerfare-Astair (yes, that's her full family name) ended up claiming her as one of theirs. Even if most of them don't remember her, at least her family still acknowledges her existence.

Honestly, all that matters is that she's happy.

The Terrtrove estate is lively as ever. Since I'm the one in charge of the maids now, I thought I'd try to encourage them to have a little fun. You know, let them relax a bit here. For instance, I sometimes let the day shift dress me up in whatever they want, especially if it's weird. The night shift people get to dress up themselves, though it took a bit of encouraging from me. Ashley now wears an eyepatch sometimes to spice things up. I think she looks good as a pirate (do they have pirates in fantasy worlds?). Even Sara's started using contractions with me which, for her, is a big improvement.

As for Jason, he's just as infuriatingly hot as before. The light always catches him at only the most pristine of angles. His grin is still the mischievous tiger. His hair's grown out, so it stretches down his back. Now that him and I have started dating, he lets me play with it when we cuddle.

Oh, hey, we started dating, by the way.

When he'd told me I'd have a big date on that first day, he meant it. On that day alone, we did pretty much every big date idea you can think of for a fantasy world, from watching a play to having a fancy dinner. Since then, we've only been doing more stuff. Jason took me out on a canoe to watch the sunset once. He even taught me how to do wood carvings. But let me tell you my favorite story.

It started the other day. . .

The problem with dating a workaholic is that they're always working.

Well, he does make time for me, don't get me wrong. We eat our lunches together (not breakfast, since Jason loves to wake up at unholy hours). He takes me on dates and escorts me to noble events. We cuddle sometimes, too. Every other second of his life was pretty much just work.

It was particularly bad on this day, though. On top of an influx of furniture orders, Jason also had to deal with some crisis with the farmers. Apparently, some guys were trying to start a coup against Jason. They failed, but the whole thing made Jason research how to update the old laws so the farmers wouldn't think he doesn't care. It's a whole thing.

Wanting to support him, I decided to bring him some chocolates. Walking down the halls, I caught glimpses of the rain falling outside. I walked into his office and waited. He was engrossed in something, so I didn't want to interrupt him. I figured I'd let him finish before I let him know I was there. After a few minutes of listening to the rain patter down on the estate, he eventually flipped to the next document.

"Jeez, Jason," I said. I flipped my hair, putting stress on the blue ribbon that held it in its polytail. "That's a lot of stuff you've got, there."

He gave a tired smile. "Lydia. What brings you here?"

"Food." I showed him the chocolates. 

Opening his mouth, he let me place one inside. He locked eyes with me as he chewed. If I'm honest, being the center of his attention was like being a goddess among mortals. It made the butterflies in my stomach go haywire. That's how great it felt. Even so, I still saw the way his fingers twitched, itching to get back to it.

"That was delicious," Jason said, "but I need to get back to this."

I sighed. "Look, I understand that your work is important, but can't you take a break?"

"I could," Jason said. "I could also wait for my people to become dissatisfied enough to start another rebellion."

"It wouldn't kill to take a break, Jason."

"Later," Jason said, ever patient with me.

He'd been saying that a lot, lately, and I was getting tired of it. Focusing on the rain, I tried not to let myself get too frustrated. Yes, it sucked that Jason was working himself to the bone over this, but this stuff was important to him (and his people too, I guess). It wouldn't hurt to take a break, but I could see where he was coming from. See? This is why I don't think things through.

Maybe thinking was the problem.

"Jason, why don't you just take a little break," I suggested, moving to stand next to him. "Just take five minutes to rest."

"I do not have ti---!" I cut off the rest of his words with a kiss. He tasted like the creamy chocolate I had just fed him, which made me kind of want a piece for myself. Reaching around, I grabbed his bottle of ink, holding it as far away from him as I could. I then, begrudgingly, pulled back from our kiss. Jason was looking at me with that dazed look in his eyes until he saw the bottle in my hand.

"Lydia," he chided, "give it back."

"You want this?" I held it up higher. "You'll have to catch me, first!" I ran from the room.

Speeding down the halls, I realized very quickly that Jason was much faster than me. In fact, the only reason I made it to my destination was probably because he was too shocked to start the chase immediately. Even though I had a head start, I could hear him getting closer to me with every step he took.

I burst out of the estate, the rain meeting me like an old friend. The clouds were in that state where they were covering the light, but not so much that it actually felt dark. The rain patted me on the back as I met it. Running down the stone steps, I waited for Jason to catch up.

"Lydia!" he called, not even the slightest bit out of breath. "Get inside! You're going to catch a cold! What were you thinking?!"

"Thinking is overrated!" I scoffed. "Stop thinking for once and come get me, if you're so worried!"

Rushing down, Jason lunged towards me. At the last second, I swerved away, laughing. He tried again, aiming specifically for the ink bottle. I'd played this game enough to twist my arm to avoid him again. We did this for about a minute, his face gradually losing some of that stress, at least for the moment. Eventually, he did get the bottle, to no one's surprise.

"Alright, Lydia," Jason said. "Let's get inside. It's raining, for Spirits' sake!" He reached out to me.

Instead of pulling away, I yoinked his hand and pulled him to me. He stumbled, surprise in his baby blues. In his shock, I found the time to pull his hand up to twirl me. I then pulled back, still not releasing his hand, and stepped on a puddle. When Jason tried to take control, I moved with him, grabbing his other hand.

"Lydia, what---?"

I leaned in close to whisper near his ear, "just roll with it."

We fell into a rhythm of twirling and spinning. The rain continued to pour down on us, soaking both of our outfits. I didn't care. I was too focused on how awesome it felt to dance like this; To let go. Impulsively, I pulled the polyester ribbon holding my hair in place, lacing it around Jason's hand. Taking my cue, he grabbed it. Releasing one hand to spin, I pulled back as far as I could. It was a perfect moment: me and Jason shining in the rain, tied together by the ribbon we were both holding. We looked into each other's eyes for a while, the pitter patter of the rain the only sound.

"Marry me," Jason blurted.

My eyes widened, the butterflies taking a road trip inside my stomach. "What?"

"I mean it," Jason said. "No one else could pull me away from my work as effortlessly as you do. No one else is constantly living at the edge of my thoughts, Lydia. In my mind, and my heart, there is no one but you. Please, will you do me the honor of allowing me to spend my life with you?"

After all the romance of these past months, was there even a question? "Yes!" I jumped into his arms, absolutely brimming with joy.

And there you have it, my Diary. That's basically where I'm at right now. Just engaged. You know how it is.

I should probably sign off soon. Jason's working late again tonight, and I've got some chocolates with his name on it. Still, I appreciate you listening. I hope you found my story interesting, if nothing else. I hope it made you laugh, at least a little bit. I'd say bye, but a friend of mine once reminded me that it doesn't have to be goodbye, so. . .

See you later!
--Lydia