Not to mention he was somewhat concerned about Kuryzan. He had done his best not to really think about the young elf but there was still that lingering feeling of worry. One he could not quite completely shake.

But Tira had talked him into going ahead and sleeping here tonight, pointing out to him that they would not get very far anyway. So he had begrudgingly stayed. Tira was probably even more worried about that guy anyway, the two were fairly close despite having such completely different hobbies.

He pushed thoughts of the young elven man out of his head and instead found himself looking at Vixen. His girl was sitting by him, looking almost half-asleep, but trying her best to pay attention to their surroundings and continue to be social.

He was really still here only because of her sticking around. But if she looked tired he could probably get her to go turn in, which would allow him to leave and get some peace and quiet himself.

Touching her shoulder seemed to startle his adorable Vixen. And she looked up at him in surprise from where she had been drooping into his side.

"You need to go to bed. You're practically falling asleep." He kept his voice fairly soft and gentle, trying to coax her.

For a moment her eyes sharpened, and she smiled at him. The look on her face implied that she was thinking something mischievous. But she thought better of it, before opening her mouth, "Alright. I am pretty exhausted. Wanna walk with me?"

He agreed readily. Both because he loved just being by her and because he wanted to go to bed himself.

They were silent till they got to the bedroom she was staying in. Then she turned and looked at him. At her silent gaze, Lowks got a bit confused but just waited for her to speak. Finally she sighed, "Don't I get a goodnight kiss?"

Her tone of voice was a bit teasing, but also had a note of seriousness to it. A soft smile came to Lowks face as he stepped close to her and leaned down to gently kiss her. It was only a soft peck and then he pulled away.

"'Night, my dear. Sleep well, tomorrow will be a long day of travel again…"

"Okay." She grinned mischievously at him, "Dream about me, okay?"

Before he could even retort to that statement, she had closed her door. He stared at her door, a blush spreading through his face. He did not want to dream about her. It was uncomfortable. Even if his dreams themselves were fairly innocent, it was still embarra.s.sing whenever he did have a dream about marrying Vixen.

Still, it was something he did want. Marrying the girl that he had always loved was something he very much desired to be reality. Perhaps that is why he always disliked having that dream. Waking up and not having it as reality made him always feel disappointed.

Thankfully, he had no such dreams tonight. He didn't really dream at all. Once he woke up he went to collect his sister and Vixen and pretty much dragged them out of the castle.

Not that either one exactly fought him, except they wanted to say goodbye. He let them, even though he was impatient as they did so.

Finally, though they could start heading home. Lowks felt both excited and a bit nervous. He had no idea how his parents would react when he announced his decision. Last time he had brought it up, they had talked him out of it. This time though it was more important as he was planning on getting married. He was pretty sure Vixen would agree to marry him anyway. He didn't even care all that much anymore whether she really loved him or not. He loved her and she was at least not completely blind to the fact that he was a man.