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The
last time Cristianno had tried to make something for someone, a titanium wolf’s
head ring went flying into the ocean. The idea of making another piece of
jewelry for anyone was not something had considered since, but the more he
stared at Alaia and the way she glided about in the tent, with a smile on her
face and a song in her heart, the more he felt the urge to re-create the ring
and make it better. Out of all the women he had been with, she was the only one
who truly deserved it.
The
idea of gifting the ring to Alaia excited him and made him nervous at the same
time. It wasn’t what he wanted to use to propose. That would come later.
However, he did want her to always have a piece of him. She had gifted him the
tiny vial hanging around his neck containing seawater, sand, and shells, so
that he may always have the sea with him. He had the urge to return the favor
and so he worked every free second he had on that ring, meticulously carving
out each line in the molding and making sure that every marking was meaningful
and important.
He started working on it since he
left his ship. Ziggly got him the metal, a dark metallic stone that he hadn’t
worked on before. Once in a while, Cris would escape to a local town and work
on the makings of the new wolf’s head ring he had in mind. It would be a wolf,
but this time, he had acquired a few sapphires that he was thinking of adding
on as eyes. It had been a while since he had worked on any jewelry piece and he
was nervous, but as time passed, his confidence returned and his eagerness to
work on the piece pushed him to keep working.
Eventually,
the ring was completed and after he had carved out the sapphires, he placed
them into the eye sockets. A smile spread across his face as the stones
sparkled back at him. He hoped that when she would see those sapphires, she
would see his eyes looking back at her. He prayed that anyone who would see
that ring would run because he would kill anyone who dared take her from him.
He longed to see her face when he presented her with her gift.
On
Winter Veil’s eve, he watched Alaia cook and prepare a dinner for just them
two. He helped her with the cookies and chocolates and played his flute while
she cooked the main entrees and side dishes. They ate, they laughed, and they
flirted. He held her in his arms and he laid his head on her lap. They danced
to the holiday music she had placed on the musical device and they kissed under
sprigs of holiday plants. He drank spiced cider with swirls of caramel and
couldn’t say no when she fed him cookies and cakes.
Cristianno
sang her holiday songs in Common and she listened with her eyes closed and a
smile on her face. Laughter ran out as they tickled and hugged each other. They
made love under blankets of fur and soft light. Their skin glistened under
those lights as they lay in each others arms, watching the ornamental designs
all around the tent.
Then,
in a moment of shared silence, Cristianno reached under the furs and found a
small silk bag. Alaia sat up, holding the fur throw over her chest, her copper
hair falling over half of her face as she looked at him curiously. She stifled
a smile as she bit her lip. Cris sat up and held the silk bag in his hand,
gazing at it while he avoided eye contact for a moment.
“This
is just a little gift. It’s not much, but, well, I made it.” He lifted his eyes
to hers, his ears blushing brightly. “It has been a while since I’ve made
anything and well, I am not as talented as your friend who writes to you, but I
wanted you to have this.” His fingers carefully worked on the ribbon that held
the silk bag together and as it opened, the dark wolf ring was revealed, facing
her, the sapphire eyes sparkling in the tent’s shimmering lights.
Cris
smiled when both of her arms reached out to take the ring, causing the fur
throw slipping down her nude body. The look on her face warmed his heart and he
let out a breath of relief once knowing that she approved. “This isn’t the ring
I am using to ask you to be my wife. That will come, lovely, but consider this
a promise. I promise to be faithful and to be yours alone. I promise that no
one will come between us and that I will destroy anyone who tries to take you
away.” Cris reached for the ring and moved closer to her, taking her hand. “I
promise that you will have whatever you desire and I will protect this little
family that we have formed.” He looked at her and smiled sweetly.
“I
promise that I love you, Alaia.” He reached over to kiss her and they both
slipped back down onto the fur throws and pillows. He saw loved to see her
smile and the way her red hair framed around her face. She had given him a
memorable Winter Veil and that meant more to him than anything in the world. As
they slithered back under the throw, the small silk bag was pushed aside, with
the tag that read:
To my lovely Alaia. Happy Winter Veil.
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