That night when I return to Leo and I's room, I find Leo asleep on his side in our bed with tan sheets and creme pillows. I smile softly as I make my way over to him and I sit down on the edge of the bed beside him. Upon sensing the bed move, Leo's eyes slowly open and he blinks up at me before he breaks out into a smile.

"Hey, Princess," Leo grins.

"Hey," I smile back.

"How'd it go with Reina?" Leo asks.

"It went well," I say. "I asked Reina to train me. I was hoping you could also help me with practicing hand to hand combat."

"I'm always in the mood for a good fight, but I think I'd prefer to fight you in these sheets for the moment," Leo hums and pulls me against him before he rolls us around.

"Leo!" I exclaim and he laughs as he pins me down, his mischievous blue eyes sparkling with life. "I didn't mean right now."

"Oh, I know," Leo grins and leans down, his nose brushing against mine. "I just really wanted to kiss you."

I chuckle before I lean up to close the gap between us and Leo smiles against my lips. Leo pulls out of our kiss and rolls us around once more so that I'm resting on top of him and I move to rest my head on his chest as his arms wrap around my waist.

"You know...back when Tatiana made me promise to control my magic better...I'm sure you were reminded of when I lost control after we split ways," Leo begins, his tone hushed. "The truth is, I didn't tell you what really happened because I didn't know how you felt about me."

"What do you mean?" I ask, moving to prop myself up on my elbows so that I can look at him, a small frown gracing across my lips.

"Well..." Leo continues, a blush forming across the bridge of his nose, "the reason Tatiana told me about her true motives about you was because I proved my heart was set on protecting you. She knew that it was safe to trust me with that information then."

"What happened?" I ask, searching his gaze.

"Upon my return from Sylver to Helena, I demanded to know Tatiana's motives," Leo explains. "When she refused to tell me, I told her that I would never hurt you ever again. Truth be told, ever since I left you there in Sylver, I hadn't been able to stop thinking about you, and my heart didn't feel right knowing that I had hurt you. Tatiana ordered me to kill you and I refused. I lost control of my magic at the thought of anyone harming you. Upon seeing this, Tatiana realized I was being genuine. Her order was a test for me, to see if I would actually refuse. She wouldn't have actually let me go through with it if I complied. When she saw I truly cared for you, she knew she could trust me when it came to you."

"You..." I breathe out, images of Leo's flames burning brightly in my defense flashing through my mind at his words, the very thought of Leo turning his back on his commander for me tugging at my heart. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"You asked me, right before we ran into Anais," Leo says, "you asked me what happened to me, why I had changed, and I admitted I had overused my magic. And, back at the ball, you asked me why Tatiana trusted me. I felt like I owed you an explanation, especially because you're the reason why, Rosaline. You're the reason for everything."

"Leo..." Tears well up in my eyes and Leo sits up, panicked.

Leo brushes away my tears and I laugh as I sit in his lap.

"Did I say something wrong? What's the matter, Rosie?" Leo asks, concern lacing his voice.

I shake my head with another laugh and look up into his eyes before I lean forwards and kiss him strongly. Leo's breath hitches in surprise before he quickly kisses me back and moves his hand from cupping the side of my face to resting behind my head as I lean into him.

"Thank you," I say softly, leaning back to rest my forehead against his.

"For what?" Leo breathes out.

"For everything," I smile and move to hug him tightly.

"I should be thanking you," Leo says, his arms winding tightly around my waist as he buries his face in my shoulder. "You mean so much to me, Rosaline. Never forget that."

"I promise I won't. You mean a lot to me too, Leo," I say, holding him tighter.

Leo hums affectionately in response and we spend the rest of the night in each other's arms.

***

The next morning, I check Leo and I out of our room while Leo entertains some of the children who are staying at the inn with their families. I throw a glance over my shoulder at Leo to see him twirling around a little girl and laughing, his smile reaching his eyes as the little girl beams back at him and other little kids chase each other around his legs, their families watching from the dining area.

"Your husband has quite a way with kids," the receptionist muses as she leans around me to watch Leo.

"My what—" I stammer, quickly looking between the receptionist and Leo. "Oh, uh..."

"You're very lucky. I hope you have a wonderful life together," the brunette woman smiles as she finishes checking us out of our room.

"Thank you..." I trail off, not having the heart to correct her.

As I turn around and prepare to tell Leo that we're ready to go, I see him talking to the little girl's family in the dining area as she runs and jumps into her mother's arms. The mother smiles at Leo before her eyes meet mine from over his shoulder and she motions behind her. Leo glances back at me and beams before he turns around, says his goodbyes to the family, and makes his way over to me.

"Sorry about that," Leo chuckles and rubs the back of his neck.

"It's alright," I say, still flustered from the idea of Leo being my husband. "Ready?"

"Mhm," Leo hums and shoves his hands in his pockets.

As the two of us walk out to meet with Reina and Selia, I can't help but sneak a few glances at Leo and think about a life with him after everything is over. Of course I always envisioned that we'd stay together now that we're dating, but for us to be married and settled down with a house and maybe even kids...it's something I hadn't had time to consider. But...thinking about it, it's something that I'd really love. Is this...am I falling in love with Leo?

"Rosie?" Leo calls out for me, snapping me out of my thoughts to see Selia and Reina standing in front of us, Reina with her arms crossed and Selia with a brow raised in amusement and a hand on her hip.

"Huh?" I blink. "Oh, sorry. I was a bit lost in thought."

"We noticed," Selia muses. "We're all ready to go."

"Alright," I nod. "Let's go then."