"Well, what news?" Dallen demanded after he stood up.

"You're free to go, the council ruled you innocent."

At those words almost all of Dallen's pent up emotions of not knowing the future went away.

He wasn't expecting to be let free, but now that he wasn't going to prison, it didn't take him long to come up with his next plan of action.

"Good." He replied.

Jent nodded his head.

"Now, if you could tell me where Tylorie is?" He demanded a little more softly than he had earlier.

"Who?" Jent asked.

"The girl!" he had almost run out of patience.

"Oh!" Jent smiled, "So she finally told you her name."

Dallen didn't answer, but the expression on his face told Jent more than he needed.
"She's in the hospital ward, I'll take you there."

Dallen nodded his head, "Oh, and Jent, any idea where a man could get a ring around here?"

When they arrived Dallen found Tylorie asleep. Jent found Dallen a chair and excused himself, leaving dallen to try to talk himself out of what he was about to do.

She woke up and at once knew that she wasn't alone, sitting up she turned to find Dallen, he looked so deep in troubled thought she almost didn't want to disturb him. But this was her room, if he was here it was to see her, so she didn't feel too bad when he looked up.
What she saw in his eyes was uncertainty, a look he didn't have that often.

"What's up?" she asked him, the look in her eyes was more of annoyance than anything else, or maybe he was just making things up and that was how she normally looked.

"Nothing, I mean, I'm not going back to prison so that's a plus." he said with a sarcastic smile.

She nodded, happy to hear the news, but that couldn't be the reason for his look of uncertainty.

He guessed it was now or never, he got down on one knee in front of her bed and retrieved the ring Jent had somehow magically acquired, from his pocket.

Tylorie's eyes went wide at his actions, never in all her time of knowing Dallen did she ever expect this.

"Tylorie, would you marry me?"

The question hung in the air, Tylorie was so overjoyed she couldn't get the words to come out of her mouth.

Her silence worried him, did she not want to marry him? Had he made a mistake? "Do you not want to marry me?"

She almost laughed at his sillyness, words finally making it to her mouth. "You are by far the most stupid man that has ever loved me."

"Shh, no one is supposed to know." he warned, they had been over this in the cell, if anyone found out..

"That you're stupid? They already know, believe me." She candidly teased.

He went from uncertain to the predator if she was going to turn this into a joke, "I wasn't talking about that." He had gotten up from his kneeling position and started stalking closer to her.

"Oh, you weren't?" she watched him get closer, by now he was next to her, staring deeply into her eyes a mischievous tilt to his mouth.

He shook his head.
"Then what is it that no one is supposed to know?" She poked, mischievous herself.

He hesitated, but Tylorie looked at him emploringly, "Fine, That I love you, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Tylorie grinned at his words, leaned forward and kissed him.
"Yes, and I love you too."

"So you'll marry me?" he asked again.

"Of course I'll marry you!" At her words he slipped the ring onto her finger careful of her broken arm, and for some reason it fit perfectly.