"What's that?" Iria asked, quite surprised.
"It's my alarm. Forgive me, it's a bit scandalous." He pulled out a crystal from his robe. It was glowing and it had the image of the creature. "It's broken through the center of my castle."
"Then we need to go." Iria made to stand, but Marquelle held her arm.
"You can stay longer," he told her. "It's still early into the event."
"I'm coming with you." She was quite firm about it. She turned towards the balcony door and called. "Peter, we need to go!"
The balcony door opened promptly and Peter and the king emerged. Peter seemed more than ready to leave, but the boy king looked rather forlorn.
"Must you go so soon?" He asked Iria.
"I'm sorry, Evan. But it's an emergency at home."
"At the summer palace?"
"No, his home." She pointed to Marquelle.
This seemed to scandalize the boy. "A-are you saying you're living with him?!"
"No, no! But I'm going to help him take care of something. I started this so I'm going to see it through." She approached Evan and kissed him warmly on the cheek. "Congratulations, brother! You will make a fine king."
"But will you even come and see that happen?" At that moment, he sounded like a child and not like a king.
Marquelle could see Iria's eyes soften. But her mouth refused to give the assurance the boy was craving for.
"I'll make sure she does." It was Peter who gave it, along with a ruffle of the king's hair.
"You're not supposed to touch the king's head!" Evan admonished. But Peter's words had already done its job. Evan seemed to breathe lighter.
Peter stood between Iria and Marquelle, ready for the mage to transport them home. "Like I said," Peter replied in a familiar manner. "You're not my king."
Marquelle activated the teleporting spell and they found themselves back in the mage's castle.
The corrupted creature had grown larger than when they last saw it. It almost filled the entire corridor now. And its dragon tail was strong enough to break the furniture it came in contact with.
"I do not look forward to the clean up," Marquelle mumbled, looking at the destruction before him. "But now that I have a good look at you, you really do resemble the Red King."
The creature screamed its ear-splitting cry.
Marquelle activated a shield from the staff he held. "Do you think this is the Red King, Iria? I lost track of him after I defeated him."
Iria shook her head. "His soul was consumed during one of his magic experiments. That experiment failed, though, due to lack of resources. But I have a feeling this is that failed experiment."
Marquelle sighed. "So after all these years, I still have to clean up after them."
To which, the gatekeeper just shrugged. "Life." She unsheathed her dagger. "Stay back, Peter."
The creature lunged. Marquelle and Iria charged. But despite Marquelle's assurance this morning that the creature would be easy to defeat, the fight dragged on longer than Peter had thought it would.
"I think it sapped a lot of your castle's magic," Iria surmised. "It's not only bigger. It's tougher, too."
"That makes me quite annoyed," the mage remarked. "That means I need to have the castle's magic recharged on top of the physical repairs."
"Then we'd better end this quick before any more damage is done." She looked at him. "This will be a magic battle of endurance. Not a physical one."
Marquelle clicked his teeth in annoyance, but nodded. Pointing, his staff to the creature, he shouted, "Aquelliria!" A jet of water came out of the staff and hit it. It screamed.
"Aquelliria!" Iria shouted, pointing two fingers towards it. Another jet of water came out to hit the creature.
It was working. Slowly but surely, the creature started to melt and sizzle.
"Is that a water spell?" Peter asked.
"Yes," Iria answered. "A corrupted fire creature is weak against a purified water spell–"
Iria was suddenly thrown to the ground when the creature thrashed its tail violently.
"Iria! Ugh–" Marquelle was thrown as well.
The two got back up and tried to continue the spell. But the creature's speed had increased. And after several attempts, the creature lunged at them and pinned them on the ground: Marquelle with its human arms, and Iria with its tail.
"Iria!" Peter cried out.
"Get back!" Marquelle shouted, but Peter didn't listen and ran to Iria's side. "Ack!" The humanoid upper body of the creature pressed down on Marquelle, the Red King's resentment apparently still left behind in the unfinished experiment.
Peter couldn't help but look in horror as he heard what seemed like bones cracking. But Iria grabbed his hand.
"Three fingers…" She strained to tell him. Then she pointed at the creature.
Peter nodded. He understood what Iria wanted him to do. Iria wouldn't let go of his other hand. But with his free hand, he pointed three fingers are the creature's upper body. "Aquelliria!" He shouted, mimicking what the two had done earlier. Then with all the will he had in him, he shot the water spell towards the creature. He could feel Iria's power coursing through him, amplifying his.
With a cry, the creature turned its eyes on Peter. But before the creature could move, Marquelle turned around and stabbed his staff into the creature's chest. Then he chanted a spell that locked the creature's hand on the mage, and Marquelle to the floor. The creature was stuck in place.
Understanding the urgency, Peter cried out the spell one more time, louder, stronger, and with all the willpower he had. The creature continued to scream. And just as Peter was nearing his limit, the creature burst into a rain of maroon goop.
The three of them collectively heaved a sigh of relief. Peter sank to his knees while Aria and Marquelle remained lying on the floor. All of them were breathing heavily, each of them momentarily lost in their own thoughts.
"I'm sorry for not delaying to kill the creature," Iria said to Peter after a time. "It was going to kill Marquelle and I'm rather fond of him. But, if Marquelle agrees to continue teaching you—"
"Adopt me." Peter seemed just as surprised with what he blurted out as Iria was. But having already said what he said, Peter pushed on instead of backing down. "Y-you said that what I need right now are parents. Or did you just say that without meaning it?"
"No, I meant it. It's just…"
Peter's shoulders sagged at her hesitation. "Ah, right. You're a princess. And if marrying someone with a child already looks bad, suddenly having one without even a husband would look even worse."
"I don't care about that! If I cared about what others thought then I wouldn't have remained unmarried in the first place. I want to take you in. But are you sure I'm okay? I mean, I'm a gatekeeper. I'm away for long periods of time sometimes."
"I can help you fight! A-and I can even keep your brother company if you need to be away for a while."
"And I'm unmarried. Wouldn't you want a family with both parents present?"
"I don't want just any family! I'll only let myself be adopted by you." He looked down and added in a quieter voice, "Only you can quiet the nightmares."
Those words elicited a warm smile from the gatekeeper. "Oh, Peter. Then okay, I'll adopt you."
Peter lit up at her words. He flung himself around Iria's waist and hugged her tight. And Iria hugged back just as tightly.
"Well, I'm sure we can arrange for a complete family still," Marquelle suddenly added.
When they looked up, they saw Marquelle standing over them. He looked battered and limping more than normal.
"Marquelle, a-are you okay?" Iria asked.
"I think I have one or two cracked ribs but I'll live." He sat himself beside the two. Iria quickly put a hand on his back and one over his front to support him. "I won't clip your wings, Iria," Marquelle said as he held the hand in front of him. "I won't stop you from continuing to be a gatekeeper."
"What… do you…"
"I'm asking you to marry me."
Iria turned red at his words, but the corners of her lips kept trying to go up. "Oh, uh."
"Do you dislike the prospect?"
"N-not at all! I've quite enjoyed our evenings out in the courtyard together."
"Then, does that mean you… like… the idea?"
She turned even redder. "I, uh… I actually do." She chuckled.
"So, will you marry me?"
The gatekeeper looked absolutely blissful. She held Peter's hand in one hand, and Marquelle's in the other. "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you, Marquelle."
Marquelle broke into a smile. "Can I kiss you, then?"
"Gross!" Peter exclaimed. "Why must you grownups do these things?"
Marquelle glared at him, but Iria just laughed.
"I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable, Peter," she said in good humor. She pulled Peter back into an embrace around her waist. But she also pulled the mage's face forward, and into a kiss.
The mage laughed. "You're pretty forward for a princess from Kirlazen."
"Are you complaining, Master Marquelle?" Iria was blushing despite her coy words.
"Not at all." He leaned forward for another kiss. "Not at all."
"I'm still here!" Peter piped, but Iria held him fast against her.
*****
Several things happened in the next three months after the creature in the mage's castle was defeated. Peter, as expected, had to go before the Libra Council for unauthorized use of dimensional magic. But since he was underaged, untrained, and willing to accept guidance, his penalty was only community service. He was tasked to help with magic rehabilitation of one of the F-grade worlds so they could eventually stabilize into normal B-grade worlds. Iria volunteered to watch over him for his community service. The council granted him permission to transfer to Iria's world, but only after his apprenticeship under an established mage. As he had already started training under Marquelle, the council allowed him to continue training with him. Marquelle was a strict teacher. He even had Peter extend his six-month community service to two years because he believed magic rehabilitation work would help in the boy's training. But the council decided to postpone that decision to when the six months were up. Despite protests, though, the determined and excited glint in Peter's eyes indicated that he might actually agree with his teacher.
Shortly after the coronation, Marquelle paid King Evan and his aunts a visit to formally ask for Iria's hand in marriage. Evan was a little hesitant, but the aunts all gave their blessings. Evan eventually gave his approval a few days after. But some have said that a visit from a young mage-in-training one night was what convinced him to agree.
"Why am I pledging my obedience to you?" Peter asked Marquelle as the two stood before each other in front of thousands of guests that had come for Princess Iria's wedding. "I wanted Iria to adopt me."
Marquelle had gotten used to the boy's way of speaking. Besides, nothing was going to sour his mood today. "Is that any way to speak to your teacher and would-be father? It's your world's rules that it has to be the woman's husband that has to adopt you."
"But you're not married yet."
"Well, in my world's rules, a betrothed is as good as a spouse. And in her world's rules, there is no such thing as a legal adoption. So if you want to be recognized legally as her son, you need to come in as my son before we get married."
"That'll make you a single father. Evan wouldn't like that."
"That is really not my problem. Now, if you still wish to become Iria's son, kneel and make your pledge already."
"Stupid rules," Peter grumbled. But he got on his knees anyway.
"We live in three different worlds. Such concessions are necessary."
With one last glare at Marquelle, Peter began. "I, Peter of the town of Pal, hereby declare that Marquelle of the Diamond Plains is my father from this day forth. I pledge my obedience, submission, and love to him, as a child to his parent." While there was a grating to the way he said submission, his tone for love was actually quite gentle.
Marquelle smirked. "Do you mean it?"
He glared at the mage again. But he looked away, his ears red, and grumbled his honest answer. "I do."
In response, Marquelle kissed him on the head. "And from this day forth, you are my son. I will teach you everything I know. I will protect you, guide you, and love you as a parent does his child."
Peter couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. Just then, the wedding march started playing. They looked down the aisle and found Iria, dressed in a white gown that trailed behind her. The young king, dressed just as splendidly, escorted her with red eyes. Tears had no doubt been shed prior to this procession. Flowers and gems floated around them as they made their way to the front. "Congratulations on your wedding day, father," Peter whispered.
"And on your adoption day, my son."
They grinned at each other, then Peter stepped down to take his seat on the front row. King Evan turned Iria's hand over to Marquelle and went to sit beside Peter, who squeezed his shoulders. The boy was still sniffling.
"There, there," Peter told him kindly while continuing to squeeze his shoulders. Peter had gotten quite fond of the little king.
Evan wiped his tears on the back of his hand in a very unking-like manner. "You're too casual with the king."
"Like I said, I'm not from your world, and therefore, you're not my king. And after today, we'll be family. We'll be like brothers! No, wait. After your sister marries my father, you'll be my uncle, technically." Peter wasn't too fond of the thought. "Should I be calling you uncle?"
"No!" Evan wasn't in the mood for jokes.
"Alright! Alright! I'll call you the usual way."
Evan eyed him doubtfully. "'Your highness?'"
"'Evan.'"
After a brief look of surprise, the king looked forward, satisfied. He wiped his eyes after another onset of tears. "I just wished Iria and I could have become closer as siblings."
"Don't worry." Peter ruffled his head fondly. "I'll try to do something about that."
The trumpets resounded, signaling the start of the ceremony. Marquelle took both of Iria's hands in his and looked into her eyes.
"Are you ready, Iria?" Marquelle asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be." The princess blushed in response, but her eyes never left the wizard's. "Shall we? Our son might get restless."
"The food's going to get cold," Peter shouted, much to the disapproval of the king.
Marquelle couldn't help but laugh as he turned to the altar with Iria. No one would have expected that a trespasser and his pursuer would end up being his family. Life could truly be unexpected sometimes.