Alaster stepped forward and offered his hand. Lunaria smiled and took it, allowing the armored monster before her to act like the gentleman her father had taught him to be and help her down the steps of the train.

"How have you been Lunaria?"

Lunaria grinned, "Oh I've been fine, except for the part where one of the two men I care about just vanished, somehow found himself in the middle of a Demon Invasion, and never bothered come see me," She held up a folded paper and lightly tapped Alaster on the nose with it.

"Instead, he sent some dumb little letter. And when I decided that the letter was nowhere near enough and showed up in Onigas, against my father's request mind you, instead of hugging me like his life depended on it or something, all he does is smile and help me down some steps like I was any other Noble Lady. So, you tell me. How well should I be doing when someone I care about is fighting a war they are significantly outnumbered in?"

Alaster was thrust back in his memories. One of the memories he had locked away.

His father had been hunting down a Clan of Ice Trolls to ensure they could not terrorize the village. His Squad had only expected to be gone for three days, but they hadn't returned for over a week.

Mother had been worried sick, but when Father had finally come back, he had said Hi. As if he had just been out for the afternoon getting groceries or something. His Mother had been very irritated, until his Father had wrapped her in a tight hug and kissed her.

Alaster decided to emulate this.

Lunaria made a surprised gasp when she felt Alaster's arm wrap around her back and pull her close. A sound that was cut short when his lips met hers.

Her body relaxed into his.

When the finally parted several moments later, they looked into each other's eyes.

"Better?" Alaster asked with a cheeky smirk.

"I guess so." Lunaria whispered, still somewhat dazed.

Alaster looked up and saw the entire Station had stopped and was looking at them. Luckily, the soldiers had already left, but there were still plenty of workers and haulers.

Evelyn unraveled herself from the wrestling match she had found herself engaging in with Tom and Mike. She skipped over with that very same cheeky smirk Alaster had.

'By the gods, its genetic.' Lunaria groaned.

"Sooooo, who is this?"

"This," Alaster began, stepping back slightly but keeping his arm on her back, "is Lunaria, my…"

Alaster froze, not quite sure what the term was. Lunaria stepped in for him, "I'm his betrothed."

"That's right! She is my betrothed! Wait…what?"

"That is if you'll have me." Lunaria looked up at the man she loved.

Alaster's mind raced, but no thought stayed long enough to allow him to formulate any actual words. After nearly a minute, he said the first words that came to mind, "What about Azemar?"

"My father? Are you serious? The man has been pulling his hair out trying to find me a husband for years, never finding someone he approved of. Are you really telling me that he would not be jumping in joy at the news that I am marrying the only person that has ever satisfied his strict requirements?"

"So, you have told him?" Alaster asked, wondering if he should be on the lookout for any empty suits of armor appearing in the middle of the night.

"Nope! In fact, I only decided to get married a few seconds after you kissed me. I'll send a letter back on the next train. He'll be ecstatic! That is if you'll have me?"

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Alaster smiled, "I can confidently say that there isn't anyone else I would rather spend my life with."

Leaning in, Alaster sealed his words with another kiss.

Evelyn hopped up and down, squealing in joy, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! This is the best day ever!" The ceiling of the station rumbled as the Demons began their barrage yet again, sending dust falling down.

Lunaria stepped forward, catching Evelyn's hands in her own, stopping her hopping, "So you are Evelyn? Alaster has told me so much about you! Perhaps you can tell me all about him? The embarrassing stuff that he would never tell me himself?"

Evelyn's face turned dead serious, "What sort of things do you wanna hear about first? The time he split his pants climbing a tree? Or maybe the time he fell face first into a pile of manure?"

Alaster groaned, "As much as I hate to do this, I must leave you two ladies. I really hate to do this because no one else will act as the filter to my sister. Unfortunately, I have to check on the Walls. Evelyn, why don't you introduce her to Lord Siphas down in the Hospital or Lord Keylan in the castle?"

"Great Idea! I'm sure they have their own stories about Al!"

That had not at all been his intention.

Alaster groaned as his sister dragged his betrothed away, her friends surrounding them.

He had only suggested either of the Lords because their locations were in two of the safest areas in the city, both from attack, and from Demon trebuchets.

'Betrothed huh?'

'Shut up Bel.'

'Oh come on! You know I love drama! Its kind of the only thing that I have going for me.'

'I only just got betrothed.'

'That's what makes it so great!'

Alaster shook his head and cast the spell, making him appear atop his tower once more. Immediately, he had to cast a large Fireball to destroy a boulder headed right for the tower.

Unfazed by the near miss, Belgroth continued, 'You know you'll have to get her a betrothal gift? That's still a thing among you Humans right?'

Alaster sighed, knowing the Demon in his head would not stop. As much as he hated it, Belgroth was right, he did not have much else to do except cling to any bit of drama in Alaster's life.

'Yes, that is still a thing.'

'Any ideas?'

'Human culture dictates it to be a wearable piece of jewelry, usually a ring. But each Kingdom has their own specific guidelines regarding this.'

'Like?'

'Well in Lissura, it is supposed to be jewelry that the couple finds together, whether its bought, found, or created. In the empire, the couple exchanges a gemstone that they then have fashioned into jewelry. In the deserts of Hason, it's supposed to jewelry the man buys for the woman, the more it cost, the more the man loves her.

I don't really know much about the other Nations though. I only know this much because of my Mother. She enjoyed these weird little bits of knowledge from other lands.'

'You cannot possibly tell me that you do not know about the customs of Onigas and Galmore.'

'I can in regards to Galmore,' Alaster deflected another boulder headed for the top of the wall, 'But you are right. I know the custom for Onigas.'

'Had plans, I see?' Belgroth teased.

'No. But Lady Siphas loved to tell the story about how Lord Siphas proposed. I must have heard it at least once a week, always with another detail she didn't mention before. I think I know more about that night than Lord Siphas does.'

'Ooohh, she went into details?'

'Ew, no. Isabella and I were just kids, and they were both nobility. Nothing happened like that until they were married. He just proposed to her at night.

Anyway, the Onigarian custom is that the men will create the piece of jewelry themselves as a show of their devotion to their loved one.'

'Since she is from Galmore, should you not figure out the custom for her city?'

'I have no idea!' Alaster growled, sending a massive fireball hurtling through the air and igniting one of the trebuchets in flame.

'Have the been in range this whole time?' Belgroth asked.

'No. I'm just annoyed. You keep asking all these questions, but until about five minutes ago, I hadn't thought about any of this in years. And as much as I want to marry Lunaria, something I hadn't even thought of until just that moment, I can't help but feel as if this is a really bad time for it. The entire Human Race is at war right now, and as a race, we are horribly losing! Not a great time to get married.'

'Well, someone has to repopulate the Human race right?' Belgroth snickered, struggling to finish his sentence before bursting out laughing.

Alaster's cheeks flushed red beneath his helmet.

'When can I evict you from my mind again?'

It took several minutes for the Argalon to catch his breath long enough to speak, during which time Alaster deflected or destroyed two more boulders.

The Coalition had adjusted their aim for the wall instead of the city.

'Soon. Soon…just not soon enough!' Belgroth burst out laughing again.

Alaster sighed again.

He was unable to intercept every boulder. Many were hitting the walls. The inner wall was being hit occasionally and one of the boulders had even slammed through one of the bridges connecting the two walls.

The damage was accumulating. While injuries were rare, the structural damage was becoming worrisome. The tops of several towers were inaccessible, and two of them had completely collapsed. Alaster suspected that the barrage would not last much longer.

And once it ended, the Demons would charge forward once more.

Except, now Alaster had yet another reason to ensure they never stepped foot past the walls.

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