Nearly two weeks had passed since the battle with the demons. After defeating Zen and his minions, they learned a lot about the female demon. Her name was Seraphina Nerissa. She declined Azazel's advances and was sent with the army as punishment for refusing him. She decided to betray the demons and die fighting. When Sora's party agreed to invite her, she gladly accepted. Sora read her the conditions, and she couldn't believe they treated her so kindly.
Leila and Sera got along really well, and the party cleared a few dungeons. Sora loved clearing dungeons. It helped him ease his mind and distracted him from the work that came with being King.
Brie helped Celeste create the outskirts of a new city surrounding Sora's castle. After a vote by the party, Sorbella became the new city name.
"It has such a nice ring to it and it includes Sora's name. I love it!" Brie shouted enthusiastically.
"It's quite amazing what you can do, Celeste. A city in one week? It's already lively and home to 5,000 humans, vampires and Uthra. It was generous of Sora and Brie to set aside so much money to help those in need," Levi said.
"It was no problem. I'm just glad all of you agreed to help. It's not like Brie and I are the only ones clearing dungeons," Sora said cheerfully.
"We have plenty and it's not like we need any more money. Last I checked, we have over 5000 Ultravites in our safe upstairs," Jubelle said gleefully.
"Hey system, what level am I and what are my current goals?"
[You are currently level 97. Your current goals: Unlock the secret of your Eyes. Reward: Unknown. Propose to your Queen. Reward: Unknown]
'Same goals but 20 levels in two weeks is pretty impressive. Now that Brie's SS ranked and we have such a large party, these dungeon clears become less and less challenging. That reward at level 95 certainly helped.
When Sora reached level 95, he unlocked a skill that allowed him to gain the experience his party gained in addition to the experience he gained.
Brie nudged Sora. "Hey, you, ok? You look lost in your head again. You were getting so much better with that but recently it seems like you're always lost in your head. You know you can talk to me, right?"
Sora signed. He knew she was right, but the goal of "Propose to your Queen," kept making him wonder whether or not he should do it or not.
"You're right. I owe you a date night. I really hope the party doesn't mind that I'm taking you on a date for my birthday," Sora said somberly.
"I've never heard someone so sad to be going on a date… we really don't have too! We can do something as a group– I told you, I really don't mind what we do. It's your birthday," Brie said empathetically.
Sora kept thinking back to the conversation he had with his party a week ago. He hated keeping secrets from Brie, but it was the only way to make sure he didn't have any unexpected chaos happen on his birthday. He just wanted a normal, regular day.
"It's not that! I just feel bad I'm leaving everyone else out, is all. I told them we'd celebrate when we get back. Of course I'd love to go on a date with you tonight, silly," Sora said while hugging Brie.
"Hey lovebirds, the party wants to talk to you about something," Sera said.
Sora and Brie laughed. "You too? When will this end?!" Sora asked with a laugh.
"Never. We promise." Sasha giggled.
*******
When Sora stepped into his kitchen, everyone yelled, "Surprise! Happy Birthday!"
A giant vanilla cake, three layers tall, stood with 21 candles sparkling brightly.
"Make a wish!" Levi shouted.
Sora thought for a moment before he made his wish. 'I wish I could tell Brie the truth about who I really am.'
He blew out the candles, and everyone cheered. Sora smiled as Sasha, Leila and Sera attacked him with pieces of cake.
The rest of the party laughed hysterically at the sight. Sora, the "world's sexiest man," was now a caked-up mess.
"Thanks everyone. Seriously, this is the best birthday present ever," Sora said joyfully.
They enjoyed cake before Celeste and Sasha finally hurried Brie away.
"Go get ready. Everything's just as you asked. We're all going to clear a dungeon. Don't worry about us," she said.
After finally wiping away the cake from his face, Sora realized Brie and some of his party were missing.
"Wait, where'd Brie and the others go?"
"Go get cleaned up and meet her out back in 30 minutes," Levi said with a huge smile. "It's in your right jacket pocket stud. Don't worry. No one knows."
Sora smiled and ran a nice hot shower. He took an unusually long shower, letting the bathroom steam up. After he got out, he dried himself and sprayed a new cologne on his chest and on his neck. He got dressed in a new suit. He usually dressed in black for formal occasions, but for his birthday, he decided to go with an all white suit and a blue dress shirt. He wore black dress shoes and a black tie. He felt inside his chest pocket and could feel a small box.
'I can't believe I'm really going to do this.'
******
Brie was already waiting for him, looking out at their garden with a large smile on her face. The wind blew just slightly, allowing her hair and white dress to blow gently with the breeze. Sora noticed there was a small orchestra playing music, a professional chef and the entire garden area was decorated beautifully.
"Oh, heya handsome! You look great! White? That's new! It looks great on you!" Brie said as she stood up to give Sora a hug.
He smiled. "You look so amazing. You did all of this yourself? It looks incredible! You really didn't have too. I told you just a regular day would have been fine!"
She stopped him with a kiss. Her warm, gentle lips always cheered him up, even when he was lost in thought. He promised himself he wouldn't get lost in thought tonight and just enjoy the moment.
After Brie broke away, she asked Sora, "So what do you want for dinner?"
"How about pasta? It reminds me of our first date! I'll take chicken alfredo this time," he said with a smile.
"You mean our second date! Our first one, 'totally wasn't a date,' remember?" Brie said with a smile.
"That's right! I didn't forget about it, I just mean our first formal date," Sora said while blushing.
"Ha! It's been awhile but I finally got you," Brie laughed as Sora looked nervous.
Sora knelt down to one knee… "Sorry, thought there was something on my shoe."
"You're such a jerk!" she said while laughing.
After the chef finished the food, they ate, laughed, and talked about all the things that changed over the last year.
"Remember when my parents found out I was moving in with a 'boy,' and you literally thought I thought of you as a 'boy,'" Brie joked.
"Yeah, I swear, not having much of a social life really did make me pretty gullible," Sora laughed.
"I'm surprised how much my parents have changed over the last year. They were so mad when I left. Now, they text and call me all the time. They were so happy to meet you. By the way, when did you stop over there? My parents told me you came by with a gift and it was super sweet," Brie asked.
"Oh, last week. I was in Primrose trying to figure out something to do for my birthday so I figured I'd stop by and say hello. They told me to drop by anytime," Sora said cheerfully.
"Well, thank you. That was very kind of you to do. I should stop by more often, but it seems like we're always so busy with this King and Queen stuff!" Brie complained.
Sora nodded in agreement as he finished his food. "I miss the days we could just go and clear a dungeon whenever we wanted or hide away in the mansion."
"That feels like so long ago…" Brie said, as she handed the plates to the chef. "Thank you for everything, you're free to go now. We'll make sure to recommend you to all our friends!"
"Thank you so much. You two are so beautiful. It's an honor to cook for the King and Queen. I just hope you enjoyed it," the chef said nervously.
"It was amazing, thank you so much," Sora said as he stood up.
He went and pulled Brie's chair out for her. "Walk with me?"
The night's cool air caused Brie to shiver, so Sora quickly grabbed the small box from his chest pocket and shoved it into his right pants pocket. He covered Brie with his suit jacket.
"Thanks, it did get a bit chilly!" Brie said cheerfully.
They held hands and walked in the opposite direction of Brie's decorated garden.
"Where are we going?" Brie asked quietly.
"You'll see," Sora said with a smile.
As they walked around the corner of the mansion, Brie saw a beautifully decorated walkway of flowers, illuminated with magic, leading up to a circle area covered with rose petals.
"Shhh. Be quiet you idiots, they're going to hear you," Sasha whispered as the party struggled to remain quiet. They all wanted a good view.
"I hope they aren't paying attention to the seal… otherwise we're busted," Jubelle whispered.
"If you would all shut up, I'm sure we'll remain perfectly stealthy," Sasha said while putting her finger over her mouth.
The group stayed silent, and watched from the shadows.
Sora walked Brie to the center of the circle, turned to her and gave her a kiss.
He got on one knee, pulled out the small box from his right pants pocket, and presented the most beautiful ring Brie, or even Sora, had ever seen. The ring was silver and beautiful, yet simple. In the center, two hands held a tourmaline gemstone, which glimmered in the night sky.
With a silver tear falling from his face, Sora said. "Brianna Reinhardt, I love you with every ounce of my soul. Will you please marry me?"