She'd never thought much of marriage; not that she was averse to it; quite the opposite, in fact. Marriage was a beautiful concept - it was simply one more dream that she had given up on, long ago. She'd resigned herself to this lonely life. She was meant to work, and live, alone until she died and that was that. But now that the proposition of that long forgotten dream now loomed before her in the form of her dearest friend, she was suddenly forced to re-assess her opinions on the matter.

He knelt before her; his expression cautious, as if he were attempting to read her thoughts before he continued. She wasn't certain of what emotion her face beheld. For once, the tell-tale tears were not flowing down her cheeks. She had no desire to cry; in truth, panic was the only emotion that she could feel. Did she want this? She loved him; she'd always known that, but did she love him? She could easily say yes, and be completely happy - but would he be happy? He deserved so much more than just a yes. He needed a companion who would love him, completely, with all their heart, not just the part that cared as a friend.

She closed her eyes, willing herself to be anywhere else, because right here, in this time and place, she would have to break Phillips' heart; her dearest friend; the one who had cared for her and loved her, when no one else did or would.

A pair of sky blue eyes suddenly appeared before her closed eye lids, and her heart jumped in her chest. Not knowing what to do with her reaction to that vision, or with the man kneeling before her, she finally did the only thing she was truly good at: she wept. The tears flooded down her cheeks and onto her lovely dress, which she was sure she was ruining, and that thought made her tears flow even harder. Here he had given her the nicest dress she had ever seen, much less worn, and now she was ruining it, as well as this moment for him. She was always ruining everything.

She looked at her dearest friend in her world though tear-filled eyes and saw the confusion on his face. His next expression would be heartbreak, but she could no longer sit and wait for the question to be asked aloud. She had to stop him; before he could ask the fateful question.

The small part of her mind that was still rational and rooted in the real world, not the one full of talk of fairytales and mythical flying creatures, was screaming at her. You are ruining your one chance of happiness. He would take care of you. You'll end up alone!

She shoved those thoughts, and the anxiety that accompanied them down. Yes, she would probably be alone. She'd always known it, though, hadn't she? Now she was only sealing that fate, but if it meant happiness one day for Phillip, then it was worth it. He deserved to be loved.

"Phillip," her voice warbled through the choking tears and the hearbreak she had feared was beginning to make itself evident in his handsome features, "I...care...for you...so much... but...but..."

Thankfully, blessedly, he stopped her before she could continue; a calm understanding replaced the heartbreak in his eys, and it confused her.

"Celia, honey, I'm so sorry." He dropped her hands and ran his hand through his hair, examining the kneeling position he held before her and laughed. "I'm an idiot. Please forgive me, Celia." he smiled at her, a true, warm, earnest smile, and it confused her even further. This was not the reaction she had expected. Nothing from Phillip was as expected, lately.

He took her hands once more, an apologetic expression on his face and continued, "I wasn't asking for your hand, although, I see it must seem that way." He cringed, "I love you, Celia, but no more than the love that you have for me, my dearest friend." The relief she felt was so great, that she began to laugh through the tears that were still flowing down her cheeks. Her mother once feared that she would one day cry so much, that she would cry all the water out of her body. She now began to wonder if she should share the same fear, as she seemed to no longer have any control over the constant, nonsensical weeping.

As if he could read her thoughts he said, "Dry your eyes, Celia. No more tears. This is a happy day, because the thing that I wanted to tell you, that I was afraid to tell you until now...is...well," he paused for a very long moment and looked at their hands that he held; she could feel the tension building in her body and she was ready to yell get on with it when he finally looked up, into her eyes and spoke, "Celia...I'm married."