Chapter Five
The pained look in her eyes told him everything he needed to know. Rage surged through him, aimed at her, at Odin, at himself.
“Why didn’t you tell me?!” He demanded, his voice shrieking off of the marble that lined the floor of the hallway. The guards posted around this passage most likely could hear him, but he didn’t care. Rage, fear, and pain blinded him.
She paused, choosing her words carefully so as to not make things worse. “I didn’t see any need to.”
“What?” He asked, breathless. “Didn’t see any need to tell me I was a half-demon, the son of the Demon King that you slew? This entire time, you walked by my side…I held you…I LOVED YOU…and yet you failed to mention that it was all for nothing?!”
“It was not all for nothing!” She pleaded, tears forming in her eyes. He could hear her voice rising in pitch, desperate to make him believe her words.
“A half-demon and an angel?!” He shouted. “Where in the universe do you think that would be accepted?!”
“YOU ARE NO DEMON!” It was her turn to shriek now, but instead of the pitiful, pained shrieks that he had been uttering, hers was powerful, full of the wisdom of the many millennia she had lived.
He started to laugh bitterly. “Apparently, I am. Who is to say one day I won’t slay you in our bed?” His laugh died, his eyes filling with hatred. Hatred at everything. But her. Despite all this, he still couldn’t bring himself to hate her. “It’s in my nature, Aya.”
“No,” she shook her head. “It’s not…”
“How can you say this?” His voice cracked. No. He would not cry in front of her. Not now. Not again.
“Because I have fought demons since the beginning of time, and you are not like any of them.” She tilted her head to the side, her eyes pleading. “You have a pure soul, Loki. I’ve seen it.”
That’s when he made up his mind. He would not let any harm come to her by his hand. One day, he was sure, his nature would turn against him, and he would wake with her blood on his hands. Better to hide himself away in Hell than to see this. Perhaps she would find another immortal lover. Someone who would be able to protect her. Loki backed away from Quamachi, pain shooting through him. “No, I don’t…” He murmured, turning and escaping from the room. She watched him leave, paralyzed with pain, worry, and terror, before racing back to her corridors.
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This time, when Loki crossed the wall, he dismounted his horse and shouted, “Killian!”
The lieutenant was there in an instant, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. “I thought you would return. That’s why I took the honor of inviting my king here.” Loki followed the demon to a large stone building, the walls inside lined with black marble. A large hall stood in the middle of the structure, decorated with only a few tables, a large hearth with a fire burning inside, and several large chairs.
“I don’t care if the Aquapolian King knows the rangers are there. Make it a point to anger or terrorize him, either one!” The largest chair in the room was occupied by a demon with pitch-black hair and eyes. He sat forward in his chair, raising his voice at the demon ranger who was standing before him. The ranger nodded and retreated as Killian and Loki approached. The demon in the chair glanced up, a grin spreading across his face when he saw Loki. He jumped from his chair, striding forward with his arms held out. “Brother! I knew you would find your way across the wall some day. Welcome.”
“I’m not your brother,” Loki couldn’t help but growl.
The Demon King laughed. “I’m more of a brother to you than Odin’s son. Truth be told, I’m surprised it took you so long to figure this one out…Then again, none of us was ever able to figure out exactly why Odin took you.” He paused, tilting his head to the side to study him. “I’ve heard some interesting things about you and Quamachi. I think we can use that to our advantage.”
“Do not dare to threaten her in my presence.”
Adam paused, stepping forward until he and Loki were only standing a few inches apart. In a lowered voice, he said, “Why did you come here? To kill me? To join my cause? To simply accept your fate?” He saw a flicker in Loki’s eye. He smiled. “Ah, yes, it’s the last one. Well, welcome home.”
Loki glared at him for a few moments until he started to hear the sound of metal snapping together. He glanced down at his wrists, where manacles had appeared out of thin air. “What is this?” He asked, holding up his hands.
“I don’t trust you in the least, brother,” Adam confessed. “I mean, before Quamachi arrived on Asgard, there was a chance for you to claim your true place, but now…” He laughed. “You are far too attached to her for us to believe that you would join our cause willingly.”
“Then what are you going to do with me?”
“I’m not going to kill you, oh, no, you can serve more use to me alive.” Adam smiled. “I’m sure the Chosen One would pay royally to get you back in one piece.”
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Quamachi raced through the first bit of Hell towards the first outpost, slicing through the two guards at the door. She strode through the front hall of black marble, her hand clutching her sword angrily. When she reached the main hall, she froze in horror.
Adam looked up. “Hello, Chosen One.” He strode forward, a horrible smile on his face. Her eyes went to Loki, who was bound in chains, his emerald eyes wide with surprise. “What brings you to my realm?”
“Release him.”
He laughed. “It’s not going to be that easy.”
“Release him, or I’ll smite every demon in this place.”
“Including him?” Adam raised an eyebrow. She answered this with silence. “Oh, so you’re not sure whether or not your powers would smite a half-demon as well? Perhaps it’s better not to take the risk…”
“What do you want?” She snarled.
He shrugged. “Aquapolis.”
“You can’t have it.”
Adam sighed. “Too bad.” He snapped his fingers together. The chains around Loki’s wrists started to glow with power. He let out a gasp of pain, sinking to his knees and shuddering. She looked on in horror.
“I can’t give you Aquapolis,” she said firmly. This made it worse. Loki screamed once. She flinched, then turned her sapphire gaze to Adam.
“Your answer, Chosen One?”
She clutched her sword tightly. “No.” A wave of white washed forward, knocking Adam off of his feet. He flew part way across the room, nearly knocked unconscious. The other demons jumped to attack her. One lost his head immediately, the other two receiving a sword through the chest one after another. Loki watched as the head of one of the demons rolled past, a shocked looked forever frozen on the dark warrior’s face. Loki tried to jump to his feet, but, between the searing pain that was slowly but surely fading away and the chains that dragged him down, it was proving difficult.
But Quamachi was strong and had been at work smiting the demons she could get her hands on. She rushed forward, helping him to his feet and dragging him after her, not bothering to release him from his chains first. She was in the right. They needed to make it past the wall before they saw to undoing Loki’s chains.
There was a rush of running footsteps following them as they raced from the black marble building out into the bleak daylight of Hell. Somehow, Quamachi’s power surging from her hand through Loki’s arms was enough to make the chains lighter before finally disintegrating them completely. Now, he could run full out, but not nearly as fast as she.
Luckily, his horse was not far from the building. She was the first one to the mount, vaulting onto his back gracefully. Loki’s horse was not used to Quamachi, kicking up a fuss for a few moments before her angelic aura calmed him down. By that time, Loki was able to leap up behind her, grabbing the reins and riding hard towards the wall.
Quamachi’s long hair blew back into his face, and, for a full half a minute, all he could see was gold. She quickly pulled her mass of curls to the side, giving him a good view of where the wall stood, at the intersection between dark wasteland and beautiful golden pastures.
Loki shot a glance behind them, his heartbeat slowing down as he realized that Adam had not sent his warriors after the escapees. Perhaps they did not have horses. Or perhaps they traveled a different way in this realm. Angels flew through the sky. What did demons do?
Too late, he realized the answer to his own riddle. A hand burst from the ground in front of them, scaring his horse so bad that both Loki and Quamachi went flying through the air. They landed on the ground a few yards away, Loki safely in Asgard, with Quamachi lying across the barrier.
Another demon’s hand burst from the ground right behind her, reaching out to grab the angel and drag her back into Hell. Loki was faster, however, and grabbed her arms, pulling her to safety. He looked up to see where his horse was, but the mount was gone, scared away in the wrong direction, deeper into the pits of Hell. He felt terrible about that. Loki had owned that horse for quite a while. It had been the favorite of his steeds. But rather his love be safe.
It took them a few more moments to catch their breaths. Quamachi’s horse, thankfully, had been tied up on the right side of the wall a few yards from where they stood, safe out of harms way. Loki wanted to ride away so badly…to grab Quamachi and race back to the palace…
She was so fast he had no time to react until his cheek started to sting from the slap. He was stunned for a few moments, not quite comprehending why she had hit him until she started to scream, tears streaming down her face. “Why did you do that?! He could have killed you…or worse!” She rose her hand to slap him again in her fury, but he caught her wrist just in time, gently forcing it down.
“I had to face him…” Loki explained weakly. “I had to face who I am.”
“I told you…” She sobbed. “I told you that you are not like them! You are good and true and intelligent and I see light in you that they will never possess! So please!” She placed her hands on his shoulders. “Please come back with me!”
For a few moments he had the urge to push her away, to insist that she didn’t know what could happen, that he wouldn’t chance harming her. Then, he remembered exactly who she was. The Chosen One. The most powerful angel in existence. She knew exactly what she was talking about, right?
His whole being was drawn to her, his mind screaming out to him that he should take that risk and return with her to the palace of Asgard. He reached up and pushed her hands away from his shoulders, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close into an embrace. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I should have known this entire time where I belonged.”
“Where?” She breathed.
“With you,” he sighed, hugging her close. They stood wrapped in each others’ arms for a few moments before he pulled away, taking her hand and leading her to the horse. He sat up front this time, Quamachi jumping up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist, placing her head on his back as they raced off for the palace.
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Quamachi turned away from the flagon of wine to where Loki sat, staring down at his hands in silence. She stepped over quietly, handing him the cup, which he thankfully took. She slid onto the couch beside him as he drank deeply, placing her head on his shoulder. He put down the cup, still staring down at his hands. “I could have gotten you captured…” He murmured half to himself.
“No…” She placed a hand on his back, rubbing it gently. “No…I would have been fine. It was you I was worried about…”
“He was going to use me to trap you,” Loki pointed out, still staring down at his hands. Quamachi sighed and turned away a bit. He was right, but still…She didn’t want him blaming himself.
He started to sob.
Her heart broke as she turned to see him quietly crying, all of the fear and pain and anguish that had come from his discovery of his true parentage pouring out. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close to her as he cried into her shoulder. She was just so relieved that he was safe. So relieved that he was in her arms again.
This wasn’t over, though. She knew he would continue to question himself until that one day, perhaps far into the future, that he proved to himself that he was no demon. And she would be there every step of the way, to comfort and assure him.
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly, almost desperately, as if something was threatening to tear him away from her.
Finally, his sobs died down.
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Quamachi woke the next day from perhaps the best sleep she had experience in centuries. It was strange, really, when she had fallen asleep curled up partly beside and partly on top of Loki on the couch. He had his arms around her, sleeping peacefully. She studied him. He had such a beautiful face. She pushed a strand of raven black hair back from his face, admiring how he looked when he was asleep.
After a few moments, he awoke, his emerald eyes brightening from dull sleep to a half-awake state. He stretched, then pulled her closer, burying his face in her hair. Neither of them spoke for quite a while. Neither of them really wanted to get off of the couch. This was the closest they had ever been. Quamachi knew that she could never go back to sleeping alone.
Finally, they forced themselves to sit up. She stretched, then glanced outside.
“Snow!”
She had seen so many snowfalls, but the winter’s first snowfall was always the best. Here on Asgard, it was no different. Loki’s balcony was covered in at least a good few inches of snow. She rushed across to it, slipping halfway to the rail and nearly going over it.
Loki was fast, however, faster than she expected. He had forgotten that she could fly and had launched himself clear across the room to grab her and pull her back from the snowy ledge. She had felt no terror before going over the edge, but as he pulled her close, she could feel his heart beating fast in his chest. She turned to him, lifting an eyebrow. “Here I was about to have a nice flight in the snow.”
“Oh…” He muttered mostly to himself. All the same, he didn’t let go, holding her close even as his heart beat slowed down. She enjoyed being close to him, wrapping her arms around his chest and burying her face into his shoulder. Out in the chilly winter air, she was starting to get cold, but she didn’t care.
Loki pulled away a bit, and she turned her head up to see what was the matter. They were so comfortable here despite the cold snow, weren’t they? She tried to pull him back, but he resisted.
“What is it?” She murmured, a bit disappointed. Her question was cut off as he took her face in his hands and leaned down to kiss her deeply. It was full of relief and love and a sense of joy that she had never tasted from him before. As if this ordeal had brought them closer together.
After what seemed like a lifetime, they pulled away from each other, their gasping breaths fogging up the air over the balcony, joyous smiles on their faces. Loki turned back towards his rooms to get her some furs to wear outside.
She took this opportunity to gather a handful of snow and throw it at him. It hit him smack in the side of the face, startling him. She burst into laughter as he shivered a bit from the cold ice, turning to her with a mock hurt expression on his face. “Why would you do that?” He whispered.
She knew she was in trouble then. Before she knew it, he had dumped a good amount of snow on her head, even down the back of her tunic. She shrieked, pelting him with more snowballs as he tried desperately to throw her into the tiny snowdrift that had formed on the balcony. Just as he was about to succeed, he lost his footing and slipped, causing both of them to land in the cold, wet snow. It was a shock, but they both ended up dissolving into laughter.
Soon though, it became too cold, and they were forced to go back inside to change into warmer clothes. Loki snatched some of the furs off of his bed just as Quamachi finished changing, dumping the pile on top of her before she could even manage to sit down.
“Gee, thanks,” she said, trying to dig her way out of the pile of furs. He chuckled, wrapping his arms around her and the pile. She could feel the warmth coming back to her fingers and toes.
This was the most content she had ever been in her entire existence. The rest of the day they spent curled up underneath the furs, talking and reading, kissing and enjoying each other’s presence.
It was pure heaven.
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Quamachi stretched happily, then curled up closer to Loki. He was already partway asleep, his breathing slowing down every second. She had started to sleep in his bed ever since that snowy day decades ago. No one had much noticed that she wasn’t sleeping in her own rooms…and if they had, they most likely kept the rumors to themselves. Let them talk, she thought to herself. She was perfectly happy where she was, and, really, who could tell her that she wasn’t aloud to see him?
As she curled up closer to him, he slowly wrapped his arms around her. He had a habit of pulling her closer in his sleep whenever they became a bit separated by tossing or turning or whatnot. It was as if he were afraid that she would be torn away from him if she wasn’t close.
No one would tear the two of them apart, she concluded. No one would dare.
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Thor’s crowning pretty much snuck up on them. The ceremony was grand, Quamachi standing in a place of honor between Frigga and Loki near the throne. She had high hopes for Thor in the future. It would be millennia before he reigned, a long ways off for his rule to impact her people, true, but it would still be positive. Odin had always held a low view of the Aquapolians despite his desperate attempts to rule them from afar. Thor, on the other hand, had proven himself more caring towards the fact that they were supposed to be ruling themselves.
That night, she snuck into Loki’s chambers after getting dressed for the grand feast. He had just finished dressing himself and looked splendid in his gold dress armor, which consisted mostly of only a breast and shoulder plates. Instead of choosing her own white and gold enameled armor, she had decided to wear a dress of flowing indigo and midnight blue.
When she entered, he turned to her, the smile on his face fading to an expression of awe. “Are you okay?” She asked, a bit concerned after a few moments of his looking as if he couldn’t breathe.
He shook his head, stepping closer to her and wrapping both arms around her waist. “You look beautiful,” he murmured, leaning down to kiss her gently. She wrapped her arms around his waist, silently wishing they could just stay in his rooms for the rest of the night, talking and simply enjoying each others’ company.
But, as she was a guest of Odin’s and a friend of Thor’s, that wouldn’t do. They pulled away from each other for a moment as Loki stepped to a small table nearby, picking up a golden chain. He held it in his palm for a few moments, contemplating its smooth golden surface, before stepping back over to Quamachi. “Turn around,” he said in a quiet voice.
She did so, wondering what exactly he was up to. He strung the chain around her neck, his fingertips brushing against her, sending chills up her spine. After a few tries, he clasped the chain in place successfully. She glanced down and gasped.
She had often seen him wear this ring. Gold, black, and emerald, it had been given to him by his mother millennia ago, when he was younger. He had cherished it, and now he was giving it to her. “Loki…” She murmured, getting a bit choked up.
He placed his hands on her bare shoulders, bending down to whisper in her ear as she studied the ring, turning it over in her hands and running her fingers over its smooth, polished surface. “This is a promise. One day…when we return to Midgard…I’ll marry you…This is a promise that we will spend the rest of eternity together…” As he said this, he wrapped his arms around her waist again, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek.
“I love you…” She murmured, turning around to kiss him on the lips.
“I love you, too, darling…” He whispered back, smiling. “Now…” He stepped back, keeping one arm wrapped around her waist. “…let’s go enjoy this one last feast on Asgard.”
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The great hall of the palace of Asgard was packed with people and banquet tables and (best of all) every kind of food Quamachi could imagine. First, they searched around for Thor, who was drinking with several of his friends nearby and receiving congratulations from all of the royalty and lords of Asgard. When he saw them, he practically beamed. It still warmed Quamachi’s heart to see how much Thor loved his brother, even after he had learned that Loki was, in fact, adopted. He had reacted to the news with indifference. “No matter,” he had said, waving it away. “He is still my brother.”
“Brother! Quamachi!” He said, stepping over to hug them both. At first, she thought he was a bit drunk, but it turned out he was just his happy self.
“Congratulations!” Loki said with a smile after Thor hugged him.
“No, brother…” Thor said with a knowing smile. “Congratulations to YOU.”
Quamachi and Loki exchanged glances. “How did you…” She started.
Loki sighed, putting his face in his hands. “Mother…”
Quamachi chuckled, putting an arm around his waist. “I guess I should be glad that your mother thinks so highly of me.” Thor burst into laughter as well, which was good. Loki had turned almost bright red at her comment and was still hiding his face in his hands. She patted him on the shoulder and left to speak with someone.
“Shall I announce your engagement at the feast tonight?” Thor asked.
“You don’t have to do that…” Loki said, smiling.
“Come on, this is a happy day! And your last great feast on Asgard!” Thor lowered his voice. “I assume you’re returning to Midgard with her.”
Loki nodded. “We’ll get married there.”
Thor laughed, though his eyes were sad. “I’ll miss you, brother…” He muttered.
“And I, you.”
“But I’m glad you found such happiness in your life. I hope one day I will find someone who will make me as happy as Quamachi makes you.” Loki seemed a bit surprised and taken aback by his comment. Thor explained. “You smile and laugh a lot more than you used to, Loki,” he said in a serious voice. “And I know it must be Quamachi, because you do so most often in her presence.”
Loki smiled, nodding his agreement.
A few minutes into the feast, Thor stood up from his seat between Odin and Frigga, raising a glass. “Before we continue with the festivities, I have a happy announcement to make!” Quamachi glanced over at Odin. He didn’t seem in the bit surprised, just watched Thor expectantly. “Though we are sad to see Quamachi leave us, we must say good-bye to another who is dear to our hearts. My brother has decided to return to Midgard with Quamachi, and they have given me the honor of officially announcing their engagement to be married on Aquapolis!”
There was a round of applause and many congratulations. Quamachi ducked her head, a bit embarrassed by all of the attention, but happy as well as Loki took her hand underneath the table. Thor had the biggest smile on his face as the room quieted again. “To Loki and Quamachi! May the days of their eternity be forever bright!”
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Loki and Quamachi were deep asleep later that night when they were both roused by a banging at their chamber door. Quamachi sat up, groaning, as Thor’s voice carried through. “Loki?! Open the door!”
She turned her eyes toward Loki as he moaned, rolling over in bed and grabbing one of the silken pillows to pull over his head. Neither of them were morning people, and being woken up during the middle of the night was just as unpleasant. She tugged on the night-black tunic he usually wore to bed. The first night she had spent in his rooms, she had worn the white Aquapolian-style tunic that she had slept in for perhaps a century. Loki had nearly given himself a heart attack laughing, and it took her quite a few minutes to realize the meaning behind the colors of the tunics they were wearing.
Quamachi got back at him the next night by stealing his black tunic before he had a chance to change for bed and leaving him only her white tunic to wear. Loki’s tunic was much too long for her, coming all the way down past her knees, but it was worth it. The sight of tall, lean, and slightly muscular Loki in her short white tunic when there was a complete foot difference in height between the two of them was hilarious. He had stood there in that short white tunic and his own long black pants with an expression on his face that just screamed that he had no idea what he had just gotten himself into.
Oftentimes afterward, however, they had switched tunics again. Quamachi found herself wearing some of his shirts whenever she lounged about in his rooms…well, now they were becoming THEIR rooms…At first, it had caught him off guard how quickly and effortlessly she had assimilated herself into his personal environment, but he quickly grew accustomed to her constant presence. In fact, he enjoyed it greatly.
Especially the nights sleeping beside her. As he groaned again and pushed himself to a sitting position, his raven-black hair sticking up at odd angles on his head, he realized that, for all of the many nights she slept there, he could still remember the lonely nights. The ones he had spent simply lying in the darkness, staring up at his sleeping, or reading himself to sleep. He remembered the nightmares, most of them involving his dying alone sometime in the endless future.
Those memories made her presence that much sweeter. Now, he fell asleep with her in his arms, his lover, his everything. They would live out the rest of their days together…the rest of eternity in that beautiful land that she called home. His eyes flashed over to his ring that she wore around her neck. Like the Aquapolian pendent she wore constantly, his ring was never absent from her.
There was another loud banging on the door. “It’s your brother…” Quamachi muttered darkly, as if she wanted to grab his dagger from his bedside table and stab Thor to death for waking them up at that hour. Loki didn’t blame her, but he kept a close eye on her in case she made that rash decision.
“Loki?! Quamachi?! I know you’re in there!”
More banging. She sighed. “Go and let him in so we can go back to sleep.” She flopped back down on the bed again, making Loki jealous. He wished so much to curl up beside her again, to snuggle back under the furs with her and drift back into a peaceful sleep. He shot a quick glance over at his dagger, not quite so sure that HE didn’t want to stab his brother at least once for waking the both of them up. Instead, he heaved a great sigh and crawled out of bed, wincing as his bare feet stepped across the cold white marble of his bedchamber.
Thor barreled into the chambers as soon as Loki opened the door, which annoyed him a bit. Although it was unlikely, what if Quamachi had been undressed? They had decided against being together in that way until after their wedding, though it wasn’t exactly Asgardian tradition to do so. He hadn’t spoken a word of that to his brother, who was now barging into his chambers.
“You both need to leave, now!” Thor was saying urgently. Quamachi had wrapped the furs on the bed around herself, more to keep warm than to cover up, really. She frowned sleepily, confused by Thor’s urgency.
“Leave where?” Loki asked, just as confused, and a bit angry in his tired state.
“Asgard! Now. You must get to Midgard immediately!”
This seemed to wake Quamachi up completely. From all the way across the room, Loki could see her brilliant blue eyes widen and spark with fear. “What is it? Has something happened in Aquapolis?” The country was usually in peace with the occasional minor attack from the Demon King every century or so. She slipped out of bed, instinctively reaching for her sword near the bedside table. Even standing there in her tunic and pants, she seemed like a force of nature. Loki almost felt sorry for the demons who decided to invade Aquapolis at the moment.
“No…” Thor murmured, turning to Loki. There was an apology in his eyes, but a good bit of determination as well. “It’s Father. He is enraged.”
Loki didn’t even try to bite back the bitter laugh that escaped from him. “Yes, well…I never imagined that he would look upon our marriage happily. An angel and a half-demon…” He shrugged. “He wasn’t the first to speak against it, and he won’t be the last.”
Quamachi shot him a confused look. No one had said anything in her presence since the feast about this particular part about their marriage. Then again, would anyone really dare tell the Chosen One whom she could and could not marry?
Apparently, Odin thought he could.
“That’s only one reason why he is enraged about your engagement, brother.” Thor took a deep breath, as if what he was about to say was terrible. Loki’s breath caught in his throat. His brother was usually such a cheerful soul. For him to look this distraught…something was very wrong. Loki glanced over at Quamachi. The look of worry was magnified on her face as she waited with bated breath for Thor to speak.
“In Father’s eyes, I announced the wrong engagement,” Thor explained, looking from his brother to Quamachi and back again. “He pulled me aside before the feast tonight to announce...not your engagement, but…” He was having trouble with the words. “His one last attempt to control the Aquapolians…by announcing MY engagement to Quamachi.”