IS: Chapter 68

Katrina and I had a great day full of various activities planned. For starters, horseback riding along Hvitstrand Beach, near the planetary ocean North of Ny Roskilde. The White Sand of Hvitstrand Beach left hoofprints in the wake of the pair of galloping horses that we rode around on, racing each other to and from various landmarks, satisfying the thrillseeker in both of us. I grinned and laughed as we kicked up sand in the process, Katrina matching my energy as we raced toward our most recent goal, a rock formation further up the beach.

We had spent the past hour or so racing each other to this tree or that rock, keeping a running tally of who beat who to which landmark how many times, all while our security detail looked on from a distance in mild amusement. I was thankful that they hadn't opted for a closer screen of us, since we had left the Planetary Capital for Hvitstrand, and that meant that it was a likely time for an assassination attempt. Of course, the Combine had tried before, during the Election in Rasalhague, but I doubted they would try again at the moment. They had a lot on their plate already, after all.

In the meantime, I dug my heels into my mount's flanks, urging him onward for just a little bit more speed as Katrina and I were neck and neck, just barely reaching the rock formation ahead of her by a nose, breaking the tie that had formed in the running tally. At seven to six, I was the victor of this little impromptu competition that Katrina and I had cooked up, and as I dismounted my steed, I let out a shout of triumph before reaching into a saddlebag and pulling out a sugar cube to feed my horse.

"You really shouldn't feed him that, you know. Apple Slices are a lot healthier." Huffed Katrina.

"Maybe, but we won the races and that deserves a little something special, don't you think?" I questioned.

"Please. You ride like a maniac. Any more races and you'll probably have broken the poor thing's leg by steering him into a rock or something. I clearly would have won if we kept going." Scoffed Katrina.

"Is that so?" I queried.

"It is." Affirmed Katrina.

"I dunno. It sounds like sour grapes to me." I grinned.

"You would know all about those after the Cadet Week Prank Exchange, wouldn't you?" Asked Katrina, teasingly.

"That was one time! How was I supposed to know that Schmitty was able to smuggle a live goat into the Dorms? Besides, I got him back for that eventually." I protested.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself." Smirked Katrina.

"Come on, we've still got more activities planned. We should take these guys back to the stables and head for Hvitstrand Port next." I insisted, changing the subject.

"I can't wait to see what you've cooked up next." Nodded Katrina with a grin.

The activity in question was whale watching. I had chartered a boat out of Hvitstrand Port specifically for that. Hvitstrand Port did a decent tourist business with whale watching, as the New Ålborg Eyeless Whale was quite an interesting specimen. They were truly a sight to behold, as by an interesting quirk of evolution, the New Ålborg Eyeless Whale was completely blind. Instead, they used a type of Sonar via whale song to move about underwater, along with a sixth sense that could detect other living things via electroreception.

All this, the Captain of the vessel we had chartered, a red-haired pipe-smoking man named Captain Rory, was glad to explain to us as we headed out of Hvitstrand Port into the open ocean to try and track down some whales. Katrina actually seemed interested in the whole thing, which made me grin. I knew she'd had a soft spot for animals ever since the time she tried to sneak a Cat into the Academy Dorms. Mister Binks, as she had named him, had been a fat orange tabby cat that Katrina had picked up during an excursion into Lott's Revenge to celebrate passing our first-year exams. When the instructors found out and forced Katrina to give Mister Binks away, she'd been heartbroken.

Accordingly, I figured Whale Watching would be something she was interested in, and I wasn't disappointed. Of course, the first thing we spotted hadn't been New Ålborg Eyeless Whale, but a pod of New Ålborg Skimming Dolphins. The Silvery Cetaceans were an odd cross between Bottlenose Dolphins and Flying Fish that had been considered good luck by people plying the planetary ocean of New Ålborg. They often traveled in pods of a mated pair and child, and were capable of extending their breaching leaps using their long, winglike fins so that it looked less like they were jumping and more like they were gliding, skimming along the waves, hence the name.

"Look, Skimming Dolphins!" I pointed out. Katrina looked over and her eyes went wide as she spotted the pod of Skimming Dolphins gliding across the waves.

"They're beautiful!" Beamed Katrina.

"Aye, Milady. Skimming Dolphins are good luck." Nodded Captain Rory.

"Seems like an endorsement of our relationship to me." I opined.

"By who? The Planetary Ocean of New Ålborg?" Questioned Katrina.

"Or the universe if you prefer?" I queried.

"I didn't take you for a philosophical man." Mused Katrina.

"I have hidden depths." I shrugged.

"Clearly." Katrina responded with an eyeroll.

"What's with that tone? I can be philosophical when I want to, can't I?" I asked.

"I didn't say anything." Defended Katrina.

At this point, however, Katrina and I were practically huddled together against the railing of the Boat, which meant Katrina was in range to end the conversation before I could muster another response in the most devastating way she could, but leaning in and kissing me. Once her lips met mine, all thoughts of whatever faux-angry retort I could come up with left my mind as the pair of us just kissed each other, holding one another close. We didn't break apart until we were physically jolted out of the embrace by the boat rocking.

When we did break apart and look for the cause of the jolting, we found the reason was that a New Ålborg Eyeless Whale had surfaced next to the boat. It blew a spray of water out of its blowhole as it seemed to regard us, despite the lack of eyes, letting out a blast of whale song as it rolled onto its side and waggled its fin at us.

"They sometimes do that, Milord, Milady. It's the Fishermen out of Hvitstrand Port that's the cause. They sometimes feed the Whales some of the fish they dredge up that won't sell. I anticipated this, though, and brought a Pelageron if you'd like to feed it. Only two more C-Bills, respectfully, Milord." Offered Captain Rory.

"Jozef. . ." Began Katrina, clearly wanting to feed the whale.

"I know. You've got a deal." I nodded at Captain Rory

C-Bills exchanged hands, and Captain Rory went below, coming back with a Pelageron. The Fish was a whitefish like a Cod or Haddock, but unlike a Cod or Haddock, it had a long, tooth-filled snout like a Gar. In cuisine, they filled a role similar to Cod or Haddock, being used primarily for fried fish dishes in various fish and chip shops and the like. They were also one of the New Ålborg Eyeless Whale's favorite foods. As Captain Rory handed the Pelageron off to Katrina, who took its two-foot-long bulk in her arms and almost immediately caught interest from the Whale, who turned toward her and opened its mouth, revealing rows of teeth not dissimilar from an Orca's. Katrina tossed the Pelageron over the side and into the Whale's mouth, who crunched down on it happily, letting out a whale song of delight as it ate.

To put the cherry on top of the excursion, Katrina even got to pet the Whale as it ate. It rolled onto its side and drifted close enough to the Boat for her to reach out over the side and gently pat the Whale's side as it hummed happily. Once Katrina retracted her hand, the Whale waggled its fins at her twice and hummed jauntily. Then, in the blink of an eye, the Whale dove down and disappeared into the depths.

We returned to Hvitstrand Port not too long afterward for dinner. The charming seaside town boasted a wide array of restaurants specializing in various cuisines, and I had booked a private room at one of the most highly-rated restaurants in the Town. Gustav's served steak, seafood, and pork chops, all of which were prepared by the Man himself, Chef Gustav Törnqvist. Chef Gustav himself was a highly-trained, well-reviewed chef who had won several awards for various different dishes. When he heard I was coming, he insisted on taking charge of Katrina and Mine's Dinner personally.

Chef Gustav turned out to be a fat, jovial man with a long, bushy beard. He was clearly practiced at his craft, however, as he was able to effortlessly carve up and cook a steak for me right there on a sort of portable grill at the tableside. He did the same for Katrina, though she got the Filet Mignon, while I ordered a porterhouse. As he moved to cook and season the meat, Chef Gustav nodded at both of us.

"Excellent Choices. My beef is nothing but the finest cuts from the ranches of Bone Norman." Affirmed, Chef Gustav.

"They are the best, aren't they?" Questioned Katrina with a smirk.

"Indeed, My Lady." Affirmed Chef Gustav.

"You just wanted to brag there, didn't you?" I queried with a chuckle.

"It's not bragging if it's true." Shrugged Katrina, before taking a sip of her drink, a dry martini.

"Sure, and I'm the Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth." I snorted.

"Exaggerator." Accused Katrina.

"Hey, don't talk back to your Archon like that!" I teased.

That caused Katrina to break into giggles, and me to chuckle alongside her. I don't know why I was so worried earlier. Honestly, conversation and banter were just so easy with Katrina. We really did seem to just click like that. It had been the same at the Academy, although while there, she tended to play the straight man to my more out-there plans, dragging me back into reality. It was something that I had needed a lot back then, and honestly, it might be even more necessary now that I effectively had two Star Nations to run.

As dinner progressed and things continued like this, any doubts I had about popping the question had been completely dispelled from my mind. I could definitely see spending the rest of my life with Katrina. Honestly, there wasn't much of a chance that any other prospective match would be even half as in-sync with me as Katrina was. Making my decision, I would propose to her tomorrow at breakfast. I had a ring prepared just in case I made up my mind.

And really, I had never been more sure of anything in my life. . .

XXXX

By the time we returned from Hvitstrand Port, the sun had already set hours ago, and it was creeping up on midnight. As Katrina and I made our way back into the Ny Roskilde Palace, she turned to me, face flushed from the martinis she'd had with dinner, and pressed her lips against mine. We kissed again, deeply, passionately, and held each other close for a few long minutes, just enjoying each other's physical presence. Of course, we were once again interrupted, though this time by my Kid Sister clearing her throat.

We broke apart, and I looked over to see Susie standing there, arms crossed, in the silk floral pajamas that she liked to wear because she liked how they felt against her skin, even if she could do without the floral patterns and pink colors. She looked over at Katrina, nodding at her before speaking.

"Can I talk to you in Private?" She asked.

"Sure. I have nothing to hide." Agreed Katrina.

I looked between my Kid Sister and my Soon-to-be Fiancée and felt a sinking pit open up in my stomach. This couldn't be good for me, after all. Katrina and Susie ganging up on me could be catastrophic in terms of gossip, but I couldn't really do anything about it. Sighing, I admitted defeat, nodding at both of them.

"I'll just head to my rooms, then." I opined.

And with that, I left my Kid Sister and my Soon-to-be Fiancée alone to talk about whatever they were going to talk about. Hopefully, Katrina would still be willing to say yes when I popped the question in the morning, even after Susie mentioned any of the embarrassing stories she could mention about me.

I would just have to have faith in that. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next chapter. It was largely an excuse for me to do a bunch of character interactions during dates. I also fleshed out New Ålborg a bit more, adding the Port Town of Hvistrand Port along with some of its residents and businesses, plus some of the planet's aquatic creatures. Now, Jozef is planning to ask Katrina to marry him at Breakfast, while Susie is going to interrogate Katrina in a private conversation that's half girl talk and half warning Susie not to play with Jozef's Emotions.

At any rate, the next chapter will involve Susie's Talk with Katrina and Jozef's Breakfast Proposal. Then we'll have one more chapter to tie up the Super-Proposal Weekend. I'll also have more images out before then.

Stay tuned. . .