Serix leaned into Cassie’s kiss while he was still down on his knee. The whole experience of human proposal was surprisingly pleasant. In asking Cassie to marry him, it really felt like [i]their[/i] decision to be together, rather than the will of some higher power. He never got this feeling from any of the mating ceremonies he had seen back on the Lunairan ship. He wondered if there was a deeper, more intricate reason behind the total control his people’s leaders had over the ceremonies.

No one ever opposed the absolute rule of the higher powers. Serix had always just accepted that fact before, but now he was beginning to wonder. By restricting the Lunairans’ freedoms, the leaders would be able to guide their behavior in the direction they wanted it to go. If they pulled the strings behind all of the mating ceremonies, they could ensure their control over the mated couples as well. The thought made Serix shiver.

From what he could tell in his limited experience, love was a powerful thing. Choice was, too. By preventing the Lunairans from making major decisions and developing strong feelings for each other, the higher powers were handicapping them. They had nothing to fight for or protect. Yes, most mated couples loved each other to a certain extent, but their relationships were all much more businesslike than what Serix had with Cassie. They lacked passion and purpose. If the higher powers truly had been controlling mating ceremonies on a level as deep as this, Serix couldn’t imagine what else they were plotting. Just the knowledge that the Lunairans had been so blindly manipulated until this point left him with a disturbed feeling. How had he never noticed this corruption before?

[b]“So, now that we are officially engaged, what else should we do?”[/b] Cassie’s voice drew Serix from his thoughts.

[i]Engaged[/i]. The word was so foreign, yet it still brought a smile to his face. It was somehow more meaningful than the simple concept of pre-mating. Perhaps dulling the emotions in courting rituals was just another deceitful trick by the higher powers in order to maintain their control. By now, Serix wouldn’t put it past them to do something like that. He was extremely fortunate to have met and fallen for Cassie, thus escaping from their tyrannical grip. 

[b]“I was thinking since both of our cultures include a dance we should put a dance somewhere in there,”[/b] Cassie went on. [b]“And some sort of vows as well. Other than that, I’m up for anything you throw out Serix.”[/b] She leaned down and kissed him once more. [b]“As long as it means we’re together forever at the end of all this, I’m up for anything and everything.”[/b]

“I like those ideas,” Serix dropped his other knee to the floor and rocked back on his heels until he was sitting down with his hands propped behind him. “If you’d like, I can teach you how to dance with the rope tying our hands. You have to follow a special technique because it’s easy to get tangled up.” He smirked at her teasingly. “I’ve been to many ceremonies where the couple gets ensnared by their own rope. It takes a lot of talent to do it right. Do you think you can handle it?”