There was a rather puzzling note, saying first that she did indeed have feelings of attraction towards him, but that she didn't know how to adequately describe them. They weren't the sort of lustful feelings she'd seen one adult have for another (but had never experienced for herself). But it was also not the same sort of feelings as she had for her oath-brother, or for her Da back on Terra, or her casual friends (the friends who didn't know about her fey nature).
He felt his heart racing while he read it. He had felt special about her somehow. She was beautiful, of course, that was what first caught his attention. But there was something else about her as well. When he was near her, he felt ... complete. As if he had been waiting for her all his life, but never knew it. He sighed and went back to reading.
Kay also said in her note that she had given the matter alot of thought, and that she wanted him to consider what she had proposed in the attached document. What she could offer was the warmth of her companionship, and some small degree of additional protection against the game-playing of the nobles and/or sorcerers. But that was a small surprise compared to her later comment which mentioned quite bluntly that she knew that men had certain lustful needs, and that she couldn't promise that she'd ever fullfill that kind of need for him.
It puzzled him. Was she proposing what he thought she was proposing? No, it couldn't be ... could it? It was certain he liked her a lot, he had already admitted that for himself, but ...
He opened the attachment and froze. It was a standard form for registering a free-mate union -- but it had been modified to include the addition of a signed statement by Kay that she would not stand in the way if he chose to dissolve it for any reason at any time.
He gulped. Was she serious? His mind seemed too small for all his thoughts and his heart too small for all his emotions. He knew she was special to him, but was she _that_ special. And they hadn't know each other for long...though it seemed to him that he'd known her forever. He turned the terminal off and decided to think about that later. But he knew he'd already made his decision.
Louis spent the night awake, thinking of Kay's proposal. He thought about everything that could go wrong and all the reasons he had to refuse it. But when the morning arrived he already had his answer.