Thunder shook the house, rain crashing in sheets against the windows. Lightning cast deep shadows up the walls, making frightening shapes appear, painting the palace in shades of horror.

Beneath a tent made of sheets, hanging lanterns shone over piles of pillows. Giggles punctuated by tiny frightened squeals trickled out of the fort, keeping the occupants safe from the storm.

“It’s the fairies, testing your bravery!” Zaiman said dramatically, holding Alex tight against him. “Be brave, Alex, or they’ll dethrone you!”

“No! Wait. I have no throne. Ha-ha! I have nothing to lose!” A clap of thunder answered her, and she squeaked, diving into the pillows.

“They’ll take over as curator!” Zaiman insisted with a laugh. “And you know that fairies have notoriously bad taste when it comes to art.”

“Oh!” Alex gasped. “Not my gallery!” She held her face in exaggerated terror, then dissolved into giggles. Zaiman sat up and struck a pose.

“Never fear, fair maiden! I will protect you from the savage dragon in the sky! I do wish he would stop spitting on the windows, though.”

“Very rude of him,” Alex agreed with a chuckle. “But you can’t face him alone! He’ll swallow you whole!”

“Then I will swim through the beast and return to you, dirtier, but intact,” Zaiman swore solemnly.

“Ew!” Alex laughed herself breathless. “No, I could accept a white knight, but I don’t think I could embrace a—”

“Don’t,” he interrupted, making her howl with amusement. “I’m sorry I brought it up at all.”

Blue lightning flashed, casting impossible shadows over the thin sheets. Alex screamed and clung to Zaiman.

“That was no dragon,” she gasped. “Those were clearly goblins!”

“Oh, well, I can’t save you from goblins,” Zaiman said matter-of-factly. “My white knight contract clearly states that I am only required to rescue damsels in distress from dragons.”

Alex swatted at him playfully. “You beast! Well, that just means that I will have to rescue you, fair prince!” She held a cardboard sword aloft, accidentally knocking one of the lanterns to the floor.

“Lucky for you, goblins are clumsy,” Zaiman chuckled as he rehung the lantern.

“I certainly hope so, or we’re both out of luck,” Alex said wryly.

Lightning flashed again and she squealed louder than she meant to.

“Hush,” Zaiman laughed. “You’ll wake Amia!”

“If she can sleep through this storm, she can sleep through—” A particularly loud crash of thunder interrupted her and she jumped, gasping in exaggerated fear.

“That one was actually pretty loud,” she whispered through her giggles. “You think she slept through it?”

“I’m sure she did,” Zaiman said confidently. “But, er…perhaps you should look in on her, just to be sure.”

“All right,” Alex said brightly, pressing a firm kiss to his lips. “Shall I get anything else while I’m out?”

“Just hurry back…no, wait! There’s champagne in the fridge. I believe it would be happier here in the fort.”

“Champagne is notoriously terrified of thunder,” Alex said playfully. “I’ll go rescue it.”

She tiptoed through the house, though the thunder would have covered even the heaviest steps, and peeked in on Amia. She was still sound asleep in the same position they had left her in a half hour before, nestled deep in her red covers; the moment she’d turned eight, she had decided that she was too old for purple.

Alex blew the little girl a kiss and shut the door silently, creeping through the dark house to the kitchen. Turning on lights would disrupt her fanciful mood, so she left them off, basking in the delicious benign terror of a cavernous kitchen under a storm.

Heart pounding, she quickly pulled the champagne from the fridge. Laughing breathlessly at her own imagination, she searched for glasses. She opened the right cupboard just as a blast of thunder split the air, making her hair stand on end. With a squeal, Alex grabbed the first two cups she touched, and ran on tiptoe back to their room.

“Champagne,” she said breathlessly as she crawled back into the fort.

“And…mugs.” Zaiman pursed his lips in amusement. Alex laughed, turning around to pour the champagne.

“It was all I could find before I scared myself silly,” she explained through her giggles. “I hope you don’t mind—”

She stopped with a gasp as she turned back toward Zaiman. He was kneeling, smiling, holding an open jewelry box in his hand. Inside the box, a diamond ring sparkled like a captured star, reflecting the light from the lanterns.

Setting the mugs on the floor before she dropped them, Alex moved closer to him.

“Alex,” he murmured into her hair as he pulled her into his arms. “Will you weather all the storms with me, for as long as there are storms to weather?”

“Safe in our pillow fort, from now until the dunes stay put and the stars go out,” she answered.

The ring was forgotten as their lips met, comfortable and passionate at once, hot enough to melt but not to burn. His arms cradled her in promises of strength, and his lips whispered silent oaths of love against hers.

The storm raged on outside, pounding down on the dunes. High above the clouds, the stars twinkled brightly, steadfast and immortal, just like their love had, was, and always would.