I was lying in bed that evening thinking about the conversation I'd had earlier with Sophia. It's all I've been able to think about since returning to the castle.

"No, that's not possible" I'd argued when she'd dangled the idea in front of me that I become her sister-in-law.

"Everything's possible, dear" she'd replied, "You only need the power to make it happen. And power is something I find at my disposal lately"

Too many things crossed my mind in that moment. Why? How? What did I even want? Wasn't I tired of deals?

"Thanks to you actually," she'd said as she stepped away from me, "Consider this my way of saying 'thank you'"

"The King and Queen would never let Nick marry someone like me," I told her. That much I was sure of. "They said as much. They expect Nick to marry a normal girl eventually"

"Truth is you're about as much woman as they'll ever be able to force on my brother" she explained, "I can make them see that. It helps that the people love you. I don't even need to mention how much it benefits Lenoria to have its fairytale wedding at a time like this"

"Why would you do this?" I turned to ask as she walked behind me. At this point, I knew the Princess always had her own ulterior motives. I didn't trust her to propose something like this for no reason and I wanted to know what it was.

"Again with the unimportant questions" I heard her say, "The only question that matters now is what you want?"

"What I want?"

"Yes," she confirmed, "Would you like to be a Princess?"

The thought hit me like a bag of bricks. It was all too fantastical. The thought of me being anything special not to mention a Princess. How the hell did we even get here?

"Well, Princess Consort technically but the distinction is rarely important" she clarified.

I shook my head before I worked up the courage to say anything, "What makes you think I'd ever want any of this? I'm a man"

She laughed. Princess Sophia actually laughed.

"I just want to return to my life," I pressed on, "I don't care about any--"

"Don't be ridiculous" she replied sternly and there was quiet between us for a few moments.

"I want to know--" I paused, "why you're doing this. What do you get out of it?"

She let out a frustrated sigh before taking her time returning to her seat.

"I'm sure you know what they say about gifts and horses, Amelia," she said as she sat back in her chair, "This is a tremendous honor. Every girl would jump at this opportunity"

"I want to know" I repeated. A consequence of dealing with the Princess for so long was the boldness I'd grown in her presence.

I watched her rub her forehead slightly as she considered what I was asking. I could see the exact moment she decided on what to say.

"George is going to be King of this country one day," She told me, "You marrying Nicky instead of some ambitious tart our parents deem suitable ensures that George won't have any competition"

"Because Nick and I won't have any children?"

"Don't feel bad," she said, "Just be glad you won't have to birth a child. It's hell let me tell you"

I didn't respond.

"You will be a disappointment," she added, "The tabloids will pry into every possible reason why you don't give the Prince an heir. They will wonder whether you're barren, whether you have a weak womb, they will wonder about your health, or even that you've lost the Prince's favor. They will be downright cruel to you at times"

"What about Nick?" I asked. I didn't want to put him through that. Maybe it would be better if I just let him marry a normal girl like his parents wanted.

"He'll be fine," The princess told me, "These things are never as hard on the man. The blame always inevitably falls on the woman. You'll get used to that eventually, and I'll be here to guide you"

I was pulled out of my thoughts by knocking on the door.

"My lady?" Celeste called out.

"Come in"

The first thing I noticed was the smile on her face.

"What is it?" I asked her with a smile of my own. Seeing her smile again was infectious.

"The staff have been ordered to assemble outside the castle to welcome the Prince," she told me.

I sat up immediately, "He's back?"

"His Highness is on his way here" she confirmed.

I hurried to my feet, "Celeste, quick, help me pick out something to wear"

She smiled brighter before hurrying to the closet to pick something out.

I hurried to the vanity to inspect myself.

"My hair is a mess" I voiced.

"We will fix everything, my lady" Celeste replied as she flipped through the dresses in my wardrobe.

I found myself tapping my feet anxiously and I could feel a tingling sensation in my fingertips as I waited.

"What about this dress, my lady?"

I turned to find Celeste holding up a beautiful lavender dress.

I knew immediately that it was perfect.

"Yes, yes" I repeated excitedly as I gestured her over.

I stripped down to my underwear after which she helped me into the dress and zipped me up. Every last one of these dresses had been tailored with my exact measurements so as expected, they all fit perfectly and accentuated my best features.

The makeup Celeste put on my face was light and my shoe had only the smallest heel.

I asked Celeste to leave my hair flowing so Nick could see how long it had grown.

I smiled at her through the mirror and she could tell I was nervous.

"You look beautiful, my lady," she told me.

Things weren't back to normal between the two of us. Perhaps they never would be. But I was glad it had improved somewhat. I'd let go of my anger a long time ago. I hadn't said it yet but I hoped she knew I was sorry about that day.

"Let's go," I told her, "I want to be there when he arrives"

=^..^=

It was a cool breezy evening. I stood in front of Eclipton Castle watching on as a row of cars drove through the gates.

I hoped the castle staff who were lined behind me couldn't tell how tense I was.

I watched the cars roll to a stop and realized I was holding my breath.

With bated breath, I watched one of the guards step out, walk up to his door, and pull it open.

When I saw him step out, looking every bit like the man I fell in love with, give or take a shaved beard, I just started running.

Maybe one day I'll think back and cringe in embarrassment but not in that moment.

Nick saw me and advanced in my direction meeting me a few feet away from the convoy.

When he opened his arms, there was nothing else for me to do than to dive in his arms.

We held each other so tightly I thought we might fuse into one person.

Holding him felt the same and I started to wonder how I went months without this feeling and how I would go even another day without it now.

I couldn't tell you at what point I started crying but tears were rolling down my face when we finally parted.

With his left hand, he cupped my face and I feared I would break down in his arms.

"I'm so sorry," he told me, "I didn't know. I promise I didn't know, I should've never left"

I didn't care about all that. I leaned in to kiss him and he met me. I wanted to kiss him every day for the rest of our lives.

"Morgan," he encased my face with both his palms, "God, I should have never left you. I'm just so used to running away when things get difficult here and I didn't know what to do"

"I don't care," I brought my own hand to touch his face and my fingers grazed his jawline. I was met with that unmistakable texture of freshly sprouted stubble. Rough, yet oddly soft beneath my touch, "I don't care, I'm just happy you're back."

"Baby, I've missed you so much," he told me.

"Me too," I chuckled and sniffed as a result of the crying.

He kissed me again. I wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled closer. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled until he lifted me clear off the ground.

For a moment, I forgot where I was. It was the sound of Percival audibly clearing his throat that brought me back to reality.

"Let's not give the staff a show, Your Highness" I heard him say.

Slowly, very slowly, we parted from each other. The look in Nick's eyes told me he planned to carry on as soon as we had some privacy.

"Quite right" Nick flashed me that sheepish smile and it was as though the last few months had never happened.

"Lady Amelia," Percival nodded in my direction.

"Percy!" I smiled brightly. I hadn't seen him in so long either, "Is it improper if I give you a hug?"

"Only if you linger" he replied.

I stepped away from Nick but only long enough to hug Percival. There was a time I would have been angry at him. After all, even if Nick hadn't known about the compound, he certainly did.

But my anger had never gotten me anywhere. Besides, I had a feeling if he did know, he would have gotten an earful from Nick already.

"We've kept up with your appearances," Percival told me, "You handled yourself like a proper lady. I will admit you proved me wrong. I'm glad".

"Thank you, Percy" I smiled.

"Sir Percival" he corrected with a smile creeping onto his face. "Let's head in, Your Highness. I'm sure His Majesty is eager to speak with you"

"He can wait," Nick said simply while holding his hand out for me to take it.

I did.

=^..^=

As soon as we made it through my room door, Nick pulled me back into his arms.

We kissed only for a few seconds before I decided I wanted more of him.

I began working at the buttons of his shirt while our lips were still locked together.

"I've missed you so, so much" he announced when I finished with the last button.

I bit my lip softly as I watched him toss the shirt aside and I got a view of his full, bare, upper body.

Not to be outdone, I turned away from him, held my hair up, and asked him to help with the zipper.

I quickly moved the dress off my shoulder and let it fall to the floor.

"Give me a minute to undo the breast forms, okay?" I asked as I walked toward the bathroom in just my underwear.

"You can leave it on, it's fine" I heard him say.

"It'll only take a minute," I replied without stopping.

I knew he didn't actually like it when I had breasts. Or at least, he liked me a lot more without them. He was just being nice and trying not to inconvenience me.

There may have been some days I would have let him have his way but not today. Not when it was our first time in months.

When I returned, I returned perfectly naked in all my glory. He was in my bed, presumably naked too with that perfect body of his.

He nodded me over and I basically skipped across the room squealing.

We were enveloped in one another for the better part of that evening. He kissed me all over and I returned the favour. By the time we were through, he'd truly fucked me like he'd missed me.

=^..^=

We held each other well into the night. We said little and just let our bodies do the talking.

But eventually, there came a time when words were necessary. I had to make sure we were on the same page.

"I know this is probably the worst possible time to bring up your sister," I began while laying my head on his chest, "but I had an interesting conversation with her today"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, she seemed to think it would be a good idea if we got married," I said softly.

"She already told you that, huh?" I heard him say, "I was hoping to be the one to tell you. I was even researching proposal ideas on the flight here" he chuckled.

"I-- don't know what to say"

"My sister and I, we came to an agreement," he explained, "She'll support our marriage"

"You know why she's doing this right?" I sat up, "Because I can't give you children. Are you really okay with that?"

Nick sat up in bed as well, "Morgan, I was never going to have kids anyway. That doesn't matter to me. It's also not why she's doing this"

"What do you mean?"

"She'll support our marriage, and I'll support her claim to the throne," he told me, "That's the deal we made"

"Nick, that hardly seems fair" I looked him deep in his eyes, "I can't have you give up a throne for me. I can't let you do that"

"I've never cared about being king," he replied, "And even if I did, I'd give it up a million times for you. This is a very easy decision"

"I don't know--" I paused, "It sounded to me like you were serious about being king. You said you couldn't stand by while your people suffered"

"I know what I said" he replied.

"I know you, I know you would make a good, kind, ruler," I told him, "They would be lucky to have you."

"They would be lucky to have Sophia too," he argued, "She's more experienced than I could ever hope to be"

"But is she the best person?"

"Why does it sound like you're trying to change my mind?" he asked me, "Do you not want to marry me?"

"Of course, I want to marry you"

"Because we wished we could marry and now it's right there"

"I know, I'm just saying--"

"You know what? I don't care about the people half as much as I care about you," he carried on, "Maybe that's selfish but I really don't want to spend my life ruling if you're not there by my side"

"Okay," That was all I could say.

It seemed he'd gotten out everything he wanted to say and so we just sat in silence.

"I love you," he said almost a minute later.

"I love you too"

The next morning, I awoke to find him getting dressed. I must have fallen asleep shortly after we had that conversation.

"I didn't want to wake you" I heard him say. "You looked so peaceful" he added while walking over to plant a kiss on my lips.

"I need to go see my parents," he said as he continued getting dressed, "It was very disrespectful to not have gone when I arrived yesterday. Someone was being very distracting."

I smiled, thinking very fondly about the day before.

"I have to go apologize" he continued, "I have to be in their good books when Sophia and I broach the subject later today"

"Do you think they say yes?" I asked him.

"Sophia can be very convincing," he answered, "If she thinks she can get them to agree then I believe her."

He eyed himself in the mirror as he buttoned up his shirt.

"Wanna go out tonight?" he asked just before heading for the door, "We can go to that restaurant you like"

"Sure"

=^..^=

In the late afternoon, I found myself dancing wildly to some French song. At some point, I was spinning in a manner so out of control that I was feeling more than a little bit dizzy.

I had the unfortunate luck for there to be a knock on my door at that exact moment.

"Yes?" I answered while still laughing giddily.

"It's Sir Percival" the response came back.

There was something funny about him deciding to visit at that moment but I couldn't tell him that.

"A moment" I called out while stumbling awkwardly to grab a robe.

I hurried to open the door right after and met him waiting just outside.

"Hello Percy," I smiled.

"Have I caught you at a bad time?" he asked looking past me when he heard the music and saw me breathing heavily.

"No," I said trying to hide the fact that I still couldn't see straight.

His gaze dropped to my chest which was suspiciously flat and returned to my face with a disapproving glare.

"I hope you don't make this mistake with anyone else?" he commented while walking passed me.

He walked purposefully over to my vanity, tapped my phone, and promptly paused the music.

"Of course not," I replied, "I knew it was you"

"What if the King summons you in this moment?"

"It takes like five minutes to fit them back on," I replied as I closed the door behind me, "You worry too much"

"And you've just kept His Majesty waiting for five whole minutes" Percival complained.

I groaned, "I'll put them on right after you leave. Happy?" I asked.

"Getting there"

"I do know what I'm doing you know? I've been at this without incident for a while now" I told him.

"Complacency breeds failure" he added causing me to roll my eyes, "Speaking of how long you've been at this--" he added while handing me a folder.

"What's this?" I asked while reaching out to take it.

"An update to your contract," he said.

I needed only a brief glance into the folder before responding, "It's empty"

"Seven hundred and thirty-five thousand euros has been paid into your account as agreed." he explained, "That concludes our business on that front."

In hindsight, that was nowhere near enough money for all I had to go through. I couldn't believe how much it had seemed at the time.

"Okay?" I was entirely unsure where he was going with this.

"However, as I understand it, you intend to remain with us as a guest of the Lenorian Royal Family--" he spoke calmly, "of your own accord. Is that right?"

"Yes"

"You may no longer be bound by the terms of your original contract but I trust you will continue to act in a manner that befits this court"

"Of course"

Percival outstretched his hand expectantly and I placed the folder in it.

"I hear congratulations are in order," he told me.

"What do you mean?" I smiled a bit.

He cleared his throat audibly, "I should let events proceed as they must. Good day, Lady Amelia"

=^..^=

That evening, Nick took me out for dinner as promised. Surprisingly, he'd even brought me a dress for the occasion.

A beautiful, deep emerald gown that seemed to catch every light source that was even remotely near.

All of that sparkle was turned up to a thousand when we stepped into my favourite restaurant which Nick had reserved for the evening. It was the same one we'd come to that evening following the tour and I'd fallen in love with it ever since.

Tonight it was particularly beautiful. My satin dress caught the warm glow of candles that had been set up throughout the restaurant.

"Nick, it's beautiful!" I exclaimed as we walked through the door, my arm intertwined around his.

"More beautiful now that you're in it" he replied.

"Stop," I slapped his shoulder lightly, "You're so embarrassing"

He looked me in my eyes with an expression that made me blush.

"You didn't have to reserve the whole place" I complained as we walked up the stairs to the VIP area which was also empty, "I bet you ruined so many people's nights"

"It's our special night," he said, "It should just be us here"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining," I clarified, "I love being here alone with you"

"Well, us and the servers, can't do without them" he flashed me a cheeky smile.

"Of course"

We had a wonderful night as we so often did when alone. It had always been so easy with him since we lived in our small apartment together. I never felt any pressure and I could always just be myself.

For a while, I wasn't sure who I was. I lost myself somewhere during all that mess but now, things had never been clearer.

I existed in the context of all we were together. Friends, lovers, partners.

Yes, it had been a nice night. At first, it had been one dish and then another and then dessert that I'd barely taken a bite out of. And now another tray was making its way from the kitchen.

"I love you--" I reached across the table and touched his hand gently, "but if you think I'm going to eat anything else, you must be all the way out of your mind"

"Just one more, I promise" he replied with a confident smile.

The waiter brought the tray professionally, placed it in front of me, and walked off without bothering to unveil the dish.

I might have said something about his poor service but Nick's smile was so bright, I knew something had to be up.

"What is it?" I asked trying to suppress my own smile, "Nick, it better not be something disgusting. Wait, is it alive?"

"Open it and see," he told me.

"I swear--" I eyed him suspiciously.

"Go ahead"

Slowly, I worked up the courage to lift the lid and what I found made me gasp and cover it back up. I brought my hand up to cover my mouth in a failing attempt to contain myself.

It was the biggest rock I'd ever seen. Maybe impractically so.

"Oh my goodness--" I gasped again when I looked up and found Nick heading down to one knee.

"Morgan, I've loved you longer than I'd like to admit" he began, "I consider myself the luckiest man to have met you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

Right then, I was thankful he'd reserved the entire restaurant with the way I screamed, "Yes".

I hurried out of my seat and hugged and kissed him.

"Oh God, yes!" I squealed. "I love you, yes!"

"Hold out your hand?" he asked as he retrieved the ring from its just as elegant case.

He held my hand gently and slid the ring down my finger.

"Nick, I love it," I told him, "It's so beautiful"

I don't know why, but at that moment, I wondered what my parents would think if they saw me now. They were soon to have a son-in-law and didn't even know it. Had they even noticed that I'd completely disappeared one day?

With his finger, Nick moved my hair behind my ear and said, "Morgan, I can't wait to marry you"

=^..^=

That was two nights ago. I had basically been riding on the clouds since then and nothing could touch me. This morning, something would bring me right back to Earth.

Celeste had come to my room as was expected but this morning, she'd brought with her a tray with a syringe in it.

It was odd for two reasons. For one, it wasn't the same clear liquid in it. It had a sort of pale yellow color. Secondly and more importantly, we'd done away with the injections since the end of the rebellion.

I thought we were done so what was this how?

"Why are you bringing this here?" I asked her.

"I was ordered to by Her Majesty, my lady" Celeste explained.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked thinking it had to be some kind of joke.

When she didn't respond and there was no indication that she was playing some kind of joke, I asked her what it was.

"Hormone Replacement Therapy"

"You're kidding me" I frowned, "You have to be"

"I promise I'm not lying," she pleaded, "I'm sorry about last time, I'm sorry I lied, but I'm not lying now"

I took a step forward and stopped, "I don't understand, why?"

She only bowed her head.

"Leave," I said frantically as I walked to pick up the phone. I fumbled as I struggled to unlock the phone and navigate to the Phone app, "Leave!" I screamed at Celeste who hurriedly placed the tray down on the vanity and hurried out the door.

I eventually found Nick's number and dialed it. The whole time I felt like I was struggling to breathe.

"Nick?" I called weakly into the microphone when he answered.

"Yes, babe?"

"Can you come here please?"

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Can you just come here please?"

"Alright, I'm on my way"

Thankfully, it didn't take him long to get here because I was already falling apart.

"Babe, what is it?"

I stood and hurried to meet him at the door.

"Celeste brought this," I pointed at the tray. "She says it's HRT"

"Like hormones? Estrogen and that stuff?"

I nodded.

He sighed, "I think I need to have a conversation with my parents about making decisions about my fiancée without talking to me first"

"That is not what's important here," I complained.

"Right, you don't want to take it"

I gave him a look that said that was obviously it.

"Of course, you're a man," he rationalized, "You wouldn't want to take this stuff"

"That isn't why," I countered, "I don't mind it all that much. I stopped caring about looking like a woman a long time ago"

"You're worried about me" he pivoted.

"Again, yes!" I said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"So this will make you look more like a woman and you're worried about how I'll feel" he spoke as though he was trying to confirm how I feel.

Why didn't this seem to be bothering him?

"I don't want to wake up one morning and you're no longer attracted to me," I explained.

"I don't think that's possible"

"Nick, you can barely touch my chest when I have the breast forms on," I argued, "What are you going to do when I have them 24/7?"

"I don't like the breast forms because I like your nipples and those cover them"

"That is not why!" I disagreed.

"Morgan, I promise I'm going to love you no matter what you look like"

"I want to look like this then," I told him, "I don't want to change at all"

"And I love you the way you are, you know that" he stepped forward and took my hand in his, "But if I were to play devil's advocate for a moment, and remember this is just me playing a role so don't get mad at me, my parents are probably worried about what you'll look like when you're 30, or 40, or 60"

"I'll look like me, what?"

"Yes, but we don't know if you'll be so feminine forever" he explained, "If you're marrying into this family, you're in the public eye for the rest of your life. What if you start to look more manly as you age?"

"I would think you'd like that"

"Maybe, maybe not, but you're going to be Princess of Lenoria. I think more than my opinion matters" he told me.

I sighed, pulled away, and went over to sit on the bed. He followed and took a seat beside me.

"I just couldn't bear it if you ever stopped being attracted to me"

He took my head in his hands and kissed my forehead, "I love you, Morgan. That is never going to change. And if you're worried about it, I'm always going to want to fuck you"

"Shut up," I blushed.

"You believe me, don't you?" he asked with a serious expression then followed up with, "That butt is mine. Now and forever"

He kissed my lips. I kissed back.

"We have a lot to worry about," he said reassuringly, "This isn't one of them. We have that interview with Annie for instance. Scary stuff"

"Oh my God, it's the first time we'll be appearing as an engaged couple, I can't wait to show off this ridiculous ring!" I exclaimed.

"That's the spirit," he said as he pushed off my bed, "I love you, baby"

"I love you too"

=^..^=

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Thank you to everyone who has stuck around. I doubt I could have gotten this far without you. Love you.