The Prince and The Stableboy [Part 2]

[l_awlietxoxx]

Brendon and Ryan, their wrists bound, are dropped side by side on the hard ground in the throne room, before the King who sits crippled in his throne. Brendon lets out a pained groan at the pain still radiating through his shoulders.

“Be silent! Stop your whimpering!” comes the King’s voice, much too loud and commanding to come from someone who looks so crippled and helpless. Brendon falls silent as his Father breaks into a fit of coughing.

Just managing through the pain, Brendon cranes his neck up enough for him to see around the room. The King is still doubled over coughing, concerned servants surrounding him. The King’s advisors line the walls. A few watch the King with pained eyes, while the rest turn cold glares on the pair of boys on the floor. Brendon could see the hateful, spiteful glares they’re all turning on Ryan, and Brendon knows that they’re in trouble. They know what Brendon and Ryan are to each other.

Brendon’s eyes move to the trembling figure of his Ryan. His hands bound behind his back, and Ryan is leaned over so far before the King that his forehead touches the floor in front of him, the best attempt he could make at falling prostrate. Brendon’s arms itch to hold Ryan, take his fear away, protect him, but the chains binding his hands made that impossible.

The King’s coughing fit finally subsides and he looks at his son and his lover with tired eyes.

“Brendon….” The King’s voice is tired and raw now, “What have you done?” Brendon keeps his eyes trained on the ground, avoiding the disapproving stare of his Father and the glares of his advisors. “The guards told me they found you two together in the North Tower, a quite inventive hiding place. Apparently you two were hiding from the guards and holding onto each other like it was all that mattered.” The King’s voice turns mocking, showing his displeasure at his son’s predicament. His face still pressed into the floor, Ryan’s body starts shaking slightly. “Take care of the sniveling slave!” The King commands and in a flash, guards are surrounding Ryan. They seize him roughly, pulling on his tunic and yanking his head back by his hair. Brendon freezes as Ryan cries out in pain.

“No! No, don’t hurt him, please!” The King raises an eyebrow at his son’s sudden talkativeness. Brendon has assumed Ryan’s previous position, leaned over with his forehead pressed against the floor. “Please, I beg you, Father, I’ll do anything for his release.” Brendon’s voice is soft and raw, sounding heartbroken and vulnerable.

“Anything?” the King questions as he turned a glare on his son. “Why does a useless servant boy mean so much to you, Brendon?” His voice grows louder as he grows angry, but Brendon knows that he can’t be intimidated, he has to answer immediately.

He sits up just enough so that he can look at his father. Every pair of eyes in the room turn on the prince as he searches for words in his head. He finally starts speaking, in as strong of a voice as he can muster.

“I-I love him. Please try to understand, Father, I need him. And he’s done nothing wrong. It was my idea to meet in the North Tower, he had nothing to do with it.”

“Wrong!” the King bellows, and Brendon flinches. The cruel man on the throne points a finger at Ryan, who is still in the guards’ grip and shaking in fear. “He is a disgrace to all of us, and to every servant here. How dare he think he has the right to even address you?!”

“Please, Father, all of it was my fault! I forced myself on him!” Ryan is too terrified by now to even acknowledge the fact that Brendon is lying in his defense, and that he’s trying to take the blame in order to save Ryan. But when that fact starts to sink in, Ryan just bursts into tears. The guards and advisors look away as his sobs echoed throughout the throne room. The King clenches his eyes shut and holds his hands over his ears to try to drown out the sound of the boy’s cries.

With a frustrated noise, the King finally orders the guards to release Ryan. They let go of him and he falls to the ground in a heap. Seeing as there are no guards holding Brendon, he crawls forward as much as he could with his hands still bound behind his back and moves as close to Ryan as he could. But he couldn’t do much with his hands bound, he couldn’t reach out to touch Ryan, he could only watch heartbrokenly as his love curls up on the floor and continues to cry. Brendon bites his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood, in order to hold back the tears he can feel building in his own eyes. He knows he has to be strong if he and Ryan would have any hope of getting out of this.

“Brendon…” the King speaks in a tired voice, holding his head in his hands. “This situation has shown me that you do not hold your role as heir to the throne in high importance.” Brendon shakes his head.

“No, of course I do, Father.”

“I asked you to do one thing. Just one thing, Brendon! And you did not. You failed me. You shared your bed with that filthy servant instead of with your wife!”

“No, that’s not true!” Brendon could feel the beginnings of hysteria starting to set in, but he forces himself to keep speaking, and to keep his voice from wavering. “Adeline is my wife, of course she is more important than the servant. I’ve slept with her, as I was supposed to.” The King raises an eyebrow skeptically at that.

“So she is pregnant then?” Brendon gulps, but he knows that this is his only chance.

“Y-Yes, she must be.” The King beckons over one of the servants and Brendon could just barely hear his father ordering the servant to fetch Adeline. The room falls silent as they wait for the servant to scurry away and leave the room in order to fetch Brendon’s wife.

Brendon takes the moment of silence to look down at Ryan. The lanky boy is still curled up, but his tears have stopped and he’s looking up at Brendon with fearful eyes. Brendon gives Ryan a tiny smile and mouths so that no one in the room save for Ryan would be able to see, “It will be all right.”

The servant reappears, with Brendon’s beautiful wife in tow. She looks about the room in bewilderment for a few moments. Her eyes finally settle on Brendon and the boy on the ground before him, and she shakes her head in confusion, her eyes wide. The King smirks and beckons the girl over. She moves over to him, her eyes staying on Brendon the whole time. Brendon’s gaze meets hers, and he tries to somehow wordlessly beg her to not sell him out.

“Adeline, my darling,” the King practically coos and the girl shrinks back slightly as he reaches out to pet her long, silky black hair. “This,” the King says, pointing to Brendon, “is my foolish son, as you know. But that,” the King points to Ryan. “is my foolish son’s lover.”

Adeline’s confusion doesn’t seem to shrink at all, and she doesn’t seem to believe the King’s words. The King notices, and said, “I’m sorry, my dear, but it’s not a lie. They were hiding together in the North Tower, trying to hide from my guards. They were holding onto each other, and they knew that there would be dire consequences if they were found. Why would it matter if they were found if they were not lovers?”

Adeline turns to look at her husband as her mind finally starts to grasp what the King is telling her. Brendon prepares for the worst, fearing that Adeline would be enraged and lash out at him or Ryan. But instead, she seems…..sympathetic. Her eyes look kind and understanding, not a hint of anger or disgust there. She holds Brendon’s gaze for a few moments, and she smiles at him the tiniest bit. Brendon doesn’t understand….is she trying to say that she is going to help him? Before he has a chance to figure it out, his wife has turned back to face the King.

“This….this is awful. Horrible and…repulsive.” Adeline’s voice is dripping with hatred, and if Brendon hadn’t seen the kind look she had given him a moment ago, then he would have thought immediately that Adeline was bent on Brendon’s destruction. But he had seen the smile she had flashed him, and knew that she was faking this.

“Now, Adeline, before we punish those two, you need to answer one question for me. Are you carrying my son’s child?”  Adeline is silent for a moment, and looks down at the floor.

“I….I’m sorry, My Lord, but I don’t know. He has lain with me, between all the time he was gone with his slave boy, but I don’t know if I am pregnant or not.” The King sits back in his throne, his fingers holding his chin in his hands as he thinks. After the silence in the room stretches on for several minutes, the King finally speaks with his verdict.

“Brendon, what you have done is worthy of severe punishment, and if I could, I would have both you and your whore beheaded at this very moment.” Despite the panic that erupts in Brendon’s mind, he forces himself to keep a straight face, even now he knows he can’t show fear. The fact that the King would be able to behead his own son without batting an eyelash doesn’t surprise him too much.

But Ryan isn’t as strong, he breaks down into another fit of tears. Brendon notices Adeline step away from the King and look down at the ground, looking guilty. “But I cannot give that order so suddenly,” the King continues. “So here is the deal I am making with you, son. If your wife is, indeed, pregnant with an heir, then you and your boy will be spared, and you will take the throne after my death as planned. However….if Adeline is not pregnant, then it is death for both of you, by whatever means I am in the mood for.”

Ryan’s still crying, so much so that he must not have been able to hear the King’s sentence. But Brendon’s eyes stay trained on the ground, and he does not struggle as two guards come over to seize him and pull him to his feet. As much as every muscle in Brendon’s body is screaming to grab Ryan and whisk him out of harm’s way, he knows that he can’t. Brendon just bites his lip hard as the guards escort him and his beloved from the throne room.

Brendon and Ryan are brought down into the castle’s prison cells. They’re both pushed roughly into a large cell, so dark that Brendon could not even see the far wall of the cell as the guard pushes him hard inside and Brendon falls to the dusty ground. Ryan falls down beside him, and there’s a crashing noise as the barred door of the cell is slammed closed and locked.

In a heartbeat, Brendon reaches out for Ryan as Ryan throws himself into Brendon’s arms. Brendon presses desperate kisses all over the top of Ryan’s head as the smaller boy cries softly and his body shakes.

“I-I’m sorry…..so sorry,” Ryan hiccups and clutches to Brendon tighter. Brendon hushes him and starts stroking Ryan’s hair back gently.

“You have done nothing wrong, Ryan, you have no reason to apologize.” Ryan tilts his head up so that he could look up into Brendon’s face. The prince’s heart clenches at the tears in Ryan’s eyes and his reddened face.

“B-but it’s my fault that you’ve been condemned to this place. It’s my fault that you’re in trouble with your father.” Brendon hushes him again, this time with a finger pressed to the boy’s lips.

“No, Ryan. If anything, this was my fault. It was my idea for us to first start meeting in secret.” Brendon forces a tiny smile for Ryan’s behalf, and he brushes a few stray locks of hair back from Ryan’s face. Ryan buries his face against Brendon’s chest again, and Brendon just holds him silently as Ryan continues to cry softly.

He’s scared, of course he is, just like Brendon is. After a little while, Brendon hears Ryan’s breathing even out and his body completely relax in Brendon’s arms. Brendon looks down at him and sees that Ryan has fallen asleep, cried himself out. Brendon just watches his love for a few moments, his fingers trailing through Ryan’s soft, chestnut-colored hair.

Brendon eventually moves to situate himself leaning back against one of the walls of the cell, with the sleeping boy still held securely in his arms. Brendon would not let anyone hurt Ryan. He is not going to let go of him, for anything. Brendon lets out a sigh as his mind ponders their predicament. Yes, Brendon’s scared, and yes, of course he wishes that he and Ryan weren’t being held in a prison cell now, but he knows that he does not regret a single decision he had made or a single thing he had done that had brought them here. He loves Ryan with everything in him, when he had asked Ryan the first time to meet him in the North Tower, he had known that he wouldn’t be able to live without Ryan’s company, without knowing that Ryan loved him too. Brendon had loved every moment he’d spent with Ryan, and there is no way he would ever regret any of it.

The only way that he and Ryan would get out of this unscathed, is if that single night Brendon had spent with Adeline had been enough to impregnate her. Brendon closes his eyes for a moment and prays to the same gods that had brought him and Ryan together that Adeline could be carrying his child. If they had brought him Ryan, he figures they must favor him for some reason.Brendon eventually falls asleep himself, still cradling Ryan in his arms. But several hours later, Brendon jerks awake at the noise of the large door that leads to the prison cells opening slowly and then footsteps moving towards Brendon and Ryan’s cell. Brendon’s body tenses, and his whole body curls around Ryan’s sleeping form, determined to protect Ryan, no matter what the cost.

But, a complete opposite of the deep, gruff voice of a guard that Brendon had been expecting, he hears the soft voice of a woman.

“Brendon…..?” Brendon gasps softly. He recognized the voice immediately.

“Adeline?” Brendon says, loud enough for her to hear, but making sure not to speak loud enough to draw the attention of any guards that are guarding the cells. The slim figure of Brendon’s wife appears suddenly just before the bars of the cell. One of her hands rises to hold onto one of the bars, as if she’s trying to get through them to get to her husband.

“Brendon?” she whispers again, urgently. Brendon carefully lowers Ryan down onto the floor of the cell before moving over to his side of the bars.

“I’m here,” he says softly. She breathes out a sigh of relief. He holds onto one of the bars as well, and, much to his surprise, she moves her hand to cover his.

“I wanted to make sure you were all right. Oh, I’m so, so sorry,” she chews on her rosy bottom lip as she speaks, looking terribly guilty for some reason. Brendon twists his hand slightly so that he could hold onto her fingers. He understands suddenly that, earlier in the throne room, she had pretended to hate him in order to remain in the King’s favor.

“Adeline, what are you apologizing for? I’m the only one out of the two of us that should be apologizing. I’m sorry for what I’ve done to you, you have every right to hate me.” The girl keeps her eyes on the ground, not looking away from the ground to look at Brendon.

“I…I don’t…hate you,” she says softly, but she doesn’t look like she is at ease with the situation, of course she isn’t.

“Listen,” he says gently and leans forward so that he could speak through the bars to her more directly. “Ryan and I….it has nothing to do with you, it’s not as if I sought him out because I wasn’t happy with you. I-I met him before we were married, I was already in love with him when you and I met. I’m sorry, I truly am. I never wanted to hurt you….but I already loved him, and couldn’t bear to be separated from him. That’s….that’s why I had to go to meet him every night.” Granted, Brendon loves Ryan like he had never loved Adeline, but he still cares deeply for her. No he doesn’t love her, but his feelings for her are as strong as, if not stronger, than feelings for a best friend.

“Y-Yes, that’s why I’m apologizing, Brendon. I knew you went somewhere every night, but it did not bother me. I didn’t want to be intimate with you any more than necessary. That’s nothing personal….it’s just that it was new to me and I was frightened by the idea of it.” There’s silence for a few moments before she continues. “But….you don’t understand, it’s my fault that you’re in here.” She bites her lip, as if she’s holding back tears.

“What…..what do you mean?” He doesn’t understand. “How is it your fault? You haven’t done anything…”

“But I have!” Adeline looks down at the floor of the cells, avoiding eye contact. Brendon is silent, still not understanding a thing but giving her the chance to explain what she is trying to say. “When you left tonight, it was….different than all of the other nights. I don’t always even notice that you leave, it was only when I would get out of bed for a drink of water or such that I would notice you were gone…..but tonight, I was just…shocked, and I felt..vulnerable after what we had done. You left so quickly, like you were disgusted or ashamed. And I felt….I suppose a bit hurt because you had left so quickly afterwards, and-and I was angry. I-I alerted the guards, and told your Father, and then he sent the guards to look for you!” She continues looking away, looking horribly ashamed of herself.

Brendon remains silent for a moment. So….Adeline had been the one who alerted his Father to his disappearance. He says nothing, not feeling angry, just…numb. “I apologize, I’m so sorry,” Adeline says, sounding desperate for Brendon’s forgiveness. “If I had known the reason, I would not have told the guards! I was just…angry, and I didn’t know where you had gone…”

Brendon silences her with a finger pressed to her lips.

“Adeline, if you truly thought that I would be angry at you upon hearing this, or you thought I would have the right to be angry, you could not be more mistaken. I have no right to be angry with you for this, and I’m not. You, however, did have every right to act like you did. It would have been perfectly justified for you to have become enraged the very first time I left. I remain the only one between us who has committed a wrong act. You have nothing to apologize for.” Her dark eyes finally rise to meet his, and Brendon could see that they are wettened slightly with unshed tears. She removes Brendon’s fingers from her lips and instead holds his hand between both of hers.

“You’re truly a good man. I do wish to apologize, though, for never paying you much attention.” She smiles a small bit and Brendon laughs softly.

Ryan stirs suddenly from his resting place. His voice is soft and sleepy, “Brendon?” Brendon and Adeline both turn their attentions to the boy on the other side of the cell.

“I’m over here, Ryan.” Ryan crawls over to him, looking fearful in the darkness. He stops when he is a few feet away, as soon as he sees the woman standing before the bars of the cell. His eyes widen, and he stops in what looks like fear. Fear of her is justified for him, he had been sleeping with her husband.

Brendon gives his lover a small smile and holds his hand out towards him. “It’s all right. She just came down here to talk to me.” Adeline gives Ryan a small but heartfelt smile. Ryan finally stands up and walks the rest of the way over to Brendon and latches onto his side. Brendon smiles and pats his hand reassuringly. Ryan’s eyes shine wide and bright in the darkness, and they stay transfixed on the pale form of the woman on the opposite side of the cell bars.

Brendon shifts his attention from the boy on his arm back to his wife. He speaks softly, urgently, “Adeline, are you pregnant? Are you carrying a child? It’s the only thing that will save us.” Her brown eyes turn from Ryan to meet Brendon’s. Then she looks down at the ground, looking guilty and uncomfortable once again.

“I….I do not know. I cannot tell yet.” Her hands fold instinctively over her flat stomach. “I will call a doctor as soon as possible and pray for the best.” Brendon nods solemnly.

“Yes, it seems that is all we can do.” Silence stretches between the trio for several moments. Brendon’s eyes come to rest on Adeline’s stomach. It is the single place that could carry his and Ryan’s salvation.

There is suddenly a loud, crashing noise that reverberates through the prison. “Quickly, a guard is coming, you must leave!” Adeline looks down the dark hallway nervously and nods at Brendon’s words.

“I will come here and tell you immediately when I know about our child.” Brendon nods, anxious that she leave as not to be caught. She catches Brendon’s hand in hers and squeezes it before rushing away and disappearing up the stairs.

Brendon quickly wraps his arms around Ryan and pulls him against the wall and slides down to sit against it, Ryan in his lap.

“Pretend to be asleep,” Brendon whispers. He closes his eyes and Ryan pillows his head against Brendon’s chest, eyes closed. A guard walks past their cell and stops for a moment to peer inside at the pair.

He grunts, “Too dark to see a damn thing,” and walks away, his armor clunking unpleasantly with each step. Ryan opens his eyes again and lifts his head, making sure that the guard was gone.

“He’s gone.” Brendon opens his eyes and visibly relaxes, his head resting back against the grimy wall of the cell.  He looks down towards Ryan’s face, and swallows hard when he sees Ryan’s dark, fear-ridden eyes shining through the darkness of the cell.  Maybe he doesn’t regret the fact that he’s here, but he still feels horrible for dragging Ryan into it with him.

He skims his hands up Ryan’s sides to cup his face tenderly. He sums up as much of a smile as he could manage and speaks softly, “It’ll be all right, Ryan. I promise it will be all right.” His bright, fearful eyes blink.

“But..but what if-…”

“She is. She is pregnant.” But really, Brendon is trying to convince himself of that fact just as much as he is trying to convince Ryan.

Four dark, dismal days later, the door to the cell rooms creaks open again.  Brendon looks up from where he’s huddled against the wall with Ryan, dirt covering almost every inch of his body thanks to four long days in the dingy cell. Footsteps approach their cell, and, like four days before, the footsteps are lighter, softer than those of the guards. Brendon knows who it is.

He crawls away from his sleeping lover and over towards the bars of the cell, the bars that are cutting him off from the rest of the world.

“Adeline?” his voice seems to disappear in the darkness. But then a hand appears and covers his on the bar.  The girl’s pale face appears through the darkness, directly on the opposite side of the bars.

Brendon can’t help but gulp fearfully. He knows full well what his wife is here for, what she is here to tell him. She carries his and Ryan’s fate within her, within her womb. He makes himself look at her face finally, makes himself look in her eyes.

And he can see it there. He can see what the answer is. He can see what the answer is in her eyes. She avoids his eyes, looking down, looking upset, discontent, and even a little bit ashamed. Brendon knows what she’s about to say.

“I’m…….sorry.”

Ryan cries when Brendon tells him. Brendon holds him close, rubbing his back. A single tear falls from Brendon’s eye, but it falls to the ground, ignored. The prince knows he has to be strong. Even in the face of death, he has to be strong. Perhaps if only for Ryan’s sake.

The lovers are taken from their cell the next day. One guard pulls Brendon from the dark cell, and another guard tears Ryan out of his arms. Ryan had stopped crying hours ago, and now he just stands in the guard’s grip with a numb, surrendered look on his face.

The guards hold onto their arms with vice-like grips that are sure to leave bruises. They lead the boys up to the throne room. Brendon can’t help but soak up the sunlight streaming in through all of the windows.  He had been in that pitch-black cell for five days, and just finally seeing light seems like such a blessing. His eyes are rimmed with dark circles, and his figure is emaciated. He and Ryan had hardly had anything to eat.

They’re brought to the throne room again, and pushed onto their knees on the ground before the King. Ryan keeps his eyes on the floor, but does not cower before the King like he had before. He is resigned to his fate. If he is facing death as a consequence of being with Brendon, he would face it with his head held high.

Brendon looks up at the King through his eyelashes. His father is slumped over in his throne, obviously on the brink of death. He doesn’t know who the King’s successor would be now, but it isn’t his concern.

Brendon sees Adeline standing beside the throne. Her hands are folded behind her back and she is looking at the ground, looking absolutely distraught. Her clothes are disheveled and her hair, usually so pristine and smooth, hangs down in knots. It looks like she hadn’t had any more peace in the last few days than Brendon and Ryan had had in their cell. After a hacking cough, the King starts speaking, his voice deep and raspy.

“Brendon, my son. I never thought there would be a day when you would disgrace me like this, and force me to raise my hand against you like I must today.” Brendon would not let his father belittle him, and would not let him trick him into feeling ashamed. Brendon reaches across, his head still bowed, to find Ryan’s hand and hold onto it tightly. Ryan grips Brendon’s hand so hard his fingers turned white. The King lets out a sigh at the sight. “Your wife is not pregnant, Brendon, it seems she is as useless as you are.” Brendon does not raise his head to see Adeline flinch.  “She will live to be the wife of the next King. But you, Brendon, won’t be so lucky.” Brendon’s face remains calm and neutral, but he hears Ryan take in a shaky breath. Brendon squeezes his hand. “I’ve been thinking….pondering the method in which I should send you both to your punishments. There is nothing I can think of that is harsh enough for the shame you’ve brought me.” Silence fills the room as the King thinks to himself for a few minutes.

Then, he gives his verdict. “The stake. You two will be burned at the stake. Burned like the witches you are, and killed together like I know you wish to be. That is the only mercy I will bestow upon you, my son. I will let you die with your wretched beloved.” Ryan lets out a sob and turns to press his face into Brendon’s shoulder.

They are sent back to their cell that night, that is where they spent their last night before their execution. Brendon lies stretched out on the filthy ground, Ryan laying on top of him and wrapped tightly in Brendon’s embrace. Brendon tilts his head up to press a kiss to Ryan’s forehead.

“I’m sorry, Ryan, so sorry. I’m so sorry that you have to die because of me.” Ryan sniffs and shakes his head, looking down into Brendon’s eyes.

“No, it’s not your fault. It’s okay. I don’t regret a second I’ve spent with you, I enjoyed all of it.” Brendon gives a tiny smile and lifts a hand to stroke Ryan’s cheek.

“I feel the same. I’m still so glad that I met you, and I’m glad for every minute we spent together.” Ryan smiles and leans down to press his lips to Brendon’s. They kiss softly and lovingly, their lips sliding against each other’s sensually. Brendon turns them over, so he’s on top and his fingers are cupping Ryan’s jaw, smoothing over the skin as they kiss.

“I love you,” Ryan murmurs against Brendon’s mouth as their kiss increases in passion. Ryan gasps softly as Brendon’s tongue runs over his lips.

“I love you too.” Ryan’s arms entwine up around Brendon’s body, holding him close against him as Brendon kisses him deeply, his hands cupping Ryan’s face.

The night goes on and the two make love. Despite the filthy floor they have to lay on and the darkness surrounding them, it’s as pleasurable for both of them as it always is, and moans are muffled into soft skin and sloppy kisses so the guards won’t hear them.

Brendon pushes into his love smoothly and lovingly and when Ryan comes, he’s a writhing mess, whispering and gasping Brendon’s name. Brendon comes in him, moaning into Ryan’s ear and his fingers grasping Ryan’s body close. Once they both come down from their high, breathing hard, Brendon whispers, “I love you, always and forever. We’ll be reunited in the afterlife, and we’ll be together forever.”

Ryan nods, still gasping softly for air and pressing his face against the skin of Brendon’s neck as Brendon holds him close.

“If eternity with you is what awaits me after life, then I’m more than willing to face death.”

When the guards come to take them the next morning, sunlight is streaming through the one tiny window in the cell. It’s more than just a tiny bit ironic that on the day they are being taken to their death, the sun finally decides to reach the tiny window of the cells in the lower level of the castle.

Ryan’s face stays stern and serious as one guard takes him by the arm to lead him from the cell. A second guard holds onto Brendon’s arm in a tight grip, leading him away from the cell. Brendon laces his free hand with Ryan’s, and didn’t let go, no matter how painfully hard the guard squeezes his arm.

The sunlight is even brighter once they got outside. Their wrists are bound in shackles as they stand side by side in a wooden cart, being pulled to the steak that stands in the middle of the village.

The townsfolk are gathered around everywhere, staring at the pair and murmuring amongst themselves. Some are skeptical of the rumors, they don’t believe that the beloved, handsome prince could possibly harbor the curse of homosexuality, especially not when he has such a beautiful wife. However, there are plenty of people who believed what they had been told. Some spit cruel names and curses at the boys in the cart. Ryan closes his eyes and turns his face away from their cries. Brendon’s head remains upright and he stands tall no matter what, just like he had been taught all his life. “You see, Father,” he thinks to himself dryly, “perhaps I’m not so much of a disgrace as you may think.”

In what is completely too short of a time, the cart reaches the steak. Ryan gulps audibly and Brendon looks over at him worriedly. He can’t get a good look at the boy, though, because guards from the castle appear beside the car and pull Ryan from it. Another guard takes hold of Brendon’s arm and leads him out of the cart. It seems that they are going to allow the prince to retain some of his dignity.

Brendon looks around a bit, and it doesn’t take him long to spot his father. A makeshift dais has been erected a little ways from the steak, so that the King could have a good view of his son’s execution. Brendon’s eyes meet those of his father’s, and he isn’t surprised to find his father’s eyes cold and unsympathetic.

Brendon’s eyes shift to beside the King’s chair, where there is someone standing on the dais beside him. It doesn’t take Brendon long to recognize it as Adeline. Her hands are clasped tightly and nervously and she worries her bottom lip with her teeth as she watches the scene before her. Brendon shoots her a weak smile.

Then a guard grasps Brendon’s shoulder and starts pushing him up the stairs that lead to the platform before the steak. Ryan is being pulled up before Brendon, and the prince can’t help but be proud of his lover. Ryan doesn’t fight, he lets the guard pull him up onto the platform. His face is hard and expressionless, free of any trace of fear. Ryan’s eyes remain focused straight ahead, and on nothing in particular, as if he is blocking out the entire world around him.

Soon, both Ryan and Brendon have been pushed onto the platform before the steak. Another guard is standing at the base of the platform, placing fire wood around the base of the steak. The two guards standing on the platform along with Ryan and Brendon begin undoing the shackles binding their wrists. But as soon as their hands are freed, the guards produce a length of rope, its purpose to tie the boys to the steak.

But Brendon knows that in the few seconds they are untied, there is one thing he absolutely has to do….

He reaches out for the servant boy before him, who stands there so fearless and strong that he looks like a knight, and pulls him into his arms. Ryan lets out a small gasp of surprise, but it’s quickly cut off when Brendon presses his mouth to Ryan’s. All of Ryan’s breath suddenly rushes out of him, and his body practically melts against Brendon’s. His arms come up around Brendon’s neck, and he kisses back immediately. Nothing else matters but the press of his lips, not the sudden murmur that rose from the crowd, or the horrified shout of the King. All that matters was that this is the last time he would be in the arms of his beloved, the last time he would feel his soft, plush lips. Feeling the same, Brendon would have held onto Ryan forever and ever, but there were other plans for him.

A guard grabs Brendon roughly by the shoulders and drags him backwards, away from his love. When Brendon looks at Ryan, he sees the boy’s eyes jolt open again and him hurry to regain his balance after Brendon has been torn away from him so abruptly. And only now does Brendon see Ryan’s face fill with despair. He bites his bottom lip and his eyes fill with tears.

Brendon’s eyes remain focused on Ryan’s face, the idea to look away inconceivable, as the guard pushes Brendon’s back against the steak. In less than a minute, the guard has tied Brendon’s wrists around the opposite side of the steak, so that his arms curled backwards, securing him to the steak. He still does not look away from Ryan. With tears lining his eyes, but refusing to let them fall, Ryan is pulled to the opposite side of the steak, and tied to it in the same manner as his lover. The steak is wide enough around for them to both be fastened to it at the same time, but not so wide that their arms did not cross. Ryan’s hand finds Brendon’s and holds onto it tightly.

A guard steps up onto the platform, baring a large, flaming torch in one hand. Ryan closes his eyes and his head turns away from the sight, eyes closed tightly. Brendon swallows hard and keeps his face stony, not acknowledging his fear.

The crowd’s reaction is mixed as the guard carries the torch closer and closer. Some cry out in despair for the beloved prince, while others cheer for their execution.

Brendon’s practically crushing Ryan’s fingers within his own. Ryan’s head is turned away from the sight of the torch, his eyes shut tightly and his hand clutching Brendon’s. He tries to make his mind focus on nothing but the feel of Brendon’s fingers, reminding him of being reunited with Brendon after all this, of how they’ll be free to be together with no prejudiced eyes scrutinizing them.

The guard approaches the steak, holding the torch high. He begins to lower the torch down to the firewood, the blaze coming ever closer to sending the lovers to their deaths. Brendon closes his eyes.

But suddenly, a sharp, unpleasant sound cuts through the air. Brendon’s eyes fly open again and his they dart to the source of the noise: the King’s throne. Everyone in the crowd, alarmed, turns to face the King.

The man is crumpled over in his throne, coughing violently. One of his hand clutches his throat, the other his robes over his chest, as if he can alleviate the fatal hacking cough. Brendon watches, a mix of pleasant shock and horror, as his father’s body folds in on himself and he falls to the floor from his throne. Servants suddenly rush to surround him. The guard who was holding the lit torch is also paying attention to the King, the flames now at a safe distance from Ryan and Brendon. The slight murmuring in the crowd grows increasing louder and louder, all asking each other what’s going on. Ryan blinks as he watches.

“W-wha…what’s going on?” he asks Brendon. Brendon shakes his head.

“I don’t know…” All of their questions are soon answered, when one of the King’s servants rises to his feet. He turns away from the body of the King on the ground, and faces the crowd. His face looks shocked, shaken to the bone.

“The King……the King is dead,” he announces, just barely loud enough for the people to hear. The crowd is silent at first, not knowing what this means, not knowing what to do.

Part 3 (I promise this one isn't as long xD)