The Prince and The Stableboy [Part 3]
But within just moments, the servants begin to move and shift. All of the men, guards and servants, who had been gathered around the throne, immediately turn and move towards the platform where the steak is. Guards hurry to the steak and untie the boys. Brendon steps down from the steak first, and then helps Ryan to his feet. When Brendon turns back around to face the crowd, he finds the guard that had untied them kneeled at his feet, along with all the other guards and servants.
“My Lord, the King did not name another heir before his death, therefore you are the King now.” Brendon just blinks as the words sink in. King?.....He’s..King?
The murmur in the crowd grows louder and louder until there are cheers heard, cheers of Brendon’s name and of “Long live the King!” Not knowing exactly what to do, Ryan just looks around, perplexed. He finally looks back at Brendon, the King now. He takes a small step away from Brendon and lowers himself down onto his knees like all the other servants are doing. Brendon turns to him, and looks upset at the sight of Ryan kneeling before him.
“N-no, Ryan…” He grabs Ryan by the shoulders and pulls him back to his feet. Ryan just looks at him with wide eyes. Brendon’s fingers brush his cheek. “You’re my one and only love, just like before. Nothing has changed. Please don’t ever kneel in front of me.” Ryan nods, and a little smile starts to spread across his face. He moves forward to press himself against Brendon’s chest, hugging him tightly. Brendon smiles and curls his arms around Ryan.
A few moments later, Brendon turns back to face all his subjects. Ryan’s latched onto his arm.
“You’re King, Brendon! I don’t believe it!” Ryan exclaims happily. Brendon just nods a little, not looking quite as excited. His eyes find Adeline, on her knees along with all the other people.
Brendon doesn’t like this. Seeing all these people groveling in front of him makes him feel….unsettled. Undeserving. He looks over at Ryan, who’s smiling at him. “We’re free now,” Ryan says, “We can be together.” But Brendon’s not so sure. He looks back at all of his servants and guards.
He knows suddenly that what Ryan is saying isn’t true. With Brendon wearing the crown, there would be no one to stop him from being with Ryan, no one to speak against it, but nothing will stop the servants and the townspeople from whispering in contempt. He knows that if he sits on the throne with Ryan as his consort, he’ll earn no respect from any of his subjects, everyone will always look down their nose at them.
Brendon doesn’t want a life like that. He doesn’t care about having power, he doesn’t care about taking over his father’s rule, all he cares about is being with Ryan.
“Brendon?” Ryan questions softly, “Aren’t you happy that now we can be together?” Brendon’s face is serious as he turns to face Ryan. He takes both of Ryan’s hands in his.
Brendon tell him, “No, Ryan, we can’t.” Ryan’s face falls, and suddenly he looks frightened. “Ryan, if I’m King, everyone in the whole kingdom will be watching the two of us. Everyone will still view us in contempt, and find our love repulsive.” Ryan looks like someone’s just kicked him.
“But,…then what will we do?” Brendon bites his lip, swallows hard and turns to look around at the crowd of people, his subjects now. They’re all still on their knees, but they’re turning to each other, muttering amongst themselves. Brendon looks down. He has no idea what to do. All he knows is that he doesn’t want this, this position, this crown.
An idea starts to form in the back of his mind then, and his eyes start scanning the crowd, searching for one face in particular…..
He finally spots Adeline crouching down on her knees on the dais of his father’s throne. She glances upwards, but her eyes scurry back to the floor when she sees Brendon watching her.
“Adeline!” Brendon calls over to her. She raises her head slowly, looking up at him with apprehensive eyes. “Come over here.” She rises to her feet immediately and steps down from the platform to start making her way over to where Brendon and Ryan are standing. She keeps her head down, and has her hands linked behind her back and is wringing them nervously. The townsfolk make way for her as she walks to stand before the King. She drops down to her knees again immediately.
Brendon still looks uneasy. He turns away from her slightly, to face all the people, all the servants and townsfolk before him. He swallows back all the fear raging within him.
“My people!” he shouts, being sure to be loud enough for all to hear him. “My father was not able to name an alternate heir before his death, so it is the rite of passage that the crown comes to me.” He falls silent for a moment, biting his lip and mulling over his words in his head. He finally continued, “However, being King is a responsibility that I am not prepared for. As well as the fact that I have other, more important obligations.” He looks at his “obligation”, Ryan, who is looking back at him with wide eyes, trying to figure out what Brendon is trying to say.
Brendon turns to the nearest servant and tells him to fetch his father’s crown and bring it to him. The servant nods and scurries off to do as he had been told. Minutes later, he is kneeling before Brendon, holding out the crown to him. Brendon takes the crown gingerly, like it might burn his hand.
“I am not fit to wear this crown.” Brendon walks back over to Adeline, still kneeling on the ground. Silence stretches on for a few moments before Brendon spoke, “Adeline, you’ve been the greatest wife and friend. I’ve always been able to rely on and trust you.” She raises her head slowly to look at him. He lifts the crown up before placing it down gently on her head. Her eyes widen and murmuring rises from the crown.
Brendon reaches down to take the girl’s hand and lift her to her feet. As she rises, he sinks down onto one knee before her. She looks shocked and confused as she looks around at all the people kneeling, kneeling to her now.
“W-what? What’s going on?” she asks Brendon urgently. He looks up at her, smiling slightly.
“You deserve this crown much more than I. I am simply passing it on to the person it rightfully belongs to.” She just stares down at him, shocked, for a few seconds. Finally, she practically throws herself at him, hugging him tightly.
“I-…I don’t believe this,” she whispers. “I…was scared. Scared that I would live to serve no purpose except than to be the wife of all the Kings, and live my whole life with no real power, worthless.” Brendon smiles.
“You don’t have to worry about that anymore.” He pulls back slightly so she can see him. “The crown is yours for the rest of your life, or as long as you want it.” She’s smiling wide. She won’t be giving up her crown to any man any time soon.
Brendon rises to his feet. He looks over at Ryan, who’s standing a ways away, looking neglected and worried. Brendon smiles and walks over to him. He takes Ryan’s hand in his, and the boy holds on tight to his fingers.
“So…what now?” Ryan questions softly. Brendon smiles and lifts a hand to cup his cheek, stroking the skin softly with his thumb.
“Now, we can go anywhere we want. We can go away from here, and be free to do whatever we please. We can be together without anyone saying anything about it.” The apprehension clears almost instantly on Ryan’s face, and he smiles wide. He moves close to Brendon, curling his arms up around his neck and kissing his lips. Brendon draws the boy close, kissing him back deeply. Brendon pulls away a few seconds later, smiling at his love. He holds onto Ryan’s hand tightly. “Let’s go.”
And so they leave. The lovers pack up a few of their possessions and leave the kingdom. They travel far away from Adeline’s kingdom. They travel by cart, horse, and by ship, in search of a new home. A place where they can live together in peace, a place where they have nothing to worry about but each other.
Two Years Later
Ryan pushes open the door to his and Brendon’s small cottage, a basket over his arm filled with fresh fruits and vegetables. Brendon’s sitting at the table in their tiny kitchen.
“Back from the market already, Ry?” Ryan nods as he comes into the room and places the basket down on the table. He starts to sift through the basket, looking for the potatoes that he purchased.
“I heard quite an interesting story today at the markets.”
“Oh? What did you hear?”
“Adeline’s army has apparently conquered the kingdom to the north. She conquered the kingdom to the east just a little while ago as well.” Brendon smiles at the news.
“That’s good to hear. I’m glad everything’s going well for her.” Ryan looks away from the potatoes and over towards Brendon. He’s silent for a second, biting his lip.
He finally asks a few seconds later, “Do you,…..don’t you miss it? Living in the castle with all those servants? Being royalty?” Brendon just chuckles a little. He walks over to Ryan.
He smiles as he says with complete conviction, “Not the tiniest bit.” Then he sweeps Ryan into his arms for a passionate kiss.
A/N: -breathes in relief- Ohmygod I am so glad I finally posted this. This has taken so much work and time to finish, it's ridiculous xD I hope you all liked it : )