It was late. The kingdom was asleep. The only people up were a few guards that Arthur had been able to distract by causing some noise in one of the empty dungeon cells. They were gone and now that he had the keys he would be able to do what he came to the dungeon to do.
Using the keys, he opened a cell door and stepped inside. The queen made sure to shut the door quietly after stepping inside before looking around the cell. It was a rather large cell, larger than the others at least. It was also cleaner and kept in better conditions than the others, but that was only because of who the person being kept locked away inside was, and it was the king.
Lying in a bed covered rich, velvety fabrics, the king slept. Arthur could not help but stand there for a moment and just watch his sleeping face. Oh, how he missed waking up to that face. It had been so long since he slept beside his king. He wished he could lie with him again, but as Arthur's eyes traveled down the king's body, he saw the very reason to why he could not be with his king.
The king's hands were lying at his sides above the warm blankets that covered him. Around his wrists were chains that connected him to the brick wall just behind the bed. The king was a prisoner in the dungeon, as well as a prisoner to a curse.
It started a few months ago. The king had been acting different. He had become angry. Violent. He began to punish servant for anything they did wrong. He had sent soldiers into the homes of the citizens and had their houses destroyed. Any prisoner who was arrested was given a harsh trial and there have been a number of times that the prisoner was to be put to death for minor or nonexistent crimes. Arthur had to step in a few times, with his Jack's help, to try to get the king to reconsider or overrule his final say. Yet, there were still a few innocents who were condemned.
Before the curse, the king had been a good person. He cared for his people. He would do anything for them. When he saw what the curse was doing to him, he had himself locked away in the dungeon for the protection of the kingdom.
He told the Jack to start searching for a way to break the curse and not to free until the curse was broken. Arthur had begged the Jack to allow him to help find a way to break the curse, but it would not be allowed. Arthur had perhaps the best magic in the kingdom, even stronger than the king's magic, but Arthur was just a queen.
A queen was meant to be seen and not heard. He was a symbolic figure with no power. Since the day he became the queen, Arthur had no real power or say over his own kingdom. He had been miserable when he was first crowned, but it was because of the king that Arthur found happiness again.
His king would always ask for his advice and opinion before he made a decision. He would tell Arthur all the information that had gone over at a royal meeting. Arthur was not confined as a prisoner to the castle, but allowed to roam the kingdom freely as he pleased. The king loved his queen and the queen loved him back.
Yet, it was because of that, their affections for each other, that Arthur was not allowed near his spell books or magic. When the king had first been locked away, Arthur had been frantic. He tried to get the king to reconsider, tried to command the guards to release him, but his words had fallen on deaf ears. Arthur had to be restrained by the guards as his king was carried away to the dungeons. He did not want to see his love locked away, but the order had been given.
Being he had been so frantic and desperate for his king to be freed, Arthur had been banned from being allowed to see his spells books or to visit the king without being supervised. It was feared that Arthur would do something drastic to release the king while he was still cursed.
The queen could not take it anymore though. Every time he came to see his king, he would collapse on the king's bed in tears. He could not bear to be away from him for so long and to see him locked in chains. His king would try to comfort him. He would say how much he loved his queen and to just give it a little more time and the curse would be broken soon enough. Arthur might have taken more comfort from those words if it had not been that for the fact that the king often broke into violent episodes and Arthur would have to be snatched away from him so he would not be hurt, cutting their limited meetings with each other short.
Arthur would come in tears and leave in tears and he was tired of it. He could not wait anymore for his people to try to find a way to break the curse. For all Arthur knew, they had already given up. He had heard rumors from the servants of the castle. They said that no one knew how to break the curse and that the people were giving up hope on finding a way to break it. Not only that, but Arthur had been reading the letters the Jack had been writing and receiving in the past few weeks. He had gotten in contact with the royal relatives of the king and queen. He was looking for a replacement. A new king.
Arthur would not let that happen! What would they do with the current king? Leave him in the dungeon for the rest of his life? Banish him? Kill him? No! Arthur would not allow it. If the kingdom did not want the king anymore, then fine. Arthur planned to release the king and run away with him. They would be happy and get by on their own far away from the kingdom. Maybe just being away from everything and all their responsibilities would help the king; at least that was what Arthur hoped for.
The queen sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over his king. He lifted his hand and pushed the king's golden locks out of his face, staring down at him with a soft and loving gaze. "Oh, my king…"
Arthur lowered his head and placed his lips over the king's. He kissed him softly and gently and soon the king began to stir.
Blue eyes slowly opened and stared up at the queen leaning over him. "Arthur?"
Arthur pulled away and smiled down at his king, seeing the drowsiness in his eyes and lifting one of his hands to place it upon the king's cheek. "Hello, my sweet king."
"What are you doing here?" Alfred asked as he let out a yawn, lifting his hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes.
Arthur stared down at Alfred as he reached into the pocket of his long, royal blue jacket. Arthur pulled out a set of keys and leaned forward for Alfred's hands that were still lying over bed sheets. He gently lifted one of the hands and took the keys to unlock the shackle on his wrist.
Alfred heard the sound of the keys clinking together and he looked down at his hand, seeing Arthur unlocking him from his chains. "Arthur, no! What are you doing!?"
"I'm releasing you." Arthur said simply as he put the key into the lock of shackle, turning it to unlock it.
Alfred eyes widened and he quickly sat up to grab Arthur's hands to stop him. "Arthur, stop! You can't!"
Arthur lifted his head to look at Alfred, looking almost confused as to why he stopped him. "What do you mean I can't?"
"I can't be released until the curse is broken. If you release me before then I'll just hurt more people." Alfred said, guilt slipping into his voice at the thought of all the innocent people he had harmed.
"I'm tired of waiting Alfred." Arthur said, his voice sounding calm, but there was desperation behind his calmness. He did not want to wait anymore. He wanted to be with Alfred, his king. He could not wait anymore. "The kingdom doesn't care anymore. They've given up."
Arthur's words stunted Alfred. He stared at Arthur in disbelief when he said that kingdom had given up on him. "Wh- What..?" The king shook his head. "They couldn't have given up. Yao just told me yesterday that they were working hard on fixing the problem."
"The problem their fixing is not the curse. They are trying to find a new king to take the throne." Arthur pulled his hands out of Alfred's grip, dropping the keys onto the bed in the process, and placed them on his arms. He grasped his arms tightly, almost clinging to him, and stared up at him with a desperate gaze. "They've given up hope, Alfred. And they will not allow me to help. They are going to put a new king on the throne and just throw you away."
"N- No… They can't…"
"It's true, Alfred! I'm sorry, but it's true." Arthur sighed and lowered his head. "Please, Alfred. Let me release you. We can leave. If the kingdom doesn't want us anymore, then we will just leave."
His voice was desperate as he pleaded with Alfred. He begged him to allow himself to be released so that leave and just be with each other. "We don't need the kingdom. They obviously don't need us. Let's just leave. Please, Alfred."
Alfred could not seem to accept the fact that the kingdom had given up, nor did he want to allow Arthur to release him. "No, Arthur. I can't… I'll just hurt more people. And I'll just hurt you."
Arthur's head snapped up to look at Alfred, digging his nails into the king's arms and shaking him slightly, trying to get through to him. "Alfred, please! If they rid of you, they'll force me to marry whoever the new king will be! I don't want to be anyone else's queen! I don't want to be married to anyone else! I just want to be with you, Alfred! Please!"
There were tears forming in Arthur's eyes as he stared up at the king, his hands shaking almost as much as his voice as he held onto Alfred's arms. Alfred stared down at his queen. He saw the tears forming in his eyes and his first instinct was to wrap his arms around him and pull him close. He pulled him into a tight and protective embrace and Arthur quickly leaned into his arms, grasping at and burying his face into his shirt. Arthur clung to Alfred's clothes as he leaned into his embrace and cried into his chest. He felt Alfred's fingers running through his hair and mumbles quietly to Arthur.
"Arthur, I don't know if we should-" Alfred held Arthur tightly. There was still uncertainty in his voice when he spoke again, but Arthur's distressed voice cut him off and made him go quiet. "Please, Alfred…! Please…"
Alfred went silent. He did not say anything for a few minutes, only holding the sobbing Arthur and running his fingers through his sandy colored hair in an attempt to calm him down. He eventually did speak and when he did, Arthur could almost not believe what he heard him say. "All right. We can leave."
Arthur pulled away to look up at Alfred, his eyes still glassy and cheeks wet. Did Alfred actually agree to leave with him? "We can leave?" He asked for clarification.
"Yes, we can." Alfred said with a nod and a smile.
Arthur stared up at his husband for a moment before a bright smile crossed his face as well. "Oh, Alfred!"
Arthur wrapped his arms around Alfred, hugging him tightly and nuzzling his head against his chest. "I'm so glad. We can finally be together again."
Alfred hugged Arthur back, but Arthur did not notice the worry on the king's face as he spoke. "Yes, we can." He said softly and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of the queen's head.
Arthur smiled at the kiss and lifted his head. He reached up to press his lips to the king's lips. Arthur felt Alfred kiss him back and a gentle finger caress his cheek before he pulled away and reached for Alfred's chains again.
He picked up the keys he had dropped on the bed when Alfred pulled away from him and went to unlock the remaining shackle around Alfred's wrist. Alfred looked nervous and hesitant at first, but he still offered Arthur his hand and allowed him to unchain him.
Once he was free of his shackles, Alfred rubbed his wrists, which had red marks around them from being chained up for so long. After giving him a moment Arthur stood up from the bed. He took Alfred's hand to help him out of the bed.
Again, Alfred was hesitant, but he stood up from the bed with Arthur's help, a bit unstable for a moment, having not been able to stand for a while, but quickly balanced himself out. Arthur smiled when Alfred stood up with him. He pulled him towards the entrance of the cell, letting go of Alfred's hand for a moment to open the cell door and turning his back to him so he could peer out into the halls of the dungeon, checking for any guards.
Arthur looked around for a moment, but he did not see any guards. They must still have been busy from the distraction Arthur had made earlier. Perfect. All Alfred and I have to do is make it outside and grabs some horses from the stables and we can leave.
Arthur left the door open and turned back to Alfred with a smile on his lips, happy and eager to finally leave with him. "The cost is clear, Al-" Arthur was cut off when he turned back to Alfred and saw the king's bent over with his hands grasping at the sides of his head almost as if he was in pain.
"Alfred? Alfred, are you okay?" Arthur hurried up to Alfred and placed his hands on his arms. He tried to pull him up back to standing position, but Alfred resisted.
"Alfred! Alfred, love! Are you okay?" Arthur frantically tried to figure out what was wrong with Alfred. He tried to pull him up to see his face, but Alfred would not stand. He tried to pull away from Arthur, but Arthur would not let him go. Alfred grasped at his head, pulling at his own hair as Arthur tried to pull his hands away from his head.
"Alfred, please, poppet! You are going to hurt yourself!"
"Ar- Arthur… You need to get out of here…" Alfred's voice came out with such struggle. Arthur almost didn't understand him at first.
"Alfred? Alfred, I'm not leaving you." Arthur said as he placed his hands onto Alfred's cheeks and tried to pull him up so they could look at each other. "Come on. We have to hurry before the guards come back. It will be all right once we leave."
Arthur tried to calm Alfred down. He could not be having another episode. Not now. He spoke in a soft tone with honeyed words, hoping it would calm him down. He called him "love" and "poppet" and repeatedly told him that everything would be all right once they had left; as long as they hurried before the guards came back that was.
Alfred hardly replied though. Only grunts and intangible mutters escaped from his lips as he tried to restrain himself. Suddenly, he pushed Arthur away, hard enough that the queen fell to the floor. Arthur landed with a thud and saw Alfred staggering backwards when he sat back up. "Alfred…"
Alfred staggered backwards and turned away from Arthur. He looked as if he was heading back to his bed and the chains that had been restraining him before, but he stopped just short of the chains as a scream ripped through his throat.
Arthur's eyes widened at the scream and he quickly jumped to his feet and ran over to Alfred. "Alfred!"
Frantic and worried, Arthur ran up to Alfred and grabbed is arms to turn him around. "Alfred, love! Poppet! Please, calm down! It's okay. It's okay! We just have to leave this place and then everything will be okay! Please, love. I promise. I promise! Alfred, I love you! So, please, just-"
Arthur was cut off when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and went completely still. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open.
Arthur felt something dripping down his lip. He removed his hand from Alfred's sleeve to lift it to his mouth. His hand slowly lifted and he touched his lips. When he pulled his hand away to look at it he saw red on his fingers. It was blood. He was bleeding and not just from his mouth. When he looked down, Arthur saw Alfred's hand had pierced right through his stomach.
Alfred's hand had gone straight through Arthur's stomach. His strength had always seemed inhuman and his curse only made him more violent, but also stronger.
Arthur stared down at the wound. He could hear his blood splattering down onto the dungeon floor and saw red staining his clothes and Alfred's sleeve. Arthur did not know how to describe his pain. He felt sick, feeling as if he wanted to vomit, but he did not. He could feel his skin tearing and the blood pouring out from his stomach. It was excruciating. It was enough to make him scream, but could not find his voice. He could not speak or move. He only stood there, staring down at his wound in a shocked silence.
Eventually, his gaze lifted back up to Alfred. He stared at him for a few silent moments as he tried to speak; wanting to ask why Alfred had hurt him, why he did not hurry to leave faster, why he was just standing and staring at him with his empty, soulless eyes. After a few more seconds, his strength gave out and Arthur fell into the king's arms.
Arthur was caught by the king who was just staring down at the queen without any sort of emotion. Arthur stared back up at Alfred, feeling his life draining from him almost as quickly as his blood. He slowly lifted his hand, wanting to touch Alfred's cold and beautiful face one more time as he choked out his king's name. "Alfred."
Arthur's hand fell short and dropped before it could touch Alfred's face. His eyes remained opened as he went limp, lying in Alfred's arms just as the king began to come out of his cursed state and realize what he had done.
"Arthur! No! Arthur! Arthur!" Alfred cried looked down at his fallen queen. He lowered himself and Arthur's body to the floor, shaking his shoulder slightly as he tried wake him. "Arthur! Please! Don't do this! You can't do this to me! You can't!"
Alfred's words fell on deaf ears for the queen was already long gone, staring up at Alfred with dull, lifeless eyes.
"Arthur! Please! I'm sorry! I wasn't suppose to hurt you! Please, come back! Arthur! Arthur!" The king desperately tried to reawaken Arthur. He lied him down on the floor and gave him mouth to mouth, breathing air into him in hopes it would revive him. When Arthur did not stir, Alfred tried pushing down on his chest, counting a few pushes before alternating and breathing air into him again. The cycle was repeated for a few minutes until Alfred finally gave in to the truth. Arthur was dead and it was Alfred's own hand that killed his queen.
After coming to acceptance, Alfred picked Arthur up and held him close. He buried his face into Arthur's royal blue robes and sobbed into his deceased lover. He should have never agreed to run away with Arthur. If he had not agreed, Arthur would still be alive. He did not care about how the kingdom might have banished or killed him and put a new king on the throne because of his curse. He did not even care how Arthur might have been have had to marry the new king after Alfred was disposed of. If Alfred had not agreed to run away with Arthur and had not allowed Arthur to release him then the queen would still be alive. But now he was dead and it was Alfred's fault.
Alfred cried and cried. How could he let this happen? How could he kill his own queen? He should have been able to fight the curse enough to at least keep Arthur safe. It seemed Alfred was not as strong as he thought he was. Alfred knew he could not go on without Arthur in his life. He could not. He would not. Arthur was everything to him. Now, that he was gone and he was still cursed, Alfred had nothing left. Alfred knew what he had to do and, by the sound of running footsteps and clattering metal coming up the dungeon corridor, Alfred knew just how he was going to end it.
Alfred picked Arthur up and carried him over to the bed in the cell. He carefully lied him down over the velvet sheets, letting his head rest on the pillow. He carefully closed Arthur's eyes and drew a cover over him, making it look as if the queen was only resting if it weren't for the blood stains that were bleeding through the covers.
The sounds of the footsteps were growing louder. Alfred's time was almost up. He took one last look at his queen and cupped his pale face with one of his hands. Alfred lowered his head to place a gentle kiss on Arthur's red lips before whispering his final farewell. "Good-bye, my queen."
Alfred pulled away from Arthur just as the guards came running into the dungeon cell. Alfred glanced over his shoulder back at the two guards, both of them looking frightened and confused to see Alfred free of his chains. It only took them a moment though to notice the dead queen in Alfred's bed and their confusion turned to shock.
"The queen is dead!" One of them shouted as Alfred stood up and turned to face them.
The two guards quickly drew out their swords and held them out towards Alfred. Alfred stood quiet and still as he watched his guards plan out their attack. He didn't move nor say a single word. He simply waited and within a moment Alfred was granted his wish.
One of the two guards had lunged forward, turning against the king he once served a bit quicker than Alfred would have thought, and pierced Alfred through the chest with his sword. Alfred staggered back a bit and gripped at his chest, letting out a pained scream and gasping for breath as the blade cut through his chest. The guard held his position for a few seconds before he pulled his sword back.
Alfred winced as the sword was withdrawn from his body and he covered up the wound in his chest with his hands. Blood dripped from his wound as he stared at the guards for a moment and then he fell. His death would be quick. It would not be long until his heart would stop beating and he would soon join Arthur.
Alfred fell, partly on the bed and partly on the floor. His upper body was lying on the bed while his lower half rested on the floor. Alfred was gasping for breath as he turned his head and looked at his queen. His face was peaceful and it would be the last thing Alfred would see. With the little strength Alfred had left, he moved his hand to entangle it with Arthur's. The king kept his eyes on his queen in his final moments, never looking away once as he slowly drifted off. Soon, he was dead as well, left beside his queen who he had loved, but in the end could not protect.
I was not sure if I should rate this T or M. There isn't that much violence, so I rated it T. Please let me know if you think I should change it.
I also would like to mention that I will also be posting my stories on tumblr. It will be the same stories I post here on this site. I will put a link to the tumblr on my profile.
Cover Picture by Bliss.