It was a stifling reunion, and the only thing that allowed Arthur to keep his head up through the scolding and the smothering was the knowledge that Alfred would be visiting soon. The second he had walked through the gates, guards had swarmed him, and delivered him directly to the queen as though they thought somehow he would return only to mock them before fleeing again. Even as he scoffed Arthur could not deny the possibility of this, which made his rather large eyebrows scrunch even further together in scowl. This time was different. Alfred had instilled something in him even he could not yet identify. He knew what it was he had to do, as difficult as it may be. He had a responsibility to the people he could not put off anymore. Not when one of those people had proven to be so dear already. The queen had told him he was stupid and thoughtless. She insisted that he take to his room as though it was treasure cavern and never leave. It was nothing he hadn't heard before. No, the real challenge hadn't come until he walked into a council meeting, sweeping to an open seat and settling in as though he attended every week. The members stared openly. His mother's irritation making her seem like fast boiling tea kettle. She had tried to toss him out, but he had held firm. It was the most uncomfortable hour of his life. Thank god Alfred came to visit that afternoon. If it wasn't for him sitting close, assuring him he had been brave and done the right thing, telling him how much more he could do for the nation, surely he would have broken down and cried.
As it was, Alfred's callings began to grow more and more frequent, just as their duration began to grow longer and longer. They would spend hours together, talking, working; even just sitting was a precious pass time as far as they were concerned. Before long Arthur began to realize that his feelings for Alfred were more than simple friendship. He tried to convince himself it was nothing, but the closer the two of them got, the harder it was to deny. A brush of the hand, a graze of the thigh sent his mind swirling, his heart beating fiercely.
It was a nearly a week later that Alfred next came to call. The church had been busy. A minor outbreak of sickness in the surrounding houses had brought many people to call upon the monks, both for medicinal and spiritual relief. When at last the commotion had died down, it was with his first glimpse of free time that Alfred had propelled himself towards the castle. The young prince was not the only one anxious for their near daily meetings, and it seemed an eternity to both of them since they had last seen each other.
"I'm sorry I've been so long away." Alfred was quick to apologize. Arthur had only a moment to pretend to sulk before he was pulled into a clumsy, but oh so warm hug. The breath on his ear taunted his senses exquisitely. "I've missed you!" A heat shot through the green eyed man, his whole face flushing in an instant. "I - I -I've m-missed you too." he stuttered, startled by the man's confession. When their faces pulled away, Arthur found himself avoiding eye contact.
"There's ah...something...I need to tell you." Alfred's normally boisterous voice shook quietly as he spoke, and Arthur's red face immediately grew pale with fear. Was it something about the church? Was Alfred sick as well...or worse tired of their meetings? A barrage of desolate possibilities bombarded the smaller man as he sat tensely, waiting for the other to continue. There was a long pause. "It's...well to me it's nothing bad but I...I fear what you might think of it. What you might think of me once you hear it..." He trailed off once more. A knot had formed in both their stomachs.
"Arthur, I'm in love with you." The words tumbled out all at once, a single exhale propelling the emotion of who knows how many nights of deliberation and worry. Alfred felt at once both of sense of release and intense dread taking over his senses, seeping out of his pores. He dared not look at the object of his affection. Were the expression one of disgust he did not think he could bare it. But an unexpected sound jolted his head abruptly. The monk's eyes widened with his drooping jaw as he stared, his beautiful love's eyes stained in a patterned red as a thin trail of wetness dappled his cheeks. And that voice usually so wonderfully grumpy came out in a whispered breath.
"You too?"
The joy was like a sunrise, the moment the sun breaks over the horizon and light seems to suddenly spill into every crevice of one's life. Alfred's arms couldn't move fast enough to embrace the prince. Just as the prince couldn't wait to feel that sturdy warmth around him. If this was a dream, he did not want to imagine waking up. Neither of them did.
The days that followed were infused with a joy neither man had felt before. The visits that had already become habit, were now openly craved by each. Feelings of need had been suppressed by both for so long that it was hard for them to meet without hands finding hands, lips finding lips, and fingers intertwining. Now that each knew the other felt the same, they found a new freedom in their words as well as their bodies. Shyness with the phrase "I need to see you" seemed to melt away the more it was used, until it was nearly a daily installment in the couples vocabulary. When Alfred couldn't make it from the church, Arthur would sneak out of the palace.
Beyond their hidden romance, the prince was finding fulfillment he never had before in the workings of the nation's politics. He took to participating in meetings of parliament, and it was not long before it was him to whom the members took questions of policy. He was slowly gaining a recognition for the position he had been born into, but never before attempted to fill, and it gave new purpose to each day. Just as Alfred constantly brought him joy.
As with physics, however, what goes up must come down. It took only a single kiss for everything Arthur has built to collapse upon him.
A message from Alfred that he couldn't make it to the palace that day prompted a stealthy royal escape down to the village. His common cloak wrapped right around him, Arthur glanced hastily in both directions before propelling himself down the large oak by his window, pressing the well worn bark to his palms with a sense of almost cathartic relief. Unbeknownst to the blond, however, was the set of eyes watching from the shadows. As the prince made his way what he thought was inconspicuously through the town, it was a set of eyes that followed him, silently observing. He arrived at the church like a quiet puff of wind, blowing briskly through the broad doors and breezing towards the monk who stood alone in the main hall. His hands danced lightly over the blond man's brown robes, the smile they exchanged one of the pure bliss found in each other's kiss was sweet, lips melding to lips, only a sliver of Alfred's tongue finding it's way into Arthur's mouth before with a final peck he pulled away. It was over in an instant, as their hands curled around each other, finding comfort in the warmth, and their eyes met to share a moment of silent joy. But this time, their kiss had been seen. For the eyes in the shadows had not lost track of Arthur's movements. Through the bushes by the low church windows a stealthy figure now moved, a scene in his mind replaying freshly in preparation to report to the queen.