I am so happy to see how much all of you are enjoying my story. Here is the latest chapter!

Disclaimer; I own nothing.

Deep in dungeons beneath the palace, a lone figure walked down a seemingly abandoned grey stone hallway, lit only by the occasional flickering torch. Silk skirts swished as the figure walked, and the firelight glistened off blonde hair, while delicate lily white hands held a silver tray loaded with food. The red lips, that in times past usually held a coy smirk, were nothing more than a grim slash, the edges quivering with barely concealed anguish. Stepping into the light at the end of the hall, the figure, a woman adorned in a purple dress and glistening jewels, held her head high as she glared haughtily at the guards standing on either side of a cell door.

"I'm here to provide the prisoner with his last meal before his trial in the morning,"

The guards merely nodded wordlessly before opening the cell door, and stepping aside to give the woman relative privacy, before the lady walked into the dimly lit chamber.

Within the cell hung a man, his arms stretched out on either side of him by chains, his knees biting into the grit of the stone floor. Long green hair hung on either side of his face, and an unruly beard grew on his chin and jaw line. However the man still sported ropy muscles and his body was lean as a whip, and just as agile. The woman smiled at the frame she had memorized years previously, and knelt in front of him, gently placing the tray down on the floor with a gentle clink.

"Hello my love," she whispered.

The man slowly looked up, green eyes piercing into the woman's very soul making her shiver the same way she did when they first met "Bella Rosa," he murmured "my beautiful yellow rose,"

"And you," she laughed softly taking his face into her hands and caressing his cheek with her thumb "my brave emerald lion, my one true love."

"I'm so sorry beloved," the man rasped, his eyes welling with hot tears heavy with regret "I'm so sorry that I could not protect you, that I could not keep my promise to you, that we would grow old together, and be buried side by side by our tree where we first met."

"Hush," the blonde soothed holding back a choked sob "I will not hear such talk from you, it isn't over yet, it can't be!"

"Maybe if I had protected our son better, and ensured his survival, then maybe it would be," the man sighed "but unfortunately I failed him, just as I have failed you, my dearest Angeline."

"Oh Fierro," Angeline sighed touching foreheads with her husband "you failed no one, we were betrayed, it is as simple as that."

Fierro rubbed his face against his wife's, trying to embrace her when he physically could not "I fail you every moment I hang here like a weakling, put on display like a piece of meat,"

Suddenly a true smile lit the woman's face, and a mischievous twinkle glittered in her almond eyes "Well you're the most handsome piece of meat I've ever seen," she purred "especially considering you have been in prison since Grugen took over and you're supposed to be chained 24/7, so I'm wondering how you've managed to maintain that body of yours."

Fierro let out a dark laugh, his lips twisting into a cocky smirk "The guards here are technically loyal to the crown, enough to allow me time to stretch my muscles during the day, but apparently not enough to help me escape. I guess the Celestial Dragons scare our military more than I would like."

"Figures," Angeline rolled her eyes, before giving her lover a wry smile "not even prison can keep you from your insane training schedule."

Fierro leaned forward placing a soft kiss on her velvet lips, lingering for just a moment before touching foreheads again "It keeps my mind off things, things I'd rather not think about,"

"I worry about our daughter," Angeline whispered her brown eyes growing serious "I fear that she is involved with the resistance."

Fierro barked out a laugh before giving his wife a lopsided smile "Knowing my baby girl, she's running the resistance!"

The blonde gave a frustrated groan, burying her face into her hands "Why did she turn out like you, why can't she be more like me?!"

"Oh you mean, stubborn, hot headed, and the type who refuses to tell a living soul she's feeling pain to the point that she would practically go through the entire labor and have the baby on her own without ever alerting the midwife," the man smirked evilly "that kind of woman?"

Angeline pinned her husband with a stern glare before heaving a sigh "God only knows what our son would have been like," she finally chuckled as she admitted her defeat.

"He'd be a magnificent prince with the courage and intelligence of his mother," the man smiled.

The blonde woman returned his smile "And the strength and character of his father,"

Fierro laughed gently before his wife felt a choked sob ball up in her throat "This is all my fault," she gasped in a tormented wheeze.

The man gave a frustrated huff before giving her his own sardonic glare "What have I told you? None, and I do mean none, of this is your fault."

"But it is!" Angeline insisted twin tears tumbling down her cheeks "I saw Grugen talking to the Celestial Dragons on the den den mushi, and I could feel that something was wrong. I should have told you instead of keeping silent like a coward. Because of my ignorance, I bear the burden of our son's death, our daughter's involvement with the resistance, your imprisonment, and soon your death. I'm at fault, and you cannot convince me otherwise!"

Fierro gave a grieved sigh "Beloved, I do not blame you, I never have. And if I am to die tomorrow, I will hold my head high and die an honorable death without fear or begging."

"You and your honor," Angeline laughed through her tears wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him close "but if not for that, I wouldn't love you nearly as much. If you are to die, know that you take my heart with you."

The man bit his lip, trying to maintain his composure and be strong for his wife "So," he said softly trying to distract the woman "how about that food?"

"Oh," Angeline's eyes grew wide as she drew away "that's right, I had forgotten."

"So what is the news of the outside world?" Fierro asked when his wife released him and began to prepare the tray.

"The country is preparing for our Kingdom's anniversary festival," the woman replied in an annoyed grumble "and Grugen rides through the streets like a conquering hero, spreading his propaganda that you were a traitor King. No one even questions his logic, save the members of the resistance."

"Sounds fantastic," Fierro growled rolling his eyes as he accepted a spoonful of soup "if only I were out I'd rub his smug little face in a pile of horse poo. He deserves it."

"On that, I wholeheartedly agree," Angeline snickered drily.

"There's something else, isn't there?" The man asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the blonde replied flippantly wiping her husband's face with a napkin.

Fierro gave a derisive snort "Spill it woman," he growled playfully "you know you can't lie to me, I know you too well for that."

"Well," Angeline sighed as she paused, putting the bowl and spoon down "there is something that has sent our soldiers and Grugen into a tizzy, and I didn't want to bring it up because honestly, it is quite simply all too preposterous!"

"Tell me,"

The command, simple and soft, yet it bid her to continue with an authority more commanding than any army could ever hope to achieve "There was a young man spotted in the market," she whispered casting a paranoid glance over her shoulder "and Grugen has commanded his immediate capture."

"What's so special about this kid?" Fierro asked one eyebrow rising towards his hairline.

"According to reports, he had…green hair."

The man's green eyes widened and his jaw fell "How old was he?"

"His early twenties, best guess," Angeline replied.

The man's gaze fell to the floor, and the gears in his brain were going at full speed "They never did find a body, did they?"

"Well no," the lady shook her head with a sorrowful sigh "but how can we even dare to hope?"

"We can because that's what we do," Fierro said a smile suddenly creeping across his face and his eyes brightening with a warrior's fire "we bow to no one, and I can ensure you that tomorrow I will not meet the blade of the executioner. I'm feeling fired up my love, and I am willing to bet that tomorrow there will be a battle, and our son will be the one leading the charge."

Angeline raised one eyebrow before chuckling softly and shaking her head fondly "Your hope is what keeps me going beloved,"

"Just one more day, Angeline," Fierro smiled maliciously "one more day, and I will either be dead, or living a dream I never thought would come to pass."

"Let us pray for the latter you sword crazy fool," the woman spat folding her arms with a huff "honestly the way you are so blatantly, and proudly I might add, addicted to battle, it isn't appropriate for a King!"

"Hmm," the man purred sending an evil smirk across to his wife "there have been many things I've done that wasn't appropriate for a King, such as marry a woman who had no ties to any form of royalty or nobility in any way shape or form, but I think that was a decision worth making, don't you?"

Angeline tried to keep her composure, soon found herself laughing at the man she was so deeply in love with "Touché my love,"

Fierro smiled at his wife before giving an experimental tug on the chains holding his arms and groaning with impatient aggravation "When I get out of here," he growled "I'm going on vacation, somewhere warm and sunny, with a beach and plenty to eat."

"Don't forget your hammock," the woman said snidely "because heaven knows you'll sleep the entire time."

"Ah hammock naps," the man sighed softly "I miss those; I remember when I used to take them out in the courtyard with our son sleeping on my chest."

"Yes," Angeline nodded with a playful smirk "our court got rather used to seeing you sleeping with our son in the grass."

"He loved it!" Fierro squawked indignantly.

"He did," the woman said flicking her husband's forehead with a finger with a pout "so much so that he refused to take his naps in the nursery, and insisted on sleeping outside with you! And what was worse is that you would skip out on important government meetings in order to take those naps!"

Fierro shrugged uncaringly "Eventually the meetings were planned around the time I spent with my son, I still think it was a worthy investment."

"More like you were teaching him to be a lazy bum," Angeline retorted.

"first you wanted him to have a regular sleep schedule, and then you didn't want him to have a regular sleep schedule, I'm confused!"

The woman threw her hands up in the air in exasperation "The naps were fine when he was a baby, but when he began his tutelage to be a prince at seven, he was falling asleep in class. That is when it became a problem."

Fierro sent his wife an endearing pout "So you would really have deprived his dear old dad valuable father/son bonding time, all because some stuffy tutor isn't capable of holding his attention?"

Angeline glared at him before standing with a huff "Oh, I give up! It is absolutely impossible to argue with you, you never let anyone have the last word!"

"I do," Fierro grinned petulantly "but only if I'm wrong, which is rare, and only if someone earns the right to have it, which also doesn't happen all that much."

"Well as your wife, you'd think I'd get certain privileges," the woman said with an indignant sniff.

"Nah," Fierro suddenly guffawed "being my wife only makes our fights that much more interesting, not to mention, fun!"

Angeline gave a squawk then stomped out of the room, the sound of her husband's laughter echoing behind her as she strode out of the dungeons and back towards her living quarters.

So what do you guys think? Thought you'd like a little insight on the King and Queen since you already met the princess.

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