So, this is MAYBE going to be the last chapter before the epilogue, we'll just have to see what happens from here, and as you can see, this chapter is filled with angsty fuzziness, but considering that Thomas is dead, what kind of problems would he NOT create even after his death...I feel bad for Alana...

warning: fluffiness, angsty past reflections, references to execution of royalty and of course rape (No, I do not condone it, it's cowardly, disgusting and barbaric!), just the main lady trying to remain happy, for Olympus' sakes!

disclaimer: only the story and main character is mine!

Chapter 7: New Year, new husband?

A year later…

Richard had been crowned King a few days after Thomas' death, the citizens had dragged the usurper King's naked body through the muddy streets via horses before being quartered and burned. Alana couldn't say that she missed her deceased now ex-husband, but since she had no home, family or a man willing to take her on as a spouse, as she was basically homeless and had no reason or attachment to stay, but King Richard had insisted that she stay in the castle for the time being as it was at the time unsafe due to Thomas stealing the throne and tampering with relations between this kingdom and other kingdoms to where they would more than likely try to kill her due to being Thomas' Queen and having a hand in his death since word got out through the messengers and whispers of visiting villagers, forced, widowed or no….Elizabeth had found out that she was pregnant with Thomas' child due to their more forced clandestine rendezvous' and the stress was so great as well as the shame of even laying with him though it was by force, she caught an illness and had died alongside the unborn child….it was a turbulent, stressful and distraught year for Alana, but she was at this point unsure of where to go herself, she didn't know any other lands and to top it off, it wouldn't be safe for her to wander alone considering she didn't know any combat skills with the exception of stabbing Thomas in the back, though it was by instinct and a need to stop him once and for all.

On happier notes, Nicholas finally married Jennifer and was appointed the royal weapons master and blacksmith, Ben married his love Sophie, had a son and another child was on the way, the people were starting to grow happier, the treasure room was slowly being emptied out, stolen artifacts returned to their rightful owners, coins given to the surrounding villages to rebuild their fields and homes as during Thomas' reign, he wringed and squeezed out the taxes from the townsfolk, made the fields so infertile and barren to grow any crops or almost burned beyond repair that they almost abandoned them altogether. The De Rerum Ortu were pardoned and granted the chance to start anew, and their great leader Michael was buried with the honors of a hero, his wife Alicia had naturally been proud of him as a hero of the common folk, but she had mourned his death severely as the marriage hadn't sadly been consummated and to bring a baby into a time where Thomas could have decimated everyone with a snap of his finger would be untimely and grave. Those who were steadfastly loyal to Thomas still even after death and the revelation that he had usurped the throne from Richard was burst forth to those who were in the throne room had been either imprisoned, waiting for an execution or were already executed by beheading or hanging, but while Alana was certainly happy that things were changing for the better, she felt like she had nothing left in her life, no home, no family, no spouse, nothing. As she sat in the chambers she resided in as Thomas' forced Queen, she felt month after month like an intruder, feeling like a waste of space in a castle that had no longer been considered home, even after she had stayed at Richard's insistence due to understandable circumstances. "I think I shall leave…surely the rightful King will want to wed a suitable wife and have an heir….as for me, I don't know what is here for me anymore, my father's dead, my home is destroyed, but the only way for me to find a home is through the means of traveling." She said sadly to herself before she started getting out an old big bag she had and started packing her belongings before she could take a horse and start out for a different life. But little did she know, Richard had other reasons for her to stay with him, but he didn't think it would be the right thing to say since she had literally nothing in the kingdom that would influence her to stay.


Richard, for weeks on end, was trying to find a way to ask Alana to marry him, not only for safety and security from Kings who hated Thomas passionately, but because he'd grown to love her since she was in the castle, helping here and there with restoring the land and keeping the people at ease, especially the children of the land. He was in his room, with the engagement ring his father had made years ago for his mother since it was then upgraded with the finest diamonds, sapphires and rubies along the center and around the center star cut diamond and a white gold band, since the marriage between his father and mother was at first arranged, but grew to love, which was rare for many arranged marriages, particularly for royals. He didn't recognize it as love at first until he talked to both Nicholas and Ben about what it was like for them to be in love with their beloved wives, describing it as 'a feeling that changes your whole perspective, but if one wasn't careful, it would grow in dangerous and often fatal ways.' Thomas' mother was in a rather dangerous love/lust with Richard's father to where obsession, greed and lust for power drove her to not only kill Richard's mother and rape his father, thus snagging a momentary piece of power as well as a son conceived by rape to carry out her sin-filled legacy, but to die by a vengeful hand. But still, he felt like he could make her happier than Thomas did in a lifetime, he just needed to find her and confess his feelings. As he was working on a way to propose to her, Helena had knocked on the door before coming inside his room. "Pardon my intrusion, but I think you should know that Alana is making preparations to leave the castle…she feels like there's nothing left for her here, and who could blame her? That snake of a usurper had not only uprooted her life, but burned her father and home to the ground, and over an old crime done out of desperation." She informed him as Richard was stunned into silence by what she told him, though he understood the circumstances of her leaving, he didn't want to lose her! "Tell her that she is to be in the throne room and to wait for me there! I'm not letting her leave until I've shown my heart to her at least." He vowed before he tossed the ring up in the air and caught it in his hand before setting for the throne room as Helena went to perform his task.

It was maybe a few minutes before Alana walked in the room, wearing traveling clothes and shoes, and she wondered why Richard wanted her in the throne room? To properly say goodbye and good fortune? She had secretly grown to love Richard, but felt like she was getting in the way as he needed to marry someone of royal blood, she had only been forced to marry into royal blood, but she still didn't consider herself to be royalty all the same, she tried to love Thomas, but in the short time she was married to him, there wasn't anything worth loving in him, besides giving her the keys to the library. She shook herself out of these thoughts as she heard the familiar sounds of boots against the stone, wood and marble floor and noticed that it was Richard, wearing a desperate look, tinged with longing, as she noticed his fist was closed in a way that meant that he was holding something while he was in his robes. "Your majesty." She greeted before curtseying as he did the same. "Please, it's Richard." He reminded her as he then started to really think about how he was going to say it, as Alana was trying to study this man before her. "What brings you here? To bid me goodbye on my journey?" she asked as he stiffened at that question. "Well…I feel like I have to say something first before you do anything." He answered, much to her surprise as she stood completely still as he was muddling around with what he was going to say. "Alana, since I've come to know you for a year, I feel like I've been missing something important for anyone, man or woman. I've no one to call mine due to the years I spent fighting a war that I've considered fruitless many a time, and I knew why due to Thomas' machinations….but now that the Kingdom is getting back to a fruitful state, I feel like I'm missing….a wife." He started before looking at the stunned woman. "A wife? Who would it be? Someone you met during the war?" she asked curious, yet somewhat crushed about the possibility of him having a bride waiting for him already despite evidence to the contrary, along with surprised as she noticed that he was getting the outer layers of his royal robes and crown off to where only an undershirt, trousers and boots remained. He looked at her with a look of longing and affection as he smiled at her. "She's standing right here in front of me." He informed her as Alana took only a second to realize he was referring to her, not another woman, much to her secret relief and sheer disbelief. "Me? Why me, I'm a poor commoner who came out of a marriage I wish upon no one!" she declared trying to drive him away, but he wasn't having it at all.

"You're wrong about that, you have a bigger heart than Thomas or his wicked mother ever did, and it's so bright and undimmed that I want to treasure it with my entire soul." Richard was determined and in love with Alana, but he wanted her to say something of her own free will, she had to breathe before she could even say anything at all. "My parents' marriage was arranged by their families, surely you know how royal arranged marriages go, but in time, my mother grew to love my father, just as he loved her at first sight. I wouldn't ever call your marriage to my tragically evil brother a legitimate one since it had been under duress, by force and for revenge and punishment, but in seriousness, I promised my father and mother when I was young that should I find myself in a betrothal with someone that I would give my love to that person in careful amounts at first before becoming bounteous. Your 'marriage' with him was out of spite and revenge against a man who did steal a treasure chest out of desperation….you paid the worst price of them all: marriage to the one who destroyed everything you loved, but I can give you those things back, everything of my despicable brother's is almost thrown out of the castle and burned to ashes, but his infamous and treacherous reign will be only in history books, stories and fresh memories for future generations." Richard was in his own way wooing her, it was more of an effort than Thomas had ever given in a lifetime, he'd never in the slightest confessed any kind of love for her other than him giving her the library and only trying to use her as a sort of vessel to carry his child, sadly Elizabeth was forced to play that part and she and the child paid a great price for Thomas' sins. Alana didn't know what to say, she felt like she was at a complete loss for words, this man who was more powerful than her evil husband had ever dreamed of being in terms of magic was offering something he rarely ever showed to anyone except someone he somehow knew in his body, mind and spirit would be destined to be with him forever: his heart.


"Is….it possible that I will love someone who saved not only his kingdom, but an unhappy common noblewoman turned Queen from a black hearted husband who wanted to continue his barbaric legacy of ruling a kingdom full of people who suffer from hunger, poverty, illnesses, and even death?" she asked wondering if she could love another after Thomas had died by both her and Richard's hand, she had felt sorry for her dead husband, being manipulated and used as a personal guard dog for a wicked woman whose envy, vanity, lust and obsession had led her to taking her own life by visions of her crime clawing and scratching at her mind being too much for her to handle, but the damage had been too done for Thomas to see any kind of morality or compassion. "Maybe….but you will love not a King, soldier or a sorcerer, but a man who's in love with a woman." He explained as he walked up to her as her heart raced faster than a horse could gallop and took her hands in his before kissing her knuckles, looking at her with a sense of tenderness in his eyes. "But I would feel like a true King….if you'd be my wife." He proposed a bit timidly, she wondered how long he had rehearsed this whole proposal or if he had just improvised right on the spot, but either way, she wanted to give marriage a second try, she knew from what her father had told her that marriage wasn't just about love or great chemistry, but companionship, patience, compromise, understanding, trusting the other spouse unconditionally and even seeing through their faults a beautiful soul to be cherished, cared for and loved with no strings or conditions attached to it, she gave him the biggest, most genuine and bright smile she ever gave anyone in a long time, except her father on occasion before she answered.

"One question though," Richard was practically sweating as he desperately waited for a response, "Where should I put my things?" she asked with such a saucy smirk that both of them began laughing hard, Richard's was the most rich and loud, but she didn't care from her laughter ringing out in the throne room before he hugged her, lift her up and spun both of them around for a bit until he put her down and kissed her. "You're going to put them back where they belong for the moment, but once we're married, they're going in our room." He informed her with such a delightfully wicked look, she giggled like those silly women in the days of old were when she first came of age that year ago, when she was 19 at the time before kissing his chin as they heard clapping from Ben, Nicholas, James and even Helena as they had heard the whole thing. "Alana, you didn't even say 'yes'!" Helena remarked teasingly before their rightful King looked upon them with a playful glare. "She didn't need to actually say yes, she told me with her eyes and smile, missy!" he explained to them before she practically skipped to the Queen's chambers to unpack her things, sure for most people, to get married so soon after their other marriage ended in often tragic circumstances was questionable, but for Alana, this was her definite first marriage, despite reminders of the contrary of that year ago when Thomas took everything from her, including her father and her home.

She was elated with the events as she was walking down the hall of Kings and Queens…some looked truly regal, and she saw a portrait of Richard's mother and his father, he certainly got some of their traits, and then there was another woman next to it, she looked truly evil, smirking all the while, eyes shining with pride, wearing the most absurdly flashy attire, whereas Richard's mother looked modest yet relaxed, Richard was of course next to her, the past King must have felt like he struck a fortune with her, Alana immediately deduced the smirking, evil woman in the portrait as Thomas' mother, and next to that was of course her ex-husband, and she gave the picture the most evil and hatred of looks, as if his soul was trapped in the painting, he looked arrogant, conceited, narcissistic, like he had the power that he was always entitled to. "You ruined my life, Thomas….you murdered my father, burned down my home to the ground because he was trying to save his growing family from dying of starvation and poverty, but it was your fault for draining the land of their wealth and prosperity for your greed and treachery, you disgusting dragon! But the one person who started it all was your greedy, obsessive and manipulative, power hungry hag of a mother….I'm going to marry Richard because unlike you, he actually cares about his people and has the courage to tell me he loves me and doesn't rape another woman to have an heir before planning on killing her to cover it up once the child is born! And another thing….Elizabeth and your child died before he or she could be born, thus sadly ending your so-called 'mother's' intended legacy with a royal." She informed the painting coldly, as if his soul was being kept prisoner inside the pastels, paints and oils that cover the canvas.

She then looked at the painting with the smirking woman, and gave an even colder stare. "And you….you started this by lusting and obsessively stalking after a happily married man who loved his wife and son with every fiber of his being, and murdering the one person he cherished dearly before you took his seed from him, married him and sired that wicked dragon that called himself my husband…but you got what was coming to you by Richard's hand because I will tell you this: what goes around, comes around. Not even you were safe from that law of the world, you horrid woman." If the Alana of the past had seen the Alana of the present, she'd be horrified, but that slightly innocent and naïve girl had died the night she had everything taken from her. She stared at both paintings with hatred before she felt a hand on her back, and it was her fiance.


"You alright?" he asked worriedly before she nodded and leaned into him as he looked at the paintings of his ancestors. "What was your mother like when you were young?" she asked carefully before looking up at him in curiosity, he took a deep breath before answering her. "She was beautiful, kind, loyal, loving, honest….sometimes when I would walk the halls of this castle as a child at night, she'd be in the library reading a book, and sometimes allowed me to sit on her lap and read with her before she'd go and make a cup of apple cider for us while I would watch her to help me sleep better at night." He told her as if he was in that happy memory of the past, she knew what it was like, losing a parent to someone who was cruel, malicious and unhealthily ambitious. "You really miss her, don't you?" she asked, putting a hand on his stubbly cheek, he looked at her with love and sentiment before kissing her hand. "Sometimes I wish she was here, she would have liked you, my love." He put his hand to her cheek before they looked back at the portraits of the wicked people who ruined the lands with their cruelty and ambition. "What happened with your father?" she asked, and Richard had bristled before answering her. "After I drove my step-mother to kill herself in revenge….I found my father dead in his washroom, his throat slit….Thomas had me completely tossed from the Kingdom via having me fighting a crusade or war and stole my crown from me. I wish I could do them proud now that I have it back from that malevolent beast Thomas." He vowed as she held his hand in comfort, she never knew her mother apart from what her father told her about her, but he couldn't without having a tinge of pain and sorrow color his features. "What do you think should be done with the paintings?" she asked referring to the infamous rulers being Thomas and his mother.

"They'll stay up…be remembered in pure infamy as one of the most notorious, treacherous and evil rulers of this kingdom." He informed her, rubbing his hand up and down her back. "Let's not dwell on this for much longer…I believe a festival of summer is coming up and their King's presence is most required." She reminded him saucily before he gave her a smirk and raised eyebrow that made her giggle. "Only if my future Queen comes with me to help with getting everything ready." He commanded in that playful tone that made her laugh harder before they left the hall of the royals and went toward the village square, she was in complete awe of how elated, energetic and merry they were once Richard got the throne back from Thomas, the people had even felt sorry for Alana and couldn't blame her or their father, the blame had rested solely on Thomas and his wicked mother. Eventually, he saw Ben and they started planning on the decorations and what would be at the festival as Alana started helping the children with gathering different flowers and making ribbons.

As they were making plans for what kinds of games and activities would be on the square, Richard couldn't help but be mesmerized by Alana's kindness, bravery, and how she had come in a naïve porcelain girl, and out a woman made of sterner, yet flexible material. He heard Ben chuckling before shook himself from his little daydream, noticing that Ben was wearing a knowing look, he'd known Richard for years and was a good man, but he'd been closer to Thomas…he only wished that he could have told Thomas about his mother's manipulation when they were children, but they were too close as mother and son and he loved his mother dearly to think she was capable of such evil. "Can't take your eyes off your future Queen, can you?" he asked with that shit-eating grin on his face before Richard shook his head laughing. "No…even if I could, I don't want to. He took her for granted, thinking a library and a display of power would win her over, but his loss is my gain." He smirked at the thought of making Thomas watch as he took everything that was rightfully his away from his barely illegitimate half-brother, he wished he could have known his second illegitimate half-brother Michael, but that had been naught but a pipe dream when Thomas had killed him in front of everyone. "So, when will you tell them of your engagement?" Ben inquired while overseeing poles being carefully rising and being put in place. "Probably during the midnight feast, the festival lasts for a week, does it not?" he answered while smiling at his future bride mending a child's bruised knee due to rough play with friends. "It does….go to her, your majesty, you know you won't get everything done with you eyeing her like she's an oasis for a starving and heated man in the deserts." Ben teasingly remarked before the King laughed and walked up towards her.


"There you go….you need to be more careful, lest you get seriously hurt." She lightly scolded the boy as he had blushed from his blunder. "Sorry." He apologetically smiled before standing up on his feet while Alana did the same. "Are you going to marry the King?" a little girl who looked like the boy's sister asked innocently before batting her eyes at Alana. "Hmm….I'm not sure, he hasn't really asked me." She teasingly remarked as another little boy joined in. "He's much nicer than that meanie King Thomas and far less scary." He joined in the conversation as the man in question was behind her, smirking all the while as he heard the whole thing. She wasn't aware that he leaned down until his lips were to his ear and he whispered with a teasing timbre: "Haven't asked you?" he asked as Alana was trying and failing to hold back a smile and the little children were playing with the ribbons while Richard escorted her to a private alcove, swept her up and started kissing her with such passion that she was smiling into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him to her as he started brushing his lips, planting butterfly kisses along her neck, jaw, and just behind and below her ear. "My god in heaven….you are a master at kissing, truly…" she breathed, almost breathless in the happy euphoria of experiencing an actual kiss, full of love and passion, affection and longing.

He pulled away, wearing a proud and smug look. "Am I?" he rumbled before finally pulling out the ring. "Let me try to keep you at ease, my darling." He offered while she felt a shiver of excitement thrum down her body. "I never did say 'yes', did I?" she asked with a smile before kissing his nose. "No…but let me ask again: will you please marry me, Alana?" he proposed for a second time before she grinned wide. "Yes, I will marry you." She accepted happily before they kissed again and he put the ring on her finger before kissing yet again like they were starving for affection. She was the first to pull away and rest her head on his shoulder, letting herself smile for the first time since the year she not only lost her father, but had to kill her ex-husband to save the Kingdom from his tyrannical rule, while Thomas in his own way loved her, he had only tried to woo her in order for her to willingly bear a son easier, but lost patience and looked for a backup plan in Elizabeth in case Alana had been infertile and wasn't able to have a child after the consummation.

"What's a happy memory you had with your father?" he asked carefully as he knew his future bride still grieved for her father's murder, she sighed deeply as she formed lazy patterns on his clothed chest with her finger while muddling around with her memories. "When I was little, my father would make this…rather sweet drink that involved chocolate, heated milk, we'd drink it when it was snowing or raining outside." She reminisced, she wished her father was alive to see her so happy, but she knew that he was…even when reunited with her mother in the afterlife. "I think I might be familiar with this drink, it hasn't been seen in a lot of lands as of late." Richard had been intrigued the second she described the drink she and her father had. "After he killed my father, the place I called home was burned to the ground, killing everyone inside and destroying my things, he ordered me to run from the lands after Thomas stormed to the door, finally striking against us, but I was caught…what used to be a place of safety and sanctuary for me is now an ashes, burned timber and brick filled graveyard with screams and shrieks mingling with the smoke and fire in the midnight sky." She clutched his robes as he pictured a home burning, screams filling the air and triumphant cries and yells taunting her, he held her tight as she stiffened, tears pouring down her cheeks and her breathing turning frantic, if Richard hadn't been incensed and filled with a storming rage then, he was filled to the brim with it now, killing Richard's father had saddened him, but killing a poor man in retaliation for stealing wealth from a barely illegitimate, greedy, insane, childish and vindictive demon like Thomas, Richard had wished someone had gotten the message to him then instead of after the information regarding him was discovered and revealed to practically the entire Kingdom itself, but he wasn't as strong then as he was now in terms of his combat and magic skills, and no one knew about him, thanks in part to Thomas' careful planning and tearing out and hiding the pages somewhere only the cleverest and curious would be able to find.


She felt her second future husband squeezing her dress around the middle of her back tightly as his body was rigid and tense to where she had to snap him out of his boiling state by kissing his stubble cheek. "Richard…what's the matter with you?" she asked him gently as he gasped and saw that she was still there, he sighed deep before answering his beloved. "It's just that….I wish that I had known sooner about Thomas' doing then instead of after fighting a useless war for so long….your father would be alive and your home still standing….my second half brother still alive….but we can't exactly change the past, can we?" he scoffed before laughing sardonically. She could only comfort him in this time of having his true feelings about what happened that year and the years that followed his father's death and Thomas taking the crown from him come forth into the open. "No….but we can make a happy future, learning from the mistakes of our fathers and mothers as well as ourselves in the past and moving forward, not looking back and wishing that we could have done something then." She reminded him before he smiled and put her down before walking back just as the stands, tents and decorations were put up, ready for the summer festivities, and she was delighted in how beautiful and colorful they looked.

"There you two are!" Ben yelled out before he walked up to the happy couple and grinned upon noticing the ring on Alana's finger, Sophie had also delighted in that the King was going to get married not to a royal, but someone who'd heal him from his scarring past and traumatic childhood and adolescence and stand with him in case the memories ever came back to him, while she'd marry someone who'd not only be actually loving and passionate over her, but would heal the scars of her father's death and forced marriage to Thomas. "She actually said 'yes' if you're oh so eagerly curious, old friend." He told him with a smirk and raised eyebrow as Ben hugged him, since Thomas' murder at both his and Alana's hands, Richard took the time to really bond with Ben, becoming steadfast, loyal and solid friends as Richard could understand why Ben was trying to get Thomas to see that his mother was manipulating, molding and turning him into her 'perfect little guard dog' and father of a legacy of ambitious, power-hungry royals, but it was stopped at a sad circumstance. "The decorations are almost finished, your majesty! Just a few more touches and we can hopefully get started!" Helena exclaimed with enthusiasm as Ben could only chuckle at the maid's enthusiasm, it was refreshing seeing her happy and free since Thomas' overthrow and death.

The festivities started and lots of children and families browsed the different stands, they couldn't do the festival during Thomas' reign as he drained them so dry of their taxes, they couldn't afford anything at all, much less celebrate the summer festival. But, this was a new age and new era for the townsfolk and villagers as with a new ruler, came prosperity and revival. Alana had gotten a ribbon crown from a craftswoman and put it on Richard's head, causing rich laughter to peel out of him as the villagers took notice of how a simple act made him laugh. Many children were playing with the ribbons, even participating in the midsummer dance, bringing up questions in the happy and newly 'secretly for the moment' engaged couple's thoughts about how the other would feel about having a child one day. "So…how do you feel about children?" Richard asked as his intended had flushed a bit before answering.

"Well…I'm very much wanting children, I'm relieved it wasn't with him, but I would like sons and daughters." She answered, surprised that he was the one asking the question, he smiled before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and holding her to his side. "Do you want any children?" she asked curious about why he asked her that question, she felt his hand squeeze her shoulder a bit before letting up on the comforting pressure. "More than anything, I want them to have better lives than I…and my half-brothers did when we were young." He told her, still bearing healing wounds from his tragic past. "Richard….you can't live in the past forever….what's done is done, the only thing you can do is decide for yourself what should happen now and in the future, like if you want to have children and love them dearly, be they a girl or boy, you can do that, definitely." She reminded him as she tucked a lock of his hair behind his ear and absently fixed his robes before he gave a ghost of a smile, he admired another thing about her, other than persistence, perseverance, love and kindness, it was her wisdom, he knew she was right, it was time to move on from the past and look forward, but still, he hoped to do his father and mother proud now that he had his kingdom back and flourishing again.


"Indeed, they can, but can you make peace with a past that was at first innocently happy before blood, treachery, desperation and force tore it apart?" he asked gently as it had her stunned, could she truly make peace even after all that's happened with her? "I feel like I can, but I think I'll need in some way a reminder to show me that I'm awake and still here, instead of waking up in the time when Thomas was still ruling and people were suffering from time to time….can you provide that?" she asked a bit warily as she gauged her fiance's reaction to her response…which he smiled and nodded at her before kissing her head. "It's not safe for me outside these lands, are they? They think I'm still married to that monstrous demon Thomas, don't they?" she asked trying to stay rational, they stopped and Richard took a deep breath before nodding. "Yes….once we visit them as husband and wife, you can explain your side of that terrible story. I won't let anything horrible happen to you, I swear it as not just a King, but a man who wants to protect the woman he loves." He vowed before kissing the palm of her hand.

"You really do love me….you don't just want to protect me from harm…you love me." She concluded, stunned as he kissed her with unbridled passion, giving her a taste of how long he had to hold himself back. "How do you think it would have looked if I asked you to marry me seconds after I had to kill Thomas? It would have looked odd not to mention too soon for you, wouldn't it?" he said in between kisses as she knew he had a point, while she wasn't keen on it a little bit, the only way for her to not be struck down from the other kingdoms thanks in part to Thomas forcing her to marry him, was to marry Richard, the rightful King. "So….when do you want the wedding to happen?" she asked as he trailed his nuzzling lips along her neck. "A month, I've waited a year to propose to you, I'm not planning on waiting much longer to marry you." He informed her, determined to not only marry her for love, but him protecting her from potential harm from other Kingdoms as thanks in part to Thomas' treasonous and greedy ruling of the Kingdom, relations between this and the other Kingdoms had soured to where it was virtually nonexistent and many wondered if the Kingdom would be spared or saved from the greedy half-brother of the rightful King.

As the afternoon passed and night began to blanket the sky, the villagers sat under the massive tents at the tables, feasting on the successful harvest and meat, wine, mead and ale, one villager stood up jubilantly and held out his tankard of ale towards the King as if doing a toast. "Hail to the King who saved us all from the wicked Demon King Thomas!" he bellowed with great rejoice as the other villagers joined in on the toast loudly as Alanna smiled before sipping a bit of her wine before eating a roll. Richard held a hand up as he people were settled in their seats, waiting for what he had to say. "My people, since I came back into power, I can safely say that we are bounteous, wealthy and prosperous once again," the people cheered and applauded at this, "A new age, means a new start on life….and love," Alanna blushed at this as he looked at her with awe and reverence, "I've asked this woman, the forced wife turned freed widow of the Demon King Thomas to be my Queen, and we will wed within a month!" he happily informed the townsfolk as they cheered even louder before instruments, songs and jovial acts from acrobats and poets began to fill the townsfolk with further elation than before, if that was ever possible.


As the celebrations continued past the midnight hour, they had decided to rest for the night before continuing the festival, Alanna felt at peace and loved, like she had a family again. Though a sensible side of her had to remind herself as to why she had to marry Richard, she'd take him over Thomas any time of the day or year, she had wanted to see any kind of compassion in Thomas….but there was nothing to be found, she could only blame his own mother for twisting him into the perfect…Demon King, as well as Richard's father looking at Thomas with pure shame, like 'this is what a child born from a victim and an obsessive psycho who trapped them looks like!', but this was the present and the future was ahead…she smelt the familiar scent of a burning bonfire as she was turning a corridor, she went to the window and looked outside, seeing Richard burning Thomas' spell books, incantations and nearly anything he had of value. "Even now, Thomas' values are still being burned and turned to ash, Thomas couldn't sadly control how he had been conceived and birthed, but if only someone with some sense would make him see through his damned mother's manipulating then maybe he would have been different, but both parents are at fault, not just that wicked hussy who called herself his mother." Helena had remarked approaching her Queen's side. "I know…but even in death Thomas hinders me, I do love Richard and he's a good and loving man, but I wish I could go anywhere without having to worry about anyone who hated Thomas killing me for simply being married to him." Alanna sadly remarked as she had been right, in death, Thomas created more problems for her to try and hurdle over, but doing it solo wasn't going to cut it, but her fiancé was willing to help her hurdle those obstacles.

"I know, but thanks to what he's done to the relations of the other kingdoms, and their hatred for Thomas, if they found out you were married to him, you'd be dead for that, but if they saw you as King Richard's wife, you would be protected….he's a good man, clearly he loves you so don't let the marriage for protection stipulation hinder your ability to love again, I think your father would want you happy again, rest his soul." Helen wisely explained that while it was for her protection to marry him, he'd love her like Thomas should have long ago. She nodded at her before heading off to sleep in her bed, she was silently praying to the holy deities above that this time around, there wouldn't be blood and tears shed in the name of violence ever again as she was in her nightly attire and lay under the warm covers with her head on the pillow. "Father…..mother….I hope that once again I can be happy….I felt alone at first even though….you and mother are reunited in death, but Richard, he's…..gods above I wish I could describe him more…" she chuckled, blushing that she didn't know how to describe him, "But I've a long journey ahead…even after Thomas is dead, he's created problems that I can't take on alone….I can't leave the land for fear that anyone Thomas had greatly wronged will find me….and kill me, but not if I marry Richard…I wish it wasn't this way, but I'll try to make the best of it, like you always said to me, father, 'Every cloud can be bright or dark, you just need to find some silver lining and clutch them tight.', I'm going to need all the help I can get with finding the silver lining." She mused with a tinge of sadness and anxiety, knowing that even though Thomas was dead…there was still a long way to go.


So, not sure if it's the last chapter before the epilogue or if I can make another chapter before that, but we'll see what happens, huh?

favorite, follow and/or review, it really helps me a lot with motivation!

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