As Kate helped William into his armour, he continued to ramble on about the night before. "Alive. Can you image? And I thought he was dead, which was mad because he was always so strong, very strong," he said.

He then noticed Jocelyn and Geoff approaching, but not their sombre looks. "Geoff! Jocelyn! This day just gets better and better!" Only then did he notice how grim they both were.

"Somebody die?" Roland asked, looking around for Eleanor.

Geoff nodded grimly and said, "Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein."

"What?" Will asked.

"Adhemar...followed you last night...to Cheapside...He says he saw your father, and your sister..." Jocelyn said haltingly.

"Will, they asked me for your patents," Geoff said seriously. "They're waiting for you in the lists. They're gonna arrest you...A dozen royal guards. They'll put you in the stocks."

"What about Eleanor?" Will asked, mirroring the rest of their thoughts for a second.

"I don't know," he said. That one statement showed the depth of Geoff's feelings for Will's sister.

"I face Adhemar in five minutes time," Will said.

Geoff shook his head and said, "No, you forefeit. They've already marked it down."

"Saddle the horses. Get the rest of your baggage," Roland said, going to work.

Will looked at Jocelyn for a few seconds before saying, "Hold." He opened his arms and asked Jocelyn, "So, what do you think...now that you know what I am?"

"Hard to know what you are, William. It would take a lifetime, one I am most willing to give, but right now, you've got to run. There is nothing else to do. Run, and I will run with you."

"Jocelyn, I cannot run. I am a knight, and I will put myself to the hazard," William insisted.

"A knight in your heart, but not on paper, and paper's all that matters to them," Roland said.

"William, I love you. I love you. You. And I'm sorry, but I won't see you led away bound for the stocks," Jocelyn said, her voice laden with emotion.

"But you will see me run? No!" William insisted.

"Damn your pride, William. It is you and only you that will not see you run," she said forcefully.

"My pride is the only thing they can't take from me!" William exclaimed.

"But they can take it! They can, and they will!" she returned. She was most definitely tearing up. "But love they cannot take."

"Then, then where will we live? In my hovel? With the pigs inside in winter so they won't freeze?" William said.

"Yes, William. With the pigs," Jocelyn said, her tears beginning to fall. "The poor can marry for love."

"Ph, Jocelyn. You speak of what you do not know!" William said forcefully.

"Will? What's the matter?" Eleanor's voice asked suddenly from the entrance.

"Thank goodness," both Geoff and Roland said at the same time. They hurried over to her and Roland said, "They've found out about him...and you."

"Oh, no," she gasped.

"Would you see me run?" William asked Jocelyn.

"Yes," she said.

"Roland?"

He just nodded and looked down.

"And you, Geoff?"

"Yes. I wish it, too, with all the pieces of my heart," he said gravely, looking over at Eleanor. Okay. He's not the man she was talking about.

"Watt, you and I, we aren't runners," William said.

"Yes. William, today we are," he said.

"Run, William," Kate said.

"Eleanor..."

"Please, William. Run with me," she said pleadingly. Roland put an arm comfortingly around her shoulders. Roland?...No.

"No! I will not run!" William exclaimed.

"Would you have me run?" Eleanor asked.

He looked over at her sadly. Hesitantly, he said, "Yes."

"Then why won't you run?" Eleanor asked.

"I'm a knight," William said.

"Well, Boys. All good things must come to an end," Roland said, "Let's end it together."

Eleanor looked up at him and said with strength in her voice, "I will see you again. All of you. Good bye."

Roland pulled her into a hug. As soon as he let go, Watt pulled her to him. In this way she was passed from him, to Kate, to her brother.

"What about you?" she whispered to him.

"I'll be fine. You have to go," he said, drawing back to hold her shoulders and look her in the eyes.

"Be safe, my brother," she said before turning to the last of the group: Geoff.

She took a step toward him hesitantly, then another. A second later, Geoff had rushed forward and pulled her tight against himself. "Good luck, dear one," he said, now barely holding back tears.

"Good bye, Geoff," she said sincerely. Eleanor broke away and ran. She went to the streets of London and headed straight for the stadium. Quickly, she ran inside and pushed her way to the front of the crowd just in time to see her own brother arrested.

Anguished, she began to cry. There was nothing she could do for him now, for any of them.

She ran from the stadium and did not slow until she heard someone familiar call her name. "Eleanor! Eleanor! Wait!" Edward called from behind her.

She stopped absently and turned to see the Black Prince, disguised in a black cloak, running toward her.

Eleanor took a few hesitant steps toward him and merely gazed at him.

Seconds later, he reached her, grabbed her hand, and said urgently, "Come with me! It isn't safe here!"

He ran off while she merely tried to keep up with him. "Where are you taking me, Edward?" Eleanor asked as he dragged her by the hand.

"I can hide you, but we must go now!" he exclaimed, pulling her harder.

"You're sure it'll be safe?" she asked, trying to trust him.

"Yes, now come!" he said. The woman began to follow of her own will, speeding up until she was running slightly behind him.

They quickly ran through the streets of London all the way to the palace. Edward quickly flipped his hood off and yelled for the gate to be opened.

As soon as he could, Edward ran inside with her, leading her to safety.

As soon as he heard the gate closing, Edward slowed, but he did not stop until the gate was completely closed. At that point, he pulled her into a tight hug and said, "I feared I was too late."

"What are they going to do to my brother?" she asked urgently.

"They'll hold him in the Tower until he goes to the stocks," he explained regretfully.

"How long?" she asked in dread.

"Not less than five days," he said quietly.

"No…" she whispered in horror, falling to her knees in defeat.

"Your brother is strong. He will survive," the Black Prince said softly, consoling her.

"I'm scared for him…If he dies, I'll be alone in the world…" she said. Her eyes brimmed with tears.

"No, you won't. I promise you, Eleanor, you will not be alone," Edward said, taking her face in his hands.

"Why? I'm just a peasant, no one of worth. Why could you possibly care about me?" she asked. The tears now powered down her face.

Edward lowered his face so that he could look directly into her eyes. After several seconds as such, he said, "Because I love you."

Eleanor immediately fell silent. She stared at him in shock before asking, "What?"

"I love you, Eleanor Thatcher. Please, tell me you feel the same," he said pleadingly.

She studied his face for several long, slow seconds before saying hesitantly, "I love you, Edward, Prince of Whales."

His face broke out into a tremendous, radiant smile before he bent lower and brought his lips to meet hers in a sweet, tender kiss.

Several seconds later, he pulled away and asked once again, quite seriously, "Eleanor, will you marry me?"

She gasped in shock before his nervousness by saying quite simply, "Yes."

Less than a second later, Edward's arms were around her and his lips upon her own. They both finally felt complete.