It's impossible to say how long she spends poring over list after list of the names and pictures of all the suitors who have come to visit her in the past year. It's not like she wants to, of course, but her mother is very adamant about her choosing a husband by the time she's twenty-one, which is only a few months away.
Either way it sucks, because even if she were to see someone that she might be interested in (even though she already met him and sent him away) she now hardly has any time to get to know him before she reaches the age at which she's to get married. It's kind of a lose-lose for her. And while she's tried to get her favorite blond outlaw out of her head, he just won't stop appearing in the back of her mind.
Fortunately, he hasn't been captured yet – by the knights in her kingdom or by those in any other. He's still wandering free in the forest with everyone else, and she often finds herself imaging what each person might be doing.
It's in this activity that she finds herself being distracted yet again from the lists of suitors. Exhaling in defeat, she sets the papers down and stands up from her desk.
She has another ten suitors to meet tomorrow, and then fifteen the week after.
She honestly doesn't know how she's going to survive.
As she walks down the long hallways of the castle, she allows her thoughts to wander to her friends once again. Everything in this place reminds her of them, and she finds herself imagining them sneaking in to raid every so often.
Of course, she knows that if they did come, they would try to find her and either rescue her or just make sure she's alive and okay. And even if they didn't, she knows that she'd hear of things missing from the castle or of guards who tried to fend them off but failed.
She sighs, shaking her head to clear her thoughts as she walks in the weapons room.
The weapons room isn't so much a weapons room as it is a weapons wing. There's one locked doorway that only the upper-class knights and the king have the key to (she had her father's key copied without him knowing), but the room opens up into a massive hallway that branches off into smaller areas with each specific type of weapon, as well as a slightly larger area for armor.
Ally makes her way to the back and picks up a bow and some arrows from a shelf. She walks to where there's a line of targets hung on the wall and begins practicing her aim.
She's definitely improved since she left the camp, with all the practicing she does to clear her mind. Now, she hits the middle of the target almost every time, save for a fluke or two every so often.
Usually, target practice is good for helping her focus on something other than her old friends, but today is apparently worse than the others. She practices for hours on end, and still the only thing she can think about is the outlaws, and mainly Austin.
She knew she'd miss him, but she never realized just how much she had grown accustomed to him in her life. It's been a year since she last saw him, and she still remembers everything about him perfectly, from his smile to his voice to those not-so-cold hazel eyes.
Eventually she gives up and puts the weapons away, sneaking back out of the weapons room (not that anyone important will see her – her father is out of town negotiating with another kingdom on a trade agreement) and making her way back upstairs. Looking out the massive windows lining the hallway, she sees that it's nighttime. She really was in there for a while.
Knowing she has a long, tiring day ahead of her tomorrow, she goes straight up to her room and changes into her nightgown, not bothering to call for any maids. Then she collapses in bed and tries to fall asleep, which proves quite difficult, as per usual, because now is the usual time when Austin makes a very prominent appearance in her thoughts.
Has it really been a year?
She shifts her position under the covers and feels herself drifting off as she imagines herself back in her treehouse with Austin a few doors down.
The day went on, and somewhere between Prince Terrence Buckingham from the Oyazraborg Dynasty and Prince Sebastian Gainsborough from the Uhaekhovaria Empire she found herself going into a sort of daze as she met her suitors. And now that they're all gone, she can hardly remember who was who.
A red head with green eyes and too much acne; a blond with blue eyes and a devilish smirk as he told her he knew she was into blonds; a raven-haired prince with a lopsided crown on his head and eyes that were almost black; a brunette with hazel eyes that reminded her painfully of Austin; a pale, lanky, awkward boy with hair that was almost white. These are the kinds of things she remembers. Hardly any of their names, not a thing about their personalities, and almost nothing of their conversations. Just looks, maybe a memorable phrase from them, but nothing to really grasp.
So as she sits with her mother that night trying to tell her about all the suitors she met that day, it proves to be quite a difficult task.
"Alison," the queen sighs, "how can you expect to find someone if you can't even remember them? I'm trying my best to give you as many options as I can; your father just wanted to choose someone for you."
"I know," Ally says. "I'm trying, I really am. It's just…difficult."
"Sweetheart, you're going to have to get over him at some point." Her mother places a hand on her knee.
"I've been trying to. Everything reminds me of him."
"He's not in your life anymore, honey."
Ally sighs. "I know that. I know I'm never going to see him again and he probably thinks I'm dead anyway and he's probably moved on since it's been a year but I just can't let him go."
"And even if you did see him again, what then?" her mother tries. "You know your father wouldn't approve, and quite frankly I wouldn't allow you to marry a criminal either. You need a prince."
Ally almost tells his secret again. But she keeps her mouth shut. She doesn't know why she's still keeping it, though. Her parents don't really even speak to Austin's, as their kingdoms don't have much to do with each other, but for some reason Ally still refuses to betray Austin's trust. His secret is like the last thing of him she has.
Well, and the gold necklace she still wears around her neck. And the scar that's still quite visible on her side where he stabbed her.
Her hand moves to the charm on the necklace, as it usually does when she misses him too much.
"I know," she finally says, looking down.
Her mother sighs and takes a breath to speak, but then there's a knock at Ally's bedroom door and it opens without waiting for a response. Both Ally and the queen snap their heads in that direction.
A guard is standing there, a look of urgency on his face as he makes a hasty bow and looks at the queen.
"I'll be right back," she says, standing up and following the guard out of the room.
Ally frowns and debates following them, but she's had such a long day that she decides to forgo the adventure and go to sleep instead.
Once again not bothering to call for any maids to help her, she slips into her nightgown and starts getting ready for bed. But before she can really do much except clean up her room, a butler walks in after knocking hastily.
"My apologies, Your Majesty," he says quickly. "The Queen has instructed me to summon you as soon as possible. There's another suitor here to see you."
"But – " she starts.
"Again, my apologies. Her Highness says it is crucial that you come meet him now."
Ally sighs. "Alright. I'll be down in a minute."
The butler nods and leaves the room, shutting the door behind him. Ally gets dressed again and checks herself in the mirror. Deciding that she's presentable enough, she makes her way downstairs to the foyer where she's met all the other suitors.
Her mother stops her before she can walk in.
"Alison, I just want to – "
"If he insists on seeing me now, I refuse to be polite," she snaps back. "Don't be too embarrassed by me, though – I doubt he's worth my time anyway."
She brushes past the queen, deciding to wait until later to feel guilty for snapping at her, and walks in the room.
"I don't know who you think you are or why you think you're so important that you can't wait a week until you meet me, but let me just tell you right now that you may as well go home because I will not even consider you – "
Her words get caught in her throat when the suitor's head snaps up to look at her.
Messy blond hair. Wide, hazel eyes. A crown that looks so out of place yet so right on top of his head. Royal attire. He's almost unrecognizable, but she knows. Just the electricity that fills the room when their eyes meet is more than enough to make it obvious that it's him.
And then, just like that, the intensity's gone and the surprised, awestruck look on his face melts into a lopsided smile as he gives her an exaggerated bow, his eyes never leaving hers.
"Come on, Princess," he says, his voice exactly as she remembers it, "at least let me introduce myself."
She can't move, can't speak, can't do much of anything as she stares at him in shock.
"Prince Austin Moon of Equivaria," he continues, his smile turning into a grin at her reaction (or lack of, depending on how you look at it). "I would've gotten here faster, but I had to fight off a bear on my way here." He winks at her, and suddenly she can breathe again.
She can't get to him fast enough. But when she does, his arms are there, holding her just like they used to, one hand in her hair while the other is on her back. She buries her face in his shoulder, tightening her grip around his neck, not saying anything because right now she doesn't have to – everything she could possibly want to say right now he already knows.
"If I didn't know any better I'd think you missed me or something," he mutters in her ear, his voice dripping with lighthearted sarcasm but also with that love she's been longing for.
She laughs a bit, tears pricking at her eyes as she tightens her grip around him even more. "I can't believe you're here."
He pulls away enough to look at her, cupping her cheeks in his hands and wiping away the few tears that have escaped. She searches his eyes, still trying to fully take in that he's actually here in front of her.
"You're supposed to be happy to see me," he teases gently, "not crying."
She laughs and sniffles. "I hate you," she says. "What are you doing here?"
"There was a flyer that said Princess Alison Dawson of Egaia was looking for a prince to take as a husband. And I'm a prince. So I figured that I should probably come."
"But how…you said you'd never go back."
"Unless it was life and death. My original plan was to go back and then somehow save you before they could kill you, but…looks like you're pretty okay without me."
"My mom convinced my dad to not kill me. Keeping the royal family and all that."
"I'm glad. My plan never would've worked. And when I realized that, I put all my focus in becoming the best prince and future king ever, along with pardoning everyone else because my parents wanted to hang them, but that only took a short conversation and some yelling. And then I saw the flyer, and after, like, ten months of convincing, my parents finally let me come. And trust me, I tried sneaking out before that, but they had double the guards on me that they used to, and – "
"I get it," she interrupts, giggling at his rambling.
"Am…am I too late?" he asks, suddenly sounding nervous. It's strange to her, as he's really not the nervous type.
"What?"
"Well, it's been a year. You've probably seen hundreds of other princes by now, and most of them are probably more qualified than me since they've grown up as royalty, and a year is a long time to be apart from someone."
Ally laughs at the absolute ridiculousness of the thought that she could possibly move on from him.
"None of them were you."
Austin exhales in relief and leans his forehead against hers.
"I love you," he whispers.
She closes her eyes, sighing at the sound of those words coming from him after so long. "I love you, too."
It's surprising how quickly things can feel normal. Like seeing Austin looking like a real prince, for example. It only took a few minutes for it to feel familiar, even though before he came to her she had only seen him like that when they went to the ball.
The countless rules the two of them have to follow feel normal now, too, even though it's only been two weeks since he came back. She chose him, of course, and right now they're in the courting phase.
No, not the kind of courting that a knight does before battle. This courting is the 'Royal dating' kind, where they've either been betrothed to each other or chosen each other, but either way everyone knows marriage is in their future.
She can't even remember all the rules, to be quite honest, but that doesn't really matter because Austin does remember them. Apparently he put a lot of thought into this and focused on knowing the do's and don'ts of courting a princess.
But that doesn't mean that they don't sneak around and break them whenever they can. They are former outlaws, after all.
Austin's been living at the castle in one of the guest rooms for the past two weeks, as they've only got a month before they're supposed to be married and it'd be pointless for him to go back with all the trips he'd have to make in order to plan everything.
His parents are on their way here, too, and they sent the wedding invitations only a few days after she chose him so that their guests could make the journey on time.
Another thing that became familiar quickly was talking about the wedding with him. Back when they were still in the forest, they had been focused on surviving and, well, not getting married. She's still young, and if it was up to them they probably wouldn't be getting married for a few more years, if at all.
But now it feels like they've been engaged for months instead of just a few weeks. Even though he hasn't officially proposed yet, which has frustrated her parents beyond belief, they don't really have time to wait for that before planning the wedding.
So they talk flowers and decorations and food and all the other wedding necessities as though they're speaking about the weather or the latest news, but she still doesn't have a ring on her finger. And despite the fact that she would've rather gotten married when she was a little older than twenty-one, talking about a wedding with Austin without technically being engaged yet still makes her slightly impatient.
And he knows it.
"Ally, wake up," Austin says, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Did you hear any of that?"
She gives him a look. "Yes. I was paying super close attention to you debating the difference between light cream colored table cloths versus eggshell table cloths."
Austin rolls his eyes. "Well, if you were paying such close attention, which do you prefer?"
"I don't see a difference," she says, looking at the two cloth swatches he's been weighing in his hands. "They're literally the exact same color."
"Please," he scoffs, rolling his eyes.
She stands up from the chair she's sitting on and moves to sit on the couch next to him. He sighs and sets the cloths down, draping an arm over her shoulders.
This is breaking the rules, of course. How dare they actually touch each other before getting married?!
"What if we just do something simple? You, me, our parents, and the others."
"This is the wedding of the century, Princess. Doubt that would fly with anyone."
"Yeah, but it's our wedding. Don't we get any say at all?"
"We would, if you could just choose between eggshell and light cream."
Ally chuckles, leaning her head on his shoulder. He rests his head on top of hers. "I thought you'd be the one against us being constantly told what to do and what not to do, not me."
"I was trying for almost a year to get to you. And now that I'm with you again, I can deal with everything they're throwing at us. And besides, at least they're letting us plan it. It's kinda fun if you let it be fun."
"Maybe to you. I think I'd take the plant paste over this."
Austin laughs, lifting his head. She lifts hers too.
"You're impossible," he tells her, his voice laced with adoration.
"One of us has to be."
Just then, the door opens and both of their parents walk in.
Immediately both of them sigh and move apart before their parents can scold them.
Their biggest problem right now is that Ally's parents aren't too fond of Austin. But for some reason Austin's parents love Ally, probably because she's pretty much the reason Austin went back to them and she's been on her best behavior while they've been here.
Ally's father glares at Austin, and the blond grins back at him.
"How's the planning coming?" Queen Mimi asks them after kissing her son's head.
"It's coming," Austin replies.
"You've only got two weeks," Ally's father says. "It should already be planned by now."
"We're working on it," Ally says. "We've only had two weeks to start."
"Well, we took the liberty to narrow down your food and cake choices for the reception. You two are needed in the dining hall to taste test and make your decisions," her father tells them.
Austin and Ally look at each other. If there's one thing they can agree on, it's that the food is the best part of coming back to their kingdoms.
"Alright," Ally says, standing up. Austin follows.
"Have fun," Ally's mother says with a smile.
She's not sure why all four parents had to come in the room to tell them that, but she shrugs it off and walks with Austin to the dining hall.
"See, I think this will be my favorite part of planning the wedding," Ally decides.
"You're not mad they narrowed our choices?"
"Not really. I don't need you struggling with the decision between French vanilla and vanilla bean frosting on the cake."
"Ouch," he teases.
They arrive at the dining hall, and already the long table is covered with different platters for them to try.
"Wow," she says as they walk over to the two chairs a butler has pulled out for them.
"Yeah," he replies, sitting down next to her.
For the next three hours, they stuff themselves with small bites of dozens of different hors-d'oeuvres and entrées and sides and desserts. They decide on shrimp cocktails, deviled eggs, and mini quiches for their hors-d'oeuvres; baked Dijon salmon, bourbon pecan chicken, and arugula salad for their entrées; a garden salad with a light vinaigrette and a carrot vichyssoise soup for their sides; and baked Alaska and a frozen anisette soufflé for dessert.
Now, all they have left to do is decide on a cake.
"I don't think I can eat any more," Austin complains, leaning back in his chair and placing a hand on his stomach.
"Maybe if you didn't shovel half of every dish in your mouth you wouldn't be having this problem," Ally tells him, giving him a pointed look.
Austin rolls his eyes and sits back up as a few butlers bring out their cake options.
They eventually decide on a hazelnut cream cake, and they leave the cook to let his creativity wander with his own decoration and frosting of it.
Then they leave the dining hall, their stomachs about ready to burst.
"I need a nap," Austin decides.
"Then go take a nap," she tells him with a chuckle.
"I have a better idea," he replies, grabbing her hand and dragging her down the hall to the weapons room. "Hurry, before anyone sees!"
"Austin, you're too tired. We can't have you stabbing me again."
Austin gives her a look, and she giggles quietly. She knows the guilt of that incident is still eating away at him, but she can't help but tease him for it.
"I'm sorry," she says. "Go take a nap. We'll go later."
"Fine," he mutters. "Only because now I'm mad at you."
And then he walks away, but she knows he's not actually mad.
She walks back upstairs to her room, and she's greeted by her tailor, who has been focused solely on making her wedding dress for the past two weeks.
"I've been looking for you!" Johnathan exclaims.
"Here I am," Ally replies with a giggle.
"What do you think of this fabric? It's a bit of a light cream color, but – "
"White, please," Ally interrupts. "Just white. No eggshell or light cream or anything else. Just plain, pretty white. You can go all out on the design, though, if you'd like."
"All out, hmm?"
Ally nods. "I know you will, anyway."
"This is true, Your Majesty. The Prince is going to be drooling."
Ally smiles. "Yes, well, that's not such a hard thing to accomplish when it comes to him. He adores me," she teases.
"He does, indeed," Johnathan agrees. "Anyway, I have a few designs done so far. Would you like to see them?"
"Of course," Ally replies. Honestly, one of her favorite parts about planning this wedding has been thinking about her dress. Now that she's come to terms with the heavy dresses, she enjoys them a lot. And thinking of Austin's reaction when he sees her walking down the aisle always gives her something to laugh about.
Johnathan opens his sketchbook and flips to a page covered in different designs. "This one is the most elegant, I believe," he explains, pointing to one that would hug the upper half of her body and flare out at her waist, as most of her dresses do. "Plus, there are many small details I could add to it to make it even better. However, it does look quite like the styles you normally wear, which are beautiful of course, but you probably want something different, yes?"
Ally nods. "I like this one, too," she says, pointing to another design that is still the same general style of her other dresses, except the flare at her waist isn't quite as dramatic and there is a small trail of fabric on the back, and the sleeves would hang gracefully off her shoulders.
"My second choice," Johnathan agrees with a nod. "It would look stunning on you."
"Then let's go with that one," Ally says. "I'm sure you'll make it even better than I could imagine."
"Excellent," Johnathan says, closing his sketchbook. "Now there's pressure."
Ally chuckles and Johnathan gives her a small bow before leaving the room.
She tries to focus on the books her mother gave her to study on how to be a successful queen, but various people continue to barge into her room to ask her questions about the wedding. Eventually, she just gives up and decides to go wake up Austin so they can go hide in the weapons room.
She walks in his bedroom and is met with a pillow being chucked at her face.
"Just let me sleep!" she hears Austin's groggy, whiny voice from beneath a mountain of blankets and pillows. "If you have any questions that are that urgent, ask the Princess."
Ally chuckles and shuts the door behind her. "They're bombarding you, too?"
Austin groans in annoyance at the thought. "When are they not?"
"Two weeks," Ally reminds him. "And then the wedding will be over and we can finally relax."
"No, because then we'll be King and Queen and we'll have a whole new set of problems to deal with."
"But the wedding won't be one of them."
Austin mutters something that she doesn't hear through all the blankets and pillows that are still piled on top of him.
"Maybe we can put off the coronation for a little bit," she suggests. "Go off somewhere for a week or two where we can just relax."
He scoffs. "Like our parents would ever let us."
"Maybe if we tell them it'll speed up the process of producing an heir – "
"Don't put that thought in their minds. Because then they'll probably just put us in some sort of solitary confinement."
Ally chuckles and walks over to sit on the edge of his bed. Immediately his hand appears from under the covers and searches for hers. She smiles and takes it.
"At least then we'd have some privacy," she says.
"Yeah, but not for long."
"Don't be mopey," she whines.
"I'm not being mopey." He shifts under the blankets and pillows, squeezing her hand.
"You are. You're being mopey and moody."
"It's my wedding and I'll mope if I want to."
"It's also my wedding, and it's not for another two weeks."
"Yeah. And then we'll be married," he says quietly, barely loud enough for her to hear.
"And the King and Queen of two kingdoms."
"Not sure which one is scarier."
"Come on, I'm not that scary," she teases.
"No, but getting married is a pretty big deal."
"So was falling in love. And we're still alive, aren't we?"
"Yeah. I'm not saying I don't wanna marry you. It's just…fast. I mean, we have only been back together for two weeks, and only another two weeks until we're married? And we have to balance that, plus ruling two kingdoms, and that'll be hard enough without everyone still being iffy because we were both outlaws. And how long until we're expected to have kids? It's just…a lot."
Ally purses her lips. "Is that why you haven't proposed yet?"
The blankets shift again as he pulls them down to reveal his face. He looks tired and slightly uncomfortable, but he sits up and moves to sit next to her.
"I mean…we've been planning this wedding practically since the day you came. But technically you're supposed to officially propose, and…you haven't yet." She looks at him.
He pulls their hands into his lap, staring at their intertwined fingers as he rubs her knuckles with his thumb.
"I didn't really think about that part until they whisked us off and started drowning us in rules and lists of wedding preparations that had to be made within a month," he admits. "I mean, I knew it was coming. I guess I just figured we'd have more time."
Ally bites her lip. "You could've mentioned that before we set a date. Putting it off now would look bad."
"See, that's just it," he says, raising his head to meet her eyes. "This whole thing is about appearances. You're supposed to get married at twenty-one. We're supposed to become King and Queen right after we're married. We're supposed to have this perfect wedding and perfect kids and a perfect life. All of this is just what looks good. And I'm not saying that I don't want all that with you, because you know I do. It's just…all too much at once. When I came back, I kinda hoped we'd have time to just be together before all this craziness."
"But we don't. That's the way it is."
"I guess I just thought that if they realized I hadn't proposed yet they'd put it off until I did."
"And how long would that take? If it were up to you, I mean."
Austin shrugs. "I don't know."
"Exactly," Ally replies.
Austin sighs. "It's hard to even think about it with all the chaos."
"This is how things are gonna be," she reminds him.
"What happened to relaxing?"
"Well, you're right. We'll be King and Queen with two kingdoms to rule."
The blond looks down at their hands again. "I've fought a countless number of knights and guards. I've killed just about every kind of animal that lives in those forests. I saved you from the gallows. But none of that even came close to preparing me to be a king. Much less a husband. I mean, at least I've already got some training under my belt to be King."
"You're that scared of marrying me?" She can hear the hurt in her own voice.
His head snaps up to look at her again, his eyes wide. "I didn't mean – it's not because – I – " He stops and swallows. "I love you," he tells her, searching her eyes. "Don't ever doubt that I love you. I'm not – I'm not worried about that part of it. It's more…" he sighs and looks down again. "I don't know. I can't explain it."
"It's like back when we were debating on being together or not, yeah? You didn't wanna try to talk about it because you thought it would be easier to just leave it as you like me and I like you. You thought being together would complicate things."
"I…yeah," he admits. "It was like, I knew it wouldn't be as scary as I thought it was, but the whole idea of it seemed like this huge deal that I didn't wanna screw up."
"So you're worried that because all this is coming so fast, you don't have time to prepare yourself and you're afraid of messing up," she says.
He nods, exhaling in what she thinks is relief.
"Yeah…yeah, that's it," he says quietly. "I couldn't figure out what was freaking me out so much. That's – that's what it is."
"Well," she begins, lifting his chin so he looks at her, "I think that you're stressing over nothing. You said so yourself, I'm the impossible one, not you. So if anything, I should be worried about messing up, yeah?"
He smiles a bit at that. "You know I'd love you no matter what you did."
"Ah, I do know that," she says. "But do you?"
Austin purses his lips, and Ally pats his cheek fondly. "Get some sleep," she tells him. "I'll go tell everyone not to bother you."
She starts standing up, but Austin pulls on the hand he's still holding. She turns to look at him, and immediately his lips are on hers.
They haven't really kissed since he got back. A quick peck here and there, when they knew no one could see them, but they've always been worried about what would happen if they got caught.
Apparently that worry went out the window in his mind.
Before she can really enjoy it, though, there's a knock at the door. Immediately, they jump apart, but not fast enough.
"Alison!" her mother exclaims. Fortunately, no one is with her. "Out. Now."
Ally sighs and rushes out with her head down, not daring to risk a look back at Austin.
"Do you know how many rules you've just broken?!" her mother scolds her as she drags her down the hall by a firm grip on her wrist. "What if your father had caught you?!"
"He didn't," Ally says lamely. Her mother stops to glare at her, and she sighs. "I'm sorry," she says. "Austin and I loved each other long before I came home. We're trying our best, honest."
The queen exhales. "What were you even doing in his room?!"
"We were just talking! He had only just kissed me when you walked in, anyway. We're both just stressing about this wedding. It's fine, okay? We'll be better."
"You better get your act together," her mother says.
"What do you need me for, anyway?" Ally asks.
"Nothing. I was looking for your fiancé."
"He's trying to sleep."
"He doesn't have time to sleep."
"You can see why we're so stressed out."
The queen huffs in annoyance and lets go of Ally's arm, walking away.
"What's the catch?" Austin asks as he messes with the blindfold around his eyes.
"No catch," Ally says. "I convinced them to give us the day off today. Don't touch that." She smacks his hand away from the blindfold, holding his other hand in hers.
"There's only a week until the wedding," he deadpans. "I repeat: what's the catch?"
"Still no catch."
"Where are we going?" he asks.
"Stop asking so many questions."
"You're scaring me."
"Good."
Austin exhales in frustration and Ally smiles, biting her lip as they arrive in the castle gardens. She carefully removes his blindfold and watches his face melt into a look of surprise when he takes in the picnic she set up for them under a canopy of trees.
"What…" he trails off, looking at her.
"We never got to finish that date," she says with a smile.
A smile forms on his face and she leads him to the picnic blanket, sitting down across from him.
"I know how important it was to you," she tells him. "And I know how stressed you've been. So I got us a day off to just relax."
"I can't believe you did all this for me," he says, still looking around in awe.
"Says the one who's saved my life like a million times," she replies. "Come on, it was nothing."
He looks at her. "It's everything."
She chuckles a bit. "Austin, it's just a picnic."
"No, it's not just a picnic," he says. "It's – it's you knowing that this is what I've been needing. It's you understanding why I was so freaked out about the wedding. It's you being patient and not freaking out that I haven't proposed yet. It's you managing to get us a day off to just be us and surprising me with this instead of doing something super extravagant."
"We'll have enough extravagant at the wedding to last a lifetime. Honestly, this isn't that big a deal," she says, blushing slightly.
"I love you."
She laughs a bit. "I love you, too. If I knew this would be so important to you I would've done it two weeks ago."
Austin smiles slightly and kisses her cheek.
Once they start eating, they fall into a conversation that finally isn't about the wedding or their future. It's just about them, catching up on the year they spent without each other.
"Trish misses you," Austin tells her. "And Dez. And everyone else, really."
"Are they coming next week?" she asks.
"When I showed them the flyer before I left they swore they wouldn't miss it," Austin replies with a grin.
She smiles too. "I'm glad. I miss them, too."
They finish eating, and Ally starts cleaning up.
"Ally," Austin says, the tone of his voice causing her to stop what she's doing and look at him. "You're my everything."
"I know," she says with a small smile.
"N – no, you don't. You mean so much to me…not even I really know. I told you once that I couldn't live without you, remember that?"
"Of course I do. It was when I came back after you saved me from the execution."
He nods. "I…I literally can't live without you. In that year when you were gone, I could hardly even function. I was – I was consumed with trying to get back to you. It's…it's crazy just how much I love you."
She blushes. "I love you, too."
"I'm not finished," he says, kind of in a rush. He stands up, and she follows. "When we met, I didn't like you. You know that. And you were scared of me. So – so how did we go from that to this? We went from almost killing each other every day to needing each other. It's insane. But at the same time I can't imagine it any other way."
"Austin – "
But suddenly he's on one knee and pulling a ring box she didn't even know he had out of his pocket.
"I know this is pretty much pointless considering we're literally getting married in a week, but I want you to know that you're everything I could ever want and I'm ready for whatever happens because I know I'll have you by my side. So…will you marry me?"
He opens the ring box and there it is: the ring she's been dying to wear on her finger for the past three weeks. But if she's being honest, it was worth the stress and the wait for this moment.
She laughs a bit and nods. "Only because it would look bad if I said no."
He laughs with her and slips the ring on her finger, standing up to kiss her. If anyone sees them, they don't stop them.
"I don't know what I'm gonna do with you," he whispers against her lips.
"Please, you've been thinking about what you're gonna do with me after we're married since you got here."
"I love you," he says, ignoring her teasing.
She smiles. "I love you, too."
"Austin, come on. I have to go," she tries again. But his arm is draped over her and holding her securely against him as he pretends to still be asleep.
"I'm serious," she says. "I've only got six hours to get ready for the wedding. And someone's gonna catch us."
"We're not doing anything wrong," he whines, his lips against her hair.
"They'd think we did."
"Don't go."
"I have to."
"I won't be able to see you until we're in front of everyone."
"And then you'll be able to see me as often as you want after the wedding."
"When I'm King I'm gonna pass a law decreeing that no one is allowed to take you away from me or they shall be put to death."
"You do that," she says. "But you won't be able to until you're King. Which is after the coronation. Which is after the wedding. Which won't happen if I'm not ready in time or someone catches us."
Austin sighs. "I hate when you're right."
She shifts in his arms so she's facing him, and he opens his eyes to look at her.
"I'll see you tonight, yeah?"
"I'll be the one at the altar," he says in defeat.
She smiles and presses a light kiss to his lips.
"And I'll be the one in white."
He releases her, and she gets up and grabs her ring off his bedside table, leaving his room before anyone can catch them. Then she hurries to her own room and calls for her maids.
She remembers her old maid, Elena. She hasn't seen much of her since she got home, but the one time she did see her she was working in the kitchen. But either way, older maids do their jobs better anyway.
"Your Majesty," one of the maids says. "Happy wedding day."
Ally smiles and looks at the ring in her hand. "Thank you," she says. "Will you please draw a bath for me?"
The maids hurry off to prepare her bath, and she sets her ring in the drawer she's been keeping it in when she's not wearing it.
If she's being honest, she can't wait for this day to be over. She hardly slept last night, even with Austin next to her, because of her nerves. She wishes she could skip the wedding and coronation and just be married to him already, but she knows that that's not possible.
The maids call her into the bathroom and she slips off her nightgown, relaxing into the warm bubble bath.
The maids leave her be, and she gives herself a few minutes to relax before washing herself and getting out, slipping on her robe.
"We've only got a few hours," she announces. "I don't know where my mother is, but we should probably start getting ready without her."
"Where are they?" Ally mutters to herself as she paces her room. It's become an absolute mess of hair and makeup products as the maids have been rushing to get her ready. "They arrived last night, and the maids should've been getting them ready all this morning. They should be here for finishing touches by now!"
Trish is her maid of honor, of course, and Carrie, Piper, and the rest of her former outlaw friends are her bridesmaids. She hasn't gotten to see them yet, and the fact that there are only two hours until the wedding and they're still not here is really stressing her out.
"Your Majesty, I'm sure – "
Her maid is interrupted by the door swinging open and in rushing the girls, squealing Ally's name and attacking her in a group hug.
She sighs in relief, laughing with her friends.
"What took you so long?!" she exclaims.
"We slept kinda late," Piper says sheepishly. "The beds here are insanely comfy."
Ally giggles. "Well, I'm glad you're here now. I've missed you!"
She hugs all of them again.
"It's been way too quiet without you," Trish teases. "Glad you're not dead."
Ally laughs more. "Come on," she says. "I'll call for more maids to do the finishing touches on your hair and makeup. Then we can all change."
"Are you excited?!" Kira squeals. "You're marrying Austin!"
"I'm more just worried that I'm gonna trip walking down the aisle," she admits.
"Wouldn't be surprised," Piper says, nudging her with a grin.
For the next hour, the girls laugh and talk as the maids pamper them and get them ready for the wedding. Then they change into their dresses.
The colors of the wedding are the Egaia Royal colors: royal purple, maroon, and gold. So the bridesmaids' dresses are maroon with elegant gold embroidery, all in different yet similar styles.
Ally's dress is white, of course, in the design that she chose when Johnathan came in to ask her. It has beautiful gold accents: swirling, shimmering designs on the skirt and a small amount of golden sparkles on the bodice. It's got the look of a princess, but it gives her the aura of a queen. She smiles at herself in the mirror.
"Ally, you look gorgeous," Trish gasps as the other girls gush at her.
"Like a queen!" Carrie agrees.
"Austin is going to die."
"I'm going to die."
"Can I marry that dress?"
Ally giggles. "We should probably head down to the Great Hall now. The wedding is soon."
She and the girls walk to their designated places, meeting Austin's groomsmen and her father outside the Great Hall.
Dez immediately grins and hugs her, being careful not to wrinkle her dress. "You look beautiful," he tells her. "Austin's been worried all morning about not looking as good as you. He's got a good reason."
Ally giggles. "Thanks, Dez. I missed you."
"Of course, Your Highness." He bows, and Ally laughs more.
"Not yet," she says. "After the coronation."
Everyone else, including Austin, is already inside the Great Hall waiting for the wedding to start.
"Alison," her father says next to her. She looks at him, and he smiles at her. "I'm proud of you."
"Even though I'm marrying Austin Moon?"
He chuckles and nods. "Even though you're marrying Austin Moon. He's not so bad, I guess."
Ally smiles. Before she knows it the music is starting and pairs of bridesmaids and groomsmen are walking down the aisle to their places one at a time. Ally adjusts the tiara on her head once more before she hears her cue in the music and walks into the room, gripping her bouquet of flowers so hard her knuckles are white.
At first, she can't see Austin. She's too focused on all the people turning around to watch her as her father walks her down the aisle. But then she looks ahead and there he is, in a white ensemble with gold accents to match her dress. He's got his crown on his head, and she finds herself instantly relaxing at how comfortable he looks wearing it.
Then he sees her, and his eyes go wide, a small, awestruck smile forming on his face. Before she knows it she's standing in front of him, and her father is setting her hand in his, and Austin is grinning down at her.
"Well, funny meeting you here, kid," he jokes quietly.
"Don't start."
"Ladies and gentlemen," her father announces. "We are gathered here today to witness the union of Prince Austin Moon of Equivaria and Princess Alison Dawson of Egaia."
The wedding proceeds and goes perfectly as planned. They say their vows and kiss for the first time without getting in trouble.
Immediately after the wedding, Austin, Ally, and the guests are whisked out of the Great Hall and into the Throne Room for Austin and Ally's coronation.
Many other spectators from both kingdoms file into the Throne Room to watch the coronation as well. There are so many people Ally can't even see the floor.
Ally's father calls for the guests to be silenced as the coronation begins.
"Prince Austin Moon of Equivaria, please step forward," the king says. Austin steps up to the throne and bows while Ally's father takes off his crown and holds it in front of him. Austin places a hand on it. "Do you, Prince Austin Moon of Equivaria, hereby swear to rule your kingdom with honor and justice?"
Austin swallows, staring Ally's father in the eyes. "I do."
"Princess Alison Moon of Egaia, please step forward," Ally's mother says. Ally's heart pounds at the sound of her new name as takes the few shaky steps to her mother's throne and curtsies, bowing her head and trying to calm her nerves. When she looks back up, her mother is holding her crown in front of her, smiling. Ally places her hand on the crown. "Do you, Princess Alison Moon of Egaia, hereby swear to rule your kingdom with honor and justice?"
"I do," she says for about the millionth time that day. Her mother smiles proudly, tears in her eyes.
Together, she and Austin turn around to face their guests. She feels Austin's hand grip hers and squeeze it tightly as their crowns are removed from their heads.
She takes a deep breath when her mother places the Queen's Crown on top of her head, and she glances over at Austin receiving the King's Crown. She squeezes his hand and looks at the crowd again.
"I hereby present to you King Austin Moon and Queen Alison Moon of Egaia and Equivaria!" her father announces.
The crowd erupts into cheers, and eventually they fall into a chant of "Long live the King and Queen!"
Ally looks over at Austin, who seems to have a regal glow around him now that he's King. She smiles at him, already looking forward to what they're going to do with their kingdom.
He's smiling and waving to the crowd with his free hand, even though she can feel the hand she's holding still shaking with nerves and adrenaline.
She looks at the crowd and waves as well, proud of Austin and more importantly of herself as she smiles at her – her – subjects.
She shifts in Austin's arms as she tries to get comfortable again in their bed in their bedroom.
"Just pick a position and go back to sleep," Austin whines tiredly.
She giggles and snuggles close to him, sighing contently as he tightens his arm around her. She's facing him now, and she grins at the small, sleepy smile on his face and his closed eyelids.
She tilts her head up to press a light kiss to his lips.
He doesn't say anything about her morning breath, which means he must be really tired. Yesterday was a long day, after all.
She closes her eyes again as he starts scratching her back gently. She starts drifting off to sleep again, but his low voice wakes her up again.
"Good morning, Your Highness."
She smiles sleepily. He must've decided that he isn't as tired as he thought. "Good morning."
She opens her eyes and sees him looking down at her through his long eyelashes, a sleepy smile on his face as well.
"You ready to rule a kingdom or two?"
"I'm ready to stay in bed all day with my husband. The whole ruling thing can wait till tomorrow."
Austin chuckles quietly and kisses her forehead. "As you wish, my Queen."
She finds herself thinking back to when she first ran away. She was hoping to find peace, an escape from her responsibilities as princess.
She found her escape alright. But peace? Not so much. Most of her time spent with the outlaws was full of fear and stress. But she did find Austin. So really that made all of it worth it.
And now, here she is, in the King and Queens' suite with her husband, Austin Moon. And they're King and Queen. She never even imagined this could ever happen. But now that it has, she doesn't think she can imagine anything else.
She finds it almost comical that they're lying here in their comfy bed, half asleep as the sun shines through their curtains on the day after their wedding. She feels like all they've ever known is misery, whether in the form of fighting or stress or fear or near-death experiences or just being apart from each other. But they're finally getting a break, and she realizes that it was all worth it. She'd willingly go through all that misery again, if just for this moment of peace.
And so ends Peaceful Misery...or does it? That's right, everyone, have no fear! I have decided that I will be posting a short epilogue, so it isn't quite over yet! Still, thank you all so much for sticking with me and reading this story. I love each and every one of you and you have no idea how much I appreciate your constant support of me and this story. I can't thank you enough. I love you.