By the time Alan had climbed to the roof of his palace wing, his eyes were so blurred with tears that he had nearly hurtled to his death a half-dozen times – and his mind so muddled, he could not bring himself to care much either.

And when he finally let himself sag onto the tiles of the roof, staring blankly up at the moon that was slowly unveiling itself beneath the wispy curtains of clouds, Alan knew he had very little left to care about at all.

He had spent the last near-year of his life hoping and wishing and finally even expecting to launch into a promising new life and career with the woman he had grown to love –

And now that that future was gone, what would he even continue to exist for?

What did the world at large, or the Kingdom of Sorcier, or even his family need a useless surplus prince that did nothing more than drain their resources and float about as useless as the proverbial madman in the attic?

Who even wanted or needed him now?

It was not that he blamed Katarina for leaving him for Jeord in the end. Some part of him had always known that he was and would always be a very, very, very distant second to his brother, the shining sun of their kingdom. And certainly, Jeord could offer Katarina all the support and stability that she would need to shine as a true Queen. There was certainly no way that Alan could crown her in the end – or even make her happy.

After all, what could Alan offer a woman who could easily become the co-ruler of their country and the mother to the next generation of kings and queens?

Some pretty poems and sweet sonatas?

A life spent crafting music for masses?

Some notoriety as the manager of a national theatre?

His wounded heart and his threadbare hand and his paltry income and his lack of land?

Any sane woman would not even hesitate to choose the glittering life that the handsome and brilliant Jeord offered over the poor possibilities of his sickly, weak, and hideous brother.

Alan did not blame Katarina. He could not. He would not. If nothing else, he had at least that much integrity still in his heart.

And if nothing else, he knew that she would make for a brilliant queen and mother to all of Sorcier. If nothing else, the last year they had together proven just how hard-working, how thoughtful, how kind, and how incredibly insightful she was. She would make a worthy successor to his mother, the current queen. And her ascension to the throne of Sorcier would be a true triumph for their country.

No, Alan could not blame Katarina for doing what was best not only for herself but for the realm. So instead, he simply blamed himself for hoping for a future with her that he now realized was and had always been futile. And though he knew that he would eventually have to climb down from his perch and do his best to feign joy at Katarina's forthcoming happiness, all he wanted now was to curl up into a ball and pretend he could not feel anything at all.

And so he did for a surprisingly long time – until a muffled series of curses broke his concentration and made him jerk upright from his undignified position, even as he groped frantically for the mask he always had by his side.

And just as he was hastily tying the mask to his face once more to block out the intruder's view of himself, the source of the muffled curses eventually became clear when none other than Katarina herself came into view as she ended up almost stumbling her way over to him before Alan hastily held her upright.

"Katarina!" He cried, trying to straighten her lest she topple off the roof. "What on earth are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with – with –"

The words 'your future husband' caught in his throat until he could not even choke them out. So with a sigh, Katarina somehow turned his hands on her shoulder into an embrace that entirely stole the last of his breath.

"If you think," she said, her voice fierce as she breathed it against his reddening ear, "that I was about to spend one more second than I had to with that jackass that mistreated me for so many years when I have an adorable and kind and brilliant man that I love instead, you have misread me completely."

And now it was her turn to hold him steady as he nearly toppled off the roof in shock – her face looking luminous in the moonlight as she held him securely in her arms.

"Careful," she said, sounding both delighted and amused. "I already humiliated your brother by running out of the room without even giving him an actual answer in pursuit of you. If I accidentally murder you by causing you to fall from the very top of the palace, your queenly mother might yet convert me into fertilizer for her garden. And wouldn't that be an ignominious end for us, given all the plans we have yet to enact?"

It was all Alan could do not to faint in her arms in shock. Indeed, only the fear that his sudden drop might push her off the roof kept him upright! So, after taking a shaky breath and wondering whether he was starting to have auditory hallucinations of his greatest fantasy come to life, Alan managed to say: "Katarina, are you – are you telling me you turned down Jeord's proposal to be his queen? Only to settle for me?"

Her grin was almost cocky right now. "Don't tell me you are that surprised, Alan. I have been all but throwing myself at you for the last few months! Or did you really suppose all that talk about us getting married was nothing but mere words on my part?"

Alan blushed so hard that he would not be surprised if she could somehow sense it behind his porcelain mask. "I thought you were simply… well… making the best of a difficult situation. That after you were struggling to form a… a relationship with my brother, you just… had to… take whatever you could get. Which happened to be me."

Katarina took a deep breath at that – and then nodded.

"That was how I felt when I first came to your wing of the palace," she admitted, a blush coming to color her cheeks. "I won't lie and pretend I was some… some guileless innocent when we first met, with nothing more on my mind than becoming your friend. When I first came to your part of the palace, I was determined to do whatever I needed to in order to endear myself to you – and to be in a marriage, however strange, with you. I would have accepted you no matter how sickly or ugly or even stupid you were, so long as you were not a brute. Indeed, the circumstances of my entry were such that –"

Here she stopped to slant a look at his cocked head. "Alan, do you even know exactly how I ended up decoupled from your brother and sent over to you instead? Did your mother ever explained exactly what happened between us two – us three – us four, actually?"

Alan had to shake his head. "I am afraid not. Forgive me, Katarina, but all my mother told me what that you and Jeord had… some sort of falling out – which of course, I blame him for. And I did not want to investigate any further because – well. I knew you were still suffering from what happened, and I did not want to pry open your wounds either."

Taking his hand in her own with gleaming eyes, Katarina just smiled helplessly at him for a minute.

"Oh Alan," she said at last, even as he stared mesmerized at her in the moonlight. "This is precisely why I would not marry your brother even if he could give me the sun and the moon. For he could never give me the peace that you do, not even in a hundred years."

And then, even as he flushed and stared down at the familiar sight of their intertwined fingers, Katarina said: "Then let me tell you of all that happened between Jeord and myself – and you can then understand why he could never make me the offer of his hand in a way that could tear us apart."

So Katarina began to unravel the long-standing mystery of how it was that she had ended up disengaged from Jeord. And as she talked, Alan could only grow more and more astounded by the bizarre oddities of her tale – as well as how amazingly stupid Jeord had been through every step of the way of their relationship.

Indeed, from reading between the lines of Katarina's careful words, Jeord had always taken her for granted in ways that had burdened her heart and tarnished her reputation in the wider world. For though Katarina had tried her best from childhood on to appeal to Jeord – be it through attempting to spend time with him, becoming as close as she could with his family, taking on his favorite hobbies, or lavishing expensive gifts on him.

But though she had tried very hard to mold herself into Jeord's perfect – or at least acceptable – bride, Jeord had a nasty habit of snubbing her with a pleasant smile on his face. And what's more, all of her attempts only made her an object of derision in the cut-throat milieu of nobility, as she became known as the "failed bride" of the Crown Prince who could not please him in the least.

"No matter what I tried," Katarina said, sounding tired, "your brother seemed determined to dislike me. But then again, given the contrary streak in this character, perhaps that would have been true of any unfortunate young lady that was foisted on him. So over the years I… I gave up, attempting to appeal to him. Instead, I simply stayed away from him and tried to be the best noblewoman I could be, in the hopes that perhaps he would somehow eventually reconcile himself to our impending marriage. After all, what else could I do? If he threw me away formally, as well as emotionally, I would be considered nothing but second-hand goods – fit only to be married to whatever mercenary man would take me for my dowry."

Sighing, Katarina looked down at the hands that shook in Alan's gentle grip.

"I had no idea that Jeord would one day attempt to go to even more terrible… lengths to dissolve our legally contracted union. Had I known, I would have done even more to separate myself from him, even if it meant giving up the vast dowry my family bequeathed to your family."

His head still swirling at Jeord's astounding idiocy and cruelty, Alan had to ask: "My god, what did my idiot brother attempt to do?"

Katarina's mouth quirked into a pained smile as she said: "Exile me."

It said something of Alan's shock that he was only able to make a noise like a tea kettle going off when hit with that revelation. Mustering a weary laugh, Katarina said: "Indeed. He put me on some sham trial for trying to warn off his latest hussy, some commoner he met at the Academy. Apparently, he took that as evidence that I am some corrupt monster who needed to be ejected out of Sorcier as fast as he could manage. Your mother could only rescue me after I was put on a public trial in front of my Academy peers while wearing nothing more than a dirty shift."

"My God," Alan said, even as he squeezed Katarina's hands and looked over frantically. "That – that must have been horrifying to endure! And in front of so many people! I – Katarina, I have not the words to tell you how truly sorry I happen to be!"

She sighed, even as she gently came forward to take him into a careful embrace – one that he returned with full force, his usual nerves melting away in the face of his overwhelming desire to give her any comfort that he possibly could.

And then, with her face gently nestled against his shoulder, Katarina kept on speaking.

"It truly was perhaps the worst moment in my life – and one I revisit in nightmares continually. So suffice to say that no matter what promises Jeord might make to me, I know he has the morals of an alley-cat and the kindness of a rattlesnake. If he wants to wed me still, it is no doubt to smooth over whatever fracas his sham of a trial made. He always was a little too cocksure – and I am sure that he had no idea that when he put his highborn fiancée on trial for bullying his commoner mistress, he would develop quite a nasty reputation for himself. After all, what noble family would believe any of his promises if he could treat his high-born fiancée so terribly?"

"I can only imagine what a political mess Jeord must be in right now," Alan replied, even as he tentatively wrapped his arms around Katarina to keep her safe. "I know I am quite naïve about the outside world in many ways – but it beggars belief that even Jeord thought he could dispose of you with such ease! Even if you did bully someone, I cannot understand how that would earn you a trial and exile! Unless you injured her deeply, I cannot imagine anything more than a fine or house arrest – at most – for your actions against her. But I have never heard of a noble being exiled for anything less than treason! How Jeord thought to get away with that is beyond me."

"I have long since given up on attempting to decipher the obtuse labyrinth of his mind," Katarina said, following up with snort. "And anyway, I am well rid of him. I would rather spend the rest of my life a penniless pauper than shackled to a man as cruel and feckless as Jeord. Though now that I had the pleasure of meeting you, I think I would rather spend the rest of my life making beautiful art at your side. That is…"

And here, Katarina drew back – her face almost glowing with radiant hope, even as her eyes looked at him beseechingly.

"That is… if you want me as your bride after all. For although I have long since fallen in love with you, I know you may not feel the same way about me. If you truly wanted me, I would do my best to make you the happiest husband in all the land. But I will never force myself on you, or have you marry me out of mere pity."

She swallowed hard, the moon shining upon her making her look as though she were carved of ivory and obsidian, the most beautiful woman he could ever meet.

"I love you, Alan. I came to your wing of the palace thinking that I would marry you only to salvage my reputation and my role in society… but over the last few beautiful months that we have spent together, I have truly grown to cherish all the time I have spent in your company. I have never experienced more care, compassion, honesty, and respect from any other human being! And you have taught me never to settle for anyone who does not deserve what I have to offer, no matter what pressures are put upon me."

So it was, heart in his throat and a sense of unbelievable happiness and hope slowly flooding through his shock, that Alan answered her plea.

"I," he said, his voice shaking as he tried to make sense of his emotions, "am truly so blessed and honored and overjoyed to hear you say such things of me! I too have long loved you – have hoped that you would take me on as your husband – and have thought you were the best possible woman that I could ever meet! Ever since you came into my wing of the palace, I finally feel as though I was able to live for the first time in my eighteen years of life. Before I met you truly, I never even thought I could be so happy!"

And yet – even through his haze of happiness – Alan knew that he had to remind Katarina of all that she would be giving up if she settled for him presently.

"Yet," he said, his voice growing more subdued as logic set in once again, "I still do not know if I deserve you. Katarina, you are beautiful and brave and brilliant and – and truly, what can I offer you? Even if Jeord did not marry you, you should be able to have your pick of the finest noblemen in our society. Why would you want to stay with a – a shut-in like me, who knows nothing of the world outside his palace wing, and who would likely stay sequestered all his life even if you married him?"

Indeed, that was horribly true. For even though Alan was eager to embark on a married life with Katarina, he knew that he would always struggle to be in society after so many years of isolation. Even if he actively built the Royal Theatre with her, he would likely always experience difficulties being out and about in public – especially on all the occasions where he had to showcase his hideous face.

"What's more," Alan forced himself to say, "I am… I am still in fragile health. It is not just that my face is aged and scarred from all the fevers and illness that I have had before – although I assure you, I am quite terrible to look upon. I… I fall ill with terrible ease and even now, I cannot be around many people lest they weaken me. I do not even know if I will make it to my third or fourth decade of life, or even if I can give you children. I have enough money to support you such that you need not work a day in your life if you do not want to – although I know that you want to – but there is still so much else you may be giving up in order to be with me."

Such as the comforts of high society, wealth of the sort that other noblemen might offer, and perhaps even the happiness of a growing family. Compassion was all well and good – but what if Katarina came to regret marrying a man who could not even give her children or who would widow her at an early age? Why should she cut off her own potential happiness in such a way?

But from the resolute look on Katarina's face, she was not dissuaded in the least.

"Alan," she said gently, even as her hand rose to touch the porcelain on his cheek. "I knew about your health struggles and other such issues even before I met you. Indeed, your mother disclosed as much to me because, as your potential bride, I had the right to know as much before I fell in love with you – as she promised me I would eventually. Regarding children… I am more than fine with adopting them if we cannot birth any, as I would love a child of our hearts just as much as a child of our flesh. Do you feel the same?"

Alan nodded eagerly, for he had long felt the same way – although he had feared that any woman who might potentially be partnered with him might feel very differently.

"And as for being widowed young…" Katarina trailed off, a look of pain fluttering across her face before she shot another determined look at him. "None of us can tell the future, my love. For all we know, I might die tomorrow of a tragic accident. One of Jeord's many sycophants could assassinate me with a cabbage for all we know. Life is unpredictable and even if our time together is short…"

She sighed, her eyes soft and sad and sweet as she gazed up at him.

"That means it is all the more important for me to spend that time that time with you in the best manner possible. I love you, Alan. You and only you. And even if you are a Beast of some kind, I am no Beauty! I am just a woman who is never going to leave you because I too am a beast at heart – and I always will be. I would always want to be, if it made it so that you will remain with me for all the rest of our years."

Alan's breath was so shaky with relief and joy in his chest, it was a wonder that he had not collapsed already.

Yet, there was still one last barrier. And yet, what a terrible barrier indeed!

Finally, he said: "Then – then if that is how you feel, Katarina, I would want to be a beast with you and have us howl forever at the moon. But – but first you need to see my face. And only then should you decide whether or not you truly wish to be with me."

Then – with fingers that shook so hard it was a wonder he could even manage – Alan took off the knots that pressed his porcelain mask against his skin, hiding his hideous face from view.

When Katarina gasped at the sight of him, he closed his eyes and told himself that whatever else he felt, he would accept her rejection with all the good grace he could.

But the soft, warm hands she soon sent to cup his face did not feel like rejection in the least.

And when he forced himself to open his eyes, the look of glowing joy on Katarina's face could have outshone the very moon.

"My God," she said, her voice trembling into a delighted giggle. "Is this meant to be the visage that you thought would frighten me? Though even if you did not look as you do, I would not mind. You could have looked like a withered mummy or a bag of snakes or a scarecrow and I would still happily take you!"

Alan could feel himself withering within. "Do I… somehow look worse than all of those possibilities?"

And now, Katarina broke out into a raucous laugh, even as she buried her face on Alan's shoulder and he cupped him close to her.

"Oh dear lord," she managed to say once her laughter subsided. "What is wrong with our royal family? One son is a bloody arse while the other is convinced that he looks like peat moss when indeed, he is gorgeous. Your face may have some scars and marks, but it is far from hideous! Do you not own a mirror, my love? Is that why you are so deluded about how lovely you happen to be?"

"Erm," Alan said, before deciding that Katarina's rejection of Jeord had must have altered not just her taste in partners but also her eyesight. "If… if my looks please you, then I am happy they do. Although… I still do not feel I am fit for public view in the least…"

Sighing, Katarina nodded at him. "Then I will not push you to ever appear in front of others without your mask if you do not want to, Alan. I would never ask you do to anything that discomforts you."

When he smiled at her consideration, Katarina apparently decided there was one thing left to do.

And so, she reached out into the sleeve of her gown, only to bring forward a simple gold band.

"Your mother," she said, with a warm smile, "gave it to me just in case I ever found myself in need."

"My mother," Alan replied, tears already pricking his eyes, "is a very wise woman indeed. For you see…"

Here, he brought out the diamond ring he had been keeping in his own pocket just in case – and which seemed to match the ring Katarina held beautifully.

"She helped me choose this one for you. And so, I suppose we have only one thing left to say to one another, don't we?"

"Indeed," Katarina said, even as tears slipped down her cheeks as she smiled at him. "And that is – Alan, I love you! And I want to be with you! I want to live with you and I want to laugh with you and I want to make beautiful music with you for all the rest of our years!"

"And I," Alan said, his heart in his throat even as he took Katarina's hand gently in his own. "I feel the same in every way possible. Katarina, will you please marry me?"

She laughed and in the light of the moon, they shared their very first kiss – one that he knew that he would never forget for however many years they had together in their time remaining.