Lily managed to successfully keep Theo away from Harry by keeping Harry in her room to talk. Blaise let them know when Theo had given up and requested a whore brought to his room. The next day, Harry was full of nerves and anxiety, picturing the ways that everything could go wrong. He made sure to keep his face blank, but it was difficult. He jumped slightly when a messenger came in, thankful that Theo was too busy whispering to his personal guard to notice.

Theo looked up in disdain when the messenger stopped in front of him. "Yes?" he drawled.

"I apologize, Your Majesty," the man said, bowing down. "There is a bit of skirmish in one of the villages. An argument over property borders. Intervention has been requested before the two men kill each other."

Theo laughed. "Don't they know that all property is mine?"

The man swallowed. "I assure you they do, Your Majesty. They are well aware that you allow them the use of your property in your generosity. They are just…very proprietary over how much you allow them."

Theo sighed. "I don't have time to play nursemaid to idiot villagers."

"Your Majesty, they will kill each other!" the man protested. "While you are correct that they are idiots, the subjects of the kingdom are needed…for tax," the man said, buttering him up.

Theo leaned back. "You're not wrong. All right. Harry, I need you to take care of this. I don't have time. I have other more important matters to tend to. Make sure you take the ledgers that clearly mark property lines to show them proof of who the land is supposed to be used by."

Harry bowed his head. "Of course. Shall I leave immediately or wait another day?"

"Leave now. The sooner it is taken care of, the sooner you will be home. Then, we can get to work on creating an heir," Theo murmured in Harry's ear.

Harry stiffened before forcing himself to relax. "Whatever you would like," he murmured. "I'll go pack."

Harry forced himself to stay calm as he walked out and went to his room. Lily did the same, silently agreeing to go with him. He quickly packed up enough clothing to last him for a week. He figured it wouldn't hurt to have extra clothes for Draco to wear after they got him. Theo may have taken good care of him, but he doubted that he allowed Draco to wear the finery that most royals wore. Harry opened the door to see Blaise trying to hide his smirk. Blaise stepped inside the room and grabbed Harry's things before they stopped at Lily's room where he also grabbed her things. He carried them out to the carriage where fifteen guards were waiting on horseback. Blaise was the only guard who would ride in the carriage with Harry and Lily since he was Harry's personal guard.

The journey lasted most of the day. A single rider on horseback could make the journey in a few hours, but there were too many people plus the carriage that made the journey slower. Blaise helped Harry and Lily out of the carriage in front of the home he would stay in during his wait. He led them inside.

"King Consort Harry, Queen Lily, I would like to introduce you to Ron and Hermione Weasley. They are both in the resistance, and Ron has graciously accepted my request that he stay behind to protect you since I won't be here."

Harry held out his hand to Ron and then Hermione as he smiled. "Thank you for your help."

"No, thank you for being on our side and a silver lining in this situation," Ron said. "Our home isn't very big, but you may take the bed in our bedroom."

Harry shook his head. "I won't put you out. If you can find a pallet for me to use, that will be good enough."

Ron frowned. "All due respect, Your Majesty, but I refuse to allow you to sleep on a pallet."

Harry frowned back. "All due respect, Ron, but I refuse to take your bed. Just because I grew up in a palace and married a king doesn't mean that my comfort and needs should be placed above anyone else's."

They both glared at each other for several minutes, neither backing down. Finally, Ron laughed.

"This is why the people love you so much," he said through his laughter. "You've no sense of arrogance or entitlement like so many of the royals in other kingdoms."

Harry reluctantly grinned. "My father and mother taught me that being royalty makes me no better than anyone else."

"That's right, darling," Lily said. "Being royalty only means that we must lead our people and take care of them."

Ron nodded. "I like you," he said to Lily.

Lily gave a soft, tinkling laugh. "Why thank you. I like you, too. Harry's right, though. A simple pallet is enough. It is bad enough that we are intruding in your home."

Hermione fretted. "If you insist, but it is bad manners to allow guests to sleep on pallets. They should be comfortable. Are you sure we can't talk you into taking the bed? You'll be much warmer."

Lily waved a hand. "No, we will not take your bed. You did not invite us. We are encroaching on your home. It would be even worse manners to intrude on your home without invitation and put you out even more by taking your bed."

Harry kept staring out the window, watching the guards leave. He was worried about Blaise and Draco. He said a silent prayer that they would both be safe.

HPDM

It was two nights later. Harry had tried to keep his mind off of what was going on. However, he couldn't stop staring out the window anxiously as he wondered when they would be back. Ron was attentive, alert, and constantly vigil. He managed to talk Lily into sleeping in the bed with Hermione while he stayed on the other pallet. He told Harry that he refused to sleep in the bed while Harry was left unguarded by the door. The only problem was that Harry missed Blaise. Blaise was humorous and always managed to distract Harry from his negative thoughts. Blaise had been a near constant presence in his life for the past three years. Finally, it was long after dark when Harry, who had been watching out the window for hours, saw the light of a torch. Without waking Ron, he ran outside in nothing but his night robe.

Harry let out a cry of happiness and relief when he saw Blaise at the front of the group leading a horse and threw himself into Blaise's arms. His whole body was trembling as he held Blaise tightly.

"I was so worried that something would happen," Harry said, finally releasing Blaise. "I don't know what I would do if I lost my best friend. Did you get him? Where is he?"

Harry looked around to find Draco climbing down from the horse that Blaise was leading. Draco was covered in filth and looked exhausted. Draco looked at Harry, Blaise, and their joined hands with a frown. Blaise dropped Harry's hand and smiled at Draco.

"It was a struggle, but Prince Draco is safe. A few of our men were injured, but they should heal quickly. Calm down, Your Majesty," Blaise said, placing a hand on Harry's arm to stop him from finding the injured men. "They are already being taken care of. We stopped by the healer of the village before coming here."

Harry looked shyly and anxiously at Draco. "Are you all right, Prince Draco?" he murmured. "I have been quite worried about you since Blaise told me what had happened."

Draco smiled slowly. "Theo needed me in good health to use my hair, so he made sure I was fed well. The same can't be said for bathing," he added with a wrinkle of his nose. "It was the thought of you that kept me sane through the years," he murmured, reaching out for Harry's hands. Draco frowned and looked hurt when Harry flinched and stepped back.

Blaise stepped next to Draco and placed a hand on his back to guide him away from Harry. "Did I tell you, Prince Draco, about the time that I beat your record of bagging the largest elk?"

Draco peered over his shoulder at Harry, still frowning, as he let himself be led away. "No, you didn't," he said distractedly.

"Oh, yes, it outweighed yours by at least three stone," Blaise said cheerfully.

Draco tore his eyes off Harry to look at Blaise sharply. "You lie," he said, narrowing his eyes.

"I swear," Blaise said. "Ask any of the men. Theo wasn't too happy about it. He was only too delighted to revel in your victories after he took your place. He banned me from competitions after that. Enough about that. We should really get you into a bath. Harry should have something for you to wear after. Merlin knows that he brought enough clothes. Unfortunately, we have none of yours. It would have been too difficult to get into the king's room and take some of the clothes that Theo was wearing."

"I don't need anything to sleep in," Draco murmured. "Just something to wear for the journey back home. How are we getting me in without alerting Theo?"

"We plan to arrive in the closest village just before nightfall. We will cover you in cloaks so no one sees your face. A member of the resistance has offered us the use of his home. We will place you there. We will go to the castle to show Theo that we are back home. King Consort Harry's carriage is always thoroughly searched upon arrival, so we can't sneak you in that way. We will probably leave King Consort Harry in the village, too. It will be better that way. As his personal guard, I will stay with him. Theo would know something was wrong if I didn't. One of our men will come to us after Theo goes to bed, most likely with one of his many whores. That will be when we go in. It's already arranged that our men will be covering the entry points through which we must go. As we go through, they will come with us to the king's room. Theo's guards will be outside the door. We will need to take them out to get to him. You must remain near the middle of our group to make sure that you are fully covered. Once we have Theo in custody, you will have control over your men and kingdom once again."

Draco looked back to make sure that no one was nearby and stopped Blaise just as they reached the building that Draco assumed he would get a bath. "What's wrong with Pr-King Consort Harry?" he asked bluntly.

Blaise sighed. "I knew you would ask, but it doesn't make this any easier. To be blunt, Theo tortured him. I won't go into detail to preserve King Consort Harry's image and dignity, but he has been abused in every way you can imagine. He'll probably need time to disassociate your face from his abuse. He knows that it wasn't you, but Theo was wearing your face every time. I imagine that if it weren't for Severus and me that he would have tried to kill himself long ago. He has suffered at Theo's hands for three years, and he will likely suffer from it for a long time. He's incredibly worried that he'll be exiled."

"Why would he worry about that?" Draco asked, despair filling him at the thought of what Harry went through.

Blaise looked away. "According to him, the marriage contract stipulated purity on both parts, and he's no longer pure. He feels dirty, and he thinks you won't want him after knowing that he spent three years in Theo's bed, however unwillingly."

Draco swallowed and closed his eyes. "That stipulation was my father's idea. I just agreed because it was easier than fighting him. I never imagined that it would be the one thing that might come between us. We were both princes who were heavily monitored. It honestly doesn't make me not want to marry him. I know the circumstances were extraordinary. He thought it was me and we were married. He couldn't exactly stop it. How do I make him see that?"

"I think time…and patience. You should probably let him initiate any and all contact between the two of you," Blaise murmured.

"Is there something between you?" Draco asked suddenly. "If there is, I'll stand aside. I admit that the thought of seeing him again and marrying him helped me cope during my imprisonment, but I don't want to stand in the way of his happiness."

"There's nothing between us but friendship," Blaise said. "You have to understand, Prince Draco. For three years, King Consort Harry's only sources of kindness were me and Severus. We were the only counterbalance to Theo's cruelty. I admit that we are close. Closer than most royalty and their personal guards. However, we are more brothers than lovers. You should have seen the hope and joy that lit up his face when he found out that it wasn't really you that was doing those things to him. He wanted desperately to get you home. I only told him recently. I didn't want to get his hopes up until your rescue was imminent. I am sorry that I had to let him believe these past three years that it was you, but I worried that the knowledge would only drive him further into despair."

"You did the right thing, Blaise," Draco murmured. "I would have done the same. I just hope that I can show him that I'm not like that."

"He knows," Blaise assured him. "He remembers the week you spent together before Theo took over. I think what worries him the most is that you won't want him after knowing he was with Theo and that you'll exile him for not being pure."

"That's not going to happen. I don't place any blame on him. He had no say in it."

"Now, let's get you bathed, Your Highness," Blaise said, grinning. "No offense but you are not smelling your best."

Draco chuckled and followed Blaise inside the building. There would be plenty of time to work on Harry's insecurities. Draco planned to make sure of it.