The moment that Arthur stepped into the throne room, Alfred immediately lost all of the words he could have said. His mouth went dry as he looked at the man he thought he'd lost forever. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do. All he could seem to manage was to stand there, gaping, his heart pounding away in his chest.

Arthur, however, did not seem to be having the same problem. In fact, it didn't appear that he'd even noticed that Alfred was there at all. He was busy staring curiously over at Gilbert, looking more than a bit irritated. "Excuse me, your Majesty," he said bluntly, and the sound of his voice made Alfred's heart skip a beat. "These men of yours told me that I have some kind of important visitor? I don't know what you're trying to do, but I know that I wouldn't-" And then his eyes fell on Alfred. His words cut off abruptly.

The silence was so thick with tension that it could have been cut with even the dullest of blades, but there was an underlying pulse to it, a sort of thrumming excitement. Alfred stared at Arthur and Arthur stared at Alfred, both of their mouths hanging open, unable to speak. The rest of the people around them might well have disappeared for all they mattered right then. Alfred desperately tried to come up with something to say, but he couldn't. Nothing sounded right. Arthur didn't seem to be having any better a time at it.

Luckily for the two of them, they weren't really alone. After several long, awkward moments of quiet had passed, Gilbert let out an annoyed sigh and shoved at Alfred's arm. "Well, what are you waiting for? This is what you wanted, isn't it?"

"It is," Alfred whispered, unable to look away from Arthur. "I just…"

Across from him, Arthur shook his head slowly. "Alfred?" he asked, unsure and quiet. "What are you doing here?"

Alfred shrugged helplessly. There was nothing to say other than the absolute truth. "I love you. I had to see you again, one more time, even if you really don't want to be with me." He looked down at the ground, afraid to see what kind of emotion would play out across Arthur's face. "If you want me to leave, I will. Just tell me and I'll go. I just wanted one more chance to tell you how much you mean to me, one more chance to show you that I meant every word I said."

"Alfred!" The cry was broken and heartwrenching, and Alfred immediately looked up from the floor to meet Arthur's wide eyes. "Alfred, please, don't make us go through this again. The first time was painful enough, you must understand that." Arthur bit his lip, glancing off to the side as if he couldn't meet Alfred's gaze. "This won't work between us."

"Then you want me to leave?" Alfred asked. He felt sick, he felt dizzy, he felt as though the whole world was about to fall apart beneath his feet, but he didn't walk away, not yet.

"Yes." Then Arthur shook his head sharply. "No. I don't know, Alfred. I don't know."

That wasn't what Alfred wanted to hear, though. His chest ached as he struggled between hope and despair. "Don't say that. You asked me not to go through this again, Arthur, and if you don't want me to, tell me to leave. Tell me to go away. Don't just say that you don't know."

"But what if I really don't? I never thought I would see you again. I thought we had chosen not to pursue anything. How was I supposed to know that you would try again?"

"Because you told me you loved me," Alfred said simply, clearly. "And you know me. Sometimes it might take me a while to figure these things out, but I won't let them go, not until I know that there's nothing there to follow. As far as I can tell, there's still something here, between us. If you don't love me anymore, tell me, and I'll go. But if you do, Arthur, then believe me when I say that I would give up everything for you. I would do it."

"You're a fool, Alfred." Arthur's voice shook, his eyebrows drawing down and his mouth pursing into a frown. "Giving up your title, your claim to the throne, for what? A man, a simple librarian, a Fey?"

Alfred shook his head. "No, I wouldn't give it up for any of those things."

Arthur stared at him, obviously confused. "But you just said-"

"I wouldn't give my throne up for any man, or any librarian, or any Fey." Alfred stepped forward, extending out his hands. "I would give it up for you, and only for you. And you know what? I would do it gladly. If it meant I could spend the rest of my life with you, I would give it all up without a second thought."

"Don't be selfish," Arthur snapped. His shoulders trembled, though, and his gaze was not as angry as it had been before. "You should never abandon your people and your Kingdom for anyone."

A loud chuckle broke through their conversation, and they both looked over, surprised, to see Gilbert smiling slightly at the two of them. "Sorry to say, Arthur, but your lover here already ran away from his Kingdom for you. Why do you think he's here?"

"What?" Arthur gaped at the Fey King, then over at Alfred, then back and forth again. "You ran away, Alfred? How could you do something so stupid?"

"It was not stupid," Alfred insisted. "You know me, Arthur. Do you really think I could have managed to marry some girl I don't love? Maybe I'd be able to survive the first few years, but it would kill me inside, Arthur, and you know it. It started to, even if you weren't there to see it. Coming out here, chasing after the man I love… How is that so bad?"

And Arthur's lips twitched upwards, a movement that was ever so slight, so barely noticeable, and Alfred saw it and his heart leaped in his chest. "Ever the romantic fool, aren't you? I suppose I can't blame you for that, seeing how I did fall in love with it in the first place. But still, Alfred, how am I worth all that?"

Alfred didn't reply. He wasn't sure he could- listing off every little thing that he loved about Arthur would take hours, days, possibly forever. Instead he stepped forward again, desperately searching for something, anything, in Arthur's eyes. "Do you still love me? Have you moved on?"

"Of course I still love you, you fool," Arthur whispered, his lips quirking up even further, sad but there. "How could I forget about you so quickly?"

"Then I'm glad I came. I'll never regret coming here, not even if you tell me to go, because at least I tried one more time." Alfred could feel his mouth turning up at the corners, even as tears started to gather in his eyes. He struggled to hold them back. "I told you before, Arthur, and I'll tell you again right now, I'll give up everything for you. I know you think I'd regret it, and maybe I would, just a little, but if it meant I could have you by my side, I would do it. I would do it a hundred, a thousand times if I had the chance! And that's because I love you, and I'm going to keep loving you until the day I die, no matter what happens to me or you or us. I don't expect you to do the same thing for me. I don't want to force you to give everything up for me. But Arthur, if you wanted to, if you were willing to give this a chance, oh gods, I think we would make it. I think we might even get that happily ever after from the old stories." His smile shook as it widened. "I love you, Arthur, and if you said yes, I would marry you right here, right now, the Four Kingdoms be damned. I love you!"

"Idiot!" Arthur yelled at him, and then Alfred found himself with his arms full of a beautiful, green-eyed Fey, and his lips captured in the most wonderful kiss he had ever experienced. He grasped the back of Arthur's tunic tightly and returned the kiss with as much force and love as he could. The tingling sensation of Arthur and his magic and everything, all at once, pressed against him, so close, nearly overwhelmed him. Vaguely, he knew that there were still people watching, but he didn't care right then. Everything was Arthur, Arthur, Arthur.

But of course, even the most amazing of kisses could not last forever, and far too soon Alfred felt Arthur pulling away. He let him go, though he didn't release his hold around Arthur's back. "So, what did that mean?" he asked quietly.

Arthur shook his head, smiling slightly. "It meant that you are the ridiculous person I've ever met, and that these romantic notions of yours are equally as foolish, and… And that yes, Alfred, yes, of course I will marry you." He pressed his hands to Alfred's cheeks, peering up into his eyes, his smile growing stronger. "Of course I'll marry you."

Alfred's heart might have stopped for a second, or possibly just stuttered or skipped more than one beat, but whatever it was, he was suddenly shocked and excited and amazed and so very in love. His grip on Arthur tightened. "You will?" he repeated breathlessly. "But last time, you said-"

"I know what I said. It all made sense, didn't it?" Arthur was grinning and biting at his lip, his eyes watery. "But Alfred, you're not the only one who's allowed to be foolish and romantic sometimes. I… These past few months, I was hoping that something would happen to allow me to see you again. I wanted it so desperately. And now here you are, and you want a second chance, and by the Lady, Alfred, you can have one, if you'll give me the same." He touched Alfred's face gently. "I'll give up everything for you, too, if you still want me."

Alfred kissed him. It was brief, just a quick press of lips, and he pulled back to stare down into those wide green eyes. "Really? Are you sure? What about your books, and your home, and your friends?"

"If they're really my friends, they'll understand." Arthur ran his fingers through Alfred's hair. "And perhaps I'll miss my books and my library, but I can always start a new collection, can't I? Besides, you said it yourself. I think we can have that happy ending, too, if we're both willing to try for it."

"I'm willing," Alfred told him, unable to stop the wide, ridiculous grin that spread across his face. "I've always been willing. And if you're willing, too, let's go. Let's drop everything and leave all this behind and start over again together."

"Right now?" Arthur asked him, returning that giddy smile, his cheeks flushed with enthusiasm. Alfred thought he was the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Right now."

Arthur laughed, his flush deepening and his eyes crinkling at the corners, and tugged lightly at Alfred's hair. "What are we waiting for, then? Did you bring a great white horse to carry us away on, like in the stories?"

"Actually," Alfred said, grin widening even further, "I did, if it hasn't run away yet." They both laughed at that, not moving away from one another, and then they were kissing again, brief but lingering, and when they pulled away, they were still smiling like fools and looking somewhat like they were going to cry. Right then, Alfred knew that no matter what would happen after that day, he would never, ever regret his decision to follow Arthur out there.

"Hey, hey, wait a moment." Gilbert's voice broke through into their own little world, and both Alfred and Arthur turned to look over at him, curious. "Why do you two keep talking about giving everything up? I don't see why you have to give up anything at all." The Fey King was grinning a sort of grin that Alfred had only ever associated with criminals and insane people and Matthew when he had a particularly devious thought. Needless to say, it worried him.

"What are you planning?" Arthur asked slowly, eyes narrowed.

Gilbert only grinned wider. "You'll see soon enough."

A/N- And chapter eight. A bit of a short one, but still important.

And now for some bad news. This is the last of the chapters that I had pre-written. This means that for the last two chapters, you're unfortunately going to have to wait for me to finish them! I'm about two pages into the next one, and the tenth should be relatively simple, but I'm currently in the middle of finals and more than a little busy busy busy, so they probably won't come out until after Xmas. They will be out before New Year's, though!

Thanks for all the support!