When she'd said no, Arthur's world had fallen to pieces. He couldn't understand why she had turned him down. He was offering her everything in the world and yet she didn't want them. Why? But she then said why, and even his argument of loving her couldn't change her mind. Before Arthur knew it, Alethea was running from him. The ring was still in his hand and a crestfallen Prince put it back in the pouch on his belt before running after her. Alethea had gotten a good way ahead of him and before long, Arthur had seemed to lose her. However, he could hear her sobs and that broke his heart. He hadn't wanted to upset her. In fact, he had wanted to do the complete opposite. He had wanted to make her smile and then together they could return to Camelot and celebrate the news. But it hadn't happened. Instead she had run with tears in her eyes. Arthur had upset her and now he hadn't a clue where she was. He tried to search for her, shouted her name but got no answer. He knew though that she could be anywhere by now. It was a very big forest and he had no chance of finding her on his own.

Reluctant to do so but knowing that there was a small chance that she would be there, Arthur galloped towards Camelot, praying that Alethea had beaten him there. Looking out for any sign of her as he rode, he was disappointed when he found no sign. Arriving at the castle, he asked everyone he met if they had seen Alethea but no one had. Not since that morning. Running to Alethea's room, he found no sign of her there, but her maid was in the room. She was startled to see the Prince but even she hadn't seen her mistress since that morning. Arthur sighed, knowing that he had done the wrong thing when he had thought he was doing the right thing. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have been so blind not to see what was wrong? He should have known that she would have turned him down. He was wrong to make her decide between him and her family. He knew straight away which one he would have chosen if he was in Alethea's shoes.

Heading back to the courtyard, Arthur raised his men and began to get a search party together. They would search the woods tonight, for they all knew that the forest wasn't safe for a Lady on her own, let alone in the dark. As the men began to prepare their horses, the Prince saw Merlin and explained what had happened. The warlock held a grim expression before running to Gaius to tell him what was going on. Arthur waited as his men got everything ready and prayed that he would find Alethea safe and sound. He hoped that she would be alright. If anything bad happened to her then Arthur would never forgive himself. It would be part what his fault if she did get hurt. He was just about to mount up when his servant came sprinting back to him, seeming to have news for Arthur. Watching as Merlin nearly went flying as he tripped up in the courtyard, Arthur waited for him to catch his breath.

"Call off the search party."

"Why?"

"Alethea… She's here…with Gaius." Merlin told the Prince in between breaths. Within seconds the search party had been dismissed and Arthur was running towards the physician's room. He needed to see Alethea and apologise for trying to make her choose between him and her family. He needed to make sure that she was alright and that she was unharmed. He needed to know that she was safe.

The moment they reached Gaius' chambers, Arthur was straight by the side of Alethea, checking that she wasn't hurt. He was going to apologise to her but she was fast asleep, a blanket wrapped tight around her but the Prince could see a few scratches on her arms. Obviously the woods hadn't been too kind to her, but it could have been a lot worse. Smiling slightly as he took off her tear stained glasses and put them on the table, he turned back to Gaius.

"When did she…?"

"Arrived on my doorstep in tears about half an hour ago sire." the physician told him.

"Why didn't she come and find me?" he wondered aloud but inside he knew why. She was probably scared or didn't want to see the hurt in his eyes.

"She was very upset sire. You haven't put her in the easiest of positions."

"Explain."

"She claims that it is not her destiny to be your wife and although she regrets saying no, she doesn't want to have to choose between you and not seeing her family ever again." Gaius told the blonde haired Prince.

"Oh…" Arthur turned back to Alethea to find her holding the blankets tight and was murmuring something.

"I have a feeling she is missing home too." Merlin put in "It can't be easy for her, all this. I mean, to be brought from your own time back a good fifteen centuries and to go through everything she has…"

"I never even thought…" Arthur said, looking over at the sleeping girl clutching a blanket tight around her. "What have I done?" he asked himself. He hadn't thought of these things at the time. In fact, all he had been thinking about was how lovely life would be with Alethea as his wife and not muddling his words up when it came to asking her. In truth, he had been naïve to think that Alethea would have just said yes straight away. He hadn't believed that she would refuse, but he understood her reasoning.

"Can I stay here with her?" Arthur asked, hoping to speak with her when she woke.

"I think it would be best to give her a bit of space sire." Gaius suggested. Arthur knew that it would be for the best.

"In which case just tell her when she wakes… Just tell her I'm sorry." And with that, Arthur left the room.

For the rest of that night, the young Pendragon lay in his bed, tormented by visions of what could have been. Every time he closed his eyes, Arthur could see Alethea stood in the Church with him waiting at the altar. Every time he kept them open, his mind kept repeating the proposal, and he could still hear her words and see the look of sorrow in her eyes. He now regretted asking her for he knew that he had made the wrong decision. She was the one who had to make the decision, and he knew that no matter how much he wanted her to stay, eventually Alethea would leave Camelot forever. The most he could do was hope that she would stay for a few more days, but he knew that she could quite easily leave at any point she wanted to. She had Merlin for that. But as the night wore on, the Prince's eyes began to feel very sore and eventually he closed them.

It was a beautiful Spring morning, the forest now in bloom and newborn babes were seen in the fields. Children played in the sunshine and all was well. Arthur Pendragon was in his room on that particular morning with his servant, getting ready for the day ahead of him. Dressed in his finest clothes of the most expensive red cloth, Arthur was getting ready for the biggest day of his life so far, for today he was to commit himself to Alethea for the rest of his life. Smoothing down his clothes, Arthur took a deep breath and made sure that Merlin had the rings before they then made their way to the Church.

The people of Camelot were all gathered and the Church had been filled with wildflowers and decorations. The members of Camelot's court were all gathered and King Uther was stood at the entrance, waiting for the bride to arrive. Waiting by the altar, the Prince wondered what could be taking her so long, but then she arrived. Walked up the aisle by Gaius, she looked more beautiful than ever in her white gown. As she finally came to stand by Arthur's side, he could see the tears beneath her veil. Knowing that it was just nerves, the Prince gave her a reassuring smile as the priest began the ceremony. All too soon the vows came along and Arthur and Alethea were exchanging rings as they vowed to stay with each other until death.

"Do you Arthur Pendragon take thee Alethea of Camelot to be your wife?"

"I do."

"And do you Alethea take Arthur Pendragon to be your husband?"

"With all my heart, I do."

"Then I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

And kiss they did, among the cheers of the people. They feasted and celebrated that evening, with the young couple feeling very happy and very much in love. They disappeared soon after before taking a tour around the kingdom the next day. A few months later Uther Pendragon passed away and Arthur became King, Alethea his Queen. The kingdom was happy and there were no wars. There were no droughts or famines or anything along that line. There were no problems whatsoever in fact, and together King Arthur and Queen Alethea reigned wisely over Camelot. There was never a more loved set of monarchs. Then came the Knights, with a round table of course, and no one dared to go against the Pendragon's word.

Then one fateful day, Alethea took Arthur to one side to tell him something. Something big, and he couldn't hide his joy when she told him that she was with child. He doted on his wife even more than he had done and the Queen became very amused by her husband's behaviour. Then nine months later, she bore him a daughter. The King had been pacing the floor of the corridor whilst his wife screamed in pain. He wished that he could hold her hand but her maids had shooed him away, so he was forced to wait outside. Waiting, he soon heard a baby's cry and he immediately went into the room, moving all of the women out of the way to find his wife lying on the bed with a babe cradled in her arms. Sitting next to his wife, Arthur looked at them both and knew that they were the two things he loved most in the world.

"She's got your eyes." Alethea smiled.

"And your nose. Any idea of names?"

"Igraine."

"Then welcome to the family Igraine Pendragon." Arthur smiled, but his joy was not to last long. Alethea had been weak after giving birth, and just a few days later she sickened with a fever. Arthur begged Merlin and Gaius for their help, saying that he would do anything to spare Alethea and the two physicians did all that they could for the Queen, but nothing touched her. Not even Merlin's magic could help her, but Alethea fought as she always did, and opened her eyes one day to find her beautiful baby girl holding her thumb. Smiling as she then saw her husband, she managed to survive somehow and live on.

A few years passed and Arthur spoiled his little girl something rotten. Alethea then had another child, a boy this time, and together they were all a happy family. However, a few more years passed and it was when Igraine was ten years old that a great illness swept through Camelot. Merlin, who was now the Court Physician as well as being the Court Magician, was doing everything he could to find a cure. Then it spread to the royal family, affecting Igraine, Tristram and their mother. This tore Arthur's heart and he could not bare the thought of losing any of them, but there was no cure and the illness was fatal. They were going to die and there was nothing any of them could have done to save them. The King was forced to watch his family slowly die. First his son, then his daughter. His wife took the longest to pass on, and was inconsolable when she found that her children were dead. Cradled in Arthur's arms, she spent her last hours on this Earth with Arthur, her beloved husband, before breathing her last. Arthur cried her name, but she was already gone to a better place…

The Prince woke with a start, tears in his eyes as he thought of his dream. He could be so happy together with Alethea, but he knew that it would also break his heart when he did eventually lose her. And lose her he would. Be it by death or by her own decision to leave, Arthur knew that they weren't meant to be together forever. They weren't meant to be man and wife. And suddenly he knew that Alethea was right and always had been. She couldn't marry him because if she did, she would be making one of the worst decisions of her life, even if it did make them both happy.