“Oh my god, it’s so beautiful.” I drag air into my lungs and let out a big sigh. The view is literally breathtaking from up here.

James’ arms wrap around me. The warmth of his body feel comforting as the air gets thinner and cooler. “Not as beautiful as you.”

“That’s really cheesy,” I laugh, but my heart swells at his words.

I’ve heard similar comments from other guys, like Graham, but somehow it’s different when I hear it in James’ voice. I’m happy that’s how he sees me.

As the sun peeks over the mountain ranges in the horizon, the prince draws a deep breath and simply says, “Look at that.”

“Yeah. I’m glad we caught the sunrise.”

“So you agree now that I had a good, valid reason for you to stay over?” James asks as he tightens his hold around me and kisses me on the cheek.

“Maybe,” I admit.

Prince James asks me to stay over at Ardglass Palace every time I go there for dinner. To be perfectly honest, even though I act like he’s a pest for bugging me about it, I enjoy sleeping by his side all night. And I often accept the invitation—or obey the order—even if there’s no hot air balloon ride to get up for in the early morning.

The problem is, staying over messes with my work schedule at The Alcove too much, although Wanda doesn’t mind it. She doesn’t ask too many questions, even though she must know there’s something between the prince and me.

It has been six months since the pictures of us at The Dungeon were published.

Since then, we’ve been keeping a low profile.

We’ve mostly met up at The Alcove. Sometimes Prince James stays over in my room, but usually he’s gone before morning. We can’t risk him getting spotted by someone and us ending up on the gossip tabloids again.

In the past couple of months, the news about us have started to die down, so I’ve been able to start visiting the palace again.

There’s a bigger risk of getting caught at the door that has been discovered, though, so I’ve had to use the secret tunnel every time.

For a while, people were really curious about that door. It took an order from the capital to stop people from blowing it open with dynamite or something.

That royal order has saved the secrecy of the palace, but it has also confirmed that the government has something to hide. People’s speculations have only been getting wilder and wilder.

The craziest theory I’ve heard thus far is the one about a secret labor camp. The mysterious door apparently leads to prison where the government’s dissidents are forced to do dangerous work in some sort of a modern Gulag.

There’s another theory that’s almost equally wild. They say that the door hides a secret facility where the government stores classified information about extraterrestrials and even communicates with actual aliens.

As if James can read my mind, he says, “See? There are no emaciated political prisoners or aliens down there.”

I’m enchanted by my first look at Ardglass Palace from above, but I have to laugh. “I’m not one of the people who believes those stories. Maybe you should show this to the rest of the kingdom as proof.”

“What, take a whole kingdom on a hot air balloon ride? You think there’s enough room for all those people in this wicker basket? You’re cute, but you’re not very smart, are you?” he teases me.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m spending so much time alone with an infamous abuser.”

“Well played.” The prince chuckles.

Below us are natural rock structures. Through holes in the rock, I can see certain rooms in the palace.

The prince had already told me that Ardglass Palace is built into natural caves in the rock, but I didn’t expect it to look this beautiful. (To be fair, I didn’t know what to expect as this is the first and only secret palace I’ve seen.)

“See that green patch over there?” the prince asks, pointing ahead with his index finger.

“Yeah.”

“That’s the garden.”

“Oh, so that’s how it gets so much sun,” I say as I look at the big hole in the rock below us. “How is it that nobody has ever spotted the palace from above?”

“The airspace in this area is restricted. That’s why people haven’t taken to the skies as soon as the rumors about the palace got out. Without the no-flying ban, those TV stations would’ve definitely filmed everything from their helicopters.”

“And that restriction is also one of the reasons why conspiracy theorists feel justified, right?”

“Yeah.”

“See? I’m not just a pretty face,” I say, twisting around to flash James a big grin.

“Of course you’re not,” he says.

“Do you think maybe it’s time to let people know about the palace?” Quickly, I add, “I mean, I’m not telling you what to do. But I’m fascinated by the history and the architecture of Ardglass Palace. I think it’s a shame that people can never know about it.”

“Actually, I’ve been thinking about that as well,” he says.

“I mean, obviously it would be better for people to appreciate the palace for its historical significance than for them to suspect it as part of the government’s evil scheme.”

“Yeah,” he chuckles, “but that’s not the main reason why I want to reveal it to the public.”

“It’s not?”

“My reasons are more selfish than that.”

“Like what?”

“Like…” Prince James lets his sentence hang in the air. He grabs my shoulders and turns me around. His blue eyes appear brilliant under the first rays of the morning sun.

He runs his fingers through his hair and says, “Rosemary, I’m happier than I’ve ever been. It’s been a long while since I was happy. I think the last time was when my mother was still alive, ten years ago… but I digress.”

James takes a deep breath. He seems nervous. His fingers on my shoulder are squeezing me a little too hard, and he’s speaking a little too fast.

What has gotten him this worked up?

“What I really want to say is… I love you,” he says finally.

A smile blooms on my face.

That’s it? That’s why he’s so anxious?

That’s… kind of adorable.

“I love you, too,” I say.

“You do?” he asks as a hopeful smile appears on his handsome face.

I nod. Did he really think I’d respond with anything other than a declaration of my love for him?

The prince grabs my face with both hands and kisses me passionately.

I’ve known how James feels about me for a while. He always wants to spend time with me, he goes to great lengths to meet me despite the risks, and he’s always so sweet and passionate when we’re together.

Let me put it this way. He’s always either working or spending time with me.

So yes, this is not a surprise.

I just thought that maybe he’s not used to expressing his feelings openly, with his father being so distant and his mother having been gone for so long.

Many times, I’ve wanted to tell him how I feel about him, but I didn’t want to make things awkward for him. And I guess, even if I believe in equality, I still want the man to be the one to profess his love. Is that hypocritical?

Ah, who cares?

The man I love, loves me back. And he has arranged a hot air balloon ride just to say it right.

Nothing in the world can bother me right now.

When James pulls away, I put my hand on his face and get on my tippy toes to get him to kiss me again, but he only gives me a light peck.

“I love you, and kissing you has got to be one of my favorite things to do, but I need to tell you a few things about what it means if we’re going to make this relationship official.”

“Okay…”

The uncertainty of not knowing what he wants to discuss makes my heart race, but I know I don’t have anything to worry about.

Despite all the opportunities he’s had to exploit my trust, the prince has always shown himself to be capable and willing to look after me. I know he’s got my back.

“This is the reason why I’ve been rethinking the secrecy of the palace,” James says as the breeze flirts with his hair. “I told you I’ve been really happy, and the only thing that can make me happier is if I don’t have to sneak around to see you. I want to take you places, but we can’t even be seen together in The Dungeon again, regardless of whether we wear masks.”

“It’s also been getting harder and harder for me to field the questions from my family,” I say. “My sisters have been going through my stuff at home and even visiting The Alcove just to check on me. And my father sometimes asks questions I can’t answer. He’s never too pushy about it, but I feel bad about hiding something from him, something that’s really important to me.”

“So we agree that things can be better.” James levels his gaze at me and asks, “But do you know what it means if we’re going to tell the public about our relationship?”

“Yeah,” I say. “We’re going to confirm all the stories that have leaked. We’ll have to admit that it’s us in those pictures from The Dungeon.”

“Yeah. And we’ll have to explain the secret door. I’ve been thinking about just telling the truth about Ardglass Palace. I’ve spoken with a few of my father’s advisors, and they agree that there’s no big reason to keep it a secret anymore, especially now when the people have found the secret door and they’ve come up with all these crazy theories to explain it. The advisors agree that it might be better for us to be transparent about our relationship.”

“I didn’t know you’ve told people about us. I haven’t told anyone.”

“Well, there are rules about what a crown prince need to do to prepare for something like this,” he says.

“There are specific procedures for revealing a secret palace? How often does this happen?”

James laughs. His hand dips into the pocket of his suit jacket and he drops down to one knee.

What is he…? Did he drop something?

Or is this…?

It can’t be…

The prince pulls out a small box lined with blue velvet, making it apparent why he’s invited me on this hot air balloon ride.

When he opens the box, I see a ring lodged inside, with a big stone the deep blue color of Prince James’ eyes. The oval sapphire in the center is surrounded by a few smaller diamonds. The light hits the ring just right, making it glitter as it basks in the warm rays of the sun.

“Rosemary Wilson, will you marry me?” the prince asks, gazing at me with tenderness and anxiety in his eyes.

My mouth hangs open.

Of course I know that if things were to go smoothly with the prince, we’d eventually get married. But I didn’t think it was going to happen this quickly. I thought there was still a lot of time before I had to start worrying about things like… becoming the queen someday.

I have so many questions… Like, will the royal family accept me? What will the people say? What do I tell my father and my sisters? Will we have to admit our kinks to the whole kingdom?

But despite all those thoughts swirling in my mind, all that comes out of my mouth is… “Yes.”

“Yes?” Prince James asks as his worried frown is replaced by a joyful smile.

“Yes! Of course!” I exclaim, pulling him up into a big hug.

“I love you.” The prince glances down as he slides the ring onto my finger, then he fixes his intense gaze on me. “You’ve made me the happiest man in the world, and I promise I’ll make you happy.”

“I love you.” I smile as I look up into his dazzling blue eyes, the eyes that I’ll gaze into every day for the rest of my life.