The throne room. The one location in the palace I hadn’t visited until now. The walls were off-white, bare but for an occasional painting of a past monarch. There was no real need for much in the way of hanging decorations, as the grandeur of the rest of the room made for an amazing view.

Lacy scarlet curtains complemented the red, feathery pattern of the plush carpet. A grand canopy, scarlet and gold in intricate formations, sheltered the stage upon which two gold-and-red thrones were placed. Behind and between the thrones was the flag of Denmark, red with a white cross. Known as the Dannebrog, it was the oldest flag in the world, flown in the oldest kingdom. It was the heritage of our people, summed up in a single symbol.

How fitting that James and I should be standing on the stage with the flag, on the verge of announcing the beginning of our own heritage.

James had sent for the court to be gathered, and a few respectful members of the press had been allowed to join. Now they all filled the throne room, their eyes glued on us. Competitors, assistants, servants, relatives, and the Queen herself stood there, watching us. I saw hope and curiosity and understanding on their faces, along with a few sour grimaces. Nearly all of them had guessed the reason they were here.

I clutched James’s hand, trying to keep standing straight despite being so nervous I was making myself sick. The presence of guards all around the room was both a comfort and a distraction. It was difficult to imagine that I, an ordinary man, could be in a situation like this, where a happy announcement required security and protection.

But this was what I had signed up for. Literally.

James cleared his throat, and the slight chatter in the room died down. Everyone leaned closer to us, and the press lifted their cameras and microphones.

“I’m sure that all of you are dying to know why you’ve been gathered here. I’d also be willing to bet that a great number of you have managed to guess the reason. All that remains is to confirm it.”

Someone in the audience let out a soft gasp. I couldn’t tell who. The people in the crowd had ceased to exist as individuals for me. They were a singular, watchful mass with dozens of eyes and tendrils of tentacle hair, like a bizarre monster.

James continued, “The truth is that the rumors are correct. Reid is pregnant. And the baby is mine. I, grandson of Queen Delia Cobb, have produced an heir.”

In the aftermath of the announcement, no one said anything at all. Then, a single individual started to clap. It was the queen herself, her elderly hands pattering together so fast I was surprised by her dexterity. Her whole face had transformed, turned from a wise old woman to a beautiful young lady because of the massive smile she wore. Her eyes twinkled in the lights.

As if the queen’s applause had broken some spell of silence, the other members of the audience started to react. There were more gasps, a few cries of disbelief. More people began to clap, the beats of their hands surging into full blown applause. Yells of congratulations and praise burst free of the rest of the clamor.

All I could really do was stand there and smile, too happy to have any words to say, too overwhelmed to be able to say them even if I did. It hadn’t really occurred to me how many people had been waiting for months and months.

This pregnancy was bigger than merely myself and James. This was a moment that would change the path of the future forever, for the entire country. The history books would recount an idealized version of this for centuries.

Queen Delia was the first to step forward, holding out her hand. She grasped at James, bending him to her for a congratulatory kiss on the cheek. He obliged her, grinning from ear to ear.

God, but he was handsome. I focused on him, trying to block out everything else. He was my rock, my steady place. I would get through this if he was here by my side.

Some of the uproar had died down, and now others were approaching with congratulations on their lips. The members of the press, easily identifiable because of their plainer clothing and the equipment they held, spread out around the room to get the best angle on things.

Holding out her arms, Queen Delia said, “I must ask for silence, so I can properly congratulate my grandson.”

Everyone obeyed, and the queen faced James once more. She seemed to have eyes only for him, like he was the North Star and she was being guided by him. “I am so, so glad that you are the one who managed to make an heir. My young, wonderful grandson, I have watched you figure your life out and become a man worthy of a crown.”

James blinked a lot, like he had something in his eye.

“However,” Queen Delia warned, “I must remind you that the heir has to be successfully born before you can be crowned. And I imagine I’ll be needing to have that other crown removed from storage.”

Other crown? For the baby?

A baby couldn’t wear a crown, especially not one designed for a fully grown man’s head. That was, if I was correct in thinking Queen Delia was referring to the king’s crown, which no one currently wore.

The crowd surged again, and there were more shouts of congratulations, which I didn’t really understand. Then, James straightened up and spoke to the room. “Back up. Off the stage! I need space!”

It took some doing and a lot of fumbling, but everyone managed to get off the stage again. Silence descended once more. Looking around, I saw anticipation written on everyone’s faces, especially that of the press, who were moving around the room into careful positions. Everyone seemed to know what was about to happen, except for me.

James turned to face me, reaching for my hands and clasping them between his. I looked up into his powerful face, trying to study the expression written there. He seemed to be a man standing on the edge of something, about to take a step over and into the abyss. If he was counting on me to catch him, if he wanted me to do something, I couldn’t fathom what it was.

“Reid Harrison,” he said, his voice proud and strong. “I never dreamed that this day would come. I never imagined I’d be standing right here beside you, looking forward to the future like this.

“I messed up a lot in our past. I took you for granted. I pretended to be something I wasn’t, and that ended up chasing you away. And then, while you were off living your life to the fullest, I was off causing trouble for everyone else.”

A few people chuckled in response to his statement, but for the most part everyone stayed silent.

My heart picked up its speed a little from the uncertainty of why he was saying this. All I could do was look at him and hope that he wouldn’t do me any wrong.

No, I decided. I trusted him not to hurt me.

“I can tell you don’t have any idea what I’m talking about this for,” James said. “I tried long and hard to think of the words I wanted to say, so I could accurately explain how much I love you.”

Then I decided, fuck that. I was going to just get up here and say what came into my head. I love you, Reid. I can’t believe we’ve found each other again, and I am never going to let you go again. That’s why I’m going to ask you this.”

James went down on one knee and that was when I finally figured what he was up to. I brought my hand to my lips, trembling as he looked up at me. “James?”

“Reid, will you marry me?”

“Yes!” I cried out, my joy getting the best of me. My shout reverberated around the throne room like a series of bells, interspersed with the clicks of camera shutters snapping and adjusting. “I love you, James!”

James stood and swept me up into his arms in one swift movement, spinning me around and leaning me back to kiss me. His lips pressed with need against mine and I answered his call, letting our mouths meld together. With our bodies tangled up like this, with me relying upon him so fully and completely to keep me upright, it felt as if we had become one.

We had joined together in this moment, and we would never separate again.

James allowed me to straighten up, but I kept my arms wrapped tightly around his neck. I clung to him, not caring about the tears that soaked my face. He was the most beautiful, most wonderful and caring and fantastic man in the entire world, and I loved him. I was entitled to cry a bit.

Besides, James’s own eyes were overly bright, brimming with moisture. I’d be sure to tease him about that later.

“Is that it?”

The snarky tone could belong to only one person.

The crowd parted, leaving a gap around Lesandra. She looked as lovely as ever, wearing a short, form fitting black dress with slits up the side to flash glimpses of her pale, creamy skin. However, she was anything but lovely. With both hands planted on her hips, a sneer on her lips, she resembled a pouty child more than anything.

“Lesandra,” James said. He kept his tone smooth, but his body had gone still and stiff against mine. His muscles were so tense that it was almost painful to keep holding onto him.

I refused to let go anyway, knowing that he needed my support right now. “I’m not sure what you expected,” he went on. “There’s no room for your dramatics right now.”

“Oh, sure. Make it about me. I just…”

I cut her off, my voice rising louder than I meant it to. “You’re the one who made it about you.”

The members of the crowd tittered and stirred. I heard a few whispers of support for me, as breathy and small as the wind slipping through the branches of a tree.

“The peasant speaks,” Lesandra spat. “And a peasant you’ll always be, even if you marry my hopeless excuse of a cousin. You have no wealth to your name. James clearly doesn’t consider you worthy of sharing, since he didn’t even bother getting you a ring.”

I hadn’t thought about a ring. Then again, this entire thing had taken me by surprise.

“How wrong can you be?” James shook his head, holding his hand out to the crowd. “Haley, can you come here, please?”

Haley? I hadn’t even realized she was here. But clearly, she was, because right now she was emerging from behind some other members of the crowd. Wearing a gorgeous red dress with a white bow around the waist, she looked more like a princess than ever.

She held a small black box in one hand.

James accepted the box, then bent down and swept Haley up to sit on his shoulder. He turned to me, holding out the little box. “Here you are, my fiancé,” he said grandly. “My prince, my future king. Your ring.”

My fingers trembled as I opened the little ring box. My heart stopped as I saw what was inside: a cheap, crappy little piece of jewelry. The silver plating was bunched up and uneven.

It was the most beautiful, most wonderful thing I had ever seen. It was the same ring — or near enough — that I had attempted to give James before. He was putting everything right, as he’d said he would.

I slipped the ring onto my finger and turned out to face the crowd. I looked at Lesandra and said, “I am wealthier than you will ever be in your entire life.”

Everyone could see that the ring was only a small thing, even if they couldn’t tell how cheap it was. They didn’t see diamonds, or sapphires, or traditional rubies, or other gemstones, or gold, or anything else that would really be befitting of a royal proposal.

And they didn’t care. They rushed at James and me, surrounding us, hugging us, congratulating us. There was laughter and tears and awkward praise, and plenty of gentle touches on my rounded belly. As weird as it felt to be treated with such adoration by people I didn’t really know all that well, I was so happy that I didn’t care.

Lesandra let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a scream. She spun on her heel and marched out of the throne room. Guards jumped out of her way as she plowed past them, and she slammed the door shut behind her. She was forgotten as soon as she left the room.

It took a long time for everything to get settled down, but people eventually let themselves be led away by the guards until only James, Haley, the queen, and I were left in the throne room.

Queen Delia tweaked Haley’s cheek, making her giggle, then turned to me. “Reid,” she said. “If you can head a country as well as you head a family, I have no doubt that I am going to be leaving the throne in capable hands.”

I blushed. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Please, just call me Delia. We’re nearly family at this point.”

“Can I call you Grandma?” Haley piped up.

Delia smiled at her. “You can. Now, I feel that we should give your father and James a moment alone. Come with me.”

Delia held out her hand, which Haley took eagerly. “We must tell the servants to prepare an extravagant dinner, and I want you to help me pick out the desserts. If you don’t mind, Reid?”

I shook my head. “I don’t mind.”

James helped Haley to hop off his shoulder, and the eldest and youngest amongst us went off on their way.

The moment we were alone, James pulled me into his arms and sat down in one of the thrones with me on his lap. I didn’t know how comfortable the throne was, but it felt just right to be in his lap. Laying my head on his shoulder, I held him tightly and listened to our hearts beating to the same rhythm.

There really wasn’t any way to describe how happy I was. No words sufficed. I was here, I was home, I was so out of my mind with delight that I was walking amongst the stars. Space spread out all around me, leaving me with endless possibilities to discover and explore.

James kissed the top of my head. “Now that we’re alone,” he whispered, and brought out a second ring box.

Placing my hands on his chest, I sat up and stared at him. “You didn’t! James! This one is more than enough!”

“I know it is. And it’s enough for me too, to finally be able to agree to the promise to belong to you. But I wanted to spoil you. I wanted to get you something special. So I did.”

And with that, he opened the box. Inside was a delicate and intricate silver ring, with an array of massive sapphires that caught the light and shattered it into a thousand sparkles.

I could only stare as he picked up my hand and slid the ring onto my finger, right next to the other one. “I know a red stone is more traditional,” he admitted, “but I wanted something that went with your eyes.”

My eyes, which were flooding with tears for a second time. I embraced James again, kissing him, and it was a long time before we parted for breath.

There was a feast that night, as Delia had said there would be. It was held in Moltke Palace, the palace in Amalienborg most often used for lavish affairs, celebrations, and ceremonies. Many members of court, and their entire families, attended, along with guests, all of them creating a chaotic atmosphere.

Wine and vodka and beer flowed like water, passed around by servants who also carried platters of tasty hors d’oeuvres: pickles, eggs, slices of bruschetta topped with ham.

The feast itself was almost unrealistic. It was impossible to imagine that so much food existed in the entire world. Whole roast chickens, roasted herring, baked salmon, savory potatoes. There were crisp, raw vegetables cut into the shapes of flowers, served with dips. Fruit sat in bowls, ready for the taking. There were rolls, and sauces, and jellies, and a thousand different varieties of cheese, to be eaten with crackers.

Guests kept coming up to James and me to congratulate on us. It was, naturally, polite to talk to the people who were the reason for the party in the first place. All the constant disruptions made me worried that we would never get a chance to eat, but there was so much food that I shouldn’t have. Even when the feast ended, hours later, there was still plenty left.

It was only when James and I retired to our room for the night that I remembered the event that had kickstarted our day.

“Dickon!” I said, staring at James. “We forgot about Dickon!”

“You forgot about Dickon,” he said. “I’ve been checking in with the guards every few hours to see if they’ve made any headway with his disappearance.”

I sagged against him, relieved. “And?”

“And he’s still gone,” James grunted. He stroked my hair, caressed my neck with his fingers. “Witness accounts seem to point to him having left under his own devices. He was apparently in a hurry.”

“I’m glad he wasn’t taken by force, at least. Although it would be nice to know where he went and why.”

“I agree, trust me,” James said. He pulled my body closer to his. I cuddled the top of my head under his chin, feeling the vibrations of his deep voice as he spoke. “But it’s not our responsibility. What you and I have to do now is focus on this baby.”

I agreed, but I chose to focus on James for the moment, letting him drag me down into bed and wrap himself around me. If I had thought it was going to be difficult to fall asleep after such a long and busy day, I was sorely mistaken. I slept like a baby.