Blood had been spilled in the afternoon.
The sun was falling red, it had been that way for two weeks.
-Your Majesty, there is no trace of your troops yet... There is no hope.
-Keep looking.
-But majes...
-I said keep looking, I want every man who has survived in the palace.
The king's hand went to give the order to resume the search for the troops, two weeks, two weeks ago they should have returned victorious.
-Your Majesty... We should give up the fallen soldiers... So much time only indicates that none of them is left alive... -A young woman sat next to the king, caressing his face and brushing aside some curly locks from his hair. pale face. - Richard... You must give up the war for lost...

-The war is not my concern... My men are... If they are truly dead, their remains must be interred with their ancestors, and honored by their families, Paige , and if any remain alive, I want them at court, to thank them for your service and repay them. - The king avoided looking at his wife, Richard Savage was a shy, modest man, in love with art, a fair and wise king, humble, devoted to his kingdom.
-Your choice, my lord, just come and rest when you please...- The beautiful girl withdrew, leaving the king alone on his throne, in a huge hall, full of echoes, completely empty and dark. He stood up, his boots hitting the floor making a terrifying noise, multiplied to infinity by the echo in the room. He went to the tower, looking for some sign of the troops, he could only look at the moon and remember his words.
                                       (...)
-My lord, every night, when the Moon shines full, remember i will be looking at It, and praying for the gods to keep me alive, and when I return, when the moon rises at night, I will take you with me, far away, where no one can forbid me from loving you. - He never disobeyed the words of his knight, he looked at the moon through tears, losing hope when he saw it rise red, bloody. He remembered the day he left, the sun shone like never before, but the day seemed to have frozen.
-Be careful Sir Joseph, I would not want to have to find a new captain for the royal guard. The young knight gave the king a mocking smile.
-You could find a captain as fast as I draw my sword, but I bet he would never be as devoted to you as I am...- The knight's green eyes penetrated the king's blue ones, not another word was uttered, but In the looks there was an implicit "I love you", which in one way or another, both the king's wife and some occasional courtiers could read.
He burst into tears again when he remembered his knight, he should never have sent him to that battle, he had dug his grave. The king's grief only increased when he felt his wife's arms encircle his waist and hug him.
-... He'll come back, Richard, if you really love him, he'll come back... You just have to be patient...
-I am patient, my queen, but the wait is eternal... I just want to know him alive....
Another day passed, and another, the moon continued to rise red, bloody, with death written on it, no trace of the knight or his troops, nothing. A month passed.
-Your Majesty, no trace of the lost troops, it is useless to continue the search.
-Then stop searching...- The room fell silent, no one thought that Their Majesty could give up on the guard's tireless search.
-I'll give the order to withdraw... -the king's hand went head down to give the order they had been waiting for so long.
The queen looked her husband in the eye.
-Did you finally give up, my lord?
-I gave up when I lost the war...
-And your heart?
-How should it be, my lady? Broken... Destroyed.
He remembered Sir Joseph, his long blond hair, his green eyes, which looked at him as if he was a treasure, his soft caresses, his gravelly, rasping voice... He remembered every night he had spent with him, remembered how their hands clasped under the table in the meetings with the councilors and the hand... It was certain that he would take his own life as long as he felt the soft warmth of his gentleman in the afterlife again.

That night the moon rose red again, the king looked at it, sunk in deep sadness, his tears reached every corner of the palace.
His gaze narrowed as he saw in the distance a white horse galloping at full speed towards the castle.

-THE KNIGHTS HAVE RETURNED MOTHER, THEY HAVE RETURNED ALIVE!. -the children shouted from their houses, followed by the first of the other right surviving horsemen. The king's blue orbs shone like never before, he ran to warn his guards, who opened the palace doors to the survivors. His heart seemed to beat again for a few minutes, the town welcomed the knights warmly, families hugged them, the whole town burned with joy at their arrival. As their helms were drawn from their faces, he was unable to locate Sir Joseph, only to see his mortally wounded steed, his poor heart breaking at the thought that the same fate had awaited his beloved.
-Calm down, Your Majesty... I didn't suffer the horrific death my stallion did... -The gentleman's breath hit the king's ear, who turned incredulously to see the man he had waited so long for. He fell knees to the ground, crying of joy as he saw him, just as handsome as he was when he left, but wounded by a Sword in his stomach.
- You are a stolid. How dare you disappear for so long? Do you even know the ordeal you have put me through? Damn fool... - He couldn't finish enunciating his last question, when he felt the gentleman's sweet lips catch his in an anxious and full of life kiss, he enjoyed second by second, not even thinking of the fact that almost all the kingdom was staring closely to them.
-I would apologize on my knees to Your Majesty, but I still have a promise to keep...- He whistled and a beautiful black horse came galloping up.
-What promise is so urgent that even wounded you must fulfill it...?
-I swore to you when I left, that I would take you with me, there where no one knows who you are, nor who I am... There is no wound that hurts more than seeing you and not being able to hold your hand ever...
-Wherever we go, it will continue to be prohibited... You know well that the gods do not look kindly on what we both agreed...
-I would face the gods for you if I could show the whole world that I love you...
-Flatterer...
-That's how you love me, am I wrong?
-Not at all, Sir Joseph...

Richard Savage, king of nothing, Sir Joseph Thomas Elliott, knight of nobody, they were never seen again, but since their departure, the moon shines in the night as if they were two, it is known that the love between them is kept alive, every day more.