"The general public's opinion of the monarchy has improved greatly," Councillor Jura said and showed me some numbers on a paper. I didn't really understand what they meant, but I trusted him.

"That's great," I said and handed him the paper back.

"It is, Your Highness. The rebels' plan has worked." He took a sip of his coffee.

"It surely has," Islo grumbled.

"Even you seem likeable in the media's eyes," Jura said and side eyed Islo. Islo just rolled his eyes in response.

"What do you make of it?" I asked. Inviting Jura for coffee had ulterior motives. It wasn't just to catch up on some things before the next council meeting, it was to figure out where he stood. He had always been kind to me, helped me a lot recently too. But I didn't know him properly. I didn't know what his values were.

"It makes me curios of what their end game is. Why make the people love you so much?"

"Perhaps to distract them from the fact that the rebels killed their queen." Islo poured himself another cup of coffee. "The people loved her. She was beautiful and strong. Young. She was supposed to launch this country into a new era."

"And I'm the bastard king of thorns," I muttered.

"I didn't say that," Islo said softly and took my hand in his. "What I'm saying is that you were basically unknown. Everyone knew of a bastard prince, but nobody knew you. Now when they do, they can see how absolutely amazing, kind and selfless you are. Even if it's based on a campaign manufactured by others, you started it. And you're an underdog who has risen to the occasion when your country needed you. Your story, even without the rebels, is a good one."

"I just feel..." I stopped and glanced over at Jura. He was looking at me with interest. Openness. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Not genuine."

"Do you support their choices in terms of your promotional campaign?" Jura asked.

"Supporting orphanages? Yes. I would've done something for them regardless."

"And you've made some good decisions for the less fortunate in our society too. Like lowering the taxes for them. You care about your citizens. All of them, Your Highness." He smiled a bit and took another sip of his coffee.

I nodded a bit.

"I do not support the rebels. I support my king," he added then and rose to his feet. "Thank you for the coffee. I would love to stay longer, but I do have some paperwork to do before our next meeting. And your notes to look over." He bowed and left Islo and me to ourselves.

"I never knew he could be so... Nice," Islo murmured.

"He has been so kind to me from the beginning." I leaned forward and put my cup down on the small coffee table.

"I just never knew he had a side like that. You bring the best out in people. You bring out the best in me too." He leaned in and kissed me, turning my head towards him with his hand. "I love you."

"I love you too," I murmured against his lips. "So much, Islo."

I could feel him smiling, his teeth grazing over my lips. "I'm so proud of you too, you know." He leaned back so he could see me.

"Proud? Why?"

"Because you've been so strong lately. You're taking everything in strides. And you're so sweet around Isla. She loved horseback riding with you yesterday. Though you really shouldn't spoil her." He chuckled.

"I'm going to spoil her rotten, aren't I?"

"Probably. But the way to that little girl's heart is through ponies."

"I'll shower her in ponies then. Besides, horseback riding is really good for you. You get a great workout from it."

"Oh, is that where you got all those muscles in your thighs?" He smiled and looked down, very slowly putting his hand on my thigh, giving it a squeeze.

"Uh huh, those are definitely muscles," I said and snorted. I did not have a lot of muscles. I was a soft boy, and I didn't mind. No one had ever complained about it either. Islo wasn't exactly muscular either, but he was slim. Way slimmer than me.

"I can feel them right through your trousers. And that is making me think, your trousers would look better on the floor." His voice had turned breathy, and he was definitely losing all control. It was ridiculously cute how just touching my thigh had that effect on him. And him talking like this did everything.

But I wanted to do a little something extra. I kissed him and then rose to my feet.

"You like my thighs?" I asked and pulled my shirt out of my trousers. Islo's eyes widened as I started unbuttoning my shirt. "How about my chest?"

He swallowed hard. "Y-yeah, that's... It's nice."

I slid my shirt off my shoulders, and it dumped down on the floor. "How about my arms?" I slowly lifted my hand and slid my fingers over my shoulder and down my bicep.

"Yeah," he said and cleared his throat, shifting a bit in his seat.

I smiled halfly and went for my belt, unbuckling it. "It was my thighs you mentioned, right?"

He exhaled loudly and nodded slowly.

I pulled my belt out of the belt-hoops and dropped it on the floor too. Islo's eyes became hooded, and he was looking down at my legs now. I undid my trousers as slowly as I could. I was only standing in my undergarments then, feeling chills make the small hairs on my body rise.

"Do you like this?" I asked and brushed my fingers over my stomach.

Islo didn't reply. He almost flew to his feet, ending up right in front of me. He bent down in his knees and picked me up, wrapping my legs around his hips.

"You don't know how much I like this," he murmured and carried me back to the sofa. He sat down with me in his lap. His eyes wandered down as his hands went up. "How much I like you."

He leaned forward and breathed hot air on my throat. Chills ran down my spine as I tipped my head up, and I grabbed his shoulders just to steady myself a bit.

His lips landed on my skin, and I whimpered. I couldn't hold back. I was so sensitive to his touch right now every contact lit a fire in me. His fingers were running up my back, pressing my body closer to his.

"I want you," I said with a shivering voice before I could even stop myself. I didn't want to wait. I wanted him now.

He rose, holding on to me like I didn't weigh a thing and carried me to bed. He very gently put me down and pulled his shirt over his head, not even bothering with the buttons.

He was fast. Very fast. It took him no time to get both myself and him ready and then he was between my legs. He looked up, silently asking for permission.

"Get a move on," I murmured and smiled up at him.

"So impatient," he chuckled and moved his hips forward.

My arms shot up and wrapped around him, my fingers digging into his back. I needed him so much closer.

He groaned as he slowly pulled out, and then slammed himself inside of me again. I couldn't stop myself from moaning either.

He reached down and grabbed my ass, lifting me up. I moaned again and grabbed his hair, getting his mouth up to mine. I just had to kiss him right now.

Almost every inch of our bodies was touching, and Islo couldn't move much else than his hips, but it felt amazing. He felt amazing on top of me, softly pressing me into the bed.

I still couldn't get over the fact that this was what love felt like. I thought I had had amazing lovers in the past, but no one compared to Islo. I loved how he'd whisper cute compliments in my ear, telling me I was beautiful and how much he loved me. How much he loved feeling me.

He pulled up a bit and smiled down at me. "Okay," he said.

"Okay, what?" I smiled up at him.

"I'll marry you."

My eyes widened, and I pushed myself and him up, so he was sitting on his knees, and I was in his lap.

"I didn't ask you again, though."

He chuckled and smiled up at me. "Then ask me again."

I took his face in my hands, tipping his head up. "Islo Charred. Will you marry me?"

"Yeah, I will," he breathed and pulled my hips down while positioning himself, so he entered me again. I groaned and threw my head back, and he started kissing my throat again, running his tongue over my skin.

"I can't actually wait to just... Be yours," he murmured against my throat.

I slid a hand up in his hair, tightening my fist around the locks. "Oh gods, yes."

He kept his hands on my hips, controlling my movements. "And you'll be mine."

"Yeah."

"You'll look so handsome in white too." He tightened his grip on my hips, making me move a little faster. He also started moving under me, definitely getting close to the big finale. I was already there. I groaned loudly and moved down to kiss him. His tongue pushed back at mine, and then he groaned. All the tension in his body disappeared, and he smiled.

"I love you," he murmured. "And you should definitely strip more often."

"That's what did it for you? That's why you want to get married?" I teased.

"It helped," he chuckled and pulled me down with him, getting me to curl up next to him. "But it's... I just don't want to live without you. I realised when you opened up to Jura. You're so kind and trusting, and I just want someone like you in my life. I want someone who's so inherently good. Like you. I want you because you make me want to be better. To be kinder and more trusting and loving. You make me want to be a better person. And I just... Realised that earlier."

I was so close to bawling my eyes out at that point. Islo was the one making me better. Making me stronger and smarter. I wanted him to be my husband because I knew he'd always support me in ways that were healthy. He'd always be there to catch me if I should fall. And he understood. He didn't ask too much about Aki. He knew there were boundaries, and he respected them. No one had ever treated me with so much respect before. He didn't see me as a bastard, he saw me as a person. And even if I wasn't a bastard anymore... Or rather, I had never been one, I was still acting like one. But Islo was slowly peeling that behaviour away. He was reassuring me I was enough. I was good enough, and I was worthy of love.

"I love you so much," was all I could say.

He turned on his side and pulled me close, his hand on my lower back. "And I feel so lucky to have your love."

"You have it," I whispered.

"You're so sweet, Quinn. So sweet." He kissed me his mouth softer than the feather pillows our heads were resting on.

We kept kissing and then made love again and again. We hardly slept, but it was all perfect. He was perfect.

My days were filled with horseback riding, council meetings and long walks with Islo and Isla in the gardens. It was almost easy to forget I wasn't in charge of my own life. I was rudely reminded when Islo and I had to attend the different public happenings, acting like fools, really. We were always coached to act as if we just couldn't let go of each other. It was annoying we had to be this public. I liked my privacy, but when we were out with the media, we got none.

Isla was displeased as well. After having met with the journalists, she was quiet and didn't want to talk with us. She barricaded herself in her room and just wanted to disappear in her books.

I softly knocked on her door after another interview. "Isla?" I asked softly and opened it.

She was in the small sitting room in the front of her apartment, the bedroom in the back, just like my own chambers.

She looked up from her book and sighed before looking down again. "What is it?"

She and Islo didn't share an accent. She spoke like me. Like a native from Andaheimer.

"I was just checking up on you."

"Where's Dad?"

"He's in a meeting." I came inside and closed the door behind me, staying by it. If she wanted me further inside her chambers, she could invite me. "Are you alright?"

"I don't like the journalists."

"You wanna hear a secret?"

She looked up, the long locks over her hair encasing her small face, making her already small frame look even smaller. Her hair was so big and wild.

"I don't like them either."

She snorted and waved me over. I came to her and sat down on her bright pink sofa. She closed her book and put it on the small coffee table in front of the sofa.

"They keep asking me questions about you and my dad, and I don't like it."
"I know. I'm sorry they keep asking you questions."

She nodded a bit and leaned back against the backrest. "I just want to ride."

"Yeah, we have fun with the horses, don't we?" I asked tentatively. I was trying so hard to build a bridge to her. I wanted to connect with her, and I wanted us to be a family. Islo said to give it time, so I did. But that didn't mean I didn't want to have a common interest. I hadn't been that interested in the royal stables before, and frankly, I wasn't now. But I was interested in the little girl in front of me, so if she loved horses, we'd go riding all day long.

"We do. It was fun when Starlight whinnied and you got a fright." She laughed, and it was infectious.

"You're a good rider, though. Very good. Maybe we should look into getting you a proper teacher."

"Really?" Her eyes widened.

"Yeah. I'll look into it."

She smiled very widely, and I smiled back. I definitely had won some points there.