I was awake early on Monday morning and went straight to Sebastian's room. Annabelle had agreed to bring breakfast to us when she could, so for now, I could just concentrate on the angel asleep before me.

Some colour had returned to his cheeks and his breathing was closer to normal than it had been. While nobody else was around, I took the opportunity to gently run my fingers through his golden locks.

Around an hour later, Sebastian started to stir, and very slowly his lashes fluttered open. Pleased to see that his pretty hazel eyes were no longer bloodshot and were somewhat more focused, it was easier to offer him a genuine smile.

"Sebastian," I said gently as his gaze found me.

"Richard," he managed weakly. He started looking around the room to gather his bearings, and relief flooded through me at his apparent awareness. My fingers continued running through his hair as he looked back towards me.

"Can I get you some water?" I offered. He nodded his acceptance and I fetched him a mug. I helped him sit comfortably and steadied his hand as he drank.

"You look a lot better than you did," I remarked. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused," he answered after a few seconds.

"I can understand that," I replied. "You consumed a fair amount of poison. I would imagine it will take some time to fully recover."

"Poison?" Sebastian asked, still looking a little bewildered.

"Lady Madeleine's handmaiden, Katherine, has confessed she poisoned you," I explained, hoping it might jog his memory. "A local apothecary was able to give you something to help you recover. But what I do not understand is how she convinced you to drink it."

"The brown bottle?" said Sebastian. "She told me it was a cure that would enable me to fall in love with women. That I would no longer have feelings for men. She told me that if I refused to drink it, she would expose our relationship."

That would certainly explain it.

"And you believed her, of course," I sighed. "Sebastian, not everyone in this world is as honourable as you." I was relieved that he had confirmed that he had no intention of taking his own life, but also frustrated that Katherine would be so act in such a despicable manner.

"There is no cure for us," I continued. "This is not a disease; it is part of who we are. It sounds as though she was trying to poison your mind as well as your body."

Sebastian suddenly looked panicked.

"Richard," he said urgently. "Katherine. She knows about us."

"I know," I assured him.

"She will expose us," he pressed.

"Her trial is a few days away," I told him. "And she has acknowledged that she will tell everyone what she knows about us, unless I free her and marry Madeleine."

Sebastian's shock was evident.

"Will you do it?" he asked anxiously.

"Well, that depends on you, Sebastian," I started cautiously. He seemed clearheaded enough to be having this conversation, so I continued speaking. "Ideally, this is not how I would have chosen to do this. But life is far from ideal and we have less than a week before Katherine will surely betray us. You must know that I do not want to marry Madeleine, and so I would like to propose an alternative."

Sebastian looked stunned as I bent down on one knee beside the bed and took his hand in mine.

"Sebastian, my father has agreed to allow me to marry for love," I explained. "And I choose you. If you will have me, that is. So, I am asking you, formally, whether you would do me such an honour."

Sebastian looked as though he we were thinking a million things at once. He shifted position and leaned forward, looking at me in earnest.

"Richard, when your father finds out who it is you intend to marry, he will not let it happen."

"He has signed a contract agreeing to override the law in this matter," I explained. "It is possible for the King to do this in the presence of two witnesses who would be willing to testify it was done of his own free will. Tristan and I went to great lengths to ensure this contract did what we need it to."

"But ... surely there is still a criminal element to consider?" Sebastian pointed out. I had hoped that might be overlooked, as I knew he would not like my solution to that. But evidently, he was thinking strategically.

"Yes, there is," I agreed. "The contract he signed has a clause which absolves you of punishment. Any sentence, should there be one, would be carried out by me."

"What?" As expected, Sebastian did not look impressed.

"Sebastian, he is my father," I said. "I cannot imagine he would actually act on it. And besides, being executed is preferable to marrying Madeleine."

"Richard," said Sebastian. "You cannot mean that surely?"

"I absolutely do mean it Sebastian," I stated. He still had not answered me. "And so, will you accept my proposal?"

Sebastian looked uneasy and did not answer.

This was not going the way I had hoped.

"Sebastian, if you would rather decline, you only have to say so," I assured him. "My intent was not to pressure you. I asked for your hand because I thought you might want this too."

"Richard," he replied earnestly. "You have misunderstood. My hesitation does not stem from a lack of desire. I promised you 'until death do us part' previously, and then did not uphold it. I broke my vow. Even if somehow a wedding were possible for us, I would not make a worthy spouse for you."

Perhaps Sebastian was not as recovered as I thought.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him.

"When I drank the liquid that Katherine gave to me, I did so on the understanding that it would result in us discontinuing our relationship," he clarified, breaking eye contact.

So that was it. I moved my head so that I was back in his line of vision.

"Katherine threatened you with exposure, did she not?" I asked, and he nodded. "Which you sincerely believed would result in our execution?" Sebastian nodded again. "Would you have willingly taken such a 'cure' and discarded us without such an immediate threat?"

"No," said Sebastian adamantly, shaking his head. "Of course not."

"Sebastian, when you believe the only alternative is death, you are not really making a true choice at all," I told him. "If I had been the one faced with such a choice, would you have me choose death for us both, rather than breaking an oath to you?"

"I would choose for you to live, of course," replied Sebastian.

"It would mean that we were no longer together, but if we were both executed, we would not be together anyway. It was an impossible situation, Sebastian, and I understand the dilemma you faced. I do not hold you accountable for what you thought you did under threat. I am glad you believed that the choice you made was for both of us to live."

He resumed eye contact and gave me a small smile.

"If that was the only reason for your hesitation, then my offer of marriage still stands," I said hopefully.

Sebastian's face broke out into a smile.

"If you will still have me, then I accept," he said. My heart nearly burst with joy.

"I love you," I replied and caught his lips as I returned myself to the bed next to him.

"And I love you," he smiled. "So how are you planning to proceed?"

"Again, that depends on you," I said. "The way I see it, we have two options. We have a document that allows us to marry. We can either do this publicly, or we can find someone that will help us in private and run away and never look back."

"It would be safer to run," mused Sebastian. "Do you have a preference?"

"I do," I admitted. "Running away might mean we are safer, but the problem would still exist for others. There are very few people of a high enough social standing to be able to influence such a drastic change to the law. I am fortunate to be in such a position. By publicly setting a precedent, we would be in a better position to take a stand and tackle a wider issue. I assume there must be others who feel the way we do. However," I continued, "You are more important to me than anything. If you are uncomfortable being in the public eye, I will run with you."

Sebastian looked as though he were thinking, so I held his hand and stroked his fingers while he pondered.

"All my life I have feared exposure of my secret," he said after a while. "The thought of revealing it to anyone, much less a crowd of people, is quite distressing. However, I also think it is the correct course of action. Not only are you in a position to attempt a change in the law, but you are of a disposition to fight for it. Terrified as I am of the prospect, I think I would regret it if we did nothing. And I must consider that regardless of whether we do this or not, once Katherine has her trial, we will be exposed anyway."

"You are sure?" I squeezed his hand.

"I am sure," he replied sincerely.

"In which case, assuming you are feeling well enough, I will arrange a meeting with my parents," I said.

I felt Sebastian squeeze my hand as he nodded.

I pulled my hand back when I heard a knock on the door and opened it to find Annabelle with breakfast as promised. I thanked her and ushered her in so that Sebastian could eat.

"In the meantime, you will need your strength," I told him, switching to a more formal demeanour as the girl sat next to him where I had been. "I will leave you with Annabelle," I continued as I plucked some fruits, meat and bread from her tray. "It seems I have a meeting to schedule."