Page 49 of How To Survive This Fairytale

His forehead falls against yours.You kiss him, the dark hair above your lip pressed to the impossible softness of his skin.He exhales a long, slow breath.

“How long is the journey?”

“A few months, at least.Six if we’re swift.”

“A long time to spend among enemies.”

“And every moment well worth it, for your happiness.”

Another round of tears spills down his cheeks.With callused thumbs, you wipe them away.He catches your hand in his and kisses it.

Then sinks to one knee.

“Marry me,” he says.

“Cyrus?”

“Because I love you,” he says, “because we wished for each other, and because if we are to have only six months together, I would do it as your husband.”

“Cyrus.”

“And because—and this is sensible, you’ll like it—if we’re wed, you’ll have the protection of the royal house.Our seal, our name.No harm can come to you.Not for the rest of your days.”

In six months, Cyrus will be gone.Reunited with his True Loves.

And even in his absence, his love for you would keep you safe the rest of your life.

“You would give me that?”

“It is far less than what you are giving me, I assure you,” says Cyrus.

“What if the apothecary cannot help?What if?—”

“Then we’ll have tried,” he says.“And I’ll have gotten a husband out of it.”

“If this fails, will you still want…?”

He laces his fingers through yours.

“When you were a boy, and I was a swan, you kissed me, once,” he says.“I knew what you were trying to do.The transformative magic of True Love’s kiss.It didn’t work.”He laughs, softly.“But for a moment… for just a moment, Hans, I wanted to be a boy again, in your arms.”He presses a kiss to your knuckles.“I will want you whether I am a swan or a man.I will want you whether we succeed or fail.I will love you because I have always loved you, and I always will, even if the day comes when I am not near you.”

A knot swells in your throat.You go to your knees.

“If you feel so strongly about it,” you say, “who am I to refuse a prince?”

“Don’t say yes because of that.”

You laugh.“If I recall, you did notask me.”

He laughs, too.“Very well.Will you marry me?”

“Yes.”

And you kiss him.You kiss him.You kiss him, and kiss him, and kiss him.You’ll keep kissing him until you think, just maybe, you’ll have enough to keep you warm for the rest of your days once he’s gone.You’ll keep kissing him until you think you have enough, and then you’ll keep kissing him beyond that.You’ll keep kissing him until you can’t anymore.

Thirty-Seven

“Personally,”you say, “I think one horse would suffice.”