Arthur was worked to the bone day in and day out for years. During the hottest days of summer, he would be sent in the fields to collect crops. In the coldest nights of winter, he would be put outside and endure even harsher weight training. The only thing that kept him going, besides his insatiable hunger for strength, was Rose. It wasn’t long before something felt like it had changed within himself.

"My lord, I can’t help but feel something is wrong with my blood."

The king looked down on Arthur with a worried expression.

"Are you sick? Do you need a doctor?"

Arthur shook his head.

"It feels like I can control it somehow. Does that make sense?"

The king nearly jumped off his throne with excitement.

"Arthur, this is excellent news! It means you have been bestowed a power! How fortunate for you. It seems you truly are destined to gain a great amount of strength one day."

Arthur scratched his head.

"How exactly do these powers work?"

The king spent multiple days with Arthur, personally training him to be the strongest person he could be. During his evenings, he would spend time with Rose, the princess of the kingdom.

Tonight was supposed to be a special night for them. They had officially been seeing each other for over five years at this point. Arthur knew in his heart that she would be his only love for the rest of his life. Therefore, he planned a special trip with her to venture outside the kingdom.

"Where are we going, Arthur?"

"Just let me wrap the blindfold around you! It’s supposed to be a surprise!"

He wrapped a small cloth around Rose’s eyes and held her hand to guide her out of the kingdom. Instead of going by his usual spots in the meadow, he thought that he would take her somewhere neither of them had been. Somewhere he only heard rumors about.

"The terrains going to get a little rough, so I may have to carry you the rest of the way."

Rose started grinning as her cheeks turned pink.

"Oh. What a shame that would be."

He scooped her up in his arms and started trotting south of the kingdom. He ran for hours and hours. The kingdom had long disappeared behind them.

"How far away is this surprise?! I think I’m going to get sick on your shoulder, Arthur!"

"It’s just a little further, just hang tight!"

The closer Arthur approached his destination, the more he could hear where he needed to be. The wind slowly started picking up around them. He could hear birds screeching and flying through the air. A low grumble was echoing in the distance. Until finally...

"We made it."

He slowly put Rose down on her feet. However, when her feet touched the ground, the surface felt much softer than she remembered. She slowly took off her blindfold. In front of her was the biggest body of water she had ever seen. It was so massive that she couldn’t even see the other side of it. Instead, she saw a horizon that curved on a deep blue surface.

The ground below her wasn’t dirt. It was a white, course rock mixture that easily broke apart wherever she stepped. The waves crashing on the shore were extremely loud and seemed to carry a gust of wind with them while they crashed. The sky was slowly turning a light purple as the sun slowly fell from it its usual place.

She looked over to see Arthur kneeling on one knee, holding a bright red ring with a ruby fixed on top of it. He seemed to be extremely nervous, as if forcing his own blood to circulate so he wouldn’t pass out.

"Princess Rose of Iron Kingdom. When I first met you, I was truthfully terrified. Not because you were mean, not because you were scary, but because looking at you made me feel something that I had never felt my whole life. Seeing you gave me a feeling I was unfamiliar with, which shook me to my core. However, on that fateful day that we spent traversing through open fields together, free as any two people could be, I learned that this feeling wasn’t unnatural. In fact, I had grown to long for the feeling whenever I wasn’t in your presence."

He reached out and grabbed her hand. Rose had tears swelling in the corner of her eyes.

"I learned something important that day. I learned what my purpose in this life truly is. It isn’t to be the strongman who protects the kingdom, it isn’t to be a kind leader that people should follow the legacy of. My purpose is to make you the happiest woman you can be. A world without you is a world without purpose. So, my dear Rose, will you make me the happiest man in this world and be my wife?"

More tears started running down Rose’s cheeks. She tackled Arthur to the ground sobbing.

"Yes! Yes, of course!"

Arthur was a bit shocked to be tackled but still managed to sit up while holding her tightly. He grabbed the gem and slowly slipped it on her left ring finger.

"It’s about time! I was going to get my father to yell at you to hurry up real soon!"

Arthur laughed slightly and slowly grabbed her face, bringing it closer to his. Their lips slowly touched as they held each other tighter. Rose kissed him twenty more times before she was satisfied with leaving him alone. Gradually, she lifted up her pinky finger and held it out towards him. Arthur looked at it a little confused.

"Well? Are you going to promise me?"

"...Promise you what, my love?"

She started shaking his face in her hands.

"Promise me you will be my love for eternity!"

Arthur smiled brightly.

"Eternity seems like a long time."

He slowly raised his hand and wrapped his pinky around hers. This time, he already knew what he needed to do next. Both of them moved their heads towards their thumbs and kissed it. Rose smiled more and sniffled a few more times.

"Now it’s sealed. No take backs!" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"I wouldn’t dream of it."

He moved his arm around her as they both stared out at the vast ocean in front of them. After a very short silence, he whispered his favorite thing to say to her.

"I love you, Rose."

She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I love you too, Arthur."