Time and Space

It wasn't silent. The breeze made the grass dance softly around his body, and the trees swayed gently along as they were scarcely scattered about the unfamiliar field in which he lay.

Anthony's eyes blinked open slowly. He saw the night sky above him, the stars twinkled brightly, and the Milky Way coloured the normally plain dark sky. It was beautiful.

He had seen this place before in his dreams. When he spent the nights in the cove gazing at the galaxy above, he saw the scene he was in now. It felt empty yet so full. He remembered imagining running through this field chasing after George, them tumbling down a hill and landing in each other's arms, and the little house they built to live in. Just the two of them in their perfect fantasy.

He couldn't feel anything; he was numb. Anthony forced himself to challenge Solace in a sword fight... He was lost, but a sense of him felt at home. It was calm. He wasn't tense. He couldn't feel the wound of the blade in his torso. It was peaceful.

Was this death?

He looked down on himself. There was no armour or weapons on him. Just his green sweatshirt, his cloak, his pants, and his boots. It was strange not having the extra weight attached to him.

In all the years of his long life, he had never felt so relaxed. The world's responsibilities were no longer dependent on his shoulders.

Freedom.

But he was alone.

He didn't want to be alone.

He got to his feet and took in a deep breath, shutting his eyes and taking the new reality in. He could get used to it. No kingdom to worry about, or a crazy anarchist...No training or work. No one but himself.

This meant he lost, though. He didn't avenge George the way he promised he would. He couldn't carry on George's story. A novel that came to its end much too quickly, never to be touched again. It was fine, though. Maybe this was how it was supposed to be. It was a sad ending, but it was the good one.

Maybe he wasn't meant to meet George again. Their love was only temporary, meant for beating hearts. Now that the beating in their chests existed no longer, there was no reason for their fingers to intertwine again and dance into oblivion. There was no feeling after death; his body was empty. Anthony didn't even take a moment to recollect the events that happened; he just accepted it.

It had only been two days since he lost George, but it felt like decades. He wanted to see him again. To caress his cheek, to show him just how in love he was. He wanted to experience the world with him, take him far away to all the places he explored as a child. It ended too fast.

Anthony's fist clenched as his thoughts pressed on. But getting upset would get him nowhere. He dropped his head, defeated. He couldn't continue thinking about the life he would never see again. Moving on was his only option to die contentedly, without wishes on his plate. Just acceptance.

He looked ahead again, shaking off any of his mindset. He wanted to reach out and grab the past, walk back into a time when they were in the cove. To walk back to when he had George in his arms, happy and laughing. Change the past—stall a little longer at their secret hideout.

He squinted his eyes, seeing a red cape flow with the wind in the distance. He blinked a few times in disbelief, contemplating if his eyes were deceiving him. It was a sick mind game...

But Anthony's legs started moving, and they wouldn't stop moving. They walked on to discover what it was, determined to find the answer.

The figure became more prominent as he got closer... He came to a halt, unable to fathom what was ahead of him. The figure turned around just enough to stare back at him.

It had to be some crazy hallucination. This wasn't real. He wasn't supposed to see George again.

"You can never seem to be away from me for too long, can you?" George chuckled quietly. Anthony just stood there awestruck and stiff, not sure how to react. "Hi, 'Tony." His voice was soft as he spoke through a delicate smile and sincere eyes. His hands held onto the top of his red mantle loosely, keeping it on his shoulders regardless of the chain that hooked it together. George turned his attention back to the horizon, gazing aimlessly into nothingness. The world seemed to go on forever, yet at the same time it could end right then and there.

Anthony stood next to George now. It was silent for a while. He didn't know how to talk to the very person who died in his arms not more than a few days ago. But it was a comforting feeling, being able to see him again was. His true self. Not busy all day with things he didn't want to do and talking to people he didn't want to see. He remembered seeing how exhausted George was at the end of the day or how bored he was in meetings. He was finally free.

His pinky slowly locked with George's. "It's been a while," he breathed quietly. "I get to see you again, though. I thought that would never happen..." he chuckled. He looked over at the brown-haired king, admiring how the star garden from above illuminated him as the sun would. Everything about him was so enticing. The way his skin wrote a story without words, how his mouth drew a work of art without even moving. The way that he, as a person, could just be so magnificent. Anthony wondered how he got so lucky.

"Why are you here?" George asked, still facing away. He refused to look at his knight now. He didn't want to believe it.

Anthony bit his lip, and his eyes trailed to the ground below him. The place looked so ethereal, like a sort of fantastical world. The grass was long beneath him, and the breeze swirled through the blades delicately. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Why?"

"I'm sorry I let this happen. I couldn't save you. I tried. I watch you die, George. I tried to save you...avenge you. I thought I was strong enough," The fallen knight stammered out his apology. "I wasn't. I know you probably didn't even want me to fight Solace... I had to. I had to do something." He clenched his fists. "I told myself that even if it was the last thing I did, I would do it for you."

"For me?"

"Always for you, George. It's always for you. Everything I do."

George's hand slipped under Anthony's jaw, tilting his head up to make eye contact. His thumb gently grazed Anthony's skin a few times before he spoke up."You can't stay here, 'Tony." He shook his head with sad eyes.

"What?"

"I want you to live on, 'Tony. I can't let you stay here. You have a kingdom to rule! A legacy to carry! For me..." George was quiet as he spoke, almost hesitant. Anthony furrowed his brow.

"No. No! You can't do that, George!" He protested, stepping back a few steps. He watched George's hand float in the empty space for a moment before lowering it to his side.

"Of course I can." George stood tall and delivered his words with confidence. He was a king after all; he knew what he was doing.

"No. You can't go begging me to stay with you for eighteen years of our lives, then turn around and tell me to leave only a few years later the moment we finally get to be together. That's not how this works, George," Anthony sounded like he could break at any moment. "We can finally live the life we wanted. We never specified if we had to be dead or alive—as long as it's us! It's finally us, George. Is that not what you wanted? It's what I want, it's what I've always wanted. You and I together and happy, finally! No Solace to kill us, no angry villagers or nobles judging us. And there's no chance I can take Solace down now. George, we are free." Anthony grabbed both of George's hands and held them gently. "Since the day we met, everything I have ever done has been for you.

"You know I left the person who raised me, George. The person who gave me a home. I left for you. I left so I could be with you, you know that. I left the very person who killed us both just so I could be with you."

George didn't answer. He stared down at their hands. He didn't move but was clearly deep in thought, wrapping his head around the knights storm of words.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, though. Yeah, being dead at the hands of my—our— enemy isn't ideal. I thought I was never going to see you again. I thought I lost you for good. And if I leave now, that's exactly what will happen...Do you want to be alone for the next fifty years here? You want me to be happy and alive, but there's no way I could ever be happy again without you. I woke up every morning, did my shifts without a care in the world, and then every night run away with you. That's all I looked for in a day. I don't have that anymore...I want the runaway life we both wanted. But you want me to leave after my endless chasing after you?" Anthony sounded crushed, his breathing was heavy, and the way he stood it was easy to see how hurt he was. "I can't leave—not the one time I can really, truly stay.

George was still as silent as he was before, but the look in his eyes was a perplexed one as he processed the information. "'Tony?" George finally said.

"Yeah?"

George stepped forward a few steps. He grabbed a small fist full of Anthony's sweater and pulled him forward slightly, rested a hand on his cheek, and connected their lips. It didn't even take a second until he melted into the kiss as well.

Their first kiss. Finally.

It was a relieving feeling. Something they had been waiting years for. It felt like the world stopped moving, the wind stopped blowing, and the stars stopped twinkling just so they could have their soul-binding moment. It was a cosmic explosion in their own chests, as if light was bursting out of them because they finally collided perfectly into each other like they were meant to.

George pulled away slowly. "Stay." He whispered.

Anthony laughed quietly. "Always, George. Always."