It was surreal.

The fact that Mason was currently tying Ana's dress for her (the fact that he was in the castle) seemed so unbelievable. But then she would feel Mason's fingers lightly brush over her back and she was reminded that it was indeed a very real thing.

"Okay, I think I'm done," he finally announced and Ana relaxed slightly.

She turned back to face him, draping her arms over his shoulders and lifting her chin to meet his lips.

The kiss was gentle, but Ana could practically feel his emotions; it was like all of his turmoil and stress and excitement and delight combined to become this moment. And she wanted to ask how he had been during their time apart, but she didn't want to ruin the moment by bringing it up.

Mason suddenly moaned into her mouth, head tilting to deepen his movements as Ana felt her face grow hot.

And, despite how long it had been since their earlier actions, it still somehow felt like her body was on fire, warmth gathering in her stomach and making her breath catch.

She pulled away, blinking slowly to gather her thoughts. "You're here."

Her boyfriend laughed at that, all gentle and raspy and the sound made her smile; she'd missed being able to hear it. "So I am," he agreed.

She frowned. "Why are you here?" She had been in a bubble of sorts before, too consumed with her excitement from his arrival to even question anything else.

That bubble was broken now.

"Because I wanted to see you, baby." Her stomach fluttered when he gave her a lopsided grin.

"But what about class?" As far as she was aware, his courses for the summer term were scheduled to begin next month.

Mason placed his hands on her lower back and tugged her closer, her eyes widening at the swift movement. "I needed a damn break from school anyway," he shrugged.

Ana bit her lip, glancing down uncertainly with a sigh. "Can you even do that? You've technically already started the new year with the spring term. Are you allowed to just quit like that?"

"No fucking idea," he shrugged, "But I did it."

"You really didn't think this through did you?" She gave him a deadpan expression and he chuckled. "What if they charge you for the entire year, Mason? What then?"

"Baby," he began as he reached up to cup her face. "Pretty girl." Where on earth was he going with this? "Love of my life." Ana's heart stopped. She'd never expected him to say something so- so- she had no words. "Everything is fine, okay?" He smiled gently down at her - as if to reassure her - but she was way past reassurance now. Her brain was practically mush at this point; she could hardly even process what he was saying.

Her mouth was dry when she went to speak so she swallowed to try and fix it but Mason was already talking again before she could even get a word out. "Besides, if they do end up making me pay for all that shit, then I can just get my girlfriend to help. She's kind of my sugar mommy you know," and then he winked.

Her lagging brain did manage to understand this and she giggled, feeling lightheaded as she pulled out of his hold to walk back to her closet.

Love of my life, he'd declared.

She was still reeling from it.

He'd said it so casually, as if she should have known that's who she was in his eyes. But she'd never even thought to hope for more than what they already had, she was so lucky to even be with him in the first place. So the fact that he had so flippantly promised what sounded like the rest of his life to her made her almost dizzy.

Ana stumbled slightly then and Mason's hands were immediately there to steady her.

She caught herself on his arm and looked over at him with misty eyes and his features quickly morphed from worried to full blown panic. "Hey, hey, hey," he began as she let go of him. "What the hell's wrong now?"

"I'm just happy," she told him. And then she closed her eyes, "And I don't feel very good." The words were whispered but Mason clearly heard them as he started guiding her towards her desk. He pulled out her chair, helping her to sit down and nervously fidgeting beside her.

"Can you hand me the glass of water from my nightstand?" She'd only just realized that she hadn't eaten all morning, and she'd had to have been awake for more than five hours now.

Mason did as instructed, rushing to grab the cup and almost slipping on his way back over. She smiled fondly when he lifted the water to her mouth instead of just giving it to her. "Better, my girl?"

She nodded, "Thank you." He set down the glass, using one hand to scratch lightly at her scalp, the other gently rubbing her back. "I think I just need to eat something, is all," she explained.

Mason suddenly smiled mischievously. "What? My cum wasn't enough for you?"

Ana coughed as she choked on nothing but her own saliva. "Mason!"

"Sorry, sorry," he lifted his hands in apology. "It was just too tempting, baby." She glared at him as he ruffled her hair with one hand.

He cleared his throat when her glare only deepened, "So food?"

~~~

Ana had went to the kitchen to ask Mary to maker her a simple meal of eggs and toast (just to last her until lunch was ready) and she was sure that the chef suspected something was off when she asked for it to be brought to her room instead of waiting there.

She had asked for double what she normally ate as well, so to say Mary was suspicious would be an understatement.

Luckily, she didn't ask any questions and the food was delivered in just a couple of minutes so she and Mason were able to start eating.

They had finished the food in about ten minutes and Ana was just setting their shared plate on the tray outside her door when she felt a hand tug at a strand of her hair. She hurriedly shut the door, turning to look at Mason as she placed a hand where he had pulled. "Mason-," she cut herself short as she noticed what he was holding.

Her crown.

"I never thought I'd ever see a real crown," he mused as rubbed his thumb over one of the diamonds. "It's really fucking heavy."

She smiled as she rested her hands on top of his on the object. "You get used to it."

Mason scoffed with a teasing eyeroll. "Only a future queen would say that," he suddenly lifted the crown, and Ana let her hands fall from his as he placed it on her head. He stepped back to admire her in full, "I can't believe it took me so long to figure out who you were. I mean, you look like you were meant to be royalty."

She giggled as she adjusted the circlet so it wouldn't fall. "That's just because you're dumb," she winked.

"I don't think princesses are meant to be this mean," Mason pouted.

"You get special treatment." She reached forward to take a hold of his hand. "Come on," she opened the door and felt him instinctively move backward. "Let's go."

He eyed her confusedly, "Why?"

"You kind of need to be with me to meet them you know."

"You were fucking serious about that?" She nodded. "Last time I heard, they pretty much hated me because I'm not rich as all hell. Why do you want me to talk to them so badly?"

She sighed and smiled tiredly, "Because it's the only way we'll be able to be together Mason."

Ana could see the exact moment his reluctance faded, his eyes closing as his hand loosened around hers.

"Okay."

~~~

The moment the couple stepped into the king's office, it seemed as though time stopped.

Ana still didn't have the best relationship with her parents, and seeing her walk hand in hand into the room probably didn't help much in that matter.

The tension was almost palpable as their gaze moved between the two and their enlaced fingers. "Mother, father," she greeted as Mason guided her a few more steps forward. "This is Mason."

"That boy from the college," the queen surmised.

Ana's grip tightened on Mason's hand, "I already told you that he isn't just some boy, mother. I love him." She glanced at her father to see him staring at them impassively. "And he's come all the way here so if you could just show a bit of civility."

Her parents glanced at each other at that but the king was the only one to say anything. "Why on earth would he take the time to travel that far?"

"With all due respect, your majesty," Mason began and Ana had to hide her surprise at how polite he was being. "I'm right here so there's no need to speak of me in the third person. That being said, I wanted to see Anastasia." She'd only heard him use her full name twice, so it was weirdly unrecognizable in his voice.

Her mother's eyebrows raised as her father leaned back in his chair. "You traveled all the way here just to see my daughter?" Ana felt like rolling her eyes at the queen's claim on her.

Mason nodded firmly, "Of course. I'd do anything for her." He glanced at said girl then and she felt her cheeks warm when he lifted her hand to lightly kiss the back of it.

The king straightened, his arms folding over his chest as regarded the couple with a serious expression. Ana watched as her boyfriend too straightened, his chin lifting with clear determination as he made eye contact with both of them.

It almost seemed to be a standoff of sorts, and her eyes flickered nervously between the two men. They were both staring at each other, Mason mimicking the other man's stance as he too crossed his arms.

It was probably the calmest - yet the most chilling - confrontation she'd ever seen.

"And why is that?" The king's voice was deadly low.

And the college boy didn't even blink as he said, "Because I love her."

Mason won. Always.

~~~