Many people danced and drank and had long conversations at the ball. Even the warrior and the prince danced together. They danced and danced and danced for a long time. At first, the warrior felt as though he was dreaming. He didn’t feel uncomfortable about the way he looked or the way he was dressed for the first time in years, and all the love and acceptance from everyone around him gave him more confidence in himself to be who he wanted to be.

He wished that the night would never end and that he could stay with the prince, dancing and dancing, and he couldn’t think that the night would get any better than that.

Sure enough, as they continued dancing, the prince asked him, “Do you remember our conversation earlier, before our parents arrived?”

The warrior nodded his head and smiled. “Of course I do,” he told him. “Every word.”

The prince smiled back. “You still haven’t given me an answer,” he said.

The prince had stopped dancing and took a few steps back. The warrior was confused at first, but then he understood what the prince was saying: He still had not accepted his reward.

Everyone grew quiet and watched the two stand before one another. The prince knelt on one knee and gently reached for the warrior’s hands. There were whispers echoing in the ballroom, but they stopped when the prince asked, “Will you allow me to take your hand in marriage?”

The warrior almost could not speak. He nodded his head over and over again and jumped a little when everyone gave a round of applause. The prince picked him up and kissed him more, completely forgetting about the crowd of people that surrounded him and his soon-to-be husband.

The night of their wedding was very much like the night of the proposal. Many people arrived and gave their congratulations to the newly wedded kings. It felt like a dream to the both of them, a dream that they were both having together. The only things that made everything real were their love for one another, and the happiness they shared for many, many long years together.

The End