King Anthony sneaks through the castle to his stables. The castle is sleeping but he’s wide awake at 6 in the morning. He slips past maids cleaning rooms and servants getting things set up for the annual Ball. He heads down the stairs and goes through one of the back doors of the castle.
He sees the stables and jogs to the building, trying not to be detected. He reaches the stables and sees his beautiful prized white horse. He removes his red long cape and folds it into a need pile on one of the benches.
He’s preparing his horse when he hears footsteps behind him. He turns around and Sir Steven is standing by the stable’s door in full armor. Tony turns back to his horse and finishes getting the horse ready for a ride. “Hello, Sir Steven. What can I do for you this early in the morning?”
“I was coming to ask you the same thing. What is the King doing out here?” Steve walks closer into the building and near Tony.
“Though I would check on her. See if the stables boys are treating her like she deserves to be treated.” Tony turns to Steve.
“I didn’t know part of checking on her was putting a saddle on her and getting ready to head out. I guess I learn more and more every day.” Steve responds with a smirk and head tilt.
“What are you actually doing out here Sir Steven? Did you hear me in the halls?”
“If I’m being completely honest, you can’t sneak for shit.” Steve comes closer to Tony, getting in his space.
“You still haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here?” Tony steps close to Stev so they are only a foot away from each other.
“You know the queen doesn’t allow you to leave the castle unattended. I’m here on behalf of her wish for me to safely return you to the castle for the night.”
“Oh really? When was the last time you gave a shit about what the queen said?” Tony smirks and straddles the mare.
“King Anthony I advise you not to do this. I have orders.” Steve smirks up at Tony who is almost out of the stables.
“Well Sir Steven, you’re a pretty lousy knight for not being able to complete a simple task from the queen.” Suddenly Tony is riding off and into the woods yelling, “catch me if you can!”
Steve shakes his head and jumps onto a brown horse with nothing but a bridle and reins. He quickly rides into the woods after Tony.
He gets worried that he can’t see Tony until he sees a yellow shirt riding fast. He pushes his horse to run faster.
“Oh hello, Steven!” Tony holders to the knight.
They ride on the paths, avoiding branches, and jumping logs. Tony makes a sharp right and rides into an open area on a cliff.
Steve rides after him and catches him just sitting on his horse looking out over the cliff. Steve comes up to Tony’s side and notices what Tony was watching. The entire Kingdom was spread across the terrain below them.
As the sun rises, Steve glances over to Tony and stares at the beautiful glow on his skin. Tony catches him watching and Steve diverts his eyes.
“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Tony asks.
“Incredibly.”
“Tell me, Sir Steven, what do you fight for?”
“Well, I guess I fight for my friends, family, and kingdom. Why do you fight?” Steve turns to Tony, waiting for his answer.
“I fight for this. All of this. The animals, the men, the women and children, my wife and son, and you.” Tony gazes at Steve and smiles. “I always will fight for you.”
Steve looks down at Tony’s lips and back up to his eyes before leaning forward and stealing a kiss. He places his hand upon Tony’s cheek and holds him close. When he pulls away he’s met with a smiling Tony.
They find branches that are perfect for the horses and tie them up so they can rest. Together they sit on a log and watch as the sun completely rises.
Tony kisses Steve again maybe after the 13th time and places his hand behind Steve’s head, pulling him closer. Steve wraps his arm around Tony’s waist and holds him against his side, deepening the kiss. They move in perfect rhythm like they were meant for one another.
“Tony-”, kiss, “Tony-”, kiss, “hey we-”, kiss, “ need to-”, kiss, Steve tries to talk but Tony doesn’t want to stop. Finally, Steve pulls away and grins at his lover. “Tony we need to get back to the castle before anyone becomes suspicious.”
Tony sits up and crosses his arms, looking away from Steve.
“We aren’t together, not officially at least,” Steve says sadly.
“Why can’t we be? I can get a divorce and we can finally get married like we’ve been talking about.” Tony turns back towards Steve, glaring at him and standing up. He waves his arms around, “It’s stupid how I must have a queen. The law is ridiculous. I’m the king, why can’t I just marry who I want?”
“I wish we could marry but it’s not in our power to change traditions. The king only has so much power when it comes to the church.” Steve stands up and begins to untie the horses from the branches.
Tony jogs over to him and grabs his hands into his own. “What if we run away? You and me, together. I love being king but if it means I can’t be with you then what is the point?”
Steve sees the hope in Tony’s eyes and sadly smiles at him. He pulls their hands up to his mouth and kisses lightly, “We have our duties here. I have a code to follow and you made a promise to your kingdom that you would rule and lead them until Prince Peter takes the throne.”
“One day Steve. One day you and I will be together, whether it’s on the throne or in the forest. I make an oath to you Sir Steven Grant Rodgers that we will find a way to be with each other and to be happy.”
Steve’s heart flutters because he believes every word.