sun·down
/ˈsənˌdoun/
noun

》the time in the evening when the sun disappears or daylight fades《

》when one day is ending, and the next hasn't started yet; a time without meaning.《

♢

You weren't sure of how long you had been riding for, but the rhythmic pace of Milaana would have put you to sleep if it wasn't for your excitement of having Ethan with you again. He kept his arms tightly around your waist, hands occasionally rubbing your stomach, and you knew he was thinking of the life growing inside you. When you felt yourself nodding off again, he wordlessly took the reins from you, and you mumbled a thank you, relaxing back into him.

You were roused from your half-sleep by your stomach growling, and you hoped that Ethan couldn't hear it. He did.

"Y/N! Oh my god, you need to eat." He dug into his bag, pulling out a loaf of bread and an apple.

"Is that all of your food?" You questioned, knowing that he had been given meager provisions.

"You need it."

"Ethan."

"Y/N, you're pregnant."

"I'll eat if you eat."

Relenting, Ethan broke off some of the loaf for himself, leaving you to have the rest. You knew that you wouldn't eat all of it, you didn't know when you'd be able to get more food, it needed to be saved. After taking a couple bites of the bland bread, you handed it back to Ethan to put into his bag. He frowned, but thankfully didn't insist on you eating any more.

Every time you neared a town or village, you noticed that Ethan carefully skirted around it, keeping you both concealed in the trees. You saw that the pines started thinning, meaning you were approaching the southern kingdoms soon, pines grew best in the northern regions of Tubon. Farmland thrived along the banks of the Subcrib River, which divided the Northern kingdoms from the Southern kingdoms, and allowed agricultural and fishing communities to prosper nearby.

Curiously enough, you realized that Ethan was directing Milaana towards the bridge across the Subscrib River, the one that would lead to Apocalype. "Ethan, where are we going?" You mumbled, grabbing one of his arms. "I thought we had planned to go to my kingdom."

"It'll be safer to get out of Gizmonia as soon as possible, crossing now and passing through Fischbach is the best option." He explained as the hooves of Milaana thudded against the wooden bridge, too loud of a noise for as early in the morning it was.

The sun hadn't even started peeking above the horizon; the moon was still in her twilight rule with the stars as her faithful companions. You thought back to some of the astronomy studies you had done as a child, about the position of the stars and planets during certain times of the year.

"There's Pegasus." You said, pointing to the constellation above you. "That was always Rachel's favorite."

"Y/N, you don't have to talk about this." Ethan murmured compassionately, but you shook your head, you wanted to remember the good times in your life, however painful it was now.

"Whenever she couldn't sleep, she would sneak into my room and wake me up. From my bed, if the window was open, you could see every star and planet in the sky. I would tell her about the constellations, and the myths behind them. She loved Pegasus in the fall, Orion in the winter, Leo in the spring, and Heracles in the summer. Sometimes she would talk to them, and imagine that they were talking back to her. I told her that they were always going to be watching over her. Look where it got her."

Now there were tears going down your cheeks again. You felt Milaana slow to a stop, and a pair of arms wrapped around you gently.

"I told you not to talk about it, Y/N. I hate to see you cry." Ethan pressed a kiss to your wet face.

"I don't want to forget her."

"I know, Y/N, I know. I still think of my mother every night, and it still hurts. But don't dwell on the pain, remember what was good about her."

"Everything was good about her!" You seethed, trying to wrestle out of Ethan's grip. "She didn't deserve it! Why couldn't they have killed me instead?"

He tried to hold tight to you, but managed to worm away, immediately falling to the ground. The wrist you had landed on twinged, but that pain couldn't match what you were feeling inside. Your vision was spotty and you were dizzy with rage as you attempted to stand up. Ethan had leapt down and was steadying you gently. He was so patient with you, and here you were acting like a child.

"I'm sorry." You apologized. "You're being so strong, and I'm just a mess."

"You're going through a lot, my love. Please, be strong right now, for me. Mourn Rachel later."

Nodding, you wiped your eyes and stood up straight, pulling away from the hug he had enveloped you in. Ethan seemed to have spotted something behind you now that his face wasn't buried into the crook of your neck, and he walked towards it cautiously.

"Y/N," Ethan turned to you once he had picked it up, disbelief in his voice. "Where did you get this?"

In his hands was a shining silver crown. Embedded in it was blue sapphires of many shapes and sizes, ornate filigree and engravings across the whole headpiece showed that it was of a great value.

"What is it?" You queried.

"The crown I was promised as a child. Every new king gets a new crown, this was the one they had prepared for me. Where did you get this?" He became intense as he spoke, grabbing your arm firmly. "It fell out of your bag."

"I don't know, Ethan. I promise. Sean gave me this bag and said not to open it until I really needed it. I figured it was just food and water, I had no clue your crown was in there." Looking at him pleadingly, you hoped that he knew that you were being honest.

"Okay," Ethan let go of you, turning the crown around in awe. "I just, never thought I would hold this in my hands. Not after my dad remarried."

Deciding that now was as good a time as ever to inspect the contents of the bag, seeing as you were in an empty section of trees just before a farm, and dawn was steadily arising. You unlatched the satchel. Flipping the cloth over to reveal the contents, there was yet another crown inside, the same shining silver as Ethan's. This one was smaller, with more delicate engravings and fewer sapphires.

Looking over to Ethan, he was staring at the crown in your hands incredulously. "That was my mother's crown."

Reaching further into the satchel, you found a small piece of parchment. Reading the note, you knew that it was Sean's handwriting, "For the rightful rulers of Gizmonia."

"How on Earth did Sean steal these?" Ethan shook his head, still marveling at them. "And why?"

"There's a back to the note." You noticed, and he flipped it over to read it aloud.

"You will find help in Apocalype's castle walls."

"Guess we should be going there next." You concluded, opening the satchel again for Ethan to tuck the crowns back into it.

♢

The castle of Apocalype wasn't far from the river, nor was the kingdom very big either, the castle was the same small distance from all of the borders. There wasn't even a proper king, only a Duke that ruled, since Apocalype was technically a protectorate of Fischbach. Neither really acknowledged it, you knew that King Mark respected Duke Scheid very much, and Apocalype was treated as its' own entity.

You had only visited Apocalype once as a kid, when your parents were trying to arrange your betrothal to the son of the Duke at the time, Tyler. You had heard of his father's resignment a few years ago, making Tyler the new Duke of Apocalype. As a child, Tyler was never the kindest young boy; he liked to tease you and Marzia whenever you saw him at balls or diplomatic visits to your kingdom or Pewdonia. The final straw for you really was when had rubbed your doll in a mud pile, and you punched him so hard he had fallen into the mud himself. Recalling the memory now only made you laugh, but at the time, you were scolded so much by your mother.

Thinking of your mother only made you wonder about how she was faring now that was basically childless. Her youngest daughter was dead, and as far as she knew, her eldest was going to be married in a foreign kingdom and kept there for the rest of her life.

"Poor Mother." You mumbled to yourself, pressing. A hand to your stomach. Would you be able to protect your child? Your mother was happily married and lived in wealth and power, and she couldn't even protect hers. How would you be able to?

"My love, there's the castle!" Ethan exclaimed, breaking you from your saddening thoughts.

Poking your head out from behind his back, you looked to where he was pointing. Breaking through the expanse of flatlands was a castle that seemed tinted orange with the rising sun. The castle wasn't nearly as extravagant as Gizmonia's castle, or even yours. Which made sense, Apocalype was about one-sixth the size of any of the other kingdoms and got most of its income from fishing and taxes for passage along the river. The fees were never very large, so the other kingdoms consented to it.

The turrets didn't go very high, and at the top of them were a few birds nests. The red cardinals that flew out from them chirped happily, they were happy to see another day. And so were you. Ethan clicked his tongue, and Milaana picked up her pace in response. As she galloped along, and the breeze blew through your hair, you tightened your arms around Ethan's waist, even letting a laugh escape your lips. For the first time in a while, you felt truly free.

He turned around to look at you in awe. "I miss seeing that smile."

"Don't forget to steer the horse, Ethan." You giggled as you ducked to avoid a branch, and it thwacked him right across the face. Still laughing, you asked him if he was okay.

"My pride is slightly wounded, but I don't think there's any blood or bruises."

"Good, I've seen you bloodied and bruised enough for an infinite amount of lifetimes."

You were shocked by how lax the security was at the castle, there was no main gate to pass through and get checked, you could pull up right to the front doors of the castle. Speaking of the front doors, they were wide open, inviting anyone to walk in.

There was a guard standing next to the door, alert and looking at you. He was confused, but not very hostile.

"May I help you?" The guard asked, hand not even hovering over his weapon, he was very relaxed.

"Uhm, we are-" You were stuck trying to think of what to say. What would he do if he knew the truth?

"Xalvador, let my guests through." A deep voice commanded, and within the doors stood Duke Tyler Scheid, looking just as he did at Amy's wedding.

"Of course, My Lord." The guard bowed to the Duke, then to you and Ethan.

"If you two would come off the horse, I'd love to show you inside." Duke Tyler commented, and Ethan slid off the mare forst. He then offered a hand to help you down, and you thanked him quietly.

"Xalvador," the Duke spoke to his guard again. "Take this horse to the stables and make sure she gets plenty to eat."

"Yes, sir."

You curtsied to the ruler as Ethan bowed. "Thank you, Duke Scheid."

"It's not a problem, Y/N. If I'm not overstepping my bounds to call you that."

"Of course not, Tyler."

"It's good to see you again as well, Ethan." Tyler shook Ethan's hand, then gestured for you to follow him inside. "You two must be hungry. Come, we're all eating breakfast."

"We?" Ethan questioned quietly to you, and you shrugged. It was probably Tyler's parents.

It wasn't a far walk to the lovely patio where breakfast was being served. Vines were winding around the columns, and the sun illuminated the pale stone of the castle in a heavenly light. Sitting at the table were four figures, two of which you didn't expect.

The first two you recognized as the former Duke and Duchess Scheid. They nodded to you cordially, unreadable looks on their faces. The other two were in their own conversation and only turned when Tyler cleared his throat.

"Y/N and Ethan are here." He announced, and you were in disbelief as you saw the faces of Dr. McLoughlin of Septica and Queen Signe of Wiishunia turn to look at you.

"Sean. Signe." You breathed out as your friends rushed to greet you.

"Y/N! I'm so happy you made it safely." Signe breathed in relief, hugging you tightly to her.

"You're both safe, right?" Sean asked as he welcomed Ethan, although you knew that his question was directed to you only.

"Yes, thankfully." You smiled before squeezing his hand briefly in thanks.

Ethan immediately started trying to question Sean, "Sean, how did you-"

"Let's eat first! You'll have plenty of time to catch up later." Tyler interrupted him, ushering you into seats.

You sat down at his insistence, surveying the food that was laid out. Even though you had eaten just an hour or so prior, your stomach was still rumbling quietly. Picking up your fork, you scooped some of the fresh fruit onto your plate, then a slice of some kind of nut bread.

"Are there peanuts in this?" Ethan asked hesitantly, pointing to the bread.

"As far as I know, it's only walnuts." The Duke informed him, and you grabbed Ethan's hand as he reached for it. He must have the same peanut allergy as his brother.

"How about you don't risk it, okay?" You uttered, looking at hims pleadingly.

"Of course." Ethan smiled, turning his hand to lace his fingers through yours for a moment.

With a loving smirk of your own, you rubbed your thumb along his knuckles before turning back to your meal. You had just brought an apple slice to your mouth when the former Duke and Duchess stood up, bowing to everyone.

"Thank you for joining us for breakfast, we'll be going on a walk around the grounds now." The former Duke Scheid announced, holding his arm out to his wife.

After they had left the patio, Tyler spoke up. "Now that they're gone, we can discuss plans more."

"Plans for what?" You questioned, cocking your head to the side in confusion.

"No offence, but I really don't want two fugitives from Gizmonia in my kingdom for too long. If my parents were still ruling, you would be extradited back." He explained, folding his hands seriously on the table. "I can give you more food and clothing, allow you to bathe, and get any medical attention you may need. However, I unfortunately must request that you leave by sundown."

You nodded, he was completely right. Apocalype was a small kingdom, there was no way they could deal with any suspicion from such a powerful kingdom as Gizmonia. "Thank you, Duke Tyler, I'll never forget your kindness. We will be out of your borders before the sun sets."

He seemed relieved that you didn't argue with his reasoning, turning to the other two. "You two must leave in the next couple days, Dr. McLoughlin and Queen Signe. You're not fugitives but that doesn't mean my parents want to tolerate another illicit love for any longer."

Turning to your friends, you could feel your eyes almost popping out of your head. "You two are?"

"In love, yes." Signe replied happily, taking Sean's hand in hers. "Although Tyler was exaggerating. Our relationship is not against the laws in either of our kingdoms, however it is still frowned upon by many."

"How long?" You were still in disbelief.

This time, Sean answered the question. "Before we met you, Y/N. You had no way to see it coming."

"Am I blind?" You looked to Ethan when you asked this, and he shrugged.

"I kind of suspected for a while." He admitted, and you threw yourself further back into your chair with a groan.

"I can't believe I'm so stupid."

"You're not stupid, my love. You were dealing with stuff of your own." Ethan assured you, taking a moment to caress your cheek.

"Exactly, Y/N." Signe agreed as you sullenly ate a bite of your breakfast.

♢

Stepping out of your bath, you dried yourself off quickly and changed into a fresh set of clothes. You brushed your fingers through your hair, walking out of the bathroom to the bedroom of your temporary residence. Ethan and you would only be here for another couple hours, but you were allowed to rest in one of the spare bedrooms of Apocalype's castle.

Ethan was already on the bed, brunette hair still slightly damp, sticking to his forehead as he laid on his back. He perked up when he heard your footsteps, reaching a hand up towards you. You laced your fingers through his, and were surprised when he suddenly tugged you down. Landing on his chest with a soft thud, a surprised giggle escaped your mouth before it was covered by his.

"Ethan." You murmured contentedly, still kissing him.

"What do you need, my love?" He was at attention, ready to care for you.

"Nothing. It just feels nice to say your name."

Ethan's chest shook for a moment as he laughed, kissing your forehead again. You sighed, letting yourself get lost in his embrace while you still could.

The journey to your kingdom from Apocalype would be one or two days, depending on the route you would have to take around the rivers stemming from the Subscrib River, and depending on if you stopped in towns to rest. Ethan probably wouldn't be recognized, but there was always the chance that you would be, as the eldest Princess of Fandomia.

You and Ethan had agreed to leave several hours before sundown, to make sure that you had left Apocalype's borders in time; and to able to travel while you still had the sunlight. Lifting your head up from Ethan's chest, you looked out the window to see how low the sun was in the sky.

"We should be getting our provisions and Milaana soon." You commented, seeing that it was about mid-afternoon.

"Y/N, a few more minutes." He pleaded, holding you tighter to him.

"Alright." Giving in, you placed your head back on his chest.

Underneath your ear, you could hear his heart beating, and the air steadily filling and leaving his lungs as he breathed. It was a relief to you, to be able to hear the sounds of him living. He was living, and so were you. Both of you will live through this. All three of you will live through this.

♢

"Farewell, Y/N." Signe wrapped her arms around you, hugging you tightly. "I will see you again, hopefully in happier times."

"I've never been happier than I am now." You shook your head at her statement, fingers moving back to your mother's peridot engagement ring as you looked over to him. After all of this, you still had it, and you had your true happiness, Ethan.

You changed your focus back to your friend to see that she was looking over your shoulder at Sean, a loving smile on her face. "Me too."

Next you said goodbye to Sean. "I have so much to ask you." You sighed, and your friend laughed.

"Didn't you ask me plenty earlier?" He referenced to when you had basically interrogated him about his involvement in helping you and Ethan escape together for nearly two hours.

He had confessed to giving you the hints about the laws, and leaving you the rulebook in the library. Sean had even managed to pull off the crown heist with the help of Robin as a lookout, and Signe as a distraction.

But you still had one more question. "Did you, somehow, manage to write me that note about Ethan's exile? The one I found in my room yesterday?"

Sean seemed greatly confused at your question. "No, I've been here for several days. I didn't even know about Ethan's trial until you arrived here. I had that bag packed days in advance."

"Oh." You frowned, but shook it off. Whoever had written that note was a blessing, anonymous or not. You just wish you knew who to thank.

Curtsying to Sean, you smiled to him. "Thank you, for all of your help, Dr. McLoughlin."

"It was my honor, Princess Y/N." He bowed back respectfully, a cheerful glint in his eyes.

The final person you had to say goodbye to was Duke Scheid. He was standing by the doors, holding the reins of a freshly fed, washed, groomed, and tacked Milaana. In the saddle bags on her was supposedly enough to last both of you and the horse for about four days, which was plenty of time to reach your home kingdom.

"I will be forever in your debt, Tyler." You uttered sincerely, curtsying to the Duke.

"I don't care about that, Y/N." The noble shook his head, curls bouncing as he did so. "I'm just happy that you're getting to somewhere safer for you two than my kingdom."

He passed the reins to you, and you watched with a fondness as Ethan approached him to say goodbye as well. There was a familiarity between them as they interacted, they must have been closer when Ethan was still Prince Ethan, and Tyler was just a little Duke-In-Training.

You wondered if Ethan would ever get his Princely title back. He could still theoretically challenge his exile, but would he want to fight his elderly father? You couldn't see Ethan doing that to him, even if the King had disowned and degraded him for almost a decade. It was still his father, who he had many wonderful memories with, most of which surely included his mother. He probably tries to only remember the good times with his family, like he had told you to do earlier.

Ethan joined you beside Milaana, who was pawing apprehensively at the ground, ready to go. You swung your leg up onto the saddle, and Ethan squeezed in behind you. He rested a hand on your waist, using the other to wave as you clicked your tongue to urge the mare to start.

"Goodbye, everyone! Thank you!" You yelled behind you, following the trail that would take you to the western kingdoms of Ebu.

Ethan placed his chin on your shoulder as Milaana fell into a smooth canter. "Are we going to be stopping at any villages tonight, or Fischbach's castle? You need rest." He asked, and you chewed your lip.

"Should we really bother Amy and Mark?" You pondered, already feeling bad for having disrupted Apocalype's castle. "I'll be alright, I've slept during a ride before."

"But it can't be good for you or the baby to be riding for prolonged periods of time."

"Ethan," you chuckled at his concern. "You are worrying about nothing. Horseback riding will not be bad for the baby. I promise."

"Fine." He muttered, kissing your cheek and moving his hand to your stomach. "I just want you both to be happy and healthy."

"Then we should get to Fandomia as soon as possible. No stopping at Fischbach's castle, or any of their villages."

"Is that an order?"

His question brought you back to when you first met, and you had to order him even show the slightest of emotion to you. Look where it had gotten you. "No, it's a request from me, to you. Not from some high and mighty Princess Y/N to her mere servant Ethan. Just me, to the man that I love, you."

"Very well, my love." Ethan seemed satisfied with this answer, giving up his pursuits of convincing you to go to the castle, and you eventually fell back into the peaceful silence. The only sounds reaching your ears were those of Milaana's hooves against the ground as she kept her steady canter along the path. The path to your freedom.