"Are you nervous?"

"Quite." Tristan bounced up and down on the balls of his feet a few times, breathing deeply.

"You will be fine," Rose promised, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"I wish it was not so soon."

"You are ready for this."

"Do you truly think so?" Tristan asked as he turned to face Rose.

"Your father would not abdicate unless he knew you were ready," Rose assured him. Tristan nodded a few times.

"Right... you are absolutely right," he muttered under his breath. He took another deep breath. "I'm not ready," he blurted out, his eyes wide.

"Tristan," Rose laughed. She could not remember a time that he had ever been so nervous. "You are ready," she insisted.

"I wish you could be by my side," he said with a pout. Rose grinned and pecked his lips, watching as his pout changed to a smile.

"I will be watching you right next to Suzanna," she promised. Tristan took one step back and held his arms out.

"How do I look?" he asked.

"Handsome," she sighed. He was dressed in the most formal, expensive looking attire that made him look like the Prince he was. Tristan grinned at her and moved forwards, pausing to kiss her briefly.

"I have a few hours before the coronation. Would you like to take a walk?"

"Is that allowed?" Rose asked dubiously. Tristan snorted and raised an eyebrow. "I-I mean; you are not supposed to hide away in the castle all day?"

Tristan laughed and shook his head. "Of course not. I can do what I want."

"Well how was I meant to know? I have never been to one of these," Rose huffed half-heartedly. Tristan held out his hand and Rose took it, smiling as he intertwined their fingers. He began walking and Rose followed him, almost without thinking.

Was it truly only three months ago that Eliad had been defeated? They had been the three happiest months of her life. William and Rose had spent many days together, bonding and healing of their separation. They were close, and William took his role as a big brother very seriously - he had even lectured Tristan and warned him not to hurt Rose! Rose had laughed at that, but Tristan had been very gracious and had taken the lecture without offense.

Eliad was trialled for his crimes and sentenced to imprisonment. The King had said he could not justify murder with murder, and hence had spared Eliad's life. Those who had willingly served Eliad received similar sentences.

Keira and Anabelle were both thrilled that Rose had returned safe, and both were astonished to hear of her relationship with the Prince. News spread fast, and soon all the servants had heard the gossip. Most had been supportive, although Rose had received a few cruel looks from a few. She had done her best to ignore them.

Tristan and Rose had spent as much time together as they could. Tristan was often busy with his duties, but he always found a way to spend time with Rose each day. The time they had spent together had been in blissful contentment that matched no other joy Rose had ever felt. Tristan was always good to her, always loving, always protective, and always attentive.

Rose was taken out of servitude, more for her own protection than anything else. She spent much of her time with Suzanna, who delighted in having a close friend so nearby. Suzanna had not seen the Duke of Adryrwen since Prince Liam's birthday, as there had been no celebrations to call for his presence. Tristan had not taken long to tell Rose how Samuel felt about the Princess. Rose was secretly cheering them on.

Two months after Rose's rescue, the King had announced that he wished to abdicate and pass the crown on to Tristan. The news had come as a surprise. Tristan's coronation was in only a few hours, and the crowds outside were enormous.

Rose snapped out of her daydreaming to see that Tristan had exited through a side door of the castle, where not many people were. She followed him and laughed when she realised where he was taking her. The secret garden, of course. It was probably the one place they could go without being disturbed.

Tristan led her quickly through the palace gardens, doing his best to avoid the few people who recognized him and wanted to talk to the future King. Rose laughed as he looked over his shoulder and around every possible direction, hiding behind bushes as he made his way to the secret garden. He finally reached the line of hedges and, after a brief check for people watching, he dove through the entrance, dragging Rose with him. Rose was in a fit of giggles when they finally stopped in front of the fountain.

"Shh," Tristan whispered, his own laughter soon joining hers. Rose finally stopped laughing and stared up at Tristan. "What?" Tristan asked with a smile when he noticed her watching him.

"You will be a fine King," Rose murmured to him. She placed her hands on his cheeks and stared at him, her heart pounding. He was so safe and so familiar. She felt like she was home with him. Those warm, wonderful brown eyes she was so used to looking at stared back at her lovingly. Tristan moved his hands around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"Rose," he murmured. He cleared his throat, suddenly looking nervous. "I want to ask you something."

"Anything," Rose responded. Tristan pulled away from her and took both of her hands. Rose watched him in confusion.

"I am completely, utterly, deeply in love with you," he said. Rose's heart flopped happily at his words. "You occupy all my thoughts. Every day I am filled with excitement knowing that I will get to see you. I cannot be without you and I never want to be without you."

"You won't," Rose whispered, her heart pounding frantically for a reason she did not know.

"You know how much I care for you and how much I want to be with you. I did not know when I met you that I would fall completely in love with you. I did not know that I would ever fall in love with someone to the point that I would do anything for them. But I have, and I would. I would do anything for you, fight any fight and answer every wish. You have completely stolen every part of my being. Today I am to be given a Kingdom and a Crown - everything that I should have ever wanted. But there is only one thing I want, and that is you," Tristan said softly. He dropped to one knee and kissed both her hands. Rose's breath came out rapidly and tears flooded her eyes. "Rose; my love, my perfect gift; I want to spend every moment of the rest of my life with you by my side. Will you marry me?"

Rose could not stop the tears that flooded her cheeks. Even Tristan looked like he was having a hard time controlling his emotion. She let go of his hands and wiped her cheeks, laughing once.

"Yes! Yes, of course," she cried. Tristan opened his arms and Rose immediately dove towards him. He caught her and just managed to avoid toppling over backwards. Rose held him as tight as she possibly could, crying and laughing all at once into his shoulder. Tristan wrapped his arms around her until she felt like she was in a blanket of safety.

His lips were on her then. He trailed kisses everywhere he could reach - her shoulder, her neck, her cheek and over to her ear.

"I love you so much," he whispered as he placed a kiss by her ear. Rose pulled away and smashed her lips against his. She pulled away and couldn't resist one more kiss.

"I love you, Tristan," she finally managed to say. Tristan seemed to stare at her in amazement for a second. His face suddenly broken out into total exultation.

"I cannot believe you are mine," he said triumphantly.

"You must believe it," Rose ordered. Tristan stood up, taking Rose with him. He spun her around, lifting her high in the air and laughing joyfully. Rose was a mixture of laughter and squeals as she rested her hands on his shoulders. When Tristan brought her back to earth she was breathless and overjoyed.

"My gift from God," he whispered, kissing her once again. Rose was dizzy when he finally pulled away. Tristan reached into his pocket and pulled out something that flashed silver. He held it up for her inspection and Rose's breath caught in her throat.

It was a thin silver ring that shone in the sun. One delicate, shining diamond was embedded into the ring. It was simplistic, but the most beautiful thing Rose had ever seen.

"It is beautiful," Rose whispered, too in awe to dare to touch it.

"It was my mothers," Tristan whispered, emotion caught on his voice. Rose looked at him humbly. "She would have wanted you to have it."

"This does not belong to me - I do not deserve it. What about Suzanna?" Rose asked, horrified at the idea of taking something that was owed to the Princess.

Tristan smiled and shook his head. "Suzanna has had her heart set on our grandmothers ring since she first saw it. It's much bigger. Much shiner," he said with a chuckle. Rose laughed at that. "This belongs to me and it is for me to give to whoever I choose. And I choose you."

Rose's heart fluttered. She bit her lip and held out her hand. The moment was too good to be true - far too perfect and miraculous. Tristan slid the ring onto her finger gently. Betrothed. Rose could not hold back her smile, and, it seemed, neither could Tristan. The ring glinted in the sunlight. Rose held her hand up to observe it.

"A perfect fit. See? It really was meant for you," Tristan said in a teasing tone. Rose looked up from the ring and immediately moved to hug Tristan. He accepted her and squeezed her until she was breathless. Tristan laughed and loosened his grip on her until his arms were only resting around her. Rose kissed him softly and pulled away with a humoured expression on her face.

"I hope you know," she said with a twinkle of amusement in her eyes, "that I know nothing about being Queen."

Tristan grinned and kissed her cheek. "You were born to be Queen - I have never met anyone more suited to the position."

"I love you," Rose murmured, leaning against her betrothed. My betrothed. The words were like a dream.

"I love you too - more than anything in this whole world."

They sealed their love with a long kiss.

Rose stood wedged in between Suzanna and William, a giant crowd packed behind them, and watched proudly as Tristan received the crown. His father symbolically removed his ceremonial crown and placed it on his son's head, saying something quietly as he did so.

"He looks perfect up there, does he not?" Suzanna whispered.

"Like he was born for this moment," Rose answered.

"He was," William deadpanned.

Rose and Suzanna laughed and turned their attention back to Tristan. The priest murmured some words in Latin, their meaning unknown to Rose.

"By the power vested in me by our most Holy Lord, I hereby name thee King of our monarchy. May you rule with good grace and kindness, and be remembered by all," the priest declared. Tristan bowed and turned around, his eyes instantly falling on Rose. "Long live the King!" The priest proclaimed.

"Long live the King!" The crowd roared unanimously, their voices like the strike of thunder.

"Long live the King!" Rose cried out, her voice muffled by the crowd. Tristan saw her mouth the words and grinned at her.

"And now, I say," the priest continued, pausing for suspense. "Bow to the King!"

As one, the crowd went down, bowing and curtseying with cheers of respect and joy. Tristan scanned the crowd, then landed his eyes on Rose. Rose smiled at him and - for the first time ever, as Tristan looked at her in awe - she curtsied deeply and bowed her head.

For a worthier King there could never be.

THE END

~~~
It's done... it's over. BUT WAIT!! Read this, because I think you'll want to hear the news ;)
Will there be a sequel for Rose and Tristan?
As of right now, no. Rose and Tristan's story has been told and I feel it is unnecessary to write more for them.
HOWEVER!
There is a second book, and the first chapter will be up in within the next few minutes!!!
It will follow Suzanna and one certain knight I know some of you were rooting for. And yes, Rose and Tristan will make appearances throughout the story.
So do not fear, for you have not heard the last of this beautiful couple!
Capture My Heart is the second book - if you enjoyed this, please go check it out and tell me what you think!

Thank you all so much for your support. Your lovely comments and votes really helped encourage me to keep going, even when I thought I would have to give up. It helped so much knowing there were people out there waiting for me to update.

I hope to see some familiar faces (or usernames, lol) pop up as I write Capture My Heart!
Thank you again - all of you, even my silent readers (I know you're out there!!!!) for being such a wonderful community.

And, of course, biggest thanks go to God - without Him this story never would have happened and never would have finished.

I hope you enjoyed Bow to the King, please do comment (one last time *tears*) and let me know your final thoughts.

Appreciate you all! Have a great day/night.

Xx Divine Romance

~~~