Love Lives Here

It had only been a few hours since Cello's stepbrothers and stepfather left him alone at home. It seemed as if they weren't coming back. It had been years since he had been home alone. The silence in the house was frightening. He eventually made it out of the cellar and sat on the front steps of his home as he stared out into the distance. Lucky sat next to him with his head in Cello's lap. The chickens clucked and pecked at the ground and a gentle breeze filled the air. Cello saw out of the corner of his eye something twinkling. When his eyes landed on the single speck of light it danced in the air following the wind and heading towards the road. That's when Cello saw the entourage of the King's Guard heading back to his home.

They all reined in their horses and dismounted forming two lines, facing each other, that led from one of the carriages right to Cello. Cello stood up from where he sat as Lucky began to pant, tail wagging excitedly. The carriage doors opened as Lord Clairmont fell face first into the dirt. Cello noticed he was in metal chains. Draven and Adam exited the carriage afterwards and stood next to where their father fell. Cello didn't know what was happening. He could only watch as the events unfolded before him.

Someone else exited the carriage and Cello shut his eyes tightly before opening them again to make sure he wasn't imagining things. Gabriel stood a few feet away from him with his mouth hanging slightly open. It looked as if he hadn't slept in a few days. Cello looked down at his feet. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say. All he knew was that his heart was doing leaps and bounds in his chest as the pieces that broke earlier began to quickly heal.

"You." Gabriel finally said. He began walking up to Cello who took a step back, cautiously bracing for what was to come. "During the winter one year, you came in from working in the cold. You placed your frozen hands a little too close to the fire and the ring you wore got ridiculously hot. It ended up burning you."

"So now I have this scar," Cello finished the memory that Gabriel began recounting to him. He now stood in front him at the base of the stairs.

"This scar." Gabriel repeated taking Cello's hands in his. With a finger he rubbed the scar on Cello's hand and brought the hand to his lips kissing it. "It's you? Cello... it's always been you?" Cello only nodded at his question and a guffaw escaped Gabriel's lungs.

"May I?" Gabriel asked holding Cello's family ring in his hand.

"Yes," Cello answered as Gabriel carefully slid his father's ring back on his hand, covering the scar.

"A perfect fit," Gabriel said before looking into Cello's eyes. "My prince." Tears began to build in his eyes.

"I'm..." Cello began. He had wanted to apologize for running away from him at the ball.

"There's no need to say anything. I have you now and that's the only thing that matters. You're not running away from me again." Cello laughed at that.

"I don't plan on it," Cello told him. Soon a raging fire began to burn in Prince Gabriel's eyes. He turned to his guard captain.

"Captain Yu Ling, I don't want these monsters to see the light of day ever again." Gabriel told the captain.

"Understood, sir," The captain and his guards began gathering the Clairmont men back into another carriage that would take them immediately to the kingdom's dungeons.

"Wait." Cello pleaded, tugging on the sleeve of Gabriel's tunic. The rage subsided within Gabriel when he turned to look at Cello's face. "Don't arrest them." The Clairmont men all looked to be in utter disbelief of hearing Cello stop them from being taken away.

"Are you sure, my love?" Gabriel asked Cello, who only nodded to him.

"But I want them out of my home and off the land where my parents are buried." Cello spoke out to his stepfather and stepbrothers.

"He can't do that!" Lord Clairmont exclaimed. The left side of his face was completely swollen from taking two royal punches to the head.

"Your future Prince and soon to be King has spoken and you will address him as such." Prince Gabriel spoke for Cello. "He is being far more lenient with you than I would even entertain, and I blame the kindness of his heart. If it were up to me, you three would be at the bottom of the ocean." All three men gazed at the Prince with wide eyes as he spoke to them.

"Now you have two options, boys," The Prince continued. "You can leave these lands in the next ten minutes or I will be forced to enact swift vengeance upon you unlike anything you have ever seen. The choice is yours." If Cello was on the receiving end of the Prince's temper, he would have been absolutely terrified. Seeing him now, standing in front of him, protecting him, made him feel safe. He never had anyone stand up for him before. He felt loved.

"Understood," Lord Clairmont said looking at Cello when he said so.

"You must not have heard his majesty's words," Captain Yu Ling spoke to Lord Clairmont as he placed a painful and forceful grip on the back of his neck. He dragged Lord Clairmont towards Cello and forced him to his knees in front of him. "You will address his highness with the respect he's entitled to." Captain Yu Ling placed a firm hand on his sword, ready to unsheathe it at any moment. Lord Clairmont's lip began to quiver, and he looked as if he would explode. Cello only looked down upon him as he began to shake on his hands and knees.

"Understood," Lord Clairmont said in a faint voice. "Your... majesty." Feeling satisfied Cello nodded at the captain who yanked at the hem of Lord Clairmont's tunic, pulling him up to his feet and shoving him towards his sons. Their metal cuffs were released from their hands as they made their way to their own carriage to leave Cello's lands forever.

"Adam," Cello called out to him. Adam stopped in his tracks before turning around and heading back to where Cello and the Prince both stood. He paused a few feet in front of them before bowing.

"Yes, your highness," Adam answered. He didn't know what Cello was going to say. He didn't know how to react in this situation. Whatever befell him, Adam knew he deserved it. He honestly wouldn't have objected if the Prince did let him sink to the bottom of the ocean.

"I hope you find happiness." Cello simply said. Adam straightened himself from his bow to look into Cello's eyes. He was being sincere. After everything Adam put him through, he wished for him to find happiness. How could he? Why would he? He deserved many things to happen to him as a consequence of his mistreatment of Cello, but he didn't deserve this.

"I... thank you," Adam said, tears filling his eyes. "For what it's worth, I am so sorry." The tears fell from his eyes now. "I thought that if I could divert my father's attention away from me to you, he wouldn't find out about me." Cello listened intently as his stepbrother spoke. "Cello, you have a pure and beautiful soul. You have a light in you that shines brighter than the sun. I'm glad that we didn't extinguish it. Your mother would be so proud of you." At the mention of his mother, Cello turned away. He walked up the stairs and into his home. "Goodbye, brother." Gabriel could tell that Adam was being genuine with Cello. He also knew that Cello knew.

"Thanks for saying that to him," Gabriel told Adam. "I have a feeling that was exactly what he needed to hear."

"I meant every word," Adam said. Gabriel began to turn around and go up the stairs to find Cello. "Sire?" Gabriel stopped and drew his attention back to Adam. "Please take care of him. He... just please take care of him."

"I plan to do that and much, much more," Gabriel said to him. Adam nodded and walked back towards his father's carriage. Gabriel walked into the entryway of the home and saw Cello standing in the day room. His back was turned and his body trembled. Gabriel knew immediately that he was crying. It seems that he really needed to hear those words from Adam.

"My prince," Gabriel said as he stood directly behind him. He could see the top of Cello's head as his own body began to completely cover over Cello's. He wrapped his strong arms around Cello's body and held him close, the back of Cello's head rested on his chest.

"I have to get used to hearing that," Cello chuckled.

"My prince, my prince, my prince," Gabriel whispered in Cello's ear. Cello's body became limp as he almost fell to floor. Gabriel caught him, turning Cello's body around so they were facing each other.

"I'm sorry," Cello said as he saw the worry on Gabriel's face. "I just feel like an anchor lifted from my chest and I can finally set sail and be free." Gabriel smiled as he touched his forehead to Cello's.

"You can set sail and go wherever the wind takes you." Gabriel said to him. Both of their eyes were closed. "As long as I can always be by your side."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Cello said as he moved his head away from Gabriel's. He wanted to look at him. To really look at him. "As long as you don't mind having a poor farmer as your wife."

"No," Gabriel said kissing Cello's hands. "As my husband... and I don't mind at all." Cello drew closer to Gabriel and began to stand on his tiptoes. Gabriel smiled and met him where he was so their lips could meet. They shared their first kiss as real lovers. No more masks, no more running, no more hiding. Just them. Only them.