"Your Highness, what shall we do with the remains of–"

"Sir, His Highness requires your presence–"

"Prince–"

Keith sighed heavily, closing his eyes as he listened to his title being called over and over again.

Since when did he get this busy? It'd just been a few months ago when he was just a prince, sparring his knights for simple entertainment and groaning to his father about his engagement to Allura. He'd never known in just a few months, everything would go wrong, and he would be forced down such a rough journey. 

The only thing that was now keeping him sane was the idea of finally having Katie by his side after all the past years of watching over her without being unable to do anything. He was no longer the helpless prince locked up in the castle any longer, and his journey had proved why.

Keith would get what he wanted this time, and he wouldn't let his title nor his family stop him. If anything could stop him, it would have to be world-ending or Katie's simple rejection of his confession.

..He hoped it would not be either.

After staying in bed for more than 2 days, Katie became restless.

"No." Was Alina's adamant response when she asked to go out again.

"Please? You let me leave when Prince Keith was here a few days ago." She tried, pouting to give her more grace but Alina was also stubborn, shaking her head no.

"I didn't let you leave." She corrected, rolling her eyes,, "You barged out the tent without any word when I wasn't here."

Katie looked away, guilty as charged. Sure, she overdid her body when she first heard Keith had come to see her again, but she wasn't thinking at the time. It was her fault that she was stuck in this bed for many more days after recovering, but she didn't regret going out then to see Keith. 

The last she had seen him was in battle against the Galra king, but she dared to say he looked even worse when she saw him a few days ago. His eye bags were heavy, his face was grim, and he looked as if he was forced to stand upright for hours. Having to be his father's replacement and leader of the kingdom alliance at the same time was a heavy responsibility that Katie would never understand because they came from too different backgrounds. 

She'd been telling herself over and over again ever since she found out that Keith was a prince. She told herself that she couldn't hold such feelings for him because she could never imagine being in such a high position but throughout this entire journey, she'd only been falling in more.

Katie couldn't help herself from falling in love with Keith when he had been by her side from the very beginning. If it had been a few months ago, she would've avoided and ignored his approaches and random looks of affection towards her, but she couldn't now. They came from different backgrounds, but she was willing to leave her comfortable home if it meant she could remain by his side.

She knew Keith was engaged to Allura and that both parties had no choice or say in the decision when it was made in their childhood. It was even more surprising when Allura came to visit her a few days ago and told Katie personally that she was going to break off the engagement.

"You like him, don't you?" She had asked and Katie blinked, surprised by her sudden question and the topic at hand.

"Pardon? I'm not..sure what you mean." She said cautiously, but the look in the Princess's eyes told her that Katie was already exposed in every bit of her feelings for Keith.

How did Allura find out when she'd barely known her? Were her hidden feelings crystal clear for other people?

"Is it obvious?" Katie sighed at last, expecting the worst of Allura's reaction but to her surprise, the princess smiled instead.

"Not really," She giggled shortly, "It's just that whenever I looked at Keith, his eyes were always seeking yours."

"Oh."

Katie didn't know how to feel about this information. She felt guilty and sorry towards Allura who wanted the affection of Keith and found out in that way that she wasn't the person in his heart after all that time. At the same time, she realized how stupid she must've been to never notice his unsaid fondness for her when even the Princess could tell.

The Princess shifted in her seat, reminding Katie once again where they were and what they were talking about.

"I-if you're here to tell me to give up," Katie's hands trembled as she spoke before the person who was in a position she could never imagine living in, "I don't want to."

Her blue eyes widened for a second before she bursted out into laughter, making Katie freeze in shock again.

"Ahahaha..!"

She'd never seen the princess laughing like this during the time that she was at the Galraen castle. Her cheeks instinctively heated up from shame or embarrassment, unsure of how to feel.

"You know.." Allura began after calming down, "There were a lot of things my mind went through in the prison I was put in but one of them was, 'why am I living a life that makes me unhappy? Why did I so crave the affection of the person who I knew would never love me? If I were to end up in such a place, why did I ever waste my time smiling and pretending everything around me was okay?'"

Katie swallowed, unable to say anything because she would never understand what Allura went through.

"When Lotor proclaimed his obsession for me as love, I immediately knew that the feelings I felt for Keith were nearly the same." She sighed, pulling back her white locks, "I might've loved him at one point in our childhood, but everything after that became validation. I wanted him to love me so I could be seen as more than just a princess."

Katie remained silent, wondering how she was going to finish her sentence. She got an idea why the princess was telling her such things she could never tell anyone else, but she didn't want to assume anything.

"So, what I really wanted to convey today is that I'm going to break the engagement as soon as my father arrives." She said with a pretty smile on her lips, "I'm going to live free so I want you to do the same. Thank you for saving me, and I hope that you and Keith can be happy together."

Katie had no words to say, but her cheeks flushed red from the sudden support shown by the princess, and she couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you."

Katie had been meaning to tell Keith of this change in the relationship between them, but he was far too busy that she could barely sneak a glance at him from a distance after that day and now she was stuck in this bed.

"May I please leave?" Katie asked again, getting itchy feet from wanting to go, "I really need to speak with the prince."

"Can it wait until you recover?" Alina turned back from her work of packing up the medications, "We're leaving camp in a few days anyways."

"I can stay in bed all day tomorrow and everyday after." Katie bargained, feeling as if she was going to burst out with emotion if she couldn't tell Keith right now, "Please, I just need a couple minutes."

They were stuck in a competition of staring without blinking before Alina sighed and looked away.

"You better keep your word." She smiled slightly, "Go see your lover boy."

Katie was so happy with Alina's permission that she didn't realize the second half of her sentence. Her body hadn't fully recovered according to Alina's diagnosis but she could run freely through the campgrounds, feeling the wind against her hair.

There were many different guards from different kingdoms still on the grounds of the camp, but she was looking for a specific person dressed in black and royal purple armor.

"Oh, Katie." Theo said with wide eyes when she ran into him, "What are you doing out here?"

"Have you seen Keith?" She only panted out, unable to think straight, "Can you tell me where he is?"

"Probably in the meeting tent alone. We just finished—" Theo was saying when he noticed she was already gone and running off to where he told her Keith was. He smiled defeatedly, watching her run towards Keith.

It was transparent now that he clearly lost in this battle.

As soon as Katie reached the general meeting tent, she opened the flap to see exactly who she wanted to see.

"Oh?" Keith turned back, violet eyes wide from her appearance, "What are you doing he—"

"I like you." She blurted out breathlessly, walking inside, "I have feelings for you."

It was in a split of a second, but she was so glad to have said it because she managed to bring out a look on Keith's face no one would ever get out of him again. His cheeks flushed red, and he became so flustered that Katie couldn't help but smile again, repeating her words.

"I like you a lot, Keith."

————————————————————-

A/N

The romance part of this FF is finally here! (Sorry it took so long...heh..)

Thank you to everyone for your support, and I'm proud to say I will finally be finishing this FF in the next 2-3 chapters.

Thank you all for reading, and I hope to see you all in the next update..!

-Sil 💜