One dusky fall afternoon, Alice walked into her backyard and was greeted by the sight of the Knave lounged on one of her easy chairs. His face was turned away from her and he seemed to be very still.

"Will?" When he didn't move, she ventured closer. "Will, are you asleep?"

"If I was, you'd expect me to answer?" he retorted in a way that made her smile rather than feel offended.

"You know I'm always happy to see you," she said, circling his seat till she was in front of him, "but what's the occasion for this time?"

"I missed 'cha?" He looked up at her then and gave her a half-hearted smile. She didn't return it because she was staring at the object he had in his hands.

"That's a - "

" - crown?" Will finished. "Why yes, it is." He held it aloft for her to see before spinning it between his fingers. "Matches with Ana's, I should think," he says, almost thoughtfully. And after a prolonged silence between them, he narrows his gaze at her. "Didn't steal it, if that's what you're thinking."

"Good," Alice said, still staring. She proceeded with care. "So... Is this about that then?"

"Excellent guess! Give the lady a prize!" The Knave crowed, tossing the crown onto the neighboring lawn chair before clapping his hands together violently.

"Will..." Alice said, with warning, as she picked up the crown with far greater care than he had shown it.

"What?" the Knave replied, unrepentant and unheeding.

"We've talked about this." She sat down on the opposite chair, facing him in earnest. "I can't help you if you aren't straight with me."

"Now who said anything about needing your help?"

"Nobody, but the mere fact that you are here, with a crown, and not looking the least bit pleased about it is more than a little telling, don't you think?" Alice said as she made herself comfortable.

"Excuse you, I am pleased!" he protested.

"Does the prospect of being king make you feel apprehensive?" she continued in the same level tone.

"I am not apprehensive about it! It is the best thing to have ever happened to me in my entire life!"

"So what's the problem?"

"There isn't a problem!"

"Then why are you here?"

"Because!" - he gesticulated wildly, so wildly that she drew back to avoid his flailing hands - "there isn't a problem! Can't you see how strange that is?"

Alice couldn't help but smile. "What I find strange here is your paranoia. It's been - what? Nearly three years?"

Will sighed and sank so low in his chair that his chin pressed a groove in the middle of his chest. "Sometimes it feels like it's been ages. Other times, mere moments. I don't know which feeling I prefer." He got that wistful look in his eye that Alice liked to see. It was a look that made him look a little less hard-round the edges than he typically was. As far as she knew, he only got that way around babies, small animals, and of course, his Ana.

"It's not like I don't know what I'm getting into. There were other... options. But none were good enough except for that."

"Of course," Alice said, feeling giddy. "Marriage is a wonderful thing."

"'spected you'd say as much, pile of mush that you are" the Knave sighed, rolling his eyes. "I dunno why I even bothered coming out here."

"I suppose you did it to tell your old friend Alice about this great big event coming up in your life. That's what friends do, you know? Update each other on their goings on."

"...are you guilting me for not visiting you very often?"

"This is the first time in six months, Will. And in between, not even a letter." Alice exaggerated a sigh. ,"I wonder if you truly think us friends sometimes."

"Stop that," the Knave groaned. "You know I do."

"Well," she said with a smile as she examined the crown in her lap, "you did say you missed me."

The crown was not as ostentatious as it seemed to be. It was shiny, certainly, but very minimal in decor. Will didn't budge when she playfully placed it on his head and leaned back to examine him. Rather he looked on with a tired sort of resignation.

"What I joke I make, huh?"

"I take it you had no say in the crown's craftsmanship?"

"As if any craftsmen would even take my suggestions seriously," he scoffed. "Finery's always been Ana's thing."

"Give her some credit then. You look good in it."

"Piss off."

"Really, Will." Alice's wide smile turned earnest and Will studied her for a while in belligerent silence.

He sat up and took the crown off, and turned it over in his hands. "Guess I do have some concerns," he admitted with a sigh. "I mean this whole thing is ridiculous. Think about it. Me. A king." He shuddered. "What is the world coming to?"

"I like to think that crazier things have happened in the past."

"This seems about the same level of crazy."

"So no more crazy that you're used to, right?" She squeezed his shoulder affectionately. "At least this time you have Ana."

"Yeah," he said after a beat, then reached up to squeeze her hand in return. "Got friends like you too, for once."

"For once and all time." Alice stood up and dragged him up to his feet with their locked hands. "For better or for worse, till death do us part."

"Wedding jokes now, Alice?" he asked, looking pained.

"It's my prerogative. You owe me for neglecting to visit for this long," she teased, and there was more of that as she coaxed him into her home for an extended visit.