My Golden Life

Chapter 64

As the dust from the falling tower cleared, the crown that Charming had been wearing rolled across the stage, and Artie stopped it with his foot. He bent down and slowly picked it up.

"It's yours if you want it, you know," Shrek told him. "But this time, it's your choice."

Artie looked at it for a short moment before walking towards the audience. He lifted the crown into the air, and everyone began to clap and cheer. He then placed it on his head, and that caused everyone to applaud even louder. Some of the villains and fairytale people picked him up and put him on their shoulders, chanting his name. 

I couldn't have been any prouder of him; he had come so far, and now he was king. I was slightly emotional, I have to say. After everything had calmed down a little, he went over to speak to Queen Lillian. It was then a sudden thought came into my mind.

"What was I going to do now?"

With Artie being king, any real chance of him and I being together was impossible. I was just a simple commoner, and with so many princesses and other girls who were quite frankly prettier than me in the kingdom, I stood no chance. My heart was growing heavy every passing minute, just thinking about it. I caught Artie glancing over in my direction, but I could only give him a sad smile. 

He stared at me with a concerned look and then turned to whisper something to Lillian. She looked over at me and turned back to speak to Artie again. Their conversion looked like a serious one, but by the end of it, she handed something over to him.

"Can I have your attention, please, everyone?" Lillian called out.

Everyone, including me, turned from what they were doing and listen to what she had to say.

"As from today," She announced. "I will be stepping down as Queen and from royal duties."

A loud murmur of voices filled the air, but she lifted her hand to continue speaking.

"It has been a true honour to have been your queen for so many years," She expressed lovingly. "Time is passing ever quickly, and I feel now is the right time for a new person to take charge and flourish this kingdom even better."

"So," Donkey said. "Does this mean that Artie here will be needing a queen?"

Lillian looked at Artie and smiled at him. "Indeed, he will be."

"Well, since I am of royal blood," Snow White declared. "I would be honoured to be Artie's queen."

"You can't just appoint yourself, Snow," Fiona laughed.

"Fiona's right, and he may not even want you as queen," Cinderella added. "However, someone like me, on the other hand, will be perfect-"

"A-actually," Artie interrupted. "I...I already have someone who I want as my queen."

He then walked over to where I was stating and took hold of my hand.

"Katie," He uttered.

I'm not going to lie, I was dumbfounded by what was going on, and it took me a minute to realise what Artie was insinuating.

"W-what...m-me?" I stuttered. "Y-you're kidding me, right? You w-want me t-to be..."

"Of course," He said. "I wouldn't want anyone else but you."

"But," I argued. "I'm not of royal blood. I'm just a poor girl from a village who, may I add, has a crazy and not so perfect past. I-I'm Goldilocks. I was a thief for crying out loud, and you want someone like me to be the queen of Far Far Away?"

"I don't care about your past, Katie," He assured me. "Neither do I care that you're Goldilocks. I know you want to move away from that. From the moment we met, I knew you were special. You were the only person that truly cared about me back in Worcestershire; you stood up for me when no one else did. You may see yourself as a thief, but I see you as a princess, my queen even. And I don't care what anyone else says or thinks. I love you with all my heart, and there's nothing that will change that."

I couldn't stop tears from falling down my cheeks. My hands were shaking, and my heart was racing. I was so shocked by what Artie was saying, and in front of everyone too. If this was a dream, it was the wonderful one at that.

"You mean the world to me," he said. "I've grown to love you each and every single day. I know from the bottom of my heart that you're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with."

I let out a nervous gasp as Artie slowly got down on one knee. It felt that it was just Artie and me alone, nothing around me registered at that moment but him. From his hand, he presented a diamond-encrusted ring that had Rose Gold gemstone in the middle. I'm guessing that was what Lillian gave to him and it looked so beautiful, I just could believe what was happening to me.

"Katie Clavell," he smiled. "Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

I continued to cry as I stared down at him, my grin never leaving my face.

"Yes!" I cried. "Of course I will, Arthur!"

A ruckus of cheers and whistling soon followed. Artie slipped the ring onto my finger and came up onto his feet, picking me up and twirling me in the air. Once he put me down, my arms wrapped around his neck, a look of joy on our faces, we leaned in and shared a loving and heartfelt kiss. It was perfect, more than I could ever imagine. 

He was my king, and I was going to be his queen. Nothing could have made me anymore happier. Once our kiss ended, we lightly pressed our foreheads together, the two of us sharing a giggle between each other.

"I love you so much," I whispered.

"I love you too," he replied.

It was all so crazy. It was only a year ago that I had first met Artie, and now I was going to be his wife, as well as the new queen of Far Far Away. I guess I managed to get my happily ever after, after all.