part one, part two, part three, part four, part five
A Game of Life (ao3) - Koolhotsweetloveberries
Summary: Daniel Howell, an honorable member of the King's Knighthood, does not expect much from his time at court. All changes when the court jester, Philip Lester, enters.
Based on Dan & Phil's game of life, and Dan & Phil Crafts- Slime.
A Home Carved in Darkness (ao3) - phansauce97
Summary: Daniel Howell is next in line to become King of the Southern Kingdom...and literally could not care less. In a perfect world, he wouldn't have to be a royal or worry about running a Kingdom, and could just be...free. So when he learns he is to be wed off to the Duke of the Northern Kingdom, he decides to take matters into his own hands to pursue his freedom. Little does he know...the Duke is thinking the same thing.
Philip Lester, Duke of the North, develops a plan to escape this marriage, starting by disguising himself, then darting into the wilderness.
So, when Dan bumps into a handsome blond stranger in the middle of the woods, he and said stranger soon realize that nothing will be the same again. In a world of gods, superstition, and vengeance, things are about to get pretty medieval. Is the pursuit of freedom even worth it? Will they make it out alive?
And can their true identities remain a secret forever...even from each other?
Grey Wings (ao3) - phansauce97
Summary: Angels and demons walk among us each day, though they mainly choose to remain unseen. Relations with humans have caused some issues in the past, resulting in the fairly well documented half-angel-half-human species known as the Nephilim, of whom Phil Lester currently rules over. Once thought to have been wiped out, the Nephilim were merely hidden in a realm of their own, where they now thrive and live happily.
On the boarders of the Nephilim Kingdom though runs a large wall, and on the other side, a city of slums where the other half-breeds reside: the Cambions, half-human, half-demon. Dan Howell is their ruler, desperately wanting to liberate his people. So desperate, in fact, after making a terrifying discovery, that he finds himself with no choice but to ask for help from someone he can't stand: the Nephilim King, Phil Lester.
Yet Dan's idea is genius, and Phil can't deny that. What begins as a political alliance though, slowly builds into something much more heated...and much more terrifying.
Come along (ao3) - ottertrashpalace
Summary: In medieval England, a young knight rides north, sent to serve at the court of the quiet young Duke of Lancaster.
et in saecula saeculorum (ao3) - ottertrashpalace
Summary: In short: Phil is the Duke of Lancaster, Dan is a knight, they have been performing intricate rituals, Dan said “as you wish,” the rest is history. Enjoy.
Legends of the Light of Heart (ao3) - serendipnpipity
Summary: Once upon a time, when the land was still ruled by kings and queens, there lived a young prince named Daniel, heir to a dying land...
names of collision in the dark (ao3) - Anonymous
Summary: Of enemy kingdoms, Prince Dan and Prince Phil meet one fateful night, leading to a surprising friendship that evolves into something more. As the looming threat of a major battle grows stronger, both princes grapple with their roles and the burdens of leadership, all while their growing bond forces them to confront their own kingdoms’ expectations and the possibility of peace in the chaos.
(aka the dan and phil royal au fic they wrote for the gaming channel but taken seriously)
Sir Deniol and Prince Philibere (ao3) - Kim_Aurora_135
Summary: A Medieval Love Story
based on King Arthur, Sir Launcelot and Guenevere
The Dance That We Do (ao3) - husbants
Summary: Prince Daniel of Howellot and Prince Philip of Lesterall share an evening together at the summer ball. Unbeknownst to them, this night will change the trajectory of their lives forever.
the egg (ao3) - calvinahobbes
Summary: There were traditions, of course. Eggs were precious and rare, holding within them the chance of a new dragon life. These traditions were even stricter for royals. There were procedures, rituals, public proclamations and examinations, tournaments for finding the strongest or wisest suitor to fertilise the egg. But Phil had ignored all these conventions. “I want to lay it with you,” Phil said.
You’re my new dream (ao3) - magicalxdjh
Summary: phan but based on tangled. Phil is the lost prince and Dan is the thief. it will not be 100% tangled for example Phil does not have magic long hair, but powers! not everything will be based on tangled, just the story itself is inspired by it.
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Summary: Prince Daniel of Eithoia has been seeing Lord Philip in private for years, despite his marriage to Princess Isabella. Up until now, it was never an issue to the three to be together. No one anticipated for the Princess to have an urgent announcement, and now anticipated that it would impact Dan and Phil and their countries as much as it did. [updates every Sunday, hopefully]
Warnings: mentions of pregnancy, implied/referenced smut, mentions of violence, swearing
Prince Daniel Howell of Etithoia stands at the gates of the Opal Palace, his hand on his sword, and an angry look in his eyes.
“Your Highness, Lord Philip is only seeing urgent visitors.” The guard states and the Prince shivers in the winter cold of Intora’s January. “And unfortunately, the Lord has not indicated that any urgent business with Etithoia would occur today.”
“Go in and tell your Lord that the Prince is here to speak to him.” He supplies, which he knows is unhelpful but it’s cold and he has a long ride back to Steeple Palace and he really, really doesn’t have the time for any sort of hold back to see Phil.
“Your Highness, the Lord has made it very clear that—”
“I believe what you meant to say was, ‘Prince Daniel, my pleasure. The Lord is always eager to meet you.’” He grunts, shivering. When the guard attempts to correct the Prince, Daniel cuts him off again. “Unless missing limbs is an idea the intrigues you, I do recommend that you fulfill the commands of your prince.” He’s bullshitting, of course, but the people of Intora don’t know that he’s never kept a threat through in his entire time ruling.
“Of course, Sire. However, the Lord has made it quite clear that—”
“Jefferson. Step down.” Lord Philip calls, and Dan doesn’t miss the fact that Phil has snow on his thick-framed glasses and that his black coat is blowing in the wind. He was walking in the gardens again—he does that a lot, no matter how many times Dan tells him that he’ll catch a cold.
“Phil,” Dan sighs happily, running to him and enveloping him in a hug, not caring that the guard was probably screaming about inappropriate behavior in his head.
Phil automatically hugged him back and placed a kiss on his hair, his hand coming up to grip his head as if to keep him from leaving. “Thought I heard your voice,” He whispered softly, before waving his hand towards Jefferson, “Jefferson, raise the gates. Prince Daniel and I have ordeals to discuss.”
Dan hears Jefferson mumble something that insinuates them fucking—and he notes how Phil barely even stiffens under the comment whereas Dan would have angrily demanded the guard repeat his words to the Prince’s face.
Phil seems to read his mind. “Why don’t you let the people see your soft side?” He says playfully, bumping his pelvis against Dan’s jokingly (and while Dan hates to say it, at this point, any contact with Phil gets him riled up). He grumbles a response, but Phil ignores it. “C’mon, you big softie. You saved baby animals constantly, you love kids, you’re sappy over everything—” Phil gets cut off by Dan pressing a chaste closed-mouth kiss to his lips, and when he pulls back, he sees Dan’s stupid grin. “You’re an idiot. People are scared of you, but have you ever actually harmed a person in your kingdom?”
The answer is no, obviously. He’s ordered executions but never fulfilled them—he’s always been a dramatic ruler, and therefore, he simply finds a way to prevent the execution from ever happening. The people are usually so caught up in other business to even care: most of them hardly feel any emotions, anyway.
But, Dan didn’t come here to have some much-needed alone time with his partner. “Phil, we need somewhere private.” He says, his voice dropping an octave and accidentally sounding more panicked than he had intended for it to.
If Dan’s voice was any other tone, Phil would’ve made a comment about Dan’s love for exhibitionism, perhaps commented on how he thought Dan might’ve preferred a more riskier area of the palace, but Phil knew better. When he said ‘private’ he didn’t mean that he wanted to catch up on their month apart—something had happened, probably something bad. “My chambers,” Phil suggests to, more like tells, Dan. “No cameras, no maids or butlers, no guards. Nothing can be tracked there.”
“That’s a bit unsafe for the future ruler to have no protection in his sleeping chambers.” Dan comments.
“I had to prevent the possibility of certain rumors being confirmed.” Phil states simply, and Dan laughs. “Besides, there’s nothing in there that a spy would want—most people tend to just ignore my existence.”
“They don’t need to be confirmed, everyone knows that they’re true.” Dan’s tone becomes cold again. “We need to stop stalling, come on. It’s urgent.” Dan grips Phil’s wrist and pulls him through the halls and up a staircase until they’re sat on Phil’s bed in his chambers.
“What’s happening?” Phil asks as soon as the door is closed.
“Away from the door,” Dan says, “someone could be listening.” He motions Phil to step away from the door and towards his bed.
Phil doesn’t argue; he doesn’t remind Dan that his people live by a code of privacy and kindness, he simply moves away from the door and to Dan’s side. Finally, Dan takes a deep breath, “The Princess is pregnant.” He states, and Phil nearly chokes on his own spit. “She’s eight weeks along. We wanted to wait until we told you, we found out a bit ago, but we… I couldn’t bring myself to break the news to you, and I definitely wouldn’t simply tell you this over the phone. I would have brought her with me but it’s a two-hour drive and she’s having a hard time and I read somewhere that stressful situations can induce a miscarriage and I—.”
“I-is it yours?” Phil cuts him off, hating that he knows the answer already. Of course, it’s Dan’s baby, why the hell wouldn’t it be? Dan and Isabella have been betrothed since they were young, and when they finally got married everyone knew that they were simply met to be. They had been best friends since they were young—Dan’s mother had been attempting allyship with Menia, so they had seen each other fairly often while growing up. Of course, Dan loved Phil and Isabella knew this, but he also loved Isabella and Phil knew this. He had no issues with it—the jealousy didn’t exist.
Until now, of course.
He would probably not be a part of the baby’s life at all, they probably wouldn’t ever see him, simply know that their father left too much to visit him.
Or maybe, he would no longer visit him. Maybe a baby would be too much work to balance a treasonous relationship.
The baby wasn’t his, obviously. He shouldn’t even want to be a part of its life, but he still did. It felt wrong to know that Dan would be raising a child he would never get to see, save from parties and royal affairs. He felt a pang of hurt in his chest, a sting that came with the knowledge of never being able to see them.
“Yes.” He says, and he won’t meet Phil’s eyes. “Phil, I’m so so—”
“No,” he chokes out. “Don’t give me pity. I should’ve been prepared for this, Dan. We can’t be… we can’t be together. How are you going to balance this,” he gestures between the two of them, “and a baby?”
Dan doesn’t look up still, but Phil can see the tears starting to build up behind his lash line. “Izzy and I want you to be a part of the baby’s life,” He practically sobs out. “We don’t—we don’t want you to be gone.” He takes Phil’s hands in his own and finally allows their eyes to meet. “There are ways to get around this. I want all of us to be happy, she doesn’t want to raise this baby without you there, I don’t want to raise this baby without you there.”
Phil thinks it would be inappropriate for him to say “thank fuck” but he does it anyway because really, he couldn’t be more thankful for them wanting him. “I don’t want to leave you, or the baby, I—” Dan kisses him once before he continues again. “I want to be a father to the baby. I want to be there when they wake up at night, I want to hold them, I want to be a part of their lives. I want to raise the baby with you and Izzy.”
“Our baby,” Dan corrects him, sweetly. “We’ll be a family. All three of us. We’ll figure out if it’s a girl or a boy and we’ll be happy.” Phil wipes a tear that’s fallen down Dan’s cheek and squeezes his other hand a little tighter in what he hopes is a reassuring manner.
“We’ll have to figure out the political side of this,” Phil says softly, breaking the happy moment. “My country… we’ve never been as open about the things that your country has been. To have me marry you and Izzy would be seen as a political passage—a joining of our countries. How will the people of Intora react to our countries becoming allied forces?”
“We… we want to join our kingdoms. We don’t have to say anything about,” he does that stupid gesture that indicates the two of them, “but, we would be able to have you move to Steeple Palace or we could move here or…” He looks at Phil to gauge a reaction.
“I’m only an heir right now Dan, I can’t make such rash choices without a total council and then it would need to pass by the advisors until the King can even hear about it.” Phil shakes his head.
“You could live with us,” Dan says. “All three of us can get married in Etithoia,” he suggests. “You’re, what, second in line? Let Martyn and your father do the work, you can become a ruler of Etithoia. Our countries would be in peace, you would still have the political power you have now—more, in fact—and we’d be happy.” A perfect plan, except that he now needs to get the approval of a royal wedding from councilors or be seen as a traitor and get eloped.
Phil pulls him into a long, open-mouthed kiss before pulling back from him. “Let’s figure out how the hell to do this.” He states and realizes with raw certainty that he will do anything to be with the people he loves.
He gives Dan a kiss on his forehead and Dan says in a weak voice, “Okay, yeah, let’s um. Let’s figure this the fuck out, I guess.”
AO3 LINK
Summary:
“We would be like Romeo and Juliet if we dated.” Phil said absentmindedly.
Dan froze in shock.
“How so?” He asked with a forced casual air.
Phil shrugged, and turned the page, “Well forbidden love. Prince and servant aren’t exactly ideal.” He continued to read.
Dan was conscious of his mouth hanging open.
Or
The Royalty AU nobody asked for in which Prince Daniel falls head over heels for his best friend and servant boy, Phil.
Author’s Notes:
Ok so I started this fic about 5 months ago and WOOP it's been a ride!
From my beta Rachel (@diamond0604) constantly telling me OL OL OL OL OL etc. etc. (that means one line) to endless run throughs I feel as though this fic is my baby.
Actually never mind this fic is MY BABY and I feel as though I'm sending him away and it's breaking my heart but whatever!So this is for the Phandom Big Bang therefore I have an amazing artist! (@alienenthusiast)
And I've already mentioned Rachel who is sitting beside me to stop me from crying because that is likely oh god.
Therefore without further ado I present my baby... If the Crown Fits!
10
Dan giggled as they ran through the courtyard, shoes and socks abandoned.
He turned his head around to face his friend, “You can’t catch me!” he laughed as he swivelled around a tree, only to find himself face to face with Phil.
“Or I can,” Phil grinned mischievously.
He tapped Dan gently on the arm before racing off.
Dan watched and groaned as his friend ran away, black fringe flying in the air behind him. With one more deep breath Dan chased after his friend who was easily faster than him. Dan gained ground on Phil which was a miracle and his hands skimmed Phil’s arm before a stick got in his way. He felt his feet fly out from beneath him and he crashed into Phil head first.
They both toppled over with gasps of shock, their limbs were tangled together and Dan started to giggle.
“What?” Phil asked with a confused look and brushed his legs off as they stood up.
Dan shot him an evil smirk, “You’re it!” He laughed before he raced off, only just catching the eye roll Phil aimed at him.
~-~-~
Dan was awful at maths.
All the endless numbers and equations gave him a headache. He ran his fingers along the sum he was attempting to work out but none of it made sense. Phil scribbled away beside him. Dan tried to catch his attention, but he wasn’t paying attention to him.
He turned to the question again.
3 + 2 = ?
6 6 ?
Dan groaned and buried his head in his hands. Finally Phil seemed to acknowledge Dan’s struggle as he chuckled.
“You right?” Phil whispered and Dan shook his head into his hands.
Their teacher glared at them over her laptop but said nothing.
“Need help?” He offered, Dan nodded against the table. “Alright where are you up to?” Phil asked as he scooted his chair beside Dan. Dan pointed to the question and Phil stifled a giggle into his palm.
“Hey!” Dan grumbled.
Phil shrugged, “That’s kinda pathetic Mr Dumb Bear.”
“It’s rude to insult a prince.” Dan attempted to find a way to defend himself but failed miserably.
Phil rolled his eyes, “Really? That’s the best you can do?” He smirked.
Whenever Phil smirked it looked like a smile but by now Dan knew the difference between a true smile and a smirk. They had grown up in the castle together after all.
“Help me please.” Dan begged, his lip stuck out in a pout.
Phil laughed at his false begging face but obliged anyway. Technically he probably wasn’t allowed to say no but Dan and Phil had never bothered with the servant’s rules.
As he poked Dan’s lip back into his mouth he pointed to the equation, “To start…”
~-~-~
“You have a banquet.” Phil mumbled over the top of his book.
Dan groaned, “I almost forgot!” He slammed down his book on the table with a loud clunk that made Phil jump in shock. He knew his mother, the Queen, would kill him if he was late.
Actually she would probably kill Phil, not that it was his fault but she would find a way to make it his fault.
“You should go get ready.” Phil added putting down his book as well.
Dan nodded, already getting ready to leave before he gasped, “Aren’t you helping set up?” He asked. Phil smacked his head and jumped to his feet.
“Your mum’s gonna kill me!” He groaned as he pulled on his vest.
Dan shooed him away, “If you go quick she might not notice!”
They both knew that wasn’t true but they could dream.
~-~-~
Dan sat on the rough chair, with a leveled glare at the wall as though it was forcing him to go the banquet. The wall of course had nothing to do with it, however it was the only thing in his line of vision, so it would have to do. His hair was being attended to by a new servant. Or should he say attacked by a new servant. She was spraying it so vigorously he was sure it would be a tough shell when she was finished. It was straightened out which was at least a relief.
“How about this one sir?” Ellen, his personal maid, asked as she presented a blue button up. Dan went to nod before he remembered that his hair was being attacked with a comb.
“Perfect Ellen thanks.” He mumbled.
She nodded before she marched out of his vision, her greyed hair pinned into her signature bun.
~-~-~
The banquet was just as boring as usual. Maria, the daughter of Duke and Duchess Maidon, was watching his with eyes wide the entire time. Dan avoided looking at her as she made him uncomfortable.
“Dan, how were your lessons today?” His father asked with a reassuring smile.
He felt Maria’s eyes burn into the back of his head as he turned to face him.
Dan shrugged mildly, “A little difficult but Phi-” he halted himself quickly, “I got some help and I understand it now.”
His parents nodded, his mother’s eyebrows slightly furrowed, unnoticeable to anyone who didn’t know her well, like Dan did. The servants smiled at him as they placed a plate of food in front of him. His parents and the Duke and Duchess of a nearby town began to discuss things Dan didn’t understand.
He swallowed a mouthful of his meal, and tried to avoid a conversation with Maria.
“In my opinion servants shouldn’t be friends with princes.”
Duchess Maidon scowled, her mouth twisted as she placed a piece of duck in her mouth with a pristine poshness.
Dan felt his cheeks burn but he didn’t comment. There was a pause before his mother replied,
“My opinion exactly.” She commented idly before changing the conversation to politics.
Dan didn’t stop glaring at his plate for the rest of the meal.
~-~-~
Phil bustled around Dan’s room dusting his shelves.
“How was the banquet?” He asked.
Dan felt his cheeks burn as he remembered the Duchess’ comment. He couldn’t tell Phil.
He shrugged, “Boring as ever.” He muttered, as he stared at the roof. Phil seemed to accept that, not that it wasn’t true. He grew quiet while he focused on polishing a vase.
“What do you want to do when you’re older Phil?” Dan asked.
He tended to ask Phil questions like that, as they made him feel more normal. Normal kids didn’t know for certain what they would be when they were only ten.
Phil laughed softly, “King’s Advisor. What else?” He muttered.
Dan nodded, he should have expected that answer. Phil’s father was the King’s Advisor and as his mother had died when he was young, it made sense that he would take the role.
“Ok… but do you have any things you want to do first? In the castle or out.”
Dan waited while Phil thought, as he moved to Dan’s TV and wiped it clean.
Eventually he nodded, “I want to wait the parties so I can see you forced to wear your fancy outfits and talk to snobby kids.” Phil poked out his tongue.
Dan rolled his eyes, “Ugh don’t remind me! I’ve got a party this weekend and I’m not looking forward to it.” He groaned.
Phil snickered, “I know.”
There was another lapse of silence before Phil sighed lightly.
“I do want to wait parties though. It seems like fun. Getting to be a part of it all.”
Dan nodded.
“It’s not fun, but I understand."
~-~-~
Dan stared at his shoes while his mother scolded him, and waited for it to be over.
“You are a prince Daniel.” She groans, “I allow you to play games, but not during your piano lesson.”
Dan sighed involuntarily, “I forgot it was my piano lesson Mum.”
She narrowed her eyes, “It was because of Lester the servant boy wasn’t it?” She asked calmly, although he knew she was anything but calm currently.
“No, it wasn’t Phil Mum.”
His mother let out a heavy breath through her nose at the use of Phil’s first name.
In her opinion it was correct to call servants by their surname and nothing else.
Dan of course disagreed.
“Lester,” she hissed, “Has had a very bad influence on you Daniel.”
Dan resisted the urge to scream, “No he hasn’t.” He growled under his breath, as he attempted and failed to be hostile.
The Queen shook her head in displeasure.
“If it wasn’t for your father, I would ban you from speaking to him.” She said coldly.
Dan met her steel glare with his own, “Lucky Dad’s here then."
~-~-~
Dan and Phil were playing an intense round of Mario Kart when his father knocked on the door.
“Can I speak to you Dan?” He asked with a smile, “Who was winning?” He added as Phil had begun to shut off the game.
“Speedy Bear, as always.” Phil grumbled, the King was very obvious in his liking of Phil, unlike the Queen who clearly wanted nothing to do with the boy. Dan grinned at his father while he laughed softly, “Well run along Philip, I’ll call for you to return when I’m done with Dan.” He said and shooed Phil out of the room
Phil bowed quickly before he scurried away, despite knowing The King would never get angry at him about the rules. Bowing was customary and Phil was trying to practise.
“I thought we could get lunch?” His father suggested, already indicating for Dan to follow him out of the room. Dan grinned, he knew that by lunch his father meant they would go to the kitchens to have a sandwich and sit in the small dining area. He enjoyed his time with his father anyway.
“Sounds awesome!” He exclaimed, and leapt to his feet in excitement.
They walked along the hallways in comfortable silence, Dan with a slight skip in his step.
He loved eating with his parents, especially his father as both of them were very busy. Barely having time for Dan except for dinners and banquets. He understood though, running the country was a difficult thing to do. A lot of their energy was focused on doing the right thing for their people, and that meant they didn’t have much time for their son.
It didn’t stop him from celebrating the occasional times like these.
“So what did you want to tell me?” Dan asked as they entered the kitchens.
His father smiled at him affectionately, Dan was known for being curious, “I'll tell you when we sit down.”
Dan sighed heavily but followed his father to the servants dining room. A couple of maids were eating there, and seemed surprised to see the King and the Prince. A few however knew that when they had time Dan loved to frequent the private dining room.
Either with Phil or his father, as it kept him feeling like a reasonably normal boy, unlike the giant church like dining room for the royals. In fact, Dan rarely went into the royal dining room if he could avoid it. It only served to remind him how different he was.
They sat down with a plate of sandwiches and some chocolate milk for Dan, and a coffee on the way for his father.
“So? What do you want to tell me?” Dan asked impatiently, as he grinned from ear to ear he dug into his sandwich. The King rolled his eyes fondly, while he wiped crumbs from the corners of Dan’s mouth, “Well would you like good news or bad news first?” He asked.
Dan furrowed his eyebrows at that question.
After a bit of thought he replied, “Bad. Get it over with quickly.” He said, as he took a big gulp of chocolate milk.
His father nodded, “Right, well then.” He paused, to think about how to word the news Dan assumed, “Your mother and I are going on a business trip so Nanny Madison will look after you.”
Dan groaned, and slumped over so his head knocked on the table.
“I should have said good news first.” He grumbled, voice muffled by his arm as he continued to lean on it. His father laughed gently, and pushed his head off the table.
“We won’t be gone long, besides you haven’t heard the good news.” He pointed out.
Dan perked up slightly, but not much. He hated when Nanny Madison looked after him.
She was even stricter than his mother, as she believed Phil would “taint” his prince qualities, so they didn’t get to spend much time with each other. She even believed Dan should learn boring skills like fencing, like the old prince days.
“Nothing like the good old days,” she would say, as she handed Dan a terrifying mask and a sharp thin sword.
“The party this weekend has been rescheduled, and Philip will take over for Ellen while we’re gone as she is accompanying us.” His father said with a knowing grin. Dan perked up considerably, Nanny Madison wouldn’t be able to stop him from seeing Phil after all.
“He’s not too young?” Dan asked joyfully.
The King shook his head, “It will be good training for him, Nikki will guide him of course, but mostly it will be Philip.”
Dan squealed with delight, wrapping his arms around his father, nearly knocking over their drinks in the process. His father chuckled into the hug but held Dan in his arms gently.
11
Dan waved to Phil from the window. Phil had been piled up with work recently for the upcoming party, (Dan was trying to forget).
Unfortunately, that meant the two boys hadn’t been able to spend as much time as usual.
Dan trudged his way back to the huge grand piano. He stretched his fingers over the cool white keys. Eventually he decided he would play his favourite piece, Fur Elise. The notes tinkled and filled the air in a way that even his piano teacher was impressed.
“You ‘ave have practised?” She said simply in her french accent, as though this was a new concept. Dan nodded despite the fact that he hadn’t practised since their last lesson. Piano came reasonably naturally to him, most of the time, “Of course.”
She smiled, while she adjusted her long brown hair so that it wouldn’t get in the way.
“Show me Symphony 40.” She brandished to the piano and he nodded.
Even though he hated Symphony 40.
~-~-~
Parties were in Dan’s opinion worse than banquets, as he hated to be looked down upon, and that’s what happened for the entire party.
Duchesses would smile stiffly at him, as though they couldn’t quite remember how to smile, exchange a few words. All the while they looked as though the last thing they wanted to do was talk to a small “child”, he was an eleven year old not a baby.
Nevertheless they barely had a conversation before moving on there way.
Dukes were no better.
Besides, just like at banquets, Phil wasn’t allowed to attend, which left Dan miserable and alone.
He hated the other rarities of young children who stuck their noses in the air and trod as though on smashed glass, one flat foot and they would be doomed.
God Dan hated them, more than words could express.
One girl, with a bony chin and huge brown eyes would stare over at him, her mouth pressed into a thin line and her dark brown hair curled into an elaborate updo.
Dan had never spoken to her though as she was always by the side of a tall prince who he wanted nothing to do with.
As the clock struck nine Dan began to wonder if he would be able to leave, after three hours of utter boredom he was ready to be out.
Suddenly he saw Phil emerge through a side door, black hair messy from the wrestling he and Dan had done earlier. Dan watched as his best friend went over to a waiter and begun to collect plates and crockery, until it was stacked to nearly the height of Phil himself. All Dan could do was watch in horror as more plates were added to the pile, this left Phil’s legs trembling and his mouth screwed up in concentration.
Dan already knew everything would go wrong before it did, it was like watching a movie in slow motion. One moment it was all fine, Phil was about to leave the room with his ridiculously tall pile of plates, the next there was a smash as Phil’s legs gave way beneath him.
Plates and crockery of every sort smashed to the ground, which left a maze of shattered glass and pottery around Phil.
Both Dan and his mother ran towards him at the same time, but for different reasons.
Dan could see his mother compose her ‘we will talk later face’ as they raced across the ballroom.
Phil sat amongst the rubble, crying silently, cuts in his hands and knees from the smashed plates that had cut into him, Dan reached him first as his mother tried to appear semi composed.
The entire ballroom watched them but Dan couldn’t care less, he was a kid after all, if they wanted to treat him like one he would be one.
“Phil,” he said when he was in earshot, stepping over smashed glass to reach his best friend who sniffled as Dan pulled him into a hug, “It’s gonna be okay.”
~-~-~
Dan was sat on the floor of the servant quarters, piles of spelling words spilt over his legs. He was testing Phil while he folded the royal family’s clothes.
“Rhubarb?” Dan asked being sure to hold the card out of Phil’s view.
Phil groaned reaching for a pair of trousers.
“I haven’t got a clue.” He muttered. “I’m going to fail.”
Dan shook his head, “That’s what I say every maths test, and what do you say?” He asked with his eyebrows raised.
Phil sighed, “You need to believe in your abilities.”
“Exactly!” Dan clapped his hands together, “Now, Rhubarb.”
Phil sighed, “R - H - U - B?” He paused and Dan nodded in encouragement. “A - R - B?” He finished.
Dan let out a whoop of excitement, “Correct!”
“Wait really!” Phil dropped the t-shirt he was folding in shock.
Dan nodded happily, before he picked up the next card.
“I knew you could do it.”
~-~-~
“I’m bored,” Phil complained, and sprawled himself across Dan’s lap so that he couldn’t focus on his homework.
Dan groaned, as he tried to shove Phil off him, “Go away! I’m doing my homework!” Dan said with one final push.
Phil didn’t relent, staying on his lap as he continued to pout, “but I’m bored!” He repeated as though that would make Dan change his mind. “Come on grumpy bear!”
“Plus it’s hot and I don’t have any work to do! We can have a water fight.” Phil said and poked Dan in the side.
Dan’s ears pricked up despite himself, “Do we have water balloons?” He said, as he attempted to keep a calm air about him.
He must have failed because Phil smirked, “Yes,” he said with a shrug, “But I thought you wanted to do your homework so…” He trailed off and Dan groaned, before he slammed his laptop shut and turned to stare at his smirking friend.
“I hate you,” Dan grumbled as he stood up.
Phil let out a whoop of excitement, and began to drag Dan along by his arm.
As they entered the kitchen, Dan grinned; Phil had already gotten out a bucket of water balloons.
“Someone was prepared,” Dan turned to Phil who shrugged in embarrassment.
They walked over to the sink which wasn’t being used by anyone, “Well I figured you couldn’t turn down a water fight,” Phil explained.
Dan nodded, Phil had always known him better than he knew himself, and he was never one to turn down a water fight.
The King wandered out of the pantry, a cookie stuck out of his mouth. He glanced at the two boys who were stood in front of the sink, “What are you two doing?” He asked.
Dan started, he hadn’t heard his father walk into the room, “We’re going to have a water fight!” He replied excitedly.
The King laughed, the sound loud and booming, “Do either of you actually know how to fill up a water balloon?” he asked with a knowing raise of his dark eyebrow.
Dan turned to Phil who stared back at him with wide eyes, well this had created a problem. Phil shook his head sheepishly and the King laughed again, as he moved over to help them.
As he taught them how to correctly fill up a water balloon Dan couldn’t stop the smile that bloomed, the grin on his face physically hurt his cheek muscles. The King would laugh loudly whenever Dan or Phil accidentally burst one all over themselves (it was mostly Dan). Even Dan couldn’t help but laugh loudly as Phil accidentally slipped on water and ended up splashing a water balloon over Dan’s head. Dan retaliated by leaping on him which left both boys soaked.
In the end the water fight never quite made it outside.
12
Dan was well and truly sick of parties. The tape measure was cold against his bare chest and Phil laughed softly as he shivered.
“Oi!” Dan grumbled, Phil poked out his tongue but didn’t say anything. The seamstress clucked her tongue at him.
“Do not move Your Highness, it makes it far too difficult.” She scolded him gently, in her so-posh-it-must-be-fake British accent. Although Dan could hardly talk, he sounded like Winnie the Pooh. Phil snickered under his breath.
“Lester,” she turned her head absentmindedly and Phil jumped into straight posture, “Pass me the red silk dear.”
Phil nodded as he retrieved the bright material. She held it against the white material she was fitting Dan with and turned to Phil.
“What are your thoughts?” She asked with a tilt of the head.
Dan felt a swell of gratitude, she had gotten so sick of Dan asking for Phil’s opinions, she had begun to do so herself. Phil furrowed his eyebrows in thought before grabbing the white material and holding it against Dan’s chest.
“It really brings out his eyes, and the red is a strong comparison to his complexion.”
Dan felt his cheeks flush red.
“I agree.” The seamstress, Betty, nodded.
Betty had left them in private to discuss the material choices for his other garments.
They were sat on the floor of his bedroom (if it could be called a bedroom, it was more like a Dan’s wing) surrounded by various fabrics, embroidery and silks.
“This one would be nice?” Phil held up a blue silk. Dan watched the way the light danced on the blue fabric, perfectly reflecting his friends eyes.
“Nah, would be nicer on you.” He muttered, as he looked back down at the materials on his lap.
Phil raised his eyebrows.
“I won’t ever need it. The King’s advisor doesn’t wear silks.” Phil replied casually.
Dan wondered how strange their conversations would sound to normal twelve year olds.
Twelve year olds who didn’t grow up in a castle.
Twelve year olds who didn’t wear silks, or jewels.
Dan shrugged, “I’m just saying it would look nicer on you. Plus that type of linen scratches me.”
Phil nodded and put it down gently.
Phil held up a pale green material against Dan’s bare chest. His cold fingers made Dan shiver.
“Are you cold, Bear?” Phil smirked evilly.
He pressed freezing fingers against the bare skin. Dan shuddered and attempted to push the icy hands off him but Phil didn’t let up.
He poked his finger into Dan’s side, “Phil!” Dan exclaimed.
His mother walked into the room just as the word left his lips, of course.
“Lester,” she said curtly, “How is the material choice?”
Phil swallowed heavily and Dan felt himself sob internally.
“It’s going well Ma’am,” Phil was stood in front of Dan with his back as straight as a pole, all emotion drained from his face. Betty walked in and eyed him curiously before she saw Dan's mother.
“Your Majesty,” she curtseyed quickly, “Is everything alright ma’am?”
His mother nodded, before she turned to Phil, “Show me,” she waved her hand impatiently. Phil scrambled to hold the material against Dan yet again, this time Dan didn’t shudder at the cold. Or laugh at his friend tickling him.
His mother watched them warily, “Yes. It will do nicely.”
~-~-~
Dan pulled at his collar which was cutting into the skin beneath his neck. He glanced up at the large clock, three hours to go. He let out a sigh involuntarily just as a prince from a nearby country approached him.The boy was at least four years older than Dan but he had a name Dan couldn’t quite put his finger on.
Phil would remember, he was good at names.
“Hello Daniel, lovely party,” The prince smiled at him.
Dan nodded, he felt short and inferior compared to the tall teenager.
“Yes… lovely.” Dan glanced up at the clock again, only to be disappointed by a minute that had passed.
He restrained himself from groaning, and the boy raised his eyebrows in disbelief. Dan couldn’t blame him. Dan folded his small gloved hands behind his back, attempting to make himself look innocent.
“You don’t look as though you’re enjoying it,” The prince smirked.
Dan scrambled for a topic change, “I apologise but I believe I’ve forgotten your name,” he smiled politely.
“It’s James.”
Of course it’s James. Such a posh name for a posh person.
“That’s a very nice name.” Dan replied.
James laughed airily, as though he didn’t believe him.
He shook his head, “You’re a strange child Daniel.”
“There aren't many ordinary princes.”
Dan was hovering around the table, covered in various punches and wines. All served in glass goblets. People smiled and greeted him as he passed but nobody attempted to start a conversation, which Dan was grateful for. He hated the forced conversations and the polite exchanges. For not the first time that night, he wished Phil was at the party, so he could talk to someone normal.
“You look sad Daniel.” A duchess greeted him as she picked up a piece of bruschetta.
Dan shook his head politely, “Not at all ma’am. Just tired.” He gestured to the clock, which was proudly bearing 10:00 pm in large gold numbers. She nodded knowingly, most twelve year olds would be asleep by now after all, Dan chose not mention that Phil usually crept into his room around this time.
It was a perfectly acceptable lie for a twelve year old.
“You should see if you can totter off to bed?” She offered before gliding away. He hated the way posh people, like his parents, seemed to glide rather than walk, as though a simple walk was far too ordinary for them.
He glanced at the clock.
The news of him being “tired” would spread to his mother in the next ten minutes, who always listened in to conversations. He should be out of here within a quarter of an hour.
Sure enough, his mother approached him as the clock hit quarter past.
“You’re tired Daniel?” She asked with a kind smile. He loved his mother much more when she was in a good mood, she was so much more approachable.
“Yes,” he added a yawn for extra measure.
She glanced at the clock delicately and seemed shocked by the time.
“I’m not surprised either! Goodness!” She waved him away, “You go off to bed now.”
He nodded and dashed off before she could change her mind.
~-~-~
Phil was waiting in his room as usual.
They were used to the routine by now.
Dan would go to a party which he was unhappy about.
He would get out early by pretending to be tired
Phil would meet him in his room for the run down of Dan’s boredom.
Phil glanced at his watch.
“You’re earlier than usual.” He commented casually.
Dan shrugged, “It was an easy fake this time. Duchess Lendon was concerned.”
Phil nodded in understanding, Duchess Lendon had always been the most motherly of them all.
“Tell me everything.” Phil grinned.
Dan took a deep breath before he began his spiel, starting with Prince James who had talked to him for an hour.
13
“Are you positive?” Dan asked again as he followed Phil around and cleaned cabinets.
“Yes.” Phil replied without even a glance up from the glass he was scrubbing.
Dan bit his lip nervously, “But what if-”
Phil cut him off by finally meeting eyes with Dan irritably, “I want to wait the parties Dan. It’s never going to happen if I don’t ask your mum.”
“Yeah but-“
“No buts. I’m going to do it now.” Phil said as he completed the cleaning with a final wipe.
Dan huffed nervously but otherwise let him go without complaint.
“Good luck!” He called out.
~-~-~
Phil had been busy since the morning and Dan was dying to speak to him.
What did his mother say? He slammed his hands down on the piano keys. There was no way he could practise with this kind of stress. So he made the decision to give up and go find Phil, with a slam of the lid he got up to exit the room.
Jonathan, a servant, rushed into the room.
“Goodness Sir are you ok?” The thin balding man asked with a gasp.
Dan shuffles awkwardly, “Yes Jonathan sorry.” He scratched his head, “I’m just not in the right headspace to play.”
Jonathan nodded in understanding, “I understand Mister Daniel but please,” He gestured to the shiny piano, black gloss glittering in the warm sunlight, “Don’t injure the piano because of it.” He winked softly before waving Dan out of the room.
~-~-~
From Dan 3:27 pm 3/06
where are you!?! i need to know how it went
From Dan 3:30 pm 3/06
if you don’t reply i’m going to kill you
From Dan 3:32 pm3/06
i know you have your phone on you!!! you always do!!!
From Dan 3:33 pm 3/06
seriously???
From Dan 3:36 pm 3/06
this is getting ridiculous...
From Phil 3:37 pm 3/06
You’re unbelievable :) I’m in the east wing, I was washing dishes so I couldn’t reply you dork
From Dan 3:37 pm 3/06
coming now!!! (i’m a prince not a dork :P)
From Phil 3:38 pm 3/06
Prince Dork then!
~-~-~
“How did it go?” Dan pounced on Phil the second he saw him. Phil let out a grunt as they fell over.
“Really?” Phil asked with an eye roll while he stood up, “She said yes by the way. But I have to go through extensive training first.”
Dan pumped his fist in the air with a whoop of excitement. Phil laughed softly, as he picked up a pile of washing from beside him, “Come on. We can talk while I hang this washing up.”
~-~-~
From Dan 10:02 am 8/10
i haven’t seen you in days are you ok???
From Dan 10:20 am 9/10
phil??? You literally haven’t been talking to me are you alright???
From Dan 9:30 am 11/10
phil???
From Dan 9:40 am 11/10
what’s going on???
Seen at 11:40
From Dan 12:40 am 12/10
why did you walk off on me today??? you yelled something out but I couldn’t hear you
From Phil 12:42 am 12/10
Hey Dan! Sorry cant talk fr long supwr busy
Your mum has beem loading me witj work
she
From Dan 12:43 am 12/10
she what???
From Dan 12:44 am 12/10
phil
From Dan 12:45 am 12/10
meet me at my room at 6 ok???
From Phil 12:59 am 12/10
k
~-~-~
Dan sat on his bed and waited. It was 6:30 and Phil still hadn’t turned up.
He felt his fingers twitch towards his phone, but there was no point. Phil hardly replied to his texts currently anyway. There was the sound of fast footsteps before Phil burst in, hair ruffled and face red from running.
“I’m so sorry,” Phil gasped, as he collapsed onto Dan’s bed
Dan shook his head, “It’s okay.” he paused before asking the question that had been plaguing him for days, “What’s going on?”
Phil sighed, “I’ve had so much work lately. I just don’t have time to hang out.”
“Or answer texts,” Dan pointed out. Phil seemed to see something interesting on his shoes.
“Yeah, or answer texts.”
Dan rolled his eyes, “I thought you were mad at me or something.”
Phil looked up with so much shock in his eyes that Dan felt bad.
“Why would I be mad at you?” He asked, forehead creased in worry.
Dan sighed, “I don’t know… I guess you just hardly were speaking to me and I freaked out. We just...” He could feel Phil’s eyes on him, waiting for him to finish. “We just… always talk. We’ve never split up before.”
Phil looked exhausted and sad.
“I’m sorry Dan. I really am.” He watched Dan with hopeful eyes, “If I could get away from all the work I would.”
Dan smiled, “I know.”
~-~-~
Phil couldn’t get away from the work.
He was making an effort to text Dan, that much Dan could tell. However he had no time to actually see Dan, or really do anything fun anymore.
Dan was on his computer, finger tapping the mouse absentmindedly, when suddenly it struck him.
“Mum.” He muttered to himself.
Why had it not been obvious before?
She was giving Phil too much work on purpose.
To keep him away from Dan.
He leapt to his feet and slammed the chair into his desk.
Just as he was leaving his room his father came in.
“Dan!” He said as they bumped into each other. Dan slowed to a stop and turned to his father.
“Sorry Dad, is it important?” He asked as he walked back into his bedroom.
The King nodded while he settled onto one of Dan’s plush couches.
“It’s about Ellen.” He said and indicated to Dan to sit down.
“Is she ok?” Dan asked worriedly.
Was she ok? Was she sick?
His father smiled at his concern, “Don’t worry. She’s fine.” He assured his worried son, “In fact she’s pregnant!” The King announced with a joyful smile.
Dan couldn’t stop the smile spread over his face, however a small niggle at the back of his mind was saying what now?
“That’s great! So she’ll be going on maternal leave for a bit or…” Dan trailed off as he saw his father shake his head slowly.
“That is why I need to talk to you,” he said, “She wants to be a stay at home mother so-“
Dan finished for him, “So she’s resigning.”
The King nodded and waited for Dan to speak again.
“I need a new personal maid.” Dan supplied and his father looked pleased.
“Yes, and I thought you were old enough to pick on your own.”
The solution presented itself to Dan so clear and simple he could almost laugh.
“Completely up to me?” He checked.
His father raised an eyebrow curiously but said, “Yes. Your mother has agreed.”
“Phil.” Dan said excitedly.
His father smiled as though that was expected.
“It will be done.” He said simply with a small shrug and a wink.
Dan couldn’t fight the huge smile that spread over his face.
~-~-~
His mother was furious. Except she couldn’t do anything about it at all. She had already agreed after all.
“Pick someone else Daniel.” She growled, arms crossed over her body like an angry barrier.
Dan stood firm, “No. I choose Phil. He would be perfect as he already knows me so well.” He smiled sweetly. She narrowed her eyes, knowing that she was beaten.
“Go tell him.” She said sternly.
He grinned while he raced off to tell his friend.
To Phil 3:21 pm 18/10
where are you? i have news!!!
To Dan 3:22 pm 18/10
Washing room? You OK?
~-~-~
Dan ran as fast as he could, his chest begged him to stop but his brain repeated
Phil, Phil, Phil, Phil
He could scream with happiness. After three weeks of barely talking Dan couldn’t take it anymore.
“Phil!” He exclaimed as he dashed into the washroom.
Despite being entirely out of breath he was still bouncing with happiness.
“Dan!” Phil replied as Dan leapt on him. “What on Earth?”
He had to stop himself from squealing at the prospect of Phil being around him all the time.
“Guess who’s my new personal maid?”
Phil’s eyes widened as the words left Dan’s lips.
“No way!” He gasped, understanding straight away.
“Yes!” Dan grinned.
Phil dropped the wash basket to wrap his arms around Dan, it clattered to the floor and spilt piles of clothes everywhere. Dan grinned as he hugged his best friend back tightly.
14
At midnight Dan woke up drenched in sweat and shaking like a leaf. He only just made it to the bathroom before he vomited up the contents of his stomach.
Where was the button for Phil again? His sick brain only half worked. There was a moment of panic before his stomach lurched again. He sobbed softly, his stomach swirling.
That’s when he remembered the button.
There was one on the sink basin.
He raised a shaky hand to the small button and pushed down on it before his stomach lurched again.
It was really hot in the room, despite the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt.
“Dan!” Phil gasped, glasses askew on his face and hair messy from sleep.
Dan whimpered softly in response, there was an aching pain in his stomach that seemed to spread through his body.
“Oh Dan, okay where does it hurt?” Phil murmured softly, voice still slightly husky from only just waking up. Dan pointed to his stomach. “Are you hot or cold?”
“Hot.” Dan replied, voice soft and shaky from the pain.
Phil nodded, and helped Dan to his feet.
“Ok, I’m taking you to your bed.” Phil explained to him, “I’m going to turn on your air conditioner and get you a bucket.”
Dan nodded.
“You’re going to take off your pants so that you’re not too hot. Do you want ice?” Phil helped him onto the bed.
Dan nodded shakily.
Phil raced off.
Dan pulled off his pyjama pants so that he was just in his boxers. His stomach lurched again but he didn’t throw up, luckily.
Phil returned with ice, a bucket and some medicine.
“Here you go.” He said as he handed Dan the ice pack.
Dan took it gratefully and placed the soothing cold on his head. Phil passed him some medicine.
“You’re going to be ok,” Phil’s voice was soft and comforting.
He stroked Dan’s hair softly while Dan clutched his stomach from the stabbing pain.
“Thank you.” Dan whispered back.
~-~-~
“Are you alright Dan?” Phil checked in on him later that afternoon. Dan opened his eyes drowsily.
“Uck,” He groaned.
Phil chuckled softly, “Your Mum is going to come in a bit, she’s just wrapping up a meeting.” He told Dan, moving around the room to swap a glass of water and give Dan some new medicine.
“No, don’t leave.” Dan pouted as Phil turned to leave the room.
Phil laughed gently, “Dan, you have clothes that need to be washed, and I told you, your Mum is coming.” He shook his head, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“Okay…” Dan dragged out the end of the word and added puppy dog eyes for extra emphasis. Phil merely shrugged with another soft laugh and left the room.
Dan flopped back down, the pillows surrounded his head. His stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch but he had long since emptied his stomach.
“Dan?” He heard his mother ask from the doorway.
“Come in Mother,” he smiled through the pain, sitting himself up against the pile of pillows.
She sighed softly when she was his flushed form, “Are you alright? Have you eaten?” She fretted, perching on the couch beside his bed.
“I’m fine and no I tried a while ago and vomited it back up.” He replied, his body shook from the cold despite the fact that he was sweating like he was in sauna.
She pursed her lips, “Do you have a fever?”
“Yeah I think so.” He cuddled the blankets around him.
“Do you want me to get you a doctor to come in?” She said with a tinge of worry threaded through her words. Dan nodded.
“You should probably sleep. I’ll call a doctor,” she smiled gently at him, before exiting as quickly as Phil had done. Dan repeated the action of collapsing back into the pile of pillows, sleep greeted him much faster than expected.
He dreamt like a photo album.
Small snippets that constantly changed.
Each as random as the last.
He was in charge of four bawling babies.
All that surrounded him was an empty dark abyss.
He was at a ball surrounded by girls but he instantly migrated to a young prince.
Geese pecked at him from every angle.
He was drowning in a sea of cats.
Phil poked him gently and he woke with a start.
“You right?” He asked and passed him a glass of icy water.
Dan nodded, “Yeah just… weird dreams I guess?” He chuckled, but the dream about the ball was stuck in his brain like glue. Phil didn’t look convinced but shrugged it off, “You were talking in your sleep a bit.” he snickered, “Don’t peck me bad geese no!” Phil flailed his arms mockingly.
Dan rolled his eyes, “Shut up!” He scoffed, “I’ll have you know they were pecking from every angle.” He stuck out his tongue.
“Nice to see your usual sarcastic attitude back,” Phil smiled genuinely.
Dan grinned back, his hair still stuck to his face with sweat.
~-~-~
When Dan finally emerged from his sickness there was a another party in three days. Phil was finally, after a year of training, going to wait a party. Dan for the first time ever was excited about the party, he wouldn’t be suffering through it alone. He could also tell that Phil was bubbling with excitement.
Phil bounded around Dan’s room, smile glowing on his face.
“Come on!” Phil exclaimed.
Dan groaned as Phil passed him his shirt and pants.
“I don’t wanna!” He flopped onto his bed, throwing his hand to his forehead for dramatic effect. Phil rolled his eyes and pulled Dan's foot so that he fell off the bed. “Get up, the party’s in an hour you don’t have time to be fussy.”
Dan stuck out his bottom lip in a pout, Phil smirked and poked the lip back in.
“Come on get up!” He said far to happily for Dan’s liking.
~-~-~
Dan smiled politely at the princesses who curtsied to him. He gave them a small bow back. Although he could clearly see the princesses were beautiful, he found himself wishing he could meet more princes.
Like in his dream a few weeks ago.
He shook away the feelings hurriedly.
Now was not the time to question his opinions on princesses, he didn’t need a partner yet anyway.
Someone tapped him delicately on the shoulder.
“Would you like a drink sir?” A familiar voice asked, a teasing tone added for extra measure.
Dan rolled his eyes as he turned to face Phil, “Do you have any alcohol?” He asked sarcastically.
Phil tutted at him, “Absolutely not! Take a non alcoholic drink.” He inclined his head to the tray he was carrying.
Dan smiled gratefully and took a glass.
“How’re you liking the party scene?” He asked with a smirk.
Phil laughed, “I’m beginning to see why you got so bored, they’re all just drifting in their fancy way.”
Dan pulled a face in agreement.
“Hello Daniel.” A voice said from behind him.
Dan grimaced at Phil before he turned to face James, who had spoken to him at any party possible. Despite the four year age gap and the fact that Dan hated him.
“Drink.” James snapped his fingers at Phil.
Phil looked shocked by the abrupt rudeness of it but maintained a polite manner anyway, “What would you like?” He asked.
“Wine.” James said just as harshly and held out his hand for the glass.
Phil carefully retrieved a glass from his tray and passed it to the snobby prince.
“Have you met my sister, Cecilia?” James asked with a slight incline of the head.
Dan wanted to punch him for the way he had spoken to Phil but he forced himself to remain calm.
“No.” He replied through gritted teeth.
James raised his eyebrows at the curt answer but simply finished his drink with a gulp.
“You should,” He said, “Another.” He snapped at Phil again.
Phil passed him another drink, sharing a look with Dan.
As the glass came into contact with James’ gloved hands it slipped through his fingers, smashing to the ground and spilling wine all over the prince’s legs.
“Look what you did!” James sneered at Phil.
A few people had turned to stare at them in shock.
“I-I’m sorry I thought you had it.” Phil replied shakily.
Dan stepped to comfort him, placing a hand on his arm.
“It wasn’t his fault that you didn’t hold onto it properly.” Dan said to James with a protective glare.
James scoffed, “Sticking up for the servant? What is he your boyfriend?” He asked with a smirk.
“No. He’s my friend.” Dan growled. “Leave us alone.”
James spun on his heel and marched off without another word.
Phil smiled at him gratefully before he ducked to his knees to wipe up the spilt wine.
15
“Dan! You need to get ready for god’s sake!” Phil exclaimed when he walked into the room.
Dan huffed but turned off the video game anyway.
“But I don’t want a gala!” He pouted.
Phil rolled his eyes, “Come on you’ve only got three hours and I need to get you ready.”
“I hate this,” he groaned, and screwed up his face in over exaggerated anguish.
Phil laughed, the soft sound filled Dan’s veins.
“We haven’t even started!” He exclaimed and pulled Dan to his feet.
Dan sat on the couch as Phil brought out two suits.
“I have to wear a suit!” Dan exclaimed and smashed his head into the pillow beside him.
Phil chuckled, “Yes you do.” He held them up, “Now which one?”
Dan turned to look at them, one was a navy blue with a pale blue shirt, the other was black with a crisp white shirt.
“The black one, like my soul.” He muttered and pointed to the black suit.
Phil laughed, “Perfect choice.”
Dan stuck out his tongue, Phil copied the action. Somehow making it so adorable Dan wanted to kiss him.
Did I really just think that?
Dan walked out of the change room, the suit fitted him perfectly, it shaped all the right places and made Dan look so much more handsome than he was. He could have sworn Phil’s cheeks tinted slightly pink when he walked out.
Probably because the room was very warm.
“On a scale of 1-10 how awful do I look? 1 being you look like a literal trash can, and 10 being I would make out with you in that suit.” He spread his arms awkwardly to show off the outfit. Phil stroked his chin in thought, “I’d say about a 9?” He said eventually.
Dan nodded, and ignored the thumping of his chest as his best friend stepped forward to adjust his collar.
“Jewel cufflinks or silver?” Dan asked Phil, as he turned to the boy who was strewn out across the bed. He showed the ruby cufflinks his mother had bought him for his birthday.
Phil screwed up his nose, “Definitely silver, jewels make you look tacky.”
“Really?” Dan replied and put down the rubies, picking up the silver. Phil nodded as he helped Dan attach them to the sleeves of his shirt.
“They look like you’re saying,” Phil spoke in an over the top british accent, “Woop-di-doo I’m a prince! I have money and jewels yay!”
Dan snorted at the awful impression.
“I do not speak like that!” He poked Phil in the side.
Phil smirked, “Sure you don’t Winnie the Pooh.” He teased.
“Oi!” Dan pushed him over onto his bed.
Phil laughed loudly as he grabbed Dan by the tie and pulled him down as well.
“If I look so tacky why did you let me where jewels so often!” Dan sat up with a start.
Phil shrugged, “I wasn’t allowed input into your outfit choices I guess.”
Dan pushed him, “You know I would have listened to you.”
There was a short pause before Phil chuckled, “Yeah I suppose you would have. I just didn’t think it was my place.”
“It’s always your place.” Dan said and poked his friend in the cheek.
Phil shrugged, “Well then, don’t wear jewels they’re tacky and I hate them.”
Dan rolled his eyes, unable to keep the grin off his face as he checked the time on his phone, “Oh shit!” He exclaimed as he leapt to his feet, “Come on! Mum’s going to kill me if I’m late!”
Phil groaned, “That’s what I’ve been saying all afternoon!”
~-~-~
He stood at the front of the room, the large crown heavy on his head. Hundreds of “eligible” young girls in beautiful dresses watched him eagerly. It was expected that he would go forward and dance with the girls he was considering.
But he wasn’t considering anyone.
After all he was only fifteen!
Why would he need a girlfriend, why would he want one? If he was honest with himself he had a crush on someone else, and it certainly wasn’t one of those princesses. He could just imagine how everyone would react if he went up to Phil and danced with him out of everyone in the room. Phil waved gently from the food table where he was waiting for his tray of cakes.
His mother sent him a look that said, “Daniel dance with one of them!”
He swallowed the hatred of the evening he stepped towards a pretty girl with blonde hair. She practically squealed with excitement and stepped away from her group of friends.
“Hi,” he bowed.
“H-hello,” she curtsied awkwardly back. With a smile he took her waist and her hand gently. They waltzed around the room, while jealous girls eyed them with looks of malice.
“So what’s your name?” He asked politely.
She smiled, “Elizabeth.”
Wow how original.
“That’s a lovely name.”
“Thank you.” He bowed again as they finished.
“No, thank you,” she said with another quick curtsey before she scurried away.
End me.
He scooted his way over to Phil while he had the chance.
“Hello.” Phil smiled as he approached.
“Hi.” Dan replied with a heavy sigh.
Phil chuckled and handed a princess a cake who was definitely only there because Dan was.
“Save me.” Dan groaned as she walked away.
Phil shook his head gently, “You know I can’t.” He began to walk through the sea of princesses.
“Follow me?” He looked back at Dan who reluctantly followed.
“They’re all so desperate it freaks me out.” He complained when they weren’t within earshot of any girls.
Phil nodded in understanding, “They keep asking if I’ve ever gotten to see you get dressed.”
“That’s… That’s just creepy.” Dan muttered and Phil laughed in agreement.
“Your mother is looking at us.” He hissed out the side of his mouth, and offered a cake to an overjoyed girl.
Dan sighed heavily, “Bye.”
~-~-~
Both Dan and Phil glanced up in shock as The King marched into Dan’s bed chambers, his old face worn out and exhausted but plastered with his signature smile.
“I was thinking you boys might want to go out for an ice-cream?” He suggested and Dan grinned as he climbed up from the game of Monopoly he and Phil had been playing.
With a nod Dan turned to Phil and said teasingly, “I can run you bankrupt later, let’s go get ice-cream!”
Phil rolled his eyes but took Dan’s hand to be hefted to his feet, “Sounds great!” He said to The King but turned to Dan mischievously, “But I believe you are the one who's bankrupt currently Daniel,” he poked Dan in the side.
“Well, whoever is bankrupt or not can wait. This King needs a break!” Dan’s father ushered them out of the room impatiently, clearly eager to get out of the palace and into the normal world.
Dan laughed loudly as his father all but tugged him out of the palace doors, one guard accompanied them as usual, despite Phil being “an escort”.
“Where are we going Your Majesty?” Phil asked as they left the huge gates of the palace behind.
The King tutted, “Please Philip if you’re going to use titles at least go with Sir? Your Majesty seems a bit ridiculous for someone who’s taking you out for ice-cream!”
Phil flushed a dark shade of red which shouldn’t have made Dan’s heart ping like it did, “Y-yes Sir,” Phil mumbled.
Dan tried to make his face as neutral as possible as his best friend turned to look at him, “Can we go to the little Italian place you took me when I was six?” Dan pleaded, not meeting Phil’s gaze for fear he would turn as red as Phil currently was.
His Father seemed surprised Dan remembered the little Italian ice cream shop they had only visited once but beamed anyway, “Of course!”
The guard made herself noticed by leaning her head in slightly, “Would you like a car Your Majesty?” The buff woman asked.
The King waved her away, “Nonsense! We can walk! I may be an old royal but I can still use these old things,” he waved his legs around and skipped off as though to prove his point. Dan laughed boisterously, and encouraged Phil to join him in a run as they left behind their duties for the day. Dan’s father danced and walked around in a strange walk that reminded Dan of a chicken, successfully pulling loud giggles out of both boys mouths as they continued to run alongside him.
The ice-cream shop was exactly the same as Dan remembered it, small and brightly coloured. With vintage records that lined the walls, each cut into beautiful shapes and hung to decorate the small room.
The walls were a strange shade of yellow, tinged with a bright blue that reminded Dan of Phil’s eyes, and the ice cream took up most of the space, kept in huge bucket sized containers.
Flavours were lined one after the other, each more exciting than the last. Bubblegum, chocolate fudge, tiramisu, honeycomb, vanilla bean, just to name a few.
Dan instantly ordered a vanilla bean and honeycomb in a large waffle cone.
Phil’s mouth was gaping open, like Dan he rarely left the palace and clearly hadn’t been to an ice-cream store this wonderful.
“What would you like Philip?” The King asked and turned to the fifteen year old boy who looked like he’d never seen real ice-cream before.
Dan grinned at him as Phil continued to splutter in uncertainty, finally he said, “Erm same as Dan.”
Dan nudged him in the side, “Good choice,” He whispered as the worker handed him the ice-cream, too busy to notice he was serving The Prince.
As they sat down in a window booth, the blue sky stretched out like a huge expanse, and licking at their half melted ice-creams they laughed so hard Dan thought he might burst. His father had a way of reminding both him and Phil of the memories that had long since faded away. Like the time Dan had gotten himself stuck in a drying room in a game of ‘Intense Hide and Seek’ as five year old Dan and Phil had named it. He was unable to get out of the warm room Dan had later emerged with an intensely curly fringe and no clothes.
Dan groaned as Phil laughed his head off at him, having completely forgotten about the very disgruntled young Daniel.
“Oi shut up Mr Philip!” Dan poked Phil in the side, “I distinctly remember somebody getting stuck in the top shelf of the pantry with a mouth full of jam biscuits!”
Phil turned a bright shade of red as both Dan and his father burst out laughing at the memory of a very sticky four year old and how on Earth he had gotten up there.
The King shook his head, still booming with laughter, “No no! Now both of you seem to have forgotten about the time…”
16
“Mum! I don’t need another gala! They’re not working!” He pleaded with his mother but to no avail.
She shook her head with a heavy sigh, “No Daniel. You are sixteen without anyone and your father and I are getting old. What happens if something happens to us? I want you to have someone.”
The words stabbed at Dan.
He knew who he wanted.
Who he would never have.
“I know Mum, but maybe we should try something else. I’m still only sixteen, can we take a break?” He begged.
She sighed heavily.
“One more Daniel. Then we’ll stop okay? Please?” Her eyes pleaded with him.
He nodded.
“Okay.”
After the first gala there had been at least ten more. With no more success than the first had been. Eventually Dan gave up, and just purposefully spent time with Phil.
“I hate this.” Dan muttered.
Phil nodded, “I know.” He passed a drink to a princess with a bright smile that made Dan’s heart stutter. “But your mother is worried.”
“I know,” Dan said with a sigh. He smiled politely to a girl they passed, “It’s just not working.”
Phil shrugged, “She’s hoping it might.”
A princess tapped Dan on the shoulder.
He spun around in shock, “Er hi?”
“Hello,” she curtsied, “My name is Princess Cecilia? We’ve met before. I’m James’ sister.”
The name made Phil’s eyebrows shoot up and Dan want to growl.
“Yeah hi,” Dan smiled politely, and wished she would go away as he saw James approaching them.
“Your mother thinks you two would be a good match,” James said in lieu of hello, “I see he’s still here.” James looked at Phil was a sneer.
Phil went bright as a beetroot but made no move to go anywhere, in fact he did the most sarcastic thing imaginable.
“Would you like a glass of wine?” He asked with an innocent smile.
James’ eyes narrowed but he didn’t say anything.
“How are you Daniel?” He said and turned to Dan.
Dan forced an incredibly fake smile and replied, “Fine thanks.”
At that he grabbed Phil’s arm and marched away, calling over his shoulder, “Nice meeting you Cecilia.”
~-~-~
The tears poured out at three am.
He sobbed into his pillow until his eyes were dry and his throat was hoarse.
Why
Why
Why
He didn’t want a girlfriend.
At all.
He wanted the opposite of that.
But aside from anything he didn’t want to be a disappointment. He clutched the blankets to his chest.
“Phil,” he croaked through the tears.
He didn’t want to press the button, but he did at the same time.
Dan held his pillow up to his face and screamed as loudly as possible. It was mostly muffled by the pillow but Phil managed to hear it anyway. He ran into the room with hair that was messy from sleep and eyes that were wide with worry.
“Dan… what’s wrong?” He gasped and slipped onto the bed beside Dan.
Phil held Dan to his chest and he sobbed heavily as tears cascaded down his face.
“Oh Dan,” Phil murmured and rubbed Dan’s back gently.
The tears began to slow until Dan was barely crying at all.
“What’s wrong Dan?” Phil asked gently, still rubbing Dan’s back for comfort.
Dan sobbed softly, “There’s so much happening and… and I don’t want a girlfriend but I’ll disappoint my parents… I just… I… don’t want to be a disappointment.”
Phil passed him a box of tissues, “You need a break.” He said knowingly.
Dan nodded, “Yeah I do…” He dabbed at his eyes, despite the fact that tears were still falling slowly.
“I’ll take you out tomorrow. We’ll tell your mum that you need to go out and I’ll take you to a market nearby!” Phil suggested with an excited grin.
Dan smiled through the tears, “That sounds great.”
Phil nodded and pulled Dan back into a hug, “Then we’ll do it.”
~-~-~
Phil bounded along the path ahead, a bright green shirt and jeans fitted to his body.
“You’re going to love it!” He exclaimed gleefully, before he slowed down to walk next to Dan, “At least I hope you will or this will be awkward.” He laughed.
Dan chuckled, the fresh morning air nipping at any skin it could find. They had dressed Dan in black skinny jeans and a grey-black jumper so that people would be less likely to recognise him. Although as Phil said, there was a high possibility people would know who he was. It was nearby the palace after all.
The market was bustling to say the least.
It was a simple place, a farmers market Phil told him, but the energy was so different to the castle, and Dan loved it. There were stalls set up in a semi circle, ranging from scones to fresh produce. Children played in a petting zoo on the side and parents flitted between shops to find the best bargain.
Phil turned to him with a bright smile, “What do you think?” He asked.
“It’s amazing,” Dan smiled in return.
The weight of his stress momentarily faded away into the hustle bustle of the environment.
“Are you hungry?” Phil asked as they walked along the stores.
Dan’s stomach grumbled in response, “That would be yes.” He laughed.
“The scones are the best you’ll have ever tasted!” Phil exclaimed and pulled Dan along by the arm.
Dan grinned, “Even better than Chef Mari?” He asked with a smirk.
Phil nodded, “Yep!”
As they arrived at the stall the large man gave Phil a knowing smile.
“Phil!” He boomed happily, “How are you my boy?”
Phil grinned, “I’m great Bryan, and you?” He replied.
“I’m splendid! Who’s this lad? Your boyfriend?” Bryan asked with a smile.
Both Dan and Phil’s cheeks flushed red hot at that comment.
“N-no,” Phil stammered, “This is Dan. My best friend.”
Dan waved timidly, “Hi.”
Bryan let out a loud laugh, “I’m just teasing boys! The usual I assume?” He looked at Phil who nodded. When he passed the bag of scones to Phil, Dan could have sworn he heard him whisper, “He would be cute boyfriend though hm?”
But he was positive he was just imagining it.
“My hands are freezing.” Dan complained.
Phil rolled his eyes but linked their hands together. His hands were warm and soft.
“Better?” He asked with a grin.
Dan nodded.
A small three year old boy bumped directly into Dan’s leg and fell onto the ground with an oomph.
“Sorry!” The boy apologised and jumped to his feet.
The mother rushed forward, an apologetic look on her face and Dan recognised her straight away.
“Dan!” She exclaimed.
“Ellen!” He replied as she picked up her little boy.
She sighed happily, “You let your curls out!” She smiled.
He nodded, “Phil convinced me.” He said and inclined his head to his friend beside him.
She beamed at the two of them. Then she noticed their linked hands, “Oh! Are you?” She trailed off as they let go hurriedly.
Dan’s face heated up once again.
“No my hands were cold,” Dan explained. Probably too quickly.
He hoped neither of them picked up on it.
She seemed slightly disappointed.
“Tell me any news ok boys?” She asked before she called out her goodbyes.
Phil smiled at Dan.
“Apparently we’d be a cute couple.” He snickered.
Dan felt his cheeks heat up, little did Phil know that was what he wanted.
“Y-yeah,” he laughed, but it was forced.
Don’t get your hopes up Dan
That night Dan was the happiest he had been since his 16th birthday. Phil and he had ate and laughed at the farmers market until well into the evening. Everyone there seemed to know who Phil was. Only one person aside from Ellen recognised Dan.
It was perfect.
~-~-~
“You are awful at dancing,” the King commented with a smirk as Dan danced around the room and pretended to be some sort of rock star.
He dropped to the floor behind the couch with a squeal of shock and embarrassment, “Dad!” He yelped as he heard his father began to chuckle.
As Dan peeked his head over the back of the couch he watched his father raise his eyebrows at him, “You know you’ll start to have galas again soon? Where you’ll need to dance…” The King trailed off, and allowed Dan to finish the sentence for himself.
Dan stared at him mortified, “But I can’t dance!” He exclaimed as he leapt to his feet, his tired brain finally realising what his father meant.
At that moment Phil walked in with a basket full of Dan’s now clean clothes and several of Dan’s possessions which found their way around the castle.
The King turned on him and Phil nearly dropped his pile, “Y-your Majesty!” He stammered in shock.
The King smirked and Dan recognised the look on his father’s face, he had an idea.
“Philip?” He said, and turned on Dan’s best friend who placed the basket down so he wouldn’t drop it.
He stood up slightly straighter, “Erm yes sir?”
“Do you know how to dance?” The King asked and all of a sudden Dan knew where this was headed, he wanted to curl into a ball and cry.
Phil glanced at Dan in confusion who merely shrugged lightly and tried not to blush too heavily, “No sir,” Phil replied honestly once he realised Dan wasn’t going to help him out at all.
The King nodded as though that was the expected answer, “Good. I’ll book you two a dance lesson, I know Daniel will never be able to learn without a partner and it would be an interesting learning experience for you Philip.”
On that note the King spun on his heel and walked out of the room, leaving behind a very embarassed Dan and a shocked and confused Phil.
~-~-~
He could feel Phil’s heart as it thudded against his chest they were pressed so close together, the dance instructor clapped at them to begin moving their feet in time to the music.
Dan took a deep breath, and tried to distract himself from Phil’s breath he could feel fanning against his face whenever they stepped.
I’m so fucked
He thought as Phil giggled lightly, their feet constantly trodding on each other.
The dance instructor tsked at them whenever they stepped out of time or tripped over feet but Dan couldn’t find himself to care.
Phil’s heart rate picked up as Dan finally looked up from the floor, although that was definitely due to the speed they were moving at, neither of them were exactly what you would call fit.
As Dan made eye contact with Phil and found himself staring into those beautiful blue seas that were Phil’s irises he tripped, which sent both boys flying to the floor in a mass of limbs.
Dan landed on top of Phil, and burst into a fit of giggles as the dance teacher sighed in exasperation.
“You need to focus,” she said simply, although she clearly knew this was a lost case.
Dan nodded in apology and rolled off Phil as his cheeks began to heat up, he hoped Phil would blame it on embarrassment and not the close proximity of their faces.
That was the last thing he needed.
“Try again,” she said calmly.
17
Princess Cecilia curtseyed politely.
“It’s lovely to see you again Dan.” She smiled sweetly.
He smiled back, despite the fact that he was there against his will, “Likewise.”
“I’m very grateful that you chose me to court with.” She sounded genuine.
His intentions were not. In fact it was completely his mother’s idea.
If he had a choice he would be dating Phil.
“No problem. You seem lovely.”
It wasn’t a lie. She did seem lovely, but that didn’t mean that Dan wanted to date her.
He definitely didn’t want to date her.
“When will we have our first outing?” She asked.
The question was understandable but it still made Dan want to cry.
“When will suit you?” He asked politely.
She shrugged delicately, “Tonight?”
No
“Yeah sure,” he heard himself say.
“Great!” She pecked him on the cheek, “See you then!”
Dan wanted to scream.
~-~-~
He was pretty sure that the world was taunting him.
Firstly, he had to go on this date in the first place.
But secondly, the person he wanted to be on a date with was waiting it.
Of course.
Phil smiled at him as he placed the dish in front of Cecilia, “Here you go.” He said to her with one of his beautiful smiles.
“What is it?” She asked, the resemblance to James there and then gone in a second.
Dan felt a stab as Phil’s face dropped, “I don’t know I’m just the waiter.” He placed Dan’s plate in front of Dan.
“That’s alright Phil, there’s a menu beside your arm Cecilia.” Dan said with a tight smile.
He could see that Phil knew it was a fake smile.
“So, when did the servant start living here?” She asked with a slight incline of her head.
Phil came back in at the moment to pour them a glass of lemonade. His face made it clear to Dan that he had heard the question.
“Phil and I grew up together. His father is the King’s Advisor.” Dan explained, emphasising Phil’s name. Cecilia nodded politely, her face unreadable.
“Who’s your best friend?” He asked to make the conversation move.
She waved her hand dismissively, “Her name is Maria, she’s the daughter of a Duke.”
“Oh okay.” He muttered.
“Yours is the servant boy?” She asked.
He nodded, was that not already obvious?
“His name is Phil.” He told her for the second time that evening.
“Sorry.”
He couldn’t tell if she was genuine or not.
They had finished their meal and were sat on the windowsill beside the table.
“I’ve had a great time tonight,” She smiled at him, they were incredibly close.
He forced himself to stay still, to not move as far away as he could.
“Me too.” He smiled gently. Despite the fact that it was a lie.
Then her lips were on his.
He froze against her, eyes wide open.
She didn’t seem to notice, her eyes were closed and her lips were soft.
They pulled apart.
She had slightly tinged red cheeks and he felt awful because he would never feel the same about her.
“Goodnight Daniel.” She kissed his lips once more.
He felt the same way he had the night last year, before Phil took him to the market.
He wanted to scream.
But he didn’t.
~-~-~
“You didn’t look like you liked that,” Phil smirked, as he lounged backwards shirtless on Dan’s bed,
Dan tried not to focus on how stunning his bare chest was.
“No I didn’t like that at all.” Dan replied as he fell onto his bed with a groan.
Phil raised an eyebrow at him, “Is there a reason?”
“Yes, there’s so many reasons.” Dan pouted.
Phil gave him a look to say tell me .
Dan found himself ranting, “I don’t like her brother first of all so I don’t want to be related to her family. Also what if she’s like him? She’s already rude to you! Plus why would I want to have a girlfriend for fucks sake! I can’t use the excuse of being too young now because I’m seventeen! What am I meant to tell my mum now because I can’t tell her the truth that I want a boyfriend.” He realised what he said and halted to a stop.
Phil looked slightly surprised but then he nodded, “You should just tell her.”
“You don’t care?” Dan spluttered.
Phil looked slightly offended, “Why would I care? I’m bi after all.”
Does that mean we have a chance?
Dan wanted to ask.
But he didn’t.
He just smiled and said, “Cool.”
~-~-~
There was a wedding he was attending in three days and he didn’t want to take Cecilia. Luckily for him it turned out she was sick. Unluckily for him he now needed to bring someone and he had no idea who.
“Why don’t I bring you!” Dan yelled out of nowhere.
Phil nearly dropped the iron he held in his hand at the abrupt noise.
“To what?” He asked casually, as he resumed ironing Dan’s shirt.
“The wedding!” Dan exclaimed and leapt to his feet.
Phil stared at him as though he had lost his mind, “I’m a servant, it’s not my place”
“You’re going to be the King’s Advisor! It’s like a business thing or something.”
Dan was probably insane but he didn’t care.
“You’re insane.” Phil said but he a grin covered his face, “But it might work.”
His mother wasn’t happy to say the least.
“It would be a great work opportunity for him Mum.” Dan reminded her and she sighed heavily.
“Ok fine, but only because you don’t have a plus one.” She went back to the files she had on her desk without another word.
He ran away as quickly as possible, before she could change her mind.
~-~-~
The wedding was extravagant and beautiful. Something even more beautiful was Phil in a suit. Dan couldn’t look away from him. The black suit he wore made his eyes pop with bright blue, his navy blue tie complemented him perfectly. Dan wished that he could grab him by it and kiss him on the spot.
But of course he didn’t.
“Thank you for coming Daniel.” The newly wedded princess greeted him, she turned to Phil, “And what is your name?”
Phil smiled awkwardly, “Philip.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She smiled before gliding off.
“Posh people always glide.” Dan muttered.
Phil chuckled, “You don’t glide.”
“Thank god.”
They both laughed loudly which caused a few couples to stare at them strangely.
Dan shoved Phil in the arm playfully, “I’m glad you came with me.” He admitted.
“I’m glad I could come. Three days without you, would’ve been unbearable!” Phil joked.
Dan laughed softly.
A princess curtsied as she passed and they both bowed politely in response. Dan tried not to think about how much he loved Phil acting like a prince.They were hovering awkwardly, and their stomach’s grumbled from lack of food. Finally a waiter approached them with a tray of sandwich and they both took one gratefully. Dan noticed that Phil gave the waiter a bright smile.
“I know how awkward it is to be that guy. He deserves encouragement,” Phil shrugged.
Dan repressed the want to kiss him right there and then. With his considerate heart and beautiful eyes, it was difficult not too.
“Understandable, I’ll keep that in mind.” Dan replied.
Phil smiled at him.
Suddenly the music changed into a well known waltz tune. The newly-weds started the dance, the bride’s large dress swept around the room. Dan enjoyed watching the beautiful display until everyone began to join in. It was then that Dan and Phil realised they were the only pair that weren’t a couple.
“Do we just-“ Phil mumbled.
“Yeah yeah we could… I mean,” Dan stammered in response.
Phil shrugged, “Should we join or stand or do we erm…” He scratched his head awkwardly.
“Let’s just…”
“We should…”
“Yeah ok…”
They stood to the side and watched.
Dan wanted nothing more than to take his best friend by the hand and join in.
For them to be a couple and it to be fine.
But they didn’t and they weren’t.
Dan sighed gratefully when the music came to an end. The couples split apart with a smile and resumed polite banter.
“That was…” Dan trailed off and left the sentence unfinished.
Phil nodded in agreement.
They both stared at each other before bursting into a fit of laughter.
“Only we could be that awkward.” Dan gasped, doubled over.
A duchess glared at him as though he had personally beheaded her family.
He couldn’t care less.
~-~-~
They’d had many sleepovers in their life, but they hadn’t shared a bed since they were young.
This room had clearly been booked for Dan and Cecilia.
Not Dan and Phil.
Phil’s cheeks were slightly tinged red as he mumbled, “So, which side do you want?”
“Left I guess?” Dan replied, dropping his bag to the floor.
Phil watched him drop it, “I probably should have carried that for you.” He said.
Dan looked up at him in shock, “What? Why?”
“I work for you…” Phil trailed off as Dan shook his head at him.
“Not for this weekend.” Dan told him with a grin, “Technically you’re my plus one!”
This was so much worse than Dan expected, he was hyperaware of every movement Phil made.
He could hear Phil’s light breaths as they puffed out of his lips, he couldn’t help but imagine about what would happen if he rolled over and kissed those lips.
“You need to stop this Dan,” he whispered to himself, and luckily Phil was in too deep of a sleep to hear him.
However he couldn’t make himself want to stop, he really liked Phil and maybe that was okay.
~-~-~
When they arrived home they went to Cecilia.
“Dan!” She exclaimed, her nose red and her eyes puffy.
“I need water.” She snapped at Phil.
Phil’s eyes widened in shock.
“I-I’m off duty right now but you can call-“
She sighed irritably, “I want water. You are a servant aren’t you?”
“Y-yes…” Phil stammered.
“Well then,” she shooed him off.
Dan shot her a dirty look, “No he’s off duty he doesn’t have to get you water.”
Phil shook his head, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back in a second.”
He shot Dan a comforting smile over his shoulder while he walked away.
“I missed you!” Cecilia exclaimed.
Dan shook his head, “You can’t treat people like that.”
She sighed, as though disappointed in him, “He’s a servant Dan, it’s his job.”
“He’s my friend,” Dan walked away as Phil rounded the corner. “Don’t give her the water Phil,” Dan said as he stopped Phil from walking into the room.
~-~-~
Dan officially hated Romeo and Juliet. Phil however seemed entranced, which gave Dan the perfect opportunity to watch him without being caught. He looked so beautiful, sat on the couch beside Dan.
“We would be like Romeo and Juliet if we dated.” Phil said absentmindedly.
Dan froze in shock.
“How so?” He asked with a forced casual air.
Phil shrugged, and turned the page, “Well forbidden love. Prince and servant aren’t exactly ideal.” He continued to read.
Dan was conscious of his mouth hanging open.
How would he usually react?
“So you’d only date me if we were both princes?” Dan joked.
Phil shook his head, still focused on the book, “No I’d date you anyway.”
It was then that he seemed to realise what he said, he froze cheeks so red they could be cherries.
“Are… are you serious?” Dan spluttered.
Phil nodded slowly, eyes still glued to the book, but his eyes were no longer moving.
He finally looked up, “I mean if you want me to be?”
Was this happening?
“Yeah I do.”
They had moved closer.
Dan was very aware of every movement made by either of the boys.
“Promise you’re not playing some awful joke.” Dan said softly, they were so close that Dan could see the specks of yellow in Phil’s eyes.
“I promise. Do you?” Phil whispered, Dan could feel Phil’s breath on his face.
“Yes. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to kiss you.” Dan said, eyes locked with Phil’s.
Phil laughed gently, it tickled against Dan’s face.
“Go for it.”
They closed the small gap that was left.
Phil’s lips pressed gently against his and Dan’s eyes flickered closed as they touched. It was gentle, as Phil’s lips only just touched his. However Dan was hyperaware of every place their lips were pressed together. Every place their bodies touched.
They were both inexperienced at kissing, Dan knew for a fact this was Phil’s first kiss, he wished it was his but he had been kissed by Cecilia so unfortunately no. It was amazing anyway, the way their lips ghosted against each other. As they mirrored each other's movements, and their noses brushed together.
Phil pushed him away suddenly, and Dan felt his chest constrict. He was an idiot, of course Phil would never want him.
“You’re meant to be falling in love with Cecilia.” Phil gasped, eyes wide with worry as he stared at Dan.
The knot in Dan’s chest evaporated immediately.
He merely rolled his eyes in exasperation, “That was never going to happen.”
“Good,” Phil smiled and he slid forward until their lips collided once again.
This time it was stronger, more forceful. As though Phil was trying to remind himself that Dan was actually kissing him. Their lips were like fire against each other, soft and forceful. The fire didn’t burn him, instead it ignited itself inside of Dan and warmed him from the inside out. He brought his hands to Phil’s chest, bunching his shirt between his fingers.
Phil smiled into the kiss, which caused it to end far before Dan wanted it to.
However when Phil cupped Dan’s face in his hand while he pulled away, Dan couldn’t help but lean into the touch. His hand warm, as it encased Dan’s cheek. Phil smiled at him as though he was the most beautiful person in the world, just the look made Dan blush heavily.
“How long?” Dan asked, in an attempt to take away from the blush on his cheeks.
Somehow Phil seemed to know what he meant, “You were sick when we were fourteen…” He trailed off into a laugh as Dan’s eyes widened. “What about you?”
“My first gala.” Dan admitted.
Phil laughed gently and pressed their lips together softly, “This has taken far too long in that case.” He mumbled, the words tickled against Dan’s lips.
Dan threaded his fingers through Phil’s hair, moving his lips against Phil’s clumsily. Phil didn’t seem to mind, if anything he sighed into the kiss.
Both boys happier than they had ever been.
~-~-~
“I have to work.” Phil mumbled against Dan’s lips.
Dan pouted, sticking out his bottom lip. Phil chuckled as he poked the lip back in, the same way he had been doing since they were young.
“I do still work for you Dan.” He laughed while he stood up.
“But why,” Dan groaned.
Phil rolled his eyes, “Come on you royal pain.” He offered a hand to Dan.
“Really?” Dan narrowed his eyes at him, but took the hand anyway.
“I’ll see you in two hours for your fitting.” Phil smiled at him and kissed him once more before he left.
Dan grumbled as he glanced at the clock.
Fuck
He had promised to help Cecilia with her geography, which was currently ranked in last on what he would like to do.
But he had no choice.
With impressive speed he collected his geography books and ran down the corridors, narrowly missing a maid.
“Sorry!” He called over his shoulder.
~-~-~
Betty, the seamstress, glanced at her watch, “Ok I have an appointment with your father Mister Daniel. I will be back at two pm. Philip, help him pick embroidery.” She instructed, already halfway out of the room.
“You look really nice.” Phil said with a smirk once she had left.
Dan was stripped down to his boxers. A flush crept up his neck and onto his cheeks.
“Th-thanks.” Dan stammered.
Phil cupped Dan’s flaming face in his cool hands.
“You’re blushing,” He told Dan.
Dan’s blush deepened, “I know.”
Phil pressed their lips together gently, light as a feather.
“You’re cute when you’re awkward.” Phil teased, and poked Dan in the dimple.
Dan pecked Phil on the lips, “I’m never awkward!” He gasped in false shock.
Phil rolled his eyes, but didn’t object to the kiss Dan placed on his lips.
Dan smiled against the kiss as Phil pulled him closer. Cold hands trailed along Dan’s bareback.
“We need to pick embroidery.” Phil mumbled.
Dan groaned but pulled away anyway.
They sat too close for best friends, but that was okay because that’s not all they were anymore. Occasionally Phil would turn and plant a kiss to Dan’s cheek, directly on his dimple.
Dan would turn as crimson as the silk beside them. When the light clicked on in the hallway, signalling Betty’s return they slid away from each other.
Dan could still feel the warmth on his side where Phil had been.
~-~-~
Cecilia grumbled something about how much she hated English.
Dan wanted to sigh heavily, they had nothing in common. Yet whenever Dan tried to find a way to tell her that she dismissed him. She seemed to think they had a chance, despite the fact that Dan had begun to reject any date ideas.
“Would you like to go to the museum on Saturday?” She asked as she looked up from her book.
Dan shook his head, “No thank you. Phil and I are going to have a sleepover.”
Her face darkened at the mention of Phil, “Gosh you should just date Phil instead.” She said sourly.
The words hit Dan a little close to home.
“You and I aren’t dating Cecilia.” He said, staring pointedly at his book.
She seemed slightly shocked, “I know…”
“You said I should date Phil instead. ” Dan pointed out.
There was a long pause before she replied with a turned up nose.
“I was just pointing out that you seem to love a servant boy more than a princess.”
Dan clenched his fingers around his book.
“Whatever,” he hissed through clenched teeth.
I definitely do.
~-~-~
“Can I watch?” Phil asked.
Dan looked up from the piano, his hands still rested on the keys, ready to play.
He smiled, “Yeah sure.”
Phil shuffled across the room and sat beside him.
Dan flexed his fingers before he begun to play, they glided across the piano. A soft melody began to form but he found himself slightly distracted by Phil beside him.
“You’re really good.” Phil murmured and pressed his lips against Dan’s temple.
Dan felt his cheeks heat up.
“Thanks,” he replied as the tempo sped up.
Phil rested his head against Dan’s shoulder. It made it harder to play but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.
They laughed as had to lean across the piano to play the next note and bumped into Phil while doing so.
“Oh fuck it!” He exclaimed throwing up his hands, he connected their lips a little too quickly, so their teeth clacked together slightly before it grew soft again. He revelled in the way Phil gasped in shock before he reciprocated. His hands threaded themselves through Dan's hair. Lips heated as they gently pushed and pulled at each other’s. Dan’s hands were cupping Phil’s cheeks, after a couple of days practise they had begun to get the hang of how to kiss. Both learnt they were certainly not against a bit of tongue every now and then.
“I promise I was intending to just watch you play piano.” Phil giggled when they pulled apart.
Dan shrugged, “This is fine by me.”
He slid along the piano bench so that their bodies were pressed up against each other. His body heated up in every place that it touched Phil’s but he didn’t really mind. Phil’s lips were against his again and his head spun. He felt his knees go weak and was relieved they were sitting down. He leaned into Phil anyway, pushing their bodies even closer. Phil licked his lip tentatively and Dan gasped, his lips parted just enough to allow Phil’s tongue access. Dan brushed their tongues together which pushed Phil further along the seat.
They both jumped apart as Phil accidentally leaned on the keys. Mouths swollen and panting slightly.
“I blame that on you!” Phil exclaimed, his eyes glowed in the dimly lit room.
Dan stared at him, “Me? You were the one who did it!” He pointed out.
“If you didn’t make me so dizzy I wouldn’t have slipped backwards,” Phil smirked, as he moved closer again.
“I am a good kisser.” Dan replied with a slightly lopsided grin.
Phil laughed airily, “Care to demonstrate?”
~-~-~
Saturday couldn’t arrive fast enough in Dan’s opinion.
With the amount of time his mother was forcing him to spend with Cecilia, he barely got to see Phil.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Cecilia asked, as she pressed a kiss to his lips.
Dan froze, his fists clenched beside his body as her lips touched his. It felt tense and uncomfortable yet Cecilia smiled as she pulled away.
“Er… yeah? Listen I’m not sure I’m okay with kis-”
“Bye Dan!” She exclaimed as she ran towards her brother, James, who had just arrived. Dan seized the opportunity to leave.
He ran into his room where Phil was waiting. Leaping on his boyfriend, they fell onto the bed in a tangle of limbs. Phil pressed their lips together and Dan’s heart soared. His head spun as their lips parted slightly.
“Hi,” Phil said with a small smile.
Dan laughed and pressed their lips together gently, “Hi.” He mumbled while he cuddled into Phil’s chest. The warmth enveloped him as Phil cuddled him closer. He breathed in the scent of cleaning supplies and raspberries.
“I’ve missed you.” Dan whispered, his cheek still pressed up against Phil’s chest. He never wanted to move again, would be happy to spend his whole life there.
Phil chuckled and pulled Dan up so he could see him, “I missed you too, but it’s only been two days.”
Dan rolled his eyes, and leant slightly closer so their lips were connected. It was a gentle kiss, filled with affection and love. Just kissing to remind each other that they were together. They loved each other.
“Idiot.” he mumbled against Phil’s lips.
Phil chuckled, and it made Dan’s stomach flip, “Royal Pain.”
“You want the left again?” Phil asked later into the night. Dan tucked under his chin, head rested against Phil’s chest. They were sharing a bed again, but this time it wasn’t weird. This time they were boyfriends. Dan flushed as Phil pressed a gentle kiss to his hair.
He nodded, “Can’t guarantee I won’t be mostly on your side though.” He added as he snuggled further into Phil.
Phil smiled, it was so bright Dan thought he might faint, “I can deal with that.” He snickered, and kissed Dan on the nose lightly. Dan felt his cheeks turn a bright red and he buried his face in Phil’s neck.
“You’re an idiot.” He mumbled, unable to help the grin that spread across his face.
“You can talk.” Phil chuckled.
~-~-~
Dan groaned as his pillow shifted beneath him. Wait what? He opened his eyes to see Phil smiling down at him, even without glasses he seemed to look at Dan as though he was beautiful. This of course made Dan flush an extreme shade of red.
The morning sun made Phil’s eyes sparkle as they stared at each other. Dan could hardly believe how lucky he had gotten.
“You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen,” Phil mumbled, his words slightly slurred since he’d only just woken up.
“I beg to differ,” Dan teased, and tilted his head so he could kiss Phil on the neck, just below his chin. Phil murmured something unintelligible about cute curls, which Dan assumed was in reference to his hair, as it was usually straightened.
Dan liked Phil when he had only just woken up. His hair was messy and his eyes were slightly glazed over.
“I wasn’t sure you were ever going to wake up,” He murmured and rubbed his eyes with a grin.
Dan smiled as Phil fumbled for his glasses, “Good morning to you too,” He joked, as he poked Phil in the cheek.
“I don’t want to move,” Dan mumbled and clung tighter to Phil.
There was a short pause before Phil replied, “Me neither.” He wrapped his arm around Dan as though it would protect them from the outside world.
If Dan could pause that moment for the rest of his life he would.
But he couldn’t.
They had to move.
Just not yet.
~-~-~
“You look unusually happy.” Cecilia commented as Dan slipped onto the table beside her.
He scoffed, “Wow thanks.”
She rolled her eyes in exasperation, “It’s not a bad thing. Just different. What happened?”
“Nothing just happy I guess…” Dan muttered, despite the fact that he knew exactly why he was happy.
The memory of Phil’s face squished into his pillow made him smile just thinking about it. She furrowed her eyebrows at him in disbelief but didn’t say anything.
He took the moment of silence to start to study for his exams coming up. His laptop turned on slowly, droning as it lit up. While he waited, Cecilia leaned onto his shoulder.
“Did you miss me yesterday?” She asked with a bat of her eyes, long lashes fluttering.
Dan felt his breakfast rise in his throat.
“Of course.” He replied half heartedly.
She smiled, seemingly satisfied with that response and moved away.
“How was your… sleepover?” she said sleepover as though it was a rotten word.
Dan took a deep breath for patience, “It was great. We had a lot of fun.”
“Did the servant sleep on the floor?” She asked innocently. Dan had to physically clench his fingers under the table to not punch her.
Dan glared at her, “ Phil shared my bed actually.”
Her mouth formed a small ‘o’.
“I… okay then.” She smiled icily.
Dan smiled back, but his was genuine.
The sooner she understood the message, the better.
~-~-~
Phil’s hand was warm in his. He couldn’t help but think about how strange it was that they had been dating for a month.
Phil seemed to be on the same train of thought, they often were.
“It’s been a month.” He smiled.
Dan nodded as he watched the red and yellow leaves rustle in the wind.
“It has,” he tugged Phil along, running towards the willow tree at the back of the orchard.
When they were concealed beneath the leaves Phil pulled him close.
“Happy one-month-a-versary!” He announced with a short peck to Dan’s lips.
Dan smiled back at him, “Happy one-month-a-versary.”
They connected their lips softly, hands rested at each other’s waists. Every time Phil kissed him Dan felt like flying. The kiss started slow and gentle, before it grew urgent and passionate. Hands threaded through each other’s hair, lips soft and insistent. Phil pushed Dan against the tree and Dan gasped in shock.
“Wow someone is stronger than they think,” he smirked, as he leant forward to connect their lips again.
Phil chuckled against the kiss but didn’t break them apart.
When they pulled away for air he grinned, “Years of work tend to do that to a person.”
Dan rolled his eyes, and pulled Phil towards him again. Glad that he was leant against a tree as Phil swiped his tongue along his lip gently. Dan felt his knees wobble so that he was practically clinging to Phil in order to remain upright.
Despite Dan being taller he always ended up lower in the kiss, as Phil’s lips made him go weak. He sighed as Phil pushed his head back against the tree, their lips barely broke apart for seconds, which left them both breathless and panting.
“Happy anniversary idiot.” He said as he rested their foreheads together.
“Happy anniversary, you royal pain.” Phil replied, eyes closed as his nose brushed against Dan’s.
Dan leaned forward and pressed their lips together, far more gentle than before, the kiss said everything he couldn’t put into words.
The boys were too caught up in each other’s lips to notice Cecilia as she walked along the path.
She turned red with anger as she saw Dan kissing that ‘servant boy’.
With a flourish she turned around with a plan ticking in her brain.
If she got rid of him, Dan would be hers.
~-~-~
“Where’s your jewel brooch Dan?” His mother asked shrilly, marching into the room with a glare at any of the maids in the room. The maids hurried out as though they might die if they remained any longer. His father entered slowly after her, a reasonably placid expression adorned his face.
Dan looked up in shock, “What? It’s missing?” His jewel brooch was an ancient heirloom, worth millions, if not billions of pounds.
“Yes! It is missing Daniel!” She shrieked, while she looked around the room as though it might be lying there ready to be found. Dan winced at her loud tone.
His father laid a hand on his back, “Julia,” he looked at the queen sternly, “It’s not Dan’s fault. We’ll work it out.” He told her gently, Dan gave his father a small smile of thanks, which was easily returned. However, the jewel itched at the back of Dan’s mind. It was worth a lot of money. If someone stole it…
Dan watched his mother take a deep breath of patience, the same way he did when stressed. She pressed her fingers to her temples and inhaled heavily.
“We need to check the servants.” She said with forced calm and dropped her arms to her side as though they were too heavy to hold up. Dan nodded numbly, still in shock at what had happened.
“We need to check Phil first. He could get to them easiest,” His father looked at him, as though asking if Dan was okay with it.
Dan wanted to say no automatically. However he knew Phil would be fine, there wouldn’t be any danger in it. If he said no he would need a reason, and he wasn’t ready to admit they were dating. He wasn’t sure how long it would take until he would be ready to tell his parents, or at least his mother.
“Okay.”
~-~-~
Phil looked up at the royal family in shock as they approached. His eyes wide and concerned. Dan offered him a reassuring smile and he could see Phil relax slightly.
“Lester, we need to check you for possible stolen property.” Phil’s face slipped as the words left the Queen’s lips. He glanced at Dan as though to check if this was true. One little glance told him that Phil was in a state of shock.
Dan didn’t say anything but he could see Phil understood the little quirk of his lip.
Dan watched as Phil nodded shakily.
A guard member stepped forward and checked him over.
Dan felt incredibly flustered as he watched the guard pat down Phil’s body. He wanted to scream, “That’s my boyfriend, do you mind?”
Of course he didn’t say anything, how could he?
Suddenly both the guard and Phil froze.
With a slow movement a brooch was pulled out of Phil’s pocket.
Dan’s world collapsed.
Phil looked up at him, eyes full of fear.
All Dan felt was pain.
Tears spilled over his face, and flooded down his cheeks.
“I swear I wouldn’t… I don’t know why that’s there- Dan…” Phil stammered, moving towards Dan.
Dan backed away, and shook his head.
“Don’t.” He muttered before he ran off.
Filled with fury, pain and an ache in his chest that wouldn’t go away.
~-~-~
The tears soaked his pillow but Dan wasn’t sure whether he cared or not.
“Dan?” His dad knocked on the door.
He sobbed and let out a croaky, “Come in.”
He could hear his dad walk over to the bed, but he didn’t bother to look up.
“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked and Dan shook his head into the pillow.
His father stroked his back gently and Dan felt his body relax slightly.
“Were you dating Phil?”
Dan sat bolt upright in shock.
“Y-yes.” He muttered and wiped his eyes, there wasn’t any point in lying. His father would never judge him anyway.
He nodded slowly, “Yes, I thought as much.”
“You did?” Dan looked at his father’s calm expression in confusion.
He smiled in amusement but it was saddened, “The way you looked at him Dan. I’m sorry.”
Dan nodded, aware that he was crying again.
Phil had betrayed him.
Was he only dating him to get to the jewels?
What was the point?
He let out a loud sob.
Dan’s father pulled him close and wrapped him into a warm hug.
He shook with pain as he remembered how Phil had done it before.
“I’m so sorry.”
~-~-~
Phil tried to lock eye contact with him. Dan was looking anywhere else in the room but his eyes, those beautiful blue eyes that shone like a crisp morning.
He choked back a sob, he wouldn’t cry again.
“Dan, please sit down.” His mother instructed with a kind smile.
He knew that his father hadn’t told her, but she still knew Phil was his best friend.
Used to be his best friend.
Dan bit his lip to distract himself from the stinging in his eyes.
He also noticed Cecilia was there.
She gave him an apologetic smile, it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
But she had never liked Phil, so that didn’t surprise him.
His mother started the meeting with a clap of her hands.
“Mr Philip Lester, you were found with a jewel of the kingdom. How do you explain yourself.” She asked.
Dan could see Phil visibly swallow heavily, “I would never steal from the kingdom. I’ve been framed I swear.”
His mother furrowed her eyebrows but his father didn’t seem shocked by this presumption.
“Daniel when was the last time you were out of your room without Philip?” He asked Dan.
Dan tried to think about what he had been doing last night. First he had gone and met up with Phil, his eyes stung with tears as he remembered the way Phil had kissed him over the piano. Had he done that to distract Dan?
Phil had left and Dan had continued to practise. He actually managed to get stuff done with Phil gone, although he had missed him, it hurt to remember.
“I played piano.” He said, as he stared at Phil. Attempting to keep any traces of sadness out of his eyes.
He must have succeeded as Phil shriveled under his glare.
“Where were you when Daniel was playing piano Lester?” His mother asked with a glare at Phil.
Dan saw Phil’s face blanch and that was all he needed to see.
“I-I was doing the dishes…” he stammered nervously.
Eyes locked with Dan’s but they would occasionally flit away. Dan wondered whether Phil was trying to tell him something, if he was Dan didn’t want to know.
“Ella,” His mother said as she turned to the maid nearby, “Go get Cook please.”
As the words left his mother’s lips Phil turned even paler. Dan didn’t think that was physically possible and yet he watched the colour drain from his face.
“Don’t bother. He wasn’t doing it.” Dan mumbled.
He had learned every expression, memorised every inch of Phil’s smile, he knew every spot of colour. Dan knew that Phil was lying. He was broken from the pain, but he wasn’t going to protect Phil if he didn’t care anymore.
“I wasn’t stealing it.” Phil promised, eyes filled with tears.
“Stealing is a major act and it must be punished accordingly.” His mother said crisply, as she completely ignored Phil.
Cecilia nodded in agreement.
Dan wanted to punch her. She had no right to even be there. To give her opinion, to even smile at Dan. She had no right and Dan wanted to kill her for being right about Phil.
He decided to clench his hands until his fingernails were dug deep into his flesh instead of punching her.
“I guess it depends on you Dan, he is under your command.” His father turned to him.
Phil’s eyes begged with him.
“Dan…” He whispered, “Please. I would never…”
Dan’s eyes stung with tears, “You did Phil. It’s too late now.”
He turned to his parents, “I’d say firing him.”
Dan watched as Phil crumbled under Dan’s words. He cried silently into his hands.
It broke Dan’s heart to watch.
No Dan.
He betrayed you.
~-~-~
Dan woke up on the day exactly two weeks after Phil had stolen Dan’s jewel.
The sun was still in the sky.
Birds still twittered and whistled outside his window.
Yet Dan felt empty.
Phil had once lain beside him in this bed. Their limbs tangled together, the warmth radiated between them as they slept.
The bed didn’t feel the same, he doubted it ever would.
He had considered buying a new bed, new sheets, new everything. Goodness knows his family could afford it.
It didn’t seem right though, the idea of throwing Phil away.
No matter what he had done.
Dan rolled over and buried his head into the pillow beside him with a groan. It still smelled like Phil. Fuck.
He grabbed it and threw it across the room, it hit the wall with a thump and nearly knocked a painting off as it did so.
He automatically regretted it, and leapt to his feet to run and retrieve the pillow that smelled like the boy he missed so much. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he clutched it to his chest and breathed in the scent that he missed so badly. That he hated himself for missing at all.
He got to his feet, placed the pillow on the bed and tried to ignore the way his whole body shook as he let go of one of the many reminders all around him of Phil.
“Why did you do this?” He sobbed, as he clutched his chest to attempt to hold it in place. Phil would never hear him, would never know, but it helped to ask.
Every day since well… Phil well… Dan had gone straight to the bathroom to scrub away the tears, which left his skin red raw as he remembered the way Phil had comforted him when he was sick. All those years ago. Even back then, Phil had always been there.
Dan didn’t know how to function without him.
He had never had to do so before.
Memories of kisses with freshly brushed teeth danced around Dan’s brain until he was back to not being able to breathe.
Fuck he hated this.
~-~-~
He couldn’t go to the orchard, or the pond, or the dining room, or the courtyard. Everywhere Phil stood in the centre of his mind. Dan couldn’t shake him.
The last place he hadn’t tried was the library, so he decided he would go there now.
“Where are you off to Mister Daniel?” Alexis, his personal servant, asked. Dan had told her not to call him that, but to no avail.
He shrugged, “The library.” He said simply.
She smiled at him, “Doing a little tour of the castle aren’t you?” She laughed softly.
Alexis was new to the palace, she had worked in a restaurant nearby for most of her life.
She had soft brown hair which didn’t quite reach her shoulders, as though it wasn’t sure whether to be long or short. Her skin was slightly tanned and she was a reasonably large woman, overall she had a similar look to a giant teddy bear. Dan had discovered very early on that she wasn’t sure how to deal with Dan’s breakdowns, since she barely knew why he was so upset, as Dan hadn’t told her. He assumed no one else had either, although he could never be sure.
She had never met Phil, unlike all the other servants who had practically raised him. Dan wasn’t sure how to tell her what had happened without making the pain worse, he already cried himself to sleep every night. He didn’t need more than that. He had opted to letting the other servants comfort him instead.
Cook had let him sit in the kitchens when it had all gotten to be too much. Most of the servants had known about their relationship due to walking in on a kiss or just guessing so he felt more comfortable with them now that… well now anyway.
“Er... yeah... I guess so. Ok bye.” He hurried off before the situation could grow to be more awkward.
The library it turned out was even worse. Although Dan hadn’t thought that was possible.
Every time he looked at a book he remembered something about Phil.
He had loved horror, Dan thought as he saw a horror book.
As his finger traced over the spine of a blue book Dan felt tears spring to his eyes, they were the exact shade of blue as Phil’s eyes.
He slumped to the floor, and clutched the blue book to his chest.
Maybe if he held it hard enough it would bring Phil back.
He could hold him in his arms again instead.
“Help me,” Dan whispered fingers gripped around the book so tightly he would probably leave dents in the hardback.
“Oh!” He heard a female voice exclaim. A female he did not want to speak to right now, Cecilia. “Dan. Are you alright?” She asked as she slipped down beside him.
Did he look fucking alright?
“M’fine,” he mumbled into his arms, the book still held firmly in his fingers.
“Do you want me to read to you? Take your mind off it?” She asked.
Dan went to say no, but he realised it actually would help.
He shrugged, “Actually yes please.”
She opened her book and begun to read, “If I profane with my unworthiest hand. This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims- Dan?”
At the familiar words Dan had begun to sob.
Romeo and Juliet.
Oh fuck.
If nothing else would make Dan crumble to pieces it was this book.
“Stop reading… please,” he gasped between tears.
“He’s not worth this Dan.” She muttered, as she stroked his arm gently.
He stood up and walked away without another word.
Because he was.
He loved him, and he never told him.
~-~-~
“Daniel it has been two weeks. He was nothing more than an awful friend. You will practise piano and that is the end of it.” His mother scolded, her hands on her hips as Dan protested.
With a sigh he nodded, “Yes mother.”
He didn’t give her a chance to reply before he walked away, towards the piano room.
As he sat down on the familiar seat of the piano he felt four different emotions.
First was relief, he had missed the familiar keys beneath his fingers.
Second was sadness, Phil had sat on this seat beside him, he had kissed his cheek and distracted him from what he should be doing.
Third was anger, Phil had taken away everything he loved when he left, piano, reading and mostly himself.
Fourth was happiness as he begun to play, the familiar rhythms on the sheet music floated through the air and calmed him.
Tears streamed down his cheeks endlessly. They dried out his eyes and wet his cheeks.
However for the first time in two weeks, Dan felt close to happy.
~-~-~
It had been four months since Phil had left and Dan didn’t feel better.
If anything he felt slightly worse.
“Daniel! It’s been a while,” A duchess greeted him with a smile. She turned to Cecilia who was on his arm, “And who is this young lady?”
Dan smiled, “Too long!” He faked, “This is my… partner,” He still choked on the word partner.
“I’m Cecilia.” She said with an elegant smile and a small curtsey.
Dan nodded along.
“Well it’s lovely to meet you Cecilia, and to see you Daniel.” The duchess bid them farewell.
He absentmindedly looked around the room for Phil. Before he remembered with a stab that he wasn’t there.
This is why he had avoided parties.
“Dan!” James’ voice greeted from behind.
Cecilia turned around to greet her brother with a hug, Dan was relieved to have her off his arm.
“Where’s your boyfriend?” James asked with a sneer.
The word made Dan want to collapse to the floor in sobs.
Cecilia looked at him worriedly, like she knew something she shouldn’t. Dan didn’t think much of it.
“He’s not around any more.” Dan said with tight lips.
James raised an eyebrow at him but otherwise made no remark.
“What a shame, I was hoping for a wine.” He smirked.
Dan clenched his hands into fists, in an attempt to calm himself down.
He forced a casual shrug, “You’ll have to ask someone else. I need some air.” Cecilia looked like she wanted to follow him but he walked away without another word.
~-~-~
The air was crisp and the wind stung his eyes.
Or maybe they were tears.
He was vaguely aware of someone coming out onto the balcony.
“Dan?” His father asked gently.
Dan nodded and he came and stood beside him.
“It’s been four months. I know it’s hard, but sometimes it doesn’t work out.” The king sighed heavily, and turned to face Dan, who avoided his eye contact.
“It can take longer than four months to get over love.” Dan mumbled.
18
“You told me to take you to my happiest memory,” Dan growled, “So here we are.” He brandished his arm to the small marketplace.
Cecilia sniffed primly, “I didn’t think it would be so… grotty.” She complained.
Dan felt the familiar stab of longing for Phil as she moved to kiss his cheek gently.
“Could we go back?” She asked pleadingly.
He shrugged, “You can if you want. I’m going to stay for a bit.”
She rolled her eyes before striding off towards the castle.
He buried his hands deep into his pockets and tried not to think about how much he missed Phil. The marketplace was a constant reminder of him, yet Dan couldn’t bring himself to leave so quickly.
“Dan!” The scone man, whose name had slipped Dan’s memory exclaimed.
Dan couldn’t tell if he looked happy or nervous.
“Hi! Could I get a fruit scone?” Dan asked as he tried to be casual, and prayed he wouldn’t ask about Phil.
“Of course my boy of course!” The man exclaimed as he handed him a warm scone.
Dan took it gratefully, the warmth wonderful on his icy fingers. He muttered a thank you before he wandered off.
Despite the market being his happy place, he couldn’t think happy thoughts. Cecilia wanted to marry him.
He missed Phil.
Phil.
Fuck that was Phil.
Phil was stood in front of him and Dan felt his stomach constrict.
Everything seemed to slow to a stop as those beautiful blue eyes locked with Dan’s.
“Phil,” he whispered unknowingly.
Dan wanted to run up to him and kiss him.
But he also wanted to scream at him.
Why did you ruin it?
Everything was perfect!
He did neither of those two things.
They merely stood there, and stared at each other for who knows how long. Dan wasn’t sure he would ever be able to move again.
Finally Phil broke the serene trance they had found himself in by mouthing, “Jewels make you look tacky.” His black fringe flew around his face in the wind.
Dan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Phil didn’t say anything, he just turned and walked away. Dan could have sworn he had seen tears in his beautiful blue eyes.
Suddenly he remembered
“Jewel cufflinks or silver?” Dan had asked Phil, as he turned to his friend who might have been strewn out across the bed.
He had held up his ruby cufflinks.
Phil had screwed up his nose, “Definitely silver, jewels make you look tacky.”
“Really?” Dan had replied putting down the rubies and picking up the silver.
Phil nodded as he helped Dan attach them to his shirt.
“They look like you’re saying,” Phil had spoken in an over the top british accent that had made Dan laugh, “Woop di doo I’m a prince! I have money and jewels yay!”
Phil had shrugged, “Well then, don’t wear jewels they’re tacky and I hate them.”
“Jewels make you look tacky.”
“Jewels make you look tacky.”
“Jewels make you look tacky.”
Why would he steal a jewel when he hated them?
Had someone framed him?
Why would anyone frame Phil? He would never do anything to hurt anyone.
There was no point…
Names and faces ran through his mind.
His Mother?
Another servant?
James?
Cecilia.
Jesus Christ.
It was the only option that even made sense.
But why?
Dan paced back and forth and chewed on his lip in concentration.
Unless she knew about their relationship it wouldn’t make sense to do anything, there was no reason.
She had always hated Phil but framing him?
What would be the point?
He groaned in frustration and ran a hand through his already messy hair.
Maybe she had found out about them?
Oh fuck.
Dan ran home as fast as he could, his feet pounded on the gravel as he dashed towards the palace.
~-~-~
“YOU FRAMED HIM!” He screamed.
Cecilia jumped so high she nearly fell off the couch she was stretched out on.
“Wha-what are you talking about Dan?” She gasped, and placed a hand over her heart in shock.
His mother glanced up from her book in surprise.
“How could you?” He hissed, “I was so happy. You ruined it all.”
Cecilia turned as white as a sheet.
“I d-don’t know what you mean.” She stammered.
Dan shook his head angrily, “I didn’t even think about it.” He growled, “I should have realised.”
“Daniel?” His mother said gently, “What’s wrong? What do you mean?”
Cecilia was sat on the couch, her shoulders tense and her eyes the size of saucers.
“She framed Phil,” he pointed to her, “and I was so stupid to not see it.”
His mother stood up and approached him cautiously.
“Where has this come from?” She asked.
Dan took a deep breath to calm himself.
“I met Phil in the marketplace.” He started, Cecilia made a move to cut in but Dan held up his hand, “That’s when I remembered. Phil hates jewels.”
Cecilia’s face turned even paler if that was possible, which confirmed Dan’s guesses.
“Why would he steal a jewel when he hated them?” He asked rhetorically. “It doesn’t add up. Why? I was so fucking happy Cecilia…” he trailed off as a sob caught in his throat.
His mother was stood next to him now, a hand rested on his back. The same way his dad did when he needed comfort.
“Did you frame Philip?” She asked Cecilia, a small frown creased into her forehead.
Cecilia nodded as she burst into tears.
“Why?” Dan asked, because how had she known?
She blubbered for a bit before she replied, “I wanted to be your partner Dan,” she sobbed, “I wanted you to love me like you loved him.”
His mother started slightly at that comment but Dan ignored her.
He shook his head in disbelief, “You would ruin my life and happiness, just so I would date you? Because yes you’re right, I loved him.”
I love him he thought to himself.
“I wanted you Dan.” She attempted to redeem herself.
“I was so happy.”
He ran off without another word, anger pulsed through his body like a fire.
~-~-~
With a scream he threw himself onto his bed.
Alexis, his personal servant, darted in with a start.
“Are you alright sir?” She asked nervously.
He sat up so he wouldn’t make her too uncomfortable, she wasn’t the best with emotions, “I’m fine Alexis. I’ve just been an idiot that’s all.”
She nodded slowly, clearly thinking hard about something, “What happened?” She asked and slipped onto a chair beside his bed. It was such an out of the ordinary act, he couldn’t help but be shocked.
“Oh, I didn’t realise something huge and I might have lost my best friend forever.” He explained.
She nodded again, as she wriggled into a more comfortable position, “Tell me everything.”
Suddenly Dan found himself telling the whole story, starting from when they were ten.
~-~-~
How he had ended up back in the marketplace Dan had no idea.
He just needed to walk, to get out of the palace. Away from his mother’s worried and confused gaze, Cecilia’s false apologies. He needed to get away from it all. So he had ended up in the marketplace, without any purpose to be here. Although he supposed his subconscious would want to see Phil.
“Back again Dan?” The scone man asked, Dan was once again too awkward to ask his name so he just nodded.
“Is Phil here?” He asked before he could stop himself.
He instantly regretted it, because the scone man smiled knowingly. As though he knew Dan would ask that.
“I don’t know, but he works in the store across there.” He said as he pointed to a music store across the marketplace. Dan thanked him before he walked over to the store.
It was a cramped tight space, but cozy and warm. Due to it being a market stall there were no proper walls or anything of the sort. Instead sheet music and small instruments lined the outer walls. Dan felt himself drawn to the piano music as soon as he walked into the area. There was a boy behind the counter who looked around Dan’s age, he started as he clearly recognised Dan.
“Your Majesty,” He said before he bowed lowly, Dan nodded at him politely before he continued towards the sheet music table.
“C-can I help you with anything sir?” The boy asked nervously. He glanced around the shop as though it was going to jump out and murder Dan. Which of course made Dan uncomfortable. He looked around for what might be making the boy nervous, but there was nothing.
“Er no I’m alright,” Dan replied with a kind smile. The boy nodded and just as Dan turned back to the music he was looking at he heard someone else speak, a very familiar voice.
“Okay Max you can go on your break… now,” Phil trailed off as Dan looked up at him. He felt his heart stop as he stared into those beautiful blue eyes. He hadn’t gotten to see him properly for so long and doing so now felt like being stabbed. His hair was messy and hurriedly swept into his familiar fringe, his eyes were more blank than Dan had ever seen them.
“I-I’ve been on break for too long anyway.” Phil finished as he turned back to the boy behind the counter.
“Are you sure? I don’t mind if you go for a bit longer.” He said in response, Dan felt awkward as he watched this whole exchange, yet he couldn’t rip his eyes away from Phil. He didn’t have his usual glow, but he seemed to harness all the light from the open market stall anyway.
“No no, go on your break.” Phil shooed the other boy out, before he took his place behind the counter, and stared at the laptop screen intensely, completely ignoring Dan.
“Phil I…” Dan muttered, Phil didn’t look up.
Phil continued to jab at the cashier keys, each time he did it Dan winced at how hard he was pressing.
“I’m sorry.” He finished, Phil continued to ignore him. He may as well have shot him for how much it hurt.
“I’ll leave.” He mumbled and walked out of the store without a second glance.
He didn’t see Phil look up, tears welled up in his eyes. Dan had to physically run to get out of the marketplace before he broke down crying. He collapsed to the floor, each sob burned in his chest.
Knees pressed hard into the gravel path although he could barely feel them past the throbbing in his chest. He was crying so much that he felt like he might cough up a lung, but he couldn’t stop. Every time it began to slow he would remember Phil’s face when he saw Dan. The way his eyes had widened in fear. The way he didn’t look the same as Dan remembered because he was as broken as Dan was.
He wasn’t sure how long he sat there crying, knees hugged to his chest as sobs wracked through his body. However it must have been a reasonably long time because the boy from the shop, who he thought was named Max came back.
“Your Majesty?” Max asked, as he crouched down beside Dan. “Are you alright?”
Dan shook his head, “I’m fine, please leave.” He croaked, the tears almost slowed to a stop from embarrassment.
“Prince Daniel can I just say-” Max started again but Dan cut him off with a glare to the side.
“I said please leave.” He repeated angrily, sobs threatened to escape again, he turned his head back to his knees and buried them.
“Fucking hell your Majesty listen to me.” Dan looked up in shock as the profanity left Max’s lips. The boy was staring at him so intensely, with possibly more anger than Dan himself.
“I could have you locked up for that.” He mumbled, as he wiped his eyes hurriedly.
Max shrugged, “But you won’t.”
Dan had to fight back a snort of laughter, because of course it was true. He would never lock someone up for swearing in front of him.
“Look, I don’t know much about Phil’s life before he came here. All I know is, he lived in the palace, he fell madly in love with someone, it didn’t work out.” Max looked at him pointedly as Dan’s resolve slipped.
“Today, was the first time I saw any real emotion in his eyes.” He shrugged, “When he said he fell in love with someone I thought it would be a maid or something. Apparently it was the prince.” Max looked at him, and waited for a denial.
He wasn’t going to get one from Dan.
“He hates me.” Dan said, and cringed at the way his voice cracked pathetically.
Max shook his head with a sigh, “He loves you.”
At that he walked away before he seemed to remember something and turned back around, “Keep trying by the way. He deserves it, and I think you do too,” and with those words in the air he left.
Then Dan was alone again, as a few more tears leaked from his eyes, trailing down his face.
Now however, he had hope.
~-~-~
He wasn’t sure why he constantly ended up at the marketplace. Although he assumed it was Phil, as he drew him in like a magnet to metal. Somehow he found himself purchasing a coffee for both him and Phil, despite knowing he didn’t have the bravery to go up to him. He couldn’t be ignored again, it destroyed him in a way he never knew anything could, as it ripped through his soul like the claws of a large animal and scratched and destroyed every ounce of happiness he might have had left.
Yet he had bought a coffee for Phil, with no way to give it to him.
Luckily, or unluckily, Dan still wasn’t sure, Phil was on his break, which meant Dan only had to deal with seeing Max, who admittedly shot him a weird look as he held up the coffee.
“For Phil,” Dan explained, as he passed the cup to Max over the counter.
The boy stayed silent for a long time, just staring at Dan as though he had gone insane, before he shrugged.
“Leave a note on the cup, something so he’ll know it’s from you.” He said with a sly smile, before he left the cup of coffee with a pen and gave Dan a bit of privacy to write the note. Dan nodded uselessly, the longer he took hanging around the stall, the more likely Phil would come back. Then Dan would have to go home and cry again after being ignored. Instead he uncapped the pen, and ignored the way his hand shook slightly as he scribbled a note.
As he ran away he bumped into Phil, who stared after him in shock. Dan felt pins and needles explode where they touched, and he wished he could kiss Phil again. Wished Phil was his and he was Phil’s.
For now, a note would have to do.
Dear Romeo,
I’m so sorry
I was wrong
From your Juliet
~-~-~
He scribbled notes like a madman, Phil had distracted him from the upcoming talks he had to do. As his coronation became a foreseeable future, much of Dan’s time was taken up learning the things he hadn’t yet been taught. A hand laid itself on his back, warm and comforting.
Dan looked up at his father and smiled, “Cramming for the speech?” The King asked as he slipped into the chair beside Dan.
He nodded, “Yeah.” He mumbled, too busy scribbling down on cue cards to properly talk.
“Dan?” His father mumbled, and Dan looked up from his laptop he was currently reading off. “Your mother told me about… Cecilia.” He said calmly.
Dan felt his lunch rise in his throat at her name. However he managed a tight lipped smile. “What about her? The fact that she stabbed me in the back or something else?” He asked sarcastically.
His father looked at him worriedly, “Dan…”
“I’m fine.” Dan cut him off.
He watched his father debate whether or not he should roll his eyes at Dan, before he seemed to decide that it would be fine. He gave Dan a heavy eye roll before he responded, “I’m the King, my servants tell me when my son is crying his eyes out and screaming until his voice is hoarse.”
Dan swallowed heavily at that remark, after he saw Phil in the marketplace he had cried until he didn’t think he had any more liquid left in his body and screamed until it hurt to breathe, as though it would bring Phil back, as though he could fix everything. Alexis had just let him be as she didn’t to be the person to disturb him.
For that Dan was very grateful.
“Okay so not completely fine.” He admitted, and avoided his father’s kind gaze.
However there was only so much silence he could take before he was forced to look up. The King was simply watching him, as he waited for an explanation.
“I saw Phil in the marketplace, understandably he was pissed and wouldn’t talk to me. He ignored me and I-I feel awful.” Dan muttered at an incredibly fast pace.
He had barely finished the sentence before soft arms were being wrapped around him. Dan sunk into the embrace.
“You’re going to be ok,” His father whispered.
Dan wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not.
~-~-~
He stood in the safety of a stall, hidden from sight where Phil wouldn’t be able to notice him. This wasn’t the first time this week that Dan had snuck into the marketplace to watch Phil, occasionally he would try to work up the courage to talk to him.
He never did though.
“Do you want anything sir?” The lady in the stall asked and he shook his head hurriedly, before he moved into the next stall instead.
From behind a stack of books Dan peered over to Phil. He was talking to a customer enthusiastically, his beautiful smile not as wide as usual. Yet it was still there. Just seeing it made Dan’s tense shoulders relax and his stomach flip. He needed to stop watching Phil, while being here made him feel happy, tonight he would be left to sob into his pillow. As he wished he hadn’t been an idiot, hadn’t practically thrown away the only person he loved.
For now though, he couldn’t force himself to leave.
Couldn’t look away from those beautiful blue eyes, the closest Dan had seen to happy since… since they were together. He could see what Max meant, Phil’s emotions weren’t as strong as they used to be. His smile was only half there, his eyes didn’t sparkle with happiness the way they used to. He just didn’t look as alive.
That was Dan’s fault.
Another stall owner looked about ready to approach him, he took that as the cue to leave.
As he left the store and as Phil saw him his eyes that Dan loved so much widened in shock.
Dan ran away, as fast as he could.
~-~-~
He was scrolling through Tumblr, as he took a much needed break from the endless responsibilities when Cecilia tapped his shoulder. He didn’t even bother to hide the growl that came from his throat at the contact. She backed away slightly under his murderous gaze, but mostly stood her ground.
“I came to apologise but you can’t really blame me?” She said with a heavy sigh, Dan stared at her in shock. She couldn’t be serious?
Yet she stood there, face genuinely serious.
He stood up, unable to keep the anger out of his eyes.
Body quaking with anger, “I can’t really blame you?” He hissed. She shrunk away as he loomed over her, his tall height a perfect angle to terrify her.
“Then who do I blame Cecilia?” He said her name as though it tasted foul in his mouth, which wasn’t entirely false.
“It w-wouldn’t have w-w-worked out. Servants can’t d-d-d-date princes.” She stammered, trembling in front of him.
Dan attempted to reassemble his face so it was less furious, however he couldn’t do it.
“It would have worked out. We loved each other, anything else could have been sorted out. You ruined it Cecilia, not us.” He leveled his glare with hers, and was met with frightened green eyes that flickered in shock as he added, “Leave me alone, I don’t want to speak to you. Not now, not ever.”
She stammered out some unintelligible answer before dashing away. Dan watched her go with a satisfied smile. He knew that there was no way he could focus on Tumblr now that his mind was on Phil, so he decided to head to the marketplace. When he checked the time on his computer he grinned, Phil would be working now. He had been so many times now, that he had memorised Phil’s schedule. He wasn’t sure whether what he was doing was stalkerish, but it hadn’t been intentional. Besides Max had told him most of it anyway. He slammed his laptop closed, deciding that the servants could put it away, he left straight for the marketplace.
~-~-~
As he ducked straight into a fresh produce stall as he saw Phil, Dan couldn’t help but grin. His hair was slightly messy, he had clearly been having a rough day. Dan must have gotten the timetable wrong as Phil was clearly about to take a break. He watched as he headed over to the scone stall, running a hand absentmindedly through his already messy fringe. Dan would have been lying if he said his heart didn’t jump at that small movement.
Everything Phil did made his heart jump, apparently it did the same for a skinny girl with blonde hair who Dan could never compete with. He felt his heart thump for an entirely different reason as she approached Phil with a plastered smile.
Phil seemed shocked to see her, but not altogether upset. He probably knew her, she was probably his girlfriend for all Dan knew. Phil was bisexual after all, he had told Dan that all along. However it stung like a wasp, when she took him by the bicep, and led him away from a very surprised scone man. Dan would have to learn his name again, he felt awful. They chatted seemingly happily, although Dan was slightly too far away to hear exactly what they were saying. He considered moving closer, but since he was currently toeing the line of stalker he decided against it.
Instead he opted to listen to Phil laugh from afar. It wasn’t the same beautiful laugh Dan had grown to love. It wasn’t the one where he stuck his tongue out and giggled loudly, but a lot had changed. He wouldn’t have been shocked to hear that Phil’s laugh had as well.
He swallowed his jealousy as she laid a hand on Phil’s heart, the world seemed to rock. She smiled up at him, and whispered something in Phil’s ear which he couldn’t hear.
He shouldn’t care, should have known Phil would have moved on.
They weren’t together any more.
Still, he was being stabbed repetitively in the chest every time the girl smiled at Phil.
The same Phil, Dan was desperately head over heels for.
He actually choked on a bit of vomit when she kissed him on the cheek gently.
Dan had hoped however that he would push her away, not lay his hand over hers. Phil smiled gently at the girl and said something to her.
Tears dislodged themselves from his eyes.
He tried to scream at himself in his mind, What were you expecting to happen? Of course he’s moved on! Why would you get your hopes up?”
It wouldn’t work though, it didn’t stop the tears. Or the feeling of his hopes being ripped to shreds.
Dan ran as fast as he could, his blood pumped in his ears, and tears streamed down his face.
He could have sworn he heard his name being called after him.
However it was just his mind, as it tortured him some more. Pretending Phil would ever want him after what Dan put him through.
A cruel kind of torture.
~-~-~
Phil wiped his sweaty fringe out of his eyes, aware that it was probably a mess. He caught himself looking around for Dan and kicked himself.
“No Phil. He hurt you.” He tried to tell himself, even though he knew it was useless.
He was still madly in love with Dan, and it would be a lie if he told himself otherwise.
Max smiled at him gently as he returned from his break, “I’ll take over. Go get a scone or something.” He said and nudged Phil out of the store.
Usually Phil would have argued, but they had been so busy today. He took the break with open arms. He ducked out of the music stand he worked in and crossed the marketplace.
His hair was falling in his eyes so he ran a hand through it without thought. That would have made it even more knotted and messy than before, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.
Not truly at least.
He smiled widely at Bryan as he approached, he knew it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He didn’t think Max had noticed how fake his smiles were as they had only met when Phil was broken. Bryan however, knew it all, and always gave Phil a worried smile.
Hence why Phil usually avoided this particular stall, despite the fact that he loved the scones and Bryan to pieces, “Er… the usual please.” He stammered.
Bryan didn’t say anything, for once his loud voice quiet as he surveyed Phil worriedly. He wasn’t sure what he would prefer, endless “Are you okay?” or silence.
However this thought was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder as he took his scones. He thanked Bryan before he turned around, to be faced with a girl who smiled at him in a way that made Phil feel uncomfortable.
Her blonde hair was tied into a ponytail and her eyes bored into his soul. He felt strangely defensive, had to physically bite his tongue to stop himself from saying “I have a boyfriend.”
Which he didn’t.
She took his arm by the bicep and dragged him away from the stand, and introduced herself while they walked.
“I’m Olivia,” she said in a surprisingly deep voice, “But you can call me Liv!” She added with a giggle.
Phil forced a laugh, he was polite after all. No harm could be done in being nice to her. So he smiled.
“Phil.” He replied. She was much shorter than him so he had to look down to lock eye contact. Her eyes were a striking brown, although as he looked into them all he could think was Dan Dan Dan .
They weren’t as beautiful as Dan’s eyes, his were a warm chestnut, hers a deep muddy shade.
She leaned close to whisper in his ear, he struggled not to grimace as her breath tickled his neck, “You’re very handsome, Phil.” She purred his name.
He felt bile rise in his throat, sure he liked girls but this wasn’t something he wanted.
Not when he couldn’t seem to get over Dan.
Especially not after Dan had turned up at the market eight months after their breakup.
No, he wasn’t enjoying this at all.
“Th-thanks,” he muttered, and laid a hand on her arm to dislodge her.
Apparently she got the wrong message as she smiled and kissed him on the cheek. Phil froze in shock, she had kissed him.
Her hand was still on his chest, although he wasn’t totally sure when it had been put there. He laid his hand over hers and begun to take it off, noticing that she had bunched his t-shirt in her grasp.
As if the situation wasn’t bad enough, he heard a choked sob from not to far away.
His head whipped around to be met with Dan, tears streaming down his face. He ran away at a speed Phil didn’t even know Dan could achieve.
He shoved the girl away and started to run after him, “Dan!” He screamed after him.
The other boy however either didn’t hear, or didn’t care.
~-~-~
Dan felt like he was rotating in a fucking loop.
He felt happier.
He got hurt.
Sobbing until he couldn’t breathe.
Phil fixed him again.
He felt happier.
Neverending, constant.
Somehow he always ended up in his lounge room or on his bed, sobbing until he couldn’t breathe.
In these times, Alexis was amazing at comforting him.
She wouldn’t force him to talk, instead she sat beside him and let him cry. If he wanted to talk, scream, throw things. She would listen, give him a pillow to scream into and pick up broken vases or whatever else he had thrown.
Right now, he was just crying. Leant heavily on her shoulder, he let the tears wrack through his body, they spilt over his cheeks and onto her cardigan. Alexis didn’t seem to mind, which was a relief to Dan.
“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked gently, while she patted his knee in consolation. He nodded and sat up a bit straighter to look into her eyes.
“Am I bugging you yet?” He asked with a slightly watery smirk.
She just rolled her eyes, “What happened to make you a blubbering mess again?”
“A g-girl,” As he begun to tell her he choked on his words. She nodded, seeming to have all she needed to know.
“Oh Mister Daniel.” She murmured, and pulled him against her chest again. He sobbed quietly and remembered how Phil had placed his hand on the girl’s. How she had kissed him lightly on the cheek.
He was shaking from the pain the memories brought.
The way Phil had smiled down at the girl.
Stab to the chest.
He had grabbed her arm gently.
Stab to the stomach.
She had kissed him on the cheek.
Stab straight to the heart.
Sobs erupted from him as he clung to Alexis desperately.
If she minded she never told him so.
~-~-~
Dan was sobbing into his pillow until it was practically soaked through when Alexis returned.
She opened the blinds with a snap, causing bright light to flood the room.
“Up you get Prince Daniel.” She said while she bustled around his room.
He almost felt embarrassed about the state, before he remembered it was her job to clean up his mess. She had also listened to him cry for a good hour a couple of days ago. Still, the empty crisp packets and tissues were rather embarrassing no matter who was seeing it.
He didn’t say anything, but chose instead to groan into the pillow.
“You can’t stay here forever,” she scolded him.
He shook his head into the pillow, “You mistake my skills.”
Tears still flowed steadily down his face, as they had been for the last couple of days.
“Philip isn’t dating anyone.”
At this news Dan started and emerged from his pillow.
“Wh-what?” He mumbled and swiped away the tears as quickly as possible, although he was sure Alexis saw them.
She rolled her eyes at him in a motherly way, “My daughter is best friends with Max.” she explained, “he says that Mr Philip is completely and utterly single.”
She continued scooping his mess into a rubbish bag, “This news didn’t surprise Cook Martha at all, in her words you were both head over heels for each other .”
A blush crept up Dan’s neck and onto his face as she said that.
“So up! You’re going to the market and you are going to apologise to Mr Philip in person.” She shoved him off the bed.
He grumbled slightly but other than that didn’t argue, his brain was more focused on the fact that Phil didn’t have a girlfriend.
He was still single.
Not that Dan had any right to be happy about that, but he couldn’t deny the way his heart beat a little bit faster.
~-~-~
Dan felt his legs slow involuntarily as Phil came into view, he was working on the stand as usual. A piece of black hair fell in front of his eyes, his hands sorted through sheet music gently.
He looked so peaceful that Dan didn’t want to disturb him.
Didn’t want to see those beautiful blue eyes harden as Dan came into view, the eyes that used to soften when they kissed. However Phil decided that for him by looking up, their eyes met and Dan watched as they didn’t harden, but instead widened.
“Dan?” He asked gently and Dan did all he could not to run over to him.
“Phil…” he mumbled as he entered the stall, every thought he had ever had leaving him as he stared over at the boy he loved with all his heart, “I’m so sorry…”
Phil shifted uncomfortably, his eyes pooled with tears, “It was my home Dan… do you know how hard it is to be kicked out of your own home by the person you love most?”
Dan winced at the words, his own tears springing to his eyes. He felt himself nod, Phil stared at him, confused. Eyebrows furrowed behind his glasses, God, Dan loved his glasses.
“Yes, I do, because to me you were home and I thought you had kicked me out. I thought you didn’t care. I was so terrified and sad that I didn’t even think…”
He trailed off as Phil’s lips tugged into a small hesitant smile, “I’ve missed you.” He mumbled.
Dan found himself moving forward, he wrapped his arms around a tense Phil, “I’ve missed you too.” He whispered into Phil’s shoulder, who slowly relaxed in his arms.
A tear etched it’s way down Dan’s cheek as Phil’s arms wrapped around him, unsure but still there.
~-~-~
Dan wasn’t sure how he had ended up in the servant’s quarters in his pajamas. It was nearing three am but an idea had forced Dan out of bed. He shivered in the early morning iciness, voices could be heard from the night staff as they bustled around, making food and cleaning dishes. The Head of Staff’s office loomed at the end of the corridor, he shouldn’t feel scared of a door, he was the prince for crying out loud.
However he couldn’t deny the way his stomach twisted at the prospect of the awkward questions, of why he could think this was a good idea. He wrung his hands tightly, and drew his dressing gown tight around his body as he shook from the cold. This was for Phil, after all Dan had done, Phil deserved it.
He raised his hand and rapped on the door without another thought. There was a pause of silence where Dan held his breath then.
“Who’s knocking at this time of night?” Muttered the old man Dan only knew as Head of Staff.
The door creaked open and the man started at the sight of Dan.
“Your Highness!” He bowed, his nose nearly brushed the floor in his haste to be polite. “What brings you here at this hour sir?” He asked and Dan took a deep breath. This was what he had been worried about.
“Well, I actually have someone I want you to hire. Or rehire per say. Can I come in?” He mumbled quickly, he knew his words were a strange string in his sleep deprived state but he didn’t care.
The Head of Staff furrowed his eyebrows in confusion but nodded anyway, “Come on in,” he opened the door wide for Dan. Dan hurried in, the heater warmed his toes as he stepped onto the carpet.
“Thank you.” He said as the Head of Staff offered the plush armchair across from his desk.
The office was large, nearly the size of Dan’s bedroom. A huge filing cabinet towered on the left wall, timetables were plastered all over the remaining wall space, it reminded Dan of a criminal investigator in a tv show. Although these timetables were far less exciting than that he supposed. The sky was dark outside the small window above the desk and Dan yawned which reminded him of how late it was.
“How can I help you Your Majesty?” The man asked, and glanced nervously at Dan.
After yawning again Dan replied, “I would like you to rehire Phil Lester please.”
There was a long silence, where the Head of Staff stared at him as though he had gone mad. Dan stared back, despite exhaustion starting to hit him he was determined to fix this for Phil.
“Sir…” The head of staff began once he realised Dan was completely serious, “He stole from the royal family. Which is a huge crime, I cannot…” He trailed off at Dan’s steely gaze.
He was glad he could still look intimidating in his half asleep state, “Phil didn’t steal the jewel, he was framed. Please rehire him immediately.” Dan ordered.
Once again silence followed his words before the head of staff opened his laptop with a quiet sigh, “I will not be able to make him your personal assistant once again. He will be an ordinary cleaner,” he looked at Dan over his glasses to see if this was approved of.
Dan nodded, “That’s fine.”
The Head of Staff paused for a moment, looking at Dan worriedly, “Sir. I don’t mean to pry but are you sure this isn’t because of you know…” At Dan’s embarrassed denial he nodded and continued.
When Dan left, his feet dragged along the carpet from exhaustion but he felt a tingle of pride in himself. Finally, for the first time in eight months he had done something right.
~-~-~
Phil was working the shop again, Dan felt awful as he begun to realise how much Phil had to work in order to maintain himself. He seemed to constantly be in the shop. Dan stood there and watched for a bit, debating how to go up and approach him. It stabbed at him to see how broken Phil still looked. While strangers may see him as peaceful, Dan could see the tiny crease between his eyebrows, the way his shoulders never quite seemed relaxed, how his fingers gripped the sheet music slightly too tightly. It seemed that he was worried it would blow away despite the distinct lack of wind. Even a breeze was absent from the air, it seemed spring had finally decided to arrive.
“Dan?” He heard his name being called out and his head snapped upwards to Phil’s face, who was staring at him in confusion. It didn’t slip Dan’s notice the way Phil’s voice cracked slightly when he said Dan’s name.
“Prince Daniel,” Max nodded, barely glancing up at Dan from his work. He did however glance at Phil somewhat nervously. Dan smiled at him as genuinely as he could, a wave of nervousness had suddenly overtook him. When he planned to come and tell Phil he hadn’t felt this scared. Now however he was beginning to question whether this was a good idea or not.
Maybe Phil liked his new job better? Maybe he never wanted to see Dan again. Dan wouldn’t blame him if that was the case.
Phil stood there and watched as Dan smiled half-heartedly, he shoved away the little burst of concern he felt at Dan’s nervous expression. He shouldn’t be able to tell from a tiny flicker of Dan’s smile that the prince was concerned. However, he could, and there was nothing he could do about it.
“Is there a reason you’re here D-Prince Daniel?” he followed Max’s example in calling Dan by his true title but he didn’t miss the small flinch Dan gave in response.
“Er... yes actually, I have news,” Dan mumbled.
Phil’s stomach dropped.
He should have known this would happen, Dan was bound to move on at some point. Phil himself was meant to have moved on. It didn’t feel like he had, at this point, when he realised Dan had finally found someone. He should feel grateful that Dan had even thought to come to him, but his world was crumbling anyway.
“Okay,” he managed to blurt out without a crack in his voice, which made him feel very proud.
Dan’s eyes narrowed slightly in confusion, it was such a small change that Phil knew Max probably wouldn’t even notice it.
“So I… well it’s just… ugh,” Dan burrowed his head in his hands, “This is so much harder than I thought it would be,” Phil heard him mumble into them. Max looked at him in confusion, Phil shrugged. Although he hated to admit it Dan’s awkwardness had always been Phil’s favourite part of him. Just seeing him as he bumbled and stammered over words the same as usual, made him want to cuddle him into his arms and press a kiss to his forehead. He mentally slapped himself, Dan had found someone else. He was meant to be past this.
“It’s fine, I get it.” Phil said softly, Dan’s head snapped up in confusion.
“Phil that makes zero sense,” he replied, and stared at Phil as though he had gone insane. He turned to Max, who wore a similar expression of confusion. Dan continued to stare at him, and seemed to wait for an explanation, Phil resisted the urge to look into Dan’s eyes. He knew no matter how much he didn’t want to, he would end up mesmerised by the rich deep brown of them.
Dan stood there waiting for Phil to explain himself, he could see Phil’s eyes dart around, as they looked anywhere but Dan’s own eyes. What Phil had said made no sense, so clearly he had misunderstood Dan, but Dan wanted to know what he meant.
So he waited.
Eventually Phil clearly broke under the silence muttering, “I thought you were telling me you were engag-” he broke off but had said enough for Dan to understand. He shook his head hurriedly, careful not to admit anything as he wasn’t sure how comfortable Phil would be with his true feelings. That he couldn’t imagine himself with anyone but Phil. The boy who would probably never trust him again, and rightfully so.
“No, it’s nothing like that. Much happier at least I hope it will be happier, you might hate it actually but that would be understandable,” he knew he was rambling again but couldn’t help it.
He stopped however when Phil held up his hands to stop him, the smallest smile tugged at the corners of his lips, “What is it?” He asked.
Dan felt his heart surge with want, he wanted to be able to kiss that smile like he used to. To wrap his arms around Phil because he just could. He pushed those thoughts to the farthest corner of his mind he bit his lip, “I got your job back at the castle. Or at least a job, not my p-personal assistant anymore.”
He watched as Phil’s mouth dropped open, forming the smallest oval possible. His bright blue eyes locked with Dan’s as he checked to see if Dan was serious.
“Please don’t mess with me,” Phil whispered, voice barely even loud enough to distinguish but Dan heard it anyway.
He shook his head softly, a small smile crept onto his face, “I’m not fucking with you. I went and spoke to the Head of Staff, you’ve been rehired.”
There was a pause, where Dan watched Phil’s eyes blink rapidly.
“Th-thank you so much,” he choked.
Dan grinned, but it felt slightly forced, he knew Phil was holding back his emotions. Probably trying not to be too vulnerable in front of Dan. Dan could understand that, it hurt, but he understood.
Max stared at them, mouth wide in shock. Dan turned to him, “I’m sorry if this is annoying for you or…” but he trailed off as Max shook his head harshly.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! Sorry your Highness but Phil please tell me you’re doing this!” He rounded on Phil who was gaping at him, tears glistened in his eyes.
Dan felt his heart hammer as he saw the wide grin on Phil’s face, every time Dan had come and watched Phil he hadn’t seen him this happy.
It was the old Phil, the Phil he loved and sorely missed.
“Of course I’m doing it Max I… thank you Dan,” he turned to Dan and his arms jumped outwards slightly before they closed again.
It was clear his first intention was to hug Dan before he remembered that he didn’t want to. Dan barely cared, his heart leapt at the fact that Phil had returned to his first name.
“You’re welcome,” he grinned as Phil leapt around eagerly.
~-~-~
Dan hated how awkward it was when they saw each other, he hated the way he felt a stab of pain every time Phil avoided eye contact.
That didn’t stop him from trying though.
He “somehow” found himself in the servants quarters when he knew Phil would be there, in the hopes of teasing some conversation out of him. He invited him to fittings, classes anything possible. Phil declined them all, but Alexis wouldn’t get off his back about continuing to try. She wouldn’t tell him why but he heard servants whisper about the boy crying in the toilets. He wasn’t dumb enough not to know who it was.
So when he made his way down to the servant quarters and found Phil washing up he took the opportunity.
“Hi,” he greeted Phil as he marched over and sat on the bench beside the clean up station. Servants jumped out of his way.
Phil glanced up at him, eyes wide in shock, “Dan? What are you doing down here?” He asked and continued to scrub at a plate. Dan shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant and not at all like he’d come down to see Phil, “Thought I’d see what you were up to since I was bored.” He swung his legs back and forth on the counter.
He enjoyed the way Phil’s mouth quirked into a smirk despite himself, “You’re unbelievable,” he shook his head, and turned back to the washing up. Dan laughed softly, he loved the way Phil’s eyes were sharpened with focus. He could see that they still weren’t as comfortable as they used to be but it was a step forward that Phil hadn’t closed off from Dan yet and he would take it.
“Remember when we came in here and filled up water balloons?” He prompted, feeling his muscles tingle as Phil started to giggle.
“And you burst one all over yourself?” He laughed, Dan watched with an amused grin on his face. Unable to stop himself from laughing too, Phil’s laugh was contagious.
“Hey! I remember you accidentally threw one at my head!” He retorted.
Phil snorted, “Accidentally?” He waggled his eyebrows and Dan gasped in mock horror, throwing his hand to his chest as though mortally betrayed.
“How could you!” He gasped and splashed Phil lightly with the soapy water.
Phil snickered before he did the same.
Dan sighed in contentment, Phil’s guard wasn’t all the way down, but he was laughing and mostly relaxed with Dan. Just the idea of Phil being able to talk to him without any walls built up again made Dan bubble with happiness.
~-~-~
The horse felt extremely uncomfortable beneath him, he knew it didn’t trust him and he doubted it ever would. Horse riding was Dan’s least favourite activity. He hated having to get up on a giant animal that definitely didn’t like him and trot around for an hour. However his mother insisted, and it was the one thing his father fully agreed on.
“You ready to ride?” The stable boy asked and glanced up at Dan nervously before he remembered who Dan was, “Your Highness?” He added, his voice shook nervously.
Sam, his name was and Dan was pretty sure he was only eight years old, the poor boy was terrified of Dan for some unknown reason but Dan liked him.
“Yep,” he replied stiffly, still terrified from being so high up on an animal who he didn’t trust, plus he doubted the horse trusted him. “Open the doors Sam,” he added politely.
Sam nodded, his blond hair bobbed on his head as he opened the huge oak doors.
“Thank you!” Dan called out as he began to trot out the doors, arms clung around the large horse, Mabel, for dear life.
Why horse riding was a princely skill he couldn’t understand, but he hated it. Had done since he and Phil were only young boys.
“Ok,” he muttered to himself, and clicked his tongue to urge the horse forward. She obeyed his order but far too quickly for his liking.
“Fuck!” He screamed as they raced forwards, he felt himself slip out of the saddle and he realised he hadn’t tucked his feet into the stirrups too late.
In that moment Dan was certain he was going to die as he flew over the front of Mabel. He shielded his face as she leapt over him.
“Holy fuck!” He shrieked while she raced away, “Fuck you, fuck you you fucking fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.” He shook from adrenaline, lying on the ground.
His arms and legs ached all over from the fall, but as he flexed them he couldn’t seem to find anything that was broken or too badly injured. Sam raced out of the stable like a flurry of nervous energy.
“Oh my goodness! Your Highness! Prince Daniel! Are you alright?” He squeaked in terror as he bounded over to where Dan was lying on the ground, still quivering with fear.
At Sam’s fear though he sat up and attempted to ignore his sore arms, “I’m fine Sam,” he mumbled but the small boy shook his head nervously.
“No sir! Don’t get up! I’m going to go and get help okay sir? You might be badly hurt!” He explained, and jumped around in fear, at Dan’s nod he rushed off, small limbs flailing as he sped across the racing track.
Dan groaned and flopped back onto the hard track with a wince, everywhere ached.
Luckily he had seemed to miss all of the danger spots on his body, his pelvis, spine, ribs, head and even legs were still fine. That reassured him slightly, but the constant pain in his arms and legs made him want to cry. There was a small amount of blood resting on the surface, from where he had scraped along the ground. Mixed with dried mud and dirt he looked an utter wreck.
“He’s right over here!” He heard Sam’s nervous voice echo through the air as he ran towards Dan. “Prince Daniel!” He exclaimed once they were in talking distance of Dan, “I got help.”
He sat up his eyes squeezed shut to deal with the pain from his sore arms, the huge scrape along his right would sting that was for sure, “Thanks Sam,” he replied and opened his eyes.
There crouched right in front of his face was Phil, all the remaining breath whooshed out of his body.
“Ph-phil,” he mumbled, and winced as Phil hoisted him to his feet.
“Just as bad at riding as ever huh Dan?” Phil teased as he poked him in the side, Dan felt a tingle of joy as Phil teased him as comfortably as they used to.
Sam however looked beside himself with fear and confusion, “You called the Prince by his first name,” he stumbled over his words.
Phil turned to Sam in shock, as he accidentally pressed down on Dan’s arm Dan let out a gasp of pain. That was definitely going to bruise later.
Everywhere was probably going to bruise later.
“Sorry,” Phil mumbled to Dan before he looked back at Sam who was glancing between them in confusion, “Erm yes I did.” He shrugged simply, and wound an arm around Dan to help him on his feet.
Something appeared to dawn on Sam because his mouth dropped open, “You’re… you…” he muttered.
Dan shook his head gently, “Yes,” he whispered and Sad clamped his mouth shut.
Phil didn’t seem to notice tiny Sam’s revelation though as he helped Dan across the path.
“I’ve got him now thank you…” Phil turned to Dan for Sam’s name.
Sam, Dan mouthed and Phil nodded.
“Thank you Sam.”
Sam nodded hurriedly before he rushed off as quickly as his tiny legs could carry him.
Once Sam was out of earshot Phil turned to him smirking, Dan blushed as he realised how close they were.
“So you fell over the front of a horse?” Phil teased and Dan grumbled.
“Shut up,” he pouted, and banged his hip into Phil’s gently. He couldn’t deny the way his body buzzed in every place they were touching, as much as he was trying to get over his feelings for Phil. He couldn’t help it, not when he saw him every day. As they walked along the path, Phil continued to tease him and Dan felt his muscles relax slightly. Fuck, he’d missed this.
Out of nowhere he felt Phil tense, his arm that was around Dan’s waist clenched so tightly that Dan actually let out a little squeak of pain.
“What’s wrong?” He asked and turned to see the tree they were walking past. He felt a stab of pain as he realised what Phil was remembering.
Their one month anniversary had been under that tree, the long leaves had protected them from the world.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, burying his face into Phil’s shoulder.
He could feel Phil relax slightly, although sadly the walls had been built back up when they passed the tree. Phil didn’t say anything but he did tighten his grip on Dan slightly, pulling him closer and that was enough for Dan.
~-~-~
He let out a hiss of pain through his teeth and the nurse gave him an apologetic look.
Dan tried to convey to him that he didn’t care that much, not while Phil’s hand was clasped in his.
“You alright D-Prince Daniel?” Phil asked, Dan tried to hide the wince he gave when Phil used his full title. It felt like something was ripping at his chest. Even though he knew that it was probably only because of the nurse who was there, it still hurt.
“Yes I’m fine,” he mumbled through gritted teeth.
Every time the nurse dabbed at his scrapes it stung badly. He tried to remind himself that it could have been much worse.
He chose instead to focus on Phil’s warm hand in his own.
That only served to bring tears to his eyes as he begun to remember when this was normal.
When he could hold Phil’s hand in his own without the worry about how Phil was feeling.
Phil was watching him worriedly so he forced a bright smile, however that only made Phil more worried as his frown deepened. The nurse stopped dabbing at a particularly large gash on his arm and looked up at Dan over his glasses. “I’m going to go and log this in Prince Daniel. Then I’ll find you some medicine to help with the pain,” he stated, before he got to his feet and walked out of the room without another word.
As he left the room Phil turned to him, face screwed up in mock anguish.
“God forbid you ever break a bone!” He joked while he poked Dan in the ribs and cackled as he squirmed away.
Dan stuck his tongue out as Phil finally relented, “It was a traumatic experience!”
That caused Phil to giggle which had to be Dan’s favourite sound in the world, he missed the sight of Phil’s tongue as it poked through his teeth. His eyes bright with pure happiness.
“Traumatic,” Phil echoed, and rolled his eyes when he finally stopped giggling.
Dan nodded, unable to prevent the grin that spread across his face as Phil beamed at him.
“Remember when you tried to saddle a pony yourself?” Phil reminisced, Dan flushed at the memory, he remembered how the small butterscotch pony had ran away from him before he could get on, which left him on the ground in the splits as he’d just let go of the barrier.
“Ugh don’t remind me!” He groaned and buried his face in his hands.
That only made Phil laugh harder as he continued to remind Dan of all of his mishaps with horses, “No no Phil I can totally jump over that barrier,” Phil mocked, putting on an incredibly posh accent that sounded nothing like Dan.
“Hey! It’s not my fault you’re a natural,” Dan grumbled, Phil had always been a better horse rider than he, he had a secret knack with animals that Dan could only dream of. Although according to Phil the huge animals scared him, despite the fact his name literally meant lover of horses.
“Oh why thank you!” Phil grinned, and pretended to flip his hair in mock superiority.
Dan groaned and shoved him in the side which only made Phil burst into laughter once again.
~-~-~
Dan couldn’t deal with the pain of it any more, he felt like he was going to explode. Every time Phil looked at him his heart spluttered, he missed him so badly. No matter how much he tried to suppress the feelings they kept bubbling back up. Like a volcano inside himself. He couldn’t do anything though, he wouldn’t do that to Phil. He could see it just in the way Phil tried not to look at him that he didn’t fully trust Dan anymore.
Too scared to be vulnerable or hurt, and understandably so. While Dan didn’t directly want to hurt Phil, he was the one who kicked him out of his home, who didn’t trust him.
They’d loved each other, Dan could understand how that was a kick in the guts.
That didn’t seem to be able to stop him from actively searching for Phil at every opportunity possible.
After he had wandered aimlessly for a bit he found him in a small room, cleaning portraits and dusting.
“Hi,” he greeted as he entered the room, Phil looked up in shock a small smile etched across his face.
“Don’t you have anything better to do than follow me around?” He teased, Dan felt his heart burst as Phil shot him a cheeky grin.
He rolled his eyes, “I just wanted to talk,” he shrugged with over exaggeration, “But if you want me to leave.”
He began to leave the room but Phil’s arms seized him from behind.
Suddenly he found his back against the wall, Phil’s hands gripped his shoulders so tightly they felt as though they were being compressed.
He gasped as Phil pressed their lips together and Dan’s heart all but leapt out of his chest.
It was passionate and fiery, their lips burnt against each other, it was so much more intense and terrifying than anything Dan had ever felt but he loved every second. He loved the way Phil’s hands were had his shoulders pinned in place as they kissed. The way Dan could feel his heart beat against his ribcage, in complete denial that this could actually be happening.
God, he had missed this, Phil’s tongue swiped across his bottom lip and his legs wobbled beneath him, if it weren’t for Phil’s hands holding him up he would have collapsed. It wasn’t as soft and loving as any of their other kisses had been but Dan had missed Phil’s lips against his too much to care.
He felt like he was soaring and falling all at the same time.
Time had paused in this moment and Dan wanted it to stay that way forever, just the two of them with their lips, tongues, hearts and souls intertwined.
Phil’s lips said everything, they reminded Dan of the pain in the last eight months, of how much they’d missed each other. In the way they pushed and pulled against Dan’s he could feel the fear of losing Dan, even though they hadn’t regained each other.
Just as quickly as it had started Phil was jumping away from him as though he had been burnt.
“You can’t do that!” He exclaimed, was he tugged at his hair so harshly that Dan wanted to run forward and take Phil’s hands in his own, just so he would stop hurting himself.
He breathed out shakily, “Phil you kissed me…” he mumbled.
“I know!” Phil screamed back, shaking harshly from shock, “I know and it was stupid I shouldn’t- I can’t…” he broke of with a sob that crumbled Dan’s world.
He crumpled to the floor with his head in his hands and Dan could only stand there and watch as Phil sobbed.
“I’m so stupid…” He heard Phil whisper to himself between gasps and he felt himself move forward on reflex.
“No,” he shook his head, before he dropped to his knees beside Phil, “You’re not stupid.”
Dan laid a hand on Phil’s shoulder and sighed as he leaned into the touch, moving them closer together until Phil was in Dan’s arms.
“You’re the opposite of stupid Phil,” he reassured him, burying his face in Phil’s hair.
It broke his heart to hear his Phil crying, to feel his shirt dampening with his tears.
“I’ve missed you so fucking much Dan,” Phil sobbed, hands clutched onto Dan’s shirt as though he would disappear if he didn’t hold on tight enough.
“Fuck, I’ve missed you too.” Dan replied, as tears of his own spilt over his cheeks.
They sat there for God knows how long, just sat in each other’s arms.
When Dan finally heard Phil’s sobs slow to a sob he pulled him up in his arms so they were face to face. It broke his heart to see how red and tear stained Phil’s face was but he needed to say this.
“I know I fucked up, but I miss you more than you can imagine. I will never hurt you again I promise.” He said softly, Phil’s eyes were soft and vulnerable. Any walls he had built were gone and Dan had never felt so grateful for that.
Phil leaned forward and connected their lips again, softly this time.
It was filled with missed memories and sadness, Dan could taste the salt from their tears but it was okay.
They were okay.
He smiled into the kiss, and pressed their foreheads together.
“I’ve missed you so much.” He whispered and a smile spread across Phil’s face.
Dan grinned as he watched a blush creep over Phil’s pale skin, “Missed you more.”
~-~-~
Words couldn’t describe the way Dan’s heart was soaring right now.
Phil’s limbs tangled amongst his own in his bed, their faces so close together that their breaths mingled.
He clutched Phil’s hand tightly in his own, loving the way their fingers twined together.
“It’s two in the morning Dan you need to sleep,” Phil grumbled, as he attempted a pout but just made Dan want to kiss him again, he looked so adorable and sleepy.
“I fucked up my sleeping pattern okay?” Dan replied with a devilish smirk.
Phil giggled, “You royally fucked up your sleeping pattern,” he snickered apparently proud of his awful pun.
Dan groaned loudly, “That is truly awful,” he complained not quite succeeding in forming a frown. Who could blame him?
After eight months without this he couldn’t help but smile.
“You’re awful,” Phil stuck out his tongue and laughed as Dan reached forward and kissed him on the nose. “Sap,” he teased as he poked Dan gently in the side.
Dan nodded, not willing to argue if it meant he could continue to kiss Phil on the nose, as he liked the way it made Phil’s face squidge up.
“Alexis seems nice,” Phil yawned, and wriggled closer so that his head was tucked under Dan’s.
Dan nodded in agreement, “She’s lovely, but she didn’t quite erm understand at the start…” he trailed off and hoped Phil wouldn’t make him explain.
He could feel Phil frown into his neck but thankfully he didn’t say anything.
“Did she start crying when I came in here?” Phil giggled lightly, Dan smiled as he remembered the way Alexis had started to sniffle before excusing herself from the room.
“Yeah she did,” he responded, and cuddled Phil closer so he could bury his face in his hair.
He heard Phil sigh into the touch, which made a smile blossom on Dan’s face as he pressed it into Phil’s hair.
There was a comfortable silence where Dan savoured in the warmth Phil’s body let off when he heard Phil whisper something that made his eyes snap open.
“Pardon?” he mumbled, knowing his heart was beating ridiculously fast against Phil’s back but there was nothing he could do to stop it.
He groaned as Phil shifted in his grip, flipping over so they were eye to eye, “I love you.” Phil whispered again.
This time Dan was certain he heard the words correctly. His mouth dropped open and his heart fluttered impossibly fast as he heard Phil, his Phil, say those words.
Those three words that felt like a universe to Dan.
“I love you too,” the words slipped out of Dan’s mouth so easily it felt like breathing, because it was true. He had loved Phil for so long now it barely felt like a revelation, but still to admit it out loud, to Phil, was exhilarating.
Dan’s heart thundered against his chest, and he knew Phil could feel it from the little smile that tugged at his lips.
“I love you Dan,” he whispered again, the words wrapped around Dan, warm and soft.
Dan leaned forward slightly and pressed their lips together, and sighed into the warmth of Phil’s mouth.
The kiss felt different, sweeter almost, like the words they had just spoken were now sewn into their kisses. The words filled Dan with the beautiful feeling of flying, soaring above clouds and beyond. As cheesy as it was, he would fly anywhere if it was with Phil.
Phil sighed happily as they pulled away, “I’ve missed that,” he grinned at Dan.
Dan felt his cheeks flush up and he buried his face in Phil’s neck.
“You look cute when you blush,” Phil teased, as he wrapped his arm around Dan which ruined any attempt of making Dan annoyed.
“Shut up,” he grumbled anyway and smiled as Phil giggled above his head.
“I love you,” Dan tested again, and loved the way the words felt on his lips.
He felt Phil smile, as he pulled Dan to his chest just a little bit tighter, “I love you too.”
~-~-~
Dan knew he’d missed Phil badly, but every time he saw Phil and remembered I can kiss him again. It made his heart jump and his fingers tingle. Phil seemed to feel the same way because Dan would constantly find himself being tugged into storage cupboards, bathrooms, empty hallways, just for their lips to be pressed together gently. He grinned when he heard Phil’s voice in his bed chambers, excited he would get to see him again but stumbled to a halt when he heard Alexis’ harsh tone.
“You’re being utterly ridiculous Mr Philip and I won’t stand here and listen,” she scolded him. Dan could practically hear her stern frown and crossed arms.
“B-but,” he heard Phil stammer, “Technically we haven’t-”
Dan was itching to hear the end of the sentence but unfortunately Alexis cut Phil off.
“No buts about it.” She tutted, Dan could hear her move around the room and Phil was probably helping her clean up, “You weren’t here Mr Philip,” she continued, her voice suddenly sad.
“What do you mean?” Dan heard Phil ask.
Dan pressed his back against the door to hear better, but also to stabilise himself. He wasn’t sure what they were talking about but his heart thudded uncomfortably loudly.
Was Phil having second doubts?
He could only just hear Alexis sigh heavily, “You didn’t see every day, Prince Daniel crying over you. If he doesn’t mean I love you when he says it I don’t know who does.”
Dan felt a smile beam across his face as he heard Phil mutter, “Me.”
So he wasn’t having second thoughts, he hadn’t changed his mind.
Just that thought alone relaxed Dan.
He decided he’d done enough eavesdropping so he knocked on the door.
“Alexis can I come in?” He asked, pretending he didn’t know Phil was in there, as someone who hadn’t listened to their conversation probably wouldn’t know that.
“Yes Your Highness!” She replied, her voice had regained its usual enthusiasm.
Dan entered the door without another word, and smiled involuntarily as he saw Phil. Whether he knew Phil was in there or not he would have smiled.
There was nothing he could do about it, Phil was like a living ray of sunshine.
“I’ll give you two some privacy,” Alexis smirked as she the room.
The second the door shut behind her Dan leapt on Phil, and knocked him onto the bed.
Phil let out a yelp of surprise as they fell backwards but tightened his grip on Dan.
He regained his smile as they hit the soft mattress.
“Hello,” He grinned and Dan remembered when they’d done this last year. Towards the start of their relationship.
He beamed back, “Hi.” His smile slipped away as Phil’s face morphed into something more nervous. “What’s wrong?” Dan asked, as he placed a gentle kiss to Phil’s nose.
He laughed as Phil’s face squidged up the way he loved it to, “Nothing I’m fine,” Phil replied, but his eyes betrayed his true thoughts.
Dan rolled his eyes, “It may have been eight months but I still know you and you’re not fine,” he deadpanned and barely leaving a blink he added, “So what’s wrong?”
Phil sighed, an amused grin tugged at the corner of his lips, “Do you want to be my boyfriend?” He asked.
Dan’s eyebrows furrowed at the question, “Do you really need to ask?” He replied with a soft laugh.
However as he looked into Phil’s eyes he could see that he did, he still didn’t think that Dan loved him.
“Fuck, Phil. I swear I love you, more than you could imagine. Of course I’ll be your boyfriend. Fuck I want to be more than that one day.” He brushed the tears that had built in Phil’s eyes away with the pad of his thumb, “So don’t worry about that.”
Phil grabbed Dan by the shoulders and pulled him into a rough kiss, his lips smashing into Dan’s.
“Thank you,” he mumbled as they pulled away and Dan smiled in return, before he kissed him sweetly, because that said everything Dan couldn’t.
~-~-~
“But how would we tell your parents?” Phil asked, Dan risked a quick glance to look at him before he let his eyes flick back to the screen.
He was completely smashing Phil at Mario Kart, and didn’t want to lose his lead. “That’s a bit of an intense conversation to resume during Mario Kart don’t you think?” he mumbled, eyes still glued the screen.
He could see Phil shrug out of the corner of his eye, “It’s just on my mind,” Phil replied.
Dan smirked and paused the game so he could turn to face his boyfriend, “This is because you’re losing isn’t it?” He teased, and kissed Phil on the cheek.
Phil rolled his eyes, before he took Dan’s controller so he couldn’t go back to the game, “Not everything’s about Mario Kart Dan,” he smirked, reciting Dan’s mother’s favourite sentence from when they were twelve.
Dan grumbled but nodded at Phil to continue,
“I just want to tell them.” Phil began, “The secret thing didn’t work so well last time…” he trailed off and left the sentence to finish itself.
Dan couldn’t help but nod in agreement, he didn’t want to hide them again either.
“So…” Dan prompted, Mario Kart completely forgotten now.
Phil sighed lightly, “So I don’t think they would exactly welcome me as your boyfriend with open arms. Not after what Alexis told- I mean…” Phil stumbled, before he flushed bright red after he realised what he had admitted.
Dan just nodded, he had already known after all, however he did allow a small smirk to tug at the corner of his lips, “Probably not. We need mum to like you before she knows it’s you,” he racked his brains as to how would be best to do that.
Suddenly Phil’s eyes widened and he gripped Dan’s arm, “A masquerade ball,” he mumbled under his breath.
“What?” Dan asked, he watched as Phil started to smile and rubbed his hands together in excitement.
“You should host a masquerade ball. Introduce me while I’m wearing a mask!” Phil bounced with excitement, beaming at Dan about his idea.
It was beginning to dawn on him how brilliant of an idea it actually was. Re-introduce Phil as a mystery perfect suitor who Dan loved.
His mother would love Phil, and maybe wouldn’t freak out when she found out who he actually was.
“That is actually fucking genius!” He exclaimed, and laughed loudly gripping Phil’s arms and shaking him slightly so he burst out laughing, “Phil Lester! You’re a genius!” Dan pulled him into a warm kiss, both boys expressing their excitement through their lips.
~-~-~
Phil giggled and the sound warmed Dan’s heart until he felt like he was sat next to a warm hearth.
“You can’t sneak out at night Your Highness,” Phil bowed mockingly and Dan tugged him to his feet with an eyeroll. He pulled Phil into a gentle kiss, before cuddled into his boyfriend’s arm happily. Phil tried to take the opportunity to lead Dan back to his bedroom, which Dan hoped would soon be their bedroom. Currently Phil spent most nights with Dan, aside from the occasional time they separated when necessary, to avoid suspicions. Tonight was one of the nights when he was technically in the servants quarters, but Dan couldn’t sleep without him.
“I can do what I want,” Dan smirked as Phil groaned, but followed Dan to the kitchen’s nevertheless.
They tiptoed in, hoping the late night staff would have finished up by now. They were in luck as the kitchen was eerily quiet. Dan grinned as he flicked on a lamp, it let a dim light flood the room but not too bright that they couldn’t handle it.
He quite liked when he was alone with Phil, and it was completely calm.
“I’m hungry,” Dan hurried over to the pantry as Phil chuckled.
“I would assume so, you did drag me to the kitchens at one am,” he pointed out and Dan pulled a face at him over his shoulder.
He pulled out a packet of cookies with a flourish and grinned, “Let’s feast!”
They slid onto the marble bench, Dan was too tired to care that it probably wasn’t hygienic to sit where people prepared food. He shoved a cookie into Phil’s mouth who laughed in response, crumbs falling onto the floor and across his face.
“They’re… really mmhm... good,” Phil swallowed before he pecked Dan on the lips gently, “Almost sweeter than you!”
Dan groaned at the awful cheesiness, but couldn’t deny the way his stomach bubbled every time Phil complemented him. No matter how cheesy it was.
“Apparently late night Phil is a cheesy boyfriend,” he teased as he pulled Phil in for a longer kiss, and enjoyed the way he could taste the chocolate of the cookies on his lips.
He began to find it almost difficult to steady himself as Phil cupped his face in his hand, their lips danced together lazily as they were both half asleep.
“You taste like cookies,” Dan giggled drowsily, and grinned as Phil stuffed a cookie into his mouth in response.
“I want you to taste like cookie,” Phil giggled and Dan snickered as he enjoyed the small pout on Phil’s face.
He kissed it away gently, smiling into the kiss as Phil hummed appreciatively. Their lips moved against each other in a way that made Dan’s stomach flip and swirl, and filled his body with a tingle that flooded down to his toes. He grinned as Phil pulled him closer so that Dan was sat on his lap, their lips didn’t break apart aside from a quick gasp of breath.
Suddenly there was a click and a bright light flooded over them.
They both froze, Phil pulled away from Dan’s lips as quick as lightning, eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights and they heard an amused chuckle.
Dan grimaced slightly as he turned to be met with Phil’s father who was stood there, hands on his hips in amusement, “I really hope you two weren’t going to go further than that because this is a kitchen and that is my son,” he turned to Dan with a smirk.
Dan felt ready to sink through the floor and die, it seemed Phil was on the same thought path as he buried his face in his hands.
When Dan glanced over at him he could see the flush of his cheeks even past his fingers.
“Dad,” Phil started but the King’s Advisor cut him off with a wave of his hand.
“No no! I told you I would do this and I intend to keep my word,” He exclaimed and Dan turned to Phil in hope for an explanation.
He got nothing but an apologetic glance and embarrassed flushed cheeks. Phil looked cute when he was so embarrassed.
“Daniel, whether prince or not. I believe that my son deserves someone who will love him endlessly. Will you do this?” Phil’s father asked with a false posh accent.
Dan nodded, he had begun to see where this was headed and understood Phil’s overwhelming embarrassment.
“Yes,” he replied and smirked at Phil who looked like he wanted to die.
“I am very glad. Now, if you two have sex in a kitchen I will personally disown you Philip!” He announced before he marched off to the pantry where Dan assumed he was originally headed.
Phil turned to him, cheeks so dark a shade of red that Dan wanted to cuddle him closer and comfort him.
However this was far too good of an opportunity to tease Phil and he planned to seize it.
“You’re blushing,” he said in a sing song voice, and snickered as he nudged Phil’s arm gently, Phil groaned and shoved him in the side before he buried his face into Dan’s neck.
Dan wanted to continue to tease him but Phil snuggled into him made his heart warm and he couldn’t find it in himself.
He blushed slightly as Phil’s father smiled warmly when he walked out, an apple rested in his hand.
“I’m surprised I didn’t guess to be honest,” the King’s advisor admitted before he left them, and called over his shoulder, “Try to go to sleep soon boys!”
Phil mumbled something unintelligible into Dan’s shoulder which Dan took to mean he wanted to go to bed.
“Wanna stay in my room?” Dan asked gently, as he pressed a soft kiss to Phil’s forehead.
Phil nodded sleepily, and Dan tugged him to his feet, wrapping an arm around his sleepy boyfriend. They tiptoed their way back to Dan’s bedroom, and took admittedly longer than they should have because they kept stopping to press gentle kisses to the other’s lips.
They had time to make up for after all.
~-~-~
“I am not getting back on a horse,” Dan grumbled as Phil pulled him along towards the stables. He knew Phil liked horses, but forcing him to take part after what happened last time was a step too far, Phil shook his head, and smiled back at Dan in a way that made Dan’s heart melt and his stomach flip.
“Yes you are and we are going riding,” Phil replied easily, he skipped along as they walked towards the stables. At Dan’s groan Phil rolled his eyes, “It’ll be romantic.”
Dan pouted but didn’t argue anymore as Phil continued to walk them towards where Sam was waiting.
He instinctively dropped Phil’s hand, as much as it felt wrong. His hand now swung beside him, almost too empty.
As they approached Sam smiled at them, which displayed one missing tooth right at the front of his mouth, “Why did you let go?” He asked curiously, eyes wide in interest.
Phil turned to Dan, his mouth hung open in shock, “Of what?” Phil asked, Dan could hear the underlying tones of nervousness, which meant Phil knew just as much as he did what Sam was talking about.
“Your hands, you let go! You don’t have to you know. I won’t tell anyone,” Sam said the last part in almost a whisper, as though telling them a secret. Dan couldn’t help the small smile that bloomed on his face, as Phil took his hand again. Sam grinned back at him and Dan almost wanted to reach forward and hug him.
However he knew the small boy would freak out if the prince did anything of the sort, so he restrained himself.
“You lost a tooth!” Dan pointed out and couldn’t stop the smile that covered his face when Sam beamed.
He nodded eagerly, “Last night!” He exclaimed, and bounced on the balls of his feet happily.
“Did the tooth fairy come?” Phil asked and Dan wanted to kiss his boyfriend right there because the look on Sam’s face was worth a million pounds.
“Yes!” He squealed, and pulled a shiny two pound coin out of his pocket and waving it around excitedly, “She gave me this!”
“That’s amazing!” Phil exclaimed and it took all of Dan’s willpower not to kiss him, why did he have to be so perfect?
Sam continued to bounce around before he settled down and asked in a very polite tone, “What would you like Your Highness?”
“Can we have one horse please Sam?” Dan asked and he nodded.
“Would you like Mabel or Fern sir?” Sam asked, he straightened his back as he turned to work mode. Dan couldn’t help but smile as he watched the tiny boy attempt to be professional.
The idea of riding Mabel made him shudder though, “Fern please.” He replied, Phil sent him a knowing look and he flushed while avoiding eye contact.
As Sam went to turn away he stopped, and turned back to face the two older boys, “There’s a small corner where you can’t see anything over there,” he point to a corner where indeed they would be out of the view of any prying eyes, “It might take me a while to saddle her up.” He explained. Dan grinned as Phil went a bright shade of red, and mumbled a quiet, “thank you,” as Sam turned to run away.
They slipped into the corner, hidden behind the red bricks of the stable and the trunk of a Sycamore tree they were truly out of eyesight, unless someone actually walked around the tree they couldn’t be seen.
“For an eight year old that boy is clever,” Phil smirked, as he pressed Dan against the brick wall behind them.
“We were nowhere close to as smart as that at eight,” Dan replied with a laugh, just before Phil kissed him, and caused him to lose his breath as quickly as he gained it.
He blushed as Phil pinned his shoulders up, as he knew fully well by now that Dan lost his balance when Phil kissed him.
“Maybe you weren’t,” Phil teased and Dan just rolled his eyes, pulling him in for another kiss.
Their lips danced together and Dan lost track of time, he forget everything except the way it felt to have Phil’s lips against his.
They broke apart, gasping for air before they moved back together like magnets. He never wanted to leave Phil, to not have Phil by his side.
“Prince Daniel!” Sam’s young voice called out from beside the tree.
Phil pulled away from him, he appeared to be as reluctant as Dan felt.
“Coming Sam!” Dan called back, and pecked Phil once more on the lips, enjoying the way it made Phil’s face beam with happiness.
His lips were swollen and red but twisted into a bright smile that turned Dan’s insides to goo.
They slipped out from out of the tree to find Sam looking very proud of himself, stood before them with the reins of a tall, light brown horse held in his hand.
“Here you are sir!” He held out the reins to Phil who thanked him gently. “Are you alright to mount her sir?” Sam asked and Dan nodded shakily, his fear of horses returned now that the giant creature stared at him. “I-I’ll be fine Sam. Thank you.”
Sam nodded, before turning to run away, his tiny body disappearing as he entered the stable.
“You’ll be fine,” Phil reassured him, guessing correctly as to why Dan was faltering.
As Dan continued to stare at the giant creature he was putting his faith in Phil sighed, “I’m jumping on after we get started remember?”
Dan took a deep breath, and tried to remind himself that Phil was a much better horse rider than him.
“Okay,” he slipped his foot into the stirrup, and used it to boost himself over the huge animal. Fern was much calmer than Mabel, but taller and as Dan sat on him he remembered why he usually rode Mabel.
“He’s really tall Phil,” Dan stammered, his muscles tight with fear as he held onto the reins until they were pressed harshly into the soft skin of his palms.
Phil nodded, “You’ll be fine Dan, I’m going to be there with you okay?” His voice soothed Dan and he felt his muscles relax slightly.
“Okay, let’s go.”
They began at a walk before they started to bounce into a trot, as the trot gained speed Phil began to run beside Dan, he tucked his foot into the stirrup and pulled himself up easily. Dan would be lying if he said his heart didn’t pound a little at the strength of his boyfriend. Even more so, when Phil wrapped his arms around Dan’s waist, “There see, we’re fine,” Phil grinned into his ear and Dan felt a happy shiver travel from the base of his spine to his shoulder blades.
“I love you,” he leaned back into Phil, their heads rested closely together and he sighed into the feeling.
He could just see a smile in Phil’s cheeks, “I love you too.”
~-~-~
Dan lay sprawled out on the bed, a stern expression on his face, “Nope. We can find another way.”
Phil flopped on top of him, the close proximity of their faces made it very difficult for Dan to concentrate, “This is the only way.” Phil insisted and Dan groaned, before he buried his face into Phil’s neck.
“She’ll never agree! To not tell my parents… that’s I don’t know... against servant code,” Dan muttered, his breath fanned into Phil’s neck. He smiled as Phil tried to hide a shiver.
“Firstly, I hid our relationship and you were fine with that. There is no servant code. Secondly she so knows about our relationship.” Phil pointed out and Dan pressed a gentle kiss to Phil’s neck, reveling in the way it made Phil gasp in shock and happiness.
“True,” Dan mumbled, his lips still ghosted against Phil’s neck.
“That is,” Phil gasped again as Dan kissed the sensitive skin, “Very distracting.”
Phil tugged him to his feet and led him to Betty’s chambers, which made Dan very grateful he had Phil because he wouldn’t have had a clue where to begin.
“Betty?” Dan called, as he knocked on the door gently.
The door flung open so quickly Phil nearly fell in, since he’d been leant against it.
There stood Betty, her brown hair pinned into the same bun as usual, a pen stuck through it. Her tall figure nearly matched the ridiculous height of both Dan and Phil but not quite, her strong grey eyes bore into Dan but he could see the same kindness he was used to in her round face.
“Your Highness? What brings you here?” She asked, shock evident on her face as her eyes flitted between him and Phil.
Something seemed to click in her brain as she stepped aside from the door to allow them in.
The first thing Dan noticed was her room was very small, he hadn’t ever been into the servant’s rooms as Phil had always come to Dan’s chambers instead.
There had never been any reason before now to enter one, but it was certainly small. Around the size of Dan’s bathroom, with only just enough space to walk around the bed, with a reasonable sized area at the foot of the bed. Betty’s bed was a dark purple, definitely not black but also not bright enough to be considered violet either.
“We need suits, and we need my parents not to know.” Dan cut straight to the chase, strangely this didn’t seem to faze Betty in the slightest.
“Matching or contrast?” She asked.
Even Phil seemed taken aback by the calm air she had about the whole thing, “You don’t want to know why?” He asked, his voice sounded completely in awe of her folded hands and pleasant smile.
“I figure I’ll find out at some point,” she waved her hands in dismissal.
Dan nodded slowly, barely able to understand the logic there, but for some reason it seemed to be fine with Betty.
“So, matching or contrast?” She asked once again, and stared at them over her rectangular spectacles.
Dan turned to Phil who shrugged, which was incredibly helpful.
“Well we don’t want to be too obvious, so contrast?” He suggested and Betty nodded, which made Dan smile.
He knew there was a reason he had always loved Betty.
“Now strip down both of you, I need to measure you.” She went into her closet to retrieve a measuring tape.
Dan turned to Phil, his cheeks flushed as they begun to take off their layers of clothing.
Despite the fact that they were dating, Dan felt embarrassed with only his boxers on in front of Phil, especially when Phil looked at him the way he was now, as though he was the most beautiful thing in the world. His eyes soft and warm, a smile smile adorned his face.
Dan barely thought that was fair, not when Phil was stood there with his pale chest clearly on display.
Every tiny giggle that left his lips made Dan fall further and further in love.
Subconsciously he had moved forward and suddenly their lips were touching gently, ghosting against each other. As they heard Betty begin to re-enter the room they pulled apart, much to Dan’s disappointment.
Betty raised one eyebrow slightly at the close proximity but it wasn’t a surprised look, more like a smirk, which Dan wasn’t sure Betty was able to produce.
“Mister Daniel,” Betty clicked her fingers for him to come over, “I’m thinking a dark blue, but not too dark. Between navy and cobalt, thoughts Mr Lester?” She asked, all in one breath, to the point as usual.
“Erm yeah sounds good,” Phil replied, his eyes never strayed from Dan.
His soft gaze made Dan’s knees wobble and his heart thunder against his chest.
“You’ve lost weight,” Betty commented idly, as she wrapped the tape measure around his hips and legs.
She then moved on to Phil, it shocked both of them as she grabbed his face and stared straight into his eyes.
“Eggplant purple,” she declared after about thirty seconds, “It would complement your eyes perfectly.”
Dan nodded, every colour would go perfectly with Phil’s eyes in his opinion so he wasn’t going to deny an expert’s opinion.
He tried not to allow the spark of jealousy that flared in his shoulders to truly erupt as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
Firstly, it was her job and he knew that this was necessary. Secondly, she was nearing on her fifties and he knew that she had a husband so he really needed to keep his jealousy under control.
He noticed Phil smirk at him and realised he wasn’t hiding the jealousy very well.
“Shut up,” he mouthed, with a pout.
Phil shrugged, but didn’t stop smiling, eyes bright and so fucking beautiful Dan wanted to die, “I didn’t say anything,” Phil mouthed back, before he blew Dan a kiss.
~-~-~
Alexis had insisted they get changed separately as it was more romantic. Which Dan had to admit, it was true, but it didn't help with the fear of Phil’s possible reactions to Dan in his outfit. What if he hated it?
As he looked in the mirror, Alexis straightened out his suit and helped to fasten the mask, he could see that Betty was right in her choices.
He wore a dark blue suit, just lighter than navy with a crisp white shirt, it sat tightly on his form, and made his shoulders more pronounced and his body more shaped.
His mask was fully gold, tendrils of embossing circled his eyes and twirled their way up to the centre of his forehead where they shaped a small crown.
He could see his brown eyes glowed from behind the mask, the flecks of gold that Phil assured him he had were for once visible.
“You look very nice Your Highness,” Alexis beamed at him, a motherly look in her eyes.
Dan let his instinct take control as he turned around and hugged her.
She squeezed him back tightly but pulled away happily when a hesitant knock sounded at the door.
“Alexis?” Max’s voice called from behind the door, “Neither of us can tie his erm… tie,” he explained.
Alexis rolled her eyes at Dan, but she grinned anyway. Dan knew she loved to help all of them, especially Max, as apparently he had barely ever openly told her he needed help despite being the best friend of her daughter.
“I’m going to get some fresh air,” Dan mumbled as Alexis hurried out, he grinned and stepped out onto the balcony and relished in the wave of cold air that washed over him.
As he stared out at the sun beginning to set Dan thought about tonight.
His mother had, as predicted, been beyond happy when Dan told her that he’d found a suitor who he really loved.
The fact that this suitor was a boy didn’t seem to bother her at all, which meant Dan felt slightly less terrified.
Although if he was honest he was more scared of Phil changing his mind, not actually wanting to tell his parents about them, not wanting them anymore. It was irrational and stupid, but he couldn’t help it.
Warm arms wrapped around him from behind which caused Dan to squeal in shock but any scared thought also flew from his mind as Phil pressed his lips to the back of Dan’s neck.
“You scared me Phil,” Dan grumbled, but he found it difficult to keep the smile off his face as Phil continued to press tickling kisses to the sensitive skin at the top of his spine.
“Hi Bear,” Phil whispered softly, The use of Dan’s childhood nickname made his heart flutter. However Dan could hear the nerves in his voice.
He turned around to face Phil and his heart stopped, a deep purple mask shaded Phil’s eyes and matched perfectly with his purple suit.
There were music notes painted onto the mask that framed the underneath of his eyes, edged with gold embossing that shone in the dusk light.
He looked so stunning that for a moment Dan forget everything that was scaring him, because he had this boy to call his own.
“You are so beautiful,” Phil said softly and that alone left Dan speechless.
He was beautiful?
The last thing he had expected was to be called beautiful before he got the chance to tell Phil the exact same thing. Rather than replying he leaned forward and pressed their lips together, trying to tell Phil how much he loved him while his voice was forgotten. It didn’t matter because as Phil kissed back it was like they were having a conversation.
“I love you. I love you. I love you.” His lips repeated as they brushed against Phil’s.
His hands reached up to cup Phil’s face and they moved closer as Phil’s hands rested on his hips.
“We have to go to the party now,” Dan whispered, he wished he didn’t have to break the beautiful, silent moment.
However he could see Alexis stood near the door, nervously fluttering but not wanting to come and break them up, which Dan could understand. So he had to be the one to break the serene moment they had, much as he hated it.
Phil smiled gently and pressed a kiss to the nose just visible out of Dan’s mask.
He moved so close that their eyes were perfectly in line and Dan felt his heart skip a beat as he stared at the beautiful seas that he loved so much.
They were so close he could see the flecks of yellow that reminded Dan of paint splatters in the blue green canvas that was his boyfriend’s eyes.
“I love you,” Phil mumbled and it made Dan tingle all over.
“I love you too,” he replied, as Phil’s eyes bore into him in the most beautiful way, as though he was trying to memorise every fleck of gold in Dan’s eyes.
“Let’s do this,” Phil took his hand.
~-~-~
His mother had set up the whole works; trumpets, an announcement, hundreds of eyes turned in him and he had to swallow back the fear in his throat.
With one last glance back at Phil who offered a shaky thumbs up as he stepped into the ballroom.
He was pretty sure no prince had been introduced to a ball with trumpets since the medieval times but there was nothing he could do as they burst into a little introduction.
“Prince Daniel!” A man with a deep voice presented.
Dan smiled, his mask thankfully hid most of his fear.
He could see his mother beam at him happily from behind an elegant gold and white mask lined with soft blue, her huge ball gown matched it perfectly. As he stumbled his way down the stairs, and tried not to seem like too big of a flop he smiled back at his mother, relieved that she actually did seem excited about meeting Phil.
“I’m so proud of you Daniel,” she kissed him on both cheeks and the act of affection made him grin.
“Thank you mother,” he replied softly.
He saw Phil sneak in through the servant doors, his hand tugged along by a tiny Sam in a white suit. Sam’s usually messy blonde hair combed neatly to the side and a small bow tie sat beneath his chin. Phil looked up at him and grinned, his face only partly visible beneath his mask but Dan could still see the fond enjoyment in his eyes.
Sam’s white mask was simple, and obvious that it belonged to a servant, but cute all the same, Dan wanted to run up and pull him into a hug, but that wouldn’t be appropriate, in this setting especially.
“So when will I meet this suitor of yours. Is he here?” His mother asked as she looked around, Dan was careful not to look at Phil despite how much his head wanted to turn there.
“He is here, and you will meet him soon,” Dan replied, and tried to keep a semi mysterious air. The more he got his mother excited to meet his suitor and then how much she liked him was very important.
His mother nodded and walked away to his father, he had to admit the small bounce in her step made him extremely happy. Many people approached him with well wishes and congratulations, in the past other suitors may have attempted to still become his partner despite him having found someone.
However in modern times that wasn't considered appropriate, thank god.
“Congratulations,” James sneered at him, Dan couldn’t help but wonder why he had been invited in the first place. Dan smiled back brightly, and ignored the malice in James’ eyes choosing to focus on the fact that he wouldn’t have to hide his relationship with Phil any longer.
“Thank you,” he replied before he marched off to Phil, he decided that there had been enough mystery as to who his suitor was.
Phil seemed slightly surprised as he saw Dan walk towards him and he giggled softly as Dan came into earshot.
“Impatient?” He teased.
Dan groaned with a small pout, he wished he could just pull Phil into a kiss there, but he knew they needed to take it slowly, “Just a little,” he replied with a shrug.
Sam grinned at him widely, his tooth just beginning to grow back, “Hello Prince Daniel!” He replied cheerily, before he lowered his voice to a hushed whisper and after he beckoned Dan closer he added, “I haven’t told anyone that it’s Mr Philip,” he promised.
Dan grinned, and gave the small boy a wink, “Thanks Sam. You won’t have to keep it a secret too much longer,” he said with a smile.
The idea was almost too good to humour, that Dan would be able to pull Phil into a kiss no matter where they were. That they could hold hands, cuddle in the library, walk through the orchard and plant kisses to lips without the worry of being spotted.
He felt Phil place a hand on the small of his back, which sent shivers up his spine.
“Let’s go talk to your parents yeah?” Phil whispered in Dan’s ear, his mask brushed the side of Dan’s face slightly. Dan nodded, and shifted so that Phil’s arm was wrapped tightly around him before he kissed him softly on the cheek. Both boys snickered softly as James’ wine glass dropped to the floor with a quiet smash, due to Cecilia gripping his arm too tightly. Her soft pink dress was large and flowery, like she was trying too hard to stand out.
Dan smiled at her, unable to keep dislike from his eyes.
She glared back, her blatant anger harsh in her eyes. In all honesty he was surprised she hadn’t told everyone it was Phil, since she had to have guessed already.
That much he could be grateful to her, it wasn’t much, but he supposed it would have to do.
His mother beamed with excitement, and clutched onto his father’s arm.
The King was wearing a pale blue suit to match his wife and a knowing expression, his mask hid some of it but Dan could see his father knew exactly who the mystery suitor was.
He swallowed heavily and allowed Phil’s arm to calm him.
“Mother, Father,” he nodded to both of his parents, “This is my suitor,” he stepped to the side as Phil kissed his mother’s hand.
“It is a pleasure to meet you my queen,” Phil bowed.
Dan could have sworn he saw his mother blush happily as Phil stood back up.
“And what is your name?” She asked with a polite nod of her head, clearly already taken with Phil.
Dan watched as Phil took a moment to consider before he replied calmly, “ Isn't a charade part of a masquerade ball Your Majesty? Why, I think under a mask we show who we truly are, our real faces are the masks, the masks we put on to survive the real world. The masks that we hide behind and hope to shield us from jealousy, anger and hatred. Tonight, however, we can be however we want .”
The queen nodded her eyes lit up in interest for this mysterious stranger and Dan grinned as Phil squeezed his hand.
Neither the King nor Queen appeared to notice this though as they smiled at each other.
Dan could still see the knowing twinkle in his father’s eyes as he ushered them away, “Go dance! Enjoy the night!”
Phil turned to him with a smile, taking his arm in a similar fashion to how you would escort a princess, “Shall we dance Your Highness?” He asked, a bright smile lit up his face.
“Yes we shall,” Dan replied, his cheeks ached from the smile that wouldn’t go away.
He beamed, and happiness radiated from his chest as Phil took his hip, and took Dan’s other hand in his so that they were in a typical waltz position. They began to twirl around the dance floor with the music, laughter bubbled in Dan’s chest as he was reminded of what an awful dancer Phil was. Their feet trod on each other’s whenever they turned which just served to make Dan laugh harder.
“You’re so bad,” he giggled as Phil spun him around clumsily.
He loved the way his body felt pressed up against Phil’s regardless of whether thier dance was elegant or not. They had stopped being in a traditional royal relationship the moment they started after all.
Phil poked his tongue out, “Shut up,” he grumbled, and attempted to pout but was smiling too widely to properly achieve it. Dan grinned and pulled Phil in closer against him, and let their hips press together as they twirled around, he swapped their hands so that Dan was in the lead.
“Maybe you should let me lead us?” Dan suggested with a raise of his eyebrow.
Phil opened his mouth to object before he snapped it shut and nodded in a resigned way.
Dan winked with an over exaggerated flourish, and ravished in the way it made Phil giggle, his tongue poked through his teeth. With Dan’s lead they begun to glide across the floor, Phil’s feet being tugged away from Dan’s until they were danced around the room so elegantly that he saw Cecilia’s jaw drop open.
He remembered when she had danced with him the first time.
She had practically dragged Dan onto the dance floor. She had held herself against him but Dan had attempted to hold her at arm’s length. This made it a not at all enjoyable dance and he was quite unable to properly lead them with the space between them. It was awkward and clumsy as Cecilia was an awful dancer for a princess and without Dan’s help was unable to actually waltz with him.
Dan couldn’t help but grin as he thought about how different this was.
Phil was pliant and warm against him, he allowed himself to be lead across the dance floor with a smile constantly on his face.
They felt like one person together, one unit that could do whatever they wanted.
“Okay yeah you leading was a good idea,” Phil murmured as Dan spun him around,before he pulled him back against his chest easily.
Dan laughed softly as he opened them up only to draw them back together again.
“I know,” he whispered when he drew Phil close enough.
They continued to dance all through the night, eventually too exhausted to continue to waltz around the room, instead they simply swayed in each other’s arms, heads rested on each other’s shoulders.
Dan could sense Phil look at something over Dan’s shoulder. He looked as though he wanted to go and do something, Dan followed his line of view and saw tiny Sam carrying a huge pile of plates and other dirty crockery, his tiny knees shook from the heavy weight he was carrying. They walked over to him without another word, hands slipped into each other’s as they walked as though on instinct.
“Hey Sam,” Phil bent down to the small boy’s height who attempted to look at who was them to him over the pile of plates he was carrying.
“Hello Prince Daniel! Hello Mr…” he trailed off as he remembered he wasn’t allowed to say Phil’s name. Dan took some of the crockery at the top of the pile out of Sam’s hold and heard the boy’s sigh of relief as the weight was semi relieved.
“Hi Sam,” Dan offered him a gentle smile, “Do you want us to help you?” He asked and Sam nodded hurriedly.
Phil took a similar pile to Dan’s off of the huge pile of plate the small eight year old was carrying. Dan remembered when Phil used to be this kid, the one who was piled with plates and crockery and anything else that needed to be lugged to the kitchen.
He wished that someone could have helped like he and Phil were now.
“Are we taking them to the kitchen?” Phil asked, and smiled at a noble as they passed.
Sam nodded again, he had to walk twice as fast in order to keep up with both Dan and Phil.
However he beamed with excitement as they walked to the kitchen, “I was given the special job of helping get the dishes but then people piled them a bit too much,” Sam explained. Phil gave Dan a look that said that was what Phil was told as well, they both smiled sympathetically.
“We’re very proud of you for trying so hard,” Phil encouraged him with a bright smile although Dan could see the pain behind his eyes, as he remembered the way he had crashed to the floor when he and Dan were only eleven smashing at least twenty plates that were held in his arms.
As they placed the plates down and re-entered with Sam in tow, a musician announced that this was the last song before the prince and suitor’s final dance.
“Would you like to dance with us Sam?” Phil asked and Dan beamed at him.
Sam’s eyes widened until they were the size of saucers, a huge smile covered his face as he nodded excitedly.
“A-am I allowed?” He asked, as he nervously glanced between Dan and Phil, when they nodded he bounced on the balls of his feet excitedly, “Yes please!” He exclaimed.
Dan took his hand and led him to the middle of the dance floor, Phil took his other hand and filled Dan’s body with tingles.
Sam took Phil’s hand so that they were stood in a small circle and swaying on the spot.
“You’re like the bestest prince ever Prince Daniel,” Sam said happily as Dan twirled him in a little circle. Dan felt his heart warm happily as the words left Sam’s lips, “Thank you,” he grinned.
Phil smiled at him, his eyes warm and soft, “I agree Sam. He’s like the bestest in the world.”
Dan felt his cheeks flush as Phil squeezed his hand.
The song trickled to an end, Sam jumped backwards and bowed awkwardly before he hurried off. Dan took Phil in his arms and assembled them so that they were ready to dance, as it was the last dance of the night, everyone would watch them.
“Do you want me to lead?” He teased Phil, who merely rolled his eyes and allowed Dan to take his arms.
They begun to glide across the floor, and their feet stepped in perfect time. Although Phil’s steps were a little more clumsy. Dan could feel Phil’s heart as it thundered against his chest, they were pressed so closely together.
“I love you,” Phil whispered in his ear as they begun to slow to a stop.
Dan grinned, “I love you too,” he replied easily.
He cradled the back of Phil’s head in his hand and pulled their lips together.
Their masks brushed against each other’s as their mouths pressed together gently, as usual they fitted perfectly and comfortably so that they seemed connected.
Every part of them, connected and together.
Hands in hair, lips softly pushed and pulled against each other.
It can’t have gone for more than thirty seconds but it was Dan’s favourite kiss they ever had, the way their lips appeared to pour out their love for each other. Every time they touched sweet and comfortable, a reminder that this was the last time they would be a secret. In a couple of minutes everyone would know about them.
Dan couldn’t tell whether his heart was thumping because of the kiss or because of nerves.
As they pulled away he smiled gently at Phil, “Are you ready?” He asked softly, so quietly that only Phil would be able to hear.
Phil nodded, his eyes never looked away from Dan’s.
“Ok,” Dan whispered, “I have an idea, do you trust me?” he asked nervously.
Phil’s eyes were an electric blue today, the purple and gold of the mask brought out the bright green and yellow flecks in his irises.
“I will always trust you,” Phil replied without even a thought.
Dan blushed lightly, and pulled away out of Phil’s arms just enough so he could reach Phil’s mask easily.
“Take mine off first,” Dan whispered, this felt like a special moment that should remain between the two of them, they didn’t need other people to eavesdrop.
Phil nodded, his warm fingers brushed against Dan’s face as he undid the golden clasps, “I love you,” Phil mumbled as he revealed Dan’s face, Dan felt his heart leap at the way Phil looked at him.
“I love you too,” Dan said back as he removed the purple mask from Phil’s eyes and revealed the person that Dan loved so dearly, the eyes that sparkled like the ocean in the morning.
He heard a few people who could see Phil gasp, his parents however were on the other side. Unable to see the newly revealed person beneath the mask, the mystery suitor who Dan had finally fallen for. His father seemed to be a bit nonchalant, Dan had no doubts that his father already knew who the mysterious person behind the mask was.
“I love you,” Dan whispered one more time, as he took Phil’s hands.
“I love you too.”
As Phil drew him into the last kiss they would ever share before his parents knew about their relationship Dan couldn’t help but smile.
This was all he wanted in life, to be able to kiss Phil like this whenever he wanted.
In front of whoever he wanted.
Phil’s nose nudged against his gently as their lips melded together. It was soft and warm, like being cuddled in a fluffy blanket, Phil’s lips tasted and felt like home.
As they drew away Dan couldn’t stop the smile that covered his face, and it seemed Phil felt the same.
He could feel his mother’s eyes burn into them from over Phil’s shoulder, so with a sigh he gave Phil a look that said ‘are you ready?’
Phil nodded, and took his hand and Dan took a deep inhale of air to calm the nerves that were returning to his system.
Together they turned to face Dan’s parents.
His mother’s mouth dropped open, so that she vaguely reminded Dan of a painting he studied at one point called The Scream .
“Philip?” She gasped, and clutched Dan’s father’s hand so tightly Dan actually saw the King wince.
Phil shrugged sheepishly, his skin an adorable shade of pink as Dan’s parents “met” him as Dan’s boyfriend.
He bowed politely as he had been taught to his whole life, as he let go of Dan’s hand for a moment to do so.
“Your Majesties,” Phil murmured so lowly that the royal family could only just hear him.
Dan glanced at his parents worriedly, or more specifically his mother, his father seemed to be rather proud of himself as he must have already guessed.
His mother appeared to have mildly recovered, as her mouth had closed and her grip on Dan’s father has loosened. As his mother inhaled through her nose Dan felt his heart drop and tears sting his eyes, he could already sense disapproval on the horizon.
“Treat him well,” The queen said, her voice slightly strained but genuinely happy, “My son deserves someone like you, someone kind. I’m sorry for how I’ve t-treated you,” She apologised.
Dan could tell how hard it was for her to say, she never apologised to anyone.
Never admitted she was wrong, or that she had done something bad, but she was now and that was all that mattered.
It was both Dan and Phil’s turn to let their mouths hang open now, Phil’s hand gripped Dan’s as though he believed if he didn’t hold on tight enough it would all be a dream.
Dan felt exactly same way, this couldn’t be real.
Couldn’t be real.
“I love you Daniel,” his mother turned to him, “I want you to be happy. Understand I will need some time but I will definitely support you.” She faced both of them and added, “Both of you.”
Even the King was staring proudly at his wife, this was possibly the best moment of Dan’s life.
He dropped Phil’s hand and raced forward. He pulled his mother into a hug, she let out a small gasp of surprise before he wrapped her arms around him.
It was tense and strange, he hadn’t properly hugged his mother since he was very tiny, but her petite frame was warm and he was just so grateful.
~-~-~
They trudged their way up to Dan’s bedroom.
No.
Their bedroom, at a time that nobody should be awake.
In fact he was almost positive that the sun had begun to rise through the window in his lounge room but he didn’t bother to check.
He flopped into the bed, and was automatically drawn to the warmth that was Phil. He wrapped his arms around Phil’s waist and drew them together, pulling Phil’s lips against his like a reflex.
Phil tasted of expensive wine and grapes as Dan’s weirdo of a boyfriend “doesn’t like cheese”.
They were soft and lazy kisses as both boys were too tired to make out but more just enjoyed being able to kiss each other. Dan loved the way that even in their exhausted state, Phil could still make his stomach flip and his heart race. Even though he was sure he would kiss these lips hundreds of times to come, it still felt like a treasure that he needed to protect and that was alright with him.
Their bubble had been popped, Dan’s family knew about them, their secret was out in the world. However they were still just Dan and Phil, a special secret that still felt like it only belonged to them.
Dan wouldn’t have it any other way.
He pulled away and tucked his head under Phil’s chin against the warm chest that he would use as a pillow.
“I love you idiot,” Dan pressed a kiss to the skin beneath Phil’s chin, and enjoyed the way it made a little gasp escape Phil’s lips.
He could hear the smirk in Phil’s voice as he replied,
General warnings: death mentions (not main characters)
Description: Phil is a botanist who enjoys going on hikes through the woods, when someday he walks into someone quite… particular. He didn’t believe in coincidences, so maybe it really was fate that guided his steps.
Additional tags: botanist!phil, prince!dan, fantasy, strangers to lovers, completed
♛ summary: chapter one of everybody wants to rule the world
♛ warnings: anxiety, verbal abuse, very mild sexual assault, blood mentions
♛ word count: 12.6k
♛ beta: zoe (@slowtown__)
♛ extra info:
- asterisk (*) indicates a time skip
- crown (♛) indicates a pov change
A golden sun kissed the horizon. It was framed by two mountains cast into shadow, almost like they were giving it a place to rest. Feather-like clouds drifted above into a whirlpool of blue and orange hues. The sun’s rays cast the colours into the sky, creating a blend perfect for the dusk of a night like this.
Before the sun lay a kingdom, huts, cottages and bungalows jumbled together around the outskirts as if huddling close for warmth. Already their roofs had been subjected to darkness. Closer to the centre, homes turned into shops and businesses, a little more dispersed this time. Inns, taverns, blacksmiths and libraries gathered towards the grand hall; a gentle glow rose from the winding streets, indicating that activity hadn’t ceased just yet. Continuing up a wide slope, buildings became far more spread out, the hill decorated by imposing villas and estates littered with cottages and their sloping thatched roofs. The remaining light caressed the tips of these mansions, shimmering against their gold and silver embellishments.
But the magnificent view was nothing different for the young man seated on the stone floor of a balcony, which looked out over Croma. He had watched the kingdom from this spot for years, legs sticking out through the balustrades, shoes threatening to slip off and tumble 40 feet to the courtyard below. It was his place. His place to sit, and think, and pretend that he was anywhere but that very balcony.
The balcony which jutted out from the King’s palace, crouched at the top of the hill and looming over Croma like a formidable monster.
Often, the young man wished he spent his days down in the city, away from the palace, but he was the King’s son. If he ever went into the city, it was once a month, with an army of soldiers and escorts glued to his back.
“A prince always has a price on his head,” his father would tell him, and still told him now. “Be thankful for your protection, Daniel.”
The young man preferred Dan, naturally, but his parents never understood that. And to the commoners and the Eluthian people, who were enslaved by Croma when the King’s forces conquered their nation, he was always Your Royal Highness or Your Majesty or sire. It was verbal torture.
Though on the balcony, Dan felt he could escape it all. But never completely.
His arms rested flat on the smooth stone parapet, chin laid on top of his wrists as his eyes wandered over the vast landscape before him stretching for miles and miles. Safe behind an overshadowing wall of limestone dotted with watchtowers, the kingdom was surrounded by crags and mountains, built upon raised land within a deep valley scattered with woodlands, quarries and waterways. There was only one entrance in and out of the area, a mountain pass heavily fortified by the King’s army. The kingdom was safe, protected and had the resources to grow into a powerful and intimidating empire. Croma was more than a force to be reckoned with.
Eventually, Dan dragged his sulking brown eyes to the palace gates, these towering ornate things welded from gold and steel. For most of his life, they had been locked shut, but tonight they hung wide open to welcome a tsunami of guests. A familiar groan of anxiety twisted in his stomach when Dan looked upon the coaches and carriages flooding the royal court. They could only be weighed down by the most elite, heavy from wealth in their pockets and arrogance in their hearts. They were close friends and acquaintances of the royal family, as well as a large handful of the nobility, all invited to the King’s palace for a celebration.
And oh, how Dan wished they were celebrating anyone but himself.
Many months prior, plans and preparations had been made for this gala, which marked Dan’s 21st birthday and his agreement to succeed his father as King when the time came. By far, it was one of the most important and most extravagant events in Croma, stretching over an entire week. A week Dan was certain he wouldn’t survive.
Without having to close his eyes, he could envisage what was expected of him in the next half hour or so. Standing stiff and proud at the rear of one of the many palace ballrooms, greeting every guest with a firm handshake or a bow and a polite grin. His parents would stand either side of him, all three flanked by guards with their glinting spears. Then would come the introductions to his countless bachelorettes – daughters of distinguished nobles and esteemed military generals, women from foreign nations in the far east, any girl of aristocracy deemed rich enough and strong enough for the prince’s hand, first in dance and then in marriage.
Dan shuddered at the very thought of having to choose a bride from the pack, let alone greet each and every one of them. For not only was he celebrating his birthday, but it was tradition for the King’s son to select his wife during the week-long celebrations. Of course whoever she was wasn’t permanent, but soon would be if Dan never discarded her, as horrible as that sounded. He didn’t want to discard anyone, but he didn’t want to choose anyone either.
I wonder what would happen if I never left this balcony, he wondered, eyes following a random carriage gilded in gold. The vehicle circled the fountain in the centre of the courtyard once before the horses slowed to a halt at the entrance of the palace. Fifty stairs clambering up to carved oaken doors – as wide as his father’s throne and taller than five men stacked upon each other – is what led this family of four to the castle that dwarfed the kingdom. Dan turned away as the coachman cracked his whip against the horses and the carriage lurched forward.
It was one amongst hundreds, surely – although, he’d never seen the official guest list. He couldn’t bear to find out how many haughty men and women would look upon him as their next great leader. The version of a leader they begged for, and one Dan feared he would become.
With reluctant fingers, Dan reached into the lining of his pearl-white dress uniform, slipping out a fob watch from his jacket. The seal of Croma glared up at him from the lid, a shield and sword surrounded by the unfurling wings of a crowned eagle, the empire’s native creature. He flipped it open with a curt sigh. The watch revealed it was nearing 7 o’clock. Dear God. If he didn’t get downstairs now, his mother would wring his neck.
For the moment Dan tried to cast all thoughts of the looming evening from his mind. He tucked the watch away, wriggled back from the balustrades and straightened out his uniform. The balcony was wide, and ferns sprung from the floor gardens in the centre, but Dan had no problem manoeuvring his way inside.
Just as he passed through the slim doorway, freshly-polished boots landing with a clack on the marble floor, he ran into someone.
A woman had rounded the corner, a black uniform dress hugging her short, plump build and golden hair pulled into a harsh bun at the back of her neck. Her hairline was hidden by a pristine white wrap. She cried out in shock once she registered the person in front of her, and stumbled back. Dan did the same.
It took a moment for both of them to recognize each other.
“Oh! Oh, Dan, I’ve finally found you,” the woman sighed in relief, flattening a hand over her chest and catching her breath. “The Queen is fit to burst with fury, you realize. Where in God’s name have you been? You have a ball to hold in less than thirty minutes.”
“Uh – yeah, yeah I know. Sorry Louise. I was just out on the balcony, like always.”
“Well, you obviously spent far too long out there. But your mother might not skin you alive if we head down now.”
Dan nodded, fiddling with his silver cufflinks as he followed Louise down a wide corridor to the left. The exasperated woman was the only slave in the entire palace permitted to call him by his first name. Naturally, as the nurse who had brought him up through childhood and adolescence, it was expected. She had bottle-fed him milk when he was only several months old, for goodness’ sake. In fact, Dan considered Louise more of a mother than his biological one. Even as a slave, she had a great deal of authority over the boy – if only by maternal standards.
“The guests are already starting to mill in the great hall,” Louise told him as he finally reached her side. “You’ve got a sea of people to deal with, my dear. All of them dolled up in their finery…might as well be shouting, ‘Look at me! I have more piles of gold than I ever know what to do with!’”
Dan couldn’t help but snigger at her words, more than happy to hear the woman insult his subjects. Only when they were alone could they make fun of the outrageous nobility. If anyone else heard Louise speak of the people that way, she would be publicly whipped, especially as a slave expected to do nothing more than serve those higher than herself. Dan despised the whole system entirely.
“Is it possible for me to disappear into the walls and speak to no one?” he asked, glancing at the deep blue walls of the corridor as if he could melt into the patterned wallpaper forever.
“You know those rumours of magic are nothing more than that – rumours. But if I could let you do that just tonight, I would,” Louise replied, sending him a comforting smile.
They came to stop outside an ornate wooden door. The nurse turned to face Dan, squeezing his forearm gently. “Try not to panic. Although they’re idiots, they all adore you–”
“But that’s exactly what I’m scared of.”
“Darling…you’ll make it through tonight. I know you will. How many times now have you conquered parties like this?”
“I’ve lost count. But they’ve never been this massive and never about me.”
Louise huffed a sigh and swiped some invisible dust particles off his gold epaulettes. “Stop your complaining,” she told him firmly. “You’re a prince, aren’t you? And princes always face things head on, with as much courage as they can muster.”
Dan was pretty sure that wasn’t a universally known thing, but he nodded anyway. “I guess…”
“And besides, just think about the endless food you’ll get to eat. Then in a few hours, you’ll be able to crawl into bed with no one to bother you for the rest of the night.”
That did sound very appealing. Slowly, a smile quirked up Dan’s features and Louise returned the grin, tapping him lightly on the nose with her finger. “There’s the Dan I know,” she murmured. “Now hurry up, you can’t keep the King and Queen waiting.”
Dan nodded again, ignoring the sudden stirring of the contents in his stomach. He watched as Louise pulled the door open to reveal a thin shaft with torches scattered along stone walls, stairs spiralling down to the ground floor. It was a shortcut to the main ballroom, where the first evening of the gala would be held.
The boy took a few tentative steps onto the first platform, before turning to look at Louise.
She gave him a lopsided smile. “I’ll be waiting for you when you get back,” she promised.
With that, Dan swallowed and closed the door, finding himself alone at the top of the spiral staircase. Then he drew a deep breath, carded fingers through his dusky brown curls and descended the steps – much like descending into his own version of hell.
The chatter of the guests had grown into a nerve-wracking rumble when Dan found his parents. Although the shortcut had allowed him to calm the churning of his stomach, it was only a brief reprieve before the noise returned. It hung relentlessly around his ears like buzzing insects, and if he could swat them away he would do so viciously.
The King and Queen waited for him in a secluded space at the back of the ballroom, hidden behind two towering crimson drapes. It was the space in which they had prepared for their grand entrance of the first night, receiving last minute touch ups to hair and formal wear. But, late as he was, Dan had no time for grooming. He burst into the room with a dishevelled fringe and nervous beads of sweat dampening his collar, a sight at which his mother nearly fainted when her eyes fell upon him.
“I’m terribly sorry I’m late,” Dan said immediately, the words tumbling from his mouth in a low rush. “I lost track of time, I didn’t think–”
“No, you never think, as you always do,” the Queen interrupted sharply.
Dan’s chest tightened. “Sorry,” he murmured, reluctantly meeting the beady brown eyes of Jenea, his mother. She glowered up at him with narrowed lips to match, as intimidating as ever despite her short size. She’d been clothed in one of her finest dresses tonight, a gown of white decorated with lace and bedazzled in gold. A tiara rested gently upon her greying hair, which toppled over her shoulders in ringlets. To Croma’s people, she might have been the living definition of beauty, but Dan knew all too well what lay beyond that façade. She had a mind which dwelled on nothing but power, and a frozen heart which turned its head at the broken, the beaten and the damned.
Her husband, King Arran, stood beside her with a disapproving look weighing upon his lined face. Even on the week of his succession, Dan couldn’t escape that look from his father. But the man had never been as harsh and domineering as the Queen, somehow maintaining the hope that Dan would become the triumphant king he pictured. Dan was almost miserable, knowing he would be let down.
With the introduction of the royal family about to begin, the Queen’s gloved hand closed around Dan’s forearm and she dragged him to stand between herself and her husband. “Fix your hair and straighten that coat,” came her snapping voice.
Dan did as he was told, attempting to brush his curls into a neat fringe before sweeping his fingers down his uniform. Then he lifted his head, the murmur of the guests returning to his ears. Oh my God, he thought. He was about to be presented to all of Croma’s affluent citizens, on display for their judgmental eyes to study and gawk at. How he held himself as the Prince was to be tested tonight, as well as during the coming days. Every move he made, every word that left his mouth…all of it would be there for Croma to scrutinize. And if he screwed any of it up, then God help him.
Conversation that filled the ballroom simmered away as a voice boomed above the rest. The man’s words could’ve emptied Dan’s stomach themselves:
“Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests and honourable men and women – I present to you His Royal Highness, King Arran of Croma, Her Royal Highness, Queen Jenea of Croma, and their admirable son and soon-to-be King of Croma, His Royal Highness, Prince Daniel.”
The guests erupted into deafening applause. The curtains began to sweep apart. The King and Queen straightened their backs and plastered warm smiles onto their faces.
Dan sucked in a breath which quaked at the edges, and he watched as Croma’s crest was split down the middle. And for a moment, when his eyes locked onto the now divided crown that adorned the eagle’s head, a heavy sense of foreboding crept upon him like the shadow of a thundercloud. But notion was gone as quickly as it had come; Dan gazed upon the hundreds of faces grinning and celebrating his presence, and he understood that for the impending week, they were all his world revolved around.
*
Parties, balls and celebrations had always been things of tradition for the royal family. Every few months, a festivity of some kind was hosted for Croma’s nobility to revel in, in honour of a great military success, or perhaps a seasonal change or another birthday. But really, they were outlets for the King to showcase his power and wealth, throwing the common people under his shadow.
For 16 years of his pampered life, Dan had attended these celebrations with his parents. In fact, they were all that made his life interesting, despite how much he loathed them. The first he attended when he was 6 years old, an immense outdoor party to commemorate the spring months which promised new life among the livestock and harvest in the western grasslands. For the most part he tagged along with his parents, clinging to his mother’s satin skirt like it was a lifeline.
In Dan’s little mind, the parties were never ending. Every day it seemed he had to navigate through a scary forest of rich, important people; men in their regal war clothes and polished boots, and women with jewels on their throats and dresses layered with a hundred petticoats. He remembered how often his mother’s court friends would gush about him. They’d squeeze his cheeks, ruffle his hair, and say odd things like, “I remember when you were only months old! Look at you now! Oh, My Lady, you must be so proud…” but Dan had never seen them before in his life!
Then came the gentlemen, throwing one or two comments his way about how great a man he would become, before laughing to themselves at jokes he didn’t understand. But unlike most boys, Dan hadn’t longed to be one of them, to be treated like them. All he wanted was to escape to his bedroom and play card games with Louise, or explore what lay beyond Croma’s walls. However, at such a young age, going past those walls was heavily forbidden, let alone leaving the palace gates.
As he grew older, all those parties evolved from a childish fright into a foreboding fear. When he realised they no longer saw him as the adorable, naïve child he once was, the words of the nobility began to root in his heart. Gossip spread and rumours were left to boil. The Prince could never escape the public eye, and so anxiety and intimidation began to consume him until royal galas, like the celebration of his 21st birthday, were among his greatest fears.
This would all explain the vomit that threatened to rise up his throat as he followed his parents through the crowd, greeting every guest. The men and women always painted smiles on their faces when talking to the royal family, but with years of experience Dan could recognise the true emotions in their eyes. Scowls and sly looks of disgust, watching, dissecting and judging him.
Musicians in a far corner had picked up a floaty tune, mingling with talk and laughter in the background. Dan tried to settle his mind on the serene violins, trying to relax. Meanwhile, his mother stood beside him searching for the next acquaintance to chat with – and it didn’t take her long to find them.
“Sir Eliphas! What a pleasure to see you tonight,” the Queen enthused, causing an elderly gentleman in a military uniform to whirl away from his previous conversation.
His thin eyes widened as much as physically possible upon seeing the King’s wife standing before him. The man immediately dropped into a deep bow, taking her hand in his own and lightly kissing the top. “My Queen, the pleasure is completely my own,” he assured her, and then his eyes shifted to Dan before taking another bow. “And my Prince, it is an honour to greet you formally.”
Shut up! Dan wanted to shout. This is ridiculous, I’m a human just like you. But he reminded himself that he was royalty, and apparently he was to be treated like treasure no matter how equal he thought he was to others.
“L-Likewise,” he eventually blurted. “But please, I dislike all that formality. There’s no need for titles and…stuff.”
This earned him a scathing look from his mother, and he expected no less. Sir Eliphas glanced up at him with shock and confusion riddling his features.
“Your Majesty, I couldn’t possibly…”
“My son is a little overwhelmed by tonight’s proceedings,” the Queen interrupted hurriedly. “Of course you must refer to him with the proper titles.”
Sir Eliphas hesitated before granting her a curt nod. “I wouldn’t do anything but, your Highness.” He gave Dan quite a reserved, baffled look before slipping away into the crowd.
Dan’s mother turned on him as soon as the gentlemen was gone, her face pulled into a harsh frown. She refrained from grabbing his arm. “Enough of this,” she hissed. “This is a ceremonial gala held in honour of your birthday, and you have been nothing but vulgar and selfish. You are a prince, Daniel, and almost a king – act like one.”
A familiar pit of anguish hollowed out Dan’s stomach. “I’m sorry, mother,” he said quietly.
“That is not nearly a good enough apology. But because we are surrounded by our kingdom’s highest society, I will drop the matter.” The Queen gave an exasperated huff, lifting her head and regaining her composure. “Now then. You are yet to meet and dance with your many suitors. Please try to be more sociable with them tonight.”
“Of course,” Dan replied, ignoring the pit which grew deeper at the mention of his bachelorettes.
It was what he dreaded most about this week. How was he expected to select a bride within seven days? In fact, he couldn’t remember ever wanting a bride since he knew what marriage was. Girls had been shoved in his direction from the age of five, but not once had Dan experienced any attraction to them. When he was six, others would gush about how adorable a couple he and some nobleman’s daughter would make. But Dan had frowned and wriggled his toes in distaste. Ick! I would never, ever kiss a girl. I don’t even like girls all that much!
At such a young age, Dan thought this was all very normal. But as he became a teenager, he learned that the people around him saw it as abhorrent and unnatural. So he told no one when he grew shy and flustered around a particularly pretty boy, or when his downstairs area made a few special appearances as he spent time with the sons of his mother’s friends. It was his deepest, darkest secret, and although Dan himself saw nothing wrong with liking boys, he was forced to keep his feelings under lock and key.
After all, how could a prince marry a man when he must have a queen?
The voice of his mother drew him out of the thoughts he was buried in. “Now Daniel, you’re about to meet your first suitor. I want your head up, a smile on your face and your best decorum. This woman may possibility be your wife, so it is absolutely important you behave like a gentleman.”
“Yes mother,” Dan said clearly, standing tall for her sake. He quickly scanned the people around him for any younger-looking girls.
“And make sure she feels respected and valued,” the Queen added.
“Of course, I would never do anything other than that.”
He followed his mother through the crowd, drawing in a deep breath when she raised her hand in a gentle wave towards someone. Quickly enough, a beautiful dark-skinned girl stood in front of him, wearing a silky marigold gown and a golden headdress upon a chignon of sleek black hair. Her parents – presumably – flanked either side of her in matching gold formal wear.
The Queen cleared her throat, smiling brightly at the trio before turning to Dan. “Darling, may I present the Count and Countess of Tawae, from the eastern province of Kashirid, and their daughter, Lady Asha.”
Dan kept his gaze on the girl, offering her a kind smile. He knew all too well what to do. “It’s lovely to meet you, my lady,” he said genuinely, bowing and lightly kissing the top of her hand. “I am Prince Daniel, if you hadn’t already guessed. And might I say you look exquisite in that gown tonight.”
Lady Asha scrunched up her nose and giggled at his joke, before replying, “Thank you, your Highness. You look equally as handsome in your uniform.”
The compliment sent a grin across Dan’s features, but he felt nothing romantically. In fact, he only wanted to say sorry to the girl, sit her down and explain everything to her. She really was quite charming, and deserved someone who would make her feel truly loved. Not himself.
This exchange continued with eight other girls of royal or noble birth, most very beautiful and friendly in their own right, but Dan knew he could never love them. They greeted him with enthusiasm and charisma, enough to woo any man who was attracted to the opposite gender. However, no connections sparked within Dan’s heart and no butterflies crowded his stomach as he spoke to any of them. And just before his mother led him to the tenth and last suitor, a sudden cloud of terror fell upon him.
He had to marry one of these women. He would be forced to spend the rest of his life with them, kissing them, touching them, and being intimate with them. And it…sickened him. Not because of the girl herself, but the thought of being with a girl in that way just made him feel gross, for lack of a better word.
Dan would have a woman by his side throughout the rest of his life, a woman he could never love as a husband should.
He was terrified.
*
“Daniel, may I introduce General Oskar Thaddäus, his wife Auguste and their wonderful daughter Maren.”
She had thin silver-blonde hair, pinned away from a pale face and tumbling down her back. It showed off her elegant features – alluring grey eyes, cheekbones travelling sharply towards full lips coloured mauve. Her pearl brocade dress exposed her collarbones, dipping inwards at the waste before tumbling down in a thick skirt. By all standards, Maren was – magnificent.
But once again, when Dan pressed his lips to the back of her gloved hand (something he’d now grown quite weary of doing) he felt nothing.
“I hope you’ve enjoyed tonight so far?” he asked with a now-painful smile. “I think the royal staff have outdone themselves for decorations.”
It was too formal. Too fake. Too deceptive.
Maren seemed to hear it differently. “On the contrary, your Highness,” she said sultrily, and brushed her fingers against his forearm, “it’s all very captivating – much like yourself.”
Dan raised a curious eyebrow. “You seem bold, Maren, especially in the Prince’s presence. Is that a trait of the Obodelians?” he teased, referring to the people of her own nation.
“I’m afraid that’s just myself. Mother always told me how daring I was as a child. I was never afraid of getting myself into trouble.” There was some hidden message behind her eyes as she stared up at him sensually through her lashes. Dan was sure he didn’t want to find out.
By now the Queen and Maren’s parents had dissipated back into the party, probably content with how well they seemed to hit it off. Dan only wished he could do the same. He dreaded where this conversation was heading, especially since the girl was so keen on him. Already her closeness made him want to sprint off into the maze-like corridors of the palace. But he was expected to spend quality time with every girl presented to him, no matter how uncomfortable she made him feel. So as Maren continued to throw flirtatious remarks at him every minute, he tried to prepare himself for the rest of the night, which was bound to be filled with many more distressing situations.
“So what was it like? Growing up in such a grand palace?”
Maren raised a glass of champagne to her lips and poured a little down her throat. After more chatter filled with double meanings, Dan had reluctantly taken her to the enormous table of refreshments. She was more than willing to follow him, obviously pleased with how interested in her he seemed to be. But in reality, Dan had caught the scalding glare of his mother several times; he knew he was being watched.
“Probably worse than you’d imagine,” Dan replied honestly. “I get lost half the time through all the endless corridors, and very rarely do I ever leave the gates. It’s very confined.”
A frown tugged on Maren’s lips. “But surely there’s a lot of privacy? With so many bedrooms to hide away in…where you can do whatever you please…”
Dan cleared his throat. “Not when there are guards stationed literally everywhere. I swear they know more of the court gossip than I do.”
“That’s interesting. You know, my family has guards in our private villa here as well as back home, but it’s only just occurred to me how much they probably listen in on. I mean, I barely know they exist! They must know all the scandals I tell my friends.”
Well, maybe you should pay more attention to those who would defend your life, no matter how cruelly you treat them, Dan wished he could say.
“You should be more careful next time,” he replied with a pitiful wink.
Maren paused for a moment, holding his gaze with a knowing smirk. And then she asked, “So Daniel, out of all your potential brides, who do you prefer?”
“Uh…” Dan felt trapped all of a sudden. He took a sip of champagne to stall for time. “I – I haven’t spent nearly enough time with all of them to decide. I’ll get back to you once the week is up.”
“I look forward to it,” Maren simpered.
Before the conversation could continue, the Queen appeared at Dan’s side looking thoroughly stressed. She roughly turned her son round to face her. “Daniel, there you are. The first dance is about to begin, and it is you who must lead first. I hope you haven’t forgotten–”
“Of course he hasn’t, your Majesty,” Maren butted in, slinking up to Dan and linking their arms together. “In fact, he’s chosen me as his first partner.”
A mixture of relief and fascination passed over the Queen’s face. “That’s wonderful to hear, Maren. I…I’m sure you’ll both woo everyone out there. And Daniel, don’t forget what you learned in those dance lessons.”
Dan found he had no say in the entire exchange, and could only nod at his mother. Suddenly, without letting him compose himself, a voice boomed out over the crowd. The chatter dissolved a little and all eyes turned to the announcer at the back of the ballroom. “Ladies, gentlemen and other noble guests, His Royal Highness, Prince Daniel, will now lead us in a slow waltz – the first dance of the night.”
At this, applause once again erupted around the room. Dan shifted his gaze to Maren, smiled and bent his elbow for her to grasp. Now, it was time to pretend.
The crowd parted instantly for the couple, looking on with wide, spellbound eyes as they glided towards the middle of the dancefloor. Dan held one arm stiff behind his back, chin tilted towards the ceiling. Maren’s dress swirled and shimmered across the patterned floor; she seemed as comfortable as ever in the nobility’s gaze. They came to a halt in the centre of the circle; Dan spun in his boots, interlocked his fingers with Maren’s and gently held onto her waist. Her spare hand rested on his shoulder. The zeal in her eyes couldn’t be missed.
The first stroke of a violin was heard. Dan stepped forward, Maren stepped back, and suddenly they were dancing, drifting across the floor as the music filled the room. They seemed to hover above the marble, Maren’s skirt swirling outwards as Dan clutched her waist, desperately trying not to let her go. His dance tutor had taught him the waltz for years, and if he screwed up now, it might as well be all for nothing.
He spun her twice beneath his arm, and they continued to step in time with the music. Then he dipped her down towards the marble, pretending to be enthralled when she threw her head back and exposed her neck. Murmurs floated through the mass of guests.
As the instrumental piece grew more intense, Maren drew herself closer to Dan, her hand shifting to rest beside his neck. Her fingers were like ice on his nape, and he wanted nothing more than to shove her away. That part of him was off limits to everyone. But Maren must’ve mistaken the discomfort on his face for embarrassment, and a smirk passed over her lips.
She was close. Too close. He could almost feel her warm breath ghosting his cheeks. And she had this gleam in her eye, like she wanted something and was convinced Dan wanted it too. The pair were still completing the first waltz as the guests looked on, but all he could think about was her and the anxiety she was causing with her intentions. He could feel it mounting in his stomach, a horrible black thing eating him from the inside out. He didn’t want this. He didn’t want any of it. He wanted to end the dance right now, end the whole goddamn gala.
The song was reaching its finale. Dan swiftly lowered Maren towards the ground again, before hauling her back up and spinning, spinning, spinning until the last bow left its violin. The music ended. They twirled to a stop, Maren pressing almost her entire body against Dan’s, breathing heavily into his ear. He could hear nothing but that, deaf to the clapping that followed their grand performance and the announcer’s next words, calling all the guests to join Prince Daniel and his captivating lady on the dance floor.
“Well done, your Highness,” Maren whispered against his earlobe.
Dan closed his eyes and opened them, swallowing heavily. Then he pulled away from her slightly. “Th-thank you for not stepping on my toes,” he squeezed out awkwardly.
Maren cocked her head, but she seemed amused. Couples began to surround them, grasping hands and waists and whirling off into their own worlds. “Well, we should hope it doesn’t happen in the next dance,” she smiled.
Before he could object, Maren had whisked him back onto the floor. They melted quickly into the men and women around them, all caught up in another graceful waltz. Dan looked anywhere but his partner’s seductive expression. Her hands burned where they gripped his arms, and the heat and intensity she gave off started to make him a little dizzy. If he could just last one more waltz, just this one, he could find someone else to dance with. Or even better, he could disappear…maybe hang around the buffet tables for a while –
“You know, you’re not who I thought you would be, your Highness,” Maren spoke up quietly, drawing Dan’s eyes back to her. “But I like it. I like you. I hope we can grow what already exists between us.”
“W-What?”
“Oh, don’t be coy, your Highness. I see fire in your eyes and I know you see it in mine.” Maren leaned in until her mouth was mere inches away from Dan’s. “You can’t deny the connection between us…” she murmured.
Dan shrunk away from her puckered lips and half-lidded eyes, suddenly finding it impossible to breathe. And that was when he felt it – a calloused but warm hand grasping his bicep and yanking him away from Maren’s wandering hands. He watched the baffled expression take over her face at having her prince so rudely snatched away, then released a breath of relief and turned to see his timely rescuer.
He must’ve been the son of a wealthy lord or duke, elegantly dressed in a rich midnight tailcoat woven with regal patterns, and a matching black cravat. Underneath lay a stiff white waistcoat, which accompanied a pair of black pants and boots on his feet. Normally, Dan would’ve scoffed at his whole demeanour; his beak-like nose pointed proudly to the ceiling, his spare arm was held stiffly at his back and his chest puffed out. He’d known enough guys like this in his time to expect nothing but vanity and disdain from them.
But the young man had just saved him from Maren’s…well, sexual assault. Any other man would’ve smiled and given him a silent cheer at catching a woman, but surely this one had noticed how uncomfortable Dan was if he pulled him away so quickly?
Suddenly the young man spoke, quickly shutting down all of Dan’s thoughts. His voice was surprisingly cadent, something like honey or the twinkle of champagne, but there was something odd about it that he couldn’t place…
“My apologies, ma’am,” the young man said, smiling and nodding at a hilariously aghast Maren. She looked as if his voice was the vilest thing she’d ever heard. But Dan was sure neither of them expected what the young man said next:
“It just seems a bit rude of you to have the Prince all to yourself. May I step in?”
♛
The carriage was soundless. No one spoke a word. Not a breath or the rustle of clothes could be heard. Only the clattering wheels of the vehicle could ease the tension that suffocated the space.
A morbid cloud hung over everyone’s heads, like someone had died moments ago.
Well, Phil Lester thought, glancing at the droplets of blood that stained the inner wall, someone has died. Multiple people, actually.
But he felt no sympathy for the murdered family, averting his eyes and peering out through the open window. He would never feel anything for those who had enslaved and tortured his people.
Lush gardens rolled by as the carriage made its way towards the palace. The sun had almost set, bathing the sky in a peachy glow. Towering pine trees, hedges whittled into impressive shapes, rose bushes, canopies and fountains…it spread widely despite where it sat upon the hill. A wide path cut through the area and stretched towards the palace, lined with oil lamps and crowded by a traffic of many ornate carriages, filled with clans of wealthy men, women and children. They were all guests at the gala tonight, no doubt drenched in an assortment of their finest evening wear. But Phil, who wore his own luxurious ensemble, couldn’t deny how comfortable it was. He knew he would only be dressed like this for the coming week, so he figured he should enjoy it.
Hazel shifted opposite him, smoothing out the silk dress she’d stolen from the woman whose throat she’d cut only twenty minutes ago. It was almost pristine – Phil knew how seamless she was with a knife, so of course the dress had no splatters of blood. Their eyes met, and Phil offered her a smile in reassurance.
The blonde-haired girl raised her eyebrows. Of course, she never needed reassurance.
Despite the nerves that rumbled through his stomach and limbs, Phil smiled wider and turned away. Hazel was probably one of the bravest people Phil had ever known, especially as one of the best Blade-wielders in the Resistance, who were most skilled in close combat.
Phil could never summon enough courage to do what she and the rest of her unit did. Assassinating guards and other threats with the strike of one arm, risking their lives in hand-to-hand combat rather than fighting from a distance, and always, always aware of their opponent. Hazel had been trained to never let her guard down, even when she wasn’t fighting. Phil could see in the way she sat – back straight, eyes alert and darting left to right, elbows close to her sides – that she was ready to face danger if it came. It was one of the reasons she was chosen for this mission.
Phil, on the other hand, had a different role. He belonged to a unit of spies, gifted in the art of deceit, fraud and manipulation. Although he too had been somewhat trained for combat, it was rare that spies would have to handle a fight. Instead, Phil lived by the rule, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. With the face of an angel and the charm of a siren, he could gain the trust of anyone despite his status as a slave. His ability to lie and beguile had scraped him out of too many situations to count, and sometimes even seduced a few people.
This week, as the best member of his Espionage unit, he was tasked with the greatest job he’d ever been given. Everything he’d learnt as a spy would be tested during these several days, and one screw up could cost him the lives of everyone on this mission, let alone his own.
Suddenly, the gravelly voice of Jonas, who was posing as the coachman, floated through the window and snapped Phil from his thoughts. “We’re approaching the palace gates now,” he called. Everyone inside the carriage straightened up. “We’ve got inspection first, and once we’re through, I’ll circle the courtyard. The footmen group we’ve planted within the palace will take the luggage and escort you to the entrance. I’ll drive the carriage round to the stables, just like everyone else. Heard all that?”
“Got it, Jonas,” came the growl of Markus, who was smoothing out his cravat. Then he cleared his throat and looked round at Phil, Hazel and Elias, a Medic who had also been placed on the mission.
“I assume all of you are ready for tonight,” Markus began, stomach almost bulging from his waistcoat. He waited for everyone to nod before continuing, “Excellent. Now, this week, we are the Haines family. To you, I am Lord Evan Haines, your husband or father. We will attend all balls and parties together to keep up appearances, but of course you have separate assignments to complete; those will be done alone. Elias? Or should I say, Nikolaus Haines?”
“Yes?” Elias said. He took a moment to flatten out his greased black hair.
“What occupation do you intend to follow?”
“I will become an academic just like you, specialising in the history and geography of our country, Hathage. I’m already tutored by you and other professors, and attend classes at the Hathagean School for the Erudite. Nothing will stand in the way of my career.”
“That’s perfect. Hazel – or Lady Ania?”
“Yes,” she answered confidently.
“For how many years have we been married?”
“Sixteen, when you remarried two – no, three years after your first wife’s death.”
“Make sure you remember that. Phil – Hugo – what rank are you in Hathage’s military and how long have you been training for?”
“I am a Private, serving for two years and counting.”
“Terrific,” Markus said. “I trust you’ll all do fine this week. And remember – Jonas is our informant, and your go-to man to report any vital info you find. He’s staying in the accommodation for the other coachmen, right next to the stables. As far as we know, guest access to that is fairly easy.”
Hazel nodded, drawing a deep breath as a determined look set upon her face. Elias scratched his pointy chin, appearing to mull over what Markus had said.
There was a moment of silence, until Phil asked sullenly, “They’ll be expecting us, won’t they?”
“Of course they will,” Markus replied. “You know how hard the King’s forces have been trying to track our movements. Security will be amplified this week, as it is with every event. But we have an advantage – they have no idea when we intend to strike the hardest.”
“But that’ll be during this gala,” Hazel said.
“Exactly, which means everything must go right this week. We only have one shot at this. If we fail, we bring the whole Resistance down with us. But if we win, the monarchy will fall and all Eluthians will be freed.”
Another glance out the window and Phil saw they were metres away from the palace gates. “We’re at inspection now,” he told the others.
A moment of apprehensive silence passed. Then Elias lifted his hand in the centre of the carriage, and said hopefully, “As many we are bound by chains…”
Hearing the start of the Resistance’s motto, Hazel and Markus placed their hands over Elias’ without hesitation. Phil stared at them, all possible outcomes of this week zooming through his mind. He saw the Resistance executed at the hands of the nobility, but he also saw their oppressors beaten and destroyed. He saw the greatest punishment imaginable for his people, but he also saw them rejoicing in their reclaimed freedom. And despite all the devastating consequences that could befall them, something inside told him that no matter what, they would win.
So Phil filled his lungs with an unwavering breath, and then placed his hand on top of the pile. And together the group continued, “…as one we are bound by nothing.”
*
With a few introductions, some light-hearted banter and the invitation that Markus pulled out of his coat, the group successfully passed through inspection. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief when the guards admitted them, but now they were finally within the palace, the dread returned. The week seemed to loom upon them like a heavy thundercloud, and they would be the first to break it.
Jonas drove the carriage through the courtyard, following the train of vehicles around the immense fountain that sat in the centre. Phil took the opportunity to gaze at the intricate stone and gold sculpture of many god-like figures, water pouring from their mouths or fingertips. It was almost a shame that the brilliant work of art may be destroyed by the end of the week. But suddenly the carriage was slowing to a stop outside the palace stairs, and Phil tore his eyes away from it and focused on the task at hand.
Footmen dressed in black and gold livery approached the carriage, collecting suitcases and bags that had belonged to the real Haines family. One man pulled the door open and offered a hand to each member of the group as they stepped out onto the cobbles. Phil didn’t recognise any of the men from the Resistance, but Markus gave them all a polite nod that held hidden meaning. One of the footmen even returned it with a light smirk.
“You must be the Haines family,” he addressed everyone, not even looking at the invitation Markus handed him. “My men and I will escort you up the stairs and into the palace, where the first ball of the night awaits you. Do not worry about your luggage – it will be taken to your rooms immediately. Now, if you will all please follow me…”
Phil heard the crack of a whip against the horses, and the lurch of the carriage as Jonas drove away, and he knew there was no turning back. The palace stood before him, all windows and turrets and gold carvings towering above him as if it was trying to be intimidating. But suddenly…it wasn’t. Phil saw nothing but the abominable royal family who hid behind this pathetic stronghold and took pride in conducting the suffering of his people. He wasn’t threatened by it – in fact, he felt he could tear it apart brick by brick right now.
But he couldn’t. He had a job to do, and besides, in the long run it would allow him to tear the palace apart. So Phil Lester stood straighter, made his way up the staircase, and followed his ‘family’ and the footmen that escorted them. Because right now he was no longer Phil Lester. He was Hugo Haines, son of Lord Evan Haines and a Private in Hathage’s military.
He was about to, in other words, celebrate the birthday of this glorious nation’s future king, and he was going to bloody well enjoy it.
*
Phil had never known the Prince of Croma before. To some, that might’ve come as a surprise, as he’d lived in the kingdom for nearly 18 years. But he belonged to the lowest caste of people in the realm. Enduring torture and working like a dog in the slave system meant that the royal family were the furthest out of his reach. Only when the King and Queen performed speeches, hosted national events or toured the kingdom had their son been present. But Phil had only seen him from afar; sometimes it was like he was never there. Phil got the impression that he was sheltered away, put on display for the wealthy and hidden from the penniless drudges. This meant that Phil was plunging into his mission almost blind, expected to deceive a prince he knew nothing about.
He voiced this to Elias when they made their rounds with Hazel and Markus, shaking a hundred hands and plastering on smiles for people he cared nothing about. Most of the guests were exactly as he had expected – snobbish, gaudy and too big for their boots. With a glass of something in their fingers, they could chatter all night about themselves and nothing else. Phil soon realised he knew at least one thing about the Prince – he’d be exactly like every pompous pig in this room.
“But it’s your job to get to know the bastard, isn’t it?” Elias whispered in reply once everyone else was occupied. He tucked his arms behind his back and stood straighter to appear less shady. “Besides, you’ve had the briefing on ‘im. What was it? 21 years old, pretty educated…”
“…A bit of a sheltered mummy’s boy,” Phil replied, before offering a polite smile to a lady who glided past.
Elias snickered beside him and nodded. “Most likely. And you know his daily schedule and all that, right? All’s left is his personality.”
“Sometimes that’s the hardest to tackle,” Phil sighed. “You can’t very well trick someone without knowing their ins and outs first. People have so many layers to them…you don’t know what you’ll find underneath.”
“Says the spy,” Elias scoffed under his breath.
Before Phil could even laugh, the background music and the rumble of conversation suddenly dissipated. One booming voice rung out, bouncing off marble pillars and panelled walls. Phil turned his eyes with the rest of the crowd to a man who stood upon a raised platform, two scarlet curtains falling behind him. As he began to announce the entrance of the royal family, Phil drew a slow breath. This was it. The moment those curtains pulled back, his mission would begin.
First his eyes landed on King Arran and Queen Jenea, their harsh faces and overbearing wealth all too familiar. They waved to their applauding subjects, almost glittering in their matching white and gold attire. Phil wanted to smash the crowns off their heads, watch them shatter on the polished floor. The royals didn’t deserve the power they had. In their thirst for domination over the realm, their legions had ruthlessly conquered other nations, and they had killed, maimed and captured hundreds of his people from their native country Eluthia. But Phil forced himself to applaud, and let his fury boil hot and silent within him, knowing the age of monarchy would soon be over.
When his eyes shifted to the young man who stood between them, a little to the back, his anger didn’t falter. In fact, being able to study the Prince for the first time only fed it. Undoubtedly, Prince Daniel would have been raised exactly like his parents. Something horrible churned in Phil’s stomach at the thought of befriending someone like him, someone who was nothing but proud and pretentious, and who spat upon those lower than himself.
Although, Phil had to admit his appearance took him by surprise. While his parents’ faces were sharp and lined, the Prince’s was like milk and honey. Dimples carved out his rounded cheeks when he smiled at the crowd, and his brown eyes held a mellow warmth. He had a curly head of coffee-coloured hair that looked as soft as feathers, and he seemed so delicate standing there in his white uniform jacket, polished gold buttons and black boots.
Phil always had an eye for handsome-looking men, as well as women. He’d realised that a long time ago and wasn’t ashamed of it. But he quickly reminded himself that he wasn’t here to gawk at the Prince’s fine appearance, when he was bound to be hideous underneath. However…his smile seemed a little too forced, his rosy lips stretching too wide, as if he was uncomfortable standing there. But it made no sense to Phil…a prince, standing anxious before the people he reigned over? He dismissed the thought.
As the royal family descended the platform and started greeting everybody, Phil and Elias hurriedly joined Hazel and Markus. They were grinning and chatting to another couple, Markus’s hand comfortably resting on Hazel’s waist. Phil heard mentions of the Prince and ballroom decorations as he approached, but then four pairs of eyes were on him and Elias as Markus introduced them.
The couple lived here in Croma, both involved in the military, but Phil didn’t bother remembering their names. He simply smiled and went on with rehearsed small talk, pretending to be interested in what they had to say about themselves.
After a while, Markus pulled him aside and muttered in his ear, “The royal family will greet everyone tonight. Make sure you get the Prince alone at some point, if not after you meet him formally.”
Phil nodded, stepping back a little. “Don’t worry, I’ll get my opportunity,” he replied softly, eyes glancing over puffy gowns, elaborate hairstyles and war medallions. “It shouldn’t be very hard if he’s too distracted by himself.”
“Watch yourself, Phil,” Markus warned. “Don’t let your anger blind your better judgement. You know not to underestimate anyone.”
“Y-Yes, sorry. You’re right. I’ll be more careful.”
“And make sure you bow when you meet him.”
“I might be befriending him but I will not bow to him.”
“Well, if you want to compromise this mission and our lives…don’t bow.”
Phil let out an indignant sigh. He knew he was being foolish anyway. “Fine. I guess there are worse things.”
“Of course there are,” Markus replied. “Just remember what’ll happen if you disrespect your prince.”
“He’s not my prince, Markus,” Phil mumbled.
“You’re right about that, at least.”
But Phil never got the chance to greet Prince Daniel and his parents. He watched them get through around half the guests as he planned his first words to the boy in his head, when the small orchestra at the back (no doubt made up of slaves) struck up a tune that settled the party. And then Prince Daniel was in the centre, waltzing across the dance floor with a pretty blonde woman in his arms.
All the guests seemed captivated by the performance, but as Phil kept watching he noticed that uncomfortable look return to the Prince’s face. It was strange…half the nation adored him, he had a princess of some sort almost clinging to him, and he was about to become the King of Croma. So why did he look like this palace was the last place he wanted to be?
Phil decided to finally meet His Royal Highness during the second dance, while everyone would be caught up in their own fantasies. So as the pretty couple slipped into their next waltz, he sucked in some air, straightened his back and made his way towards them. But something seemed off the closer he came. He watched as the woman murmured something to Prince Daniel, all cheeky and seductive, but the Prince obviously looked very uneasy about it. In fact, he started to tense up the closer she drew to him.
It would take an idiot not to notice what was going on here. And Phil was no idiot. For whatever reason, the Prince did not want to be near that woman, not now or perhaps ever. But the blonde hadn’t noticed, and now she was closing her eyes and puckering her lips, and the Prince was leaning as far back as possible…
Strangely, Phil felt a twinge of sympathy for the young man. He knew the feeling, having someone come onto you so forcefully like that. No one deserved to be assaulted in that way, whether it was with a simple kiss or a lot more.
So Phil seized his opportunity, and in a few strides he had taken the Prince by the arm and yanked him away from the woman’s clutches. “My apologies, ma’am,” he told her. “It just seems a bit rude of you to have the Prince all to yourself. May I step in?”
♛
Dan was waltzing again. But this time with a young man.
He was dancing in the centre of a crowded ballroom…with a man.
He stared bug-eyed at his sudden saviour, still anxious and unsure as they stepped in time with the music. Everything had happened so fast, his rationale sort of fizzled out. One moment Maren was pretty much climbing all over him, and the next he was being swept away by someone else. A man. Another actual man, dancing with the Prince under the gaze of hundreds of aristocrats. Was he insane?
But this was different than with Maren…the boy left a fair amount of space between them, and held him gently. One hand brushed his waist, as light as a feather, while the other curled softly around his fingers. His touch woke the butterflies in Dan’s stomach, he made sure Dan was comfortable and…it was nice. It was nice, to dance with a boy. But it was wrong. His parents were probably watching. And the people would talk.
“Who are you?” Dan breathed, unable to help himself. His heartbeat thudded against his brain, scattered his thoughts. “You know w-we shouldn’t be doing this.”
“Shouldn’t we?” the boy asked, raising his eyebrows. “And why not?”
“I think you have a very good idea as to why not. I’m the Prince of Croma, if you haven’t realised. And I’m not supposed to be – to be dancing with other men.”
“But you haven’t pulled away, have you, your Highness?”
Heat pooled in Dan’s cheeks, but he pulled his face into a frown. He would not think about that right now. Fear still bubbled in the pit of his stomach, a monster of anxiety growing the more he remained in this boy’s arms. He couldn’t hear all the murmured gossip over the music, but it was there…people staring, scrutinising, whispering to their friends…rumours tumbling over each other like violent waves crashing against sand.
“What are you doing?” he blurted out eventually, searching the boy’s face for any hint that this was a joke. “No, why are you doing this?”
The boy spun him across the marble floor, his grasp firm but comforting. “Honestly? I saw what that girl was doing to you, and I couldn’t stand by and do nothing about it. If that’s what you wanted, sire…?”
Dan opened his mouth to reply, but paused, leaving his jaw hanging open. Could this boy be that kind-hearted, or was there more to what had just happened? No one in this society would dare pull the Prince away from a woman, no matter the situation…So who was this gentleman? Eventually Dan remembered to reply, stammering out, “O-Oh. Thank you. Yes, it is – what I wanted…I actually appreciate that quite a lot.”
“I was just doing what I thought was right,” the boy shrugged.
“But no one else would’ve done what you did.”
“Well, I don’t blame anyone else for failing to notice their own Prince was in trouble. Too busy flaunting their big headed selves around, the bastards…” the boy muttered, before his eyes flashed with horror at what he’d said. “Oh, please, please forgive me, sire, I–”
But Dan was too busy bursting into laughter as he looked up at the boy, both horrified and amused. “No – stop – honestly, don’t apologise, please. That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day. But you can’t just say things like that here. Do you have any idea what these people would do to you?”
The boy’s eyes darted over Dan’s face in panic, obviously surprised by his reaction. Then he stuttered out, “I – I’m all too familiar with what our kind of people are capable of.”
Those words made the laugher die in Dan’s mouth. He wondered if he’d been too quick to make assumptions about who he was. Maybe they were more similar than he thought? After all, there had to be others within the aristocracy who despised Croma’s class system. “…Who are you?” Dan asked after a moment. “I didn’t get an answer before.”
“My name is Hugo Haines,” the boy said with a nervous chuckle. “It’s an honour meeting you, Your Highness.”
“I might vomit if you address me like that again. Call me Prince Daniel, or even Dan. You seem normal enough for that.”
Hugo gave him a strange look, inquisitiveness churning behind his eyes. Dan frowned a little. It almost felt like the dark-haired boy was turning his soul inside and out, searching for something. Well, it’s not every day you meet a Prince who laughs at the slander of his own people and hates his titles, Dan thought. I would be confused too.
Suddenly his eyes landed on two guards who were weaving their way through the dancing couples towards them. Dan’s stomach dropped. The feeling of calm that had settled within him was now gone. He gulped. There was no way he would let these guards make a scene. His mother had probably sent them to force Dan away, shove him into a woman’s arms instead. The talk of the crowd reached his ears through the music. He didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to be here.
Hugo had obviously seen the guards and sensed his anxiety when he slowed their dancing. “Um, D-Dan, I know this is your party and everything, but did you want to get out of here?” he muttered.
“You know, I’d like that very much,” Dan replied, meeting his eyes. He glanced over Hugo’s shoulder and found one of the many sets of doors around the ballroom. This one, he knew, lead out into a grand sitting room with walls that drowned in framed landscapes, and from there they could escape into the gardens…
“Come with me,” he said, not even thinking as he grabbed Hugo’s wrist and tugged him through the now curious-looking guests. He could hear their hushed gossip, wondering why their Prince was fleeing the ballroom with another man. In the back of his mind he knew there would be hundreds of rumours by the time the sun rose, but in that moment he couldn’t care less.
For the first time in his life he’d stumbled across a boy who wasn’t just beautiful, but seemed to understand him when so many others hadn’t. Dan wasn’t about to let him go.
They reached the doors to the sitting room, and Dan shoved the handle down before darting inside and dragging Hugo behind. The music, the endless chatter and the guards’ heavy footsteps were all silenced when he drove the heavy things shut.
“…Um, where exactly are we going?” Hugo asked as Dan hurried further into the room, rounding golden poufs and candelabras.
Dan waited until he reached another panelled door before answering, “To the gardens. They’re so elaborate, the guards won’t find us there.”
“But you are supposed to be back in that ballroom, aren’t you? Mingling with everyone and dancing the night away?”
“I am not going back there, especially if I have to mingle,” Dan laughed. He opened the door and beckoned Hugo closer. “Now hurry up, before they drag me back like a screaming child.”
Hugo sent him another curious look, before shaking his head and following him across the room. After passing through a few lavish libraries and drawing rooms, they eventually ended up in a stone corridor. It was a great step down from the palace’s extravagance; blackened mould coated the nooks and crevices, dusty torches sent a dim glow along the walls and the clack of their footsteps sent an eerie echo down the passage. And it was terribly cold. But Dan had snuck down this corridor plenty of times before. While Hugo let out a shivery breath from behind, he barely felt the temperature drop.
It was almost second-nature, finding the ancient wooden door buried deep into the stone. As usual, a familiar iron key was wedged into the lock and it took a few twists before Dan swung the door wide, and the pair stepped into another world.
Old stepping stones with moss smothering the edges trailed off from the doorway and into a lush garden. Jasmine, ivy and other creeper vines loomed above them, gobbling at worn granite walls until the rock could hardly be seen. There were rose bushes that bloomed with light pink petals, chiselled stone benches and bird baths that sunk into the grass and potted camellia, lavender and various other shrubs left to overgrow. But what made it all so enchanting were the stars, releasing their magic from a velvet black sky to touch the foliage and blooming flowers.
Dan grew lost for a moment, arms behind his back as he wandered into the almost-forest. He’d always loved the fantasy of it, a favourite hideaway second to his balcony. You could lose yourself among the plants for hours, with all the maze-like pathways and secret clearings.
“I think I envy this palace,” Hugo piped up from behind.
His voice snapped Dan from his trance, who spun around to grin at the dark-haired boy. He too was gazing up at the flowering creepers in wonder. “I know. This is where I spend half my time, if I’m honest. Do you have any gardens like this where you live?”
Hugo seemed startled for a moment. But almost instantly his face smoothed over and he nodded. “We do back at home, but never as grand as this. Even our holiday villa here is a bit sparse.”
“So you’re not from Croma, then?” Dan asked, perking up. “I knew your accent was unfamiliar.”
“No, my family is from – uh, Hathage. In the north?”
“I’ve probably heard of it. I wouldn’t remember, though.”
“It’s an old ally, I’m pretty sure. This is my first visit to your kingdom, actually. My father is quite a well-known scholar where I’m from, and the King of Croma wanted to meet him finally to commend him for his work and all that.”
Dan nodded, racking his brain for memories of Hathage as they passed through an archway lit by torches. The pair had automatically fallen into step once they started talking and for once, Dan was ignoring the scenery around them. “So Hathage is an ally…Oh, they – they helped in conquering Eluthia, didn’t they?”
He didn’t miss the way Hugo’s brilliant blue eyes turned to steel. “Yes, they helped,” he said, voice clipped.
“…Maybe if they hadn’t, Eluthia would still be a free nation,” Dan murmured.
“And you’d prefer that? You’d prefer to lose all your precious slaves, and do your own dirty work?”
“I mean…yes, I think I would,” he admitted, startled by Hugo’s outburst. “It’s a bit heartless, don’t you think? Tearing a people away from their homeland?”
Hugo’s face softened a little at that, despite his heavy frown. “I – yes. I suppose it is heartless. You know, I apologise, your Highness. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that,” he sighed, shaking his head.
“You need to stop apologising to me. And I thought I told you to call me Dan?”
“Right. Dan. Sorry about – oh, I mean…”
Dan’s fond laughter cut him off. “It’s alright, Hugo,” he said, nudging his shoulder.
Again, he was met with a split second of uneasiness on Hugo’s face, but he could never guess why. There was something about the dark-haired boy that seemed off...Dan finally glanced away, deciding to leave it alone for a while.
As they walked through the gardens, the conversation shifted and spun off into random topics. Small talk moved into sharing backgrounds, which became interests and funny anecdotes. Then it was anything that came to mind, laughter floating up into the night as they talked and talked. Dan soon realised he’d never known someone as interesting as Hugo, and someone who had never been as interested in him. Within an hour he knew that Hugo’s favourite meal was always breakfast, had a terrible fear of horses, and was about as uncoordinated as a drunken baby giraffe. In fact, the more Dan got to know him, the more endearing he seemed. Gone was the self-assured and formal gentleman from the ballroom – Dan liked his friendlier side a lot better.
Hugo seemed genuinely eager to get to know him as well. He was very open, asked Dan many questions about himself and related to him easily. It was a bit strange, talking to someone who was invested in him rather than his wealth or status. Dan clung to the hope that they would still be friends after tonight, forcing away any thoughts that suggested something more than friendship. He was still the Prince, and if his secret ever got out he would end up with a devastated name and a broken heart. Friends. Friends was more than enough.
At some point they’d stopped walking and sat themselves on the edge of a large stone fountain, erected in the middle of a clearing. The steady trickle of water was soothing, and filled the silence that eventually lapsed between them. But it was comfortable. Dan had never shared comfortable silence with anyone other than Louise.
Somehow, for some reason, it was just easy with Hugo.
The quiet was eventually disrupted when the dark-haired boy said, “Happy birthday, by the way.”
Dan snorted. And then properly laughed. “You know, you’re the first person to ever say that to me tonight,” he chuckled out. “Thank you.”
Hugo was grinning along with him. “You’re welcome, oh Majestic One. Oh great ruler over this glorious empire.”
“Shut up,” Dan giggled, shoving him gently. “I already told you I hate all that shit.”
“…Did the Prince of Croma just curse?” Hugo asked, actually looking a little shocked. “Wow. You never really know someone, huh.”
“You’re infuriating,” Dan muttered, but he was smiling.
There was another silence. Dan lifted his eyes to the sky, watching the stars for a moment before looking back at Hugo. Up close, he could finally study him, and Dan bit his lip when he noticed just how breathtaking the boy really was. Under the moonlight, his face was made of marble. A light flush on his cheeks held the same colour as his porcelain pink lips, and his eyebrows curved sharply around eyes that weren’t just blue. They seemed to hold a churning sea. And it hurt, just a little, knowing he could never have this boy who was so, so remarkable.
Dan forced himself to look away, averting his gaze to the grass. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t put himself through this. He was supposed to find a bride tonight, not a…not a groom. Stop doing this to yourself, he thought angrily. There is no one else like you. You’re a prince. You will never find a boy you can love freely.
“I think we should go back,” Dan said suddenly, looking up at the hedgerows ahead. He felt Hugo’s surprised gaze and ignored it. “It’s getting late, and the King and Queen are going to be furious if I’m away any longer.”
He stood up quickly and brushed off the back of his pants, but before he could move he felt Hugo’s hand secure around his wrist.
“Wait,” the boy insisted. “I need to tell you something before we go.”
Dan hesitated before meeting Hugo’s worried eyes. He sat back down with a soft sigh and nodded.
“Okay,” Hugo began with a deep breath. He didn’t let go of Dan’s wrist. “My name…isn’t actually Hugo. It’s Phil.”
“What?”
“My name is Phil…Phil Haines.”
“But you said before, it was Hugo.”
“I know. But it’s not Hugo. It’s Phil.”
“Why – why did you tell me it was Hugo?” Dan stared at the dark-haired boy, mouth hung open and eyebrows almost touching they were so furrowed. All thoughts of the ball and his parents flew out of his brain. That was so unusual, and confusing, and a bit distressing. Why would anyone give him a completely different name? Was Hugo – Phil – whoever he was telling the truth?
“Well, it’s – um – actually kind of funny,” the boy started to explain awkwardly. “In my family, Hugo’s a bit of a, uh, nickname. A running joke sort of thing. My real name is Phil Haines. It’s just sometimes I forget to introduce myself as Phil, because people call me Hugo all the time at home.”
Dan narrowed his eyes, finding the whole story a bit fishy. “…Are you screwing with me right now?” he demanded with a slight smirk.
“No! I swear I’m not. This is the truth. I am Phil.”
“Okay then…Phil. If I asked your family, would they say the same thing?”
“Absolutely. I’m serious.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. You can trust me, Dan.”
A defeated sigh left Dan’s lips when he saw the boy’s stern expression. “Fine, I believe you. But you’re really strange, Phil, you know that?”
“Y-Yes, I am aware,” Phil laughed, sounding relieved. “Shall we go, then?”
“Yeah, we actually should.”
They didn’t speak as they made their way back to the palace. Dan used his memory and the twilight to retrace their steps – the pair had wandered further than they’d realised. Eventually the turrets and golden roofs of the palace were peering over the garden hedges, growing closer and closer, looming like a death sentence. Music and conversation were fearsome creatures that balanced on the wind, and warm light began to shine through the foliage like blades to his body. Soon he would be back among that stifling hall of high society, pretending, pretending, pretending.
In that moment, passing overgrown shrubs and old garden furniture with Phil by his side, Dan wanted nothing more than to turn back and disappear forever. He felt trapped, suffocated by his own future. He wanted to escape it. He wanted to flee. How could he subject himself to the life that awaited him? The life of a king who must have a wife and children, who surrounded himself in his own wealth and self-importance, who forced other human beings into slavery…
Dan’s life was a nightmare slowly coming true, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
But then he and Phil reached the clearing where they had snuck from the palace. Dan stepped back into the chilly stone passage, squashing down that horrible cloud of anxiety in his stomach. He waited until his dark-haired friend had followed him inside.
And after one lingering glance out into the garden, into a sky full of constellations, the Prince of Croma dragged the door shut and sealed his fate for the coming week.
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A Fairytale And A Half (fanfiction.net) - authortress
Summary: Prince Philip has a fairytale life, right down to the big quest to save the True Love he’s never met from a witch in a big scary forest. He’s never been outside the castle before, let alone a forest, so when it becomes apparent that Dan - a farm boy -knows the area, he tries to persuade him to be a guide so Phil won’t die before doing whatever it was he was meant to do in there.
An Omega From A Small Town - doomedhowell
Summary: Dan Howell is a teenage Omega boy from a small town, and his parents keep him hidden away in their family home. He’s practically a slave to them. Word gets out that Phil Lester, the prince, is looking for a mate. Dan’s family takes him to meet him, but Dan doesn’t expect he’ll end up with him.
A Prince’s Choice (ao3) - Emejig16
Summary: Prince Phillip reconnects with an old friend at the royal family’s annual Christmas party.
Blessed with a Curse (ao3) - Mirian_Rodrigues
Summary: A prince accidentally wrongs a wizard and is cursed so that no woman shall ever love him. Fortunately, the prince is gay and now that the wizard is a little calmer he notices that the prince is super cute.
Sparks fly, and not because of a magic spell.
Enchanted (ao3) - roryonice
Summary: Daniel Howell, the eldest prince of England has just turned 24 and is about to engage in a Bachelorette-style competition between 100 princes to find himself a suitor. Over the course of the summer, Daniel must choose one of these 100 princes to marry. Let the games begin!
first violin (ao3) - olfrogbait
Summary: Princes Dan and Phil agree to get married in order to forge a political alliance.
Forgive Me (ao3) - FollowYourDreams
Summary: The year is 2224. Dan Howell is the prince of Pacis, living in the lavish Community, dreading his 21st birthday. Phil Lester is a servant at the Community, and has been for 6 years ever since he was taken from his home. On a fateful day, Dan and Phil lock eyes for the first time, and everything changes, but neither of them know if it’s for better or worse.
Heart of Gold (ao3) - pasteldanhowells, rainbowchristy
Summary: Following the events of our previous fic, Your Crowning Glory, this is a timestamp a year later. Read as we catch up with Dan and Phil and how Dan’s life has been as king. But, nothing is perfect. When Phil starts acting strange and his name starts popping up in the headlines, Dan fears the worst: Phil’s keeping secrets from him, and trying to steal his crown again.
holy ghost (ao3) - sadlybunny
Summary: A reunion between the prince and his fiancé after Phil has been in Germany.
If The Crown Fits - crystaiskiess
Summary: The Royalty AU nobody asked for in which Prince Daniel falls head over heels for his best friend and servant boy, Phil.
Midnight Garden (ao3) - silentdescant
Summary: He who plants a garden plants happiness.
In which Phil is a gardener at the palace and Dan is a reclusive prince.
My Happily Ever After (ao3) - tol_but_smol
Summary: Phil is a prince and Dan’s his servant
Not Your Type (ao3) - andthenshesaid-write (ladyknight1512)
Summary: Dan has been valet to Prince Phil for ten years and has managed to keep his feelings a secret because he knows they can never be together. When the royal family throws a masquerade ball to celebrate Phil’s 25th birthday, Dan takes the opportunity to finally face Phil as an equal.
pastry chef attempts to steal phil’s heart (ao3) - sierraadeux
Summary: If anyone asks, Prince Philip’s sneaky morning journeys down to the royal pastry kitchen are for nothing more than the perfect cup of coffee.
remember this feeling (ao3) - orphan_account
Summary: “And now Dan found himself in the limelight. Of course he knew his moment would be over in a few months, but he had always been told to milk it for as much as it could be worth."When Daniel Howell receives an invitation to discuss his bestselling novel with the actual Prince of England, he’s understandably nervous. But with pressure from his publicist, he attends the event, and soon enough, he and Prince Philip spark an unlikely friendship. The Prince’s adorable corgi probably didn’t hurt either.
Six Ravens (ao3) - iihappydaysii
Summary: Dan meets Prince Philip at a cyberbullying campaign, but what starts as a working relationship grows complicated when Dan realizes he’s falling for the prince and maybe, just maybe, he’s not alone in his feelings.
snowdrops and second chances (ao3) - sierraadeux
Summary: A tale of the prince who set out to rid his kingdom of magic and the healing witch who found him.
That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be(ao3) - Iceprincessvictuuri (orphan_account)
Summary: The English king and queen are beloved by all throughout the country and they have a son, the prince, who would rather sit in his chambers then find a suitor. Dan already likes the man he ran into at the coffee shop a few blocks away anyways.
The Knight (ao3) - PsychoRadiance
Summary: Prince Daniel of Arabella: second heir to the royal throne, son of King Marcus and Queen Pippin, and a massive pain in the ass. Prince Daniel’s father is seeking a private protection unit for his son, but The Prince seems slightly unwilling to comply to this arrangement.
The Prince’s Protector (ao3) - aby55al (abyssa1)
Summary: Dan is a prince and Phil is his personal bodyguard. Then they have sex.
Your Crowning Glory (ao3) - pasteldanhowells, rainbowchristy
Summary: Dan is 18 years old when the news is suddenly sprung upon him that he is next line to be the next king of Genovia, but things don’t go as smoothly as he thought, between having a suddenly busy schedule, a new lifestyle, an arranged marriage that Dan has no control over, and worst of all, Philip Lester trying to steal his crown.
A breath held for a thousand years (ao3) - kitkattaylor
Summary: Phil is the size of a fingernail, though if you asked his friends, they’d say he was tall. He moves with a gentle gait through the water, never causing more than a stir of grass to his side. He likes to lie atop the carpet of moss, staring up into dappled light, where the great lily pads float and form patterns and pictures. It takes a little imagination; mostly they look like lily pads.
Once, a boy fell from the sky. Sand jumped back where the body crumpled, and the fog of algae flurried. A snail passed, indifferent, and the mare’s tail and milfoils curtained around him. Phil waited, determined not to blink. He advanced slowly, and when his toes pressed into the freshly settled sand, he saw the set of wings, folded, and draining of colour, against the boy’s spine.
A Fairytale And A Half (fanfiction.net) - authortress
Summary: Prince Philip has a fairytale life, right down to the big quest to save the True Love he's never met from a witch in a big scary forest. He's never been outside the castle before, let alone a forest, so when it becomes apparent that Dan - a farm boy -knows the area, he tries to persuade him to be a guide so Phil won't die before doing whatever it was he was meant to do in there.
All Signs Point to Us (ao3) - RyRyCaptain
Summary: When the queen and king gives birth to Daniel, they soon learn that their son is deaf. In order to let Dan express his opinions to those who haven’t learned sign language, they find him a translator who happens to be the son of the King’s advisor, Phil. Soon enough, Phil starts to realize that he fallen in love with the younger boy.
A Whole New World (wattpad) - CarlyanaC
Summary: Dan is a depressed prince who is being pressured to find himself a wife. Phil is an orphaned servant in the castle who finds joy in the smallest things in life. When the two are thrown together they learn to become friends and help each other through the troubles they face. It’s not long before Phil realised he may have feelings for the prince, but does he feel the same way? And even if he does, will such a relationship even be allowed?
Beauty and the Beast (ao3) - metalshootingstar
Summary: Once Upon A Time in a far away land, Prince Phil was turned into a hideous beast. The only way to restore him to his true form, was for someone to love him as he was. A few years later, a young man named Dan appears at his castle and is forced to stay only to end up falling in love with the beast.
Blessed with a Curse (ao3) - Mirian_Rodrigues
Summary: A prince accidentally wrongs a wizard and is cursed so that no woman shall ever love him. Fortunately, the prince is gay and now that the wizard is a little calmer he notices that the prince is super cute.
Sparks fly, and not because of a magic spell.
Castle In The Sky - dxnhowell
Summary: Dan is the royal heir who lives in a castle above the sky, and he’s the one who runs the kingdom. Everybody is born with wings except for the royal heir. Dan feels left out and decides to finally travel to the human world for the first time, where he meets average human Phil.
first violin (ao3) - olfrogbait
Summary: Princes Dan and Phil agree to get married in order to forge a political alliance.
Forgive Me (ao3) - FollowYourDreams
Summary: The year is 2224. Dan Howell is the prince of Pacis, living in the lavish Community, dreading his 21st birthday. Phil Lester is a servant at the Community, and has been for 6 years ever since he was taken from his home. On a fateful day, Dan and Phil lock eyes for the first time, and everything changes, but neither of them know if it’s for better or worse.
holy ghost (ao3) - sadlybunny
Summary: A reunion between the prince and his fiancé after Phil has been in Germany.
i fall for the same face every time (ao3) - zsunsetz
Summary: In every universe, in every lifetime, in every world, he promises that he will love him.
King And Jester (ao3) - intoapuddle
Summary: Phil has temporarily taken the crown while his older brother is stuck overseas. Dan thinks it's just like him to use this time to invite his favourite jester, wearing his tightest outfit, to the castle just because he can.
Midnight Garden (ao3) - silentdescant
Summary: He who plants a garden plants happiness.
In which Phil is a gardener at the palace and Dan is a reclusive prince.
Not Your Type (ao3) - andthenshesaid-write (ladyknight1512)
Summary: Dan has been valet to Prince Phil for ten years and has managed to keep his feelings a secret because he knows they can never be together. When the royal family throws a masquerade ball to celebrate Phil’s 25th birthday, Dan takes the opportunity to finally face Phil as an equal.
pastry chef attempts to steal phil’s heart (ao3) - sierraadeux
Summary: If anyone asks, Prince Philip’s sneaky morning journeys down to the royal pastry kitchen are for nothing more than the perfect cup of coffee.
snowdrops and second chances (ao3) - sierraadeux
Summary: A tale of the prince who set out to rid his kingdom of magic and the healing witch who found him.
The Knight (ao3) - PsychoRadiance
Summary: Prince Daniel of Arabella: second heir to the royal throne, son of King Marcus and Queen Pippin, and a massive pain in the ass. Prince Daniel's father is seeking a private protection unit for his son, but The Prince seems slightly unwilling to comply to this arrangement.
Your Crowning Glory (ao3) - pasteldanhowells, rainbowchristy
Summary: Dan is 18 years old when the news is suddenly sprung upon him that he is next line to be the next king of Genovia, but things don’t go as smoothly as he thought, between having a suddenly busy schedule, a new lifestyle, an arranged marriage that Dan has no control over, and worst of all, Philip Lester trying to steal his crown.
I’ll Be Your Safety | Prince Daniel had long since given up on the idea of ever finding someone he could love. Being a prince came with consequences after all, and there was no one Dan could trust - except for his best friend Prince Phillip from their neighboring kingdom who Dan may or may not have been incredibly in love with. Phil doesn’t want him back though, surely, right? So when Dan is sent to find a proper partner to marry, he doesn’t immediately think of Phil - until he does. | Phan | Teen and Up | Prince AU, fake relationship, getting together, marriage | 8,077
Disclaimer: In no way do I pretend that this is real or cast aspersions on Dan or Phil.
Extra Tags: Royalty, Fake Relationship, Getting together, Marriage, Wedding
