Serendipity [Bakukami]

Chapter 3

Both Denki and Katsuki end up staying in the royal gardens until dusk. Just as the sun was setting, Denki was done with his flower crown.

It had beautiful roses in the middle and baby's breath adorning the sides. He even made Katsuki pluck some leaves to decorate the crown.

"Your Majesty, it's getting dark, do you want to go back to the castle?"

"Already? I wanna spend more time here though..." Denki whines, softly pouting, the flower crown still in his hands.

"It's too dark though. I'll go get your shoes, then we'll leave, okay?" Katsuki mumbles, standing up and dusting himself off the sand.

Katsuki walks away, leaving Denki to himself. He runs up to the gazebo, picking up the royal shoes (it looked more expensive than Katsuki himself)

He comes back to find Denki.. wearing the flower crown.. he looked so.. breathtaking. Katsuki notices his actual crown on the ground, while Denki valued the flower crown (which was made in less than an hour) better.

"Your Majesty?" Katsuki questions as he nears. Denki immediately flinches. Too bad that he lost his balance a little and let the flower crown fall down too.

"Your Majesty! It's just me. I'm sorry I scared you." Katsuki apologies guiltily, pulling Denki off the ground and presenting both the crowns to him.

Denki smiles at him, "It's okay! It wasn't your fault, I'm just a little jumpy." He explains, his hands immediately reaching out to the flower crown.

He then stops himself, looking back at the palace with a sad face, he drops his hand and picks the normal crown instead, wearing it with no excitement.

"Will you drop me in my chamber? Or is it too late for you? Oh no.. I kept you up for too long, didn't I? I'm so sorry.." Denki immediately apologises, not giving Katsuki a chance to speak.

"It's completely alright, Your Majesty. Please don't fret about it. I'll drop you at your chambers, don't worry." Katsuki assures, with a rare (a little bit forced) smile on his face.

Denki smiles shyly, tightly grasping Katsuki's hands into his own and pulling the older out of the garden with loud giggles.

Katsuki, who was a little surprised at the start, follows him with a smile too, letting Denki pull him all the way back to the palace.

Upon reaching the palace, Denki's happiness disappears. It looked as if the entire complexion on his face drained the moment he reaches for the castle doors.

He drops Katsuki's hand. A little harshly.

He stops smiling, he stops fiddling with his dress. He doesn't skip through the corridors anymore, instead walks like any stereotypical prince would.

His dress was carefully lifted off the floor to help him place his steps better, he walked.. politely.. unlike before.

He looked restrained. Imprisoned in his own house.

It made Katsuki feel sick to the stomach.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?" Katsuki questions, walking behind the prince with a hardened face.

"Yes I am. Why would you question something like that?" Denki retorts back. That reply took Katsuki in a surprise.

As of how Katsuki had understood Denki (he hardly spent 5 hours with the prince) this wasn't like him at all. He looked uncomfortable.

"Nothing. I was just worried." Katsuki mumbles, looking down at his shoes in shame.

"You don't need to worry about me."

Just as Katsuki opens his mouth to reply, a loud voice cuts him.

"Denki! Where have you been?"

It was the queen. Obviously. No one else has the right to yell at a member of the royal family like that. Let alone the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness," Denki whispers, immediately bowing. It takes a little time to register in Katsuki's mind before he quickly bows too, under the queen's unforgiving gaze.

"I've been in the gardens for a while now, is something wrong?" Denki questions, his gaze still fixed on the ground, just like Katsuki's.

Nobody dare looks at the queen in her eyes. If someone does, it's taken as a challenge to the queen, a battle would commence. It's a new rule bought in by the queen herself.

"What do you mean if something is wrong? Everything is wrong! Why weren't you at the meeting with the ministers today-"

"I wasn't notified about it!" Denki defends himself with a gasp.

"How dare you talk back? Remember your place, Denki." The queen seethes, making Katsuki's heart clench at Denki's silent tears.

"I-... I apologise, Your Highness. I didn't mean to... talk back." Denki apologises, dropping his head into an even deeper bow.

"I don't have the time for your excuses. All the goddamn time! You have an excuse for everything! Be a little responsible. You aren't a child anymore."

Denki silently stays in his place, not knowing how to answer for that. He squeezes his eyes shut as tears threaten to escape.

The queen waits for a few moments before scoffing and walking away, her heels clapping against the marble floor, indicating her departure.

Katsuki let's out a loud sigh with once she leaves. He wouldn't accept it, but he's very scared of the queen. He's heard a lot of stories.

His own father had shared his not-so-nice experiences with the queen. No wonder Katsuki had been weary of selecting the job.

"Your Majesty.. I-"

"Let's leave."

"Yeah.. right.. okay." Katsuki mumbles, waking with Denki once again.

"Your Majesty, has the queen-"

"Can we please drop this topic? It's making me uncomfortable." Denki mutters softly, looking over to Katsuki, his eyes were a stained with a beautiful gloss.

Even though Denki would have looked cute if he cried, Katsuki wouldn't want to see him sad.

"Of course! I'm sorry."

Denki simply nods in acknowledgement and walks away. He nearly trips on his cloak, for what seemed to be nth time that day.

"Careful, Your Majesty! This cloak is too big on you." Katsuki says, reaching forward to hold Denki by his arms.

"I have no other choice here in case you never noticed."