Prince Diaries - Royal Engagement [Z.S]

1. A WIFE!

Genovia was a lovely country, a mixture of Swiss landscapes and Italian weather. Its royal palace was built on a little hill over the sea, a beautiful garden all down the hill, from the palace to the beach and there was a small, private housing complex near the beach.

 Genovia's royal family had been decimated by departures and deaths among the last decade, so now the King was alone with his grand-son and a lot of people working at their services.

Zayn was a 26 years old guy who loved spending time in the library of the palace, going around in the garden watching the cats lay in the sunlight and painting pictures of the members of the royal family, sometimes gifting them for charity and stuff. 

He loved going to the housing to paint and be quietly alone: he had a great sound system there, with amplifiers and a computer to make and play music, but he preferred listening to the peaceful sound of the waves, which rhythm helped him control his breath and his mind from bad energies.

Genovia, the 31 of March.

It was a Sunday morning at the end of March when the King went to look for his grandson personally all-around their residence. He needed to talk to him, it was a very serious matter.

"Zayn, here you are, I was looking for you" he exclaimed when he found the young man, dressed with a red lumberjack shirt, jeans and a red beanie keeping his long dark hair under control. He found him in his room in the palace.

"What's wrong?" asked Zayn worried. The king grabbed his hand, then he sat on the sofa in Zayn's room and forced him to do the same.

 Zayn's heart skipped more than just one beat.

"I am fine, don't worry, but I have to talk to you about something very serious. I had a meeting with the parliament members yesterday and they decided that, since I am turning 85 and you are already 26, you must get ready to take my place."

"I've been studying all my life for it, I've been with you during most of the meetings, here and abroad, I guess I am actually ready for it. Do you think there is anything else missing?" Zayn asked, looking quite excited.

"A wife." pointed out his granny.
"Are you kidding?" Zayn laughed.
"Serious talk, Zayn" the King replied, looking concerned about it.
"Are you all serious?! Men always rule alone, why the hell should I get a wife?" groaned angrily Zayn.

"It is our law. A king must be married if he's older than 25, in this country. This rule was made in the past when it often happened that not so old kings suddenly passed away and those young kings who had to replace their fathers miserably failed many times. It has never been a mystery that adult, married kings with a wife suggesting them what to do always gave better results."

the king continued-" You know, behind a great man there is always a great woman, and our parliament has never denied it. I knew about this rule, but I hoped no one would claim this old rule, I am the first one to say it should be abrogated, but someone did claim it."

" And they also gave you a deadline: you have a month to find your partner.» said the king, resting his back on the sofa between cushions heavily breathing."

 "One month or Genovia will lose its monarchy. I hate to admit it, but the Parliament wants to rule alone, they are trying to kick us out. They want to make it look like they're acting for the sake of the country, but Genovians have never voted for this, so they are just talking for themselves."

Zayn was mad, he felt like his heart had just started pumping dark bad blood. He got rid of his grandfather's held, got up and went out in the garden, sitting on a bench surrounded by cats. He caressed one of them hoping it would calm him down.

As the cat meowed at him, his thoughts exploded in his mind and he rea he wasn't interested in anyone, he actually hadn't been thinking about going out with someone lately, so he was even more in shock. 

Against this backdrop, thinking of some random girl to marry was weird and felt almost impossible. He went back to his room, picked a leather jacket from the wardrobe and left the palace.

 He began to wander in the streets of Genovia, focusing on the neon lights of the shops and on every person he met. People looked at him with reverence, but he was a random guy with an important surname and a life out of the ordinary. That was it.

Zayn hadn't a path to follow, he just felt like walking in some directions and he followed hus guts, eventually finding himself in the backyard of the school he attended when he was a child. 

It was a lovely square garden just in the middle of the school, with trees and plants from all around the world, gifted by the politicians who visited the country.

 It had always been a quiet, relaxing place, so Zayn sat on a low wall, admiring all the green of the grass and the leaves and the gold of the flowers.