𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐁𝐎𝐘 , finn shelby

i. royal highness

˗ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄 ˗
❝ welcome to birmingham, your royal highness ❞

𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 𝟔𝐓𝐇 𝟏𝟗𝟐𝟕

ALEXANDER HATED MORNINGS. There was nothing he hated more, other than perhaps   summer and spring - his least favourite seasons. He preferred to sit inside with a hot drink by the fire with his family while it snowed or rained outside, not sit outside in the miserable baking heat. But in England, he didn't necessarily have to wait for it to be winter before it rained. It was always raining. However, that is beside the point. Alexander hated mornings because they were always so slow, and he could never gather the energy to pick himself out of bed every morning when all he wanted to do was stay in the comfort of his sheets and read a book or write something from his imagination. This only worsened when he got to University, giving him more freedom. Alas, Theodore Wilson loved to see the look of irritation and disdain whenever he woke up the prince with an unnecessarily loud knock on the door of his dormitory.

It was the same every morning, and while Alexander thought Theodore would get bored of doing so after a few months, he didn't. Over two years later and he was still knocking on Alexander's door every morning. And he would always respond the same, with a sharp "piss off!" followed by a muffled groan and a grumble of complaints. Theodore always laughed.

Dragging himself out of bed as if he were a heavy corpse, Alexander got ready for the day, slowly perking up once he had completed the task of getting out of bed. That was always the hardest part. It was spring, and so Alexander settled on a white shirt and tie, chino shorts and suspenders, his hair styled rather neatly after half an hour of trying to fix it. His mother always moaned at him for refusing to cut his hair, but Alexander didn't even think it was that long. Neither did his father. And so, he kept it as it was, just above below his ear in subtle light brown waves.

   "You can come in. I unlocked the door," Alexander called as he sat on his bed, tying up his shoelaces. Theodore opened the door to the dormitory, a satisfied smile on his face as he sat at Alexander's desk - which was an unorganised mess of books and paper and a few assignments he needed to complete.

   "You always look so bright and cheerful," Theodore commented sarcastically.

   "And you're far too smug in the morning," Alexander mumbled, loud enough for the man to hear. The two had been friends since childhood, close enough to refer to one another as brothers. In fact, it was only because of Theodore that Alexander was allowed to live on campus, his other brothers not being so fortunate. His father, King George V, didn't want his children to mix with 'undesirable company'. But because of Theodore's upbringing, he decided allowing Alexander to live in college with the other students.

   "No, you're just miserable in the morning. Come on, let's go down to breakfast before we miss it." With a nudge, Theodore ushered the boy to his feet and the two began their journey to breakfast.

On the way there, Theodore spoke of the plan he had been devising for a few days, a complex plan that hurt Alexander's head just to think about. There was a point where Theodore wondered if the young man was even listening, but Alexander showed signs of doing so, nodding as he ate his slice of buttered toast.

   "You do realise if we get caught sneaking out at night, you would be in more trouble than I would," Alexander pointed out, picking up his cup of tea and taking a much needed drink from it. "And Birmingham? That's so far away. At least two hours."

    "It's all for a good cause."

   "I don't think drinking is a good enough cause, Theo."

   "I believe it is. We leave in two days for Easter, and we might as well do something fun before you go back to Norfolk." Theodore had a point. Alexander hardly ever got to do anything fun, mostly because he always had a careful watch on him for multiple reasons. A whole list of reasons, in fact. His fragile health being one of them, not just his status. With a sigh, the prince shrugged his shoulders, a contemplative look on his face.