~~~Sean's POV~~~
I had done it.
.....
Well, almost.
I got into the palace, check. I got into the dance, check. Find the Prince... Not check.
"Okay, keep calm. He has to be here somewhere. Just... wait."
I took a shaky breath, trying to calm myself. He'd have to be here somewhere. I quickly scanned the ballroom for him, but no sign.
I started to wander round the edge of the dancing, keeping an eye out for his raven hair or his chocolate eyes. Multiple people had offered to dance with me, and each time I declined.
It was insane. There was no way he'd want to dance with me. He's a Prince for Christ's sake. He would have found himself some pretty girl to dance with, and he'll stay with her for the rest of the night and the-...
BAM.
There he was.
Standing at the edge of the dancing.
A person by his side, talking at him.
And he didn't look like he was paying the slightest bit of attention.
I took another breath. Now was not a good time to have a fangirl fit.
I waited until the other person moved away. It would have been rude to interrupt. After about five minutes they did move and the prince looked somewhat relieved.
Now was my chance. I closed my eyes and took one last shaky breath. I walked forward.
"This is insane."
I arrived in front if him.
"He won't want to dance with you."
I stretched out my hand.
"Last warning."
"May I have this dance?"
He looked surprised, certainly. He looked me up and down, scowling slightly. I swallowed, trying to steady my breathing.
"Excuse me?"
Oh God.
"May I have this dance?"
I felt my cheeks start heating, and my hand started trembling slightly. This whole thing was stupid. I should have thought before I came here.
"You may."
I... What?
The Prince had taken my hand and started leading me around the dancefloor. I was numb. This couldn't be happening. I could feel my cheeks were aflame now.
Get a grip McLoughlin! This is what you wanted, wasn't it?
I quickly got my hands into the correct positions, one on his waist and one on his shoulder. He was only about an inch taller than me so I had to glance up at him. Oh God, his eyes. They were even more beautiful up close, the sparkle, the deep chocolate...
Shit.
He was laughing softly, looking down at me. I felt my cheeks were aflame.
"You really weren't expecting this, were you?"
I shook my head slightly, looking down and grinning.
"No, I really wasn't."
We casually talked for a few more minutes before he grabbed my hand and whispered in my ear.
"Come on, come with me."
He started pulling me around the edge of the dancing. I resisted a little at first, but I let him guide me through the crowds. I could tell he knew where he was going.
We passed a waiter and the prince took two glasses of (presumably alcoholic) liquid off him and handed one to me, before resuming leading me around the groups of people again.
When we were out of the ballroom the prince started to pull me along faster, leading me up and down hallways and corridors and every now and then I'm pretty sure I heard him giggling to himself.
After a few minutes he stopped outside a set if doors and flung them open and...
Holy shit.
It was magnificent. From here you must have been able to see all of the surrounding kingdom, right out to the docks and the fields bordering it all. It was nothing short of beautiful but... Fuck. It was very high up. Very high up indeed.
The prince had said something but I didn't quite catch it, so I just replied with a yeah.
'Fuck. Okay. Just keep breathing. For God's sake don't throw up on him. Just try to forget about how high up you are. Just focus on the scenery. You'll be fine. You'll be fine...'
Before I knew what was happening the prince was in front of me with his hand outstretched.
"...womanizer, and heir to the throne."
It took me a second to realise he was introducing himself.
I took his hand.
"I'm... Jack. Just Jack. Single since God knows when and fulltime nobody."
We shook.
'Jack?! Nobody's called you Jack in years! Why didn't you just say Sean like a normal person would? And fulltime nobody? Great going kid, what a way to introduce yourself to royalty.'
"Well Jack, now that we're properly introduced it feels a little easier to talk"
'Hah! At least he's got a sense of humor'
"Hmm, for you maybe."
Just then I realised I was gripping my glass particularly tightly. Better not let it go to waste. I took a sip and oh dear lord. It was disgusting.
"What is this?" I asked the prin... Uh, Mark.
"Champagne. I know it doesn't taste too great. You'll get used to it."
Get used to it. That is a good sense of humor.
"I doubt I'll ever get used to these fancy things."
"Oh really?"
"Well, I don't get much chance to try them."
Another sip. Still bad.
"Oh, so you're not from the upper classes? I knew I hadn't seen you at the dinner."
Oh wow.
"No I... No."
I could feel my cheeks begin to heat. Whenever someone brings up the subject of money I would always try to avoid it. My family have ever had much of it whilst I was growing up, and I certainly don't have much of it now.
Something about the way Mark said that though seemed to trigger something. I could feel myself getting more angry than embarrassed this time.
'Oh dear. This may not end well.'
"I've heard a lot about you, your majesty. How you're with a new woman every week. How you break their hearts. How you don't care. And I'm just curious as to why you do it."
I said all of this whilst staring at the ground. I've never been good with full on arguments, and this seemed like the best way to avoid getting my ass beaten too badly.
I could tell he was watching me. I could tell he was furious. I could tell I had fucked it all up.
"Okay, listen to me. You shouldn't believe everything you hear, especially about people in the public eye. People make up lots of stories about them, a lot of them false. Yes, I do go on a lot of dates. Never out of choice. My advisories try to set me up with every nice, posh, well off woman they come across and, if I'm being completely honest, I can't stand them. I know what kind of stories people tell about me, I'm not completely oblivious as to what goes on outside this damn palace. I can assure you none of the what they say is true. None of it."
Fuck.
Fuckfuckfuckfuck.
I blew it. There's no doubt. I had my chance and I fucked it all up.
We stood in silence for what seemed for an eternity. I couldn't bear it. I had to say something, but... What could I possibly say to make this better?
AN.
Hey everyone! I'm so so so sorry I've not updated this in ages. I've been busy with my drama group and other things so I've not had much time to update. I'm also sorry that this is just basically the last chapter from Jacks view. I wanted to add it so we could get his side if the story as well. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you in the next chapter!
~Robin