description: dan is a prince being forced to meet many girls until he chooses one to marry; sort of inspired by a prompt from tumblr
word count: 2173
dan's pov
"fuck this," i mumble at my mum, turning around on heel of my boots, headed towards my bedroom.
"daniel, please don't swear, and stop walking away from me," she orders frustratedly. "this isn't an option, you have to find someone to marry by the end of the day, and this is the best way to find someone. besides that, it's family tradition. now go get ready."
slumping my shoulders, i march away angrily. i stomp my feet as i walk, making sure that everyone gets the hint that i'm in a bad mood. a few maids stop as if they're going to speak to me, but i form a snarl and flaunt my excessive teen angst. naturally, they run away. i don't understand the point of any of this. the idea of a forced marriage is repulsive to me, and it's even worse because i'm supposed to pick a person based off of looks alone. how much crueler could this get?
i suppose my feeling of disgust towards marriage in general is really not the reason why i'm so upset. there are many factors, but overall, i believe it's the fact that i'm so young. yes, i'll admit, 18 is not actually that young, but it feels young. i'm still a teenager technically, which means i should still be allowed to make childish mistakes and be offensive towards authority. but if i'm forced to marry suddenly, i'll be thrown directly into training for how to raise a kingdom. all of the fun i've been waiting to accomplish would flush down the drain like a glob of toothpaste that had fallen off of a toothbrush.
"daniel," a lady's voice calls out, knocking against the wooden surface of my chamber door. "you needn't be late."
i scoff at her words and walk over to my large closet. i wait for her to say something else but she doesn't. i assume that she has walked away, so i clamber into a pile of clothes. i disguise myself, so that they won't be able to find me. hiding from the adults, as well as my apparent duty, fills me with a childish adrenaline. it's like an advanced version of hide and seek, except i'm not hiding from other children, i'm hiding from my responsibilities.
the closet door swings open suddenly, the doorknob slamming against my smooth walls. i resist the urge to hiss as their recklessness. what kind of idiot flings open a door like that?
"daniel," says the same voice from earlier, most likely a chamber maid i don't recognise. "please come out, before your mother gets angry."
stifling a laugh, i watch as she walks further into the closet. once she is on the opposite side of the room, away from the door, i climb out. "good luck getting out of here," i cackle mischievously before running out and locking her inside.
she remains silent as i slip around the room, messing things up and tossing clothes around. i try to mirror an image i'd seen online of a normal teen boy's bedroom. unlike me, they didn't have an extravagant canopy bed, or golden knick knacks strewn across every shelf. i like the way their bedrooms look, messy and lived in. i'm tired of the spotlessness i'm constantly surrounded by, i just want to experience a bit of "normal."
"he's still in there," my mother's voice murmurs outside of my bedroom door. i search for a hiding place, but i'm not fast enough. two burly men, wearing thick velvet clothing, burst through the door and grab my arms. i kick and whine for them to release me, but they don't.
"stop it! i order you to put me down!" i yell angrily, but they ignore me. "fucking hell, are you deaf? i said put me down."
my mother signals for one of them to clamp a hand over my mouth. i contemplate licking their palm, but realise they've probably been carry a bunch of heavy, and unsanitary things around. "okay, let's get him downstairs to the ballroom. many families are already here, with lots of young women lined up," she pauses as one man sticks out their arm for her to take. "shall we?"
grumbling, i make my feet move in the direction of the ballroom. we make our way to a velvety curtain, all the guests are on the other side. it's thick, but we can hear talking and nervous giggles through it. so many people here, wanting to marry me. though that's not why they're really here, the truth is that none of them care about me. they're here because they want to be part of the kingdom's royal family.
"mum, please let me go. i don't want to meet any of the girls," i mumble, once my mouth has been freed from the man's sweaty hand.
she looks at me with a hint of sympathy, and i almost feel bad about defying her. "dan, if i could stop this, i would. but can you imagine how the other kingdoms would react if i broke the family tradition?"
i sigh, wanting her to understand my struggle. if only i could get her to see my perspective. "please mummy? i already know that i won't like any of them. it's not fair."
she narrows her eyes slightly, as if she's trying to intimidate me into obeying her. "how do you know that you won't like any of them?"she smoothes the skirt of her maroon gown and patiently awaits my answer.
an idea pops into my head, i'll have to say something that will make it impossible for this arranged marriage to work. "i'm gay," i state confidently.
she gasps slightly, along with everyone else nearby. i'm grateful that the other guests can't hear our conversation. "you're what?" she stammers, shaking her head in disbelief.
i don't answer, instead i just wait for her to let me off the hook. see, what i said wasn't actually true. i'm not gay, but i'm also not straight. i suppose i'm bisexual, though i really hate labels. the only way to escape this though, is to make her think i won't be compatible with any of these women.
"that's too bad," she says finally, and a smile begins creeping on my face. "considering you'll have to do this anyway."
before i can negatively react, she pushes me through the curtain and onto the platform in front of all the guests. they all instantly smile and cheer at my arrival. i feel a tinge of redness splash across my cheeks as i stumble to the front of the stage-like surface. "hi everyone," i mumble. "uh i'm dan?" it sounds like a question, mainly because i have no idea what to say.
a few people clap quietly as if they're encouraging me to go on. i clear my throats before continuing. a small idea forms in my head though. what if i told everyone to leave? it's not like anyone is stopping me. i consider my consequences, but then realise that i really don't care. my mother must sense that i'm about to mess things up though because she comes out and starts talking instead. i take a seat in my throne and watch as girls mill around, smiling at me. my mother finishes her small introduction speech and instructs them to begin "trying to impress me." i shudder at her words and tune everything out.
"hey mum, i'm going to go to the toilet," i say eventually, and she nods for a guard to follow me.
"can you please back off?" i ask him rudely, once we've left the room. "i'm just going to the bathroom for god's sakes."
surprisingly, he does back off. i smile at the small sense of peace. i like being away from the crowd. maybe i could go hide in the bathroom? but that'd be boring, and i don't actually need to use the toilet. i guess i could go to the kitchen, no one would expect me to be in there. yes, it sounds like a good plan to me.
i walk to the kitchen nervously, hoping that there isn't anyone inside. when i open the door though, a boy, about my age, is stood at the stove. he's stirring a large part of god knows what, and humming under his breath. i walk over and cautiously place a hand on his arm. he practically jumps out of his skin and makes a small screeching noise.
"you okay?"
his eyes widen as he looks at me. he scrambles down and does a weird half bow thing. "shit sorry, i mean, your highness, or prince? i don't know sorry. did you, um, need something?"
i can't help but laugh at how flustered he gets. "no, i just wanted to escape all the stuff going on put there."
"aren't you having a good time though?" he pauses and a hint of embarrassment shows through. "sorry, i'm not sure if i'm allowed to speak to you."
"it's fine," i smile softly. "no one else is here anyway."
he nods, "yeah okay, thanks."
"what are you making?" i ask pointing to the large pot curiously.
he shrugs humorously. "i'm not sure actually, i was just told to keep stirring. why? did i do something wrong?" his eyebrows furrow as he stares into the pot quizzically.
"you're funny," i chuckle. "what's your name?"
his tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth as he beams at me. "i'm phil."
phil's cute, i decide. i like his smile, and how he gets flustered so easily. "i assume you already know who i am," i say as he nods.
"don't you need to be getting back?" his eyes widen again. "i mean, not to be rude, i'm just wondering. i don't want to keep you or anything."
"is that so?" i say stifling a giggle. "are you trying to get rid of me?"
he shakes his head nervously and his black hair falls across his eyes. i reach out and push it away instinctively. by the time i realise what i'm doing, it's already happened. i feel my cheeks redden as i mumble an apology. "anyway, do you wanna get out of here?"
he looks surprised before shaking his head. "no, no that's okay. i should really be getting back to work," he urges, reaching for a wooden utensil behind me. i step in front of it, blocking his hand.
"pardon me," he mumbles. "can you please move?"
"make me," i fire back, winking at him. he blushes involuntarily and i chuckle. "come on, please? can't we leave just for a little bit?"
he seems to ponder it for a moment before declining again. "i need to stay here, i can't lose my job. now if you'll please excuse me, i need to reach behind you."
he attempts to reach around me, but i move to block him again. "all this time, i thought i was the one in charge," i mutter shaking my head at him. he bites his lip worriedly, anticipating my next move. i catch him off guard though, moving my hands to the sides of his stomach and tickling.
he burst into an adorable fit of giggles, it's so bright that i can't help but join in too. soon, it turns into a battle of tickling each other. we run around the kitchen, laughing and squealing as we attempt to outrun the other. finally, he catches me. he lightly brushes his finger against the surface of my neck and i sink to the ground. he releases me, and we both lean into each other as we catch our breath.
suddenly, the door swings open, and the guard who had been asked to escort me to the toilet appears. his eyes fall on the sight of me strewn across the chest of a kitchen worker. "your highness, your mother has requested that you please return to the ballroom."
i frown at him, begging with my eyes that he'll leave me alone. he stares at me for a moment before looking at phil. he grunts in response to my pout before walking over and whispering to us in defeat. "get out of here before your mother comes looking for you."
i scramble to my feet grabbing phil's hand before racing out towards the door. "promise not to tell?" i ask and he nods. phil just shakes his head amusedly as i pull him outside. he laughs with me as we run away from the castle, hand in hand.
"guess i'll finish the soup later," he mutters.
i look at him, a faux bewildered expression on my face. "that was supposed to be soup?"
a/n i don't know if i like this one
also; stop being so nice to me i don't deserve your loveliness