Chapter One
I've always known I was different, not because of my background growing up as a Prince, but for the fact I admired boys instead of girls. How did I first know I was gay? Well while most boys growing up crushed on girls I found them repulsive. No offense to the female species, I only mean in a sexual way I disliked them, but while they all fell in love with the Cinderella or Princess' I always found myself attracted to the Prince Charming - no pun intended!
Of course no-one knows my secret, how could they? If I told my parents no doubt it would leak out to the public and not only would there be the possibility of being disowned by my parents and family, but also the nation too and I couldn't jeopardize - I wouldn't jeopardize that for my family who have worked so hard to be where they are now. A lot of people think that being part of the royal family you don’t do much apart from attend social occasions but that’s far from true, I’m always busy with something royal related.
Sometimes I wish I had a brother or sister so I could talk to them, relate to them, but I was an only child and therefore next in-line to the throne with only adults to guide me. I didn’t even have a best friend I could turn to. Sounds stupid that a Prince doesn’t have a best friend, sure I have plenty of friends but I never know who my true friends are and who want to sell a royal secret, so I keep my distance. You may say I’m still hiding in the closet, but what choice did I have?
I lay on my bed in my suite; I guess it wasn’t your average teenager’s room, much larger. However it included what you would expect to see, a large plasma TV and video games which I kept although hated playing, it just wasn’t my thing, I’d grown up in this room so didn’t think much about it these days. My latest (and only) butler/housekeeper Mrs Joyce, a lady with a heart too big for anyone’s shoes was like the fairy god mother out of a fairy-tale, she’d been working at the palace since I had been born so felt like a grandmother to me, one thing you should know about her was that she made the best scones I’d tasted, she’d promised to keep baking me them even though she was no longer working for us anymore.
Since we were a butler down Miss Hartley the palace keeper was in the midst of hiring a new butler, they had to go through a lot of processes since they would be working for royalty but I knew whoever ended up being chosen would be picked for all the right reasons so why I complain?
“Theodore” my mum called (calling her mother was too posh for my liking- ironic I know) she only called me by my full name either If I was in trouble, we had guests or a royal matter to attend to.
I pulled on some black jeans and navy polo shirt before walking out my room to meet my mum waiting in the corridor. I didn’t look too much like my mum except apparently we had the same nose, she had blonde hair which had begun to turn grey with age, blue eyes and a petite frame whereas I, like my dad had his brown eyes and big build. His black hair had already discoloured over the years so you would never had known its true colour, whereas I had inherited my grandfather’s rich chocolate hair which everyone wanted to ruffle. I mean I know my hair was slightly scruffy at the minute because I hadn’t had a haircut in a while but every time someone ruffled it up I felt like a dog, and a dog was something I didn’t particularly want to feel like.
“Are you listening to me? My mum said, I snapped out of whatever daze I was in and looked back at my rather annoyed mum, I shook my head apologetically and she sighed in frustration. “I don’t know where you are sometimes Theo, as I was saying Miss Hartley has found you a new butler. He will be arriving early tomorrow morning and I expect you to be on your best behaviour and show him the ropes of the palace, do you understand? I know normally we would get one of the other members of staff to show him the ropes but they are going to be busy with the Havendale lunch we’ve had planned since Christmas, so I’ll leave Mr Miller in your capable hands alright? I trust you” she said not giving my time to even answer before beginning to walk down the corridor filled with family portraits. If you were wondering, yes unfortunately there was one of me too. Earlier this year as part of my birthday turning eighteen I had been forced to sit in the same position for three hours while someone painted me, I mean with the technology now days you would have thought they’d taken a photo and painted from that, but my parents had wanted it to be as traditional for me as it had been for my great – great – great (you get the picture) grandparents.
“Oh and before I forget Harriett will be here at five sharp, don’t be late for dinner” I internally groaned, Harriett. Another of my many problems, we had known each other for as long I learnt to walk. Her parents were close friends of the family as her dad was a high ranked governor or something. You would think that being in such a well-to-do family she would be a ‘good daughter’ but she was exactly the opposite. She’d had her fair share of bad press doing things she shouldn’t have been doing and took everything and everyone for granted thinking she owned the entire world, and unfortunately that meant me too.
When we were fourteen Harriett came up to me as I watched people get on with their day to day lives through the palace window and said ‘one day we will be married and rule all these people’ which only made me dislike her even more. In fact, I think it made me realise just how much more I preferred men to women. Obviously my mum didn’t see that side of her and thought she was just a girl growing up in the spotlight filled with pressures, and that one day I was going to marry her and live happily ever after. As there had never been a public announcement on our relationship the public thought we were dating since we were always spotted together on royal duties which annoyed the heck out of me. How wrong they were though, the thought made me want to laugh or throw up.
I knew when the time came they would expect me to propose to her, I hoped rather fierce-fully that by that time I would have told them I’m gay and would have learnt to accept it, hoped being the main word. Don’t get me wrong I want to tell my parents more than anything, it would be such a relief not having to hide it anymore. If I lived a normal life without being a prince then I would have told them by now, but I simply couldn’t ruin the family name that has been royalty for generations.
The rest of the day passed rather quickly, I watched TV from my room rating guys on a scale from one (ew!) to ten (give me a fan because I’m about to faint from their hotness) which I often found myself doing, sad I know, but not even a prince is perfect. Throughout the evening it consisted of me pretending I was in love with Harriett for the rest of the family, when in reality I wanted to put her in a saucepan and slowly heat it…
By the time I made it back to my suite I tiredly threw everything I’d been wearing on a chair (except my boxers which I slept in) too lazy to put them away, before brushing my teeth and hopping into bed. As you do when you try and fall to sleep I let my mind wonder thinking about what the new butler would be like. I hoped he wasn’t an old man past his expiry date – no disrespect to old men it’s just I need someone to bring energy and fun into my already boring life. As different faces popped into my mind darkness closed in on me.
I was dreaming, I was dreaming I was myself. The real me, the one that didn’t have to hide. I was on a boat in the hot sun lying on a towel, my arm thrown carelessly over a boys shoulder. He turned and smiled dazzling me, his piercing grey eyes never leaving my ordinary brown ones. My heart jumped in my chest, and just like the waves around us our lips crashed together.
“Theo” an unfamiliar masculine voice said waking me up from an amazing dream, I didn’t want it to end. Rolling over so my face buried in the pillow I mumbled something hoping whoever it was would leave me alone, I wasn’t much of a morning person. A hand touched my bare shoulder and jolted me up, not because it was cold, but because it felt weird. I’d never felt a sensation like that before.
As I sat up grey eyes met mine, a stranger’s face rather closer than I expected it to be. I jumped back in my bed, the eyes were exactly like the ones that pierced me in my dream, yet I’d never met the owner of them before.
“Hi I’m Charlie Miller your new butler” he smirked. I looked up at him startled, he wasn’t anything like I’d imagined last night, not even close. He was far better looking, something pulled me towards him. If it wasn’t his grey eyes it was his crooked smirk, his tan skin begged me to touch it yet I didn’t reach out. I stared at him in shock.
“I’m Theodore but call me Theo” I said somehow sticking my hand out for him to shake. Normally I would ignore the gesture but I needed to see if I felt that weird feeling again or if I was getting confused with my dream. He looked at my hand before his grey eyes met mine, my eyes never leaving his face. As his hand made contact with mine the feeling was still there, still present. His eyebrows creased and I quickly took my lingering hand from his not knowing what to think.
“Oh I know Theo” he smirked again; there was something about the way he said it which I couldn’t point out. He stood up properly giving me the chance to look at his features. Apart from his hypnotic grey eyes he had a muddy shade of blonde hair which complemented his skin tone; his frame like mine was a large build, and his eyes. Did I mention his eyes?
“Wait a minute, what do you know?” I asked copying him standing up before realizing I only had boxers on and quickly sat back down wrapping a blanket round me, I was vaguely aware I had turned red in embarrassment; Charlie’s smirk still hadn’t left his face.
“You swing for the other team” it was still early so my brain was still in processing mode; it always took me a while to wake up properly.
“I swing for the other wha- oh” it had suddenly dawned on me what he meant, he knew my secret. I hadn’t even known him ten minutes and already he had figured out my biggest secret, this was not good. “Don’t worry I can keep a secret” he grinned his crooked way, grey eyes glistening before me as he reached for the door handle.
“Hold up, you’re not-“ I asked suggestively still not working out how he had figured it out. His eyes went wide before vigorously shaking his head. “Oh no. No. I’m as straight as a ruler” he announced before walking out my suite closing the door gently behind him. He left me thinking that not all rulers are straight, some weren’t meant to be and some bend.
A/N – First chapter! Let me know what you think! Comment, vote, fan!