The Mushroom Prince // DNF

2/Privacy

George walked slowly down the long hallway, his sister at his side. They had just finished breakfast and their footsteps echoed off the walls as they leisurely made their way to the throne room, where their father was waiting for them.

"So he's handsome, huh?" George said in a playful tone, flashing Lilyana a small smile.

She giggled and gently swatted at George's shoulder as she said, "he really is. He looks strong too, exactly what you want in a knight."

George laughed as Lilyana playfully wiggled her eyebrows, tossing her long brown hair over her shoulder as she spun herself in a circle, arms spread wide. She was a carefree spirit, just like their mother had been. At only sixteen years old, she didn't have to worry about the pressures of ruling a kingdom, something that George envied greatly.

George, on the other hand, had nothing but pressure constantly being thrown on him. Not only was he expected to become king someday, but he was also expected to find a suitable wife, someone who could rule by his side as queen. George knew this was a necessary part of being king, but it was the one thing he wished he could avoid above all else.

You see, George had a secret, a secret that no one in his life knew about aside from Lilyana. George knew from a young age that he wasn't like the other boys. He had never developed those harmless childhood crushes on girls his age, had never felt the urge to chase them around and playfully tease them.

When he was about thirteen years old, he finally developed his first crush on a boy who worked in the kitchens of the castle. He remembered being too scared to ever tell anyone that he had a crush on a boy because he knew his father would never approve of such a thing.

His heart ached for his mother during this time in his life, she would've been the only person who accepted him, but she had been gone for about five years at this point.

Now, at the age of twenty-four, George felt fine with keeping his secret between Lilyana and himself. He knew nothing could ever come of it anyway, a painful truth that he had long since accepted.

George draped his arm lightly over Lilyana's shoulders as they reached the door to the throne room, both of them still giggling and smiling. As they made their way in, their father's stern eyes instantly fell on them.

They quickly wiped the smiles from their faces and fell silent, George pulling his arm back from his sister's shoulders. He watched as Lilyana made her way to stand behind the throne, out of sight of their father's persistent glare.

George locked eyes with his father as he came to stand in front of him, trying his best to remain composed under his heavy gaze.

His father finally broke the tense silence by saying, "thank you for finally joining us, you two."

George bit the inside of his cheek, fighting back words that were dripping with sarcasm. Instead, he simply smiled up at his father then bowed his head slightly.

His father cleared his throat in annoyance then gestured to a knight that was standing nearby, wordlessly sending a command. The knight strode off quickly and returned only a moment later with the same blonde man dressed in green that George had seen in the hallway that very same morning.

George gripped the edges of the blue cape that he was still wearing, pulling them tightly around his body as if he could hide himself from the man. He felt his face burn in embarrassment as he thought of the earlier events, praying that the stranger wasn't going to give him away in front of his father.

The blonde's eyes locked onto George for a moment, a small smirk forming on his face and then quickly disappearing as he turned to bow in front of the King. George watched him curiously, but the blonde remained silent, waiting for the King to speak first.