Royal Mistakes | DreamNotFound

Part 1

I strolled through the busy streets of the kingdom I was king of, engulfed in a swarm of people heading to various locations. Although it was already 11 pm, the center was still crowded with different types of people. The kind that smiled at you when you made eye contact, the idiots who thought they were cool if they swore at you, the adults waiting in front of houses to pick up their children, and so forth. Multiple lanterns on the side of the path lit the dark, welcoming me by flickering joyously.

Honestly, I've never liked being king that much. The only good thing about the job is the amazing food, but the rest is just the endless pile of sheets you need to sign and the incredibly long speeches you need to remember word by word and then present them like you haven't known the sentences for just one day.

Every day feels the same, but life outside of the castle was a whole other world filled with new adventures and variety. Everyone inside of the castle walls hates it when I leave without announcing, but honestly, I could care less. I'm the king for God's sake, I can do what I want.

Without even noticing in the slightest I had already arrived at my destination. The route I always took had become automatic and allowed me to walk there with an auto-pilot guiding me. My hand pushed down the door handle and opened the door. A wave of hot air and loud, cheery music distributed through the cool evening air.

As soon as I closed the door behind me, two drunk girls almost crashed into me while chasing each other, quickly apologizing before continuing their little game. I watched them disappear behind a corner at the other side of the full room, still screaming and laughing at each other. It made a smile appear on my face. It was so different here, so happy, much less dull than the life in the castle. Sometimes I wished I was born a normal kid, not someone who had to take over the role of king at twenty because his parents died due to an assassination. I still remember how I cried at their funeral, not because I was sad, but because everyone expected me to. I felt emotionless that day. They always expected way too much from me, and had been trying to find me a wife for months. Every time I told them I wasn't interested in marriage, they brushed it off and kept telling me I'd change my mind over time. I subconsciously rolled my eyes when thinking about it.

The thick smell of alcohol lured me to the surprisingly almost empty bar. Nearly everyone in the local club was dancing violently by shaking every part of their body they could, usually with a partner they'd probably be making out with an hour later.

I sat down next to a tipsy-looking brunet, whose head leaned back while taking another shot of whiskey. His long, damp hair almost reached the tip of his nose, covering one of his deep brown eyes. His defined cheekbone was highlighted red every time the colored disco-lamp reached his face and his clear skin was tinted a little pinker than normal. A perfectly white and a little wrinkled blouse was neatly stuffed into his skinny jeans, a black and silver belt surrounding his slim waist.

My breath hitched and a strange feeling bubbled up in my chest every time I stole a glance at him; a boy created from nothing more and nothing less than perfection, bathed in tiny drops of sweat while his fingers enclosed around another shot of alcohol. I also realized small freckles were littered across his face, covering both his cheeks and nose.

"Enjoying the view?" I blinked a few times before realizing where the voice came from. The boy had a different accent from everyone here, yet it was like music to his ears. Only those three words made me want to hear more.

"Very much, thank you," I said flirtatiously, winking. It immediately flustered the other, red on his cheeks merging with the pink of the rest of his skin. He clearly had not expected me to react that way. I liked that.

When a girl behind the bar came my way to ask me if I wanted a drink, I also ordered for the boy to the right of me, earning a confused but interested look from him.