Royal Courting

~Hidden~

It was a cold November morning, the sun peeking shyly through the curtains draped over the windows of Wille's room. His eyes slowly fluttered open as he woke up still dazed by the comfort of his sleep. Wilhelm didn't want to wake up but his duties were calling him, he rolled over onto his back sighing at how early in the morning it was. Soon his mom was going to force him to the meeting of his princely duties he loved oh so very much (he didn't, all he wanted was to live in a little apartment by the ocean with plants and a cat.) He rolled his way to the side realizing he rolled just a bit too far. he ended up on the cold marble floor. "fuck" he groaned. laying there for a few seconds before deciding to get up and get dressed. he pulled a black hoodie down and over his head and pulled a pair of grey sweat pants up his legs before tying the drawstring to secure them over his hips.

Walking over to his bathroom he splashed some water on his face trying anything to keep him awake and grounded in reality. he lifted his head to look at himself and try to recognize any sort of reason why he was chosen to be born into the royal family. His breathing tightened and he tried to shake the thoughts out of his head. sometimes for Wille, it felt like his skin was shrinking around his lungs and suffocating them. He knew this was anxiety but he was never able to get help for it because his parents were never by his side. they were too busy making sure they looked like the perfect family to the citizen's eyes that they forgot that they needed to support each other. it was mostly his mother the queen who affected him. he never felt good enough for her and she made sure to tell him that in any way possible. his dad on the other hand stayed quiet and watched Wilhelm be torn apart piece by piece.

At least his brother Erik helped him through it. they had a great relationship along with being siblings they were also best friends. Erik was the only one who helped Wille with his anxiety. even when he was a kid and he woke up screaming from nightmares Erik would be there to nurse him back to sleep.

After a long few minutes of Wille staring at himself in the mirror stuck in his thoughts he snapped out of it brushed his teeth and walked down the long hallway filled with golden-edged windows and historical paintings. living in the castle full time was mentally draining. he was always reminded that he is not a normal human being. By the time he made it to the kitchen, he could hear light chatter. he saw that it was his mother talking to the queen of Spain so he decided not to say anything and went to grab a bowl of cereal.

he sat down at the table in front of his mother before his mother spoke to him saying that Linda was on the call. he said hi and kept eating. He assumed they had become friends during a royal event they both attended. it was nice seeing his mother act like a mother for once but he knew that it would stop as soon as they hung up. he listened in to what they were saying Linda started talking about her son Simon who was the crown prince of Spain. Wilhelm has heard of him but never really felt interested in getting to know him. Simon was known worldwide as the first openly gay prince. even though we never thought about it in much detail he still felt incredibly hopeful that he could somehow be himself someday. he knew his mother would never accept him for dating a boy but he did not even know if he would be able to accept himself dating anyone other than a girl.

William has had crushes on men before but at the time he didn't recognize them as crushes. he just remembers raving about them too Erik saying how cute they are and how amazing they are. Erik knew how Wilhelm was queer before he knew himself. and he was supportive he would never let something get in the way of their relationship.

Linda and Kristina started talking about the gala coming up saying that it was going to be a great place for Wilhelm to make a friend and stop sulking in his room. Kristina gave him a stern look before going back to her call. their call quickly ended and his mother went back to being who she always was. she scoffed and rolled her eyes " I can't believe she just lets her son be.. gay" she said disgustedly. Wilhelm felt his heart in his throat as it reminded him how much pain he would go through if he wanted to be himself.

"I think it's brave of him, mama. He is able too to be himself." Wille muttered under his breath. His mother looked angry at what he had just said. "at least there are no gay people to ruin our reputation." Wille flinched at the words as they sunk into his skin. "anyways... Wilhelm at the gala you and he will be getting to know each other. prince to prince. it will be good for the public eye." she said stoically.

maybe Wilhelm will finally have someone on his side someone who would understand him. Wille sat back down after putting his dishes in the sink. he pulled out his phone and went to Instagram and searched up Simons's user. Wilhelm's heart fluttered as he looked at the photos. Simon was hot. In the photo, he was looking at Simon and had his hair up in a little bun. along with a cute oversized sweater. Wilhelm's gaze was then focused on Simon's perfect skin and his beautiful brown eyes. he also noticed that Simon had an amazing jawline.

his heart skipped a beat when he accidentally liked the photo. the photo was from 6 months ago. he cursed under his breath at how stupid he had been. he went to bite his nails when he got a message. he graved his phone and saw that it was the crown prince of Spain himself.

Messages-

Simon - you stalking me your highness?

Wilhelm - Uhm no. my mom was saying we have to be introduced at the gala.

Simon - sounds fun ;) I can't wait to meet my "stalker" in person.

Wille smiled at his phone as he walked back to his room and lay down on his unmade bed. Maybe the gala won't be as bad. As long as he has alcohol to get him through the night.

the rest of the day went by decently fast. he got to know Simon so it wouldn't be as bad when they met in person.