Loving the Crown Prince

CHAPTER-5

(2 hours ago)

Damien was sitting in his study, working on the documents placed in front of him. He had a huge stack of files on his left, organized by date. 3 pens at the top of the table, 2 cm apart each. A letter opener right next to the pens, also 2cm away. Everything was organized, as it should be.

He opened the letters and scanned through each of them. Some were from the officials of different affairs, requesting a date for the wedding, while others were from the traders and new business ventures their kingdom could tap into. He sighed as he put those letters away. This was getting monotonous for him. The same letters, the same topics day after day- oh?

Damien's POV (eheheh first other pov)
His eyes landed on a cream colored envelope. It didn't look like the letters he got every day. He picked it up to examine the seal. It was...pink. No one ever sent him a letter with a pink seal. A pink wax seal meant congratulations or praise was in order. It wasn't just the color of the seal which confused Damien but also the fact that it was a floral wax seal. A few buds of white dried flowers were sealed under the wax.
The seal belonged to Duke L/n. Why would his Fiancée's father send him such...a letter?
He opened it carefully, making sure not to damage the seal. It read:

To the Crown Prince
Damien Aldor Escane,

Your Grace,
I send this letter as a means to announce my arrival. I shall start my journey back to the castle early next morning. I plan on reaching by the evening. This letter will reach you the day I arrive.
Forgive me for using the pink seal, my father was asleep and I couldn't find the red one. But I do believe congratulations and praise are in order, your grace.

I understand you might have heard this quite a few times already, to the point that you are bored of hearing this. But because I was well- unconscious I couldn't congratulate you for all your hard work.

Congratulations, My Prince! You did amazingly in the war. We sustained minimal damage, our knights and soldiers got back to their families alive and well, and we secured 27 out of 29 signatures on the peace treaty. This was all possible because of you. You did great. The whole kingdom is proud of you, they are ever so grateful that such a huge war came to an end, that you got their family back safely, and that their kingdom shall land in fine hands once you ascend to the throne. 

I would've said this to you in person, but you seem far too busy. Thank you for protecting us, your grace. I am afraid I wasted your time through this letter as well. I apologize for that. I hope you are eating well.

P.S. - I picked the flower for the seal from my garden, it is said to remove stress and bring luck.

Regards
Y/n L/n

The letter shocked Damien, not because of the seal or that sweet fragrance that he was sure belonged to Y/n and how it lingered on- NO. He was shocked because this was the first time someone had thanked him. He had spent years of his life going from wars to battles to wars again, all for the sake of his kingdom. And not once did anyone thank him. They all praised him and bragged about their kingdom being unbeatable now but not once did they take the time to actually show gratitude to him. He was convinced it was because of his reputation, that people were scared to speak in his presence or whatever.
But Y/n wasn't. She thanked him, she even put that flower on the seal for him. It felt weird that someone was paying attention to him, to his state of being. That someone cared whether he ate or if he was feeling stressed.

He looked at the time, it was an hour till 4 pm, till Y/n returned. Damien stretched his arms as he stood up to leave his study, he wanted to order the staff to prepare for her arrival and keep everything smooth. He wanted to make her feel as comfortable as she, somehow, made him.

Before he could leave, the doors to his study swung open as Carmen walked in with a bang. "Hey there, war hero. What's with the smile?"
Smile? Damien put a hand on his mouth, finally realizing he had smiled. He cleared his throat. "I am happy because of a deal. And have you no manners, Prince Carmen? Barging into a room without knocking?"  Damien spoke in a stern voice, to mask his embarrassment of smiling because of a stupid letter.

Carmen chuckled as he put his hands up in surrender. Bowing exaggeratedly he spoke in a polite and formal tone. "My prince, O Crown Prince Damien. O, War hero. I apologize for not knocking."

Damien rolled his eyes as he nodded and walked past Carmen. "What did you need?"
"I wanted to confirm if lady Y/n was returning today?" 
Damien stopped walking abruptly. Did she send a letter to Carmen as well? So, the letter, the seal, the flower wasn't for him alone? This made him feel uneasy. Almost a little angry. Or was it betrayal that he felt? But why, he didn't care...right? Right.

Carmen's voice broke his chain of thoughts. "I already alerted the maids and servants, they'll work accordingly. Not like you even care or have the time for her, right big brother?" Carmen spoke with a coy smile. He knew how to get his brother all worked up. And the end result was always fun.

"I...don't care, for her or any of such trivialities. I have important matters to tend to. Excuse me." Damien huffed and walked away.

THE PRESENT

Damien rested his head against the chair while he sighed heavily. The door closed behind her as Y/n left the room. He wanted to ask Tiana how her time with her parents was and how she felt but all he did was snap at her and send her away, rather rudely.
His eyes were aching from working on the documents all day long, his body was sore and tired. So, he began packing up the files and putting them in order. When he was about to put the last file away, a gust of wind blew in through the open window, making the small stack of letters fall off the table.
"Great. Just great" Damien grumbled as he bent to collect the fallen letters. Standing up he smelt that familiar fragrance again, the one which put him to ease somehow, the one which made him...smile, as he recently discovered.

He saw the pink flower pressed seal, the letter written by Y/n and it filled him with regret. He shouldn't have talked to her like that. He being overworked has nothing to do with Y/n. On the contrary, she is the only one who actually pays attention to him as a person rather than his status.
Damien sighed as he ran a hand through his hair and walked out the room to go after Y/n. He shouldn't have let Carmen's talks get to him.
He walked rather swiftly as he crossed through the hallways. "So what if Y/n had sent a letter to Carmen as well, she could have just wanted to make sure we knew of her arrival. I over-reacted-" His thoughts came to a halt as he turned the corner. His eyes widening slightly seeing Y/n and Carmen, her arm in his grasp.

Damien could feel the same feeling of unease build up in his chest. He balled his fists up but didn't let it show on his face, keeping a stoic demeanor. He looked at Y/n for a brief moment before he looked straight ahead and began walking away.

Y/n's POV
I stood still as Prince Carmen pulled me back, before I could retaliate and tell him to let me go, Carmen looked behind me. I turned to see Damien looking at us. He looked...disappointed. Why?
I was about to speak when Damien walked past us. I felt this sudden urge to run after him, to not let him leave. My mouth worked before my mind could process the words. "Wait, my prince-" I pulled my arm away from Carmen and took a step towards Damien.

He stopped, his back towards me. "I don't care what you do, Lady Y/n. But keep it private. I don't need you to ruin your family's reputation for such...base desires." 

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A/N: A little angsty angst for you guys. Like always, drink water, love yourself and please sleep. I know you love drama but babe- no. go sleep now. And i promise I will give you a chocolate tomorrow. love you, bye.