And In Your Eyes, I Saw Everything

Introducing Xander Black

-Xander's Point of View-

I never thought I'd find myself in my situation, but somehow I had. My eyes were laying face to face with the prince of the Rayne kingdom. His black hair windblown and his brown eyes staring at me widely. He was probably thinking the exact same thing that I was, but that really didn't matter. 

Right now, my heart was running one thousand miles per hour and I was wondering why I had a sudden attraction the the stranger in front of me. He was the one that my heart was desiring for and he was the one that I wanted to spend the rest of my time with. 

I'm getting ahead of myself though. I really should start from the beginning because there's actually a lot more to this story than just a shy guy falling for some forbidden lover. 

~~~

Truth is, I never asked to be a prince. I just happened to be lucky when I was born. I was picked right out of the bunch to become a prince of such a wonder and grand kingdom. My parents just happened to be the king and queen of this wonderful land. 

If I actually had the choice to be prince or a peasant, I'd pick the latter of the two. Being high in the society gave me way to much publicity and I wanted none of that. I (ironically) am a really shy kid. I don't come out of the kingdom every often and most of the time I just associate with my servant and best friend, Thames. 

Thames has been my servant since he was allowed to come with his mother, one of our maids, to the castle at the age of five. He's only a couple of years older than me, so that's why my parents picked him specifically for me. I don't really treat him like a servant though. He's more of my best friend than anything else. 

"Xander, it's time for dinner!" A voice shouted from down the hall. It was probably from one of the many maids or servants of the castle. I just sighed, rolled my eyes, and climbed off the bed before walking out of my room and heading towards the dining room. 

Dinner was my least favorite part of the day. Our dinner table is big enough for a feast. The issue is though, is that there's only three people who eat there. My mother sits on one of the sides, my father on the end, and I on the other side. 

I took my seat and I felt my parents' eyes on me at an instant. Thames brought my food over to me and he sat it down quietly before giving me a small look that said, "They're going to be talking to you tonight." I just shook my head and let out a sigh, my eyes falling on my mother who was sitting across from me.

"Xander, sit up straight," my mother said to me and I did exactly that. I had a habit of slouching at the dinner table. It wasn't very "prince-like" to slouch at all, but I really could care less. Her eyes didn't leave me while she was eating her food and I looked at her for a moment, knowing that she had something on her mind. 

"Is there something you need, mother?" I asked her kindly and she looked at me nervously for a moment. 

"Xander..." She began, but only a sigh escaped her lips as she glanced at my father. 

"Tell him, Annabelle. He needs to know now since it is in his best interest," he said, watching her carefully. He was like a hawk sometimes. Never said much, but when he had to, it was usually snapping at someone. 

My mother nodded her head and began again, "Xander, you don't leave the castle very often, but we need to know when you're going to find a bride. We've sent so many girls up here only to have you reject them because you don't like some small detail about them that is unknown to us. If you don't pick on soon, we're going to have a throw a ball and invite all the girls around here just to find you one. You don't want us to have to arrange your marriage, do you?" 

"I'm only sixteen, mother," I said to her, my voice laced with venom. 

"I married your father when I was seventeen. We weren't in love, but I knew I had to take my duties as a princess and fulfill them," she said shaking her head.

My face turned into a frown as I stood up, pushing my chair back a little bit further than I should have. 

"I'm going to my room. We can discuss this later. Right now, I don't want to think about it," I said turning and heading towards the doorway. 

"You can't always run from your problems, Xander. One day, you've got to be a man and face them," my father called from behind me and I let out a sigh before looking at Thames who was standing in the doorway, ready to follow me like a stray dog. 

Thanks, Dad. Like I didn't know that already.