Prince | phan (COMPLETE)

XVII

We left as soon as the sky turned black. Nothing but the moon was able to follow us as we crept out of the castle. Guards dotted the area but we easily evaded them, we went down paths that might as well have been mazes but I knew exactly where to go.
There was only one time before that I had ever taken this route and that was when I ran away, I was about 10. My parents stopped me from hanging out with a servant, Toby, we were very good friends even though he was 4 years older. He would play hide and seek or board games (if it was raining out.) He was my first real friend but then my parents fired him for stealing. I tried to escape so I could talk to him but, when I finally did find him, he told me to go back home and that the real world wasn't the right place for a kid like me. Nobody knew I was missing because I came back that very same day.

"Dan, where are we going to go?" I asked him once we were away from the castle walls, moonlight shone in a nearby puddle; trying to shine as bright as the sun itself before Dan stood in the puddle. He cursed and looked down at his sodden trousers before looking back to me.
"I thought we'd go to my place," he said and, at first, I thought he was making one of his suggestive jokes but he seemed serious.
"Oh yeah?" I arched an eyebrow.
"Well, really it's my mum's house."
I stopped dead in my tracks. "Are you sure you're mother will be okay with me? Will she not question where I have come from?"
"She's really chill," he reassured me. Although maybe that adjective wasn't the most relaxing one he could've used. "Chill" could mean a lot of things. My mums "chill" most of the time but not if I decided to bring a runaway home. I didn't question him about it though because he seemed confident enough. 

We continued to walk until my toes became numb from the cold.
"How much further?" I questioned, my teeth chattering. Dan noticed my frozen form and quickly put his jacket over my shoulders.
"Not far now," he whispered against me. He put an arm around me, he was shaking but refused to take the jacket back so we continued to walk together; sharing each others body heat.
"We're here," Dan finally said and led me past a broken gate and down a mismatched cobblestone pathway that had weeds growing through the cracks. "Mum, I'm home," Dan called into the living room and out of the doorway appeared a woman. She was very beautiful but had bags under her eyes that made her face look swollen and dull. She had greasy brown hair that hung down her face in a way that neither framed her face or looked awful. You could tell she was attractive but she was too worn down for people to notice right away. She was wiping her hands on a tea towel but soon dropped it onto the floor when she saw me.
"Daniel, may I see you in the kitchen," his mother asked.
"I'll be right back," he told me with a small smile before walking after his mother. I could hear them say stuff but it was very mumbled due to the distance. I heard "can't" and "prince."

"I'm sorry, we can't keep you here.  You need to go home," his mother finally said when she joined me back in the room, Dan followed behind her but he didn't look at me.
"Please," I begged. "I can't go home, they're trying to force me into a marriage I do not want. Dan is all I have, please let me stay." I felt tears brim my eyes and his mother sighed.
She looked at Dan, his eyes were puffy.
"Fine," she finally gave in. "But any trouble and you'll just have to go back."
"Thank you so much!" I hugged her. It took her a moment to react but then again it's not every day a prince comes to your house and hugs you. 
"Okay, Prince Philip-"
"Just Phil," I cut in.
"Okay, Phil, Dan will show you to your room." She turned to Dan. "He can stay there and you can sleep downstairs since this was your idea."
"Thanks, mum."
"I never had this when your brother worked there," his mum said, holding back a smile as she shook her head.
"No, he just got fired instead," Dan reminded her.
His mother left us alone after that and I could smell the gentle waft of food enter the room. I noticed a picture on the coffee table in the room and felt a pang of familiarity as I stared at a family picture of Dan, his mother and two brothers.