Royalty

III

A/N: This is probably one of my favorite chapters so I hope you all enjoy! Please vote and leave a comment if you like it!

I quickly left the ballroom through one of the hallways in the back of the room. I was done with this stupid ball. I didn't want to be in there for another minute. I followed the hallway to the end and stepped through a door that led outside. I was in the back garden now, I walked past patches of beautiful flowers to a bench in the middle of the paved area. It was faintly lit by a light a few feet away, and by the bright moon that was overhead. It was a clear night so I could see all the bright stars shining around me. I shivered and pulled jacket tighter around me. I leaned back and watched the sky as I let my mind wander. I just needed a minute to myself  before I had to go back in there. I was so buried in thought that I didn't see someone walking towards me.

"Hey" my head whipped up and I saw Phil standing in front of me. "Are you alright?" he asked me. I opened my mouth to say yes, but realized that I was crying. Tears were tracking down my face. I wiped my nose with the back of my hand.

"God. I didn't even know I was crying" I laughed weakly and wiped the tears off my face.

"What's wrong?" he sat down next to me tentatively.

"You really don't want to hear about my problems"

"You can tell me" he insisted. He put his hand on my arm. I felt a warmth spread through my stomach. I sat there quietly for a minute. I was trying to decide if it was a good idea or not. I didn't know this guy so I didn't know how he'd react, but something told me it would be okay.

"I don't want to do this. I don't want to be here" I said slowly. I wasn't sure how to put my feelings into words.

"The ball wasn't your idea?" he asked.

"No" I laughed shortly. "It was not. The only reason we're having it is because I refused to marry a princess. I hate arranged marriages. So my parents thought that this was a better way. So I could feel like it was in some way my decision. Even though it's clearly not"

"Why do you have to get married?"

"My father's stepping down as king in a year and I have to claim the throne. But in order to do that I have to be married" I wiped my eyes again. "I have to get married because of a stupid law. I don't want to get married. Not like this" Phil started to rub my arm. "Do you know how many girls I've danced with tonight? I lost count. I can hardly remember their names, how am I supposed to remember other things about them? They're expecting me to find a girl that stands out to me. But they all blend together. Isn't that awful?" he gave me a weak smile.

"You remembered my name" he pointed out. I stared at him blankly. "I'm... I'm not sure what to say" he started. "I've never really been put in this position before so I don't know what I would do" I nodded and leaned away from him. I don't know why I was pouring my heart out to him. I just met him a few minutes ago.

"Fuck" I groaned. "Do you know how many peoples hands I've kissed tonight" I complained. He didn't seem to mind that I was ranting to him so I was just going to keep going. It felt good. "My lips are chapped! And god, the parents" I groaned. "The parents would tell me all these great things about their daughters and why I should choose them as my wife. Then I have to ask the girl to dance! I danced with every single girl, and none of them asked me to dance. Like, honestly I think at this point I might marry the first girl that asks me to dance" I joked. "The girls barely even talked to me. They just tried to impress me with their dancing skills" I was so worked up that I ran my fingers through my hair I accidentally knocked my crown off. Phil swiftly leaned over and caught it in his hands. He looked at it for a minute and then turned to place it back on my head.

"Dan?" he said, still facing me. "Would you like to dance with me?" a mischievous grin slowly spread across his face. I felt my face heat up.

"W- what?" I said in disbelief. He stood up and bowed in front of me, extending his hand.

"Would you care to have this dance with me?" my mouth was hanging open as I started at him. He wasn't serous, was he? "Come on" he said. "You said you wanted someone to ask you to dance. And I promise I won't try to impress you with my dance skills, because I don't have any dance skills" his blue eyes sparkled as he waited for my response. My brain told my to say no, but every other part of me wanted to say yes. My brain lost this battle.

"Alright" I laughed as I took his hand. "I would love to have this dance with you" Phil pulled me up swiftly and we moved to the open area in the middle of the garden. The moonlight shone down on us as he pulled me close to him. I laced my fingers through his and put my arm around his waist. He clumsily did the same. We began to sway back and forth to the rhythm of the music we could faintly hear from inside.

"You're a shit dancer" I mumbled the seventh time he stepped on my feet. He laughed breathily. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest I was afraid that he could hear it. This felt so... I wasn't sure how to describe it. It was a feeling I had never felt before.

"I told you" he said softly. "I don't have any coordination" I thought this would be weird, dancing with a guy. But it wasn't. It was... comfortable. It was easy. Maybe it was just Phil that made it feel easy. I lifted my chin to look at him. He was actually taller than me. Hardly anyone was taller than me.

"Thanks for listening to me rant" I said. He just smiled. "Seriously. It's really easy to talk to you. I wish it was this easy to talk to some of the girls" I grumbled. Phil stopped dancing, but continued to hold me. I looked up at him expectantly. Why did he stop dancing?

"Maybe it's easy to talk to me because I'm not a girl" he said. I frowned in confusion.

"What?" he was so close to me now as we stood motionless underneath the stars. I became aware of my heartbeat again.

Our bodies were pressed together, but neither of us were moving. It was like we were both stuck. My heart was pounding. What if someone saw us? I guess we weren't doing anything wrong, but it felt like we were.

"Daniel," Phil said softly. My heart was in my throat now. I was hardly breathing. What was happening to me?

"May I kiss you," my heart stopped. My brain was screaming at me now, it was telling me to push him away. That this was a bad idea. But if it was such a bad idea, then why did it feel so good? "May I kiss you," he repeated. "Your highness?" he added with a cheeky grin.

"Shut the fuck up" I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his lips down on mine. I was surprised at my sudden action. His lips were hot, as they moved against mine. I was too shocked to move. I can't believe he asked me to kiss him. I can't believe I kissed him. My whole body hummed with electricity as our mouths moved together.

"Dan!" A voice called. I frantically shoved him away from me. Someone was looking for me. They must've realized I was gone. "Dan!" We both stared at each other in fear. What if someone found us together out here? "Where are you?" The voice was quieter now. The person must be going the other way. I realized I was holding my breath.

"Shit" I said as I panted for breath. Phil looked startled. I touched my lips and whispered. "What the fuck" it hit me what I had just done. "Holy shit, I just kissed a boy" Phil scrunched up his face. I blushed and looked at him. "Uh, I mean- um- I-"

"Dan?" his voice sounded weird, it was too high like he was panicking. "Does your arm feel weird?" he asked. I frowned in confusion. I was trying to process the fact that I just kissed a boy and he was asking me about my arm?

"Why-?" I felt a sharp pain shoot down my shoulder and into my hand. "Shit!" I jumped away from him and grabbed my wrist. He was starting at his arm like it was an alien. "What the hell!" The pain continued to shoot down my arm. It hurt so much that my eyes were starting to water. After a few very long seconds the pain subsided. "What the hell-" I frantically pulled my sleeve back and felt the blood drain out of my face. "Oh, fuck"

My tattoo was completed.