A Royal Pain

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

tw: there's fighting in this chapter and like, some blood and death but not to any of our characters so don't be scared about the death part my pals

Dan giggled, Phil's presence—as usual—turning him into mush. He was pressed against a hedge in the garden, the branches and leaves tangling in his hair. One of Phil's hands was gripping his hip, the other having snuck under Dan's shirt. He dragged his fingers gently over Dan's stomach, and Dan felt himself smile, unable to stop himself.

"You're so... soft," Phil conveyed, and Dan snorted, not quite sure whether he should be offended.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, though he was still grinning. He placed his hand on Phil's wrist in a weak attempt to push him off, but Phil resisted, instead sliding his hand even further under Dan's shirt and splaying his fingers out over Dan's stomach.

"Just—I don't know," he laughed. "I mean you're soft. As, like, a person." He seemed just as bewildered to be saying this as Dan felt to be hearing it, and Phil leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together. "When you're standing against a hedge and looking at me like that... and letting me touch you... I don't know. You're just—you're soft."

"You're a dork," Dan answered, and he let Phil kiss him, let Phil intertwine their tongues and tug on his lip with his teeth. Dan was fully aware that his hair was becoming some kind of a mess, and he tried to make a mental note to make sure there were no leaves in it when they finally returned to the castle. Unfortunately, it was pretty hard to concentrate on anything other than Phil when he was kissing him.

"Prince Daniel! Prince Dan—"

Dan and Phil jumped apart at the shout, scrambling away from each other and turning to face the newcomer, red-faced.

It was Cody, and his face was just as red as Dan's, if not more so. "Prince Daniel," he said again, eyes wide.

"Cody," Dan said with a nod. All at once, whatever urgency had been plaguing Cody seemed to return, and he ran forward until he was standing directly in front of Dan.

"You have to run," he instructed. "He's coming, I know he is! Izzy and I were eavesdropping and—well he said—he said that it was time! And that it couldn't wait any longer!"

Phil looked panicked. He'd taken the approach, once Dan had told him of his conversation with Cody in the kitchens, of assuming that any kind of attack wouldn't be happening soon. And he'd been right—up until now, at least. It'd already been a few days since Dan's midnight wanderings had revealed that his threat of assassination stemmed from some sort of threat directed at these kids. Once hearing that it was Charlotte in danger, Phil had been completely on board with helping to protect them however they could, though he was still a bit peeved that they'd been trying to kill Dan all this time.

The past few days had been rather pleasant, neither of them having to worry about any attempts on Dan's life. Both sets of his guards knew of the situation, and were also informed to keep their eyes peeled for anyone suspicious looking, for anyone who might've been threatening these kids. They'd even entrusted Phil's guards with the information, who had tried to convince Dan to let them follow them around everywhere for their own safety, despite the fact that Dan had always gotten the vibe that they didn't like him much. He had never seen them away from Phil's own bedroom, and Phil had politely declined the offer when it came.

Still, Dan had been hoping it might take a bit longer for whoever was trying to kill him to grow impatient and set out to do it by other means. It'd been nice, relaxing these past few days, enjoying leisure time with Phil, getting to do fun things with him such as walking through the expansive gardens.