Royal - HinaYachi ♚

Chapter 1

Hinata Shouyou, the prince of the Karasuno Kingdom, was called in by his parents, the king, and queen, to discuss a very important matter. Wedding. Yes, he's already in legal age and it has been a tradition to marry a princess from another kingdom to form an alliance and strengthen both kingdoms. Shouyou doesn't like it, not a teensy bit. He still wants to live his carefree life. Being a person next to the throne is really stressing, especially for a person like him. He never wished to be a royalty. He wanted to live a normal life.

The royal guards in the hallways greeted him as he walks on the aisle. He has this annoyed expression on his face as he stomps hard on the floor.

"Darn it, why do I have to marry someone already? It's a really a pain!" He grumbled.

The guards opened the huge door of the hall for Hinata after he reached its front. He walked inside and saw his parents sitting on their thrones. They look majestic with their long, red cape around their shoulders and crowns on their heads. Despite being a prince, Shouyou is terrified of the two. They are good rulers but when it comes to punishment, they never hold back. He took a big gulp before walking near them.

"Shouyou, I think you know already the reason why you're here," the king looks at him. He slowly nods. "We already talked to the nearby kingdom. Their princess is a year younger than you. Her birthday is on next week. And that would be the day your marriage will be held."

"The princess requested to visit the palace tomorrow to talk to you and get to know you better. She doesn't want to marry someone she doesn't know, you see," the queen added.

"Then, what if she didn't like me? Or I didn't like her?"

His mother sighed. "My dear, that one is irrelevant. You don't have to like a person for you to marry them, that's how the royalty works."

'That's contradicting', Shouyou thought. 'Aren't you supposed to like someone first before you marry them?'

"What if the princess is as dumb as me? I don't think we can create a great country if our broken brains are synchronized."

"Don't speak nonsense."

"Can I pass?"

"What?"

Shouyou shakes his head and made an awkward smile. "Nothing."

After his talk with his parents, he left the hall, his bitter expression came back. He walks—clomping, rather, while complaining under his breath. He passed a huge room with open doors. A particular little princess called him as soon as she saw him.

"Onii-chaaannn!"

Shouyou stops walking and turns his head inside the room. There he saw his younger sister, Natsu, who is waving her right arm and their royal tutor, Sugawara Koushi, who is probably in the middle of his lecture. He smiles at her and waves his hand at her. He entered the room and scans the place. It is a huge room with cream-colored walls. It has tall bookshelves propped against the wall. There are huge windows with long, white curtains hanging on its top. From there, one can see the whole garden from the ground. It has one large sofa and two smaller ones. There is also a long, brown table near the window and a chair behind it. The tutor and the princess are sitting on the long sofa with books in their hands. Shouyou takes a seat on the free space beside the male.

"Onii-chan, Suga-sensei told me a new story today! The title is Cinderella!" Natsu gleefully showed the cover of the book in her hand to her brother. The book might be covering her lips but Shouyou can tell that she's smiling. "It's about a normal girl who caught the prince's heart! Ah, but I hate her stepmother and stepsisters. They're bad!" She scowled this time.

The two guys smile at her and watch her flip another page of the book. Koushi looks at the prince beside him and asked, "You okay?"

Shouyou's eyes went from his sister to their tutor. "H-huh?"

The gray-haired male chuckled. "It's pretty obvious. When you were walking in the hallway, you have that scowl on your face. And when Natsu-chan called you, you just waved your hand and didn't say anything."

This person really knows him well. He's been teaching him ever since he was a kid so it's only natural that he can read him easily. Shouyou looks at his clasped hands on his knees.

"Sugawara-san, you're an adult, right? Have you ever thought about marrying?"

Sugawara stares at him for a second then turns his eyes in the wall across them. "So that's bothering you. I overheard the news from the maids earlier. To be frank, I never considered marrying. I'm an independent person. Besides, I have never taken an interest towards someone. But that mere thought may change once you've finally found someone you really like."

Someone he really likes. Maybe he'll end up marrying first before he finds that person. He sighs. He scratches his head in exasperation.

"Must be nice being a normal person like you. You don't have to worry about forced marriage," Shouyou pouted.

"Hm? That's not true. Even normal people experience arranged marriage depends on their parents."

The younger boy stays quiet. He rested his back on the sofa. The reading Natsu is the only sound that can be heard inside the room. He closes his eyes and fell into a nap.

ⓐⓝ

This one will be a short story because I originally planned this one to be a one-shot but the chapter has over 4000 words and it's making me irritated. I don't like long chapters. Anyway, a new HinaYachi book for you guys! 😉