The Prince in Hiding

Try not to faint next time

            "Oh. My. God. I cannot marry a man who can't handle pressure", Darren knew exactly who was speaking, and he couldn't stand it. 

           "Stop it! It's not like I want to marry you anyway, it's against my will!" Darren shouts as he attempts to stand up. 

             The young prince was infuriated. Darren stormed off to his room to think. Meanwhile, King Jastin was arguing with the obnoxious princess, who obviously only wanted to be queen.

"I've had enough", she shrilled "I need at least 1,000 daglas if I'm marrying that wreck. Even my father agrees".

"Child, you are smart, but when you're Queen IsaBelle 1,000 daglas is like nothing, everything will be fine if you marry him", King Jastin explained.

"Fine, but I will be the dominant partner," the thin girl thought of her bright future. 

               Poor Darren was sitting in his room thinking about how his mum used to get anxious too. She would always comfort him when he got nervous, ever since she went missing, the anxiety only got worse. Now he was going to be a king, and his father only thought that Darren needed to "stop shaking". But he wouldn't. Well, to be frank, he couldn't. 

All of a sudden he heard the door creaking. It was her.

"I am so very sorry for my behavior" she squealed " I really didn't mean it, I'm sure you'll be a good husband" she smiled at the boy.

"I'm sorry, but-but I know what a fake smile looks like".

"Look,  now I didn't choose to marry you either,  yet I'm here trying to be nice to you".

"Well-um I de-decline".

The girl leaned closer.

"No. You. Don't."

"PLEASE LEAVE MY ROOM I AM SEVERELY DISTURBED!"

"Fine!" 

          As the girl left the quiet bedroom, Darren muttered something, presumably "shut the door" Darren sighed, normally he was a very calm and kind person, this princess brought out a bad side of him. He wondered what kingdom she was from anyway, they never said.  He looked at the mirror, his deep green eyes, his curly brown hair, his freckles, and his tall figure.  Girls in his kingdom were obsessed with him, from posters to fan clubs. It seemed strange to be obsessed with a human. He didn't even have magic.

              Darren could barely step outside his door without at least five guards to protect himself from strange girls. Now that he was older there were only more fans. The older citizens hated Darren, thinking that he's an irresponsible person to soon be a leader. Darren thought the same.

What could I do? I can't just call off the marriage! I still need to do something though... I could run away! 

                  Darren already knew what his plan was, for today he'd play the piano up until dinner, make a proper plan, then tomorrow he could escape early in the morning. He had received the piano as a gift from a fan when he was thirteen years old. The King told him to throw it away because "music is no talent for a prince". The young prince lied and hid it in the large closet, and whenever he remembered his mum's disappearance, he would play. Darren soon learned how to play songs and mastered it with the secret help of his servants.

        So he played for hours on end. Feeling like this misery inside this castle was somehow worth it. Darren drowned himself within the musical notes, each one bursting an indescribable feeling in his heart. It. Was. Worth. Worth lying to your father, the king about. Worth keeping a secret for seven years. The notes, the piano, the sound, the songs, were worth it.

Eventually, it was time for lunch and servant had came.

"Sir, it is time for lunch and we ought to let you know that The Princess has been invited to your dinner".

Darren bit his nails.

"Her family has also been invited".

"Very well, uh is she coming for lunch too?".

"No, the family is busy right now".

"Thank you".

           Darren sighed as he went down the stairs. He assumed that his sisters and father are there too but when he took the final step he saw an empty room. Darren decided to ask a servant where his family is. Apparently, they were at IsaBelle's house...

Why didn't they tell me? Maybe they forgot... 

"Your lunch has been made in advance" the servant uttered.

This meant that they didn't forget to tell me. Why?

 "Thank you" Darren nodded as he silently sat down to eat.

                 A bowl of gourmet soup had been made for him. Clearly, the servants put in a lot of effort into making the food. Sadly, no one seemed to appreciate it. Except for the prince. Darren finished the food and left. He wanted to focus on the piano for now, so later he could plan his escape. 

          In the large closet he played the piano.  Soon he realized that he should be working on his plans. The boy knew he couldn't simply jump out the window and run.  He decided on his best plan and noticed that dinner time was coming very soon. Though he despised her, he was going to pretend to be nice to IsaBelle, the entire evening. 

             The prince creaked the closet door open. Quickly he grabbed a book, flipped a few pages, and pretended to read. 

"Ah, son I am proud of you reading Shakespeare".

"Oh, yes I'm enjoying it I'm at the part where... uh Hamlet finds out his mother gets married?".

"You mean remarried".

"Yes, exact- exactly".

"Your fiancé is waiting for you".

"Great. Good. Um. Yeah".

Darren caught himself rolling his eyes when he was heading to the dining hall. 

Pretend everything's fine. Be smooth. Act like you're deep in love

"If it isn't my fiancé, soon to be king".

Look into her eyes. Pretend you see something no one else does.

"It is me, who else would I be".

"I don't know", she giggled

"Your lover".

"You know what? I'm starting over. Giving ya a second chance"

"Well, I'm taking it".

"Three things: first, you need to stop shaking, two, your temper, and lastly, try not to faint next time" the girl winked. 

 AN: get used to chapters this long ;) what do you think is going to happen at the dinner.. are you a fan of Darren "flirting" I think that most of my chapters will be published at random rates but that's all for today folks ;)                                                                -Pandawriter ^_^