Daisy's Baby // 1D AU

043.niall

I stayed in Cannelloni for another day or two, before getting a first-class ticket back home to Mafaldine. In the meantime, I spent some time with Taylor. Told her the truth about who I was, but of course, she already knew. Being royalty and all that, and she knew about Gigi too. It turned out that I enjoyed being in her presence quite a bit. I almost wanted to stay. But there wasn't a place for a man in the Cannellonian regime. So, I went home.

For days on the journey, I laid in my expensive and comfortable bed on a nameless ship. No job to do, no alcohol flowing in my system. I just stared at the ceiling, felt the familiar swaying of being on the waters. Of course, the only thing on my brain was Zayn. His small smile, and his concentration as he worked on art.

And in the multiple bags I had brought with me, hidden under the bed, was the treasure. I wasn't sure what I'd do with it yet. But it was definitely too much for me to carry on my own, as I stepped off the ship onto Mafaldine.

Yet, that didn't matter, because royal guards were already approaching me. "Hey, boys," I sighed dramatically.

They hand-cuffed me, and I went with them, my head bowed like a puppy dog. My bags were brought along for the ride. The ties around my wrist felt like old hat at this point, after so long on Siren's Scream. Merely days without my friends, and I was missing them, thinking of them constantly. Of that crazy, beautiful journey we had all been on together.

It was half a day's journey to the castle, and I spent it in silence with the guards. Of course, they never were much for talking, and I was already in trouble. So, not much to say between any of us. Every moment, I could swear that my heart was going to fall out of my chest and burst on the floor. I didn't want to see the anger and disappointment in my father's eyes.

And yet, it drew closer. The familiar walls of a castle I had lived in my entire life loomed above me, and then I was inside of them. Being brought towards my father's private study. Outside the door, the ties were removed, and they let me knock.

Then, there he was. Still looking the same, and he pulled me roughly inside, slamming the doors shut. "Goddamn it, Niall!" He shouted.

"Don't start with me -" I hissed.

"I was worried about you."

"What?"

Strong arms wrapped around me in a hug. "Of course. I get letters saying that you're in a secret Pappasori prison, and then reports of you using my name to get a ship, and to save your ass everywhere across Campanelle. Niall, you're my only child."

I wasn't expecting him to actually care.

We sat across from each other, a solid oak desk in between each other, as I regaled stories of my adventures. With Harry, and then with the others. But, I did leave out the parts about falling in love with Zayn. Everytime I mentioned his name, my true feelings threatened to spill out, but I barely managed to keep the story straight. And therefore, me.

"And now, you're back?" He was listening intently.

This was the most I had ever spoken to him in my life. "Yes. Ready to be king." That was a lie. A really big lie.

"Alright," He reached out his hand, as if this was something that could be decided in a simple handshake. "I'll want you to get back on your studies. And we'll plan a coronation. You can invite your friends that you made." It was a simple kindness - he had never allowed me to have friends, but I had taken that power out of his control now. I thought that being King wouldn't be so bad, then. "No one last minute adventures you've got to get out of your system?"

He was joking. I cracked a smile. "No. I promise. I'll never leave again."

Not that much later, I left his study. Wandered the familiar halls. Back to my bedroom, which was neatly cleaned, and just as I'd left it - with all of my precious items, which were long gone, and meant nothing to me now. Material possessions, and blood ties were nothing, I had learned. That night, I stared at the ceiling, like I had on the ship back, and I realized that I had to break the promise I had just made to my father.

There was one more adventure I had to go on.