Among Royalty

I

Adrian glanced at the clock hung on the middle of the wall.

"11:38". He was done with his exam already.

He double checked all his answers, yet again, and made sure he wrote his name correctly. Quickly handing the teacher his answer sheet, he made a dash to the door.

He was finally free! After the very hectic weeks of studying and many sleepless nights, he now will finally be able to to do all the shopping he promised Vince. Speaking of whom, he saw his best friend waving at him in the corridor outside.

"Oh god, do I wanna throw my bag in a gutter now? HELL YEAH BITCH!!" Vincent yelled, gathering a lot of unnecessary attention.

"I'm just oh-so glad I'm done with these exams. I can finally play Play station again." Adrian said with a dreamy long sigh.

Vincent just gave the boy a side look.

"Okay, I can finally play Play station without stress."

Vincent shook his head. Then something crossed his mind.

"Wait we can finally go shopping, you know with the fest and all coming I have nothing to wear."

The kingdoms hold a fest every year. It is, really, like a heaven on earth. Everything that one might need is available there. Food, clothes, amusement rides.... You name it! Even though it lasts only 3 days, it is something that attracts a lot of attention. The social media goes crazy this time. And so, everyone just know to be in their best forms.

But what happens after the fest is something of much more importance. One kingdom holds a kind of a ball for everyone of the ages 15-50 to attend. It doesn't matter if you are just a normal shop owner, or the ruler of the kingdom. The ball is usually the day after the fest finishes.

But there is a twist. To increase compatibility (and to gain attention), the kingdoms take turns to hold the ball. It is the job of the top 4 kingdoms, or in other words, the "Super Kingdoms".

The Super Kingdoms take turns to hold the ball in their territories. And as these kingdoms are so close with each other, it never seems to be a problem for them.

And this year, it was Adrian's kingdom that was holding the ball. It has already been more than 3 years since King Zion took the throne, but it will be his first time to hold the ball.

It will be his first time to make his kingdom as ready as it can be, so that the rulers of the other kingdoms will feel welcome to be there. Especially the rulers of the other Super Kingdoms.

And as this is the first time for their ball with their new King, Adrian knew a lot of people, worldwide, will be as excited as he already is. And as this will attract a lot of attention, he knew he had to be in his best form, too.

"Oh shit I completely forgot about the ball!! I have to get a tuxedo I don't have ANYTHING to wear!!" Adrian wailed. Knowing that the fest will start from tomorrow, he knew he had to hurry.

And so, with Vince babbling beside him they both headed to the mall.

----------------

Everything seemed to be beautiful the next day. Adrian could feel the happiness in the air. There were children giggling, couples taking pictures with each other and families having the best times of their life.

But one thing was bugging Adrian a lot that day. Should he have the insanely delicious looking pizza or the insanely delicious looking tteokbeoki? It was really weird looking at two 22 year old men ogling the menu card.

"Man... I don't know. Let's have the fondue?" Vincent asked.

And so, a fondue ended up on their table, and they ate to their hearts desire.

Although, they certainly ordered their previous choices as well...... and that, certainly, was a lot to eat.

After having the delicacies they headed outside the restaurant. It was a beautiful evening, and they decided on clicking a few pictures.

Adrian could feel someone was staring at him. Not that he was not used to it. Having dyed platinum blonde hair does attract a lot of attention. So he didn't dwell on that fact.

"Hey, I'll be back, okay? Just have to head to the washrooms real quick. You stay here. And don't have any ice cream without me." Vincent was already off with that.

Adrian enjoyed the wind blowing, he could see the children playing. He was more than content. He was broken from his trail of thoughts very soon, though.

"Excuse me." Someone tapped on his shoulder.

"Yes." Adrian turned and found a guy around his age. He looked a bit familiar, but Adrian brushed that thought away.

"I saw you taking pictures with your friend. I must say your very good looking." The guy exclaimed. He was good looking, Adrian could see that, but he was really not his type.

"Okay..... Nothing creepy about that." He whispered the last part to himself, though the guy heard him.

"Oh no I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. Well... Now that I say this it does make me look very pervert-ish." The guy rubbed the back of his neck.

They both were quiet for a few moments, not exactly knowing what to say to the other.

"Ummm... Yeah I should explain why I'm here."

"Yes, please." Adrian did not know what to say to the guy at all. So he just wanted him to finish whatever he had to say once and for all.

"Well, I'm a professional photographer, and I have been asked to work at the ball." He paused for a moment, gauging the younger's reaction.

If Adrian was surprised, he didn't show it.

"You will be attending, right? The ball?"

"Yes, I will be. But I still don't know why you are asking me all this...." Adrian basically screamed confusion.

His answer seemed to make the photographer smile. He grinned so hard the sun might have felt ashamed.

"Umm.... Well, I can see you have a very beautiful face, and I have worked with like millions of models. Just know that you should be confident in yourself, kay?"

Well, out of all the things, Adrian sure wasn't expecting that.

"Thank yo-"

He couldn't get to complete his sentence, as the guy already was jogging away.

"What the hell??.... What -- what just happened?" He muttered to himself.

He knew the guy did not tell him all he intended to, and that confused him even more.

What did he wanna say...?

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A/N -- thank you for giving this a try!🤗...