Under His Rule (Yandere! Prince! x reader)

Thinking of the Past

We walk through the halls of the palace and leave through the side door that leads to the gardens.

We walk through the first hedge. A neatly trimmed bed of grass is encircled by tall hedges, bushes, and shrubs. A lone Willow tree stands in the back left, its branches form an almost protective roof of the garden. A bed of bright blue forget-me-nots grow right underneath it; they're forever trying to expand. The hedges, bushes, and shrubs reach about 6 feet high, giving a sense of privacy. A path of marble stones loops around the garden, leading visitors to the best spot. A jade garden of grass is contoured by thick lavender bushes and shrubs. A fountain stands in the front left of the garden, offering a gentle, tickling sound of water. It looks like something out of a fairy tale. Axel leads me to a bench across from the fountain. We're hidden by the tall hedges.

"Please, take a seat." He motions towards the bench.

I nod. "Yes, of course, thank you."

I sit down, and he follows suit.

I speak first. "This garden is absolutely beautiful. I mean wow, I've never seen anything like it. Truly fit for a king."

"Thank you," he looks in the distance, a nostalgic, faraway look in his eyes. "My mother designed this garden herself. She chose the flowers, their placement, and even the type of marble used for the pathway we walked on. This was before the accident."

"Oh yes, Queen Alessandra. I heard she was especially kind," I reply, staring thoughtlessly at the trickling water in the fountain.

He nods slowly. "Precisely. She was the kindest person to ever walk these halls. She let poor servants and their families live in the palace. She gave money to charities against father's will. She even paid for the Saint Mariah orphanage."

He breathes slowly, in and out, in and out. The afternoon sun shines on his hair, making it look like sparkly gold thread. His eyes glow brightly, like a cup of melted gold.

"I'm sorry for your loss. I... I wish I had gotten to meet her," I say, tearing my eyes away from him and looking at the tulips next to us.

"I do too. She would have loved you," he says, looking up at me.

I giggle. "You think so?"

He smirks, then nods. "Yes, definitely. You two are very similar. Both very kind, and have this somewhat... charming air about you. You kind of remind me of her."

I chuckle. "You flatter me, Axel. But thank you."

We sit in silence for a little longer. But it's not awkward. It's a comfortable silence.

A voice breaks the silence. "My lord? I am finished with the task you gave me. " It's Genevieve. "The information you requested is on the table in your study."

He nods. "Thank you Genevieve. You may return to your work now."

She quickly bows and turns away, walking back down the marble path.

"She seems so nice," I say, smiling as she walks off.

"Oh, you think so? I can appoint her as your personal maid if you wish," he suggests, admiring a patch of lilies nearby.

"My personal maid?" I ask.

"Yes, I wouldn't mind. I'm sure she wouldn't either," he replies.

I shake my head. "No, I could never. I really don't need one. I really do appreciate the thought, though."

He chuckles, "You two really are similar. My mother used to say the same thing."

**********************************************************************************************

By 3:15, we were on the carriage on the way to Greenward to meet Princess Anahita.

Axel spoke up first. "I apologize if this is too intrusive, but I am very curious. What was your childhood like?"

"Oh wow," I think for a moment. "Well, we were pretty poor. I'm from a small village north of here called Sutton. We're all poor, really, but we all made sure to help each other out. We still had a pretty good childhood. My mom always made sure we had what we needed."

"We?" Axel asks.

"Oh yes! I forgot to mention my older brother, Hunter. We grew up together," I nod.

He smiles. "Is that why you took this job as my assistant? You want to send some money back to you family?"

I nod, determinedly. "Yes. Hunter and I both decided to get jobs to send money back to the whole village."

Axel smiles. "You are truly kind, really."

I shrug. "I just want to help the people I love... What was your childhood like?"

He chuckles. "It was certainly very different than yours, I'll say. Mother and father were always away at meetings. And Victor was with them often, as he was the next heir. I was alone all the time. I mostly remember walking around the castle late at night, star light lighting up the halls. Complete silence. It was not completely bad, at all. A sort of... serenity came with the loneliness."

He looks away, a faraway look in his eyes.

Instinctively, I reach over and put my hand on his.

He looks down at me, a golden sparkle in his eyes.

"Axel... I didn't go through what you went through, but I can say... I'll be here, okay? If you need someone to talk to, " I say, faintly smiling.

The carriage stops.

I flash him a large smile. "I guess we've arrived."

Axel is silent as the driver opens up the door and escorts us out. I look up at the large castle in front of us.

Gigantic white pillars stand in front of the large structure. It's beautiful, with carefully placed arches and domes. It's sparkly white with pink accents. Pink domes, Pink doors, and even light pink tinted windows. As we get closer, we see that even the paint is a very pale pink color, not white.

"This is amazing! I've never seen a pink castle," I state in awe.

One of the princess' pages let us into the castle, leading us deeper and deeper into it. Everything is pink. The paintings are lined in pink and gold frames. The hall curtains were a light pink color. Even the marble was gold and white, flecked with baby pink.

"Wow, truly astonishing! This must have cost a fortune," I say, looking up at the baby pink ceilings. Axel say nothing, glancing over at me silently.

We finally reach the throne room.

Rose gold chandeliers hang from one side of each of the four granite columns and light up the entire throne hall, shrouding it a past glow. The floors are white an gold marble, flecked with pink. A champagne pink rug splits part of the room in half from the throne to midway down the hall while rounded banners with burnished needlework droop from the walls. Pink light comes in through the pink tinted windows. A rose gold thrown sits beneath a huge baby pink canopy made of silk and is adjoined by six almost identical seats for visiting royalty. It is truly a sight to see.

A young woman climbs out of the silk canopy, fully revealing herself.

She's about my height, with fair skin, long brown hair, and piercing green eyes. The pink eye shadow and thick eyeliner compliments her features beautifully. She's wearing a flowy pink nightgown

"Good Evening, Princess. I am Y/N, Prince Axel's assistant. Pleased to make your acquaintance," I say, politely bowing.

She ignores me as she literally runs and jumps on Axel, wrapping her hands around his neck, hugging him.

"Axellll! I missed you!" She yells.

Uhh

"It's been a while! I told you to come see me more! " she says, jumping off of him.

She smirks. "Well, that won't be a problem anymore, since you're going to be my husband soon."

Wait... husband?!