Royally Screwed

Kellin sat down on the coffee table in front of the TV and listened to the news that the anchor woman was giving.

"Breaking news! His Royal Highness Prince Victor Vincent Fuentes, Prince of Miridia has gone missing! Sources say he was last seen in the lobby of Hotel Candorre to prepare for his lunch meeting with possible candidate for princess, Jenna Mcdougall. The prince is now being looked for by members of the Royal Miridian Protection Squadron as well as the Florida Police Department. If you happen to know or have strong leads to the whereabouts of His Royal Highness, please contact the Florida Police Department at 582-7770." Following the news, there was a picture of the prince on the lower right side of the screen. Kellin's mouth dried when he saw it. The prince either resembled Vic very, very closely or. . .

Kellin's breathing quickened as he turned off the TV and slowly lifted the tray with trembling hands, trying very very hard not to drop it. Vic was. . .Vic was the prince? A prince held his hand crossing the street? A prince read fairy tales to him? He spent a whole day with a prince and didn't even know? Kellin's face grew increasingly red and his heart started pounding so hard, he thought he was going to have a heart attack right then. He found it hard not to stumble over his own feet every step he took closer to his room. Never would he have guessed. But it did sort of make sense, he guessed. The way Vic carried himself confidently, the way he walked was so graceful and not to mention how he was so very handsome. Kellin was standing in front of the door to his room, trying to calm himself down because there was a prince in there right now.

Prince Vic must have heard the clinking of silverware because he opened the door.

Kellin's eyes widened and he paled and started being a bumbling mess. He didn't know what to say first. He didn't know whether to bow or greet the prince or maybe he could just step inside and start eating like nothing happened or maybe--

"Kellin, are you okay?" Vic asked, concerned for the other boy. Kellin did nothing but stutter incoherently with a very deep blush on his face so Vic took the tray from him and gestured for the shorter boy to step inside. Vic put the tray down on the bed.

"Hey, what's wrong? What happened?" Vic asked, closing the door.

"Your Majesty! I-I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I-I thought, I'm so honored to be in y-your presence. . .I just--just. . .wow," Kellin managed to sputter out, bowing over and over again, cheeks flushed and hands fidgeting on the hem of his shirt since he didn't know what else to do with them.

"It's Your Highness. 'Majesty' is for kings and queens," Vic corrected, biting his lip.

"Yes, Your Highness. I-I'm sorry, Your Highness. M-may I ask--"

"Please, Kellin, don't talk to me like that. I'm still Vic, your friend. Enough with that Your Highness stuff. Just call me Vic, please," Vic pleaded.

"Okay, I'm sorry, Your High-- I mean, Vic. I. . .I, uh saw you o-on the news and I. . .C-can you just--what's happening?" Kellin stuttered.

"I'll explain to you later, okay? Let's eat first. I'm starving," Vic said calmly. He took the tray and placed it on the floor where they would eat in silence.

Kellin nodded slowly and tried his best not to stare at Vic, the prince of Miridia, while he was eating. He was having dinner with a prince right now; a prince. Just thus morning, he was refused of his request to meet the prince and now, he was actually having dinner with him. The little meal they were eating must be nothing compared to the grand feasts they must have in his palace in Miridia. And what an embarrassment his bedroom was. Everything was so messy, he forgot to clean it up this morning. It wasn't fit for a prince to sleep in at all. Vic's chambers must be ten times as big as Kellin's little cupboard of a bedroom. Kellin found it hard to eat. He wondered if Vic liked the food he made, if it were satisfactory enough. Vic just not be used to this kind of food, he must be used to expensive, imported food cooked by a professional chef and not a lowly housemaid like Kellin.

What was Vic even doing in those clothes? A hoodie and jeans? Surely, a prince would have more glamorous wear. Did Vic even know that he was reported lost by the news and that people everywhere were looking for him? Would he be in trouble once someone found out that Vic was in his room? Kellin had so many questions, he could barely keep his food down. But he did. And after, he thought it was about right to demand an explanation.

"Okay, okay calm down. I'll tell you," Vic said, rolling his eyes. "Okay, so I'm prince of Miridia, well, not anymore if this works out but. . .we'll get to that later. I'm 18 and I went here to meet a possible candidate for princess consort, Jenna--"

"Yeah, she's my stepsister!" Kellin interrupted.

"Shh, don't interrupt me!"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness."

"Stop calling me that!"

"Okay."

"So anyway, okay, apparently she's your stepsister. I didn't know. Alright, I've been planning to escape. You know like, run away from all that prince stuff. I hated it. So I went through with my plan. So the first part of the plan: I told Parliament I wanted to look for possible consorts in America and they told me one of Miridia's business partners from America, James Mcdougall, had a daughter about my age so I agreed to meet her. So second part was when I go to America, I take a bunch of clothes, a bunch of jewelry and money and some food and I'd sneak out of the hotel I'd be staying at before the meeting and just run away. They'd never find me."

Kellin's eyes widened in shock, mouth wide open. "Vic, that's crazy! You have duties, you're a prince! You can't drop everything and hide just because you don't like it!"

"Yes, I can. That's what I'm doing now, isn't it?" Vic said with a smug smirk on his face.

"Vic, no! This isn't what a prince does. A prince is supposed to work for their country and all that. Don't you care about Miridia?"

"I do care about Miridia. I care enough to know that I'm not going to be a good king to them when the time comes. My brother, Mike is way better at that stuff than I am so I can just leave it up to him. Miridia will be in good hands that is, if they don't find me."

"Well then, what? You're planning to hide out in my room forever?" Kellin hissed. He was just so angry. Princes didn't do this! Princes were supposed to rule their kingdom, they were supposed to be brave and strong; a fighter. It was an act of cowardice to drop all your duties and just leave!

"No, of course not. I'm getting an apartment under a fake name," Vic replied. He's got it all planned out. He was going to live a normal life from now on. No more governesses, no more advisers telling him what to do, no more useless lessons on things he's not even interested in, no more high expectations that he couldn't live up to if he tried. This was it.

"What if someone recognizes you?"

"That's what the jewelry I brought is for. I'll bribe them to keep quiet if they ever do recognize me. It's gonna be okay."

"Vic, you didn't think this all through. They're going to find you."

"And how do you propose they are?"

"I'm going to call them, of course. I can't let you do this!" Kellin said, standing up and stomping over to where his cellphone was. Vic quickly stood up and in front of Kellin to stop him from getting the phone.

"No, I won't let you!" Vic said.

"Vic, let me through. This is for your own good." Kellin tried to shove Vic aside but Kellin wasn't the best in the field of strength.

"No, it's not for my own good! No one ever stops to think what might be good for the prince, no, everyone just has to treat me like I'm this doll they throw around for show. Kellin, please. If you care about me at all, don't call," Vic said with pleading eyes. Kellin let it go, deciding not to call. He was still quite disappointed at Vic's actions, though.

"Fine, I won't. But--but what are you going to do from here? It's risky, Vic. I'm not sure you can pull it off."

Vic made a face that looked like he was thinking. "Yeah, I guess it was pretty dumb. I didn't think it through. But if I had someone helping me. . ." The prince wiggled his eyebrows, slyly smirking at Kellin. The younger one's eyes widened, knowing exactly what the prince was thinking.

"Oh no no no no no no. I can't get into trouble! No, I'm not helping you. Absolutely not!"

"But I have no one else to ask help from but you!"

"Then, just--I-Idon't know. . .But I can't help!" Not even giving much of a fight anymore, Kellin lied down on his bed and covered his face with his hands. "I don't know anymore," he groaned.

The prince sat on the bed and sighed, his face falling. "I'm sorry I got you involved. It wasn't even in my plan to meet you, or anyone for that matter. I was trying to lay low for the time being. I just. . .couldn't resist finding out who was singing, you know? Your voice was just so. . .mesmerizing." The prince sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Kellin sat up, knees to his narrow chest. "Forget it. I'm sorry, Kellin. I'll go somewhere else, I won't have you dealing with me--"

"No, don't go. Please don't," Kellin uttered, "I-I'll help you."

Vic's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You will?"

"Yeah. I mean, you're my. . .friend. I wouldn't wanna let you down," Kellin's cheeks were tinged pink though he wasn't quite sure why. Vic's face lit up and he enveloped the younger boy in a tight hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much Kellin. I won't get you into trouble, I promise," Vic said, genuinely grateful. Kellin turned even redder at the hug and oh, there went the flip flops in his stomach again. He caught just a split second of the prince's scent before he pulled away; cinnamon and aftershave. Vic held Kellin's shoulders at arm's length, smiling at him. Kellin smiled back.

"Can we talk about it tomorrow, though? I'm too tired right now." Kellin suggested.

"Yeah, sure."

Kellin climbed off the bed and picked up the tray with the dirty dishes and cups. "Let me just put this in the kitchen," he said, yawning. Vic nodded and plopped down on the bed. "I'll be waiting for you."

To that, Kellin blushed and shyly muttered, "Okay."

A small smile played on the pale boy's lips and he pushed went out of his bedroom. He kicked the door closed. The small smile fell when he looked up and saw Jenna standing there, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Who's in there with you?"