My Prince (Septiplier)

Chapter Four.

~~~Marks POV~~~

"May I have this dance?"

What? Did he just... I must be mistaken.

"Excuse me?"

"May I have this dance?"

Or not.
There was a man standing in front of me, asking me to dance. This was on many levels new. I quickly glanced him up and down, trying to check this wasn't some kind of joke. I studied his face for a second trying to check for some sign there. All I could detect was his cheeks were a little more red than they should be.
Oh dear, maybe I'd left my answer a little late.

"Quick, think. Yeah this had never happened before, but maybe it was time something exciting happened? Go on, take a chance for once. If just only once."

"You may."

I placed my hand on his, taking it and placing my other hand on his waist. He didn't react straight away, taking a second to get his hands in position. This clearly wasn't the response he was expecting.

I glanced at his face again, taking in his features more carefully this time. I noticed the flecks of grey in his hair, the blue of his eyes, the slight patchiness of his stubble, and the deepening red on his cheeks.
I chuckled gently.
"You weren't really expecting this, were you?"

He shook his head gently, smiling softly.
"No, I can't say I was."

He had a soft kind of voice, and an interesting accent. I'd not heard one like it before.
"Are you from round here?"

He shook his head again.
"No, I was raised on one of the islands just off land. I moved here about a year ago. I'd decided I wanted to start a life, I suppose."

In this short conversation I could already tell people where looking round at us. Soon the whispers would start.

"Come on, come with me."

I took his hand and led him round the edge of the dancing. As I passed, I took two glasses of champagne off an empty table and handed one to him. In a short amount of time we were away from the festivities, and I led him through a room and opened the door leading onto a balcony. It was probably the best view of the kingdom you could get, and on a clear night like this you could see all the way to the harbour.

I heard him breath in sharply at the view. I rested my elbows on the rail, looking out at it all.
"Yep, it does all look pretty wonderful."

"Yeah..."

I glanced over to him. He was still gazing over the scenery.

"Believe me, you get used to it after a while."

He laughed softly, still not looking away.
At that point I took a sip of my drink, stood up straight, and held my hand out to him.

"Prince Mark Fischbach, rumoured womaniser and heir to the throne."

He looked over at me then, and took my hand.

"I'm... Jack. Just Jack, single since God knows how long and full time nobody."

We shook.

"Well, Jack. Now that we've been properly introduced, talking seems a lot easier."

He laughed softly again.

"Hmm, for you maybe."

He took a sip of his drink and cringed.

"What is this stuff?"

"Champagne. I know, it doesn't taste to great at first. You'll get used to it."

He laughed louder this time.

"I doubt I'll ever get used to fancy things."

"Oh really?"

"Well, I don't get much chance to try them."

He took another sip, making a face.

"So you're not from the upper classes? I knew I hadn't seen you at the dinner."

He blushed softly, looking down.

"No, I... No."

He was obviously shy, and I think I had made him uncomfortable.

"I've heard a lot about you, your majesty. How you're with a new woman every week. How you break their hearts. How you don't seem to care. And I'm just curious as to why you do it."

He said all of this without looking up, his cheeks a brighter red now. I looked him up and down, leaving a while before my answer.

"Okay, listen to me. You shouldn't believe everything you hear, especially about people in the public eye. People make up lots of stories about them, most of them false. Yes, I do go on a lot of dates. Never out of choice. My advisories try to set me up with every nice, posh, well off woman they come across and, if I'm being completely honest, I can't stand it. I know what kind of stories people tell about me, I'm not that oblivious to what goes on outside this damn palace. I can assure you none of the what they say is true. None of it..."

I didn't expect I'd get as angry as that. I sighed, looking out at the view again.

The sun had all but set, leaving a dusky orange over the surroundings. I glanced up and concentrated on the faint stars, trying to calm myself. It was starting to get a little chilly.