A Royal Pain

CHAPTER NINE

warning for lack of self care/not eating

Immediately after realizing what he said, Dan froze. He felt his eyes widen and he stayed still through sheer force of will alone. He felt as if he moved the world would fall out from under him. His heart, instead of beating crazy like it should've been, felt like it wasn't beating at all. Everything was suspended in time, a moment where Dan was allowed to feel nothing but pure, unadulterated panic.

Phil blinked. It was the most agonizing blink of Dan's life.

"In love in love?" he repeated.

Dan felt sick. Now was the time to backtrack, to laugh it off and say it was a joke. Got you!

"Yes," he whispered.

Phil blinked again. "Oh," he said.

"You don't need to say anything," Dan said hurriedly. "It's not like I want you to—to reciprocate. I just felt like I should tell you," his voice got steadily quieter as he talked, starting off as almost a shout and ending in a whisper.

"That's okay," Phil said simply. "I don't mind."

Dan felt his stomach plummet. For some reason, he'd wanted—had almost expected—Phil to interrupt him, to say that he felt the same. Instead Dan just felt mortified and inexplicably hurt. Phil not sharing his sentiments wasn't his fault, there was nothing he could do about it.

"I'm tired," Dan heard himself say. He sounded weird and distant, but he didn't care. "I'm going to go to bed."

With that, he was splashing out of the lake and gathering his clothes hurriedly, tears wet and uncomfortable in his eyes.

"Dan, wait!" Phil called, but Dan steadily ignored him and continued on his way. His guards were informed that no one—especially not Phil—was allowed into his rooms.

--

"Your Highness," Alfonzo said, voice muffled. Dan stood bodily against the door.

"Yes?"

"This is starting to get... worrisome."

"You're here to guard me, Alfonzo," Dan informed. "Not provide me with your irrelevant opinions."

"Your Highness," Bentley tried, his voice high. Dan crossed his arms, though no one was around to appreciate it, seeing as his guards were outside the room while he was locked in it. "Perhaps you should talk to Prince Philip."

"I shall do no such thing," Dan announced. He didn't like the reminder his guards were causing him—he'd been doing a very excellent job of ignoring every feeling that tried to creep up on him, and he'd almost managed to erase Phil from his mind completely.

"Why?" Bentley asked, which was completely out of line. Dan could have him hanged for that!

"None of your business," Dan hissed. "He could've mortally insulted me for all you know."

"Are we talking about the same Prince Philip, Your Highness?" Alfonzo asked tentatively. Dan resisted the urge to open the door and punch the man in the face. After all, opening the door meant letting in the outside world, and the outside world contained Phil, who Dan was never going to look at again. Plus, the guards might question his red-rimmed eyes, which he hadn't been able to get rid of—probably due to all the crying.

"No one comes in," Dan said simply, ignoring Alfonzo. And don't even say that name to me.

"But your highness," Bentley started. "Cecily—"

"No one!" Dan repeated, before stalking away from the door and traipsing through his rooms angrily. He was starting to go crazy in here. It'd been three days since that unfortunate incident in the lake (and why had he done it then? When they were both naked?), and Dan hadn't left his room since.