A/N: Prince AU. Zain's character will be a little naïve in this. Yes, I'll be using his actual name. Also, there's fem!Zayn.
And just a warning: my knowledge in geography is really small, so I chose not to make them princes of actual places, but rather just gave a vague idea of where they're from. So, yeah.
(basically I'm stupid.)
~
"Are you enjoying yourself, boy?"
Zain gives him a wide smile, too wide to be genuine. "Yes, father."
The king mumbles a good and walks away to talk to the other emperors, and their daughters. Zain's smile drops and he rolls his eyes, walking to the corner of the room. He finds a lone chair, and slumps down on it.
Did you find anyone interesting? Is what his father truly meant, Zain thinks, corner of his lips tugged downwards.
Yes, this ball was for him.
Yes, his parents, the king and the queen, invited kings and queens and their heirs of other kingdoms to choose one who will eventually be wed to Zain. He had no other choice. He was twenty one, and this was his prime time to get married.
But all that happened till now was him declining to dance with anyone, and hurting heels. And hunger.
His stomach was grumbling, and you could hear it from the other side of the palace.
Everyone was either too serious, or trying to hard. There was this one princess, he couldn't remember her name (didn't want to anyways), but nevertheless, she was all over Zain. He didn't like it one bit.
He wanted someone simple, and nice.
He also didn't want to get wed to someone he just met. The idea was unreal to him.
Zain saw that the people were now waltzing. He slumped further in the chair. Maybe, if he hadn't been so cold to them, one of them would have asked him to dance. At least he could have asked someone to dance, and made friends (which he is in lack of). He counted with his fingers. Yup, to him, he met every princess in the ball.
But that was it. He met every princess, not everyone. At least, not the person coming towards him, through the joyous crowd.
Zain picks on the gold fabric of his sleeves. They were really pretty. He stares intently at the intricate fabric designs, trying to guess which country it was from.
"Isn't this ball hosted in your honor?"
Zain stops fiddling with his sleeve and looks up.
And he almost gets a heart attack.
It was a man, who looked like he was in his early twenties, like Zain himself. That was besides the point. The point was that this man was the most breathtaking person ever.
He was insanely beautiful. Honestly. Like, the hell? How could people like him even exist?
"Yeah. Anything wrong?" Zain asks, voice unsteady. The man blinks and shakes his head. "Oh no, not at all. It is just intriguing to know that the main person of the ball isn't even interested in the ball."
The entire time the man speaks, Zain can't seem to take his eyes off of his lips. And that voice, oh god. So low, and so, so sexy.
He huffs. "I don't want to get married, that is all." He stands up, knowing that it would be rude to simply sit and talk to the man like that while he was standing. Zain holds out his hand. "Prince Zain of-"
