"Father? Can I go and play with the other children?" The young prince asked hopefully. His father, the King, looked down at him, and sighed heavily.
"...As you wish, Alden. Have your butler accompany you to town, and be home in time for supper." He instructed.
"Of course, Father. Thank you." Alden smiled, before dashing off to the town square. But not before making a secret pit stop in his room. He undressed from his royal attire, and put on clothes worn by "common" people.
Alden loved going to town disguised as a citizen. It was fun to be around people who weren't so worried about appearance or wealth. His father was always pressuring him to look as proper as possible.
Today was going to be different, however. As Alden weaves through the thickening crowds of townsfolk, he bumped into one of them.
"Oh! I'm terribly sorry!" He immediately apologized, looking up to meet the taller figure's eyes. It was a boy, looked to be around his age. Despite how dirty he was, he looked...stunning.
"It's alright," he replied with a smile, "what's your name? I don't remember seeing you before!" He asked cheerfully.
"Umm, I-I'm...Prince Alden. Sorry, I mean, my name is Alden." He fumbled over his words, "I'm used to addressing other forms of royalty with my status. I hate acting so formal, I just want to be a normal child." He confessed.
"I can understand that...if I was the prince, surrounded by boring adults, I'd want to sneak out a bunch, too. Oh! The name's Winston by the way!" The boy, Winston, introduced.
Alden cracked a genuine smile. "Nice to meet you, Winston." He said back, feeling awkward. Winston giggled at the prince's awkward vibes.
"Hey, there are some cool hangout spots around town? I could show them to you if you wa-!"
"Alden? Prince Alden?" A new voice cut through Winston's. Alden sighed heavily, hanging his shoulder in defeat. It was his butler. He'd been found.
"Hello, Elliot..." he mumbled, voice shifting to a monotonous one.
"Good afternoon, Master Alden. What on Earth are you doing out here? Engaging with...commoners?" Elliot asked with a disgusted look at Winston, who lurched back, offended.
"I wanted to get out of that stuffy castle every once and a while. Being a prince is too much work!" He protested.
"Now now, stop complaining. I'm going to have to take you back now, to focus on learning how to become King." He turned to Winston once more.
"I'm afraid Prince Alden has to leave. He has more important, things to attend to." He remarked, leading Alden away from his new friend.
The prince took one last sad glance back. He gave a sad wave. Winston reciprocated. As they walked back to the castle, Alden's mind couldn't stop wandering to Winston.
Would he ever see him again?
Weeeeeeeeee
✌🏻🍪
(I'm getting too lazy to type the peace out so just have the emojis for today :P)
