The Prince & the Pauper

Chapter One

"Goodness gracious," the scheduler gasped. "We're late late late! We have twenty, maximum, twenty-two minutes, for your royal fitting! And then it's move, move, move, to your speech at the Historical Society! After that, we have to rush, and I mean rush, to the Horancultural Society Tea! Oh, and then there's your math lessons, your geography lessons, your science lessons. . ."

The scheduler kept talking, reading what seemed like endless pages on his notebook of Prince Niall's activities for the day. Niall was standing in his bedroom; currently getting fitted into a lovely suit. He was sporting an all-white suit with gold embroidered on the cuffs. He had his matching gold crown resting on the top of his blond hair. He winced and forced himself not to rip it off. He hated wearing the crown. . . it didn't suit him. None of this did. Niall didn't want to be a prince; he just wanted to have a normal life that wasn't filled with schedules for every minute of the day.

As the scheduler rambled on, Niall stepped off the gold stepping stool and walked out to his balcony. From there, he could see the entire kingdom. He frowned and started to sing softly to himself.

All my life I've always wanted, to have one day just for me
Nothing to do and for once nowhere I need to be
With no lessons, lords, or lunches, or 'to do' list in the way
No one to say when to eat or read or leave or stay
That would be the day

On the other side of town, Harry was in a singing mood as well. He had to get up early every morning to start the preparations for the bakery. It was only him and someone else named Bert, who took care of the place. Madame Carp always left whenever she wanted and didn't give two damns about it. Harry was so tired of this routine; it was to the point that he couldn't even eat bread anymore. His entire life revolved around carbs. Yes, Madame Carp had ruined bread for him. What a witch.

All my life I've always wanted, to have one day for myself
Not waking up with a pile of dough on every counter
With no yeast in need of rising, and no baking sheets in disarray
No cupcakes with a thousand icings to display
And no debt to pay

"Madame Carp," Bert hisses, warning his friend.

"What do you think I'm running here?" she frowns. "A cabaret?"

Madame Carp was in her late forties. She always wrote ginormous, colourful dress hats and some fancy dress to match. Unfortunately for her, she had a gluten intolerance, meaning she couldn't eat anything in the bakery. That was great for Harry, because that means she wasn't around that often because she felt too tempted by the treats. It was pretty ironic that she owned a bakery but had a gluten intolerance.

"I would have said a debtor's prison," Harry mumbled under his breath and stifled a laugh.

"Keep laughing," Madame Carp taunts. "You'll be working for me for another twenty-five years."

"But I've already paid off more than half," he argues weakly.

Madame Carp laughed and shook her head. She started approaching Harry and wagging her finger at him; causing him to walk backwards. He kept walking until he was pressed up against a wall.

"But there's an interest, isn't there? Your parents should have thought of that before they borrowed so much."

"They did it to feed me!"

"Their mistake," she shrugged and rolled her eyes.

She walked off and Harry sighed, turning around and looking out the window. He shut his eyes and continued singing.

What would it be like to be?

Niall was also still singing from the castle.

What would it be like to be?

Free

Free

Free to try crazy things

Free from endless IOUs

Free to fly

Free to sing

And marry whom I choose. . .

Niall had his eyes on his best friend since childhood, Zayn Malik. He had a crush on him ever since they were twelve. Unfortunately, Zayn was not royalty, so his mother did not approve. She happened to be coming to talk to Niall when she heard him sing. She sighed and put her hands on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry love, but as you know, it is vital that you marry King Louis. It is the only way to take care of our people."

"I know," Niall nodded miserably. "It is my duty."

The Queen was quickly distracted by a large present coming through the door. She squealed and clapped her hands together. "Look, another engagement gift!"

Niall sighed and walked over to his desk that was covered with presents. He hadn't bothered opening them. They were probably all materialistic gifts anyways. He frowned and started picking at one of the decorative strings.

You would think that I'm so lucky, that I have so many things
I'm realizing that every present comes with strings

Harry was still singing on the other side of town as well.

Though I know I have so little, my determination's strong
People will gather around the world to hear my song

Bert laughed and sang jokingly, "Can I come along?"

Harry turned around and winked at him. Bert laughed some more and threw a pastry towards his head. Harry dodged it and chuckled, going back to his moment.

Now I fear I'll never be

Soon I will forever be

Free

I close my eyes and feel myself fly a thousand miles away

I could take flight but would it be right? My conscience tells me stay

I'll remain forever royal

I'll repay my parent's debt

Duty means doing the things your heart may well regret

But I'll never stop believing

She can never stop my schemes

There's more to living than gloves and gowns and breads and treats
In my dreams, I'll be free