Chapter I

“Mother, do you need anything else?” Axel asked after preparing breakfast.

“No, my dear.” She smiled softly to her son. “I have got everything I wanted, thanks to you darling.” She patted the brown haired's head.

“How are you feeling? Does your head still hurt you a lot?” Axel asked.

“Not bad,” The woman shook her head slowly. “It still hurts, but less than before.”

“I see.”

Loud knocks could be heard on the door.

“Mr Eastoft!”

Axel and his mother looked at each other with confusion. “I will open the door,” Axel said before heading to the entrance.

“Mr Eastoft,” A royal guard bowed to the young man. “My sincere salutations. I am from the castle.”

“The castle?” Mrs Eastoft got up from her bed. “Is there anything we can help you with?” She asked.

“No, madam. Your son was summoned to the castle by his Royal Highness, Prince Lucian. He was elected among hundreds of young men and women to be his companion.” The guard said.

“Oh, lord!” Mrs Eastoft widened her eyes. “You presented yourself to the selection?!” She asked her son, who nodded. “Why?”

“I want us to be happy, mother.” Axel smiled.

“Mr Eastoft, will you please follow me?” The guard asked.

“I will come back very soon, mother,” Axel said.

“Do not worry, Mr Eastoft. His highness sent her a nurse. Mrs Harrington, please enter.”

A woman in her forties entered the small house. Her black hair was tied into a ponytail.

Mrs Eastoft felt at ease when the nurse smiled widely to her. “It is nice to meet you, Mrs Eastoft. I am Eve Harrington, and I will be in charge of taking care of you from now on.”

“Oh, it is nice to meet you, Eve.”

“You do not have to worry about your son.” Eve smiled. “Mine is also in the castle. He is the prince's knight and also his best friend. His Highness is friendly and a very kind gentleman.” She smiled.

“I see,” Mrs Eastoft stared at her son. “You will come to see me, right?” She asked.

“Of course mother, how can I not?” Axel kissed her head before leaving with the guards.

“Axel seems like a very kind young man.” Eve said. “His Highness must have seen something special in your son because he was never interested in anyone before.”

“My son sure has a lot of qualities.” Mrs Eastoft sighed heavily. “I am proud of him.”

“Welcome to the castle.” A tall young man smiled widely to Axel. “I am Nathan, his Highness's butler.”

“Nice to meet you, sir Nathan.” Axel bowed shyly.

“Oh please. Let us drop the formalities.” Nathan chuckled. “You can call me Nathan.” He smiled. “The maids will be in charge of bringing your things in your chambers. Will you please follow me? I will show you around.”

Axel nodded and followed him.

Axel's eyes did not know where to focus anymore. The interior of the castle was incredibly gorgeous. The walls were painted in a very light beige colour which highlighted the paintings depicting each member of the royal family—previous kings and queens and the actual ones.

Axel stopped in front of the prince's painting, admiring the beauty of the colours along with Lucian's.

“The prince is handsome, isn't he?” Nathan said from behind, making him jump by surprise.

“Y—Yes, he is,” Axel mumbled with a shy voice.

“He is even more handsome when he smiles a lot, you will see,” Nathan said before guiding him to the large stairs.

“Here is the kitchen.” He led him to a big room, full of large ovens, several fridges and a large storage cupboard.

“Let me introduce you to the chef.” He said before tapping a tall black haired male's shoulder.

“Oh, is he the one?!” The chef asked Nathan, who nodded with a smile.

“You are so handsome!” Leon widened his eyes.

“Thank you, sir.” Axel blushed.

“Sir?” Leon chuckled. “You just made me feel so old. Call me Leon.”

“Alright Leon, are you the main cook?” Axel asked.

“Yes, he is.” Nathan nodded. “You will see, he prepares the best food in the world.”

“You will never get tired of my meals, darling.” Leon smiled proudly. “Do you want me to prepare something special for you tonight?”

“Me? I do not know much about gastronomy.” Axel mumbled shyly.

“It is alright.” Leon patted his back. “There is something Lucian likes a lot. You will try it tonight.”

“Lucian?” Axel asked confusingly. He did not understand how the employees could address their prince informally.

“We are his friends, this is why we are used to calling him by his first name,” Nathan said. “You will get used to it too, Mr Eastoft.”

“Call me Axel, please.”

“This is the stable. Andry will help you choose your horse later.” Nathan said.

“Good afternoon,” A blond male approached them with a large smile.

Axel kept staring at him, wondering if he was a hidden prince because of his elegance. He was wearing a black hunt coat and beige breeches along with white dressage gloves covering his small hands and was walking with his long black leather boots. 

He assumed he was a knight, a very handsome one.

“You must be sir Axel.” he politely bowed to him.

Axel did not answer him, and he just kept staring at him.

“Sir Eastoft?”

“Y—You are very handsome,” Axel said and immediately covered his mouth, realizing that he thought loudly.

The blond-haired male chuckled. “Lucian sure will hate me after this.” He laughed.

“You are also the prince's friend?”

“I am his best friend, Andry.”

“Oh, you are Lady Eve's son?”

“Yes,” Andry nodded with a smile. “She was very enchanted to help your mother.”

“She is very kind.”

“Like her son,” Andry said proudly, making Axel smile.

Nathan cleared his throat. “Well, now we should go to meet the prince.” He said and Axel nodded.

“I will see you later, sir Andry,” Axel waved to the knight.

They entered a large gate leading to a gigantic garden, even bigger than the castle. Axel widened his eyes when he saw all the trees and hundreds of flowers around him. He smiled and thought he had already found his favourite place.

“The prince spends most of his time here,” Nathan said, before opening a door to reveal a study room.

“This is where he does his work. He said that nature helps him concentrate more and be less stressed,” he added. “I will go get him. You can sit here to wait.” he pointed to one of the chairs. 

Axel nodded and shyly sat, looking around him. He spotted a large glass vase on the desk and smiled when he saw the bouquet of Alstroemerias he had offered him the other day.

He was touched to see that the prince took well care of them.

“Good afternoon,” A deep voice woke him from his reverie.

The dark-haired prince stood in front of the door and smiled at him.

“Your Highness,” Axel bowed to him.

“Did you like the castle?”

“Yes, Your Highness. It is large and beautiful, especially the garden.” Axel smiled shyly.

“Because you like flowers,” Lucian said. “One day, you should teach me their names and meanings.”

“With all my pleasure, Your Highness.”

“You met my friends?” Lucian asked.

“Yes, they look very kind.”

“They are,” Lucian sat in front of him. “They are the ones who are making my royal life easier.” he sighed. “I hope that you will do the same,” he added, staring right into his eyes.

“I will do my best, Your Highness.” Axel bowed.

“Have you ever heard of archery?” The prince asked.

“I have heard of it, but never had the chance to try or watch it, and I heard that your highness likes it a lot,” Axel said.

“Exactly,” Lucian smiled. “It means a lot to me.” He sighed.

“Maybe if I teach you about flowers you would like to teach me archery?” Axel asked, making Lucian smile widely.

“Deal!”

“We prepared some clothes for you, Mr Eastoft.” The maids handed Axel a large box which he opened to find several elegant shirts, trousers and jackets along with very classy shoes

“We filled the bathtub for you. I hope that you like rose scent. His highness sure does.” The young woman shyly smiled and left the chambers.

Axel took off his peasant clothes and put them inside the box before going to the bathroom.

“Oh, god.” He widened his eyes when he saw himself through the mirror, with his new royal outfit and his clean body.

“Mother should see this,” he smiled. “She would like it.”

“Axel, dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes!” Nathan knocked on the door.

“I am coming!”

Axel decided to look around the palace before dinner gets ready. He found it strange to see maids and valets bowing to him every time he walked through the corridors. Being a part of the royal family sure was different from leading a normal life.

He kept admiring the paintings until he walked in front of a half-opened door. His curiosity fought him and he decided to look at what was inside. He found a man lying on a large bed, surrounded by a physician and nurses. He thought that he looked a lot like the prince. Perhaps he is the King. His heart pounded only by the thought of it.

“Come in,” He heard him call.

Alex widened his eyes and pointed to himself, “M—Me?”

“Yes, you.” King Ayaan nodded.

Axel opened the door shyly and bowed to him. “Your Majesty?”

“You can go rest. I will be fine.” Ayaan nodded to the nurses and everyone left. He patted the free space next to his legs. “Come here, young man.”

“I—I do not want to bother you, Your Majesty.”

The king smiled and patted the bed a second time. Axel sat down carefully and bowed once again to him.

“Axel, isn't it?” The king asked.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“My son chose well. You seem like a very nice man.” Ayaan started. “I was always fearing who will be the next prince or princess, and I honestly wished it would not be a woman.” He chuckled. “I married a very wonderful one, but young women from this new generation are very scary. Their motive is not helping the prince, but gaining popularity and money behind his back.” He sighed. “Males do it too, but real men like you would never.”

“How do you know if I am a good man?” Axel asked.

“I can see it in your eyes, son.” The king smiled. “And your hands prove it too.” He added, pointing at his rough hands. “You must have worked very hard.”

Axel nodded. “My father died during the war and left me with only my sick mother. I was the only man, of the house, so I had to be in charge of everything such as working here and there and helping take care of the household.”

“This is exactly what a future king needs by his side. A responsible person.”

“Even if I am poor and don't know the royal protocols?”

The king chuckled and put his hand on Axel's.

“Poverty and richness have nothing to do with your education. There are rich people whom you cannot even stand sitting with and poor people whom you like to spend all your life with. Money does not define your personality. Experiences and responsibilities do. And for the protocols, of course, you can learn them. We were not born royalty after all.” he laughed. “I am sure you will be a great prince.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Axel smiled. “I hope you get better very soon. I will be very pleased to get to know you better.”

“Oh, if only my dear, if only.” Ayaan sighed heavily. “You should go now. Dinner must be ready.”

“Won't you eat with us?”

“Maybe another time. Lucian would want to get to know you better and so do you, I do not want to ruin it,” he smirked.

“Good evening—” Lucian widened his eyes when he saw the future prince waiting for him in the table, looking handsome in his new clothes.

“Good evening, Your Highness.” Axel stood to bow to him.

They ate silently and secretly stole glances from each other.

“Tomorrow morning, we are going to the stable together.” The prince said after taking a sip of his soup. “Andry will help you choose the best horse.”

Axel nodded. “But I do not know how to ride a horse.”

“Andry will teach you as he did to me. He is a great rider.”

“And a good teacher,” Another voice surged in the hall.

“Speaking of the devil.” Lucian rolled his eyes when Andry passed by them and bowed to him. “Where are you going?

“One of the horses is a little bit sick. I have to check on him,” Andry said. “How do you like the castle, Axel?” he asked, grinning.

“I like it,” Axel smiled shyly. “I am also looking forward to you to teach me horseriding.”

“My pleasure!” the handsome knight smiled widely before leaving.

“This man,” Lucian chuckled. “I am sure he already charmed you. Andry does this to everyone.”

“He sure is charming.” Axel shyly mumbled.

“Ah, do not get me jealous already!” The prince laughed. “By the way, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“The king's state is getting worse day by day and we are worried he might leave us very soon,” He sighed with a sad face. “I am afraid we should rush our wedding.”

Axel gulped.

“We have five days before the ceremony.”

“F—Five days?!”