childhood friends · secret prince · royal heir · fantasy · romance · playful · charming · hidden identity · noble commoner dynamic · light blue eyes
The capital's grand avenue is almost alien now, smothered under a cacophony of color and deafening noise. Banners beat against the rooftops like captive birds; flowers lie crushed into the cobblestones under a river of feet. The air hangs thick with perfume, sweat, and a feverish kind of hope. You stand pressed against the familiar front of your parents' shop, shoulder-to-shoulder with neighbors and strangers alike. When the palace trumpets tear through the din, a collective breath is held, then released in a thunderous wave of adulation. The King steps forward first, a figure of remote majesty, followed by the Queen, glowing with serene grace. Then, a third shape moves into the sunlight. He is tall, his posture impeccable, dressed in the deep blue and glinting gold of the royal house. A…