Note: I've done mostly Deryn POVs – probably because I'm a girl. But I'm trying to balance that out now. Alek – it's your time in the spotlight!
"You commoners are lucky," Alek sighs, paging through the paper. There's yet another mention of some foreign princess who's supposedly pining for him. After Malone's article identifying him as the heir to Austria-Hungary, it's amazing how many girls suddenly developed affection for the boy they've never met. It's a bit aggravating, really. "You can marry whoever you want."
"Not necessarily," Dylan points out.
"Why ever not? I don't think your relationships are the subjects of international incidents." He groans and tosses the paper on the floor, no longer interested in the escapades of another dull heiress. He'll probably have to hear all about her soon enough.
"Here's an example," his friend says. "What if I fell in love with someone – kind, friendly, easy on the eyes, of course…"
"Of course." Alek can't help but smile. Dylan has never seemed to be one for relationships. He shied away from Lilit, after all, and he's never mentioned a girl back home. Perhaps the boy is setting his standards a bit too high.
"But there's a wee bit of a problem," he adds. "She's a princess."
Alek raises his eyebrows. "Breaking the hearts of princesses now, are you? First anarchists and now this. You'll have quite a reputation."
"Just listen to me," Dylan says impatiently. "She's a princess. I'm common as dirt, or bloody close. So it doesn't matter if I break her heart or not. It can never work."
He'd never thought of it that way, he realizes. Never considered the other side, the feelings of a person who was rejected because of their birth, something they couldn't control. Told that they would never be good enough. It would be an awful feeling, he thinks. But what can he do? "My advice to you," he tells Dylan, "is to never fall in love with royalty."
Dylan grins, but there's a flash of something in his eyes that's almost… regret? Bitterness? Alek can't tell. "Thanks, your princeliness. I'll work on that."