Chapter 2

Alexander woke up to the sound of the royal orchestra playing. Anyone else would've considered this a wonderful way to be woken up, but not our dear prince.

Alec, as he liked to be called, was fast becoming annoyed with the whole pomp and pageantry, and complete lack of privacy that entailed being the prince of Idris. Sometimes it was just too damn much. Take now for example, he was having the most wonderful dream about a certain sexy servant boy who was being very useful with his mouth, only for it to be rudely interrupted, and just as it was about to reach its climax.

Sighing, Alec opened his eyes, his vision coming into focus to see Hodge, the palace head butler, staring down at him. He quickly grabbed his blankets, shifting it carefully to hide the results of his dream.

"Good morning your highness, and a happy birthday," he greeted, a blinding smile painting his face.

Alec just rolled his eyes. This man was way too creepy for his liking.

"Hodge, how many times have I told you to stop with the orchestra, that a simple alarm clock will do." Alec paused for a moment, glaring at the man. "In fact, I don't need anyone waking me up I can get up on my own. I'm no longer a child." He sighed, sitting up, raising his arms above his head to stretch his tense muscles.

"I know your highness, but its your birthday, and princess Isabelle suggested the idea. She wanted, and I quote, 'for you to start the day on the right note' so to speak."

Alec frowned, that did sound alot like Isabelle.

Without wasting time, Alec stood up from his bed as Hodge moved quickly to help him into his robe. It was set to be a long day. He really wished he could just stay in bed, but he knew his parents and they probably had alot planned for him today, whether he liked it or not.

Alec tied his robe, and put his slippers on. "I will discuss my new routine with you later." Then he headed towards the bathroom.

"Should I lay out a suit for you, your highness?" Hodge inquired.

"No. No need. I will be wearing something different today. You're excused." And with that, Alec entered his bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Finished with his shower, Alec decided to dress in all black today. He felt like the shade suited the occasion. He slipped on a pair of black slim fit jeans, stylishly ripped at the knees, a black button up shirt, rolling the long sleeves up to his elbows, and a pair of black combat boots. He was in mourning today. It was his nineteenth birthday, and one more year until he turned twenty. Just one more year of freedom. One more year until he would be forced to marry.

Normally that wouldn't have been a problem, since Idris was a very open minded and progressive country. In fact they were one of the first to legalize same sex marriages. However, certain things were still expected of the royal family, and for Alec, that meant getting married, and carrying on his family's name. He was heir to the throne, the only son of his father, and even though they accepted that he was gay, he was still expected to carry out his duty.

Alec stood in front of his mirror fighting with his unruly hair when a knock sounded at his door. It didn't matter what he did, his hair just could not be tamed. "Come in," he called, turning around to see his sister making her way into his bedroom.

"Goodmorning big brother," Isabelle Lightwood, Izzy as she prefered to be called, greeted. She quickly made her way over to Alec, reaching out and pulling him into a bone crushing hug, placing a soft kiss on his left cheek.

"Happy birthday," she whispered as she pulled back to face him. "Are you ready for today?" She asked, her hands resting on his shoulders.

Izzy was Alec's best friend, his confidant. She knew him better than anyone. They have been inseparable since childhood and would always be there for each other. She was the one he always turned to in his time of need, the reverse being true as well. He always found it easy to talk to her. Most times they didn't even need words, they just knew how to read each other. When he had first realized that he was gay and was having trouble coming to terms with it, she was there for him. When he came out to their parents, she was right there holding his hand.

"Iz honestly, no, I'm not ready. I don't know why our parents insist on throwing these parties every year. I mean, it's my birthday, one would think I'd get to choose how I spend it," Alec groused.

"I know," Izzy sighed. " But there's no getting out of it, so..." She trailed off.

Alec frowned, running a hand through his hair, messing it up even more as he stepped away from her. "Yeah," he said.

She turned and followed him as he made his way towards the door, reaching out a hand to pat his right shoulder. "Don't worry big brother, I have a surprise for you."

That caused Alec to stop, his hand on the door knob. He turned to look at his sister. She was sporting a devilish grin. "Jace and I are taking you out tonight."

That got his attention and he raised an eyebrow in question.

"There's this hot new underground club called Avalon," she smirked. "And they cater to all your...special needs big brother. We're going after we get done with mom and dad's thing."

Alec smiled. He loved clubbing. It gave him a chance to let loose and just be himself. Be Alec.

You see, there are two sides to our prince. There was prince Alexander: always prim and proper and did his duty. Then there was Alec: a free spirit, a bad boy, atleast according to his sister. Two very different sides of the same coin.

"Sounds fun." He gave his sister a hug, whispering his thanks.

By the time Alec and Izzy got to the dinning room, their parents, the king, Robert Lightwood and the Queen, Mayrse Lightwood, were alreardy present. They always tried to have major meals together as a family, especially breakfast. Unless there was an emergency, or something important pretaining to the running of the country, they always ate together. This was family time, when they tried to be just parents and children. When they could discuss whatever they wanted.

"So Alexander, are you excited for your party tonight? Some of the world's highest dignitaries and their daughters will be in attendance." Robert greated his son as soon as he sat down, not even bothering with pleasantries.

"Yes father, I can't wait," said Alec, a bit sarcastically.

"You know Alexander, it wouldn't hurt to start dating a few girls." His mother suggested, a sweet smile adorning her face.

Alec scoffed, rolled his eyes and took another sip of his cofffee.

"You should try and fall in love with someone son," she continued, completely ignoring Alec's unhappy reaction. "Or would you prefer us to arrange someone for you?"

"I'll figure it out. Thank you," said Alec as everyone went back to their meals.

As Alec sat there watching his family talking and laughing, he couldn't help but let his mind drift else where.

Just one more year of freedom, he thought. He suddenly felt like he was sufficating. His life as he knew it was about to end. He needed to do something. But what? He couldn't just walk away from his family, from his duty. That wasn't him. He loved his family, his country, and he actually wanted to be king one day. Not just because he was born and trained to be, but because he genuinely loved taking care of his people, and he knew that as king, he could do so much more.

As Alec sat there drinking his coffee, he knew what he had to do.

He was going to live this last year of freedom his way.

And so in that moment, he decided.

"Mom. Dad. I'm going on vacaton."