Shorter than usual. I won't be updating for a while due to Thanksgiving break in America. WOOT. I'll be back closer to the end of November/beginning of December.
People crowded the ballroom. There was so much noise-laughing and talking and music. Yuuri was overwhelmed by the amount of people who wanted to talk to him. People were crowding Mari, asking her if she would mind eventually partnering with King Viktor in the future when she was crowned Queen.
King Viktor himself was flirting with some young noblewomen near the middle of the room. His eyes met Yuuri's and he walked away from the ladies towards the prince.
"You looked lonely," the king pointed out.
"Of course I looked lonely, Your Highness. I was alone," Yuuri snarked.
Viktor laughed loudly. "You're funny!" he chuckled, grinning. Yuuri had never seen that smile before. Viktor usually had a constant smirk placed on his lips, winking and flirting with anyone he made eye contact with. Him and the king had met before, at different gatherings between the two kingdoms, but had never really had a conversation. "You must be Yuuri, the Lunis second prince."
"Yes," Yuuri looked Viktor in the eye, "so I won't be able to sympathize with you about the hardships of leading a kingdom."
Viktor grinned at Yuuri with a heart-shaped smile, not the smirks he usually saw in portraits of the young man.
Just then, Nikolai called over the new king to meet someone who looked very important, dressed in the military uniforms of another kingdom.
The King of Day flipped back around to Yuuri, smiling again. "I'm terribly sorry, but my hardships of leading are starting." He winked and turned around again, long silver hair flipping in front of Yuuri's face and prancing off to his advisor.
Yuuri was staring off at the king's retreating figure, when someone reached behind him and poked him hard in his stomach.
Yuuri, shrieking loudly, flew around to see a grinning face looking up at him. "Phichit-kun!"
Phichit giggled. "So… someone was talking with another certain someone…"
Yuuri his eyes. "Phichit, we were just chatting for like, two minutes."
Phichit was his father's advisor's son. The two had meet a few years ago, Phichit being two years than Yuuri, and having that contagious immaturity to go with it. His friend was still grinning when Yuuri began to come out of shock. "You were still talking to the most handsome man in Solis! Why was he talking to you?"
Yuuri glared at his best friend. "I was standing by myself, he saw me, and came up to me."
Phichit seemed to have a heart attack while giggling like a madman. "Was he talking to anyone else at the time?"
"He was flirting with a few women, but left when he saw me. But it really isn't that big of a deal. He just said I looked lonely. It's not like he cares."
Phichit almost fainted. "He doesn't care?! Yuuri, you got the most handsome man in the two kingdoms to take notice of you!"
Yuuri rolled his eyes, not wanting to get his hopes up. "He was pitying me. And before that, he was openly flirting with women. Not men."
Phichit huffed. "Just because he was flirting with women doesn't mean he doesn't like guys, Yuuri."
"Exactly. I don't like guys," Yuuri muttered as he began to walk out of the ballroom into an empty side room.
His friend followed him. "You wouldn't know! You were always too shy to ask Yuuko out, and you always turn down the girls I try to introduce you to!"
"Maybe I just won't get married. It's not that big of a deal," Yuuri said annoyedly.
Phichit eyed him. "You know that not getting married can't be a reality for you, Yuuri. It will help your kingdom so much, even if you don't really love them."
Yuuri finally snapped. "I know, Phichit! I'm going to help my kingdom through a loveless marriage to some pretty little girl I won't ever have met before, and it's all going to be okay even though I don't get what I want." His voice echoed around the small room. "I'm sorry, Phichit, but everything is moving so fast and I can't keep up."
"Maybe you don't need to. It's not like everything is going to go to chaos in one day. The world doesn't work like that. If you just talk to us, we could help you. We're all ready to."
Yuuri offered a small smile to his friend. "Thanks, but I think I may need more time to think."
Suddenly, a loud crash and screams were heard from the main ballroom. Yuuri and Phichit looked at each other. "What the…." Yuuri muttered as he rushed quickly to the door, only to be pushed back by a young page with a stoic expression who looked to be maybe 13 years old.
He looked at Yuuri with brown eyes. "My orders are to make sure you stay in here. There's been an assassination attempt. Your mother and sister are dead, your highness."