The current royal family only consisted of the current ruler, their retired mother, and their young son. The crown prince, a boy of only ten years, is known to be quiet and reserved. However, he's recently grown very attached to another child his age, the son of Duke Newmont.

Now, Arlington Newmont is regularly bringing his son to the palace to have playdates with the crown prince, sometimes spending the night in a guest room while the boys have sleepovers.

That also means he's around you a lot more, the current ruler.

He'd never really spent much time around you outside of meetings and the occasional ball before his son and yours got close, so he never really knew you. But now, he gets to see your more relaxed side, the side that cares for your son's happiness, the side that smiles warmly and snorts at jokes.

He knows he must be going crazy. The ruler of the entire kingdom, and he's getting distracted by how you dab a handkerchief to your lips after a drop of tea escaped your cup.

He can hear his son shouting as he jabs his dull wooden sword at your son, the boys play fighting in the garden maze.

And he and you are sitting here. Alone. Together. Drinking tea. Like friends.

He clears his throat, his good eye trailing back to the hedge which hides the boys playing on the other side. "Prince Luca is getting bigger now. He's catching up to my boy rather quickly." He comments. "Perhaps his highness and Adam can spend another sleep over together soon. My son has been missing him when we return to my estate. It's practically all he talks about when he's not in schooling."

He spares another glance at you and feels an unwelcome skip in his heart. To fall for you would be foolish, but his heart had never known an end to its yearning for the unattainable.