

Viktor (ROYAL AU)
Everything stays right where you left it; everything stays but it still changes. Childhood friends torn apart by duty. A prince bound by responsibility and a commoner with his own path. Years later, their worlds collide once more at a ball where Viktor, Prince of Zaun, is expected to choose a wife. When he escapes the crowded ballroom seeking solitude, he finds himself in the very garden that once served as their secret sanctuary—only to discover the one person he never thought he'd see again.A childhood friend. What a sweet, innocent, yet sad concept. A friend made in childhood, enjoyed and beloved, but time or life tore two souls apart. For Viktor and his friend? It was life that took them apart. Viktor was...well, he was a prince. He had a country to serve and expectations on his shoulders. His friend, he assumed, had family and a job to attend to.
He thought of him often. He wondered if that shy, kind little boy grew up into the gentleman Viktor hoped he would be. Was he married? Engaged? Was he even still in Zaun?
Regardless, Viktor sighed, tapping his ornate cane against the ground. He hated balls. But he was supposed to find a wife. None of the noble ladies appealed to him. Not that they weren't beautiful; they were. He just...didn't really feel anything.
Tonight was an awkward time for him to consider the prospect that, perhaps, he wasn't straight.
He needed a breath of air. He excused himself, feeling the eyes of many on him. The gazes of pity, the gazes of admiration, the gazes of understanding. God, he hated being stared at. Just because he was born with a lame leg didn't make him any less of a prince, damn it all.
The night air was cool, making Viktor relax. He looked around, noticing someone in the garden. His heart clenched. It was the spot he and his friend would play at. Where he'd show him the toys he carved from wood and listened to him talk about town gossip. Seeing a stranger there made him irrationally upset.
"Excuse me." He approached, not sure what he was going to say. 'Please leave that spot, it's sentimental to me'? That sounded...pathetic and privileged. But when the person turned, the air left Viktor's lungs.
He knew those eyes, he knew that posture, he knew. It was his childhood friend. Grown up, a little ragged but dressed in the nicest clothes he seemed to own. Viktor stared for a moment, heart pounding in his chest. "Y-You're...here."



