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Snow littered the ground in small clumps, nearly immediately melting as they met the cobblestone floor of the palace courtyard. It was the first snowfall of the New Year, although a little underwhelming, it was charming to see the sparse white flurries fall from the sky. Langa was standing by one of the large, elegant windows in the castles Great Hall, the darkness of the snow fallen night contrasting greatly with the warm, golden lighted interior of the castle. Langa blinked out into the darkness, watching as the snow started to stick to the ground, he wondered if it’d start to pile up.
Langa turned his attention to in front of him, to the crowd of guests forming a circle around the dance floor. They all wore beautiful garments in all shades of blue, as per the dress code. Even Langa’s guard uniform had gotten an upgrade with a change in the fabric he wore beneath his armor, which was now a light, muted shade of blue. He’d only been apart of the royal guard for about a month now, his job was mainly just standing in a line, or walking in a line, and sweating in the layers he was expected to wear every hour of the day. Tonight, his task was the same as any other night: stand around.
He was content with watching the guests, although they looked like they were having fun, Langa doesn’t think he’d enjoy that type of thing. The only thing he was really curious about was the food. There was always the most elaborate array of food at castle events, and tonight it was even more delicious looking. They had a large, long table covered with silver tiered serving trays filled with all kinda of cakes and pastries. And there were at least 20 servants carrying around platters of delicious looking appetizers. A server walked past Langa holding a tray of what looked like some kinda of crab puff, his eyes followed longingly before the server once again disappeared into the crowd of people. In the corner of the room, where the server had disappeared, Langa noticed a figure. Unlike the crowd of blue, they were clad in brown, and were sulking along the wall into a bathroom. Langa lifted his the clasp of his helmet, allowing his eyes to get a better view. He looked around, seeing if anyone else had noticed the out of place figure. Even the knights beside him paid no mind, more focused on watching the crowd. Langa huffed, closing the hatch of his eyehole and making his way to the bathroom. Hesitantly, he knocked, listening for any sound inside. Nothing.
Slowly, Langa opened the door, peaking his head inside the large, elegant bathroom. Langa always thought it was so weird how the castles main bathrooms were so grand, he didn’t see a reason for needing a room the size of his mothers house to do your business. But he had to admit, it was rather pretty; marble white floors and ceilings, patterns of vines and flowers delicately carved into the walls. And gold embellishing nearly everything, a staple color in the castle. As Langa stepped into the room he shut the door behind him, the sounds of the party quieted, the music and voices sounding like mutters against the heavy door. The room was empty. Whatever Langa had seen was probably just due to the crowd and his limited vision because of his knight helmet. The grated eyeholes weren’t really practical. He turned to leave, grasping the gold plated handle and pulling the door open just as a scuffle came from the back of the room. Langa let the handle go, the door shutting, once again submerging the room in a muted silence. Nothing.
“Hello?” Langa called, not believing he could’ve made up not just a visual hallucination but an auditory one as well. He walked into the center of the room, scanning the walls until he spotted what looked like door handles. Everything in here is so incredibly detailed they just looked like another part of the wall. Langa took a hesitant step, his eyes narrowing as he approached the closet doors. Just as he reached them, they flung open.
Langa stumbled backwards, one of the doors had hit his shoulder. He regained his balance, and saw whatever had rushed out of the closet now kneeling on the window sill.
“Hey!” Langa shouted, lunging forward. He grabbed the brown garment they wore and tore it off, revealing a yellow, almost gold fabric beneath. Langa let a gasp escape him, the sound reverberating within his helmet. His fingers clutched tighter around the brown hood. “Your Highness?”
“Yeah don’t sound so surprised.” The Prince sighed, changing his position so he was now sitting on the window sill, knees pulled into his chest.
“I’m so sorry! I-I-I had no idea it was you!” Langa fumbled out words, glancing down at the hood he had ripped from the Prince’s head and back up to the Prince. “What were you doing in there?”
“What do you think? I was hiding.” He shrugged, chin resting on his knees. Langa had never seen the Prince so close before, he doesn’t even remember if he’s ever even looked directly at him. But now, staring down at him, he realized he could be no older than himself. He was just another kid.
“Well? Are you gonna take my back to my mom or what?” The Prince said, finally looking up at Langa. His auburn hair was tied back, only a few strands escaping and resting on his forehead. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he looked more like an upset toddler than the Prince of a kingdom.
“Huh? Why would I do that?” Langa blinked at him, although he was sure he couldn’t see his confused expression though his helmet. The Prince’s expression changed, now staring up at Langa like he was a saint.
“You mean she hasn’t noticed I’m gone?” He said expectantly, practically jumping when Langa confirmed with a shake of his head. Immediately, he turned back to the window, quickly undoing the hatch like he had done it a thousand times before. He turned to Langa, taking the garment from his hand and once more wrapping it around himself. All Langa could do was watch, he really wasn’t sure of what he was supposed to do.
The Prince pushed the window open, a strong rush of chilly air hit them both. As the air hit Langa through the slit of his helmet did he realize what was happening, and it was at that moment did he watch the prince jump out of the window. Langa’s own heart nearly popped out of his chest and joined him, but lurching forward and staring down from the window’s edge did he see the Prince, just about 7 feet below.
“Where are you- what are you doing?” Langa called from above, meeting eyes with the Prince as he looked up. He smiled at him, a smile Langa never imagined a Prince having.
“Promise you won’t tell?” The Prince spoke over the wind that billowed his hood, strands of his hair coming loose as he looked up at Langa.
“I can’t just let you leave!” Langa said as he gripped the edge of the window, leaning forward.
“So come with me!” He shouted up at him with a twinkle in his eyes, that same smile pulling at his lips. Langa swallowed, a million thoughts racing through his head, but only one was important at that moment. Without another word he carefully positioned himself so his legs dangled over the edge, before dropping down beside the Prince. Langa heard him laugh, and again, it wasn’t the sort of laugh he expected a prince to have. It was loud, and kinda raspy, and Langa really liked it.
“You look so stiff in that armor.” The Prince smiled at him, still laughing a bit. And now Langa could see the little wisps of red hair that fluttered against his forehead, untucked from the wind. He looked almost golden in the light from the window, his eyes catching the light like stars. “C’mon.” He said, pulling Langa from his admiring and out further into the cold.
They were in the garden, Langa could recognize the spiral shape of the hedges as the Prince pulled him along. Now, the light could no longer reach them, moving swiftly against the bushes and further into the center of the garden. Although Langa couldn’t feel it through his armor, he saw the glitter of the snowflakes as they fell, catching the moonlight. They began to litter the Prince’s hood, Langa worried that he wasn’t wearing enough for this weather.
They reached the center of the garden where a small gazebo stood, covered with vines that were now dead from the cold winter. They stepped inside, and the wind quieted, though cold still seeped into the wood. The Prince sat down, his head peaking out from short walls of the structure, as if looking to see if they were being followed. Langa sat beside him, his armor making a metal clank as he did so. The Prince pulled his hood down, hands reaching for the small braid in his hair before undoing it. Langa watched the auburn strands fall past his ears, covering some of his neck. His hair was so long, and pretty, it fell in little waves of red against his skin. The Prince put his hood up, forcing Langa to look away. He knew his cheeks must’ve been red from the cold, but he was glad he had his helmet to hide the darker blush that now crept across his skin.
“Thanks.” The Prince said softly, holding his hood tight around his chin as he stared at Langa. “For not telling.” He looked away, smiling to himself.
“Of course, your highness.” Langa said, voice as rigid as his armor clad body. The Prince shot him a look, turning his head to the side.
“Please just call me Reki.” He asked, staring at Langa like a plead.
“Okay…” Langa swallowed, “Reki.” his voice came out in a rush, and the Prince, Reki, gave him a smile softer than the snow.
“How ‘bout you? What’s your name?” Reki asked, shuffling closer on the bench.
“Langa.” He said his own name, and watched as Reki nodded. He turned back to in front of him, looking like he was lingering on something until he turned back to Langa.
“Can you take off your helmet? It kinda feels like I’m talking to a piece of metal.” He said with a bit of a laugh, so how could Langa refuse? Grabbing his helmet he lifted it off his head. The cold air hit him in a flurry, wisps of his pale blue hair following the wind as he blinked at the change. Reki stared at him, and suddenly Langa felt a lot more nervous knowing he could see him stare back. Langa averted his eyes, suddenly conscious of every part of his face that could show what he was thinking.
“Can I wear it?” Reki asked, gesturing down to the helmet in Langa’s lap. He nodded, handing it to Reki who eagerly put it on under his hood.
“Man, how do you see out of this thing?” He laughed, the sound echoing out of the metal. He looked goofy with it on, he was wearing it lopsided. Langa gently grabbed either side of the helmet and adjusted it, flicking open the eye hatch.
“There. “ He said softly, watching Reki’s eyes in the shadows of the helmet. Reki pulled away, taking the helmet off and fixing his hair, as if it wasn’t already messy to begin with. Silence enveloped them in the gazebo, the cold winter wind creating a barrier of sound around them. It was dark, though you could make out the exterior of the castle from the lights of the windows. From where they sat, the bustling sounds and music of the festivities inside were inaudible.
“Shouldn’t we head back soon?” Langa asked after another few beats of silence, his eyes following the slope of Reki’s nose.
“Just a little longer. They usually don’t realize I’m gone if I’m gone for less than 30 minutes.” He said, giving Langa a little smile as he sunk into the gazebo seat.
“You’ve done this before?” Langa quirked, his armor clanking with his movement. Reki snickered, staring at Langa through the darkness.
“Of course! How could anyone sit through those parties?” He said with a gesture of his hand towards the bathroom window where they jumped from. Langa blinked, not really understanding how a Prince could hate a party in his own castle. Reki looked at him, seemingly reading into his silence. “What? Do you like that sort of thing?”
Langa scratched the back of his head, “Well no… But I just thought that you would.” he said with a shrug.
“Really?” Reki scoffed, he didn’t seem offended Langa would think that of him, he seemed more amused. “Well I don’t. I really hate these things.” He said, scuffing the hell of his shoe against the wooden floor.
Langa was gonna say something else when a sound came from behind them, a small trace of light hitting the posts of the gazebo.
“Your highness?” The voice called, the sound bouncing off the walls of the castle that surrounded them. Reki ducked his head, grabbing Langa’s and pulling him down with him until they were both crouching on the floor. He held a finger to his mouth, his other hand still in Langa’s hair.
“Looks like they realized I’m gone.” He whispered, lips pulling into a sad smile. The voice called again, both their heads turning to the sound.
“You gotta go.” Langa whispered back, feeling Reki’s hand retract from his head.
“Here.” Reki placed Langa’s knight helmet atop his head, sliding it down until it sat lopsided on his shoulders. “Don’t be a stranger.” He whispered before placing his lips on the cold metal of Langa’s helmet. Langa felt his entire body heat up under his armor. Without another word, Reki jumped up from the floor, running out into the garden once more.
“You found me!” The prince exclaimed, meeting with whoever it was who was looking for him. Soon, their voices were carried off by the wind, muted by distance. But Langa stayed where he was, partly because he wasn’t sure if the coast was clear yet, and because the position he was in made it impossible to stand up because of his armor.