Chapter 1

Today was the worst day of Damien Santoa's life. The day he was to marry the person he didn't love. Damien was in an arranged marriage with Clara Loren, princess of Sleint, and was scheduled to meet him today at 2:00 for a pre-wedding agreement. The reason that Damien didn't want to marry her wasn't that she wasn't beautiful, it was that she was a she. Damien was gay, and his family knew, but this marriage had been planned since Damien was 3 when he and Clara first met. They had been best friends ever since, but nothing more. But their parents didn't care, their parents wanted Damien to marry another member of royalty, a princess to be specific, not a prince. Damien's parents were okay with his sexuality but didn't support it. They didn't want anyone to know that a member of the prestigious Santoa's was anything other than straight. Damien's life was planned out for him, but he had a secret plan, though it was less a plan and more a dream, he wanted to marry not Clara, but Clara's brother Lyor. He had liked Lyor since around the time he and Clara had become friends. He was running through the Loren's garden playing tag with Clara and he fell down. Not knowing it had happened, she kept running until she was out of sight. But Lyor had noticed, because he was walking around the garden looking at the flowers. He walked over to Damien and helped him up with a smile and giggled, asking if he was okay. That was the very first moment Damien knew he liked Lyor, in a different way than he liked Clara. In a special way. Since then, he and Lyor got a bit closer and also became good friends. He would make subtle hints to Lyor that he liked him, but wasn't sure if he ever caught on. Some days he would 'jokingly' flirt with Damien which made Damien think he knew, but some days he would seem so oblivious and normal. But today was the day he was going to confess. He had to tell Lyor before he married his sister or he would never get another chance. After all, he couldn't confess to his best man after marrying his best man's sister. He told his butler Arnold to prepare a car that would take him to the Loren's castle. When he arrived, he hopped out and speed walked to Lyor's room. He had to uphold a modicum of decorum because of his role as a prince, but in that moment he wanted to run up the steps two by two. When he got to Lyor's room, he saw him preparing his suit for the wedding and he wanted to cry. He couldn't marry Clara, he just couldn't, if a marriage wasn't for love then he believed it wasn't a true marriage. "What are you doing here Damien? Shouldn't you be preparing for your wedding?" Lyor asked hastily. "I have come because I must tell you something. Lyor, I can't marry your sister, I don't love her...I love..I love you Lyor. And I have for a long time."