A Prince's Desire (Full)

[elphy_and_fiyero]

[I know. I felt bad when I did it too.]

"Well, thanks and nice to meet you Daniel." I smiled and turned to look at his friend James. James stood close by just watching the two of us. I nodded a little as if to say 'hello' and turned back to Daniel.

"Are you kidding? You practically scream it. Well, kind of. The accent gives it away for one. And two, no one in America as a posture that perfect." I laughed and finished my song. Again, I grabbed the cloth and wiped down the guitar of all the perspiration from my fingers. "Yeah, I'm here every morning. It's just something I do to kill time during the day and break loose from work."

I finished the song and took a guitar pick out of my case. The next song was sure to bring in a little crowd. I wasn't trying to be rude by stopping our little conversation. It was nice talking with someone new for a change. Not that I didn't love Elane and I.

You have my heart
And we'll never be worlds apart
Maybe in magazines
But you'll still be my star

Baby 'cause in the dark
You can't see shiny cars
And that's when you need me there
With you I'll always share
Because

When the sun shines, we'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be a friend
Took an oath, I'ma stick it out till the end

Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we'll still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella
You can stand under my umbrella

By the time I had gotten to the chorus, a small crowd had began to form. Eventually, they even began to clap to the beat. When I had finished, I thanked them and grabbed the cloth yet again before turning back to Daniel. "So what brings you to America? Vacation?"
 

[Rosalind Bloom]

[I’m running on low power so to speak so they’re all going to be a wee bit short tonight. Lol]

Daniel nodded at her words and James nodded to her when she acknowledged him. Daniel smiled a bit at her words then frowned a bit. “My posture is perfect?” He asked then shook his head. That was one of the things he was trying to keep from happening. He sighed a bit then smiled again as she started to play once more. The song wasn’t familiar to him in the slightest but that didn’t matter. It sounded good regardless.

When she finished, he looked around at the small crowd and nodded a bit. It was pretty interesting to witness this first hand but it also brought back the thoughts of when everyone gathered to see him. He was sitting with her and in the front of the group. But, he wasn’t the center of the attention this time.

“What brings me here?” He asked, taken back by the sudden question. What was he going to tell her? They weren’t there on vacation and he couldn’t tell her who he was. “Not vacation, we… We moved here but… It’s a little complicated.” He said with a sigh, giving up on trying to find an excuse. Plus, he found he really didn’t want to lie to her.

The sun was hidden behind the trees now so he instinctively took off the sunglasses he had been wearing the previous night and set them down next to him. He looked back to her then asked, “How long have you been here?”  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

I laughed at his words. "Complicated huh? You didn't kill anyone did you?" The look on his face along with the look Romeo gave me was a priceless. "Relax I'm only joking." It was plain as day to see that he wasn't a killer. It was in his eyes. Something about his eyes seemed soft and gentle. Like he would never kill a fly.

The crowd eventually migrated on and I turned back to playing something without words. "I've been here for a few years. College is what brought me out here. But Elane convinced me stay here after I graduated. Her and I found the bar and decided to go for it. We've kind of been doing it every since." I shrugged.

"You know," I began again. "If you're still here in about another hour, you'll see a real show. People from all over the city come here and bring their instruments to play." I offered. I could tell he was about to say something but we were both interrupted when Romeo spotted a familiar face.

"Hey!" She waved and began to pet Romeo after he ran up to her. "Oh Romeo, my darling. Where have you been all my life?" She rubbed his face and brought him back over. "Oh hey. I remember you guys." Elane said when she saw James and Daniel.

"Elane this is Daniel and James." I pointed to her. "They just moved here.

"Well, welcome to New York gentleman. What finer way to see New York than with two lovely ladies like ourselves?" She asked. I could see the evil wheels turning in her head. One after the other.

"But, I just got here." I pouted my lips, gesturing I didn't want to leave yet. Elane sighed and I knew I had one. As a thank you, I began to play her favorite song. After playing just two notes, she knew exactly the song I was going to play.

The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful
Stop me and steal my breath
And emeralds from mountains thrust towards the sky
Never revealing their depth

And tell me that we belong together
Dress it up with the trappings of love
I'll be captivated, I'll hang from your lips
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above

And I'll be your cryin' shoulder
I'll be love suicide
And I'll be better when I'm older
I'll be the greatest fan of your life

When I had gotten to the chorus, Elane finally sat next to me and joined in on the harmony part. It was pretty, if I didn't say so myself and grabbed more attention than the other songs did. For some reason, people in Central Park like to hear harmony things better than anything.
 

[Rosalind Bloom]

Daniel blinked and shook his head at her question. “No, I didn’t kill anyone nor would I.” He said, extremely shocked that she had said that. “It is just… Complicated. Not much more to say to that really.” With a sigh, he looked back over to her then raised an eyebrow at her next words. More people came to join in? That would be something he’d like to see. They didn’t have things like that back in Wales. Now that he thought about it, he had heard about this before and seen it in movies.

“I’ll stick around, it sounds ‘cool’.” He said, using the last word for the first time. He hadn’t ever been able to talk ‘improper’ before. But, now that he wasn’t around royalty anymore, it worked. He smiled a little now then looked as her friend showed up. He gave her a grin but James’ grin was even bigger. “It is very nice to meet you.” James said giving her a slight bow of his head as he was used to doing.

Daniel watched as well as James, as they both started singing and playing. Their voices sounded amazing together and obviously they weren’t the only ones who thought so. There were now many more people gathering around them this time. He smiled softly as he listened to the song, which he didn’t recognize yet again. He liked it though and wondered if he could find it for his iPod or if she wrote it.

[Sorry it’s short, I gtg for food. lol]
 

[elphy_and_fiyero]

We finished the song just as a few of our friends were coming to join us. Toby was the first to great us with his presents along with his drum. "Hey Moe!" He cheered as Romeo ran up to him. "Good morning ladies." He smiled and sat on the other side of Elane. "Who's the noob?" He asked as he gestured towards Daniel.

"Toby, this is Daniel and James. And this is Toby." I introduced. Toby nodded and smiled as he took his guitar out of his bag. "He's a regular like me to the park."

"You mean our kingdom." Toby corrected me and turned back to Daniel. "You see, this is our glorious kingdom." He stood up on the seat and began to speak to everyone else to grab their attention. "And these are our loyal subjects. Together we watch over everyone and entertain all that we can."

"Wouldn't that make you the jester than?" I joked. A few laughs escaped the crowd.

"That may be true, dear friend. But a king must entertain his subjects. Even if he asks for his court jester." He winked at me before turning back to everyone else. I could see that even Romeo was getting excited with Toby's little speech. "Now, dear friends. Let us tell you a tale with the music that speak within all of us! Ma'lady," he said as he turned back to me. "give me a beat and I shall match you!" I rolled my eyes as his dramatic tone and began strumming away. A few chords at first. "Ah!" Toby said to the crowd. "A duel to the death! I accept." The crowd laughed as a few more people joined them.

At first, I would strum a few chords and he would follow in his own style. I would shrug as if to say it was alright and continued on. Together we dueled on our guitars and just played. Soon, I completely forgot about the audience until we had finished and people clapped. Money was thrown into both of our cases. We thanked them and I turned to Daniel.

"Toby is what we call a cheater at guitars. He's never taken a guitar lesson in his life and yet he plays like a pro." I shook my head. Sometimes life wasn't fair.

"That's because I feel the music." Toby smiled victoriously.

"Yeah, yeah. You keep bragging and you're gonna feel a giant headache." I threatened and began playing again. Toby followed with the back up playing and beating his guitar. Somehow, the crowd seemed to stay the same. The faces might have been different but the size seemed to remain.

(Here's the song if you want to listen to it. Link. If you can't watch it somehow, it's the scene from August Rush where he's playing with his dad.)
 

[Rosalind Bloom]

James couldn’t stop laughing at Toby’s words for some odd reason. Daniel didn’t laugh but merely smirked. He didn’t usually show his emotion too much, it was just how he was raised. He was just now realizing how restricted his life really had been.

When Toby started speaking about the park being their kingdom, both James and Daniel visibly tensed. After a little bit they relaxed again though but they had gotten weird looks from the audience. They both started to listen to the music once more as they began to play. This was something he had really never heard before and it was something he wished he could hear continuously. He watched Sophie with quiet eyes that sparked with interest as he watched her. She seemed to really get into it.

James was keeping his eyes on Elane. Something told Daniel that James might have feelings for her or at least thought she was someone he wanted to get to know. They didn’t say anything at all and just listened to the way the music fit together perfectly.

When they finished once again, they both smiled and joined in with the applause. When Sophie explained what they called him, Daniel raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Very good.” He said, impressed by this detail. He looked around a bit and was about to speak when he felt his cell vibrate. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw who it was. He let out a small sigh and with much distain, he answered it.

“Hello mother.” He said then listened to her speech about leaving without saying anything. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want to… I know… But… Mother!” He said then sighed. “Hold on.” He turned to the others then said, “Sorry, I need to take this over there. I shall be right back.” He then walked back over and continued to argue with his mother.

After about a few minutes more, he had finally convinced her to just cool down a bit and let him at least have the week. If she really wanted him back, he’d go back when the week was done. Well, he said he would but that didn’t mean he was actually going to. He walked back over to them then James came over.

“So?” He asked and Daniel sighed. “She wants us back home. So, I told her at least this week to let us stay here and then we’d figure it out later.’ James nodded at Daniel’s explanation then sighed a bit. They both went back over to the others and Daniel said, “I apologize for that…”

[I love that movie! It’s so sweet. xD]
 

[elphy_and_fiyero]

When Daniel picked up his phone, the look on his face made me worried. Though when I heard the word 'mother', I couldn't help but smile. Mine was always calling me too. Making sure I was still alive and that I had enough money in my bank account. Of course, I was doing fine.

By the time Daniel came back, we had our little collection of guitar players, drum players and even a few people with cello's. By the time Daniel came back, we practically had a band going. "Welcome back." I said as Daniel sat back next to me. "Don't worry about it. Mother usually knows best. At least, that's what mine always said when I asked her to butt out of my business. Though, there were a few times where she was wrong and I was right." I smiled in victory. I basked in moments like that.

The other and I continued to play our music for hours until I looked over at Elane. She pointed to her watch as I had completely forgotten about our daily schedule. "Oh right! Later guys!" I waved and began to pack up my guitar. Elane cleared her throat as she hinted towards something. "I was getting to that." I told her and turned to Daniel. "Ok, so, it's almost noon and Elane and I have this place that we go to for lunch. If we get there after noon, we can bring in Romeo. Not to mention he's gets food as well."

"What my lovely counterpart is saying is," Elane began to finish,"would you gentleman like to join us? The food's real cheap but really good. Not that we're saying you guys, or us, are poor but it's just a great place to eat with Moe. Actually, it's the only place to eat where Moe is allowed in." The two of us waited for their reply. Though, I don't know who was more excited for their answer. Me or Elane.
 

[Rosalind Bloom]

Daniel shook his head at Sophie’s words. “Believe me; she doesn’t in this situation…” He muttered and James nodded once. They both exchanged glances as the girls mentioned lunch. As if on cue, their stomachs rumbled causing them both to burst out laughing. They calmed themselves a bit then nodded. “Sounds good to me.” Daniel said, his voice thick with his accent once more. Yes, he was nervous and worried about what his parents would do if they didn’t come back.

James looked over to Elane then said, “Sounds good to me too.” He then looked over to Daniel who was less cheerful than before but still had a smile on his features. “Oh, er, money isn’t a pro-“ James started at his words but Daniel cast a glance that said shut up. He then shut his mouth and sighed a bit.

“So where is this place?” Daniel asked, his blue eyes reflecting excitement. He was really enjoying his last bit of freedom, no, he couldn’t let himself think like that. It wasn’t going to be his last time he could feel free. He was not going to get married to that stuck up b***h Caroline and he was not going back to Wales. He really liked New York City and planned to keep it his permanent home.
 

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Elane and I laughed as we heard their stomachs grow. I called for Romeo and the four of us headed to Tony's Italian Grill. "It's just a little restaurant just outside the park. It's called Tony's. Family owned Italian restaurant. The owner, Tony, loves me to death. Sweet old man and loves Romeo."

"I actually recall him saying any friend of a Montague was welcome in his place." Elane said. Which was true. The first time I took Romeo to the restaurant Tony wouldn't let us in. Until he heard the dog's name. Then things changed and he offered us a deal.

"Got to hand it to him. The guy knows his Shakespeare." I added. Romeo's leash was safely secured to my belt buckle. Though, if he chased after something I would be in big trouble. The walk was nice in the park. I mean, it normally is but this time, with Daniel, it was even nicer for some reason. Maybe because he was a guy and I hadn't really been with a guy for quite sometime. I still didn't trust men but I felt like he was ok to trust and to be with.

The four of us headed out of the park and finally wound up at Tony's. Tony, of course, greeted us first hand. "Hello ladies!" The old man greeted. "Good afternoon Mr. Montague." He greeted Romeo and fed him his usually doggy treat. Romeo took it gladly. "Ah, I see we have brought some friends. Table for five then?" I nodded and he gestured for us to follow him to one of the booths in the back. "Here are your menus and I shall be right back." We thanked him and I looked at the menu, though I already knew what I wanted. Chicken Alfredo pasta. Elane always got the spagettii and meatballs and usually fed Romeo one or two.

I folded my menu and placed it down, very confident of my order. "So, what do you like to do? In your spare time that is." Elane asked. I kicked her under the table, clearly knowing where it was heading but her face didn't change a bit. It wasn't that I didn't want to know it was just I wanted things to happen on their own. Elane didn't need to be my mother and fix me up with every single guy. One mother was plenty for me.
 

[Rosalind Bloom]

Daniel and James both smiled at where they were going. Italian food just happened to be both of their favorites. This got Daniel thinking on whether or not the girls thought they were related or not. They smiled happily and looked around as they walked. They still hadn’t seen all of New York and even the parts they had seen weren’t old to them at all yet.

When they got there, Daniel’s stomach growled in anticipation. He let out a small sigh then cast a glance at one of the news stands. The heading for it was of course, ‘The Runaway Prince’. He clenched his fists slightly but kept a smile on his face as they entered the building. He nodded at the man once then looked around the restaurant. The smell of the food floated up to his nose, causing his stomach to growl once more.

As soon as they were seated, he scanned over the menu once then set it down just about the same time Sophie did. He smirked a little and James laughed. “Are you two trying to do that on purpose?” He asked then looked over to Elane. Daniel smirked once more as he could really tell that James was interested in Elane.

“What do I do?” Daniel asked then thought a bit. “Erm, well, I… Ride horses, play croquet, I really fancy going to musicals and plays.” He said, knowing that the things he had always done for ‘fun’ wasn’t exactly the normal thing people did in the states. They would usually answer with things like watching TV or something along the lines of that. “I do enjoy reading as well.” He added. “Especially Shakespeare.” He smiled a little then sighed a bit.

“What about you?” He asked them both glancing back and forth between the two.
 

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Elane kept that stupid smile on her face the whole time. It was easy to see that she liked James very much. Poor thing wore her heart on her sleeve like a button. I always tried to protect her but I could never really protect her from herself. Daniel brought me out of my thought. "No, we come here every day and usually order the same thing. Sometimes we order new stuff but, I guess, today we wanted out usual." Elane couldn't help herself at his other comment.

"Sophie likes Shakespeare too. Which one are you reading again?" Again, I kicked her but missed. Instead, my food made contact with the chair. Stupid git. The smile on her face when I stubbed my toe just seemed to grow. As I expected it to do.

"Macbeth. It's my favorite." I smiled. Elane could see right through me. Oh, how I wanted to kill her for the embarrassment.

"But Croquet, huh? Man, you guys really did meet the most perfect people." Elane continued.

"She's not saying Croquet is bad. I mean, it's just like American baseball. With the obvious differences of course. What she means is, we can show you guys a good time. In the city that is! Like movies, clubs, maybe even mini-golf." Nice save. As if I couldn't sound even more like a dork.

"Yeah," Elane said sarcastically. "mini-gulf would be great." She stuck her finger in her mouth and made a fake gagging noise.

"Ok, fine. Maybe mini-golf is out of the question. But we still know a lot of great places. If you want, of course." I shrugged. I could feel my cheeks burning. Where was that Tony? Shouldn't he have been at our table for our drink orders or food orders or whatever? Why was I even acting like a fool? "Anyway, we like to do those kinds of things. Except mini-golf, apparently. I like to go to plays but Elane doesn't like to go so I haven't gone in awhile."

Finally, as I my cheeks were on fire, Tony finally returned ready to take our orders. "I'll have my usual with a coke, please."

"Same here, Tony." Elane added. He scribbled down our orders and turned to the boys.

"And what about you gentlemen?" He asked.
 

[Rosalind Bloom]

Daniel blushed a little bit at Elane and then said, “We are… Very… Aristocratic so to speak…” He hoped that was a good enough way to make them understand. James still had his eyes looking at Elane in some way. Whether it be by his eyes looking at her directly or by peering at her out of the corner of them.

“Ah, Macbeth. I didn’t enjoy that one. I’m more into the comedies but I do fancy Hamlet.” He said with a small smile. James of course kept his mouth shut since he didn’t like Shakespeare nor did he even really know who he was. “My favorite is Much Ado About Nothing.” He smiled a little then clasped his hands in front of him on the table.

Daniel was a little surprised they hadn’t asked anything about where they came from. It was so obvious that they were from somewhere in Europe but they knew that. They didn’t know where and that was usually one of the first questions that someone had asked them while they were there. They didn’t answer of course, thanks to the news it wasn’t safe to say who they were.

“Mini golf?” James asked and Daniel glanced over to him. “I believe it’s like golf… Only they aren’t doing the usual game of golf…” Daniel said thoughtfully, not really knowing himself. “Clubs, as in the kind where you dance and all that?” He asked curiously.

When Tony came back over, James smiled then said, “I’ll have the spaghetti and meatballs please.” He couldn’t get enough of the stuff, it was true. He would eat it each and every day if possible. “I’ll have the ravioli please.” Daniel said then added, “With a diet coke.” James then nodded and said, “Same as he.”  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Tony wrote down their orders and turned to Romeo who was waiting for his turn. "And what about thy brave Romeo? What shall thy master have?" Romeo barked a few times and Tony wrote down something. "Ah, yes. The meaty plate. Right away, sir." I rolled my eyes and smiled as Tony walked off with our orders.

"I love Much Adu About Nothing. And Comedy of Errors. That was a good one too. Then again, pretty much anything Shakespeare did was really good." I smiled. When I looked over at Elane, she looked like a sick puppy. Her smile was silly and her laugh was giddy as the two chatted up a store.

"I'm not much of a big fan of Shakespeare." Elane told him. "So how do you two know each other?" She asked James. I, on the other hand, turned back to Daniel. His eyes were soft and gentle. And that accent was to die for. But he was sweet and nice. Not usual for New York City. Maybe it would explain why he was foreign.

"Maybe I'll show you sometime what mini-golf is. When her highness isn't around, that is." I whispered and laughed to myself at the diva across the table. "Yeah, clubs are for dancing. Well, night clubs anyway. It's a lot of fun, though since you and James are from Europe I'm pretty sure the New York women would love you every time you spoke to them."
 

[Rosalind Bloom]

Daniel and James held back a little bit of laughter as they watched Tony talk to the dog. When he left, they both looked back to the girls. “Yes, anything from him is quite good…” Daniel said thoughtfully then smiled. James nodded at Elane’s words and laughed a little. “Neither am I…” He said with a sigh.

When Elane asked how they knew each other, he didn’t even hesitate. “He works for my family. We basically hit it off right away and are almost like twins apparently.” He said with a smile. James nodded once, not caring to elaborate on what it was he did exactly. He didn’t have anything else he could do with his life sadly but he at least got to be around Daniel.

“Ah, I see.” James said as they spoke of the clubs. Daniel on the other hand didn’t like the idea of girls hanging all over them, especially with Sophie there. He wanted to spend time with her. “Well, we might want to go sometime soon…” Daniel said with a sigh. “My mother and father want us back by the end of the week. We don’t know if we can stay much longer than that. I’m trying, though, because I’d love to live here.” It was obvious that he was upset about this and it made James upset too.

“You parents are too uptight and overprotective. I understand the protection though.” He whined and Daniel blinked then gave him a look. “What?” He asked then realized he had slightly elaborated on the protection part. He then closed his mouth then acted as if nothing happened. “So, enough about us, what about you? How do you two know each other?” Daniel asked.
 

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Elane and I looked at each other. A week? "A week? Goodness, you two just got here and already your mom's about to have a cow? And how old are you? Our age? Not to be up front or anything, but you're old enough to live on your own. You should do so. Do what you want. You're in America now. It's a free country. Though, it might help if you actually become a citizen. But that's besides the point."

"Excuse my friend, she's very feisty when it comes to individuality." Elane apologized for me. But I just shrugged. Yes, it was true. I hated it when people controlled other people's lives. Even if they were family.

"My family suffocated me back home. Always wanting to know my business. They still do when they call but it's easier to avoid certain topics. When I came here, I could actually breathe." I sighed. Tony returned with our drinks and said our food would be out shortly. We thanked him and I sipped my drink.

"Well, Elane and I met when I came out here actually. She was my neighbor in my apartment complex and we've been friends ever since. We discovered the grill together and the manager liked what we could do so he hired us." I looked down at Moe who was lying on the ground but he was on high alert as he awaited his tasty lunch.

[Sorry it short again gonk ]