Zhang Hao Angst - Tumblr Posts
written in the stars | zhang hao royalty au
☆ chapter 2 here ☆
genre: angst, romance
pairing: reader (afab) x zhang hao
about/tags: in which zhang hao is a crown prince, and you are not the princess he's arranged to marry (1.9k words)
royalty au, arranged marriage (not to reader), love at first sight, i'm in a bridgerton mood that's why i wrote this
The palace is buzzing, and you’ve never seen it so busy. The servants seem to multiply as they make haste with the preparations. All the curtains have been drawn back, and the palace gleams in natural sunlight. The hallways smell of fresh flowers, and the floors are newly polished; you can almost see your reflection. Faintly, you can hear the footmen yelling, signaling the arrival of the royal heir of the neighboring country.
While they were only arriving on a formality, these occasions are naturally celebrated extravagantly. No expense spared in public appearances, dinner parties, and tournaments. After all, it is only once where a soon-to-be-king is able to visit the home of his queen-to-be. Then, she is whisked away from her roots, to start a new life elsewhere.
How wonderful, a royal wedding is to take place soon.
But not yours.
Despite what people may think, you enjoy not being the eldest daughter of the family. You didn’t get all the attention from male suitors in soirees, you weren’t gifted the finest jewels, nor were you surrounded by a flock of ladies at all times. It’s liberating, you think.
Your sister didn’t even have much of a say when it came to her marriage preparations. With the diligence of a dutiful princess, she complied and obliged to the plans of your parents. You couldn’t imagine living a life like that, being told that a certain path was your destiny. You certainly did not envy the life of the eldest princess.
You contemplate moving from your spot to greet the esteemed guest, but it is decided for you when a butterfly lands on your shoulder. You gently place your finger near its legs, hoping it will latch on for you to get a closer look. Instead, it flutters away.
Curiosity gets the best of you and you follow it – all the way to the edge of the garden.
To your surprise, it lands on the shoulder of a man. All you know of him is that he’s dressed in a cream ensemble. Engrossed in his conversation with your father, he clearly doesn’t notice the delicate creature on his shoulder.
“Ah y/n darling, you’re here. Say hello to his highness” your father, who probably spots you staring, introduces you to the man.
You curtsy, “good afternoon, your grace. Welcome to Astoria”
Returning the greeting, he bows gently, then takes your hand where he places a small kiss from his lips. While a traditional greeting amongst royals, it was an act you weren’t used to receiving. When you both look up and meet his eyes for the first time, you’re suddenly met with jealousy – “a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, princess”
And for the first time in your life, you wish you were your sister.
—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—-
When you show him around your palace, as your father instructed, he greets your staff warmly. He asks you questions about your people, your customs, and your culture. He listens intently, watching you greatly elaborate about the place you call home. While you talk his ear off, he takes slow strides to also appreciate the art, the flowers, and the instruments that play the most beautiful melodies. When you near the quartet, he fixates specifically on the violin, watching it be played with such admiration.
“Do you fancy the violin, your grace?” you ask.
“I find it the most beautiful, do you not? An extremely difficult instrument to learn, but when mastered, elicits music fit for the angels.”
He thanks the violinist and commends him for his talent, before you both continue with the palace tour.
Sensitive, gentle, and kind – Prince Zhang Hao is every bit the person that is perfect to rule a kingdom.
—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—-
At dinnertime, you try to focus on your meal. Instead, you watch the prince enjoy the company of your sister. They’re both smiling as they engage in small conversation, you can’t tell what it’s about, but he looks charmed. As they all always are, you think.
When you turn your attention elsewhere, Hao finds himself looking at you. In a brief moment of distraction, he watched you bring the wine to your lips, slightly staining it a deep burgundy.
—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—-
It’s a bright summer afternoon, and the light from outside refracts beautifully against the stained glass windows. Being trained in arts, music, and sciences – your favorite place in the whole world had to be the royal library. So you find yourself here often, reading a book, studying maps of the stars, or much like today, practicing the violin.
When you finish the song, you hear applause, and you’re shocked to see the prince. “I didn’t take you for a violinist, princess”. His body leaning against one of the bookshelves, arms crossed against his chest. Without the prying eyes of the servants, nor the pressures of royals, he seems relaxed.
You gently place the violin back in its case, and look over your shoulder. “Am I good enough to elicit music fit for angels, you reckon?” He smiles, remembering the comment he made a few days before.
“I wouldn’t have applauded you if you weren’t, I’m quite an honest man you know.” You chuckle, “and indeed you are, your grace.”
“You can just call me Hao.”
And while you are taken aback, you humor him anyway. “Okay, Hao – may I ask why you’re holed up here with me at the royal library? Shouldn’t you be with her royal highness today to greet the public?”
“Your sister is currently busy meeting the designer for her gown, so I decided to find something else to keep me occupied.” he walks nearer to you, hands behind his back.
Boldly, you respond with “well, you have the pleasure of my company now”. He comes face to face with you when he says:
“Indeed I do, princess y/n.”
—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—-
Over the next few weeks, Hao has joined you at the library in the early mornings. While the rest of his day is spent fulfilling the duties of a visiting prince, the start of his day is reserved for you.
You get to know each other better through the study of geography, as he tells you about the places he’s visited on your maps. You tell him how certain stars align to form different constellations, and how the night sky might have been decorated differently on your birthdays. You learn that he speaks multiple languages, after he helps you transcribe the ancient texts from the east.
He speaks gently, yet with conviction. He smiles softly when you call his name, and approaches you in a gentle manner. He is also patient, when you are slow to understand him. He looks into your eyes intently while you tell stories, and you feel that his gaze might burn holes into your existence. His touch, gentle, when he guides you on the piano. And when challenged by you, plays the violin equally as beautifully.
Among other thoughts, you’re happy to know your sister will marry a good man.
“I have to go now, princess. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
You smile at him warmly, “like always, Hao.”
—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—-
But he didn't arrive the next day, nor any day after that. Instead, his time has been given to your sister, who has requested to have morning tea with him daily. You don’t fault him, it’s his duty as a fiance. And perhaps time away from him is good.
So when you find him gazing out at the same balcony of the library, you are surprised.
“Y/N, what do the stars say tonight?” you look up at the sky, and then at him. He’s leaning against the railing, propped up against his elbows. Facing you, you fear that his height will cause him to fall backwards.
“Difficult to say with all the clouds, there barely are any.” As if to confirm your analysis, he too looks up at the sky.
“So what brings you here, hao?” you ask as you make your way over next to him. You look up once again, hoping to find what he is looking for.
“I wanted to spend my last night here to gaze at the Astoria stars you tell me about.” Right. His last day here. You don’t know when he’ll return, and if they will at all. But tomorrow he leaves with your sister to his country, Mariposa. The next time you see him will be at his wedding.
“It’s a shame, maybe you should visit more often then”. You huff out, half jokingly because you know that’ll never happen.
“Yeah, maybe I should…” Hao trails off and watches you turn around to lean toward the balcony instead. Your face is resting on your hand, and you’re looking out into the garden hoping to be graced by the illumination of the fireflies. The moonlight hits your face, and hao studies the way your eyelashes flutter and how your breathing rises and falls.
You can feel him staring. "You need to stop doing that, Hao"
"And what am I doing?" you look at him, and you don’t know if he’s feigning innocence or is completely ignorant. His eyebrows are raised, and you suppose it’s the former when he raises his hands up in surrender jokingly.
Your face breaks into a smile, then a giggle. He likes the way your lips pull into a tight line before it gives up, and you convulse into laughter. He thinks it’s cute, the way you try to hold it in at first.
So he too, feels the need to hold you responsible when he says "and you princess, need to stop smiling at me like that”
Your smile falters, and then he clears his throat. You both break away from your gaze, and look straight ahead. Into the garden, where the fireflies are starting to show themselves. But the air is so silent, you can hear your own heartbeat.
Then Hao asks a dangerous question, “do you think that would be so terrible? to look at you the way I do, and to enjoy the allure of your smile?”. He looks at you expectantly, hoping you understand what he feels for you with that question alone.
"Would that be so terrible?" you repeat his words, also questioning yourself. You want to think it over, but you know the answer. “Yes, yes it would hao. Because you are betrothed to my sister.”
The silence of the air is this time, welcome.
Seemingly unafraid, he asks another question – “do you think maybe this is what is written in the stars for us? To be condemned by duty?” he doesn't need to expound for you to understand what he means.
You sigh sadly, “it appears to be that way…your grace.” He feels the boundary that you’ve effectively placed. The use of the royal title, a reminder of why he has come to Astoria in the first place.
You don’t look at him as you say goodbye to him one last time. You walk away from the ledge, and as he grabs your wrist to hold you from leaving, you try to release it.
“Let’s not, your grace. It’s easier this way. Please.” His heart shatters at your words. So he lets you leave. He doesn’t know that there are tears running from your eyes, and that you fear you’ll change your mind if you take one look at his face.
That night as he lay in bed he cursed his birth order, and so did you.
—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—-
As you watch them leave the following morning by the steps of the palace entrance, the same butterfly makes its way to you. It lands on your glove, and as you raise your arm to take a closer look – it flies away, towards the prince’s carriage.
You don’t follow it this time.
—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—-
✩ chapter 2, chapter 3✩
A/N: First of all, I wanna apologize to anon because there is no fluff ending shfbhsbfj I just feel like it didn't fit the royalty vibe
This is also my first take on a non-idol universe! Hope you guys liked it and i'm hoping to hear what you guys think hehe
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